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 . . ... .......