The Washington times., 1934-07-07
my OWN STORY
BY Marie Dressler
(centinusd From PGes y


parts, I was engaged, with an
older sister to chaperone me.
Then began my stock com
pany life Of travelling from
town to town-And I mean
town-the kind Of places where
men learn to. spit in curves
and the flies get invited to
meals along with everybody
else.
Those were my school days. I
played every role from Cigarette
In Under Two Flags" TO KatiShS
in THE Mikado." I learned my
lob. I discovered that audiences
differ. Some viii laugh like
fools about nothing and some
are as MfeleSS and unregponsiVe
as II they had just been dug up.
The tendency when one faces
this kind Of bunch iS to walk
out the stage door and eat .
cheese sandwich. but I found
that while you have to work
three times aS hard to get" .
house like this. the triumph -
much greater when they DO
come across with q guffRw.
I learned that there Is O
greater knack than anybody
knows in putting Q line over the
footlights. It has to be timed
Just right, 1t has to Synchroni7o
with the business. A sure-fire
laugh 365 days IN the year can
be killed by an amateur. He
will either hurry or retard at
the wrong moment, change the
emphasis, twist the meaning.
add or leave out just enough
business to upset the balance.
Then the laugh Is as dead as q
last years wedding invitation.
Now I get my laughs from In
Spiration. I can feel an audience
sufficiently to shift my particu-
lar mode of attack. This comes
only with experience, however.
In the beginning the wise actor
does not experiment after he
finds where his laughs are.
Valuable Lessons
Besides these valuable les
sons, I discovered what 1t
means to be In q stranded
company ard to borrow money
from the hotel clerk to get
to the next town. I learned
that pleasant words too fire.
quently cover peStiferous mo-
tives, but, most Of all, I learned
not to carry sore throats and
corns into the lives Of others.
This one bit of information is
worth living o lifetime to
learn, but lots Of folks live o
lifetime and their cornS and
their throats just keep getting
bigger and bigger-never better.
Now, I ask you-why try to
ruin everybody'S pleasure be-
cause you feef a bit off your
self? Huh! # I had to 60
to the gallows, I would try to
think up a joke about the
moose on the way. I would
at least try to give the wit
nesses the time Of their lives
and I'm sure they would sin
cerely regret that I had to pass
on, especially when I had one
story left that they hadn't
heard.
People think I'm funny be-
cause I can't help 1t, that I'm
always gay because I feel that
way. I've had women shake
their heads and say. II just wish
I had your health and vitality,
but ever since my operation"
well. who cares?
Take this from me, and be-
lieve it. There isn't a person in
the world who is really inter-
ested in you when you have q
sick or a hard-luck story. Every
body has one of his own that Is
q lot nearer and dearer to him.
No matter how pathetic your
yarn may be, it will always sound
commonplace and uniutereSting
to the other fellow. Keep your
troubles to yourself and grow.
If you must let down, 60 behind
your own four walls and cry. II
you haven't four walls, lean on Q
tree. If you must tell somebody
about it, pick out a ladybug or
a roach. You won't worry them
at all and it viii do you good.
Most people never let down until
they get in a crowd.
Courage
A lot Of faces seem to give
them courage. They like an
audience, but there never was
an audience that didn't like to
be amused. and too much sob
stuff explains why so many
people lead lonely lives. If you
aren't welcome at the feast,
maybe there's an answer. No.
body is singled out for trouble.
We all have it. To learn to
stand up under it is a lot more
important than discovering one
Of these poles which isn't Of
use to you unless you happen
to have q dog!
If people want me to 60
places, If I'm popular, it's not
because I'm sm arter or
brighter than anybody else, but