mm California -egional [acility UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY. LOS ANGELES £3 **o-\mmy Aavaain^ dv^ ^/mainih^ \WEUNI 30 ^WtUNIVER ^lOSANCELfj^ so UIBRARYQr AKW. rn ■•— - L O 3> ^ ^UIBRARYr HIBRARYQ^ ' C-5 4 • ft i "V/O.IU \ 3> REFLECTIONS UPON THEATRICAL EXPRESSION I N T RA G E DT. With a proper INTRODUCTION, AND APPENDIX. Da fapere G? fart. Tacere qui nefcit, nefcit loqui. LONDON: Printed for W. Johnston, at the Golden- Ball, in St. Paul*s Church-yard. Mdcclv, ;g£ & jj£ jgp a£ -^ j& *■ 3p£ .*. 5P >*- j»v 3£ j*. ?&) *- jj. j*» THE INTRODUCTION. HE Public of all Countries where Theatres are eftablifhed agree in the Opinion, that the Profejfion of an ABor is low and conte?nptible ; and the Laws of fome States regard it in a Light ftill more fe- vere. It muft, indeed, be owned, that the private Character of many who have trod the Stage has been intolerable : The Public have refented it ; and, rinding the Cafe too common, threw, at laft, their Load of Refentment upon the Profejjion itfelf. Inftances, however, are producible, that Female, as well as Male Virtue, Difcre- tion, Probity and Honour have really ex- ifted in Theatres ; but, the Number be- ing, comparatively, fmall, the VrojeJJion B ftill 835308 [»] flill lies under Public Scandal. This, I think, is going too far: I believe, that this unfavourable Opinion of the Profejjion, not the evil Tendency of the ProfcJJion it- felf, ha:, from their firil Eftablifhment, filled the Tiieatres with fo many had Men ; I am fure it has with bad Aclors. Is it to be thought, that People of Edu- cation and Honour will croud into a Pro- feffion which the World has fligmatized, if they had any Profpect in more re- putable Life ? No , furely : Necef- lity, the feverefr. Neceflity mull: compel them to fubmit to it. The Number of fuch mufl therefore be very fmall ; and yet, out of the/e, I judge, our beji Actors are to be expected. Men of a Stamp dif- ferent from the above, by the Liberties and Profits of a Theatrical Life, are bronzed againfl the Opinion of the World j and, thus, the Stage becomes the favou- rite Afylum of Numbers, whofe private Characters will bear no Inquiry. But the Point, I prefume, may be car- ried further. Is it not, in Confequence, owing to this public Prejudice againfl the ProfeJ/ion, [3 J Profejion, that the Theatres, of all Coun- tries, have as few good Aclors as they have good Men ? I fay in Confequence, becaufe I am fingular enough to think that there is a ftrong Connection between Moral and Theatrical Excellence. It would, I confefs, be going too far, were it faid, that a virtuous character can- not be tolerably reprefented by an Actor of no Virtue : But, if, as, I fuppofe, every one allows, the Delicacy of Theatrical ' Ex- frejjion can never be expected from an Ac- tor that does not feel his Part, it may not be unreafonable to imagine, that a Man of Education and Morals bids fairer for Theatrical Excellence^ than one, defective in both or either of thefe. For Inftance : Let Jaffier be the Character to be reprefented. One of Jaffier's principal Charafteriftics is con- jugal Tendemefs, and the moil exquiiite Senfibility of the Diftrefs his beloved Wife muit fuffer, under the Ruin of his Fortune. Let us fuppofe him, after hav- ing heard from Pierre, the Havock that had been made at the Seizure of his B 2 ErTeds, [ 4 ] Effects, liftening to this bitter Aggra- vation : " The very Bed, which on thy wedding Night " Receiv'd thee to the Arms of Belvedera ; " The Scene of all thy Joys was violated " By the coarfe Hands of filthy Dungeon Villains. " And thrown amongft the Common Lumber. — Venice Preferv'd. How would a Man, infenfible to the Delicacy of an Union of the Sexes, found- ed upon mutual Merit ; unmoved at the Diftreffes of thofe about him, and care- lefs of every Thing but his own Plea- fures ; how would fuch a Man fill up his Paufe of Silence? Why, probably, by fumbling in his Pockets, a fhrug or two of the Shoulders, or ftareing round the Houfe, 'till the Catch- Word inform him 'tis his Turn to open his Mouth : Or, fup- pofe him fo much Mailer of Fiction, as to give feme ExpreJJion of what he ought to feel; can it beyi? animated, fo like to what zfenfible Heart difcovers itfelf by on fuch an Occaiion, as when the perforating Jaffier is a Man of fuch a Turn of Mind, as to want nothing, but an Iden- tity [5 3 tity of Circumjlances, to make him Jaf- fier himfelf? His Feet, his Hands, his Eyes, his Face, his every Attitude, would, all, be full of Exprejjion, and give Elo- quence to Silence. How, then, would fuch a Jaffier breathe out the TendernefTes of a Paffion to which his natural Generofity makes him no Stranger ! How would this fond Addrefs to the imaginary Belvidera come forth, with a Management that gives a natural Reality to Poetical FicJion ! " Canft thou bear Cold and Hunger ? Can thefe " Fram'd for the tender Offices of Love [Limbs, " Endure the bitter Gripes of fmarting Poverty I " When banifh'd by our Miferies abroad, " (As fuddenly we lhall be) to feek our Refuge ** In fome fair Climate, where our Names are " Strangers, " For charitable Succour ; wil't thou then, " When in a Bed of Straw we fhrink together, " And the bleak Winds fhall whittle round our " Heads j " Wil't thou then talk thus to me ? Wilt thou then " Hufh my Cares thus, and fhelter me with Love? Ibid. I do not think it in the Power of a Churl, a Libertine, a Man of Vague and trifling C( cc f 6 ] trifling Ideas, to give thefe Lines their due ExpreJJion, be his Art at Imitation ever fo great: Play the Part he may, but not Ac! it. But, tc admitting this to be true, (will " fome fay) how will it raife the Projef- tl Jion in general from public Obloquy ? tc The Laws of the Drama make it ne- " cerTary to introduce vicious, as well as " virtuous Characters : If, then, to per- form his Part the A&or muft feel it, the Stage mufl have its Villains, and Vice mufl be infeparable from the Pro- " f e Jji° n ' y I hope, I think otherwife. Perhaps, it may be found, that a Man of Probity may perfoliate, and with de- ferved Applaufe, a Character which, in real Life, his Soul detefts. 'Tis much eafier for a Man of Senfe to play the Fool, upon Occafion, than for a Fool, at any Time, to go through with the Character of a Man of Senfe. A Woman of Gaiety, founded upon Innocence, will come much nearer, in Appearance, to the criminal Part of her Sex, than they can to the Semblance of her natural Modefly. An [7] An Actor of Parts, whofe private Cha- racter itands well with the Public, has none of that Abaflment which neceilari- ly accompanies confcious Vice j and will, of Courfe, be prompted to throw out his Art, as an Actor, when he is affured that his Audience believes his Villany to be merely perjonated. Nay ! the Audience themfelves, knowing their Man, will give Applaufe to the Attor^ though they deteft the Villain he reprefents. . On the Reverfe, the bad Man, known to be fuch, be his acting Capacities ever fo great, cannot avoid the interrupting Thought, that his Audience confider him merely as an ABor, and hold a moft ab- folute Contempt for him in all other Lights. Befides j his Freedom in imita- ting a virtuous Part will be much leffen- ed, by his confidering that his Applaufe muft be, in a Manner, extorted, and that his Audience will be the more critical up- on his Action, as they are fenfible he is in a Character much juperior to his real one. If [ 8] If this be Fact, all Characters in the Drama may be kept up, and the Profef- fion of the Actor in a perJo?iated Knave be preferved from Contempt, by the eftablifh- ed private good Character of the Man. May we now, then, venture to repeat, that, if the public Obloquy thrown upon the ProfeJJion of an Actor, has a tendency to deprive the Stage of Men who have the moll: folid Accomplimments, and, at the fame Time, is not of Force enough to keep off People of another Call: j can we ever expect to fee in full Delicacy and Per- Jefiion, the moft rational 'Entertainment that can be offered to the Human Mind f I'm a Man of no Connection with any Theatre, but a frequent Attender upon our own ; which I could wifh to fee raifed above all Degree of Cenfiire This inclines me to offer a few Reflections upon Thea- trical Expression in Tragedy : Not that I think myfelf qualified to direct public Tafte ; my Attempt will be, mere- ly, to mew, that a Mailer of Theatrical ExpreJJion> in all its extenfive Significancy, mult be polfefs'd of fuch Accomplim- ments, [9l ments, as to fet the Projejfion above all Contempt. An Attempt, I confefs, utterly neealefs, were all who frequent the Theatres ap- prifed, how much complicated Merit is neceffary to make a Garrick. It will, here, be proper to obferve, that the End propofed in a regular Tragedy, is to injinuate moral Inftruclion and Im- provement to our Minds and Hearts, by a well directed Application to our Passions ; efpecially thofe of Refentment, Pity, and Terror. In this, chiefly, does it differ from Comedy ; with which we have, now, nothing to do. The Poet fixes upon a proper Subject ; lays his Plan , or, as he commonly calls it, his Plot j upon which, his Succefs, as a Dramatic Poet, greatly depends. He moves our Attention , excites our Curioji- ty y throws in Obftacles to keep us in Sujpence , at the fame Time, having Co judicioufly brought us to be interefted in the Characters he produces, our Refent- ment rifes at the Villain j our Pity weeps C for [ io] for the Diftrefs'd j and our Terror, ag- gravated by the Uncertainty of what will become of our afflicted Favourites, excites an agreeable Anxiety, which a fenfible Mind cannot fail to profit by. At laft, the Cataftrophe difmifies our Attention, with a full Perfuafion, that unaffected Goodness is the greatest Accom- plishment of Man. Under fuch Rules, let us fuppofe the Tragedy compleat in Unities, Manners, Sentiments, and Diftion. What does it then want to produce its intended Effect ? Action : The Poet can affect us no far- ther than the Ear j the Affior mull give it Life to affect the Eye : Then it is, we feel the combined Effects of the Poet's Judgment to addrefs the Pajfions, and the AElors to excite them. Can this be done by Men contemptible ? Can thofe whom Brothels and Gaming- Tables have fpew'd forth, do Juftice to a Shakefpeare, an Otway, an Addifon, or, not to be particular, (for we mean no Af- front) to any accurate Writer of Tragedy for [ » ] for any Stage ? No, furely. No Man can be Mafter of Theatrical Exprejjion, unlefs he can perceive, and that accurately, how Nature draws over the fever al human Paf- Jions. This requires Genius, Education, Read i jig, Experience ; and, in Tragedy, a Solidity of Thought, which never accom- panies abjctt Morals, I perceive that I have mentioned Ex- perience as a neceffary Fitnefs for Theatri- cal Exprejjion in Tragedy : I do not re- call it. Our perfonal and ordinary Connections with the World, cannot fail to bring the capital Pailions of the human Mind fre- quently before us. Now, no Man, who cannot animadvert upon fuch Occurrences, fo as to fee what is ajf'ecled, and what is real, can (with due Submiihon) ever make a jujl Actor. But, if he takes his Diftinction right, and, from feeing ge- nuine Nature, be the Pajjion what it will, feel %. Counter-part in himfelfj that Man has the Jirjl Accomplishment towards Theatrical Exprejjion. C 2 It [ >2 3 It was Demojlhenes, I think, whom a Client applied to, to appear for him in Court, in an Action for Damages. The Fellow told his piteous Relation with fo much Apathy, that the Orator conceived he mould get no Credit by the Caufe. Matter, as he was, of the human Paf- Jions, he coolly told his Client, " That " the Abufes he complained of were but « trivial : " " How, Sir," faid the Cli- ent, " trivial ? Sir, is it trivial to be " treated fo and fo ? Is it trivial to " have ? Give me Patience! Sir! Sir ! "All this trivial? trivial, Sir!" That great Man had, now, all he wanted to induce him to efpoufe his Client's Caufe. He faw that the Complaint was juji, becaufe his Client's Refentment was real. A Man that cannot trace the human Pajfions like a Demoflhenes, will never get a Reputation from the Stage. He that can do fo, and, upon Call, exprefs them as he finds Nature does, ought not to be thought meanly of for being upon it. But [ '3 ] But this is not all : We are further to confider, that no Man can be Majier of Theatrical Expression, unlefs he can critically diftinguijh and prejerve the fpe- cific Difference of Characters. In all well-written Plays, the Charac- ter of each Perfon in the Drama isjlrong- ly marked with fome Peculiarity, which renders it Jpecific and perfonaL This the Poet is under Laws to keep up to, thro' every Circumftance into which he thinks fit to fhew the Perfon fo char act erifed. Thefe Character ijiics arife from the Temper, Quality, Imployment, Age, Coun- try, and Religion, which he would have us fuppofe the Perfon he introduces to be of j and, of Courfe, the Poet's Senti- ment s y Manners and Diction, muft be fpecifically accommodated to this very Per- fon j and that, through the whole Cha- racter. All this the Actor muft Jee through ; he muft accurately fall in with the Inten- tion of the Poet ; or he can never give the [ 14 ] the Character he aflumes Theatrical Ex- preffion. An Inftance may make our Meaning plainer : Be it the Character of Cato. We find him a Man of even Tempers j of Quality ; imploy'd at the Head of the Oppofition to Cafar ; a Man in Years-, by his Country, which he objlinately lovd, a Roman-, In Principle, a Stoic. Mr. Addifon would have finned beyond all Poetical Forgivenefs, had he loft Sight of any one of thefe Characlerijlics, in any one Circumftance in which he places his Cato. His Cato muft think and /peak, like Cato ; refent, like Cato ; grieve, like Cato; bear Dijlrejs, like Cato ; and die, like Cato. With as much Minutenefs, muft each of thefe Particulars be obfervd and kept up to by that ABor, who would give Theatrical ExpreJ/ion to the Cato of Addi/on. In Voice, Manner, Gefture, and Attitude, he muft ever be the Cato of Addifon 3 and, for the Time, totally forget [ i5] forget he is any Thing elfe, or has any other Connection. Can we then, in Juflice, think con- temptibly of a ProfeJ/ion, which requires fuch various, yet #«/Yft/Accomplifhments! Or can it be conceived, that a Man of mean Education, low Ideas, and abandon d Principles, can pafs upon us, through a Jingle Speech, for the Cato of Rome and Addijon ! Theatrical : n i O F Theatrical Expreflion I N TRAGEDY. SECT. I. Theatrical Expression in Tragedy defined ^ in general. Heatrical Expression is of extenfive Import. It does SPSS? not imply Elocution only, or the Delivery of an Actor's Part, by Speech ; but comprifes, alfo, every Attitude of every Member of the Hu- man Fabrick, as they are naturally put in Motion by the federal Workings of the Mind. T D Mind 1 18] The Mind has more Ways to exprefsit- felf by, than Speech-, and, under fomelm- preffions, moft emphatically indicates itfelf by abfolute Silence. She commands the Feet, the Hands, the Head, the Face, the Eyes, to communicate her Emotions, and that by Attitudes and Movements as vari- ous as thofe Emotions, and particularly a- dapted to exprefs each of them. Theatrical Expression, then, im- plies c< an Exhibition upon the Stage, in " perfonated Characters, an exact and ac- " curate Imitation of Nature in real ones ; cc and, when confined to tragedy, the " Imitation of fuch real Characters as " can be perfonated within the Rules " of that Part of the Drama ; including " a Ariel: Propriety in the adventitious " AlTiftances of Drefs and Scenery" SECT. [ 19] SECT. II. Of Accomplishments, perfonal and ac- quired, which are requilite in a Mas- ter of Theatrical Expression in Tragedy. \ S the Characters in Tragedy are -^ *• generally laid in high, or, at leaft, genteel Life, the Figure of an Adtor is of no fmall Moment. His Voice mull be tuneable, if not melodious, and his Ear not infenfible of Cadence and Harmony. His Memory muft be ftrong and retentive, and furnifhed with Ideas of what is pleating, great and good. — Dancing muft direct him in the Management of his Feet ; Fencing, in that of the Hands ; and both together give Eafe and Gracefulnefs to every Motion of Feet, Hands, Head, and the whole Body. — Good Senfe and right Principles, improv'd by Reading and Objervation, if not Learning, muft fpread Meaning into every Feature, and give Jen* timental Expreflion to that great Index of D 2 the [ ae] the Soul, the Eye. — He muft fee fo clofely into Nature, as to know under what Pafiions, and when, under fuch Pafftons, Nature relieves herfelf by Si knee : With- out this, his ExprcJJion will want, one of its greateft Beauties , artificial Paufes, which, when judicioufly thrown in, af- fect us more, than any Thing the Poet can fay upon the Occafion. — His Atten- tion to what paries among the other Cha- racters connected with him in the fame Drama, mufr. be conducted with equal Senfibility. He mufl be a thorough Judge, at what Words and Geftures in others, the feveral PaJJions take fire y or cool in our own Breafr, and animate, by proper Evi- dences of his feeling this, the attentive Si- lence he is obliged to keep while addreffed to by the other Actors.— Some Know- ledge of polite Life, and the Modes of Ha- biliment in different Countries, mull direct his Ta/ie in Drefs : — And, tho' no Con- noineur in Painting, the keeping and per- JpecJive Part of it he ought not to be at a Lofs in judging of, especially if the Scenery falls within his Province. — With all thefe Accom- [ 21 ] Accomplishments the Actor is not yet compleat for Theatrical Expreffon, unlefs his Invention, under their Direction, give Variety to his Manner of Acting j not in different Parts only, but in one and the Jame ac different Times. An Excellence how rarely to be met with ! How diffi- cult to attain ! — To conclude ; a manly Compofure, mixt with a refpeclful ModeJly y muft keep him from difcovering, and, if poflible, feeling too great Emotion at the Cenfure and Applanfe of the Audience. Otherwife he derogates from his Thea- trical Character, and will neceilarily^/fo/fc in his Exprejjion. Thefe, or nearly fuch Accomplishments as thefe, muft. unite to constitute a Maf- ter in Theatrical Expression. A diftinct Confideration of each will (hew the Neceffity of them all SECT. [22 ] « SECT. III. O/FlGURE. Hp HO' a Defect in this can by no -*- Means be laid to the Charge of any Man, yet the Aftor, who will venture to prefent himfelf in Tragedy with a Fi- gure remarkably defective, is not entirely undeferving of Cenfure. In Comedy, in- deed, there are feveral Parts whofe Hu- mour is greatly heightened by the Oddities in an Actor's Perfon ; but in Tragedy 'tis quite the Reverfe. How would the face- tious Penkethmam, whofe Face was a more Laughter — moving Jeft, than moft of thofe he was to fpeak, have appeared in the grave, folemn, mournful Bujkin? We all know how unaccountably impreffive the Figure and Addre/s of fome People is, at firft Sight, either in their Favour, or othcrwife ; and that Grandeur, Beauty, Eaie, and Elegance, Male as well as Fe- male, irrefiftably attaches us to the hap- py Pofleflors of fuch Accomplifhments. How material, then, this mull be to an Actor, [ 23 ] Actor, may eafily be imagined; 'twill either conceal, or atone for, fome Inac- curacies that may efcape him, and ferve to heighten his other Perfections. 'Tis true, indeed, that the real Figures of many of thofe illuftrious Perfonages, whofe Characters Tragedy revives up- on the Stage, were very far from being equal in Grace and Dignity to their Souls j but becaufe Alexander had his Neck dis- torted, muft the Neck of his Theatrical Reprefentative be disfigured into the fame Pofition ? Tragedy, like Painting, muft mew us Nature; but under as much Advantage as fhe will properly ad- mit of. SECT. IV. Of V O I C E. FLOCUTIONisa principal Mode *-** of Theatrical ExpreJJion : Diftinct and clear Pronunciation are the chief Beauties in Elocution. The moil celebrated Ora- tor of Athens, was, by a natural For- mation of Parts, thick-fpeeched, and in particular [ 24 ] particular could not pronounce the Let- ter R. This Defect, he was fenfible, was a very Capital one in his ProfeJJion, and, therefore, for a long Time, ufed himfelfto articulate Soliloquy, in the Re- tirement of his Garden and Fields ; at the fame Time, putting Pebbles into his Mouth to alter, gradually, the Size and Pofition of the Organs of Speech j 'till, at laft, he found himfelf in a Condition to appear in Public. But on the Stage this Defect is the more notorious. Bufinefs or Curiofity were the chief Attra&ors of the antient Auditory to the Roflrum, which they paid nothing to be admitted to : We go to the Theatre to be elegantly entertained, and pay a valuable Confideration to thofe who contribute to it. We have a Right then to expect an equivalent Return, and to exprefs our Difgujl, when we find thofe capital Speeches, which require a clear, full, flowing , melodious Articulation , come tortured to the Ear in Tones, thick, harjh, guttural, languid, or Jlridulous, SECT [25 ] S E C T. V. O/Ear. \KJ E fpeak of this in the Muficiam * " Senfe of the Word. It is not, in- deed, necefTary to an Actor that he be Co much Mailer of Music, as to be a Per- former -, though he would find it a very ferviceable Accompli fhment to him as an Actor, if he were j but Time, Harmony, and Cadence^ he ought to have fome competent Idea of. Without this, he will never be able to adapt the Strength of his Voice to the Dimenfwns of the Houfe he acts in j nor to the fame Houfe, as, at Times, it may be more or lefs full : which lafl is an Accuracy that few, I believe have taken Notice of j but it is very material to thofe of the Auditory who fit mofl remote, when the Houfe is crouded. Smnd, which is no other than Air thrown into certain Vibrations^ is obstructed and imbibed by all porous Obflacles, and that in Proportion to their Porofity ; in Confe- E quence [26] quence, the Cloaths of every Perfon pre- fent imbibe each their Share of vibrated Air, and thereby caufe the Voice to come fainter and fainter, in Proportion to its progrerlive Diftance from the Speaker. Hence it is, that Muficians, when they would perform with Delicacy, in Places where they can take fuch Freedoms, re- move Table and Floor-Carpets, Window- Curtains, and all fuch Moveables, as may flatten the natural Tone of their Inftru- ments. What Actor, without a tolerable Ear to Tones, can thus, occafionally, alter the Strength of his Voice ? And yet, I fpeak it from Experience, one fhall hardly hear eight Words in ten from fome Actors at the back Seats of the front Boxes, when the Houfe is very full, which, at a thinner Audience, would be very diftinct at the fame Diftance. Monotony, which is beyond all Suffe- rance in an Actor, is fcarcely avoidable, without an Ear to direct him in Empba- Jis and Cadence. Should his Emphafis be juftj that is, placed upon the proper Words, Words, yet if his Tone be, in Point of Time, too Jhort, or too long protracted upon any empbatkal Word, it will offend the Ears of the more judicious Part of his Audience. The Pajpons require different Modula- tions of the Voice, into the foft, the plaintive, the flow, the brilk, the rapid, the ftern, the exclamatory. What will in this Cafe avail him, without a Jenfible Ear f Inftru&ion, nay even Praclice will not, becaufe he wants one kind of Percep- tion, which is neceffary to give them a lofting Place in his Memory. Nothing is more common, in fome Actors, than to fall from a Tone foft and plaintive, in the Paffion of Love efpecially, into a down- right Whine ; and in Speeches of Anger and Refentment, to run up to abfolute Ranting. We read of fome of the an- tient Orators, who were fo apt, in the Heat of their Argument, to run into this laft Extravagance, that they fubmitted to have a private Regulator, to keep them within Compafs by a Pitch-Pipe. E 2 In t 28 ] In Marches, ProceJJiom, &c. which are accompanied with military , or joft and jolemn Mufic, how difagreeable is it to fee an Actors Feet move in a Time di- rectly the Reverfe to that of the Inftru-* merits? How much more fo, to perceive their Movement is under no Regulation at all ? But is this to be done without an Ear? Once more, and I have done upon this Head. Through Defect of Ear it frequently happens, that an Actor, by over {training fome occafional Speeches of Anger, or Threatning, &c. mail lofe his Breath, and the Clearnefs of his Voice before even the fourth Act 5 both of which mould be ju^ dicioufly referved for the Cat ajlrophe, where they generally are moft required. SECT, [ 2 9 ] S E C T. VI. Of Memory. IT has already been intimated, that an Actor's Memory muft have two Pro- perties : It muft be Jlrong and retentive, and furnifhed with Ideas of what is flea- Hng, great, and good. The Jirjl of thefe Properties is too ob- vious to need any Argument to prove it necejjary : The latter , poffibly, may not be equally evident. Do we not fee a furprifing Difference as to Sentiments, Manners, Converfation, and Addrefs, in thofe, who have been ufed to the Infpeclion of elegant Build- ings, improv'd Projpecls, rmifh'd Paint- ings and Statues, together with the Con- versation of Men of Learning, Tafie, Po- ll t enefs, and Honour, from others whofe Connections never, or at leafl partially admitted them to fuch Advantages ; but confined them to a Familiarity with inde- licate, uncultivated, and low Objects? Undoubt- [ 30] Undoubtedly, becaufe the nobler Objects had habitually imprefs'd upon their Me- mories permanent Ideas, which would naturally exprefs themfelves in external Manner and Behaviour. The Tragic Actor, and thofe in polite Comedy, cannot put on Grace, Dignity, Eafe, and Politenefi y without having the regular and conftant Ideas of fuch Ac- complishments in his Memory. His Be- haviour will be of a Piece with his Sen- timents ; which, if they be low and mea?i, his Memory will force him to betray in his Manner of acting. SECT. VII. Of the Management of the Feet and Legs. 1 I 1 H E F^/ are more expofed to Ob- -■- fervation than moft of the Actors other Members -, becaufe the Stage is ufu- ally elevated, to make them move in a Line parallel to the Eye of a Spectator, in the foremoft Row of the Pit : The Lamps too [ 3' ] too ferve to render them the more con- fpicuous. The frequent Traverfes, and fudden Turnings upon the Stage, make the Ma- nagement of his Feet and Legs no trivial Concern of the Actor. The bombaft Strut, the diminutive Trip, the unweildy and awkard Movement of the Feet in Turnings ; the Toes turn'd in, or placed in., a ftrait Line with the Bone of the Leg ; will leffen all the Dignity and Graceful- nefs of the other Parts of Attitude. Nor are thefe without their Expreffion, if properly managed, in feveral of the Faffions. In Ajlonifmient and Surprize, arifmg from Terror, the left Leg is drawn back to fome Diflance from the other 5 under the fame Affection of the Mind, but refulting from an unhofd-for Meeting with a beloved Object, the right Leg is advanced to fome Diftance before the Left. Thus, the Aftonifhmentof Ham- let at the Sight of his Father's Ghost, is of a Kind very different from that of Oroonoko, at the unexpected Meeting with his beloved Imoinda 5 and ought ought to be very differently exprefs'd. Im- patience ■, and Regret at being detected in an iniquitous Defign, may be heightened by fluffing of the Feet, without moving from the Spot. But Anger and Threatening may be ftrongly fupplied with grand Expreflion from thefe Limbs. Whoever remembers old Mr, Mills, will recoiled that he had a Stamp with his Foot, which, in fome of his Parts, appeared to be directed by his judgment j but, as he introduced it alfo in others which would no ways al- low of it, it appeared to be rather an Ha- bit, It had a very fine Effect in the Part of Leon, in Rule a Wife, &c: When he afTumes the Hujhand, the Gen- tleman, and the Man of Spirit : As alfo in others of the rough, haughty, 2indfler?2 Kind. SECT. [33 ] SECT. VIIL Of the Management of the Hands and Arms. \AJ E come now to a very critical Ar- * ' tide in the Actor's Conduct. There is fcarce a Line to be uttered by himfelfy or to be attended to when fpoken by others, which does not require a parti- cular Movement ; nay, even in plain Nar- rative of common Incidents they muffc be far from idle. But as to the ExpreJJion of the Pajiom, there is not one of them that does not de- mand the juftefl Emphafis in their Move- ment and Attitudes ; and all of thefe are to vary according to the feveral Turns the Poet may give to one and the fame PaJJion. What a noble Attitude may each Hand and Arm be thrown into, by a General giving his Command at the Head of his Troops. The Right extended in a direct: Line from the Articulation at the Should- er Blade, and the Truncheon placed by F th„ E 34 1 the Hand into, nearly, the fame Direc- tion ; while the Left fupports his Robe, half thrown back, from the Ground ! And here, I cannot but obierve, that, unlefs he be a Man well converfant in At- titudes* the Actor will find himfelf much embarrafs'd in the Management of thefe Limbs, if his Drefs be Roman, Asiatic, or very different from thole of his own Country. I have feen a Cato, and one very de- fervedly celebrated, who mifs'd his criti- cal Point of Time in applying his Hand- kerchief, to wipe off the only Tears he fheds in the Play, by not being able to find out the narrow Slit of the Pocket in a Roman Tunic. The Chinese, and, I believe, other Asiatics, wear their Handkerchiefs at their Girdles j whether the Romans wore theirs at their Belts I won't take upon mc to fay : But this I muff obferve, that, as it was a Weaknefs in a Roman to cry be- fore WitnefTes, among the Stoics efpe- cially, they generally concealed their Tears under their Toga, It [35 ] Jt would be endlefs to attempt to pro- duce Inflances of what variety of Atti- tudes thefe Limbs may be thrown into by a Master of Theatrical Expres- sion. One, however, I take the Liberty to produce from Venice Preferv'd-, not merely, as it contains a great Variety of Attitudes of the Feet and Legs, but as it will introduce a Stricture upon the Move- ment of the Hand and Arm, which I be- lieve is not common. What I refer to commences at that Scene, where the Confpirators difcover to Pierre their Sufpicions of the Fidelity of his Friend Jaffier. Ren. 1 for my own Part wear A Dagger Pier, Well. Ren. And I could wifh it — — Pier. Where ? Ren. Bun/'d in his Heart. Pier. Away; we're yet all Friends, No more of this, 'twill breed ill Blood among us. Spin.. Let us all draw our Swords and fearch the Houfe, Pull him from the dark Hole where he fits brooding O'er his cold Fears, and each Man kill his Share of him. F 2 Pier. [ 36] Pier. Who talks of killing, who's he'll fhed his Blood, That's dear to me ? Is't you ? or you, Sir ? What, not one fpeak ? How you ftand gaping all On your grave Oracle, your wooden God there! Yet not a Word ? Then, Sir, I'll tell you a Secret, Sufpicions but at beft a coward Virtue. Ren. A Coward !- Pier. Put up thy Sword, old Man, Thy Hand shakes at it ; come lets heal this Breach ; I am too hot : We yet may live all Friends. Spin. 'Till we are fafe, our Friendship can't be fo. Pier. Again ! Who's that ? Spin. 'Twas I. Thead. And I. Rev. And I. Eli. And all. Ren. Who are on my Side ? Spin. Every honeft Sword. Xet's die like Men, and not be fold like Slaves. Pier. One fuch word more, by Heav'n I'll to the Senate And hang you all like Dogs, in Clufters. Why weeps your Coward Swords half out their Shells ? Why do you not all brandifh them like mine ? You fear to die, and yet dare talk of killing. 'Tis not difficult to fee what noble Em- ployment for the Altitudes of Pierre lies in fo narrow a Compafs ; in which the Limbs* [ 37 ] Limbs, we are fpeaking of, have nojmall Share : But this PafTage was chofen, pre- ferably to others, on account of that con- temptuous Addrefs to Renault, mark'd in Capitals. The Italians have a Method of ex- preffing Contempt different from ours. By them it is done by waving the right Hand pretty near their own Face, and turning their Head afide from the Object they di- rect it to. Whether, as the Scene is laid in Italy, it would not be Merit in an English Actor to exprefs it in the Ita- lian Manner, is fubmitted to public Judgment ? It may be objected, that, as this is the higheji Act of Contempt one Italian can mew to another, it ought to have been mitigated againft an old Man, as Re- nault was. But it mufl be remember- ed, that Pierre was not only warmed by the prefent Affront to himfelf, but had been alfo apprifed of Renault's villai- nous Attempt upon the Wife of his Friend. I can- [ 38] I cannot conclude this Article, without recommending, to thofe who attempt to fucceed Capitally upon the Stage, the Study of the beft Paintings, Statues, and Prints, many of which may be infpected upon eafy Terms. Among thefe the At- titudes of the four Limbs are exprefs'd, through the feveral Paflions, in a very grand and mafteily Manner, and, if hap- pily hit of by an Actor, would place him to high Advantage upon the Stage. It was, long, matter of Amazement to me, how the antient Affiors could pleafe a judicious and polite Audience, under the Persona, which hid the mofi exprcjfive Member of the whole Body, the Head and Face. The Chinese, who, though they have no regular Stage, yet have their Itinerant Aflors who perform, at fhort Notice, at the Entertainments of the Great, have their Perfona. I have feen, and worn one of them, but cannot exprefs how much I am at a Lofs to think, how any elegant Action can be carried on under fuch an Incumbrance. But [39] But as to the politer Stages of the Claf- Jical Antients, I conceive their chief Power of pleafing lay in their Attitudes, and the Management of their Limits. They had the moft finifh'd Faintifigs and Statues, obvious to their Infpection ; and by producing thefe Attitudes exprefs'd by them, upon the Stage, could not fail to give great Satisfaction to their noble and polite Audiences. SECT. IX. Of the Management of the Head. HP HERE is little to be offered upon -*- this Article ; but what there is has great Significancy in Theatrical Ex- pression. The Head, linking between the Sould- er, protruded over the Breaft, hanging on one Side (unlefs in Arch-Comic Parts) or carried with a conftant erecl; Stiffnefs would ruin all kind of Attitude : Where- as, an erect eafy Carriage gives Grace, Dignity, and Authority ; and ierves to exprefs, when a little more elevated than in T4° ] in the general Deportment, Haughtinefs, Defiance, Bravery, and Refolution. A graceful Nod conveys Approbation and Qmfenty one more quick, and re- peated, enforces Obedience to Commands > a flow Movement from Side to Side fhould accompany Di [approbation, Denial, and Defpair ; and a turning it Sideways over either Shoulder towards the Object we addrefs, carries Contempt, Menaces, 7*77- demefs, Fondnejs, and Regret at parting. S E C T. X. Of the Management of the Face. t "HE Face is the grand Index to the Mind, the Soul, and the Af~ fecliofis and Pajjions of both : In courfe the Management of this is the capital Teil of an Actor's Judgment and Abilities. Difencumber'd as they are from the Persona, the modern Actors have an in- finite Superiority over the Antient, in the Power of pleafing ; and therefore that Actor who is indolent or indifferent in the Study. [ 4' 3 Study of lb material a Part of ExprefTion, is unpardonable. There are fome Men, indeed, of fuch unhappy Countenances, as to be entirely void of Meaning •, fome, whofe Mufcles are flexible to none but the groifer and more boifterous Paffions : Thefe mould never attempt the Stage, unlefs in low Comedy. Others there are of an Afpedl more fenfible and ductile, but too igno- rant of the Theory of the Pqffwns, and the Manner in which Nature throws them into the Countenance, to be able to turn their promifing Features to any Advan- tage : Thefe mould never attempt the Stage. Volumes might be wrote upon \\i\s Jingle Article in Theatrical Expression. Every Feature, every Mufcle, may be made to /peak-, and every PaJJion and Affection of the human Mind, under all the various Medes in which Nature exprefles them, may be conveyed to the Perception of a fenfible Spectator, without the leaft Af- fiftance from Speech. G Twoulj [42 ] 'T would be Folly, in fo fmall a Per- formance as we intend this to be, to en- large upon a Subject fo extenfive : We clofe it, then, with a fingle Inftance (in Part) of what may be executed by the Features, under the Management of a judicious Actor. In the Siege of Damascus, p. 46. of Meflieurs Tonfons 8vo Edition in 1753, Phocyas theChriftian General, is brought Captive by Daran, an Officer in the Saracen Army, to Caled* the furly Chieftain of that brutal People. Cal. Whence, and what art thou !— - of Damaf- eus ? — Daran, Where didft thou find this dumb and fallen Thing, That feems to lour Defiance on our Anger ? ***** &c. Cal. Have I not feen thy Face ? Abu. [to Cakd.] He hears thee not ; His Eyes are fix'd on Earth ; fome deep Diftrefs Is at his Heart. This is no common Captive. Cal. A Lion in the Toils ! we foon (hall tame him. Still art thou Dumb ! —Nay ; 'tis in vain to caft Thy gloomy Looks fo oft around this Place, Or Frown upon thy Bonds— thou can'ft not 'fcape. Hitherto, [43 ] Hitherto, we find, Phocyas has no* fpoken one word ; but how expreffive his Features muir. have been, appears from the Effect they had upon his ftern En- Haver. Let us now fee, how they mufl have been concerned when he breaks into Speech j as he now immediately does in Reply to the haughty Caled. Pho. Then be it fo — the worft is part already, And Life is now not worth a jvloment's Paufe. Do you not know me yet ? — Think of the Man You have moft Caufe to curfe, and I am He. Cat. Ha! Phocyas? ****** Pho. Yes, Thou proud, blood-thirny Arab ! — Well I know What to expeft from thee ; I know you all. How mould the Authors of Diftrefs and Ruin Be mov'd to Pity ? That's a Human Patlion j No— in your hungry Eyes that look Revenge, I read my Doom. Where are your Racks, your Tortures ? I'm ready — lead me to 'em ; I can bear The worfl of Ills from you. • In this Speech we find a that the Fea- tures of the Arab Chiefs were no lefs em- ployed than thofe of Phocyas. G 2 SECT. [ 44 ] S E C T. XL Of the Management of the Eyes. THO' the Eyes are, properly in- cluded in the laft Article, and, in what we have given there, intended they mould be fo ; yet, as they are the moft fpeaking, moft fignificant Feature in the Face, we think ourfelves obliged to give them a more particular and diftindt Con- fideration. In every rifmg PafTion the Eye always makes the frji Difcovery ; and, generally. in thofe more fudden and injlantaneous* Pledfure and jfoy lights them up to fpark- ling Brilliancy ; Difappointment and Grief deadens them into Languor and Tears : — Ajlonijiment and Fear keep them iix'd and open ; Humility -, Modefty, and Abajh- ment under Conviction of Villany, direct them to the Ground. Courage, Refent- ment, and Anger, make them roll, fwell, and dart out, as it were, a kind of Fire ; *Tendernefs and the fofter Pafjions make them fwim with a gentle, placid Mildnefs. They [45 ] They menace ; they chide ; they defpife -, they approve ; and were made for num- berlefs nobler Purpofes in an Actor, than to ramble over the Houfe, or be partiadar to the Green-Boxes. Mr. Southern fupplies us with a fine Inftance, in Point, in the laft Scene of the fecond Act in his Oroonoko ; when that amiable Prince is thrown into a de- lightful Aftoniihment at the defpair'd-of Recovery of his Imoinda. Gov. [to Oroonoko'] Clemene too mall thank you — She is fafe — [Brings Clemene forward, looking down on the Ground.] Look up and blefs your brave Deliverer. Oro. Blefs me indeed ! Blan. You Start ! Oro. O all you Gods ! Who govern this great World, and bring about Things ftrange, and unexpected, can it be ? Gov. What is't you ftare at fo . ? Oro. Anfwer me fome of you, you who have Power, And have your Senfes free : Or are you all Struck thro' with Wonder too ? Blan. What would you know ? Oro. My Soul fteals from my Body thro* my Eyes: All [ 46] All that is left of Life, i'U gaze away, And die upon the Pleafure. Gov. This is ftrange. Oro. If you but mock me with her Image here : If (lie be not Imoinda — ■— Ha! She faints! Nay, then it mult be She : It is Imoinda : My Heart confelTes her, and leaps for Joy, To welcome her to her own Empire here. I feel her all, in every Part of me. O ! let me prefs her in my eager Arms, Wake her to Life, and with this kindling Kifs Give back that Soul, fhe only fent to me. * * * * Oro. Imoinda ! O ! thy Oroonoko calls. What various Employment for the Eyes is here ! With what a Look of inef- fable Complacency and Fondnejs would the real Oroonoko have exprefs'd the laft Line. SECT. XII. Of Silence by artificial Pauses. THIS, when critically introduced, gives a capital Grace to Theatri- cal Expression, and does as much Honour to the Actor's Judgment, as to his • [47] his Performance. In feveral of the Paj- Jions, particularly Afionijhment^ Terror, Grief and excejlive Choler, Nature has Recourfe to fetch a Relief, and evidently directs the Actor to his Duty : But the delicate Opportunities of introducing thefe artificial Pauses, lie too remote from common Application, and are known to thofe only, whofe Theatrical Tajle is very accurate. In fome Dram a's the Poet has thought fit to give a few Directions for introducing; them : but as the ever memo- rable Shakespeare ftands in Evidence, that thofe who fucceed bell; in Drama- tic Poetry, may make but indifferent Figures in Dramatic Action, the ju- dicious Actor will fcarce think himfelf obliged to adhere Jlrictly to their Intima- tions. It is not without the humbleft Defe- rence to better Judgments, that we ven- ture to produce, upon fo capital an Arti- cle in Theatrical Expression, three Inftances, in which, wc conceive the ar- tificial Pause may have a very happy Ef- fect. [ 48 ] feet. An Aster ism will point out where we think they mould take Place. We fhall take the firft from the laft Scene, but one, in Oroonoko, where that fondeft of Hufbands is ftruggling be- tween Tendernefs and the NeceJ/ity of kil- ling his amiable Wife. Imo. I'm ready. Oro. * O ! Where mall I rtrike? Is there the fmalleft Grain in of that lov'd Body That is not dearer to me than my Eyes, My boibm'd Heart, and all my Life-blood there ? Bid me cut offthefe Limbs, hew offthefe Hands, Dig out thefe Eyes, tho' I would keep them laft To gaze upon thee ; but to murder thee ! The Joy and Charm of every ravifh'd Senfe, My Wife ! * forbid it Nature. The filent Survey of the beloved of his Soul, neceflitated to Deftruction, and >f thofe Beauties, which his own extend- ed Hand is about to flrike into irretrie- vable Extinction, cannot but move a fen- fible Spectator to a fympathetic Feeling of fuch aggravated Dirirefs ; and, if he has ever known what it is to love, to en- joy, to part with, a Woman every way amiable and worthy, in the Bloom of Health, [49] Healthy Youth, and Beauty , he cannot reftrain the fwelling Tear through the Speech that fucceeds it : He cannot, me- thinks, conceal this generous Emotion be- yond the loft Pause. We give the fecond Inftance of a Pro- priety of this kind, in the Manner of Cato's receiving the Coarfe of his gal- lant Son. Cato. Welcome my Son ! Here lay him down, my Friends, Full in my Sight, that I may view at Leifure The bloody Coarfe, and count thofe glorious Wounds. >• ■% * How beautiful is Death, when earn'd by Virtue ! The Pause in this Place is evidently necejfary, from Cato's defiring to view his mangled Son at Leifure j but its Beau- ty arifes fom the throwing into the ftrongeft Light a capital Characleriftic of that great Man , I mean, his manly Refo- lution and Fortitude under fuch Events, as would have totally born doivn any one lefs Jleady than himjelf. We, the Spec- tators, are waiting with an eager, but H awful 1 50} awful Curiofity to hear what fo great 2. Man can, in Character, fay upon fuch an Occasion, and confequently are fitted to receive with higher Admiration, the no- ble, Patriot Remark, that follows upon a Subject fo interefting to himfelf. Mr. Garrick fupplies us with the third Inftance, in the juftly celebrated Tent-Scene in Richard III. where that Monfter in Blood and excefllve Villany, wakes in all the Terrors of an Imagina- tion diffracted by confcious Guilt. Rich. Give me a Horfe — bind up my Wounds ! * Have Mercy, Heav'n ! What mafterly ExpreJJion has the 'great Shakespeare fhewn in thefe eleven Words ! The rapid Incoherence of the firft Line, prcfents ftrongly to us the guilty Confufion of Richard's Senfes, fcarce yet awake, at the Eve of a Battle, which might bring him a full Punifh- ment for his enormous Crimes 5 and, for the firft Time, forces him to addrefs that Heaven which, he believed, he had of- fended beyond Forgivenefs, A Man, [ 5i ] A Man, awaken'd in Surprize, requires Time to recover himfelf for coherent Speech : One, awaken'd in Terror, more > becaufe Terror retards the Motion of the Blood, and the Flow of Animal Spirits is check'd, in Proportion. Were it for no other Reafons, a Pause at the End of the firft Line is necejfary, according to the ufual Affection of Nature upon Jitcb Oc- casions. But, to bring a remorfelefs Wretch to Feeling, and from Feeling to Fray, re- quires a Pause indeed. Exquifitely jufi and beautiful is Shhkespeare's Expref- Jion ; exquifitely juft and beautiful is Gar- rick's ABion, in fo fmall a Comfafs ! If any Reader is at a Lofs to know the Meaning of the fecond Motto in the Title-Page to thefe Papers, the beft Conftruction I can refer him to, is Mr. Garrick's Pause in this excellent Speech. H 2 SECT. 1 5* ] SECT. IX. 0/"Silence, when attending to the Parts of other Actors. THESE Intervals of Silence, if we may judge by their Conduct, feem to be confidered by the Generality of Actors, as intended merely for the Re- covery of their Breath ; and are common- ly employed in furveying the Number and Quality of their Audience. We mail find, among fome, a Speech calculated to ex- cite a latent Paffon, or to heighten one al- ready in its Ri/e, received with perfect Apathy and Indifference -, and the An- fwer, all at once, prepofteroufly returned in the Rage of Paffon, or Theatrical Throws of Difrefs. What Spectator of the haft Tafte can bear with fuch Dijiorficn of Nature and common Senfe? Though the Audience is either too candid or polite to exprefs their Cenfure in the ufual Way j let not the Actor conclude from hence , that this fort of Inaccuracy is -either trivial or un- noticed. [ 53 ] noticed. 'Tis in Tendernefs to his jellow ABor at that Time /peaking, that the public Token of Difguft is fupprefs'd ; leaft the Hifs mould throw the Speaker into Confufion, by mifapplying it to him- M But the Actor, by this Piece of Mif- conduct, is not only lofing himfelf in the Favour of the Publick, but throws away the fitter!: Incentives to work him up to a proper Frame for delivering his next Speech. Do we not fee, when Argu- ment and Altercation run high in com- mon Difcourfe, that a fingle cutting Word fhall throw the Perfon it is addrefs'd to in- to an higher and more natural Pafiion, than he would have rifen to if he had had more of the Converfation to himfelf? And is it not equally common, that a Man of humane Senfibility, fhall be work'd into all the Emotions of Compaf- fion and Sympathy, nay fometimes even to Tears, by attending to a plain Narra- tive of deep and real Diftrefs ? 'Tis I 54] 'Tis unpardonable in an ASlor not to avail himfelf of thefe Advantages : It mews, as if he paid no kind of Regard to the Judgment or Satisfaction of thofe who fupport him. The late Mr. Milward y who, though not of the Jirji Rank, was very far from being an indifferent Actor, confefs'd to me, that, in feveral of his Parts, a care- ful Attention to the Speeches that were addrefs'd to him, hardly ever fail'd of bringing him to feel Emotion altogether as flrong and affecting as thofe of Nature on the fame Occafions j and that fome- times real Tears made the Application of an Handkerchief abfolutely neceffary to him. He particularly, I remember, in- flanced the Part of Jaffier, and, a- mong other Circumstances of Diflrefs in that Character, I think he mentioned the Struggle he felt between Tendernefs to his Wife, and Honour to his Friend, while Eelvedera addrefs'd him in the follow- ing Terms : Venice Prefervd, Act 3, Scene 1. • Beh. [ S5 ] Beh. Yes, yes, there was a Time When Behidera's Tears, her Cries and Sorrows Were not defpis'd, when if (lie chanc'd to figh Or look but fad ; there was indeed a Time When Jqffier would have ta'en her in his Arms, Eas'd her declining Head upon his Breaft, And never left her 'till he found the Caufe. But let her now weep Seas, Cry till (he rend the Earth, figh 'till (he burft Her Heart afunder; ftill he bears it all, Deaf as the Wind, and as the Rocks unfhaken. ****** £ c# Beh. Tell me, bejuft, and tell me, Why dwells that bufy Cloud upon thy Face ? Why am I made a Stranger ? Why that Sigh And I not know the Caufe? Why, when the World Is wrap'd in Reft, why chufes then my Love To wander up and down in horrid Darknefs, Loathing his Bed and thefe defiring Arms ? Why are thefe Eyes Blood-mot with tedious Watching ! Why ftarts he now ? And looks as if he wifti'd His Fate were flr.iih'd ? Tell me, eafe my Fear ; Left, when we next Time meet, I want the Power To fearch into the Sicknefs of thy Mind, And talk as wildly then, as thou look'ft now. Jaf. Oh ! Behi&era ! What can we think of the Actor who fhould receive fuch affecline: AddrefTes to the * 1 56 } the Heart, without fuch Emotions as thofc Mr. Milwatd felt. Mr. Mil ward, I believe, was allowed, by thofe that knew him, to have heen a Man of Honour, and a good Hujband: Such will feel ; and that, in every Part they undertake. SECT. XIV. Of T a s t in Dress. \ S this and the following Article ■** *■ very feldom fall under the Direc- tion of an Aftor, we mall referve them for more particular Obfervation in the Appendix ; where we mail attempt to mew, how far the Conduct of a Mana- ger may contribute to promote y or lejfen the Elegance of Theatrical Expres- sion. But, tho' the Actor may be obliged to fubmit to wear the Drefs provided for him, he ought not to be without a I'afte of its P?-opriety. Let that Part of it that is furnifhed by the Manager be ever fo elegant and in Character, the Actor who is not fenfible of this, will never wear it with Eafe ; [57] Eafe ; and 'tis five to one, but that, in thofe Particulars which the Actor ufually fupplies himfelf, there will be an untow- ard and ridiculous Impropriety. I have feen an Hero, whether Greek or Roman I forget, who is to make nothing of chin- ing whomever comes in his way, with an Effeminate Plenitude of Cherry - colour d Ribband depending from the Tail of his Peruke ; while the Princely Heroine of the fame Country has totter d in State upon a Pair of French-Heels. This leads me to remind the Actor that it behoves him to be converfant in the Modes of Drefs, antient as well as mo- dern, of other Countries befides his own. The Greek, Roman, and Asiatic, allow of no open Bofom, Pocket-hole^ Breeches-wai/l- Bandy or Hat, to find Em- ployment for his Ha?ids. The Sword and truncheon, 'tis true, will help him out now and then , that is, in or before a Bat- tle : The Handkerchief too, may be of fervice once or twice, perhaps j but the Hero muft not make too frequent Appli- cation to this female Apparatus to Dif- I trefs. I 5M treis. I* could never find that Alexan- der, Cato, or any of their illustri- ous Countrymen were Mailers of a Snujf-Box ; fo, I doubt, 'twould be too bold a Stroke to have Recourfe to that common Relief to the Hands and Memory, mould the Public be ever brought to al- low of it, in modern Tragedy, where the Scene may be laid in a Snuff-Country, To what, then, muft the Actor apply for Rules of Deportment in Drejjes fo different from his own ? To Tast. This ought to be natural ; were it fo, it would foon bring him acquainted with the pro- per Manner of managing any Dre/s ex- emplified before him. But this kind of Tajl may be acquired : Let him, as above intimated, confult the bell: Paintings and Statues where the Drapery is of the Kind we are fpeaking of : Thefe will lead him into a graceful Variety of Deportment ; and in Time make any Drefs as managea- ble and eafy to him as his awn. SECT. [ 59 ] • SECT. XV. O/Tast in Scenery. HP H O' the Actor, I believe, is feldom -*~ confulted upon this Head 5 it will be of Service to him to know when thefe necejfary Decorations are executed in Tastj were it is for no other Reafon than this : It will excite him to more cor- reel and animated Action. The whole, indeed, is loft to his Eye, on the Spot where he is to perform ; but he knows the Effect which a majlerly Performance upon Canvas will have at thofe Points from whence the Spectators view it. If the Streets, Buildings,, Rooms and Furniture, Gardens, Views of the Coun- try, £cc. be executed in the Toft of the Country where the Scene of Action in the Play lies, and the Keeping and Perjpetlive be good, the whole House never fails to give the moil audible Evidence of their Satisfaction. This puts them into a Com- placency very favourable to the Actor, who appears to them with double Advan- I 2 tage, [ 6o] tage, when every thing around him is in Character. On his Part, the Actor, if he has any %aft of this kind, will fhut his mental Eye to the naked Intervals between the Side Scenes ; and conceiving himfelf upon a Spot as elegant as it appears to the Spec- tators, will endeavour to make his Action correfpond with thofe Ideas which the Scenery had raifed in them. On the Reverfe, an Actor, whofe Ideas are no ways elevated by the ornamental Propriety of the Spot he acts upon, runs the Hazard of falling into a Poverty of Action 5 the lealt Initance of which will be confpicuous to thofe, whofe Expecta- tions of his Execution have been raifed by that of the Painter. Eefides, as there is a great affinity be- tween the polite Arts, a remarkable Infen- fihili'ty to or.p is generally accompanied with an indifferent or vitious Tajl in other: ; and it is much to be feared ifeat an Actor, who is very little affected by one kind of Theatrical Propriety, will prove [6i ] prove defective in others more material, perhaps, than that we have been fpeaking of. SECT. XVI. Of Variety in A5ling> at different Times t the fame Part, /CORRECT and fpirited Action will ^ J give a lafting Agreeablenefs to any Part, tho' no Variety be attempted ; but a judicious Variation will render it flill more agreeable ; and is, perhaps, neceffa- ry, when a Hlay has a Run for feveral Nights fuccefTively. To attempt this in trivial Incidents would either efcape our Obfervation, or, if obferv'd, would rather leiTen than encreafe our Opinion of the Actor's Judgment. We expect it only in thofe more refined Parts of Action, which ftruck us mod at firft j whofe Impreflion upon us becomes weaker and weaker by a long repeated Samenefs. This, I acknowledge, renders the Attempt more difficult, but, if fuc- ceeded in, more glorious to the Actor, who [62] who will now have arrived at the Summit of Theatrical Excellence. The Italians, I think, are allowed to carry off from other Stages the Prefe- rence in this Point ; and, if they have feveral Actors as adroit as their aftonifh- ing Country-woman in the Burletta's of the Seafon before this, I do not fee who can refufe to give it them. I have been very cautious of coming to Particulars with any Performer upon our prefent Theatres, One only, a Perform- er indeed, excepted: The Ladies I have not dared to fuppofe any ways concerned in thefe Strictures : And I take this Op- portunity of alluring the Theatrical Bo- dies of both Houfes, that tho' my Opinion of Action Hood at the Point it does in thefe Sheets, before feveral of them had made their Appearance to the Town, I never could be prevail'd upon to join in a noify Difcouragement of thofe, who, fail as they might, were attempting to gra- tify me in one of my moil favourite En- tertainments. I mail 1*3] I mall therefore, in my further Re- marks upon this Article, go back to the Old Italian Theatre, when Fari- nelli drew every Body to the Hay- market. What a Pipe ! What Modula- tion ! What Extafy to the Ear ! But, Heavens ! What Clumfinefs ! What Stu- pidity ! What Offence to the Eye ! Reader, if of the City, thou mayeft probably have feen in the Fields of IJ- Ungton or Mile-End \ or, if thou art with- in the Environs of St. James's, thou muft have obferved in the Park, with what Eafe and Agility a Cow, heavy with Calf, has rofe up at the Command of the Milk-woman's Foot : Thus from the mof- fy Bank fprung up the Divine Fari- nelli. Then with long ftrides advancing a few Paces, his left Hand fettled upon his Hip, in a beautiful Bend, like that of the Handle of an oldfaflmnd Caudle-Cap, his Right remained immoveable acrofs his manly Breaft, 'till Numbnefs called its Partner to fupply the Place ; when, it re- lieved [ 64 ] lieved itfelf in the Pofition of the other Handle to the Caudle-Cup, 'Twas well for this tuneful Exotic, that the Generality of his Audience were more ready to extinguish one Senfe to gra- tify another, than I, attached as I am to mufical Merit, could fuffer myfelf to be. Otherwife, this Amphion, more potent than him of Thebes, had never drawn together the richejl Stones of India ; nor received, from fome of the faireft Hands in England, Boxes ennobled with thofe expenfive Productions of Nature, and ren- der'd more valuable, by including Notes upon the Bank for iooo /. each. Such, as I have heard, were the Offerings of that Day to the tuneful, fee-faw Clumfi- nefs of this Divinity. At the fame Time, on the fame Stage, and in the fame Operas, fhone forth in full Excellence of "Theatrical Exprejion, the graceful, the correal, the varied De- portment of Senesino. Farinelli had ftole the Ears, but Senesino won the Eyes of the Houfe ; that Part of it, I mean, who were not Mujic-mad. Thrice, [65] Thrice, in a fhort Interval of Time^ have I feen this mafterly Actor, in the Opera of Artaxerxes: And eighteen Years have not obliterated the full Re- membrance of that great but natural Man- ner of his Deportment in a Scene, which called for the Exertion of almoft every Paflion. He perfonated the Father, of a Son, who had, in the Extravagance of Duty and Affection, taken upon himfelf his Father's Guilt, and was chearfully fubmitting to bear capital Punifhment in his Stead. It happen'd in this Opera, which fel- dom is to be met with in Italian Dra- matic Compofitions, that the Author had tolerably acquitted himfelf in a Soli- loquy of the Fathers, defcriptive of the Tortu es his Son was to fuffer in his Place. Confin'd, as he was, to the Meafures of Recitative and Song, Senesino went thro' the Struggles of Nature agitated to excels, with furprifing Execution -, and, (which I hope will fave me from the Charge of impertinent Digreflion) a Va» K riety [66] riety of ExpreJJion, each of the three Nights I faw him in that Character. SECT, the Last. Of Behaviour, under the Cenfure w Applaufe of the Audience. I Mention this, not fo much as a Part of 'Theatrical Merit, as of Theatrical Prudence ; which, if not attended to, may do the Actor great Prejudice in the Opi- nion of the Public. If he appears injenfible to their Cenfures, they fet him down as a Man too partial to himfelf ; if haughty and indignant, they mark him out as one to be humbled j if he feel Rebuke too Jlrongly, he is damp'd for the Night, and his Auditory impute his fubfequent difpirited Action to his want of Judgment to go through with his Cha- racter. Prefcription for this lies in a narrow Compafs. I would not advife a Tragic- Aflor to Mr. Wilks his Expedient, of • turning a China-Orange Pulp, thrown in Levity £ 67] Levity or Refentment, into a Seville-one *, but perhaps a modeft Inclination of the Head and Body, at an Interval that breaks not into the Profecution of his Part, may win off the Cenfure of his Audience into open Encouragement. 1 own it hard for a judicious Actor to ftoop to the Reprimands of the Ignorant Galleries, and a petulant , perhaps, a Par- ty-formed Pit : But the SubmirTion pro- pofed to him is too flight to be boggled at in a Cafe of Extremity. Applaufe, it may be thought, requires no Precaution to the Aclor : More, per- haps, than Cen/ure. 'Tis the fame in Theatrical as in private Life ; Pride and Elevation are, almoft, Infeperable Com- panions ; and the Man who thinks his Character is ejlablljljed, may play away the Merit which is neceflary to fupport it. Applaufe is frequently bellowed in the Theatre with as little Judgment, as Cen- fure ; and as every Evening brings together a new Audience, differently difpofed and qualified from that of the preceding, we often find the fame Play very differently K 2 received. [ 68 ] received. Should an After, therefore, plume himfelf upon fuch curfory Indica- tions of popular Favour j grow Self-fuffi- cient ; remifs in his Action j and think all Study for further Improvement unne- ceilary - } he will infallibly link into abfo^ lute Contempt and Difgrace. But, further: Should modefty and Dis- cernment preferve the Actor from making fo fatal an Application of the public Fa- vour, it may affect him in another manner lefs eafy to be guarded againft, To be pleafed at the Approbation we meet with is natural and proper : No Actor can be infenfible of it. But, if his Pleafure rife fo high as to dijjipate or break into thofe Ideas by which he mould fupport the Cha- racter he is reprefenting, he will be as much difconcerted, as if he had met with an equal IVLafure of Cenfure j with this Difference only : In the latter Cafe he'd be at a Lofs to a El up to his Part, in this he would run the Hazard of over- doing it, JHE [69] THE APPENDIX. HITHERTO we have attempted to reprefent how far the Delicacy of Theatrical Exprssion depends up. on the Attor. For this Place is referved a modeft Ap- plication to the Managers and the Town : Each of whom has fo much In- fluence upon Theatrical Expression, that, without their Concurrence, Better* ton, Booth) Wiiks, Cibber> &c. and, at the Date of thefe Prefents, * * * *, and a long &c : Among the Men j as alfo the Mef dames of the la ft Theatre, and the Me/dames of the prefent, would have found their Theatrical Capacities lefs evi- dent to the Spectators. I pretend to no Knowledge of the Theatre behind the Curtain. On that ac- count, [ 7° ] count, I think it great Ill-manners to call in Queftion the Manager's Conduct, as to receiving or dij car ding new Plays ; ad- mitting or rejecting frefh Candidates for the Stage : Their Impartiality to Recommen- dations, and their treating their middle- rank'd Actors with the utmoft Compla- cence. I am the rather inclined to think thus, becaufe, fince public Inquifitions, Orations, &c. have been fet up, the chief Complaints on thefe Points, have come from thofe Quarters where every Man may find Ears in plenty. Whereas, neglected Merit is Jilent , or, if obliged to complain, modejl. But, the Curtain, once drawn up, (af- ter which no Money is refunded) the Spectator has a Right to judge of the whole Oeconomy of the 'Theatre. Should the Parts be wrong Cajl *, thofe, before the Curtain, unlefs Novices in the Theatre, perceive it directly ; grow fullen and difappointed ; and, when a capital * A Theatrical Term, for giving each Part or Cbaracler in the Play, to the Perfon, to whom, in all Points, it is beftfuited. Actor f 7' ] Actor comes in, receive him with not half the Satisfaction and Approbation, he deferves ; becaufe he has not proper Coun- ter- AElors to fet him off. Thus, will the Delicacy of Theatrical Expression fuffer, if the Manager, be his Motive what it will, does not cafi his Parts right. I have, and will avoid Particulars ; for I mean to sive not the leaft Difeuft. to thofe, who are at incejjant Thought to pleafe the Town. I fuppofe, 'twill not be Jingular to fay, that Actors may grow out of Figure , though not out of Merit. A worthy Man (as far as I have heard) and a correct Speaker, (as far as I can judge) appears, in a Swan-wing Peruke, to perfonate, at the Age of — , a young Gentleman. Is this cafiing the Part right ? Iago he will properly perfonate as long as he can fpeak. My Regard for Mrs. P — runs fo high, that I wifh I may feldom fee her upon the Stage, but in the Character of a Dowager of Difiinfiion^ in which, and Jimilar [7*1 fonilar Parts, fhe will long continue, the Satisfaction of the Town. I have Reafon to think, (flender as my Acquaintance with the Theatre is) that, in cafiing the Parts, the Manager is not entirely to blame. Aft or s, of Confequence y will not eafily fubmit to his, or, perhaps, to the Advice of a judicious Rehearfal. But I cannot conceive, how thofe, con- nected in a common Interefl to pleafe the Public i how thofe, who have any Merit with the Public, can think they degrade themfelves by perfonating, if the Excel- lence of Theatrical Expression de- pends upon a due Support of the Under- Parts, a Character fomewnat beneath the Plume and Truncheon ; provided that the Town is pleajed. If p leafed, they ap- prove j and pay an additional Regard to the Actor, who condefcends to appear in lower Parts, that the Drama may be re- prefented with Spirit. 'Tis alfo the Managers Part to fet off, in Point off Dress, the Actors Per- formance: And, as has been obferved, he little confults his own true Intereft, if he does [73 ] ' does not. — The Aft or, if he has any Senfe, feels a Neglect of this kind fo far, as never to get above the Idea of being the Manager's Dependant: How will a Manager's Dependant command the Paf- fions of the Audience ! The Spectators will be prejudiced a- gainft him, upon the Prefumption, that were his Merit deferving of better-fitted Ckaths, the Managers would have taken more Care about them. But I fhall lay thefe Kinds of Chech to 'Theatrical ExpreJJion, under the Article of Saving Oeconomy. It requires not an Admittance to the Theatres Account-Books, to know that the moil trivial Article in their Eftablifhment runs high -, and that a diligent Eye muft be had to every Point of Saving : But, perhaps, the Saving-Part may be placed where, all things confidered, it may turn out not quite fo recruiting to the Thea- TRicAL-Che/l. This will certainly be the Event, if the ncceflary Ornaments are niggardly beftowed upon capital Perfor- L mances » [74] mances, and lavifid away unneceffarily upon others, more Inferior. To fet off one of Shake/pears fiewy Plays, what a Prof uf on of "Lace and £/» broidery do we find among the Dumb- Courtiers ? And what Senfation does this Expence occafion to the Spectators $ A very difagreeable one. We fee the infe- rior Part of the Court like a Monmouth- Street Regiment 5 the Speaking-Lords in- deed are as Brilliant, as the laft French-cut can make them; but the King and his Beef-eaters are the only Men drejid to the 77z»£. Why are not all our Plays drejid in Character in Point of 77/;^ and P/#rc ? Would it be more expenfive to the Ma- nagers? I aver, not. Let the Plot lie in whatever Country it will (proper for the Theatre) the chief of the Natives Expence in Drefs lies in Jewels : The reft is flimfy Cloqtb, Silk, or Sattin j which, with the flight Lace about them, coft not, at fir ft, I believe, fo much as the Second- hand Clcaths of our Theatres. Jewels of the f 7S1 the Theatrical-Water may eafily be come at, and will not tarnifh or mildew like Lace or Cloath ; but have this additional Recommendation, that they equally fit every Wearer. It is obvious, beyond reply, what croud- ed Houfe* indifferent Plays will draw, if the Characters are drefied in the National- Mode ', where the Scene is laid. I cannot, therefore, but think it ill-judged Oeco- nomy, to be fparing in an Article that contributes fo much to the Elegance of Theatrical Expression. The Manager's Judgment and Taft • the Actor's Spirit and Execution ; and the Curiofity^ Attention and Approbation of the Spectators, are fo much affedl- ed by it; that the Theatres would foon find themfelves availed by paying a ftrict Regard to it. Scenery we prefume is allowed to have a very interefting Effect upon Theatri- cal Expression : Some Particulars in which ijt has, have been already men- tioned. L 2 < Pan'o- '[76] Pantomine-Exprejjion (the Expence of which I could wifli the Theatres were eas'd of) has all the Advantage of this kind lavifh'd upon it that can be expect- ed ; and the Managers of our Theatres deferve the Thanks of the Town, for their great Expence in Canvas and Taint to pleafe their Tart. Shall then thefc Or- na?nents be lefs attended to, when the Promotion of a more noble Kind of Thea- trical Exprejjion is concern'd ? I am not extravagant enough to propofc that a new Set of Scenes mould be pro- duced at every new Tragedy j I mean only that that there mould never be fuch a Scarcity of Scenes in the Theatre, but, that, whether the Seat of Action be Greek, Roman, Afiatic, African, Italian, Spanijh, &c : There may be one Set, at leaft, adapted to each Country ; and that we, the Spectators, may not be put upon to believe ourfelves abroad, when we have no local Imagery before us, but that of our own Country. The [77] The Appointment of the Pieces of Mufic between the A6is in Tragedy ', de- serves, I apprehend, a great deal of the Manager's Attention ; or (if he is no judge of Mufic) of fuch of his Council, who are. Its preparatory Effect upon the Paflio?is, throughout all Antiquity, is too trite a Subject to be defcanted upon. With due Submiflion, is it fit that one Ac~l of deep Diflrefs, and another, where that Dijirefs heightens, mould be feparated by an Allegro Compofition ? Or that the Fifth, which often places us in the midll of Battle, Blood/bed, and Terror, mould be introduced by a German-Flute Piece, with the Piano under-accompanyments ? This is too common to need any Apology for mentioning it. It muft be added too, that the Bell of one Houfe ge- nerally rings in the Middle of a Strain ; to the utter Deftruction of the beft Piece of Mufic upon Earth, and to the Confu- iion of thofe, who, by attending to the Orchejlra, were endeavouring to keep their Ideas in due Order to preferve the Con- nection [78 ] nccYion of Theatrical Expression to the End of the Play. We now beg leave to intimate to the Town, that the Excellence of Theatri- cal Expression has great Dependance upon their Conduct. Who would conceive, that thofe, who pay their Shilling ; much lefs, thofe who produce two for Theatrical Entertaiment ; had not fomething like a Tail, or Defire to be quietly gratified! But what inter- rupting Infolence do we meet with from the Galleries almoft during the whole Per- formance ! Infolence ! that nothing but the Military and Peace-Officer can cor- rect j as I hope it mofl rigoroufly will. I have nothing to fay to the Green- Boxes, whofe Deportment is always as regular in public, as in private : And what can 1 fay to the Pit ; the Grand- Academy of Theatrical Science ? One would expect from this Area of Criticifm, which feveral Men of Fortune frequent, good Manners, mutual Accom- modation as to Room, and zfilent Attention to [79] to what is going forward upon the Stage, But the Breeding of Porters, and the St- lence of Fijhwomen, is fuperior to what I have, fometimes, obferved in this Part of the Theatre, SelfiJJmefs, as to Room upon the Ben- ches, is carried to fuch brutal Excefs, that, at a Diftance too great to offer my Relief, I have feen Women of genteel Deportment, modefl and agreeable Fi- gures, fuffered to {rand the whole Even- ing, without receiving the leafl Accom- modation from twenty well-drefs'd Fel- lows, who were near enough to Compli- ment them with their Seats. Crouding , jojlling , di '/pitting aloud y wrangling, nay even quarrelling are fre- quent; and as a Circle will neceffarily be gathered upon fuch impertinent Occafions, the Drama fuffers greatly in its Reprefen- tation, from thefe Diforders. I mail think the few Hours I have be- llowed upon thefe Papers very well laid out, if they mould any ways contribute to bring this important Part of the Houfe to t So] to Order. But as I am not very fanguine, as to the Number of Hands thefe Reflec- tion* may fall into, nor, indeed, as to the Reception they may meet with; I hope (for the Defect is not general) the politer Part of the Pit will fave the Play from being interrupted, by kicking out the Fel- low who prefumes to be infolent, without any Confideration of his Rank and Cir- cumftances without Doors. My Refpect for the two brightejl, and, which is more, fairejl Female Circles in any Theatre extant, makes me hefitate to mention what Prejudice the Drama re- ceives from the Boxes, It muft, undoubtedly, be from Inad- vertency, that the Ladies carry on their Converfations loud enough to be heard by a great Part of the Pit -, and, in the Boxes nearerl: the Stage, by the Actors themfelves. Should thefe Reflections have the Honour to fall into any of 'their Hands, I am fure their Delicacy will make any farther Application unneceffary. No [ 8i ] ^owmonjlrance, I doubt, will prevail upon the S?narts who oblige the Town wil"b their whole Lengths at the Side-Scenes, fa lake thti r pretty Figures away. To he IdlSL ftat " they take off the Effe St of « tf-jc Sctnsry j that they #;#£? # motly u yjGvn e among Attors drefs'd in Cha- 11 -ratter; that they difcompofe the P^r- " -fiirmers'by flopping up their £«/ry and u "E$ref$3 that they interrupt the Dra- ''-/*«. fyt&eir giggling and grimace ; that " 2/x wfole Hr * . . d it* • v.' ♦* Su< •• fr*,« ^ «*,TY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY %1 #' ^01 i University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. 2-lnh* Nn-jwv"* ^ojnv3-jo>" .,.r\F-rAiimD„ 3 1158 01030 1223 kllFOfa