Modern Screen (Dec 1949 - Nov 1950)

"he reason Mervyn LeRoy wanted to make star out of Lana Turner was because she iidn't look like anybody else in pictures, ihe was unique. Same way with Elizabeth "aylor and the rest. The same thing goes for being a mimic. To e a professional imitator like Elsie Janis was I r Florence Desmond is, is an art in itself. But ,-hen you go around just imitating what you ■ee on the screen or copying the mannerisms f the stars it shows you haven't a real creative Jair for acting. (Unless, of course, you do jurlesque imitations as a parlor stunt, for aughs.) i Dressing like the stars, doing your hair the my they do (especially if it's not becoming) cokipg like a star, being able to imitate — that sn't enough. So how do you know if you have talent? First of all you have to know it inside you. Know that you must express yourself by acting, *now that this is the only way you can be lappy, know that you're not just stage-struck or screen-struck. Then ask your high school dramatics teacher I [or help. Learn a scene from a play you like. When I work with my wonderful dramatic roach. Bob Paris, I do scenes from plays I may or may not be suited for. just for the experience. I've done Born Yesterday (and I'm | certainly not the type) , Voice of the Turtle and I Ethan Frome among others. Get a boy who is ! interested in acting and prepare a scene from a I play. Do it all yourself, give it your own I interpretation — right or wrong. Then ask your dramatics teacher to look at the scene and answer the question, ''Do I have talent?" Beg for honesty to save yourself headache and heartache. ! •tTov must remember that your dramatics teacher may be prejudiced in your favor, or may not even know. But this is an honest step in the right direction. Then you must ask yourself these questions: Are you willing to work from early morning until late at night? Are you willing to give up all social life if necessary? Are you able to control your temper? (This is so important and one of the hardest things I had to learn.) When you are being shouted at and pushed around and told you don't know anything about anything, can you smile sweetly and say, "Yes, sir, you're right?" Are you able to accept the opinions of others, even if you know perfectly well that they're wrong? And now where do you go? It seems a shame to me that there are so few places where you can really learn to act. If a boy or girl wants to be a lawyer he can go to any number of law schools. If he wants to be a doctor he majors in medicine. There are very few good dramatic schools and very few parents willing to put out money for training in a profession that is so precarious. If you can go to a New York or Hollywood dramatic school, and that's where most of the good ones are, that's fine. If not, do everything you can in school theatricals, Little Theaters and Community Theaters. See as many legitimate shows as you can ' and as many movies. Try to see all the good movies and when (Continued on page 81) "I can fairly see the dirt walk off by itself!" writes Mrs. Robert J. Burns of New Brunswick, N. J. Thank you, Mrs. Burns, for this quotable quote. Like any woman who washes for a big family, you've been tempted to try other laundry products. And like these other women, you have found no substitute for Fels-Naptha. Fels-Naptha's mild golden soap and gentle, active naptha plus the new "sunshine" ingredients make white clothes whiter and colored fabrics brighter. May you and all Fels-Naptha's friends live long and prosper— and may Fels-Naptha always make your washdays lighter and shorter. Always use Improved Fels-Naptha — the only laundry product that gives you— 1. Mild, golden soap. Gentle, active naptha. Finer "sunshine" ingredients for extra, brilliant whiteness and clearer, brighter colors. 2. 3. Fels-Naptha Soap BANISHES "TATTLE-TALE GRAY"