Show I WOMEN WORK WOK Z AN t 0 Cl TELEGRAM 1920 isio N NY Jy y Th THE EVENING CO f 4 t ii ca- ca Ion vOn On the Stage going ng on the st stage ge many times Umes such an announce announce- made within the safe and sane iries o of ot the home circle has 11 brought about parental parental parental pa pa- rental wee weeping pin g gand and gnashing of K teeth The stage e- e S cause of Its unc un- un c o 0 fl nv V e n isms the necessity s- s sity for tor elasticity U of mind and a abroad abroad broad philosophy 2 on the part of ot those who come cometo cometo to it it has come to tobe tobe be the pariah of I p pro professions r o f e s s ions ion s against which paNE paNE parents pa pa- NE NE' DIXoN DION rents rent desire to ty t protect t the their h e I 1 r ii West town from which for example the girl who to embark upon a stage career rom om om the moment of her spoken a a moral and s social outcast Yet i of the he inconsistencies of i tall minded that the inner Inners hypocritical souls that r re re rode roae t to 19 i the t theatres in hired the men and women other side of the proscenium envy mixed with the tion Uon in their greey ey eyes s. s jis Bis a very good and sufficient why the stage has come come- cometo to be upon pon with tl eyes eyes' askance askance as as in- in nere is most or the un- un L of ot life lire BELIEF RELIEF ON STAGE many ny girls and and women having heving elsewhere bring their i ito to the sta stage e door thinking sorrows or disappoint- disappoint in in the rouge pot They look stage as as a sort of ot gilded carn car- car n which they may ride to the pleasures of ot existence The Theto to them spells spens license a a. free tree m cou try where they may bes be- be s they never dared behave in inre re commonplace re commonplace lanes Janes of ot conal con- con al society these parasitic plunderers who the stage of ot th the dig dig- which belong to it by t fi culture and conquest ribald attempts to mulct life litter have kept many a gifted from attempting a career the footlights Her lIer potential has been smothered by the idle O of t gossip the frowns of ot those ie eyes eyes she desires to appear well yell as right line me to say for the encourage encourage- the girl or young young woman woma to he stage is as yet a silent call I of the vain lazy pleasure P parasite is rapidly drawing to minious close Such a one is dUn dDn the theatre today only bea be- be f ft a lack Jack of ot available maShe maShe ma- ma She seldom progresses beyond t row of ot the chorus And Air if if iL trick ick of ot fate or the weakness gers she does slip into a speak- speak i er forced glory withers with son son The next year or two back in the ranks without found some more fruitful ap- ap the he easiest way COS Co's DECISIONS JUST ns so I had the good fortune with that generalissimo of ot mod- mod craft raft David Belasco on this bJ ct of ot the stage as a career Belasco elasco stands uncha- uncha n the public mind a as all the lead lead- I lager producer and dramatist Jin un n America Here is a com com- who combines the romantic C a a youth with the stern stem dic- dic ilman man so that those who come a at the the a Belasco elasco stage are certain of ot receiving a but a just judgment For- For indeed are they to obtain the theS the'S S 'S sj yes Should their portion no they may as acting as a pursuit t and g go gome me other business fo to life The f for r them must and does spell r re M desperately in need of young lomen who can carve out for esa a. a career of brilliancy on the says ays Mr Belasco Ev Every ry day the lack of material for tor the LOf reallY great artists The oman Toman of ot today who can prove J who can show any marked t the great ireat age trag-e- sven even the little comedies oC ot life lite rise comet wise to take among the stars there is a falling of off cants for stage honors I Iv Ivond v vond Tendering nd if it the lure Jure of ot the indeed l lost st its luster Juster rl yno o came the explosive re- re have hundreds of ot them j Yr from every manner manner- of f very walk of the world They hey lI e with their gr great at hungry Ii ring g. g out as as jf f life Ufe itself hung A little lItte chat short a a short Tf t their depths and instinct instinct- w S s S 'S s sS S SS S S k t r S SS S f I A tk 5 4 t J ik i C i- i 1 JL C. C ively I feel teel w whether ether or not they are worth the time time and and effort that must be bei beri ri i jen n to training One in a hundred a thousand is so qualified And I al always always always al- al ways hesitate to turn an unknown away for lor fear tear she may be that one ADVICE TO ASPIRANT My advice to the young lady seeking seeking seek seek- ing lug a stage career is to turn aside for forthe forthe forthe the moment and ask herself herselt a few tew practical questions indispensable to even a limited success For example Am I 1 industrious Am I 1 willing to put aside pleasure temporarily at least in the pursuit of ot stage learning Will I 1 be tireless working day and night if it need be t to achieve my purpose purpose purpose pur pur- pose Have I fortitude Can I stand firm under keen disappointments I am bound to encounter Can I 1 endure the of ot today for th the progress I am sure to 10 make tomorrow tomorrow tomor tomor- row Have I an honest horest desire to do right without being a prude Can I command command com corn I mand the respect of ot others Do I re respect respect respect re- re myself Am I capable of or- taking a broad and liberal Ubera view of t the peculiar peculiar pe pe- pe culiar and unconventional conditions which will surround me Have I sufficient reason for believing bellev- bellev ing I possess possess those talents which fit me for stage e endeavor What have I Idone Idone done or what can I do to add to the sum total of theatrical excellence I What can I contribute to the true and worth worthy portraiture of human experience experience experience ence MUST ANSWER ALL If It she can answer all of ot these questions questions ques ques- answer them honestly and to her own liking she might venture a stage career with reasonable assurance of ot reaching the far goal she has s set t for herself hersel Nevertheless I 1 am of the opinion if it girls or young w women men realized the ex extent extent extent ex- ex tent of the dem demands to be placed upon I them mentally morally and physically physical physical- Ily ly the number of stage recruits would be cut i in half even to a fourth part of ot its present total Do not understand from these paragraphs paragraphs paragraphs para para- graphs Belasco the Bountiful is at attempting attempting attempting at- at tempting to discourage claimants for stage honors On the contrary he is eager to find tind them them providing providing they have the right to such a claim To find tind a prominent actress is to him like finding a rare uncut Jewel to whose beauty he will add the polish of ot othis his genius Class distinction is checked at the stage door Factory shop turbulent tenement has s been a more fertile re recruiting recruiting recruiting re- re ground for the stage than the society drawing room The struggler for tor the most part Is an early graduate grad grad- from the rich school of ot experience nce ence and experience is the wherein we reflect the great gret truths truth's of ot life lite Any girl who expects to mount to stardom on the wings of a beautiful fa face e and figure Is due for a damaging fall faU unless she Is prepared to back that beauty with consistent stud study thought and intelligent effort Physical ca cal attractiveness is no criterion ot of- stage success success Some Borne of our most brilliant brilliant bril bill artists have been ugly duck cluck lings Some Somi of our our bur most complete failures res have been Jeen een great beauties Th The stage requires something more than a masque It demands a mind behind a masque and a heart big enough and brave enough to weather any storm ABILITY IS CO COMPENSATED P Compensation Nowhere will you find compensation so abundant once you have proven yourself worthy of being compensated The he pity of ot it jt many an unsophisticated unsophisticated sister is blinded by dazzling figures figures fig fig- ures ui-es cited as being the salary of ot this or that stage star Ambition do does s not stop top to discount It does not consider week thousand-dollar-a-week the he fact a wage may be for five perhaps ten i weeks in the two fifty an average of ot I Iless less than a hundred or two hundred a I week for tor the year Nor does ambition take account of ot th the fact tact demands on the players player's salary salary salary sal sal- ary are two three four tour a dozen times what they are are in the less hectic pro pro- Stage wardrobes are ex ex- ex ex- ex pensive Even in everyday life lite the player must keep a prosperous well dressed face face to to the world Appearance is a heavy factor in the success equa equa- tion Managers have little taste for tor post Here again earning is entirely a matter of capacity I know women of ot the stage who have been trouping steadily for several years and who have never reached the hundred a week mark As Asa a matter of fact tact they have been skimping along most of the time on half hale that amount Others to tomy tomy my mv certain knowledge have doubled their earning earning- capacity every year or second year have purchased fine tine homes where they rest during the summer intermission shimmer with jewels like Tiffany's window In an Au August August gust t sunshine and think nothing of of- changing their Rolls Royce twice a year I IMPROVIDENCE THE CURSE I To me the stage has always seemed I II I a great gamble The artist artist who dines dine at the Ritz nitz last season is grabbing grabbing- a hasty plate of ot butter cakes from a quick lunch this season Improvidence has always been the curse of ot the pro pro- pro profession Nowadays fortunately it is not so prevalent The chronic down 1 I and outer is frowned upon by better I and wiser players To those who seek a career on the stage I 1 should say its fortunes so so far faras faras faras I as dollars and cents are concerned are no more dependable than a wheel of ot chance In interest in flavor of ot I achievement in wealth Of bf color and variety of living it yields a full fun bundred hundred hun bun dred per cent plus What is true of the stage is true also of the screen en that other lure looming sot so large on on the horizon of or romantically inclined maidens The screen is even more x I ous' ous In Its Us demands than the stage It requires greater physical endurance if less ess ar ar- ar Pursued seriously and with balance it yields a plentiful h harvest If It you must go on the stage go but keep your eye on the spotlight |