Close Up (Mar-Dec 1933)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

so must words on the stage be specially emphasized ; they require a special technical mode of enunciation both in the field of increase of the mere volume of sound, and in the field of increase of emotional expressiveness. Everybody knows the so-called stage whisper, which actuaUy in no wise resembles the natural whisper of real life. In real life people whisper in order not to be overheard by strangers, whereas on the stage actors whisper precisely in order that strangers may overhear them as distinctly as possible. I have deliberately chosen examples as obvious as these in order the more clearly to demonstrate this inevitable demand for conventional reinforcement made upon the actor by the purely technical considerations of the stage. As a matter of fact, this conventional emphasis and reinforcement is not required only of the actor. It is required equally of the decors and setting, indeed of anything that in any way forms part of the performance. Noting this in passing, however I must repeat that the essential point is the technical nature of the theatre requires reinforcement of this kind to be done by the actor personally. He himself must be capable of exaggerating his gesture to effect sufficient clarity. He himself must be capable of delivering his lines with sufficient sound volume and sufficiently clear emotional expressiveness. He has to undergo special training