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Show ACTING- AS A BUSINESS. Author and Player Writes of Its Money Making Chances. If we pay much attention to the wall3 in certain theatrical journals, or If wo scan the lists of thoso seeking employment employ-ment in the dramatic agencies, we reach the supposition that the stage Is overcrowded with players, and that, therefore, It Is a bad profession for a young man or woman to endeavor" to enter. As I happen to be both a playwright play-wright and an actor, however, In my former capacity, when it comes to casting cast-ing a new piece from my pen and the manager and I get together with the Idea of securing suitable members of the organization, I realize how barren the Held In question Is. In other words, every man or woman that considers him or herself a professional performer does not necessarily happen to be one. It Is one thing to put on makeup and occupy a dressing-room and quite another an-other to properly body forth Into a character the Ideas of the author aya Leo Dltrlchstcln in the Chicago 'Tribune. 'Trib-une. Accordingly I recommend lo those speculating as to what arena of endeavor en-deavor they had better adopt the art of acting as a means of excellent remunerationalways remu-nerationalways providing, of course the newcomer Is possessed of the elementary ele-mentary requirements Intelligence spirit, an agreeable and carrvlng voice"' and what is v&gucly called "address " ' 4 o ' Cite mcra fact that fv colors have I ' ' business ability, and spend all their money almost as toon as they rccelvo it, does not. mean that It Is Impossible for a shrewd and conservative actor to live well within' li Ik Income In porfoct comfort. com-fort. I may take occasion to say hero that one reason so fow stage folk have any money worth mentioning In tho bank Is thnt they do not realize this Important Im-portant fact a salary of $100 a week, for Instance, In the dramatic world, Is not the same as $100 'a week recolved for services renderod, let us say, In the boot and shoe business. For there Is a wide difference between the UHiuil theatrical season and tho fifty-two weeks a year salary thut hired people receive in business. An average season lasts from thirty to thirty-five weeks; and, even If It reaches forty-fi'e forty-fi'e weeks, you will note that It gives tho person In question seven Idle weeks nearly two months and this, of course, makes a large hole In whatever fund may have accumulated during the active portion of the year. For a young girl of good family, excellent ex-cellent education and attractive personality, per-sonality, who finds herself, through the loss of her parents' money, suddenly placed In the position of earning her own livollhood, whero else could she find so quick and profitable a line of occupation oc-cupation as playing a small part of a few lines for possibly $25 a week? 1 0 a As a matter of fact, It Is the old story that there Is always room at the lop. The established stars aro rapidly becoming older and thon passing away altogether" those that wero leading women wo-men only a short time ago arc drifting into character parts and any girl with grace of mind as well as of physique, has splendid opportunities to take advantage ad-vantage of on tho stage, providing she keeps her head. Then, ngnln, how few men now appearing before the footlights foot-lights can look like gentlemen as well as act like them? The pitfalls that stand in the way of artistic success and money-making for a beginner reside In the fact that the life Is full of tendency to Indolence, not to say actual laziness. Instead of Improving Im-proving their minds through reading the beet books, through studying tho methods meth-ods of the best actors, through regarding regard-ing their work as outsiders would, players aro frequently prone to fall Into the happy-go-lucky, from day to day habits of living that aro adopted by only' too many, who regard their occupation occu-pation not ns a business but as an agreeable, Joke In the realms of Bohemia, Bohe-mia, y m Fortunes are not made In a day, as a rule, In the theater any more than they arc elsewhore. And actors are apt to bo Impatient and think that they should bo engaged as leading men by Charles Frohman a few weeks after they have had their pictures published In the paper for the first tlmo. Take the cases of Frank Daniels and Francis Wilson, two comedians who have beautiful beau-tiful country- places which they own, who have horses and carriages, and In truth fortunes amounting to about a quarter of a million apiece. Neither of them is a young man, and they spent many years of their careers working diligently to make their names magnetic magnet-ic trademarks throughout the country. Some people In the theatrical world regard re-gard both of them us rather mean, but they aro mean only In the sense that they make their money for the future rather than for the day after It roaches their hands. The chances for the beginner are apt to be hard nt first, Just as they are everywhere else. The world is not inclined in-clined to run way out of Its way lo discover dis-cover talent talent has to force Itself forward with patience and vigor. A case In point just now conspicuously before be-fore Chicago Is my associate, Miss Blanche Ring, who has aroused such enthusiasm through her performance of Vivian In my play, "Vivian's Papas," Pa-pas," at Powers's theater. Many people peo-ple seem to think that she stepped right out of a boarding-school Into this role and became famous In a night. Miss Ring admits cheerfully that she went through a good many seasons of the hardest kind of work, frequently on onrt-night stands, playing leading business busi-ness In companies of only comparative Importance and ulso singing many songs In the vaudeville houses, before miinners hocrnn tr slinu' nnv nlnrmlnnr alacrity to got ahead of one another in their efforts lo secure hor services. Now that she has finally had her "opportunities" "opportu-nities" In New York. London, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago, the rest Is easy. - What I have mostly In mind a3 I write this article for the Tribune is as I may have already Indicated that if nctors wero only businesslike they would find acting, as a business, a feasible feas-ible proposition. But the fact th.at they are artistic Is apt to rob them of that shrewd commercial sense which places tho dollar-mark above, or at least alongside, the "puffing" paragraph in their estimation. I once knew an actress who found herself unexpectedly out of an engagement engage-ment and without any financial resources. re-sources. She was quite frightened oer hor predicament and was on tho verge of borrowing from her friends, when it suddenly occurred to her that two years beforehand she had been persuaded to tuck some money away in a savings bank. Sho wasn't certain whether or not she had withdrawn it, and when she called to find out she was ashamed to ask the cashier If she was a depositor. Investigation demonstrated that she had more than $1000 In her name, and she sheepishly, but happily, took advantage ad-vantage of tho fact- Of course, that slipshod attitude towards to-wards the pecuniary "wherewithal" Is not what Is appropriate to eventual freedom from all care and worry. On the other hand, I happen to know of several actors of comparatively small Income who have diligently saved formally for-mally years, so that they are today In a position to snap their fingers at thoso managers who offer them paltry salaries, sala-ries, and contcntcdlj- play a waiting game until such a tlmo as they aro offered of-fered what they intelligently know their abilities entitle them to. Acting as a business, then, Is nil right, and is fertile In successful possibilities. possi-bilities. Only I recommend that many of Its disciples put more of their money In Government bonds and less of It in canvaaback ducks. The Actors' Fund of America would then have much lc3s reason for being. |
