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Little Masterpieces of Autobiography; Actors

by George Iles

4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 · rating details · 4 ratings · 1 review

Excerpt: ...affected either one way or the other by these circumstances, at the same time our calling must benefit in the general level of its excellence, in its fitness to represent all grades of society on the stage, if those who follow it are picked from all classes, if the stage has ceased to be regarded as a calling unfit for a man or woman of breeding or education, T Excerpt: ...affected either one way or the other by these circumstances, at the same time our calling must benefit in the general level of its excellence, in its fitness to represent all grades of society on the stage, if those who follow it are picked from all classes, if the stage has ceased to be regarded as a calling unfit for a man or woman of breeding or education, The second question this lady asks me is this: "Does she need to have her voice trained, and about what age do people generally commence to go on the stage?" The first part of this question as to voice training touches on the value of an Academy of Acting. Of the value-the practical value-of such an institution rightly conducted there can be no doubt. That acting cannot be taught is a well-worn maxim and perhaps a true one; but acting can be disciplined; the ebullient, sometimes eccentric and disordered manifestations of budding talent may be modified by the art of the teacher; those rudiments, which many so often acquire painfully in the course of rehearsal, the pupils who leave an academy should be masters of and so save much time and trouble to those whose business it is to produce plays. The want of any means of training the beginner, of coping at all with the floods of men and women, fit and unfit, who are ever clamouring at the doors of the theatre, has been a long-crying and much-felt grievance. The establishment of this academy should go far to remove what has been by no means an unjust reproach to our theatrical system. As to the age at which a person should begin a theatrical career, I do not think there is any actor or actress who would not say that it is impossible to begin too early-at least, as early as a police magistrate will allow. That art is long and life short applies quite as truthfully to the actor's as to any other art, and as the years go on there must be many who regret that they did not sooner decide to follow a calling which seems to carry one all too quickly... ...more

Paperback , 42 pages

Published August 9th 2012 by Rarebooksclub.com (first published June 1st 2007)

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Jun 09, 2012 Surreysmum rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012 , actors , biography , e-version , theatre-history

Oh what fun! This is nothing more than a compilation of extracts from late nineteenth and early twentieth-century actor biographies/autobiographies (American and English), but they're linked together with some intelligence and attention to repetition of themes. I now have a much better sense of, in particular, Edwin Booth and Henry Irving as people and as actors. And I'm very pleased with Mr. Iles for having introduced substantial excerpts from actresses, notably Clara Morris, who appears to hav ...more

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