OCR Text |
Show ACTING OF THE AMATEUR. Illustrative Instance of tho Work ofi Ambitious But Incompetent Beginners, It Is surprising to discover how very differently people who havo played ports all their lives deport themselves before tho footlights, writes ltichard Mansfield, In Atlantic. I wns ncquulnt ed with a lady In London who had been the wlfo of n peer of tho realm, who nt ono tlmo had been a rolgnlnfi benuty, and who camo to mo, longing for a new experience, and Implorlnt? mo to glvo her an opportunity to appeal upon tho stage. In a weak moment 1 consented, nnd, ns I wns producing n Play, I enst her for n part which I thought Bho would admirably suit-that suit-that of a Boclety woman. What that woman did and didn't do on tho stngo passes all belief. Sho beenmo en-tnngled en-tnngled In her train, sho could neither sit down nor stand up, Bho shouted, sho could not bo persuaded to remain nt n respectful distance, but Insisted upon shrieking Into tho actor's ears, nnd sho committed nil tho gnucherles you would expect from nn untrained country wench. But becnuso everybody every-body is noting in privntc life, every ono thinks ho can act upon tho stage, and there Is 110 profession that has so many critics. Every Individual In tho audlcnco is a critic, and knows all nbout the nrt of ncllng. But noting It a gift. It cannot bo taught. Yon can teach people how to act acting but you can't teach them to net. Act lng Is ns much nn Inspiration as thq making of great poetry and grcnt plci tures. What Is commonly called nctlng Is acting acting. |