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Show ACTING AS AW ART. Thomas Burns, tho Veteran Comedian Entertains Decided Views. ' Thomas Burns, who plays the more sedate of the two "papas" In "Vivian's Papas," is a type of the character actor best known In the "palmy days" of twenty years ago who attends to his business both'on and off the stage, quietly nnd moderately, always giving what Is termed a "legitimate" performance, perform-ance, and never seeking to Increase his theatrical vogue through resource to sensational expedients. He was principal princi-pal comedian In. the original production of "Mr. Wilkinson's Widows," by Charles Frohrnan, some fourteen years ago, and he was also stage manager of the organization. The veteran comedian come-dian entertains decided views on acting as an art. On this point he says: "Should the player sink himself In the role or should he use it aa an excuse ex-cuse a springboard from which to project his personality, tricks of speech, gesture and carriage before an audience? audi-ence? Tho late Stuart Robson, or instance, in-stance, was a case in point. Many keen observers have said that his voguo was purely a matter of a funny vocal squeak, a curious optic twitch, a grotesque gro-tesque limp. In a measuro this was true, but with these- popularity-giving attributes was the quiet, scarchful, well-baianccd brain, experienced and pliable, that knew how to glvo verisimilitude veri-similitude to a characterization. "The fine distinction between art and that which Is not art was Illustrated Illus-trated brilliantly by Edwin Booth. 'Drlvo a line horse let him out to tho limit and It Is a superb spectacle,' ho said. 'But once you Iobo control It Is a runaway a catastrophe.' In other words, lot the player project as much of himself as Is consistently posslblo Into In-to the part at hand, but let hlrn always keep himself In restraint, walking arm In arm, as It were, with the playwright's personage, breathing the same air, feeling feel-ing the same sensations, almost, one might say, a 'Corslcan brother!' "And It may be lit to add, parenthetically, parentheti-cally, that the actor never 'creates' a rolo; It is tho dramatist does that; the 'mummer' at beat delineates, and If he be of unusual talent embellishes. Briefly, then, the art of acting Is adaptability adap-tability until tho pinnacle Is reached, which we term illusion." Chicago Chronicle. |
