The American Stage Of To Day Biographies And Photographs Of One Hundred Leading Actors And Actresses

Author : William Winter
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781332099030
Total Pages : 180 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (99 download)

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Download or read book The American Stage of To-Day written by William Winter and published by . This book was released on 2015-08-04 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The American Stage of to-Day: Biographies and Photographs of One Hundred Leading Actors and Actresses It is a self-evident proposition that, primarily and naturally, the general public is less interested in the Theatre of the Past and in the Theatre of the Future than it is in the Theatre of the Present. Laudator temporis acti is considered a bore and is designated "a back number." The prophet is viewed as a dreamer and is dismissed as a fool. "The present eye," says Shakespeare, "praises the present object." Yet, probably, it would not be denied, even by the most ardent enthusiast of the Present, that the possession of ample, exact, and particular knowledge of the Theatre of Yesterday is essential to persons whose vocation is the management of the Theatre of To-day. Theatrical history, therefore, it can be reasoned, possesses a practical value, and, because of its practical value, ought to be fully and accurately written. Students of the Theatre of the distant Past are, meanwhile, aware that the chronicles of it, while large in quantity, and various in form, are diffuse in method, often contradictory, widely scattered, silent as to some important matters, and vexatiously indefinite as to others; and, furthermore, that those chronicles are, for the most part, secluded from the reach of all persons except antiquarians, in files of old periodicals, or on the dim and dusty shelves of more or less inaccessible libraries. Such students also know that those chronicles, when discovered and explored, are often found to be unsatisfactory, because of their lack of minute, specific information, and also because of their ill-digested opinion. Various adjectives could be found, relative to Burbage, Betterton, Elizabeth Barry, Barton Booth, Anne Oldfield, Garrick, Peg Woffington, Kemble, and Mrs. Siddons; but, after long and careful investigation, the most discriminative of analytical thinkers would find it impossible to ascertain in exactly what manner Betterton acted Hamlet or Garrick acted King Lear, or by what means Anne Oldfield fascinated with Lady Townly, or Mrs. Siddons broke the public heart with Mrs. Beverley or Jane Shore. It is not until the student endeavors to find a complete, verbal picture, a clear, detailed statement, or a definite, positive conclusion, in those old theatrical chronicles (such as Downes, Langbaine, Chetwood, Victor, Genest, and even Dunlap), that he begins to realize how bewildering and frustrating they often are and what a blessing it would be if theatrical history had always been written with continuity of luminous narrative, amplitude of precise detail, and exactitude of specification. In the present period of comprehensive journalism much more scrupulous attention is given to the proceedings of actors than was ever given before (though it should be noted that there are useful biographies of a few actors conspicuous in the nineteenth century), and the printed record of those proceedings is not less particular than voluminous. It becomes possible, accordingly, for the historian of the contemporary drama, if he chooses to compel himself to minute observation and exact statement, to portray the precise personality of cotaneous actors, define their several styles, and depict the rationale of the performances by which they have obtained renown. It is essential to consider that the Theatre is not a building or an aggregate of buildings in which theatrical performances are given, but a social institution, like Literature, or any other form of Art. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com