Picture Play Magazine (Jul - Dec 1929)

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72 That Mystic Urge to Act "Everything we do is the result of groping for strange, unknown goals." — Lenore Ulric. When Lenore Ulric talks she is almost swept away by herself. It is not affectation, either, but the surging, dynamic quality of that sweeping force within her which urges her on. If she silences herself while talking, to find the right word, her hands rotate in small circles. Then, finding the word, on she goes again at a terrific rate. "Everything we do — the great deeds, the mistakes, even the badness — is the result of trying to realize our dreams, of groping for that strange, unknown goal, of giving way to that force nature has placed inside us, which urges us on to work for our innermost desire. "In the first place, there is at least one grain of beauty and goodness in everything and everybody. I can feel compassion for those termed bad by others. A drunkard may have made himself one while seeking after that unknown goal. While in a torpor he believes himself in another world. Like the opium smoker, he is carried away. It gives him temporary relief, though in using such dangerous methods he ruins himself. "The stage and pictures are safe mediums by which people gain relief from boring routine. People must always worship. They have prayed to the sun, fire, and idols. Not that they were heathens, but because they used these mediums as symbols of that Great Unknown we call God. "Greeks and Romans of old worshiped various gods and goddesses representing different emotions — love, music, sport, and others. Though two thousand years have passed, people still have the memory of such worship in their inner minds. They give expression to such memories in adoring the stars of the stage and % Photo oy Autre? Miss Ulric excels in portraying vivid emotions. screen. They regard actors as the personification of various emotions — and through seeing those stars they see themselves and are carried away. "Day dreams are vague and useless, if not carried out in reality. In visiting the theater a man sees the daydreams and emotions which have often stirred him, but which he never has had a chance to express. The screen does the same thing for him. Both are mediums through which people can see their inner dreams and yearnings materialize. "That is why I think stage people compare to teachers of a religion. They reach certain heights and win adoration from the public, just as great spiritual leaders are worshiped by the populace." This is correct. I nave often met young men who, previous to going on the stage, had desired to become clergymen. And opera singers who had begun as priests. "The average person thinks emotions and various roles, instead of acting them; of getting them out of his system. A musician can get rid of these emotions through playing and composing, an artist through painting them on canvas. But not everybody has developed a talent, though everybody could. That is why so many are unhappy. "We all seek for that unknown goal. Instinctively we know that there is some great source of love and happiness and peace and beauty. It is while striving for it that we make so many blunders, for desire often leads us into wrong channels. "Every individual has the urge and desire for acting within him. Every child acts — and nothing seems more real than the make-believe games of childhood. "Since talking pictures have appeared," Miss Ulric went on, "it is surprising how many things the play\ ers have discovered they \ can do — such as singing, t| dancing, and playing — tal\ i ents they had but never had \ developed." \ Miss Ulric is a firm be liever in reincarnation. This she explained, as a solution to my question, is what urges people to give expression to so many talents. In past lives we have done many things, and those talents are still buried deep in our minds, waiting for release. "As to why people want — " Lenore leaned back in her chair. "The personalities of different lives we have lived in past ages never leave us. These personalities remain ever in our memory— for nothing can destroy memory. It is memory that stirs in people. That is what forces many to become actors. They are urged to portray past incarnations, to take on the personalities of past lives. In acting they can do so. [Continued on page 109] to act