Scanned and proofed by Ron Burkey (rburkey@heads-up.com).
I have retained all of the original spelling and punctuation from theprinted edition. Italicized text is delimited with underlines.Footnotes are collected at the end, and are indicated by brackets,thusly: [3].
Library of
Little Masterpieces
In Forty-four Volumes
Edited by
GEORGE ILES
A good play gives us in miniature a cross-section of life, heightenedby plot and characterisation, by witty and compact dialogue. Ofcourse we should honour first the playwright, who has given form toeach well knit act and telling scene. But that worthy man, perhaps atthis moment sipping his coffee at the Authors' Club, gave his dramaits form only; its substance is created by the men and women who, withsympathy, intelligence and grace, embody with convincing power thehero and heroine, assassin and accomplice, lover and jilt. For thesuccess of many a play their writers would be quick to acknowledge afurther and initial debt, both in suggestion and criticism, to theartists who know from experience on the boards that deeds should hedone, not talked about, that action is cardinal, with no other wordsthan naturally spring from action. Players, too, not seldom remindauthors that every incident should not only be interesting in itself,but take the play a stride forward through the entanglement andunravelling of its plot. It is altogether probable that the heightsto which Shakespeare rose as a dramatist were due in a measure to hisknowledge of how a comedy, or a tragedy, appears behind as well as infront of the footlights, all in an atmosphere quite other than thatsurrounding a poet at his desk.
This little volume begins with part of the life story of JosephJefferson, chief of American comedians. Then we are privileged toread a few personal letters from Edwin Booth, the acknowledged king ofthe tragic stage. He is followed by the queen in the same dramaticrealm, Charlotte Cushman. Next are two chapters by the firstemotional actress of her day in America, Clara Morris. When she bowsher adieu, Sir Henry Irving comes upon the platform instead of thestage, and in the course of his thoughtful discourse makes it plainhow he won renown both as an actor and a manager. He is followed byhis son, Mr. Henry Brodribb Irving, clearly an heir to his father'stalents in art and in observation. Miss Ellen Terry, long Sir HenryIrving's leading lady, now tells us how she came to join his company,and what she thinks of Sir Henry Irving in his principal roles. Thesucceeding word comes from Richard Mansfield, whose untimely death ismourned by every lover of the drama. The next pages are from the handof Tommaso Salvini, admittedly the greatest Othello and Samson thatever trod the boards. A few words, in closing, are from AdelaideRistori, whose Medea, Myrrha and Phaedra are among the greattraditions of the modern stage. From first to last this little booksheds light on the severe toil demanded for excellence on the stage,and reveals that for the highest success of a drama, author and artistmust work hand in hand.
Contents
JOSEPH JEFFERSON
How I came to play "Rip Van Winkle."
The art of acting.
Preparation and inspiration.
Should an actor "feel" his part?
Learning to act.
Playwrights and actors.
The Jefferson face.
EDWIN BOOTH
To his daughter when a little girl.
To his daughter on her studies and on ease of manner.