The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-04-19

theSpians are merely mouthpiece.
 for their lines, while. make-believer.
 are equally certain their perform.
 ances are responsible for the sue.
 cess of any play. When the two egos are rubbed together. bonfire of controversy is inevitable
 The recent squabble between play
 wright Lillian Hellman and The Tallulah recalls James NJ. Barrie $
 warning against arguing with &C.,
 tresses: There has bene in the his-
 tory of the world only one man who could manage the sun and the
 moon, and even he had sense enough to keep his hands off the stars!"
 1nept scripts are tossed at pro- ducers like confetti. Anyone who can Scribble his name has an idea
 that a hit play can be turf1ed out with finger-snap ease. Actually playwrighting demands the most ex- acting craftsmanship in the ,iter- ary field. Skill, sweat and lu.k have brewed the success of every oramatist Before Somerset Vaughan wrote his first three -act- CT, he avidly studied hundreds of plays and copied them in longhand in an effort to learn the fine points of dramatic construction. Only handful of make believers have ever equalled Richard Mans fields theatrical triumphs. He was probably the most gifted and hon. ored actor of his time During the height of his fame, an inter- viewer asked him for his definition of success:
 Mansfield replied: Have the love of one good woman, the confidence of children and the respect of your competitors.
 The anguished cries of thespians can be heard above the Main Stem cacaphony whenever flop is lashed by critical typewriter ribbons. But the greasepaint tribe should De grateful they were not performing in Britain during the early 18th Century When audiences dis liked play in that era, they riot ed and attacked the actors. A performer not onl yendangered his career by walking out on the stage, but also his life.
 Scene-stealing has inspired many theatrical anecdotes. One of the most adroit Scene-stealers is &C., treSS Jane CoWl She once tried to interest a fellow thespian III joining her for season of reper- tory. Miss Cowl told him that one night she might be the star and the next merely bit player, point ing out: "Oh Monday I may play Lady Macbeth and Tuesday carry tray =. The actor was impressed and later told his wife about the idea. But she was Skeptical You watch out for that woman, !" she intoned. T know that tray. It's got John the Baptist's head on it."
 Then there's the one about the critic who was reprimanded for roasting a play written by one of his publishers chums. The publish CT ordered him nto to pan any future opus written by his friend. The next time one of his tedious plays opened, the aisle-sitter penned this review: Anyone who likes this kind of a play will find it just the kind of play he likes"
 Actors, musicians or writers who are rapped by critics usually in- dulge in a critic batting spree, in- stead of trying to improve their talents. This PadereWski story should serve as a lesson to them. After the great pianist's first re- cltal ill this country, a few critics banned his performance. An editor yraciously offered Paderewski the columns of his paper so that he might reply to them. But the emin- ent musician turned down the of- fer saying: Tt is best that they write against me-and I play against them" The acclaim he received from the American public proved that he was right. In fewer words: The best answer to a bad notice is good performance.