| OCR Text |
Show STAGE '' ''' '"Love Disappointmen, Dish ; m. t. Washing, Ambition, Laziness, 1 lilk School, Possibilities of Marriage liPn ecess'i s Answer of J j-l p kity-iour Chorus Girls IKevcr ask a chorus girl why she went on the stage. That may be Interesting to the questioner, but the question has become awfully common to the girl. She's tired of being asked every time she is introduced in-troduced to a man why she took to the stage for a career. The answer Is right here. She wanted to be an actress. The chorus girl didn't go on the stage to reform it, as is sometimes suggested. Nearly three dozen chorus girls were singled out and that question of the stage was put to them recently. Not one said she went on the stage to uplift it. Most of them thought that in time they would become great actresses. Some of them havo been on the etago for years in the chorus and now they stay because they can't find a better Job, although they have lost all hope of being a star. One afternoon when there was no matinee and no rehearsal and all of the "Ziegfeld Follies" chorus girls were planning some way of killing the rest of the day a reporter re-porter pounced on them and began lng things in chorus fashion so long they answered that way without with-out thinking. "Say, do you know what golnc to school means?" they asked In one breath. "We wanted to quit school. We oulL We're here." LOVE DISAPPOINTMENTS MAKES CHORUS GIRLS. Love has driven many girls to the stage; no, not love Itself, but the after effects of love. Disappointment Disap-pointment in love puts women in unents, in their graves and on the stage. It sends them to the army to be nurses and causes them to marry men they do not love. Bettlna Touraine Is one of those who took to the stage when disappointed disap-pointed in love. "I went on the stage to forget my love affairs," she said. "I thought that with tho crowd of girls in a chorus I would not think of mself and my disappointments." Flo Hart is another one of those disappointed in love, She had married. mar-ried. After living with her husband a while she round they were entirely unsulted. Her married life became Ih iB IKSim3B P Sr f fi H Interviewing them one at a time Hi to find why they went on tho stage. Hi He thought he could strike a gon- B eral average and answer the ques- H1 tlon for all time for everybody. "Why did you go on tho stage?" H he asked Violet Preacher. H "I thought I had the making of a great actress In me," said she. H "When I was a little girl I had H talent- Everybody eald I had tal- H nt. My relatives were proud of B me and sat me up every time corn- IB pany came to speak a piece. I was B a good imitator. In fact, I was a BB regular parrot of a girl. I thought HB I could act as well as any of tho BB great actresses who got their plc- B tures In the magazines and papers, fl Three years ago I Joined tho cho- B rus. I could sine. Back home H they thought I would make a prima donna In a little while. But the manager so far hasn't found me out. I'm still In the chorus. Oh, B well." H Lillian Taschman and May Hen- Hj nessey were next to bo questioned. Bl "We wanted to get out of school, they answered in chorus. H They had been In the habit of do- a burden, so she took the first chance to get with a theatrical company. com-pany. She says she is much happier on the stage. The little want ad in a newspaper captured Dorothy Godfrey. She said one day she was lying in a hammock ham-mock wishing the days were not so long and reading tho want ads to pass away the time when she happened hap-pened on the theatrical want ads. Miss Godfrey says want ads are very interesting when one learns how to read them. The personals are unusually funny. She has often had a good laugh at a want ad where some girl was telling her sweetheart through the want ads that she was no longer angry at him. After reading the personals she often finds considerable entertainment entertain-ment in the bargains offered in the "miscellaneous sale." When she reads the "for sale" ads she often imagines the things advertised are all they are said to be, and then she imgalnes she has the money to buy them all. The "employment wanted" ads glvo one the real feeling of sympathy sympa-thy for mankind and are better than i ' '"3rff t flE& l "'y pjjjB l fl ...nidi) mil V I j lj ll RS reading a sob novel, Miss Godfrey says. Tho day she became a chorus girl she had devoured all the "employment "em-ployment wanted" ads, all the "personals," "per-sonals," and all the "for sales," and tho day was far from ending. She turned to the "help wanted" for a new diversion and there found an advertisement for chorus girls. "Wanted pretty girls with good voice for the chorus." said the ad. "Aha and Oho," said Miss Godfrey. God-frey. "I am both pretty and have a good voice. I shall join the chorus " She applied and was accepted. Necessity Is one of the biggest factors fac-tors in bringing girls into the chorus Going on the stage 1s a good deal like anything else. Here and there we find men and women who choso their occupations because they aro fitted for that particular kind of work or because they think they are fitted. A girl becomes a dish washer' because she needs a job, and dishwashing dish-washing Is the first thing she pets to do. Sho slicks to the place because sho fears to try something else and run the risk o' being discharged. GETS JOB IX ORDER TO BUY ILER FOOD. Again sho may become a teacher or a stenographer or work In a department de-partment store or a factory. Nine times out of ten she follows that particular line of work because she has to make a living, and that Is the first thing she thinks about or the first thing she gets a chance to do. As a rule we do not ask girls why they became dishwashers, teachers. PROM left to right, upward: up-ward: Eleanor Dell, Margaret Dana, Daisey Virginia, Vir-ginia, Bettina Tourainne, Reta Spear, Lottie Vernon, Helen Moyer, Anna Wendell and May Hennessey. factors hands or saleswomen. But when a girl goes on the stac it matters mat-ters not whether she Is ugly or pretty, pret-ty, the question always comes up, "Why did you go on tho stage?" It's a foolish question, because the chorus girls usually have reasons a good deal like those of other persons, per-sons, and the most important reason is that of having something to cat. Jeanne Russell is one of these. "I had to earn a living," she said. ' The chorus Is about as good a way to do it as any other way 1 know of." Rose Wertz said her family needed help, so she went on tho stage to earn money to help support her own people. Flossie Averill needed the money to buy something to eat, so she joined the chorus. Sho would like to be a star, but had no Idea of becoming a prima donnu. when sho first went behind the foot lights Evelyn Morton also signed the contract with her company to earn a living. Pearle Gabriello want ed to earn a living, but she calls It a livelihood, Katheryn Collier went on the stage to support her mother. To a girl who has to earn her own Ihlng tho Job that pays the most is the most desirable. Daisy Virginia told the reporter she had been a department store saleswoman. saleswom-an. Day after day she stood behind be-hind the counter and walked up and down the aisles asking customers if they wished to be waited on and quoting prices. Every day she was put face to face with pleasant customers, cus-tomers, cranky customers and indifferent indif-ferent customers. Her salary was not as large as she would have liked to have it. One day another girl told her what chorus girls earned. Salary Is big or little depending de-pending on what your salary Is IC you are getting $30 a week $1S looks awfully small. If you are getting $10 a week $18 looks like a. fortune. Miss Virginia was somewhere in the $10 class, She did not tell exactly what she was getting, but when she learned that the poorest chorus girls made $1S a week she Jumped at tho chance and went on the stage. Dal Vayne went on tho stago to earn money and be independent. Lillian Maddern was working in a restaurant. It was a hard Job. She received all the blame for the poor work of the cook and for the poor work of the management. If the orchestra at tho restaurant played poor music the customers took it out on the waitress. If tho iHHHHHt JsBBnSHflHHw - v "SS9HHHiflHdHDKEfiflll3SiM iHa n7R BPV3 fli jjjj HEfl &. B9 cftPsBvn - 'jflBKL yB ' M taBI BkS"" r ' steak was underdone they yelled at the waitress If eery thing went well they would go to the cashier, when they had finished eating and make pleasant remarks to her. So Miss Maddern quit and is now with "Ziegfeld Follies." OFFER OF $35 A WEEK IS QUICKLY GRABBED. Fawn Conway has a good voice and received an offer of $35 a week if she would enter the chorus. That Is a fabulous price for chorus pirls, so Miss Conway took the chance. Lottie Vernon used to bo Lottie Schmidt. That is why she went on the stage. She had an artistic soul and an unartistlc name. At home she was always that Schmidt girl and although it was an honest name and was borne by many honest good people, she didn't liko it. In addition to the Schmidts there were the great horde of Smiths and Smythes and tho rest of the relatives. rela-tives. Sho wanted an artistic, exclusive ex-clusive name, so she went on the stage where her name appears aj Vernon. Desire to see the world has cre-'ated cre-'ated a number of actresses. Margaret Mar-garet Dana says she enjoys going from place to place nnd seeing different dif-ferent people. She does not care 'particularly to stand on the stage before a crowd of spectators, but she does likes to travel around while the manager pays the bills. Since going on the stago she has visited many cities. May Howard is another who likes to travel. She believes the sights she has seen are worth more thnri her salary. Elsie Morton said the lure of travel put her in tho chorus. Eleanor Dell likes excitement and sho believes the stage and tho visiting vis-iting to different cities gives her what she wants. Dissatisfaction with home life put Marjorle Beverly In the chorus At home she had to wash dishes. Cooking, making beds, dusting the parlor and other household duties did not worry her, but the business of washing dishes three times a day got on her nerves. HANGS UP DISIIRAG AND TURN'S ACTRESS. "I'm going to bo an actress," she said one day after hanging up her dishrag. She carried out her throat and Is glad. Reta Spear had to do the cooking for a family of eight. That was too much, sho says, so she took to the stage for refuge. Now she does everything the manager tells her without talking talk-ing back. Anna Wendell thought the stage was an easy place to make a living. Sho didn't llko hard work. She said she finds one can get tired doing tho hop, skip and jump when tho curtain goes up just as she gets tired doing anything else. I- 0 n . j PBr rc i BBflBflHflBBHBHfli . Thirty-Four Answers. i ! ri u Violet Preacher Thought sho had stage talent. May Hennessey To get away from school. B Bettina Tourainne Disappointed in love. Dorothy Godfrey Answered a "Chorus Girl Wanted" ad. J Rose Wertz To help support a family. Eleanor Dell Likes excitement ! Jeanne Russell To earn a living. liv-ing. Margaret Dana Likes to travel. Marjorie Beverly Because she had to wash dishes at home. Anna Wendell Thought it wis an easy life. Bess! 3 Nelllgan Went on ih---stage at the ago of G. Marion Hamilton Stago struck. Daisy Virginia Former department depart-ment store saleswoman. Could earn a larger salary on the etig--. Bessie Gros Because she looked like Adelaide Genee. the dancer. Lottie Vernon In order to change her name from Schmidt. Flossie Averill Needed the money. Flo. Hart Unhappily married. Ran away from her husband and went on the stage. Evelyn Morton To earn a living. liv-ing. ' Helen Moyer Because she could wear tights and display her form. ; Lillian Taschman In order to get out of school. Pearl Gabrielle To earn a livelihood. liveli-hood. ; Dorothy Newell Had a fair singing voice and has hopes of becoming be-coming a prima donna. Opal Flynn To find a rich man and marry him. : Reta Spear Left home because she had to cook for a family of eight. Dal Vaj ne To earn money. -May Howard Wanted to travel and see America. Kitty Hawkins Because her twin sister went on the stage. Marie Lamar Native of Essex Junction, Vt. The town became too small for her. Lillian Maddern Got tired of working in a i estaurant. Aimee Grant Went on the slace at the age of 10. Fawn Conway Because she was offered $35 per week. Katheryn Collier To support her mother. Elsie Morton Likes to travel. Anna Pauley Better occupation than that of telpphonc operator. Helen Moyer has a beautiful figure fig-ure and that Is tho secret of her appearance before the public eye. If one lives a retired life at homo there Isn't a chance to show off that form One has to wear clothes. One year the clothes are all waist and the next year they aro all skirt. The figure has to be shoved up and shoved down to meet tho fancy of the times. Miss Mover loved to show herself off. On the stage, the chorus girls wear different kinds of clothes at different times. When she went to the theater sho saw girls appear on the stage In tlphts and their figures were not to be compared com-pared with here. Hence she Is on the stage. Bessie Nelllgan went on the stage when 6 years old because she was sent there. Aimee Grant was 10 and had no choice In the matter. Both grow up there and acting is all they know. Anna Pauley wos a telephone operator op-erator and she quit the switchboard to mount the stage. Kitty Hawkins signed tho contract because her twin sister had signed one and she wanted want-ed to do as her sister had done Essex Junction. Vt., was too small for Marie Lamar. There she had sung In the choir and had taken the first prizes for sinKlner at tho town literary society. She hungered for something on n broader scale and tho stage was the place to get It. She quit Essex Junction and went to New York. New York was about 1 her size, she says, and there she got a position as an actress. 4 |
