A. M. Palmer Tells How a Stage Army is Drilled
O MAKE nn actor or
mi actress of n
man or woman In
one rehearsal la no
snmll task, tint A. M.
Palmer, the grand old man
of tho theatrical managerial
world, attempts It almost
every night and accom
plishes a remarkable degree
of success when one talus
Into consideration tbo ma
terial with which he has to
work. Since, the llrst of
Ootoher last Mr, Palmer
has preceded Richard Mans
Held a few days In his tour
over the country In order
that he might personally In
struct the numerous super
numerarles who make up
the array In "Henry V" ntid
the crowd of Londoners who
welcome home the victor of
Aglncoiirt. There are some
who may not he able to tin
derstand why a man of Mr
Palmer's ability and stand
lug should bo going around
the country drilling "stipes"
each night. This Is one of
the little peculiarities of
Mr. Palmer's makeup that
hu. had no much to do with
his success In big thentrlcal
undertakings In former
years. Mr. Palmer is the
partner and manager of Mr
Mansfield In the latter's
theatrical entirprlses. To
hltu It Is ns Important that
all of tho productions the
great actor makes are a
success as It Is to Manslleld
himself. In "Henry V" the.
"supers" play a very im
portant part and a great
deal of tho success of the
performance depends upon
their being familiar with
their cues and, when thu
cues do como In, knowing
exactly what to do and how to do what the play was; In fact ono might say
it. So Important Is this, In fact, ,o gave them a lesson in history. So
that Mr. Palmer will entrust thu work graphic was his description of the doings
of drilling them to no one but 0f this great king of England that It would
himself, and, despite tho fact that, ho Is mvo been a blockhead Indeed who did not
within easy reach of the proverbial three al onco become Intensely interested In the
score anil ten years, ho foregoes the subject. Then he told the different groups
pleasures of sitting In his office . In Now Just wlliU wlch W11S4 to represent ml what
ork City and directing his enterprises by tholr part wmlll, , thu demonstration,
wire, letter and through assistants for Thcn ho t0 K,VI) them a ics8on
he sake of knowing that not even a slnglu , lnURhler. ,,Mrst they were asked to show
po.for.nni.eo of tho play will be marred , , ,d , , w ,10lU .
,1," "... r'!"0, nSilS,"l,,,, Instruction. What followed sounded almost
and that the public will get Just what It , ,,, ,
has paid for-n perforninnc; as near pe fee !uoh '" ,ft choru" " KronnBf"t
as It Is possible to give one. So successful "h ur' ,u fo;v wo,rd,3, tho " ,,
have been Mr. Palmer's efforts along this JHt l,mv ,0 laUKh 1,11,1 V'0 "T,' 1,
lino that In tho more than 200 perform- noxl, "V"""" WH nmrvclouH. One could
ances Mr. Mr.nsfleld has given of this great 1,ari,1' hmKlne that tho two attempts had
Shakespearean play not ono hns suffered I'ii made by the same people Ihey were
through the failure or a super to do his 111 "lrn ,a"hl to l'Uwr- '""rt'li. carry on
duty. imaginary conversations and form thu
llmv Sir. I'nliucr WurUx. different stngo pictures which they wore to
To 'understand am! appreciate Mr. heP raa0 effective on the next night.
Palmer's methods of so thoroughly drilling DurlnB the PnKress of the scene which Is
so many pec pie In a single rehearsal one "Wor to occur In the street near the
MH, PALMER AT H IS U'OKK Photo for Thu Heo
by Uostwlck.
tho sccno was rehearsed not once did he
forget, nor did his memory fall him on
tho evening of the performance.
Hut Mr. Palmer can be stern and harsh
when occasion demands It, and Is so fre
quently with the older supers, yet ho never
loses his temper In administering a re
buke. At one point during the rehearsal
ho was giving instructions to a group when
one of Its members laughed. evldentU at
some bright remark made by his neighbor
Ho was promptly ordered off the stage and
out of the theater. One example was
sulllclent ami for the balance of the re
hearsal the strictest attention was given 'o
Mr Palmer's every word and gesture by
tho people working under him
After the rehearsal was ended, at mid
night, Mr Palmer chatted pleasantly about
the work, and during the course of his
remarks had the following to say rcln'Ue
to the drilling of supers
Vnt So Ho ril on It Sei-iiiN.
"It Is not the undertaking or task that
ono not Initiated Into the mysteries of tin
art of stage direction might think to pre
pare a largo number of InexperP need people
for appearance on the stage as super-.
All it requires Is familiarity with human
nature, a little tnct, some patience nnd the
ability to command the attention of every
ono with whom you are working. There
aro three classes of people who apply for
positions ns sutlers: Those who want to
see Mr. Mansfield and the performance and
who cannot afford to pay th- price of ad
mission; those who are attracted solely by
the monetary eonsldernt lou which we offer
nnd those who are what we call stage
struck. It Is the latter class, strange to
say, that Is the least desirable. They often
have notions of their own as to how to act
which are In almost every case wrong, and
It Is harder to teach them than either of
the other two classes. Kor my part I be
lieve I would prefer to have n company of
mipors made up-entirely of those who are
nmbltloiis to see the performance. They. n
n rule, Inke the most Interest in the work
and what you tell them.
"In selecting my supers I pick out those
who hnvo tho most intelligent looking
faces nnd those who nro neat and clean In
nppenrance. It mntters not whether they
be stylishly dressed, so long as they are
neat. In fact, If yotl wntehed me choosing
my people tonight you will remember that
somo of the most stylish nnd best dressed
ones were dlsenrded. I Jildne a person a
great deal by the attention they pay to
what I am doing when I llrst have them
lined up for Inspection, so to speak. If I
find nny gazing nround the stage or nt
what his neighbor Is doing I do not number
him or her mining the lot I choose. The
prlnclpnl trouble I have with the class that
wants to supe In order to see the perform
ance Is that they frequently become so
much Interested In Mr. Manslleld and the
play that they are Inclined to forget tholr
rues, but I nlwnys try to sufllelently Im
press them with the Importance of their
position nnd what the effect would bo If
they were to forget, so that they seldom go
wrong.
Dllllfolt I'll I nun to I. earn.
"What do I Ilnd the hardest thing to
tench n beginner'' Well, that Is protty
hard to tell. I think perhaps it Is hnrdcft
A Mi IIROT11ERS TO T1IU KINO -Photo for The lice by Uostwlck
Is tried, but Hits Is not often, for the
American people are Intelligent, generally
speaking, and are perhaps tho easiest of
any in the world to Instruct lit anything,
whether it lie Industry, art or science."
A Bachelor's Reflections
New York Press. If they hadn't any
neighbors o talk about probably all the
frogs would learn to sing like canary
birds.
A woman gets a lot moid out of life than
a man because she has a lap.
The llrst two years she Is married a
woman acts sorry for old bachelors; after
that kIio spends the time feeling mail.
imagining that they are aeiliig sorr foi
her.
WhonoNor I eat loo much of some thing
I always dieam that I have gut myself
engaged.
No wonder China is behind the rest of the
world, a Chinaman Is brought tip to wnrnliip
his mother-in-law.
There never was a hoiisecleanlng when a
man didn't lose something that he had to
go right off and buy another of.
It Is only a step from curl-papers at Hie
breakfast table to a combing sack at
luncheon and old shoes In the evening.
Every woman starts out In married lift
with nn Idea that her "Instinct" will al
ways tell her when her husband Is lying.
eJIRT IN THE HOUSE BUILDS THE HIGH
WAY TO BEGGARY." BE WISE IN TIME AND USE
SAPOLIO
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CHEEKING KINO HARUY'S RETURN Photo for The lieu by Uostwlck
must sou li I in do it On the night preceding
Mr. Mansfield's appearance hero tho stage
of thu theater was brilliantly lighted, while
tho auditorium of tho housu was dark. Mr.
Palmer arrived from his hotel shortly after
8 o'clock to find nwaltlng him nearly 200
men and women who had been attracted
by advertisements previously Inserted In
tho dally papers calling for their assist
ance. Hesldes these there were numerous
newspaper reporters, dramatic critics nnd
artists, who nt once besieged him. To tho
latter Mr. Palmer politely said: "Gentle
men, I have a task before mo that will
occupy almost my cntlro ovonlng, but If
you caro to remain whllo I nttend to It I
shnll bo glad to talk to you nftorwnrd."
Then, turning to tho crowd of prospective
supporters of Mansfield who hnd by this
tlmo been lined up by Mr. Palmer's as
slstnnt, lis commenced to pick from among
tho women thoso ho wished to retain.
Then his nttontlon wns turned to the mon
nnd boys. Not a fow woro left unchoson
nnd after theso woro politely told tholr
services wero not required and asked to
leave tho stngo Mr. Palmer drow a chair to
tho front of tho stngo, and, calling tho
peoplo nround, commenced to explain Juit
entrance to London bridge on the morning
of tho day King Henry ruturns from Franco
nn Incident occurred which showed tho
romnrkable patience Mr. Palmer possesses,
ns well ns consideration for tho feelings
of others.
I'illililc of II In I'll t ii'lHT.
Ono of the little boys who hnd been In
structed In a general way Just nt what
plaro upon the stage to bo nt a certain time
failed repeatedly to remember his place
Stopping tho rohenranl, Mr. Palmer called
to him sharply. Tho little fellow seemod
frightened and, suddenly remembering his
place, started for It, but Mr. Palmer or
dered tho lad to como beforo him. Ho did bo
reluctantly and seomed much ombarrnssed
at tho prospect of being called down. Mr.
Pnlmer'B plensnnt fnro boro n rather stern
look, but ns ho plncod his hnnd on tho
boy's shoulder his countonnnco softened nnd
In the most plensnnt tone posBlblo ho ex
plained to tho Httlo follow how lmportnnt
It was that ho should He exactly In such
and such a plnco nt this tlmo and why. Ho
pointed out to him how n falluro of his
memory might spoil tho whole scene. Tho
boy returned to his plnce with a stnllo on
his faro nnd during the numerous times
for them to act and look natural on the
stage. They are constantly conscious that
they nfe acting and nine out of ton are
anything but natural In their actions and
manners, Hut that is a fault that few
actors, even old ones, can overcome
Naturalness Is one of the chief essentials
which must be possessed by one who ox
fleets to become a great actor. To be con
scions of one's every move means failure
It used to bo In the earlier days of the
stage that ono must be theatric, must rant,
strut nnd storm In a dramatic manner to
bo successful, but conditions now aro vastly
different, and an actor who Is not natural
on tho stngo Is nothing.
"To laugh properly Is nnothor thing that
Is not easy to tench a beginner. Almost
nny ono can laugh well when thoro Is any
thing to laugh at, but to force a hearty
laugh Is nnother thing nnd decidedly diffi
cult. To fiHsutno n surprised expression la
nlso hnrd, whllo to cheer nnd shout la per
Imps tho easiest thing of nil.
"My class tonight was nn unusually in
telligent ono nnd I had, ns you saw, Httlo
difficulty in teaching them to do what I
wanted them to. I sometimes havo
stupid lot and then Is when my patlonce
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