Зображення сторінки
PDF
ePub
[merged small][subsumed][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][graphic][merged small][merged small]

INTRODUCTION.

Ir a person (male or female) wishes to go upon the stage, they ought to proceed about it in a business-like way. There is nothing now to prevent this, and the first thing I should advise is a proper course of study. The notion that some have of rushing from a counting-house, or from behind a counter, directly to the boards of a theatre, is highly ridiculous. They serve a seven years' apprenticeship to a grocer or hosier, but they imagine they can. jump at once on to the boards of a theatre, and have nothing else to do than suppose they are finished actors. Now this is a very great mistake, and if people would take the trouble to go through a little preparation before undergoing such an ordeal, it would be all the better for them. Dancing, fencing, boxing, singing, elocution, music, and a taste for elegant dressing, are a few of the necessary accomplishments that an actor or actress ought to have. They cost both time and money, but the more preliminary work of this nature the youthful aspirant is made to undergo, the better for him-the easier for his future success.

In accordance with the line of business which the devotee aspires to, ought to be the studies. There is no occasion for the person who aspires to the Hamlets and Othellos of the drama, wasting his time in studying Bobby Trot or Benjamin Bowbell. I would also strongly recommend all who intend following the Thespian art to "begin at the beginning." Don't come out in Richard or Macbeth -no, no, begin small. Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, or the Second Actor are quite big enough parts for a novice. The chance of failure is small.

« НазадПродовжити »