Representative women of New England/Lillian Lawrence
LILLIAN LAWRENCE, for several years the leading lady at the Castle Square Theatre in Boston, occupies a unique position among American stage favorites. Many an actress possessing her beauty, grace, and charm of manner might have been content with the measure of public applause bestowed upon her for these qualities alone. She, however, has preferred to win her laurels by steady application and untiring devotion to her work, striving constantly and earnestly to attain to her highest conception of each new role, doing always her best. As a reward for this persistent endeavor and constant study, she holds to-day an en- viable place as a stock company principal of great versatility. She was born in picturesque Alexandria, Va. Her family later removing to California, her girlhood was spent within sight of the Golden Gate.
When she was in the grammar school in San Francisco, she was chosen by the manager of the Bush Street Theatre as one of more than a score of children to take part in a living chess spectacle, and began her stage career as Queen's Knight in "A Royal Middy." For the next three seasons she sang in light opera in the same theatre. At the age of sixteen she began a two years' engagement with a stock company in Oakland, Cal., and when twenty years of age she joined a small dramatic company which toured California. She next made her appearance with the Cordray Stock Company in engagements which took her outside the State, presenting each week a different play. Here it was that she acquired her remarkable facility for acting one part while studying another. Here, too, she realized to the full how different from the stage-struck girl's idea are the realitie^s of stage life, with its endless routine of rehearsals every morning, matinee every day, fitting of new costumes, attention to infinitesimal details, new parts to study and prepare for, and evening performances before entirely different audiences each night.
In 1892 she came East, and was at once engaged to play Marie Louise to Rhea's Josephine. Her next engagement was with Kate Claxton, when she played Henriette in "The Two Orphans." After that a stock company in Dayton, Ohio, claimed her services. Following these experiences she appeared with Miss Minnie Seligman at the Madison Square Theatre, with Miss Katherine Clemmons at the Fifth Avenue, and with Miss Carrie Turner in "The Crust of Society." She also filled engagements with the National Theatre Stock Company in Washington, and played Shakespearean roles with Thomas W. Keene. After a successful season in the rôle of Mrs. Bulford in "The Great Diamond Robbery" and in a widely different role in "The Bachelor's Baby" she began in 1895 an engagement at the Castle Square Theatre in Boston, which lasted five years. The next two years she played in Washington, D.C., returning in 1903 to the Castle Square Theatre.
The Washington Post of April 6, 1902, says of her: "Although she has been here for so short a time, we have come to look upon this popular leading lady as one of us, and we want to keep her There is something- about her which is distinctly refreshing. She is a woman whom every one is glad to know and welcome in hrs home. 'Everybody loves her' is very generally the comment whenever her name is mentioned.
"Miss Lawrence possesses beauty and personality as distinct from those of other actresses as is her work. Her Grecian profile is known and admired all over the United State's. Photographers have taken pictures of her, artists have painted her, and sculptors have perpetuated her features in marble, because of their classic beauty combined with the dignity and sweetness of her character. It has been surprising to those who have watched Miss Lawrence's work to discover that with the majesty of her carriage and the classic outline of her face she possesses a love for com edy roles and enters into such parts with amazing vivacity."
The same paper pubHshes an interview with her in which she tells of her early ambition to become a soubrette, which she was forced to give up because of her rapidly increasing inches. "But the love for cometly still remains," says Miss Lawrence. " It will out, no matter how hard I try to suppress it. I cannot say, how- ever, that I prefer comedy parts to strong emo- tional ones."
Mr. Lewis C. Strang, whose opinion in dra- matic matters is worth good weight in gold, says of her, " Miss Lawrence has the intelli- gence to present with commenilable ease and with more than ordinary success even parts that are not in her line."
Speaking of the extraordinary number of parts she has taken. Miss Lawrence says: "I started at one time to count them, but lost the count. At any rate, I know that the number exceeds that of any other actress. One thing which has assistetl me greatly in my work is my memory. Even when a chikl I memorized so rapidly as to be a source of wonder to my family and friends. Learning a .part is not so much a matter of memory as it is of con- centra tioii, and^l possess that also~T,'o aTfarked degree. "But, while I memorize with facility, I forget as easily. Perhaps I should not say forget: rather, I store away in my mind the impression of a part which I have .icfii" arned, and when I need it again all I have to do is to read the okl role over once or twice-, and it all flashes liack to me. It would be impossible to retain any part when one learns a new play each week, and has no particular reason for thinking of the previous study. Shakesjjeare's plays are exceptions to this rule, I find. I think the reason is that Shakespeare is so deep. His language is so beautiful, so full of mean- ing, and expressed so differently from modern playwrights that one has to study him very thoroughly indeed to understand his lines rightly. With modern plays one could easily substitute one's own words and derive the same or nearly the same effect."
She admits that stock company work is ex- tremely taxing, but finds that it has its com- pensations in permitting her to remain in one place, instead of roaming all over the coun- try with practically no home nor opportunity to make warm friends. That she has a host of these was clearly proved on the night when she closed her first long engagement at the Castle Square Theatre in the winter of 1900, when the house was filled to its utmost capac- ity with an enthusiastic audience, who testified to their admiration and esteem in flowers and in farewell gifts.
Miss Lawrence is always interested in the people she meets, many of whom remind her of flowers — violets, forget-me-nots, roses, pan- sies, poppies, and even sunflowers. Names also appeal to her, ami one of her most cher- ished friendships she owes to this fact. A child who had seen her from before the foot- lights venturecl, to call at her hotel. Miss Lawrence was about to send excuses, when the beautiful name attracted her attention and altered her decision. She also has a great deal of sentiment regarding her wardrobe, planning all her gowns as to color, fabric, and fashion, and finding genuine delight in clothing her various characters. "For instance," she re- marked upon one occasion, " I would not think of using the gown worn as Camille for any other character, for to me that gown is a part of the character itself. Then, too, certain shades seem to go with certain people and be a part of their temperaments."
The Actors' Church Alliance, that admirable organization tending to bring about a closer understantling between the stage people and the rest of mankind, has a powerful counsellor and advocate in Miss Lawrence. To her per- sonal aid and enthusiasm is largely due the success of the Boston chapter, numbei'ing over four hundred members. Her good works are many, but are seldom tliscovered by any save the recipients. A great-hearted benevolence, ask- ing no questions, histant and constant in its sincerity, is one of her jjronounced traits.
Among Miss Lawrence's most cherished pos- sessions are an immense silver loving-cup, pre- sented her as a Christmas gift by patrons of the Castle Square Theatre; a girdle and cestus pendant, composed of sixty-nine fifty-cent pieces, engraved, which, together with a bag of gold and monogramed pieces, amounting to five hundred dollars, was presented to her on the memorable occasion of her farewell-to-Boston appearance in 1900. Among the plays (far too numerous to be given in detail) in which she has sustained important roles may be mentioned "The Lady of Lyons," "Frou Frou," "Captain Letterblair," "She Stoops to Conquer," "The Prisoner of Zenda," "Fedora," "Nathan Hale," "Under Two Flags," "Romeo and Juliet," "The Merchant of Venice."