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THE CONGRESS OF WOMEN.
and scenic display. With a monologue effectively presented, there would necessarily be less of plot, fewer striking situations, and none of the complicated incidents that give excitement to a play; but there w'ould also be something that would attract even more strongly than any one character in a play—the ability to infuse in many characters “life” without artifice, and making the one impersonation a physiological study and mental accomplishment.
There is a serious difficulty in overcoming monotony in even the brightest written monologue. Therefore, it must not abound in long drawn-out declamatory speeches. Everything must tend to natural effect. Change of expression and attitude is necessary, and above all a natural tone of voice. I don’t believe that a person with a high-pitched voice could play successfully the brightest written monologue extant. The emotion and control of the voice, the vivacity and earnestness of the player, are the requisites of success.
I once attended an informal reception in New York, and as most “ informals ” are very formal and stiff-jointed, the hostess thought of a plan to introduce dancing. How to clear the drawing-room was the question. “ I have it,” she said. “There is
Miss-; I shall ask her to recite.” And while that naturally pretty girl twisted
her face in agonizing wrinkles, begging “the sexton not to ring the bell,” one by one the rooms w r ere cleared. At the conclusion she was left alone, save for a few patient listeners, and as I listened to the congratulations of the hostess, “ Thank you, my dear, you have such talent; why don’t you go on the stage?” my imagination carried me to the bedside of that fair unemotional girl, and in fancy I could hear her plan her future as a great actress, while the hostess slept soundly that night, content that her dance at least was a success.
Dramatic schools and colleges also have a great share in burdening the platform and stage with “ failures.” Their methods may be ever so perfect, their knowledge ever so complete; but they lack the moral courage to refuse the applicant who can offer the necessary fee for tuition, although absolutely deficient in natural ability, and thereby, many a useful mechanic is spoiled, and any number of clerks, housekeepers and people who would be successful in any business line are “ possessed forever,” until hope dies, and they often realize when too late that a mistake has been made. But no one would think of presenting a bill of damages against the schools that first fostered and held their youthful ambition.
Eloquence and dramatic instinct are gifts, and can not be artificially acquired. There is a tremendous amount of crude eloquence that is never properly developed, for, strange as it may seem, the naturally eloquent person rarely develops and polishes his or her talent in schools set apart for this purpose. This is a mistake; for the cultivation of a voice for speaking is as necessary as the cultivation of a voice for singing. - A serious trouble with American women (I do not speak of the men) is the lack of melody in her speaking voice, and if a woman or girl has the money to spare for the cultivation of a soft, low-toned voice, I would advise them by all means to do so. I have often thought that if all the mighty women who make public speeches in behalf of woman’s suffrage had soft and eloquent voices, we women should have voted long ago. Any method that teaches unnatural attitudes and meaningless expression, claiming it to be Delsarte or any other “ sarte,” is wrong. Every good, graceful thing we do is the method of the much abused Delsarte. For instance, if a woman calls upon you and tells you that the day is beautiful and the sun is bright, without the lighting of the eye; whose face bespeaks cloudy weather, she does not understand Delsarte, whose only teacher was sublime nature, inspired by the eloquence and grace of God’s footstool.
With the Dramatic Monologue Entertainment a success, playwrights and authors can so dramatize subjects, plots and stories, until small towns and cities can be supplied with the very best dramatic literature. Artists who present such dramatic monologues or monodramas, as my thought wishes to convey to you, can give millions of people glimpses of grand and glorious characters, practically unknown heretofore. What a