[music]
Something you have to learn in the theater, which is not to criticize your fellow actor.
No I'm not talking about the director, but, you know, and if someone
is doing something that's driving you mad, you are supposed to go to the stage manager.
And say "Is that the correct thing?" or whatever, you know.
Because otherwise you have this strange feeling that while you're acting,
a critic is watching you. >Hhmm.
>And it's, you know, the freedom of being able to do
what you've rehearsed and just picking it up from the other actor is so
wonderful, but the minute it becomes a critic it's hard to do, isn't it it?
It doesn't happen very often but I wonder how the young actors learn this because
sometimes a very young actor will just tell you something to do.
>But do they care? I'm thinking ahead- do they really care?
>I don't know. >I don't think they know what Miriam knows.
>But this sort of a way of
behaving in the theatre you know and also the other thing-
>Nowhere to learn it, darling nowhere to learn it.
>No, except in the theatre, right?
I once stood by for Irene Worth in
Tiny Alice and the scenes she plays with the man, in this case played by
John Gielgud, I began my whole career with John Gielgud because he directed
Judith Anderson in Madea. >Oh!
>And I adored him to this point where once one
of the assistants of his said to me "You know,
you must stop staring at John in rehearsal because he can't work," I said
"I don't stare at him," and of course I did. I never took my eyes off him.
But all of us have been that standby, or that understudy
and it's thrilling when you get the chance to do it. >Wonderful.
And when you're young you don't trust that what you've got is enough.
People say well just- George Cukor once said to me "I'm gonna give you some very important,
direction, Mary. And I gave it to Kate Hepburn. Only do what you do."
And you think, "Yes but what if that's not good enough, you see?"
Well, now we do what we do, we bring what we've got to the to the table,
so to speak, but I think in the beginning it's hard to trust yourself.
He said, "Did I speak too quickly when I said I do what I want to do and it's not worth-
because how do you know what the director wants?
The director probably hasn't even spoken to you some assistant has said come on in.."
It gives you a sense of belonging to the New York theatre community, that's wonderful.
And then, when the eight years on Broadway were over I felt bereft.
I thought this isn't my street anymore or my theater anymore and the next play I was in ran
five performances. but I think people always say
"Well how did you do it all that time?"
Well, there's a wonderful phrase that William Gillette a great
American actor said, he played Sherlock Holmes for the years and years and
people would said constantly say "Oh, how can you play the same part?" and he would
say "The important thing in the theatre is the illusion of the first time."
Once you've heard that phrase you can never forget it. The audience has never seen it
and you are not supposed to have lived it before, just remember that and you do it.
We find out as we grow older that other people's lives not necessarily to
theatre lives or actors lives are very like ours.
There's no profession where it's easy. It's not supposed to be easy. then it
Then it better be love the art, love the theatre, want to be there