Salt Lake Telegram | 1916-11-14 | Page 7 | "Shall I Go on Stage?" If You Can Live in Character, Proclaims Elsie Ferguso

I I Shall I Go on Stage ii It I You Yon Can Live in Character I Proclaims Elsie Fergus Fergus' fJ The rhe second of ot four articles on stage liCe lIy OnE ona of f the greatest of all stage l c stars By ELSIE FERGUSON Famous American Actress 1916 b by Newspaper Enterprise Enter Enter- prise Association J I In studying character it seems seema obvious obvious obvious ous that you must get into as os close contact with the character under un cern cern- tin tiny as Is possible Therefore do o not look upon yourself In your study of ot life liCe as an actress which would necessitate ne no- te the taking on on of ot a certain amount amoun of ot pose begin begir your study simply as a human being looking C for r enlightenment as to the nature of ot humanity so that you ou may approach character through but ono one thickness thickness- your own p personality instead Instead of ot through two that Is to sa say your own personality plus PIUS your pose pos Even en then you will wm find It a trying bu business and one that baffles gOd gord Intent in intent intent In- In tent almost to the point of ot despal despair despa- l livery Cry time timo I a room where there thero arc are persons I enter it in a most humble spirit This Is because I have llave studied long Ions enough to know that I Ishall Ishall Ishall shall waste a a. great deal of oC the materIal material material ma ma- for study there is in this room loom I know that every room full of ot perSons persons persons per per- sons contains a spider web play of ot motives mo mo- tives an Inextricably interwoven plot as well as tho dangling ends of many other plots plots plots-a a store that Is positively appalling In Its Us richness of material for me as aa a student of human nature stature I And J I shudder to think how ow little of ot all this in the final analysis I shall shah seize and store away as my own And this Is Js tho the way the tho girl who goes on the stage must move among human beings if it she is going to be pronounced a discerning actress learnIng learning learning learn learn- ing how people act For critics know a lot about real art In the tho theatre and they know that people do dont don't t do such things as many young actresses make them do on the stage And they dont don't hesitate to say no so In their columns For instance the first thing a young woman oman with her eyes open will discover discover dis dis- cover about the way people act Is this that when something arresting is said or done in their presence when presence when a a. spiritual spiritual spiritual spir spir- or material crisis Is Js precipitated they they do tie not generally react to It with witha a jerk and a l lot t of oC immediate noise The They you ou see se do not know it is com com- ing ng The actress does know it Is comIng com com- Ing ne because she knows the part And yet she Is supposed to be acting out a 11 certain ertain portion of the history of ot a a. persons person's life lite and a person never lives livesa a a. single RIngle minute of life twice Therefore vh when n an actress in a rT 4 I I part faces nn an amazing revel some sort Bort she has got to act the thel the tho person In that part would ac act ll she Bhe has got to get that fact across footlights She has got to flash receipt of ot the news on her face has bas got to unfold unroll in her expression more or less slow play of ot reaction n nt t takes place in the character s aBi and finally bring out the final woi deed into which which- this Is She doesn't merely spout dialog delivering her speeches like e C clever stilted automaton M But Dut before she sho can speak In cI acter she nho has haR certainly got to laher Is la Isher her character from the tho ground floor She has got to know now mow her she has got to have busty In that character staying her from the cradle to the tho grave Z I Ishall shall she Bhe do this Tomorrow I Itell tell you who are Interested to become my characters unit lenol them well enough to be the thee