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Show UNDERSTUDY IS CALLED GAMBLER OF THE STAGE Tomes : have beeu written on the struggles and triumphs of the theatrical star, on the conquests of the mallnoe idol, on the joys and sorrows of the chorus girl, but those shooting stars In the dramatic firmament, the understudies, under-studies, huve been sorely neglected, says the New York Press. The undersLudy Is the born gambler of the theatrical profession. If she wins at all, she soars far above the heads of those-who toll patiently and slowly toward istellar heights. If she loses, she Is the" under-dog, the yellow dog. In- this same erratic profession. The- manager regards her as a re-grelable re-grelable necessity. Her very presence pres-ence reminds him of the fact that all stars arc liable to physical ills and may disappoint him to the depletion of the box olllce receipts. The star regardsher understudy with patronage not urimixed with fear. There is no telling, how a-fickle public .may take to a new -face and a new personality. per-sonality. And every' woman in- the company who is not an uriderstudy til Jealous of the girl who is. Yet In the face of all this, the demand for a chance to understudy a leading lead-ing role, good, bad or Indifferent, never falls. This Is particularly true In musical comedy, where new faces' nl-ways nl-ways are welcome, where a' kick with personality back of It, an original way of turning a Jest, will establish a girl in Broadway's finical fuv.or. For though stage manager and prompt book mnv do their best to turn th&.understudy "into a slavish Imitation of the star, originality origi-nality and personality will crop up at the critical moment and lift their owner from the front row of the chorus to a position on the programme close to the big type. Ai soon as the future of a musical comedy Is reasonably assured and all the new business Which follows on the heels of a first night has been Introduced Intro-duced and properly rehearsed, the question ques-tion of understudies arises, and the managerial noul if vexed. The understudy under-study for each speaking role must be selected, rehearsed and drtdsed. And after that the most likely girls In the chorus must be drilled to stp Into the shoes of those most uncertain of theatrical thea-trical quantities, the i'how girls. The understudy for the prima donna must have a voice. The understudy for the comedian muBt have some ability as a laugh-maker. The understudy for the lending woman must be statuesque and know how to wear gowns. And so on down tho lino of roles, masculine or feminine. The' star may have something some-thing to say In the matter. Her chief anxiety seems to bs that the understudy under-study may not be her superior In physical attractions. If the understudy's under-study's voice is promising, it may fall her at tho cruclul moment. If she Is Fompthlng of an actress, Hhc may he struck dumb with stage fright, but If she Is beautiful, comparisons to the detriment of the rtnr are bound to be made. And no star In musical comedy is so successful as to be Jcaousy-proof. Meantime tho manager Is besieged with applicants. Nine chances out of ten he promises, every girl to give her application nitentlon. and not until the precious contracts are handed out does a girl really know that she has obtained ob-tained the understudy work. For be It known that the chance to understudy a speaking part includes not only the opportunity op-portunity to "make good" before- manager man-ager and audience, but it includce an increase In tho salary, of whlcli the average chorus girl Is more appreciative appre-ciative than common report Avould suggest. sug-gest. This Increase depends entirely upon the Importance of the role to be played, and may be anywhere from 53 to $10 per week. But It Is not easily earned, for armed with her precious contract, the understudy reports at once to the stage manager for extra rehearsals, re-hearsals, and understudy rehcnn?alf aro held as often ns three times a week. The understudy is expected to stand In the wings at each performance and to watch her principal with observant gaze, ns a good undorwturiy catches and reproduces as many of the gestures and stage trlcJcH of the principal as she can absorb. Understudy rehearsals do not exempt the girl from the regular rehearsals re-hearsals In which she steps buck to her position in the ranks. Nw. with the rehearsals under way. the question of costuming arises, II the star or any member of the company has supplied her own dresses it Is her privilege to withhold thalr use from an understudy, In which eae the management manage-ment must supply costumea for the understudy's use. As a rule, however, the principal makes at least a show of being gracious? In this matter, provided the understudy Is the same, size or a trifle smaller. If the understudy is a larger woman there Is bound to be trouble, as the principal does not want to see her carefully lilted gowns stretched. When a girl finds herself established as understudy In a fat part she wakes to a realization that she is less popular with the other members of the chorus. Jealousy, the hydra-headed monster who prosldes back of the scenes In every theater, gets In his work, and for many nights there Is extreme coolness cool-ness among members of the chorus. Sometimes it amounts to more than coolness; there are hot words, echoes of which reach the stage managers ears, and he is obliged to take a hand in the fray; The understudy has a phraseology quite her own. For Instance, a pretty chorus girl recently was asked why she had given over her mornings to understudy under-study a small part IiCa current musical ,at traction. "Why, you see,- Miss C Is such a reliable woman to understudy. I've a better chance to play her rolos than ono of the bigger ones, because she Is glad to lay off on tho slightest excuse. She takes cold easy, and she misses matinees on big racing -days. Oh, yes, she Is the most reliable woman to understudy un-derstudy I ever played for." Thai may not be tho managerial Idea of reliability, but it suits tile understudy. under-study. Hard, indeed. Is the lot of the girl selected to understudy Lillian Russell. If Misr Russell Is 111 and so Informs the management, the house is dark at night, notices being posted to that effort ef-fort In front of the theater. The only chance for the understudy comes when Miss Russell lo taken 111 during the performance,- too late to dismiss the audience. audi-ence. , On the road rtiy Templeton is regarded re-garded as a most "reliable" personage to undorstudy. Shr seldom disappoints a Broadway house, but the road gets on lif-r nerves, and hotel life disturbs her digestion, all of which works together for the satisfaction of her understudy, who obtains from- one to three appearances appear-ances in a week. Miss Templeton is most gracious to her understudies, and Miss Lottie Medley, who played Mile. May In "The Runaways" for the Broadway Broad-way favorites has many mementoes of Miss Templeton's kindness. The understudy's opportunity to rlso and shine usually comes like a thunderbolt thun-derbolt from a clear sky. A few penciled pen-ciled lines from the star to the stage manager half an hour before the curtain cur-tain rises starts the excitement. Then there is a nervous tap on tho chorus girl's door, and she finds herself being be-ing shoved into a dressing room by herself, with a dresser nervously tosa-lng tosa-lng clothes about, an assistant stage director giving a few final suggestions to her and the musical director taking musical cues nt her. She wishes she could let her friends know, but there Js no time for it. The news has spread to the tler'of dressing rooms occupied by the chorus and lll-jtvlll Is forgotten: everybody wants to lend her something, from real silk stockings to a pearl pendant. Her deadliest enemy even offers her corsage bouquet of real orchids, and then enter en-ter the manager, bad tempered at the absence of a popular actre3, but diplomatic diplo-matic enough to remind the under-i study that this Is her chance, and she is bound to make good. Then her entrances with eyess, friendly friend-ly and unfriendly, watching her from tho wings. As she comes off emotional girls tell her she "was line," other principals patronize her and admit that she did very well Indeed, and the manager pats her on the back and calls her "a good girl." The next morning she buys all the papers, rushes through them, finds nothing but a line or two about her debut and weeps. There are occasional, instances of promotion following qulcftly on the heel of a clever bit of understudy work. Julia Sanderson, one of the principals in "Wang," was In the "Winsome Winnie" Win-nie" chorus at the Casino last year and won recognition by the good work she did in Paula Edwardes's role. It is seklom that an understudy for a prominent actor can be palmed off on a New York audience, but on the road, particularly In one night stands or when business is dull, the understudy under-study gets the coveteel chance to play the role and tho public Is none the wiser. The most remarkable Instance of this came to light at the time of Charles Coirhlan's death, which oce-urred In Galveston. Tex. A Texas newspaper man telegraphed thp news of the actor's death to Northern papers for which he was correspondent. Tiie next morning tho report of the actor's death was denied officially by Coghlan's manager, who was In Omaha, Neb., where the Coghlan company was playing play-ing "A Royal Box." The manuger Insisted In-sisted Coghlan wae with his company: tho Galveston newspaper man Insisted Coghlan was dead. It was not until Into In the day that the manager acknowledged the correctness of the news from Galveston. It then came out that Mr. Coghlan hod not been with the company for several weeks. An understudy hnd been playing his part all this time and the public was ndne the wiser. In fact, some of the men who saw tho understudy In the play at Omaha- Joined the manager In declaring the report from Galveston to be untrue. All casoB of dramatic mistaken Iden-' c Uty ore not tragedies, a -nH talo: All light comedians loo?-lesa loo?-lesa alike to the unobrvant ' and Harry Corson Clarke a tST' comedian through the WcHt aM il West, often takes advanfage fl 7 " fact when playing one-night. J s His understudy was a younc Mk much patience, but this virfaiJl)' ' taxed heavily during the seaeon Mr. Clarke did not like a didn't mnke It Just took th.l JLtbe nnd mot them at the noxt stanfflEk P the underHtudy played tho rola Strt! Intervening night, in the rmilLt s time tho company struck a town MaW1 c principal hotel was run by a boB&ls' with a memory for names andMS' of his guests, if not for faces understudy walked up to the desfclf'cC boldly wrote "Harry Corson ClarH18 v the register. The hotel man ' "Ah, I've been expecting yotLi4' 01 Clarke. Your meals will lJC wrMS11 & your room as usual." 1. artf Tho understudy Hald, "Thank ?lSB,ine In a bewildered fashion, as he -Jihfl acoustomed to being served In hlsTcrod( When the first meal arrived heEltlS something that did not round11 "Thank you." JC. gl The meal consisted of breakfasMi1' and milk. Mr. Clarke hud IndleirS0 of the most aggravated sort an' c bonlface had remembered. EvcrL9 around the hotel seemed to ho.vC Stfl membered, and the underuiudy? 11,11 compelled to play his role both o PPlj5 off the stage. The engagement wib ver two nights, and when the compa7ur last boarded a train the underT.11 made for the dining ear and orlt4 the biggest steak on the menu. "Xtf be |
