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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1908)
THE OREGON SUNDAY. JOURNAL? PORTLAND. SUNDAY MORNING. MAY 3. 1808. ' EGO OF ARTIST REXIC u OF PRIMEVAL MAN Praise of -His . Characterizations Taken as. a eed, But Criticism of Bad Per- ' v forraance. Causes 'Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth, ' 1 - J I tir?TT m THEATRE i . By J.f.S. " . , eT Ijj'not tinlil one studies the origin oart that he : J begins to . understand ! the . extremely cnrku7 and, at first sight,, absurd discussion of personality, and the ego of the . actor thit baa been raging over ,the stage with such bitterness during ihe past season. ' ,' - Mr.jSothern has been decrying the personal note in " criticism. t is possible, say he,:"thatnf an actor'a personality ceases to be pleasing to a critic, he may allow that to uiflueifce him in " judging of the actor's work. And our personality is so largely our stock in trade, you knowi, That is the one regrettable feature."-,? Now nothing is more, dangerous than a discussion of this subject of personality. It has assumed entirely un warranted importance in the popular ' judgment, For instance it is easy to think of a dozen r" so "women players who rely entirely upon their personality to carry them, through to success. .That is a case where person ality is divorced from the player and his rt And'on the other hand it is impossible to utterly disregard it. '- It is. that thing which imbues his notions and his words with the semblance of actuality and life. It- is the man behind the mask. It softens and lends color nd. interest and verUtmilttude to his work. It is as impossible tJ . divorce 'the actor from his personality as from ,hi egb. In the very beginning, say the psychologists, the only function of art was that of attracting attention. t It was . the idea.of .commending elf-to mate.companion. and ' friend and found its sole expression in song. . Later on the savage mind conceived the thought of decking out the body with . bright feathers and paint. -It was the very antithesis of the autotelic or "art for art'a sake" thought that the present century has talked of. It was the impulse for self-exhibition. As it developed it pro duced an exaggerated self-consciousness as well as an ' aloofness and detachment from real life that has resulted in what we now have to term the ego of the actor. Hajcan't help it. He can't get away from it. .Take for example the child who first Teams, to speak a nursery rhyme for the delectation of dinner guests. The 'poor thing is praised out of all proportion to his merits, lie is made much of and, if he sticks to it, will soon come to have an Tven higher opinion of his abilities himself. When he first goes on the stage he'is somewhat awed aiid frightened. His performance, from the viewpoint of the unprejudiced observer, is probably horrible. But he is anxious to believe that he lias done well He looks for sympathy and he gets it. Again he is praised out of all proportion to his deserts. " This sort of thing goes on for awhile and before long he cornea to associate his work with himself, irrevocably. It is a case of "Love me, love my dog," only he changes it to "Love me, love my acting." And he doesn't even stop there. He adds the postscript, "Hate my acting, hate me." ) Why this should be, heaven only knows. -One of the most lovable men I ever knew was a business failure. I never felt tempted to dislike, him because I didn't admire his: business judgment I know magazine writers whose work I admire immensely but whom I detest personally. And by the same token I have met and traveled with artists whose paintings were abortive but whose per sonal characters were admirable. . - It seems impossible to disengage the actor from hinv self. He lives and has his being in hia, work.- And this in time findr.Us result in giving him an. insatiable taste for"' cdmmendalion"not only self-commendation, but public omme,ndatiqn For instance, supposing- yejji '.re ceived a half column of praise -every night or once every week.5 "Yoa would feel that people were at least appre ciating you and were Joing their best to make you happy. ., . j -i r- But does the- actor assume this attitude 'of gratitude? No, indeed. . , You co down to vour office, .or into your .school room or" about your housekeeping, -do your work fakh fully and reasonably well and expect no cffusKms of ap proval, .f raise is somethtner out ot the ordinary.- it is like' strawberries in winter not for. everyday diet "But the actor accepts all the commonplaces of commendation you can pile onto him,- swallows them is though they were his due and sits up for more. -You can -rave tor half an hour over the excellence of ; something he has done and he accepts it without a moment's hesitation. But supposing you break the monotony of this adula tion and tell the truth about his-'work. Heaven defend fi. ' You are a callous, cvnical brute.- You are trying to ridicule the efforts of an honest man to earn an honest j living. iCom are venting your- personal animosity upon the defenceless head of a greatlyabused person. j- -',: I was told the other day that one actress , wept as she read my criticisms. And what, i asked," did he think I did when I saw her act? 4 Of the two I felt that I was by far the greater sufferer. A woman "can cry;;' A man has to bear his grief in stony silence. - ; : ',. ; ; ' : . . ,The same man informed me that one-ambitious young person whom I had failed to appreciate; was the support of his mother. You see how hopelessly sentimental it all is! I. might be a millionaire in my own right I am not but that fact should not counts against' me.','; Nor should ' the question ' of whom the actor' is supporting affect an appreciation of the quality of his work.- v Just how Jo get away And. keep . away Irom-thia. senti-J menial ieenng is, it musi oe aamiucu, a kuuuj yiuuicw. It becomes a-dangerous question ; this May weather. Everything conspires against the man-who tries to be calm and. sensible and impartial. I'll go for. a Sunday tramp through the countryside. The minute I get be yond hearing of the trolley lines the forces of sentiment begin their attack pon me. The . road to. nepenthe stretches off down the quiet hillside and through the firs, offering its surcease , to hurry, and work, and weariness. The dogwood and the wild plum make of the river bank a glory of yellow and white. The air is sensuously fragrant with sweetbriar. with the earthy smell of the spring woods and here and there in the open places the winds blow an intoxicating fragrance from the orchards. I follow the noi?y little -stream up to its source, where it runs through the forest glades, over stones and pebbles and loses itself in a silver ripple of sound. A half day of that sort of thing and I find myself loving my enemies, possessed by a sort, of frenzy, of good will and bounded by so rainbow a horizon that nothing short of Mr. Alison playing Sherlock Holmes or Miss Kent gamboling ina ballet costume can bring" me back to my senses. www And yet people bask in this seaof sentiment. They cry for more of it They are-insatiable. The actors think that unless you deal in it you hate them individu ally. Their friends take- up the cry and enlarge upon it. Their managers look upon you as one who conceives that he has a mission to ruin their business, to decry their efforts to turn an honest penny I shan'tacuse them of adopting the hypocrisy ofart and who. goes to the theatre determined not to find anything good 'nor anything worth while, but simply to pick flaws in the production that they have spent some time and con siderable money upon. , . , - Can't we find some cure for it? Won't. some one please invent anti-sentiment capsules that can be handed out . with the programs as you enter the theatre door and which taken will be guaranteed to last at least as Jong as does your vivid impression of the performance? Such a one would be. mankind's benefactor and we could all afford tor ri$e up,udcall him blessed. TmfZ4ik?AY- May 7.-8-9, SPECIAL PRICE MATINEE SATURDAY MR. WM. A. BRADY ANNOUNCES MR. VJILT011 14th and Washington Phones Main 1, Aim i! ii LMCKMEl y' ' IN HALL CAINE'S PLAY "The oridmaii" ' Baaed on His Like-Named Novel ". i-. ' Epentng Prices 'Lower floor, first 10 rows.. IS.0O Lower 'floor, last (rows.... 1.60 Balcony ...11.00. 76o, BOo Gallery ,.60o. Boxes III.&O ; Sptclal Matlnmm Prices Lower floor, first 10 rows. .$1.50 Lower floor, laat f rows.... 1.00 Balcony 76c. SOo Gallery . J5c Boxes f 10.04 SEAT SALE OPENS NEXT TUESDAY, AT THEATRE - 4.. . , "J hi.- c 1 l n -- rmrjgr tcPs- fl-'Ofi FOURTH YEAR OF SUCCESSFUL OPERATION 5) Opens Saturday, May 16th ENTIRE CHANGE OF POLICY WITH MANY NEW AND VARIED FEATURES AND THE MOST WONDERFUL "GAYWAY" WEST OF CHICAGO'S WHITE CITY Tyrolean Concerts, Leaping the Chasm in an Automobile, and Ihe F.lcrry Widow Craze in Fireworks . COMING The Band of White-and-Qold and the 'Allen Curtis Musical Comedy Company. . ,; ' "THE TICKLER" that's a corker. "THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD" that's great. "BUDDHA'S TEMPLE" that's a guess again. "ELECTRIC BASEBALL" that's a new game. "MAID OF MYSTERY" that's - a puzaler. "SCENIC OLD MILL" that's Switzerland and Columbia Gorge in one. "HUMAN INCU BATOR" that's scientific." Incomparable roller rink with all new " skates. Centodeon, fltfstic irilliard hall, bowling, - dancing, swim ming. Picnic parties and special days arranged upon application to "the manager, D. C. Freeman. "FIFTEEN MINUTES FROM ALDER STREET WILD WEST INDIANS JOINED THE FEIAKS They Think the Organization Ha Something to Do With Cook f"' . lng Their Food. New Tork. May . Chiefs Iron Tan. Loss Bear and Rooky Bear, who are In ths Wild West. . Indian . camp at Bridrepert. have been mad members of ths Friars, the body of thearrtoal publlotsts that parads ths Great Whits Way. Being- s Frtur in this cass only means that these speolal red men have been charged with looking after the others. The interpreters bavs also joined the cult. . When It was explained to Iron Tail that he-was a, Friar, the red man took the .news rather gingerly,, expecting that nd live a he might have to go out ano life of loneliness in a big building built In the wilderness. Finally they were told to come and visit the real Friars in this, city at one of ths Friday night I gatherings. Will there be plenty eat r. asked Chief (jlvLon Bear in a gruff and rather unoer- Nenty of everything" was ths an swer. " i "Make lots noise," grunted ths chief. "Have . tom-toms and., alt ths rest" "No white squaw there?" asked Iron Tall. And when informed that not even the red women would be permitted to take part he grunted his delight. . The ceremony did not take lone, and afterward ths red men went, through a fin sun dance to show they had been elevated . above the ordinary term of chief which had become so common in ths last 10 years. DUSE ACCEPTS PLAY OP AN ACCUSED MURDERER Rome, April ' 15. Eleanor Duse, the great Italian actress, has accepted a LVRIC THEATRE COR. SEVENTH AND ALDER STREETS Both Fhones ' ICala, 4684 A 1096 Week Commencing Monday Evening, May 4th T . ... . '. ? P. R. ALLEN Presents a Miss Verna Felton and the Allen Stock Company In W. H. Montague's Beautiful Southern Play I UNDER THE MAGNOLIA - .-' Matinees Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. x Every Evening at 80WPrices 10f,' 20 jind SOf . New Moving Pictures Between the Acts No Long Waits. play by a writer who is in Jail await ing trial for murder. The captive play wright is Guldo Casali, who three yearp ago was arrested, charged with the mur- lawyer at . Perugia. - and who aer or a has been awaiting ever .since the con venlence of Italy's somewhat tardy jus uce. Casali has filled up his time with lit erature ajsV has produced a modern trageay smtltled jredy smtltled "Ananke. Is founded on his own life-story. ticularly the his arrest. events that The plot . par- resulted in aPbeserMaU 2 aid A-S3M ITS) THEATRE lift! Geo. I Btku, Ota. H(a PORTLAND'S FASHIONABLE POPULAR PRICE PLAYHOUSE Soma of ths Zaeomparabls Baker Thestrs Itoek Compasy. J All Week Commencing Sunday Matinee, May 3, 1908," Today One of the Season's Richest and Most Beautiful Productions ; 5 Cliniliiers CLYDE FITCH'S GREATEST SOCIETY PLAY , Fascinating Plot, intense Situations, Elaborate Scenery and Stage. , Settings, j 2 ; The Gowns Worn by the Ladies of the Baker Company . Will Be ' Most Gorgeous and Expensive, Far Excelling Every- thing Before Seen on the Baker Stage. A True Picture of Rich and Lavish Display in High, Society. v STAGE UNDER DIRECTION OF WILLIAM DILLS MATINEE SATURDAY -: EVENING PRICES, 25, 35, BO. MATINEE. tKf, 25 NLXT WL1LK The Heir to the Hoorah IKZSSIiBSSSSXSSSZSSSSSSSS cszssss o THESTARS DONT FORGET TWO SHOWS EVERY EVENING FIRST AT 7:30, ' SECOND AT 9:IS . BEGINNING SUNDAY MATINEE. MAY 3. The Armstrong Musical Comedy Company Offers the Musical Comedy 5 "The BathingGirls Be sure that you do not miss the Armstrong Organization in this production. Extra large cast, special scenery and electrical effects.. INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING HIGHtCLASS VAUDE VILLE NUMBERS: Mysterious Musical Bennetts BLACK ART MUSICAL COMEDY Three Musical Bellboys SINGING AND DANCING COMEDIANS THREE SHOWS DAILY, 2:30. 7:30 AND 9:15 P. M. . Matinee Prices 18 to all Seats Except Boxes. ; Evening Prices Entire Lower' Floor, 25. , Entire Balcony and Gallery, lBf) , they Yimmz -X TIT GO ON STAGE ' .11 a .r-i;i 4 v Amherstv O., jjaprli : 15. Just now they're dofng a vaudeville turn between sets of views' at the Wonderland mov ing picture show, but they've got ambi tions for much higher things. The names they're using are Olga Martingau and Fay FoUetta. Both were students in the musie conserva tory at Oberlln college last week. They ran away. , ' . M . "We hope to appear In Cleveland be fore the week Is over," said the girls. "We've got our applications in with the company at the opera house." Authorities at Oberlln will try to get ths girls back. They srs eighteen. One Is from' Pittsburg and one from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Ths manager of Wonderland doesn't want hla- stars to go back to Oberlln, nor to Join a company in Cleveland. Ths young singers are Dooming his business. Spitzner Philharmonic Society Grand Recital May 17 as ai45, Belli Theatre, Orchestra of SO Pieces. Tlcksts 25c for sals at Abendroth's jewelry store, SaS Washington street. fa .f: try STBS. WATjTSB BBSS Soloist Heilig Theatre, Wednesday Evening, Nay 6 SLCOND CONCLRT Portland Symphony Orchestra SOLOISTS Mrs. Walter Reed Henry Bettman Seats on sale and subscription tickets exchanged for re served seats at box .office Heilig theatre, May 4, 5, and 6. Prices 50c to $1.50 Management Edna B. J ones Heilig Theatre MONDAY .lEVENINQ MAY 11 THE FAMOUS COLORA TURA SOPRANO MISS BESSIE ABQTT. Direct from Metropolitan Opera House, New York Gty GRAND SONQ RECITAL Prices $2.00, $1.50 $1.00, 75c llati-drders Received MONDAY, MAY 4. - Box Office Sale Opens FRIDAY, MAY 8. Address letters and make checks and money orders payable to . W T. Pangle, Mgr. . Heilig Theatre The GRAND TATSaTZXAB BJI XiUXM , BEGINNING MONDAY, May 4; '08 Another Wonderful Programme r The MARCO TWINS Ths Greatest Novelty ta ' - Vaudsvlll. , . lOMsfllllt TO &JMTCW AV. Bs Burs That Tou Don't Miss Them. . . kinrCZAJU AjDDSD attbaotxov Mr.PorterJ.Vhite and Company Presenting ths Drama tlo Sketch heVisitor isgKKssnxgaiagggxaKaggzg COMING AND THE wxxx, snnra strirsA t. wxuuob F t31D THn NRW tl3citr iiriniMiuiui i . . New York Symphony Orchestra - . Three Orchestral Concerts - th ARMORY Wednesday Lvening, June; 3: Thursday Afternoon and Lvenine. Tune 4 II J DIRECTION LOIS STEERS WYNN COMAN , . V n H MARQUAM GRAND WEEK OF MAY 3 rortland's leading Theatre It BEST OF VAVDET1LLE J. A. J0B3TS0BT, BssUsat Vaaager. Pantag e s ! At tr a c t ioris BIG JEFF, ths Monster Boxing Kangaroo In a cyclone bout with.. a professional boxer. nign, jusi imporiea irom Australia. Jeff is a new one, I feet A BXCOBT9 rXATTJSS THE GOLDEN GATE QUINTETTE Imitations, dancing, singing, comedy. rxAirgr soourr - m compastt 14test New Yprk Bongs. thb obsat xnrsinDss Premier Kullibrlsts. . ,- rexn wrxsttH - Illustrated tkng. Ons of the best sets in Vaudeville. ansa atar-irrAira . W histling 8ouorette-- ' . jAOQTrez.nra And her 'i wa gvoteh Kiltie. The Blograph. New Motion Hctorea. Matinees every afternoon at 1:39 o'clock. - arirhts at 7:30 and t o'clnok t. No advance In prices Upstairs 15c. Downstairs 2 Sc. Boxes 80c. Any Mil weeasy roaunees v it in.& wnis. i arrscxAx raATrru . - The Musical Comedy Btar, CLARA THROPP .' Ths Daintiest Comedienne In VsudevUle. Ascott-Eddy Trio Novei vy ..Pantomime, Acrobatic Comedy and Toe Dancing. Alpha Trio Norslty ' Hoop ' Rollers snd Jugglera Fred G. Bauer Rendering the latest New Tori Success. F. F. f,!ontress3 Dean of I. A. T. t. E. Oprt''-, l!.xblbitln the Itt Impor!! ..... . ..... . Tins sad rriees lUmia t6 - ... NEXT Vi'KF.K tzh rxsxa tovs? .'.--.. s . . . I I I I. i . . ... .......
