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Show Rioter w:mmmm ........ ( -r , ., . ' ' r; V ; r ; J I f I - -N - i ' ' t r - j it'- . 1 ;t,:v f " , ... ;, a ilASi a ' . . " ?I.V-.-.:v . '-f.W-- 'i.. i.'.- "4 OLGA NETHERSOLE. .' (BY ZULA NEVITT.) The genius of Oljja N'pthersole fin-Is expression not only in her superbiv artistic staj;o creations and character izations, hut also in her masterly poner for the production of plays. Other than the English actress there i no female star of the modern stage who is s i absolutely ab-solutely in control as to be solely and individually responsible for the preen tation of her plays in every detail. It might be imagined that the direc tion and crystallization, as it were, of number of plays added to her performance per-formance of the heavy roles she a gumee, would be an almost superhu-. superhu-. man effort on the part of Olga Nether sole, but we have plenty of evidence that such is not the case" The dominant spirit of Olga Nether-sole Nether-sole pervades every detail of sumptuous sump-tuous productions that please the eye so lass than the brain of those who are ROfflcrently fortunate to witness her complete and elaborate ensembles. In connection with the. production of a play it is common knowledge that the task of preparing and presenting the same is a department absolute and dis tinct from the dominion of the artnr. and that professors of that branch of dramatic art acquire their knowledge, talent and erpenence only after years f labor and effort. It is, therefore, no small thing for an actress to combine not only the quali fication of high dramatic art, but also the heaven-born talent for teaching others and inventing and preparing the details thst help to make up a combina-! combina-! tion resulting in a series of complete I pictures. jS0" th momect f her detennina- tffjto present a play, every detail in l coiuredtion therewith is born in the train of this remarkable woman; nothing noth-ing la of too small or insignificant a nature to be neglected, either in regard re-gard to scenery, properties or costuming. costum-ing. As regards the scenf-rv. it is the brain of Olga Netherole that determines deter-mines the construction and the color schemes, and even the scenic artist are glad to svail themelves of the advantage ad-vantage of suggestions from her. In the matter of costuming her plays, she is naturally supreme. Possessed of a , library filled with authorities .n civilized, civi-lized, costuming of all period', the distinguished dis-tinguished actress is not lik.lv to be far wrong in the details of her wardrobe. ward-robe. The blending of colors is determined by herself, and the preparation of hers i and her company's wardrobes is earned j out under her direct guidance. When I the preparatory steps nave been taken in renjiect to scenerv. costuming, prop-I prop-I erties and lighting. Miss Nethersole al-' al-' ways reads the manuscript of the new play to the members of her company, which she is well qualified to do, having probably assisted the author to a large extent and being naturally a consummately consum-mately dramatic reader. At this interesting period the artists in her support acquire a rough outline of her idea of the characters they are to be called upon to create, and it has been acknowledged by actors of her company that by this simple process they learn more of the author's intention inten-tion and the value of their parts than all the rehearsing in the world. Miss Nethersole, in the subse quent rehearsals, infuses her personality per-sonality into everybody's role, inspires in-spires the laggard and draws sparks i-f genius from the dullest. To be present at one of her repetition repeti-tion (as the French call them) is said to be an inspiration. She has a motive for everything that she calls for, be it either movement, gesture or spoken word What she accomplishes by her laborious and painstaking efforts are the wonderful ensembles for which her company is famous the world over, so much so that the standard of perfection that she has set has grown to become a byword in dramatic circles. Her Power of Endurance. It might be supposed that in her endeavor en-deavor to attain perfection in her pro-duction pro-duction the actress would be tempted to neglec her own individual ena of it, but this woman, possessed of almost superhuman powers of endurance, finds time to complete her own stud- notwithstanding not-withstanding the multifarious demands upon her time and brain, and not only tint, but to be constantly evolving acts of originality that stamp hr the genius she is acknowledged to be. 'lga Nethersole 's watchword in all things is true, and in no place is she more emphatic in demanding it than in her art. She has been praised again and again by critics and others for her fidelity to truth, hut on the other hand the truth has sometimes been .-jarring and has called forth protests, but with a smile she always answers her critics that "truth is always right." The distinguished actress is not only one of the most versatile artists on the stage, but is alo one of the most finished and talented stage producers. It is a vtigular fact that she derives more pleasure from the appreciation of ber work of production than she does from all the praise that can be be-stowed be-stowed n w ii her a. 'ting. |