Salt Lake Herald-Republican | 1910-03-27 | Page 29 | My First Night's Experience on the Stage of "the Lion and the Mouse" Company

My 11 y First Nights Experience on the Stage BY WALTER EDWARDS Of The Lion and the Mouse Company I WAS V AS in inthe the newspaper business in 1 Lansing Mich when I made my m debut on the stage in 1886 and I think I was the rankest amateur that ever eer used a piece of grease gease paint How I was ever eer persuaded to take part in inthis Inthis inthis this amateur performance is beyond me While I was at school even threats of ot corporal punishment could not Influence me to set get et up on en Friday Frida afternoons and make it i t speech or recite a poem at the little red schoolhouse functions s so well known to many of ot ofus otus ofus us One On night I was asked ed by several of my friends to go with them to a a I rehearsal rehear al of a play that the Athletic and Rowing association of which I 1 was wasa I a 11 member was giving That night one of the boys did not show up and they the asked ed me to read his part to help out Ute the rest of them and I consented I went around again the next night and this same chap failed tailed to report which aroused the ire of the tIle stage manager who said that If the he part was never played this fellow could not play It I and turning to me asked If It I help him out of a hole and fill the I breach I did and that was my un undoing undoing I doing The night of the performance every everybody everybOdy everybody body I knew in Lansing was out in the front with bells on I was a very popular popular popular lar member of at the Athletic and Rowing association and when I made my first entrance I got a big hand The con edn consequence sequence was I went up pp In the air com completely comI I nonplussed and for tor the life of me could not remember single a line Une The awkward situation aroused the of those out in front and they began to howl hawl with glee This made me so 80 angry that I walked down downto to the footlights and In stentorian tones yelled You fellows can all go to and strange to say sa my lines came back baele to me and the rest of the performance went on without a hitch hitchI I liked the game so well the next thing I did was to look around for an en engagement engagement engagement which was given to me by Frederick Ward