The New York herald., 1922-04-02


Yet they are no more dead than the<
theater. Take for instance the re-
sponsibilities of the actor! They
have grown constantly less ever since
the day Of Moliere. The art of acting
diminishes every day since the op-
portunity of the player has been more
and more restricted as the changes
took place in the form of the play
house. To-day what does the audi
ence see? Only the face and the pro-
file OF the actor. He might as we'll
be Polichinelle. And do you know
what will restore the theater to its
old dignity in the world of art? 1t
must be altogether destroyed in the
form it exists to-day.
"Only complete reformation of the
art will save it. What has the grad
nal change in the form of the theater
done for the actor? In the days Of
Moliere he had still the court and
some spectators at his back. He had
to make his whole body plastic. He
had to express some Of the emotions
Of the scene with his back or the pub
lie seated behind him would have
known nothing of the play. He was
compelled, in other words, to train
his whole frame so completely that
it was at his disposition in express
ing what he wanted the public to
know. He did not face the audience
from picture stage such as exists
to-day with no other obligation to his
art than to make his face express the
meaning of the words he was speak
ing. That was easy enough for the
actor at any time. Now the processes
Of stage illumination make his task
still easier.
80 the theater as it exists to-day
must 60 IL there is to be any revival
of the drama as an art. | believe
that the stage of the future will be
in the center Of the audience. In
this way will the public which has
gathered to take part in the perform
ance in reality be a part OF it. Max
Reinhardt has succeeded in doing
something OF the kind in his produc-
tions of the plays Of Romaine ROLAND.
Then the actor in order to make up
for all that is missing in the arrange
ment of the stage as it exists to-day
must 80 develop every talent that act
ing again will be high in the list Of
the arts"
But the scenery? How will there
be scenery on the stage which Is
reared like an altar in the midst Of
the spectators?" That was the In
auiry of the four cornered, dyed in
.he wool commentator on dramatic
incidents as they recur in the rou-
tine Of the metropolitan theater.
There will be no decorations, no
scenery" Nine. Guilbert answered
with decisiveness that showed how
thoroughly she had prepared her
scheme. "The actor will have so
thoroughly trained every natural
quality. his voice, his body and his
mind that he will produce every pos
sible illusion"
Necessary Genius Developed.
"That may have been given to you,"
was the reply. But there have been
no other geniuses in your time who
could merely by speech and gesture
and facial expression, represent a
whole drama in miniature. That was
your unique gift" ANY genius that
is necessary to the existence Of a new
form of art. is always developed"
Nine. Guilbert answered when the
stage has returned to this original
freedom from the false substitutes for
the genuine art that now surround IL
the necessary talent will develop.
There need be no fear of that lack
once the theater has made itself
worthy again to be called one OF the
arts.
"One thing that makes me conf
dent that the theater of the future
viii be organized on this model, Is tie
search for new Greek art to take the
place OF the materialistic ideals that
have prevailed. ! don't say that this
tendency has already manifested itself
I'm the theater. That is always tie
'ast field in which any new artistic
influence shows itself. But in poetry
md in sculpture and painting there
has already been Eel. T. France a
a.roaz tide 4e-.sGG a revival of the
.,,tesr sc9s.6ards in art. This is in a
~.Gr 4 result of the war. a reaction
against .he mysticism toward which
tho minds of men and women turned
when they had suffered grieved and
lost. They began to doubt and ques-
ton and gradually the philosophy of
Greece came to their rescue. Then
they turned to Ler art
go the theater having passed
through naturalism as II was shown
in the works Of the Gopcpurts, zoia