Show does an actor assume the characteristics of the character lie plays Y yea en and no physically I 1 contend he does do mentally I 1 maintain he does docs not As a seal leaves 1 its impression on warm wax so does the n of character leave its indelible imprint upon the subject that reflects it and the more the actor absorbs the characteristics acte of the character the more outward evidences lie Is sure to display I 1 do not mean to convey by this that the actor while playing a part must for the time being live the character oh no I 1 have upon many occasions expressed my negative views upon this subject therefore it Is unnecessary to refer to that here but I 1 do mean that by constantly depicting the eccentricities or individual aties of a certain parts part the actor unconsciously imbibes imbiber a portion of that artif te and it hourly develops until it assumes the proportion of a reality realty may be the result of study aoudy affectation association or even assimilation although the latter cases are rare nevertheless there are cases upon record that disclose the fact that this abnormal development was acquired by assimilation I 1 can cite many instances where the physical man has u tinder undergone gone a complete metamorphosis say by specializing a certain line of work diametrically opposite to td the field of effort in which he had previously labored one friend of mine in particular who but a few years ago devoted his labors to the field of light comedy changed to the heavier methods of shakespearean drama with the result that today this comparatively young man has hag aged to a a degree of stoicism that Is positively appalling he takes his stage life home with him and lives his characters off the stage to ta the extent that he has become an old man another gentleman I 1 know who has achieved such a phenomenal success in a certain characterization on broadway where he has been playing for over two years that he has become so thoroughly thoroughly imbued with his character study that on the street YOU can single him out as the actor who plays that part simply bekhis by his assumption of the outward manifestations of the character ameter ch he essays professionally now years ago this was not so much in evidence OA ea it ls Is today this statement I 1 notwithstanding the shopworn idea that the te old time actor acted off the stake as well as on I 1 have been arl an actor acour for forty two years and kno know thereof whereof I 1 speak in these days when ill all branches of professional life specialize medical legal or histrionic the constant asso elation clation with one line of work must i naturally leave its imprint upon the practitioner in the days gone by when the actor had bad to assume all kinds of ch characters aters things were different then he had no time to bec become iome so thoroughly permeated with one character acter that any outward hanif manifestation es was visible now we live in an era of ty types typeset t is not rl a question of can you play the ewt it Is a question of do you you look it in the modern 1 school there Is no curriculum no fundamental basis to go by aby in my young days the a etor actor had to act there was no excuse for a bad actor now the general trend of things is to go to types actors and actresses axe are paged before scrutinizing in eyes seeking types in much the same manner as rii a flock of sheep Is passed upon at ali alfe e stock yards A few are selected and the balance cast aside because they chev are arc not peculiarly pecullar ly fitted to the physical requirements of cf the part under conditions how in heavens name can an actor or actress avoid assuming the character astles of a character that they themselves practically exemplified prior to its ascurr assumption option As tar far as the menial transformation of the man to the character it Is different I 1 nev r could see any reason to lead me to believe that by the constant depleting of insanity an victor actor should become insane any more than that it is necessary for an actor to become a habitual drunkard in order to truthfully portray the ravages of delirium cremens tremens tr emens long aso association clation with dishonest people never made an honest man a thief or the society of a blase woman make the chaste woman depart from the path ot of virtue unless the mentality is naturally depraved or alced prior to that association no affiliation or affinity will ever to my thinking alter the course of morality unless the basic law of immorality has already been established environment has been used as a cloak to cover many a deed that wai was created in the brain long before the opportunity was presented hence society or association cannot be held responsible for any more than merely affording the means whereby the act may be enacted so with the drama unless the players have a naturally weak mentality that would eventually mako make itself manifest under what whatever erver condl gions no portraiture or character will liter the mental temperament or divorce the rational nian man from his innate principles signed LOUIS JAMES |