“GETTING THERE”

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 992, 7 June 1930, Page 26

“GETTING THERE”

Sybil Thorndike Tells Her Philosophy of Life RUSHING LIFE AND CULTURE Sybil Thorndike, England’s fore most dramatic actress, sets forth he philosophy of life. It might serve to help the stage-struck. I The trend today, she says, is t< rush life, training, and culture. Thi: generation is too hurried, and no thorough enough in its application o endeavour. There are no short cuts to succes: for artists, or very rarely. Some times, rapid recognition appears t< come easily to an actor or actress, bu even so, their fame is often only in stantaneous from the viewpoint o uninitiated onlookers, who are un aware of the long waiting, prepara lion, and experience, necessary to en compass certain ends. As for those actually meteoric rises to fame

which are unsupported by training or experience, they are a study in disillusion, and saddening to w-atch. Flash-in-the pan successes are too frequent. An artist will create a furore once, and hopes to repeat

nopes to repeat zj the success a e ... second time. She S y bll Thorndike bases her hopes, firstly on one triumph—unmindful of transitory fame’s fiickleness and the world’s notoriously bad memory—and secondly, on a prefunctory training which includes a smattering of experience obtained in that rushed and compressed form which is all too popular today. A fiash-in-the-pan triumph is just that because it was not backed by experience. The stage is not a playground, a jumping-board, or a golden opportunity. It is a hard taskmaster, an art that has to be loved and served. Tile artists must give it serious reflection and study to attain that degree of perfection he desires. Always Learning I have been in the theatrical profession for many long years. I served my apprenticeship in Shakespearean drama and repertory, but only during the last ten years of my career have I succeeded from a financial viewpoint. This, despite the fact that I have always loved my work and given it of my best. To achieve one’s own conception ot success on the legitimate stage, one has to have imagination, and above all one must not shirk hard work or long experience. Nothing is too unimportant to learn. What is killing much potential brilliancy is this age’s mania for rapid “cramming.” This learning in tabloid form is the bane of modernity. People are in too great a hurry. Half the beauty of art drama, literature, is missed if we are not allowed time to appreciate its intrinsic worth. As for the future of Shakespeare, a question which interests quite a good few people, in spite of predictions of his decline in favour. I think his works will remain where they have always been. Shakespeare was never more and never less popular than he is now. I do not suppose he will ever gain more enthusiasts, for Shakespearean drama has always attracted only a certain section of the public, though for the actor and actress it is undeniably the most extensive and satisfying field for training. Some people go to the theatre because they appreciate the beauty of words, fine language, grand action. Such people will always favour Shakespeare’s plays. Salt of Existence For my part, I believe in versatility. To be interested in everything is salt of existence. It. keeps one alive. I like our flippant modern comedy; I also appreciate revue, and I think there is endless scope for dramatic interpretation in the cinema. The screen is an art, the possibilities of which are not yet fully developed. But it stands distinct and apart from the spoken drama. The talking films are making us realise that only too well, i think that because they attempt to imitate the legitimate stage they are bound to be a failure.

The art of the cinema requires silence; that silence fraught with such poignancy that it speaks more movingly than the most perfected of synthethic voice projections. In my opinion, if the talking films continue to be as bad and inadequate as they are, their very poorness of quality will drive the public back to the legitimate theatre, glad to hear good enunciation (broadcasting has taught people a great deal about voice production, by the way), coupled with flesh and blood personalities. The public will go back to wanting real people before them rather than black and white shadows accompanied by those reproduced voices that boom from everywhere and nowhere without relief.