LITTLE MASTERPIECES OF AUTOBIOGRAPHY: ACTORS

195 Pages·2008·0.51 MB·English

LITTLE
MASTERPIECES OF
AUTOBIOGRAPHY:
ACTORS
George Iles, editor
This public-domain (U.S.) text was scanned
and proofed by Ron Burkey. The Project
Gutenberg edition (“aauto10”) was subse-
quentlyconvertedtoLATEXusingGutenMark
software, and modified (principally to correct
formattingproblems). Thefrontispiece, which
was omitted from the Project Gutenberg edi-
tion, has also been restored. Report problems
[email protected]. RevisionB3differsfrom
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by “—”.
Revision: B3
Date: 01/30/2008
Contents
PREFACE 1
JOSEPH JEFFERSON 5
HOW I CAME TO PLAY
RIP VAN WINKLE . . . . . . . . . . 6
THE ART OF ACTING . . . . . . . . . . . 14
PREPARATION AND INSPIRATION . . 15
SHOULD AN ACTOR “FEEL” HIS PART 18
JOSEPH JEFFERSON IN MONTREAL:
PLAYWRIGHTS AND ACTORS . . . 22
THE JEFFERSON FACE . . . . . . . . . 23
EDWIN BOOTH 25
TO HIS DAUGHTER . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
TO HIS DAUGHTER . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
TO HIS DAUGHTER . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
TO HIS DAUGHTER . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
TO HIS DAUGHTER . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
TO HIS DAUGHTER . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
TO HIS DAUGHTER . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
TO MISS EMMA F. CARY . . . . . . . . . 36
TO MISS EMMA F. CARY . . . . . . . . . 37
TO MR. NAHUM CAPEN . . . . . . . . . 39
ADVICE TO A YOUNG ACTOR. . . . . . 41
CHARLOTTE CUSHMAN 43
AS A CHILD A MIMIC AND SINGER . . 44
i
ii
FIRST VISITS TO THE THEATRE. . . . 45
PLAYS LADY MACBETH,
HER FIRST PART . . . . . . . . . . 47
TO A YOUNG ACTRESS
[PART OF A LETTER] . . . . . . . . 49
TO A YOUNG MOTHER . . . . . . . . . . 51
EARLY GRIEFS.
ART HER ONLY SPOUSE . . . . . . 52
FAREWELL TO NEW YORK . . . . . . . 55
CLARA MORRIS 57
SOME RECOLLECTIONS OF
JOHN WILKES BOOTH . . . . . . . 57
THE MURDER OF
PRESIDENT LINCOLN . . . . . . . 64
SIR HENRY IRVING 83
THE STAGE AS AN INSTRUCTOR . . . 84
INSPIRATION IN ACTING . . . . . . . . 86
ACTING AS AN ART.
HOW IRVING BEGAN . . . . . . . . 87
FEELING AS A REALITY
OR A SEMBLANCE . . . . . . . . . 89
HENRY BRODRIBB IRVING 93
THE CALLING OF AN ACTOR . . . . . . 94
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE STAGE . . 96
TEMPTATIONS ON THE STAGE . . . . 98
ACTING IS A GREAT ART . . . . . . . . 100
RELATIONS TO “SOCIETY” . . . . . . . 102
THE FINAL SCHOOL IS
THE AUDIENCE . . . . . . . . . . . 103
FAILURE AND SUCCESS . . . . . . . . . 107
ELLEN TERRY 111
HAMLET—IRVING’S GREATEST PART 112
THE BIRMINGHAM NIGHT . . . . . . . 113
THE ENTRANCE SCENE IN “HAMLET” 114
iii
THE SCENE WITH THE PLAYERS . . . 117
IRVING ENGAGES ME ON TRUST . . . 118
IRVING’S EGOTISM . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
IRVING’S SIMPLICITY OF CHARACTER 122
RICHARD MANSFIELD 125
MAN AND THE ACTOR . . . . . . . . . . 126
NAPOLEON AS ACTOR . . . . . . . . . . 127
THE GIFT FOR ACTING IS RARE . . . . 129
THE CREATION OF A CHARACTER . . 132
COPY LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
SELF-CRITICISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
DISCIPLINE IMPERATIVE . . . . . . . . 137
DRAMATIC VICISSITUDES . . . . . . . 139
A NATIONAL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . 140
TRAINING THE ACTOR . . . . . . . . . 142
TOMMASO SALVINI 145
FIRST APPEARANCE . . . . . . . . . . . 146
A FATHER’S ADVICE . . . . . . . . . . . 149
HOW SALVINI STUDIED HIS ART . . . 150
FAULTS IN ACTING . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
THE DESIRE TO EXCEL
IN EVERYTHING . . . . . . . . . . . 154
A MODEL FOR OTHELLO . . . . . . . . 155
FIRST TRIP TO THE UNITED STATES 156
IN CUBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
APPEARANCE IN LONDON . . . . . . . 160
IMPRESSIONS OF IRVING’S “HAMLET” 161
THE DECLINE OF TRAGEDY . . . . . . 163
TRAGEDY IN TWO LANGUAGES . . . . 164
AMERICAN CRITICAL TASTE . . . . . . 169
IMPRESSIONS OF EDWIN BOOTH . . . 171
ADELAIDE RISTORI 175
FIRST APPEARANCES . . . . . . . . . . 176
SALVINI AND ROSSI . . . . . . . . . . . 180
iv
APPEARS AS LADY MACBETH . . . . . 181
AS MANAGER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
FIRST VISIT TO AMERICA . . . . . . . . 183
BEGINS TO PLAY IN ENGLISH . . . . . 184
THE ACTOR 187
v
vi
PREFACE
A good play gives us in miniature a cross-
section of life, heightened by plot and charac-
terisation, by witty and compact dialogue. Of
course we should honour first the playwright,
who has given form to each well-knit act and
telling scene. But that worthy man, perhaps
at this moment sipping his coffee at the Au-
thors’ Club, gave his drama its form only; its
substance is created by the men and women
who, with sympathy, intelligence and grace,
embody with convincing power the hero and
heroine, assassin and accomplice, lover and
jilt. For the success of many a play their writ-
ers would be quick to acknowledge a further
and initial debt, both in suggestion and crit-
icism, to the artists who know from experi-
ence on the boards that deeds should be done,
not talked about, that action is cardinal, with
no other words than naturally spring from ac-
tion. Players, too, not seldom remind authors
that every incident should not only be inter-
esting in itself, but take the play a stride for-
ward through the entanglement and unrav-
elling of its plot. It is altogether probable
that the heights to which Shakespeare rose
1
2 LITTLE MASTERPIECES
as a dramatist were due in a measure to his
knowledge of how a comedy, or a tragedy, ap-
pears behind as well as in front of the foot-
lights, all in an atmosphere quite other than
that surrounding a poet at his desk. This lit-
tle volume begins with part of the life story
of JosephJefferson, chief ofAmerican comedi-
ans. Then we are privileged to read a few per-
sonal letters from Edwin Booth, the acknowl-
edged king of the tragic stage. He is followed
by the queen in the same dramatic realm,
Charlotte Cushman. Next are two chapters
by the first emotional actress of her day in
America, Clara Morris. When she bows her
adieu, Sir Henry Irving comes upon the plat-
form instead of the stage, and in the course of
his thoughtful discourse makes it plain how
he won renown both as an actor and a man-
ager. He is followed by his son, Mr. Henry
Brodribb Irving, clearly an heir to his father’s
talents in art and in observation. Miss Ellen
Terry, long Sir Henry Irving’s leading lady,
now tells us how she came to join his com-
pany, and what she thinks of Sir Henry Irv-
ing in his principal rôles. The succeeding
word comes from Richard Mansfield, whose
untimely death is mourned by every lover of
the drama. The next pages are from the hand
of Tommaso Salvini, admittedly the greatest
OthelloandSamsonthatevertrodtheboards.
A few words, in closing, are from Adelaide
Ristori, whose Medea, Myrrha and Phaedra
are among the great traditions of the modern
stage. From first to last this little book sheds
light on the severe toil demanded for excel-