JAMES STEELE MACKAYE'S ADAPTATION OF “ME
DELSARTE SYS'FEM OF EXPRESSION FOR THE
SPECTATORMM

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ABSTRACT

JAMES STEELE MACKAYE'S ADAPTATION OF THE
DELSARTE SYSTEM OF EXPRESSION
FOR THE SPECTATORIUM

by Frederick A. DeSantis

In any study of Francois Delsarte's theories and
techniques, the American theatrical genius, James Steele
MacKaye, always assumes an important function. To
thoroughly know the contributions of one is to know
much about the other, as their professional lives became
inextricably entwined from the day of their first meeting.
Actually, while examining the available data, it some-
times becomes difficult to decipher exactly which elements
of the system of expression should be credited to Delsarte
and which to MacKaye. Both were uniquely gifted artists
who, together, did much to further a deeper understanding
of the art of dramatic expression.

An historical treatise of this kind will immediately
raise many questions in the mind of the reader: First of
all, what bearing does this have on the theatre of touavy;
secondly, aren‘t the contributions of these artists a
trifle archaic in light of more recent developments in this
area?; and thirdly, what is the precise contribution that
this study makes? In answer to these questions let it be
stated that, though many of the achievements of past years

now seem a bit foolish, they were necessary to, and an

THES‘

 

Frederick A. DeSantis
outgrowth of, the theatrical developments and demands of
a particular era. Without the genius of men like Delsarte
and MacKaye it is very possible that theatre, as we know
it today, would not have arrived anywhere near the heights
that it has attained.

The contribution of this study will have to be

limited in its scope, and focused upon the continuing
influences of Delsarte in Steele MacKayes artistic life,

culminating with his Spectatorium. Each of the respective

 

works, consulted for this thesis treats of Delsarte's
influence upon MacKaye as one which was restricted to a
rather early and brief portion of his career, as one
which became less and less important to MacKaye as his
interests shifted away from acting into the areas of
producing, teaching, writing, and scenic conventions.

Joseph Batchellar‘s study is concerned with Mac—
Kayes contributions as an inventor, producer, manager,
with few references to the Delsarte—MacKaye relationship.

Rayda Wallace Dillpart‘s study treats of the many
pupils who trained with Delsarte. MacKaye is mentioned;
however, few details are given. Virginia Morris's study
is concerned with Steele MacKayes Delsartian lectures,
with a mention of the influences of Delsarte evident in
MacKayes later theatrical activities.

George Albert Neely's study is concerned with the

Delsarte system, itself. As such, MacKaye is not included.

THESIS

 

Frederick A. DeSantis

Claude Shauer's study is concerned with the Delsarte
system as revealed through Steele MacKaye‘s notes.
MacKaye's contributions and adaptations are not considered.

Percy MacKaye, in his work, EEEEE: denotes much
material to the Delsarte—MacKaye relationship of the
early years. Thereafter, references are made only for
biographical purposes. When references are made con-
cerning MacKaye‘s acting and lecturing, Delsarte is
mentioned-—never in connection with his theatrical inven-
tions.

Other books and articles follow a similar pattern.
Sometimes the Delsarte system, itself, is treated.
Certain aspects of the Delsarte—MacKaye relationship
are clarified. None of the existing reference material—-
with the exception, perhaps, of A. Nicholas Vardac's

Stage to Screen, point out the importance of Delsarte

 

influences as they were revised and adapted to fit the
needs of MacKaye, along with the theatrical needs of
the time.

Though it may seem strange and somewhat improbable
that a system of dramatic expression would have a direct
bearing upon theatrical presentations and inventions, it
will be the primary purpose of this study to prove that
it was so. To treat of early Delsartian influences in
MacKaye‘s career is to trace them to their logical con-
clusion, and this conclusion is to be found in his thea—

trical inventions and productions, which were a direct

THESI-

__. ‘A‘:

 

 

 

 

Frederick A. DeSantis

outgrowth of these influences. MacKaye's Spectatorium

 

utilized all of his inventive genius and theatrical
contributions.

The late—nineteenth century pictorial theatre of
realism and romance leading up to the first silent movies
culminated with spectacular stage presentations, ingenious
inventions and special effects made possible through the
unique and varied talents of MacKaye; what can be called
the photographic ideal in the theatre of thetime can be
traced directly to MacKaye and the Delsartian principles
which he evolved into a science and art of his own.

Before attempting to reveal the Delsartian principles
as they develOped in Steele MacKaye's contributions to
the pictorial theatre of realism and romance, some necessary
background will be helpful. For purposes of clarification
this study will be divided into threecflmmmers, though the
continuity in and between them should be perfectly evident:
Chapter I.—-A biographical sketch of Francois Delsarte and

James Steele MacKaye will summarize their lives, and

highlight the events pertinent to this study. The

biography of Delsarte will include his basic theories
on the 2science of art,’ and the practical application
of these theories to the art of expression. All
sources which in any way clarify these theories will
be cited, along with this writer's viewpoints.

The biography of James Steele MacKaye will briefly

summarize his youth, with particular emphasis on his

Frederick A. DeSantis
relationship with Delsarte. Then, an account of
MacKaye‘s lecture—tours, schools, writing, acting,
managing, and inventing will be given.

Chapter II.-—This part of the study will be directly
concerned with specifics of the lecture material
of James Steele MacKaye and the manner in which
the lectures were presented. In addition, various
critics and audience members of distinction will
be cited, so as to reveal the impression MacKaye
made at that time. A summarizing and synthesizing
paragraph including this writer’s views and inter-
pretations is added.

Chapter III.——The develOpment of Delsartian ideals as
they were adapted by Steele MacKaye for their use
in the pictorial theatre of realism and romance,
the triumvirate of which included Steele MacKaye,
David Belasco. and Henry Irving. This romantic—
realistic theatre served as the culminating phase
of the theatrical trend which directly led to the

silent motion picture.

THES

Ls- -..

JAMES STEELE MACKAYE'S ADAPTATION OF THE
DELSARTE SYSTEM OF EXPRESSION

FOR THE SPECTATORIUM

By

Frederick A. DeSantis

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

College of Communication Arts

1965

THE-:31

 

 

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION—-DEISARTE AND MACKAYE . . .
Delsarte's Early Years
Delsarte' s System [of Expressicn
The Pr acttical Application 0: Delsarte's
System.
James Steele MacKaye:
MacKayes' F rmative Years .
MacKaye' 5 Career in America . . . . .
II. AN EXAMINATION OF MACKAYE'S PRESENTATION OF
DELSARTIANISM IN AMERICA. . . .
III. THE SPECTATORIUM: A CULMINATION OF THE MACKAYE-
DELSARTE COLLABORATION . . . . .
BIBLIOGRAPHY

TABLE OF CCNTENTS

ii

Page

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82

1I6

THESIS

.-. =.- l"‘.'¢.‘_‘l- .

 

 

 

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION--DELSARTE AND MACKAYE

Before it is possible to elaborate upon the work
that these two geniuses of the theatre accomplished
together, it will be necessary to give some considerable
background information as to who, exactly, they both were
in their respective professions and countries, what they
had accomplished, and how they were regarded at the time
of their meeting in Paris, France in the autumn of 1869.
To clarify the material with which this thesis is primarily
concerned, it will be most helpful to begin with a concise
biographical study of the two men, along with a general
resume of the basic Delsartian theories as they were first

developed.

D.

m
;._l
(U
Q)

.rte‘s Early Years

 

Francois Delsarte was born at Solesmes, Department of
the North, France, in 1811. His father was a physician,
and his mother a woman of rare abilities, who taught herself
O l O
to speak and write several languages. His childhood, as
was his whole lifetime, was blighted with privation, tragedy,

and poverty. sShortly after his parental home was razed to

 

1F° A° DUPiVAEG, I’Delsarte,” The Atlantic Monthly
XXVI—I (May. 18/1), 611;.

 

'_J

THESIS

 

the ground by White Terrorists, domestic troubles
forced his mother, along with her two little sons, to
flee to Paris. There, Francois left his mother and
brother to seek what employment he could find, only
to find his mother dead of starvation upon his return,
and a few days later his brother from the same causes.2
Three articles by F. A. Durivage--an American
journalist greatly responsible for the introduction of
Delsarte in America—-, Claude Shaver, and Margaret
Fleming, respectively, concur that the gifted child
(Delsarte) developed a great love for music at an
early age and was one day discovered drawing figures
in the dust. The man who discovered him turned out to
be the celebrated professor of music, Bambini, and the
figures in the dust were a personal system of music
notation developed by little Francois to remember the
various tunes he heard during his vagrant wanderings.3
”In the dust of Paris were first written the elements
of a system destined to regenerate art. Bambini taught
his protege all he knew, but the pupil soon surpassed

the master and became his instructor in turn; for if the

one had talent, the other possessed genius.”LL

 

2Ibid., pp. 614-616.

3Ibid.

uIbid.

After the death of Bambini, the boy, at fourteen
years of age, managed to get himself admitted into the
Conservatory of Paris, where he studied both music and
elocution. Here, though he worked diligently, he met
with nothing but harsh treatment and discouragement.

His teachers were more like dictators forcing convention-
alism and routine upon him and frowning upon any attempt
at emancipation on his part. ”Genius was a heresy for
which they had no mercy.”5

It was at this time that he undertook and developed
a style of artistry uniquely his own. ”Thrown upon his
own resources, he soon developed, by careful observation
of nature and a constant study of cause and effect, a
system and a style radically differing from those of the
professors and their servile imitators.”6 It becomes
evident, here, that the art of elocution was included in
his courses at the Conservatory, and the contradictory
methods utilized by Delsarte‘s teachers were disturbing
to his artistic integrity. He was interested in a style
of artisitc expression which encompassed the whole artist,
body and soul.

The teachings of the different masters of elocution

diverged so widely, and seemed so meaningless to him,
that he began independent studies of movement and

 

5Ibid.

6Ibidu

THES‘

 

 

gesture, in the effort to discover the ruling
laws. He went from the streets, and the drawing-
rooms of his friends, to the dissecting rooms,
and found that in movement, whether in the
greatest lady or the humblest peasant, was
expressed the character. He found in the body a
rhythm with the soul. He observed that when the
soul was well poised, the body was well poised.
He discovered that we each have within us an
intuitive knowledge of this fact, and unconscionsly
use it in our judgment of our fellow creatures.

The climatic achievement of his studies was his
commission as Comedien du Roi at the Opera Comique in
Paris. This honor resulted partly from the promptings
of his own genius, together with encouraging praises
from the great Malibran (Marie) the queen of song, and
Alfred Nourrit, both of whom heard him in private recital.
The commission was won after being literally thrown
upon the stage in a most shabby condition, being warned
to sing beautifully or never show his face at the
stage—door again.8

Francois Delsarte retained his position as singer
on the lyric stage until lSBA, when the failure of his
voice, due to strain imposed upon it while at the Con-
servatory, compelled him to direct his efforts to a
scientific study of both music and the dramatic arts.9

He now applied himself to the task of establishing

a scientific basis for lyric and dramatic art, and
after years of patient labor perfected a system on

 

7Margaret Fleming, ”The Delsarte Theory,”

Magazine, IX (April, 1893), 32.
8

Munsey’s

 

Durivage, op. cit., pp. 616-617.
91bid., pp. 617-618.

which probably his fame will ultimately rest. His
Cours [Delsarte titled his course, "Cours D'Esthé-
tique Appliquee”] for instruction in the principles
of art was first opened in 1839. From the outset
he was appreciated by the highly cultivated few,
nor was it long before the circle extended and the
new master won a European reputation.

Of the gifted and famous personages who worked
under the master‘s tutelage were the names of

Malibran (who) attended his early course

of lectures. I have already mentioned Rachel and
Macready as his pupils. I now recall the names

f Sontag, of the gifted Madeleine Brohan, of
Carvalho, Barbot, Pasca (who owed everything to
Delsarte), and Pajol. He [Delsarte] was the
instructor in pulpit oratory of Pere Lacordaire,
Pere Hyacinthe, and the present abbe of Notre
Dame.

Before analyzing Delsarte's study of gesture and
its agents it will be helpful to cite some of his basic
views on art, as these views were the basis of his later
development of the 'science of art.‘ Delsarte, in an
address to the Philotechnic Society of Paris--translated
from an unpublished manuscript--presented the topic of
his lecture in the following manner:

The question is of art; of art disengaged from

its applications; of art in itself; of art of
which the beginning and the end are in God, and

of which the genesis uppg this earth remounts to
the cradle of creation.

 

lOIbid., p. 618.
llIbid.

12Genevieve Stebbins, Delsarte System of Expression
(New York: Edgar 3. Werner Publishing and Supply Co.,
1902), p. 22.

THESIS

 

 

 

 

And from the above premise he proceeds further with

his analysis of whatcxwwmitutes art.

Delsarte‘s System of Expression

 

Art is divine in its principles, divine in its
essence, divine in its action, divine in its end.
And what are, in effect, the essential principles
of art? Are they not, taking them together, the
Good, the True, and the Beautiful? And their
action, and their end,——-are they other than a
tendency incessantly directed toward the realization
of these three terms? Now the Good, the True,
and the Beautiful can be found only in God. Thus,
art is divine in the sense that it emanates from
His divine perfections; in the sense that it con—
stitutes for us even the idea of those perfections;
and, above all, in the sense that it tends to realize
in us, about us, and beyond us this triple perfection
that it draws from God.

From the above definition can readly be seen the
religious fervor underlying Delsarte's beliefs. This
definition should be continually borne in mind as his
‘sciencel of artistic expression comes under closer
scrutiny. This scientific system, partially a result
of the frustrations of the Conservatory, did not arise
because he considered there were no existing artists and
specialists of great individual merit. He merely doubted
that they had between them a determined scientific basis,
systematic entity and community of belief.

Where is their code and, consequently, the possi—
bility of exercising the smallest jurisdiction?
Their official reunion, has it ever produced anything

which justified the title of school with which they
ornament themselves? What is a school that has no

 

lBIbid, p, 30,

THESI

 

settled principles, no established doctrine, no
definite instruction? What kind of a school is

it whose contradictory methods incessantly let art
fall into the domain of fashion, thus subordinating
its noble powers to the vagabondage of the senses
as well as to the silly variations of caprice and
fantasy? Finally, what is a school which, owing
to the complete absence of determined rules, sur-
renders, without defense, to the interior tyranny
of an unbridled imagination and to the still more
humiliating tyranny of prejudices and tastes,
sometimes very abject, of a public to which she
submits as a slave when she ought to command as

a queen? ‘

The above statements seem to indicate that Delsarte
believed in a basic set of unvarying laws underlying
artistic expression, and that, despite individual talents,
these laws would remain constant. A definition of art,
then, must be preceeded by a definition of science:
"Science is the possession of a criterion of examination
against which no fact protests. Art is the generalization
and application of it."15

Claude Shaver startlingly reveals--from notes in
Delsarte’s own handwriting—-that the master was not a
speech teacher in any real sense of the word, but was,
primarily, a teacher of instrumental and vocal music and
an opera coach. In later years, he seems to have coached
some legitimate acting and to have offered instruction to
clergymen. Through recitation was used, it was merely a

16

method of teaching acting. It would appear, then, since

 

1 l

L‘Ibid., pp. 39—Ao.
15133g., p. 64.

l6Claude L. Shaver, ”Steele MacKaye and the Delsarte
System,” A History of Speech Education in America, Karl
Wallace (ed.7(New York: Appleton-Century—Crofts, Inc.,

195A). 204.

 

Delsarte s system was not exactly a system of teaching
either speech or music, that it was some kind of pseudo-
philosophy, claiming to be a science, which organized all
arts and sciences according to a plan which was based,
in essence, on orthodox Catholic doctrine. ”In a period
in which science was pushing forward rapidly, Delsarte‘s
"System" Jas essentially a throwback to a conservative
orthodox view under the guise of being a science.”17
The science on which the system is founded, however, is
purely speculative.

The criterion that Delsarte speaks of in his
definition of science was found in the Holy Trinity.
And so, proceeding from his basic premise, he approaches

art from a triple point of view: ontological, moral,

and organic.

Art is . . . possession and free direction of
the agents . . . by which are revealed life, mind
and soul . . . the triple object of which is to
move, convince and to persuade. Art is not an
imitation of nature. It elevates in idealizing
her . . . . Art, finally, is the tendency of the

fallen soul toward its primitive purity, or its
final splendor; in one word, it is the search

for the eternal type . . . . Man, made in the
image of God, manifestly carries in his inner being
as in his body, the august imprint of his triple
causality . . . . Man considered from the point
of View of art, presents three orders of essential
functions, each one depending upon a proper and
determined organic apparatus. These apparatuses
engender three orders of corresponding products.
Thus, there results in the phenomena three states,
three species of acts, three languages, each one

17Ibid.

THESIS

 

 

of which should be studied in itself and in its

relations of association, of succession and of

hierarchy. These three orders of functions, of

apparatuses and of languages constitute the

natural division of the phenomena of the guman

personality and of its triple causality.l

It would appear that M. Delsarte’s 'science'
consisted of directing the light of his criterion of
examination on all things, and with regards to this
idea of the trinity, to discover their interior organi—
zation, and to explain the raiscn d'etre of their external
products. On this examination and on the science thus
established, he bases all his arts. ”All things, according
to the system, show a trinitary organization. For example,
any object has height width, thickness; time consists of
past time, present time, future time, etc.”19
The Practical Application
of Delsarte’s System
It will now be the purpose of this study to deal

with the actual philosophy of Delsarte’s system as it
directly applies to the outward manifestations of crea—
tivity in the actor‘s means of artistic expression, and
to clarify pr-cisely which conditions inherent in the
human being are responsible for these manifestations.

Of the conscientiousness with which Delsarte worked, it

may be mentioned that he devoted five years to the study

 

lSA

stebbins, o . cit., pp. 64—67.

19Shaver, loc. cit.

 

10

of anatomy and physiology, to obtain a perfect knowledge
of all muscles, their uses and capabilities,——a knowledge
which he utilized with remarkable success.20
That the soul, in its covering of flesh called the
body, moves in obedience to universal law was the great
discovery of Delsarte. He stated that the three conditions
imposed by space, time, and motion——the three great
elements by which its activities are inevitably environed—-
restrict the soul's activities. The soul must express
itself in space, through time, and by motion, and requires
time in which to manifest itself. Finally, the force by
which this motion is produced is supplied by the soul,
or psychic principle, and is of three different kinds,
each corresponding to the three states of the being which
it translates in expression.21
To the child who has been educated in the beginning
by the kindergarten system of Froebel, this will be
no fresh theory. Froebel taught that all outward
form is but the reflection of a spiritual or mental
fact, and that there are fundamental rulse by which
the inner life can be correctly judged by the outer.
But Delsarte has taken the main stem of Froebel's
philosOphy, and so elaborated and embroidered, and

worked the theory into such an exquisite detail,
that it is truly his own.c2

 

20 . .
Durivage, loc. Cit.

21Anna Morgan, An Hour with Delsarte (Boston: Lee E.
Shepard Publishers. New York: Charles T. Dillingham,
1890). pa 25.

22Fieming, loc. cit.

 

THES‘

 

ll

Thus, when the force of the soul causes outward
motion——from the body——it is called Vital, as it proceeds
from our physical nature; when the force is inward—-or
toward the body——it proceeds from our intellectual nature
and is called Mental; and when this force is poised,—-
that is, when it neither causes motion from nor toward
the body, but tends to hold the body in poise,——it is
said to proceed from the emotional nature, and is called
Emotive.23

In every human being one of these three natures--or
states of being——is predominant, the other two being
tributary or subordinate; and the degree of the predominance
of the one state, together with the order of importance
of the other two, are the root and source of all the
various types and traits in mankind For example, a
man of intellectual habit, or one in whom the mental is
predominant, will reveal his nature through subjective
motion——motion which is mainly toward the body. On the
other hand, in a man in whom the vital nature leads,
the motion wil be chiefly objective, or from the body;
and if the emotional nature rules, the motion will be
neither directly subjective nor objective, but may partake
of either, acco ting to the extent to which the emotional

nature is invaded by the mental or the rital.24

 

23Morgan, op;_cit., pp. 25-26.

2“1p1a., p. 26.

THESIS

L. .“-‘}"T'.’L\

 

 

 

12

And so we see that every act of life has its rise
in one of these three states of the being, and traces its
motion and motive to one of them. This predominant state
is said to lead, while the other two assist or follow the
former, and the resulting action corresponds to the state
from whence it proceeds. Thus we find that the seat of
sensation is in the physical nature, which is also the
source of vitality, and reveals itself through outward
or objective motion. The seat of sentiment is in the
emotive nature, which is the source of the highest
emotions of the soul; it reveals itself through centred
or poised motion.25 Delsarte‘s beliefs seem to be in
perfect accord with Thomas Carlyle, a well-known psycholo-
gist, who stated that, I"All that a man does is physiog—
nomical of him. You may see how a man would fight by the
way in which he sings; his courage, or want of courage,
is visible in the word he utters, in the opinion he has

formed, no less than in the stroke he strikes. He is one,

fwrC
H Lid

m

and preaches the sam self abroad in all these ways.
In this further testimony by the same eminent
psychologist, there seems to be some contradiction. A

closer inspection, however, reveals that both Delsarte

and Carlyle were in harmonious accord. Delsarte did

 

2
5Tbid., pp. 26—27.

26Flemingb <),. cit., E3, 3M,

l3

talk of man‘s faculties as separable and distinct, but
this was merely a convenient method utilized for his
analysis. Carlyle says that,

. We talk of faculties as if they were
distinct things, separable; as if a man had
intellect, imagination, fancy, etc., as he has
hands, feet, and arms. Then again we hear of
a man's ‘intellectual nature‘ and of his 'moral
nature‘ as if these again were divisible, and
existed apart. Necessities of language do
prescribe such forms of utterance, but words
ought not to harden into things for us. We
ought to know withal, and to keep forever in
mind, that these divisions are at bottom but
names; that man‘s spiritual nature, the

vital force that dwells within him, is essen-
tially one and indivisible.

The views of the two are reconciled in the final part

of the testimony, ”that man‘s spiritual nature, the vital
force that dwells within him, is essentially one and
indivisible.”

The study of gesture and its agents was subjected
by Francois Delsarte to a profound analysis. Thus he
recognized in the human body three principal agents of
expression,—-the head, the torso, and the limbs, each
of which perform a distinct part in the economy of a

28

character. The head expresses the mental nature, the
. , .. 29
legs and arms the Vital nature, and the torso the emotive.

Gesture assumed in each case special forms, which were

 

27Morgan, op. cit., p. 27.

*—

Durivage, loc. cit.

 

29Fleming, loc. cit.

 

THESI

. gsz'v,‘ .

 

 

l4

classified and described by M. Delsarte with a care and
perspicuity which made his labors on this subject entirely
new, and for which there was no equivalent at that time.30
According to the French master there were

. . . three basic forms of movement [gesture]:
movement about a center, called normal, which

is vital and expresses life; movement away from

a center, called eccentric, which is mental and
expresses mind; movement toward a center, called
concentric, which is moral and expresses soul.
These three forms of movement mutually influence
each other and thus give rise to nine forms, normo—
normal, normo—eccentric, normo—concentric, eccentro—
normal, eccentro—eccentric, eccentro-concentric,
concentro-normal, concentro-eccentric, concentro-
concentric. The forms of movement give rise to
nine attitudes or states, and also to nine inflec-
tions or movements. All gesture, movements, or
attitudes may be classified under these forms and
each gesture, movement, or attitude has a special
significance.3

It would seem that Delsarte was certainly a product
of his time, as this mechanistic approach to art is

carried even further in his trinitary division of the
vocal apparatus.

The vocal apparatus is also triune, and each
element of the trinity expresses one of the
essences of being, life, mind, or soul. Speech
arises from three agents: the inciting agent,
the lungs, which is the vital or life principle
of sound; the resonating agent, the mouth, which
is the intellectual or mind principle of sound;
the vibratory agent, the larynx, which is the
moral or soul principle of sound. All vocal
effects, arising from these fundamental agents
express life, mind, or soul, and may be so clas—
sified. In addition, the Delsarte system

 

joDurivage, loc. cit.

 

L

31Shaver, op. cit., o. 205.

 

THESI

 

 

 

15

re-evaluates language according to the principle
of the trinity and assigns degrees of value to
the vagious parts of speech varying from one to
nine.

Specific examples, however, speak far more eloquently
than generalities, and a concise description of the above-
mentioned subdivisions will be most helpful to the reader.
The head (mental nature) is subdivided into the eyes and
forehead (mental), the nose and cheeks (emotive), and the
mouth and chin (vital). Though the eyes express the
intelligence of a personality more than any other feature,
they must be taken in relation with the other characteristics.
The cheeks and the nose, by the flush, by the dilation and
contraction of the nostrils, express the emotive nature;
and it only requires one look at the mouth and chin to
determine what part the vital nature plays in the drama.
From the heavy lips and square chin of the sensualist to
the thin lips and pointed, bony chin of the miser, there
is every phase of vital nature exhibited.33

In the area of the torso, the lungs are the region
of the mental nature; the heart of the emotive, and the
abdomen of the vital. When the chest is expanded it is
evident that some idea, some high impulse has come into
the mind. When it is unduly thrown forward, it betokens

an affectation of nobility-—that is, arrogance. When

 

2
3 Ibid., pp. 205-206.

33Fleming, op. cit., pp, 3M-35.

THESI‘

 

 

 

16

the chest is passive it becomes hollow, and suggests

helplessness.34

The limbs are viewed as embodying the vital nature
because the more animal natures show a preponderance of
muscular development in these parts. Within the sub—
divisions of the legs, the upper leg is vital, the lower
leg emotive, as is shown in many of its natural impulses,
such as kneeling. The foot is one of the most conspicuous
agents of the mental nature. Its movements will often
betray agitation, when the muscles of the face are kept
perfectly under control.35

The position and gestures of the feet and hands
show the ruling force in the individual. If the body
is correctly held upon the feet, if they are slightly

apart, one a trifle in advance of the other, poise of

}_J

the entire person: ity is expressed,-—the emotive nature

K

rules. If the weight goes to the front of the foot, it
declares the vital nature; if the weight rests mainly on
the back leg, and the advanced leg is slightly bent, it
shows the thinker. If the legs are wide apart, we
ascertain that the personality is commonplace, vulgar,
or in a state of intoxication. If the feet are near

together and point forward it indicates rusticity, unless

 

1L).
3 Ibid., p. 35.

35Ibid., pp. 35-36.

THESI‘

 

17

the position is assumed, in which case it means servility,
as in a soldier or a servant. If the weight is on the
back leg, with both legs straight, it shows defiance.
In an enthusiastic moment the weight will rest upon the

‘ O , ‘1 4— O ’2 6
advanCing foot, the other leg free and straight.J

The attitudes of the legs and feet are as varied
as the swift changes of the previously cited facial
characteristics.

Thus, for instance, it is not useless to know

what function nature has assigned to the eye, the
nose, to the mouth, in the expression of certain
emotions of the soul. True passion [that which
we displayin life as opposed to art], which never
errs, has no need of recurring to such studies;
but they are indispensable to the feigned passion
of the actor, How useful would it not be to the
actor who wishes to represent madness or wrath,
to know that the eye never expresses the sentiment
experienced, butmsimply indicates the object of
this sentiment!

In the light of present-day knowledge, it is hard
to conceive of the artist‘s belief in such a behavioristic
approach to an understanding of the human being. Though,
since Delsarte‘s attempt to reach the core of human
manifestations far artistic purposes was one of the most
thorough, it is comprehensible what an intense interest

L.

tor must have found in the

U)

the actor, painter, or culp

study of the human body thus analyzed from head to foot in
' ' . : . i H T i A ‘.
its innumerable ways of expression. :ence the eloquent

secrets of pantomime, those imperceptible movements of

 

6.

(pk)

ibld: , p,

 

6
'7

UL) U)

T
Durivage, op.tcit., pp. 613-619.

THES‘

 

 

18

great actors which produce such powerful impressions,
are decomposed and subjected to laws whose evidence and
simplicity are a twofold source of admiration.”38
Delsarte termed the shoulder ”the thermometer of
passion,” always expressing a state of sensibility. The
face should determine the passion‘s source. A caress is
given with the shoulder. As a mother caresses her child,
she lifts her shoulder, and, stretching out her arm,
bends her head. The loverls heart can be told by the
expression of his shoulders and hands, of which he may
be perfectly unconscious. If he stands with drooping
shoulders, and hands with fingers touching and passive

’ he surely does not tell

thumbs, and says, ”I love you,‘
the truth. If he means his wordslfis Shoulders lift, the
arms come out from the body, the fingers open. He talks
from the heart.39

The elbows, also, are most expressive. Modesty and

are expressed by their repose. Turned outward they

(D
33
(I)
‘0

show conceit, self—assertion, or in some cases tender

protection. In ward, they show weakness, subordination
MO I: . . , — -. . -

of self. The corporal, tne lowest officer in the

army, carries his elbows out. He is lately of the ranks

and must, he thinks, assert himself. As you notice the

 

38

Ibid.
ngleming, op. cit., p. 37.
MOI-bid.

 

THES!

 

 

19

officer of higher rank, you come to the man of assured

position and refined and modest life, and his elbows

Ln

are held easily, unconsciously.
It is the hand which, much more unconsciously than

they eye~—not being usually so carefully schooled-—tells

more than all the other features, to those who can under-

stand. It indicates the condition of that harmonious combi—

nation of body and soul which is called the human being,

and varies with the state of mind.“2

Delsarte calls the thumb tie index of the affec—
tions, and vitality. The nourrices of Paris, whom
the children call ”Nou nou,” used to be a feature
of the Tuileries. They are the peasant nurses
who have come up, usually from Brittany, to care
for the infants of the rich. Their own babies
have been taken back to their country home. In
making his studies Delsarte paid great attention
to these women. He found that when the nursling
baby was very young, and consequently the ”nou
nou” had been recently parted from her own child,
she held her little charge with stiff hands, the
thumb close alongside the palm. She would care
for this strange child, but she would not love it.
When the charge was a little older, he would look
again, and he would see how, as the love began to
come, the fingers wo ld come apart. When the
true mother of the cnild clasped it, the thumb
was spread wide from the h nd.43

_‘
l

A further exemplifization of Delsarte‘s observations of
c _- 1 c l ,7 o 0 _ ,_
the hand was discovered while ’stuuying the dying and the

dead . . . . The sign of death was the attraction of the

v

 

 

 

THESI

 

 

2O

thumb inward. He grew to conclude that when the heart
was dead to any emotion which the circumstances sur-
rounding the being would naturally excite, the thumb
would be pa ssi ve.AM

In concluding a study of Delsarte‘s theories, the
great law of personality must be kept constantly in the
foreground. There are fundamental rules of human nature,
so that when the same emotion comes to the woman in the
palace and the woman in the hut, the emotion is expressed
by the same gesture in a greater or lesser degree. It
is knowing these rules as they are shown forth naturally,
and watching the development of these rules in different
human beings, that give us the clue to the secrets of a

heart and the habits of a body.LL5

Personality is the result of that which we have
inherited and that which we have made ourselves;
and this personality in its outward form expresses
what we are. There is little relation between the
movements of the exquisite joints of a carefully
refined nature. tte swift and elegant movements of

,1
a perfectly poised body, on the one hand, and on

the other the clu umsily executed gestures of torpid
limbs, stirred by a torpid mind. The importance

of the act must he iudged by the delicacy or non—
delicacy of the organism, but it isjthese acts which
allow us to judge of that delicacy.h

\

A.weighty idea will un: ioubtedly be accompanied by a slowness

Of gesture; a light idea by a quick, light gesture. A

 

“albid.

uSIbid.
ua

bid.

THESI

 

 

 

 

21

grave nature is slow of movement, as of speech; a light
nature rapid in gesture.47
The direction of the gesture, again, shows the
direction of the thought. A direct motion of the hand
from up to down expresses affirmation--”I will.” A
horizontal movement from left to right expresses negation--
l'Nol." A movement of the hand beginning at the right
shoulder and moving downward toward the left side expresses
annoyance; upward from left to right expresses hatred,
contempt. These and a thousand other gestures, all with
their specific meanings and their necessary modifications
through corresponding movements of the body. It is impos-
sible to more than barely illustrate the theory.48 Delsarte‘s
last word is; ”Nothing is more deplorable than a gesture
without a motive.”u9
F. A. Durivage, while trying to classify the nature
and value of M. Delsarteis labors in connection with what
had been spoken or written up to that time on the art of
acting, points out that the numerous precepts which had been

formulated on dramatic art had hardly any other objective

than the manner in which character ought to be conceived.50

 

 

 

 

50Durivage, loc. cit,

 

THESIS

 

 

 

 

 

22

Ingenious and multiplied observations have been
employed to bring forth the delicacies of the part
and its unperceived features. The intellectual
strength of the actor or vocalist has been directed
to the author‘s conception. He has been told to be
pathetic here, menacing there; here to assume a
slight tinge of irony transpiercing apparent
politeness, or again to make his gesture a seeming
contradiction of his words.5

Such an analysis of a poet's work is certainly
imperative, but how far from adequate. And what an immense
distance there is from the intelligence which comprehends
such an analysis to the gesture which translates, from the
song which moves to the inflection which interprets. It
is with the new purpose which M. Delsarte has embraced
that, without neglecting an understanding of the author,
he might say to the actor: ”This is what you must express.
Now how will you do it? What will you do with your arms,
with your head, with your voice? Do you know the laws of
your organization? Do you know how to go to work to be
pathetic, dignified, comic, or familiar, to represent the
clemency of Augustus or the drunkeness of a coachman?”

Summarily, Delsarte teaches the vocalist or actor
the laws of this language, of this eloquence which nature
places in our eyes, in our gestures, in the suppressed or
expansive tones of our voice, in the accent of speech. He
teaches the actor, or, to speak more properly, the man, to

know himself, to manage artistically that inimitable-

 

51Ibid.

23

instrument which is man himself, all whose parts contribute
to a harmonious unity.52

Hence, aware of the gravity of such an assertion,
I do not hesitate to proclaim here that I believe M.
Delsarte's work will remain among the fundamental
bases; I believe that his labors are destined to
give a solid foundation to theatric art, to elevate
and to ennoble it; I believe that there is no actor,
no singer, however eminent, who cannot derive from
the acquirements and luminous studies of M. Delsarte
positive germs of development and progress. I
believe that whoever makes the external interpretation
of the sentiments of the human soul his business and
profession, whether painter, sculptor, orator, or
actor, that all men of taste who support them will
applaud this attempt to create the science of expres—
sive man; a science from which antiquity seems to
have lifted the veil, and what appears willing to re-
vivie in our days, in the hands of a man, worthy by
his patient and conscientious efforts to discover
some of its most precious secrets.

Delsarte sought neither fame nor wealth. He could
easily have secured both by remaining on the stage as an
actor, after he had losttfis power as a vocalist. He pre—
ferred to surrender himself in comparative retirement to
the study of art and science, and to the instruction of
those who sought his aid in mastering the principles of
artistic expression, To the needy this instruction was
imparted gratuitously, and more than one successful actor
and actress was raised from penury to fortune by the benevo-

lence of their beloved Delsarte.54

 

52Ibid.

53Ib1d.
51+

 

Ibid.

2N

It would be easy to cite many illustrations of the
goodness and tenderness of this man. Religious fervor largely
influenced his life and was the keynote of his character;
but his faith was not hampered by bigotry. Like others of
high rank, he held that science and art are the handmaids
of religion.55

Pages might be filled with voluntary tributes to his
genius from the foremost minds of France,——Jules Janin,
Theophile Gautier, Madame Emile de Girardin. Lamartine
pronounced him "a sublime orator.” Fiorentino, the keen,
delicate, and calm critic, spoke of him as “this master,
whose feeling is so true, whose style is so elevated, whose
passion is so profound, that there is nothing in art so

beautiful and so perfect.”56

James Steele MacKaye

 

Francois Delsarte's favorite disciple, James Steele
MacKaye, was born June 6, 18H2, in the family residence,
”The Castle,” near Buffalo, New York. Because he developed
a strong taste for study in his earlier life, he was sent
to school when three years of age. He studied Latin at the

age of five.

MacKayes' Formative Years

 

In boyhood MacKaye instinctively began to lean toward

the life of an artist and actor, even though his father had

 

55Ibid.

56Ibid.

25

decided that he should pursue the career of a soldier.
Toward this goal Colonel MacKaye sent his son, Jim, to Roe's
Military Academy. "In his own book studies at Roe's
Military Academy, for two years, Jim took high rank, but in
the stricter regimen of military observances his high
spirits were constantly devising schemes of mischievous
'non-conformity.'"57

In the fall of 1858 the plans of Jim MacKaye as an
artist had reached their crisis in his own and his father's
definite decision for him to study painting abroad.58
"In youth, Steele MacKaye studied painting, but soon
developed a theatrical urge, of which his father disr
approved."59 In October, 1858, he sailed alone from New
York for Paris on the S. S. Arago, Influenced by such
artists as Troyon, Couture and Bouguereau, MacKaye com-
menced with his typical enthusiasm the study of painting
and sculpture.60

Upon his return to New York in 1860, he briefly

continued his studies in art with George Inness, a prominent

American painter of that time. The following few years

 

 

57Percy MacKaye, Epoch: The Life of Steele MacKaye,
2 vols. (New York: Boni & Liveright, 1927), Vol. I, p. 57.
58Ibid.

59Rayda Wallace Dillport, "The Pupils of Delsarte."
Unpublished Master's Thesis of the Louisiana State Univer—
sity, l9u6, p. “6.

6OMacKaye, Epoch, op. cit., pp. 72-112.

 

THES

ix; “'4 ‘53..

 

 

 

were restless years for MacKaye——years of searching by an
impulsive impressionable nature for a satisfactory means
of self-expreSSion. During this particularly unsettled
period of his life, MacKaye was teaching art at the Weld
School at Eagleswood, New Jersey. Here on an especially
constructed stage he acted a number of leading roles:
Mephistopheles in Paust; Claude, Prince of Como in the

Lady of Lyons; and numerous Shakespearian title roles.61

 

Another part of this period of MacKaye's life was
devoted to military serVices. During the spring of 1862
he enlisted in the ranks of the Union Army and became a
member of the famous Seventh Regiment of New York. Immedi—
ately after this enlistment he married Jennie Spring.
". . . It was an impulsive, war-time match, which after—
wards eventuated in their divorce and in remarriage on

both their parts.”64

In the summer of 1865 Steele MacKaye
married Mary Keith Medberry.

In early l869 MatKaye, in defiance of fortune and at
temporary odds with his father, took to his paint brushes.
This return to painting, however, did not last long. His
father, relenting in his disapproval of his son's dramatic
tendencies, insisted that he undertake his studies in Paris.

It was for there that he set sail in late July, 1869, to

study the art of the drama.

61Ibid.

 

62Ibid., p. 9A.

 

THESI

 

 

 

27

It was during the next three years that Steele
MacKaye was associated with Francois Delsarte, a relation—
ship which was to manifest itself throughout MacKaye's
professional life and contribute significantly to the
theatre of the time. ”When MacKaye sailed from New York,
he had intentions of studying at the French Conservatoire,
but upon the advice of his father, he went to see the
French master of expression, Francois Delsarte. Upon the
first meeting a bond joined the two great men together.“63
"The first words of Delsarte to Mr. MacKaye were: 'Mon
fils! Mon fils!‘ and from that moment of meeting until
the last hour of Delsarte's life, the tender devotion and
love of a father and son were added to the enthusiasm and
confidence of the master and pupil.”6u

Because of MacKaye's artistic background and brilliant
genius, Delsarte immediately recognized in him both a
disciple and a co—worker. ”He realized that his pupil
could not only understand and apply all that he taught,
but that he, too, was creative and philosophic. Within five

months of their meeting, Mr. MacKaye was himself lecturing

and teaching in Delsarte's 'cours', with a success which

 

63Virginia Elizabeth Morris, ”The Influence of Delsarte
in America as Revealed Through the Lectures of Steele Mac—
Kaye." Unpublished Master's Thesis of the Louisiana State
University, 1941, p. 7.

6qus. Steele MacKaye, ”Steele MacKaye and Francois
Delsarte," Werner's Voice Magazine (New York, New York,
1879), XIV, No. 7, July, 1892, 187)

 

28

O

aroused as much enthusiasm as astonishment in Delsarte‘s

‘lovable, loving, and generous nature‘."65
Steele MacKaye’s son, Percy, writes of the time

following his father‘s introduction to the French master

as being the last months of Delsarte‘s active life,

"and in them, at the very end of his long career, there

was thus strangely brought to him the pupil who was to

rescue his name from the oblivion which, in spite of

the loyalty of a few devoted followers, must have over-

taken it" . . o . So the hours daily spent together

were almost equally divided between practical training--

wherein was applied the principle already formulated-—

and the search together after new applications of known

truths and simpler means of reaching desired results."6b

Mary MacKaye‘s description of the ensuing ‘cours‘ is

given an account of in her son‘s (Percy) voluminous work
in the following comments:

The first part of the morning was given to the
exposition of philosophy--the explanation of some
theory, or chart. This part of the class work--
during the last months--was given by Mr. flacKaye,
Delsarte from his armchair putting in a word, a
nod, or smile of approval, to his little audience.
After the exposition came the practical part: the
recitation of a fable, a scene from a play, or

perhaps a song, any of which was rendered some-
times by a pupil, sometimes by Delsarte himself.67

 

65Ibid.

 

66MacKaye, Epoch, I, p. 135.

67Shaver, o . cit., p. 206.

In addition to these public lectures or lessons,
Delsarte gave indivic iual instruction, There is no
material available to indicate just what happened in

these sessions, which were held daily, but presumably

*T‘

Delsarte taugxt hi pupils specific songs and rcles and

U1

worked on articulation, movement, gesture, etc.
Whether Delsarte used any kind of gymnastic exercises
in his teaching was much argued later by American Del-
sartians. The scant evi ience aya.iab e wculd indicate

' o ,' Q 2 a .
that he did not.’6V A further examination of this evL ence

will be treated in the second chapter 3f this study

On a morning in July, 1870, a friend of Mr. Mickaye‘s
was strolling in the Parc MODL eau with the American
journalist, Mr, Francis Durivage.69 A native of Boston,
Durivage was then resident in Paris as the foreign corres—

3

r v
I

pondent of prominent New York and Boston newspapers. M
MacKaye was then conducting his class, to which the friend
invited the young journalist. This incident was to have
important repercussions which opened the arms of America to
the eventual introduction of Delsartian theories by Steele
MacKaye.
After the class, Mr. Durivabe left, on fire with
enthusiasm for all he had seen and heard there——for

Delsarte himself, his philosophy, and the young
American expounder, in his grace, eloquent ce, and

 

681bi d.

69See page i.

30

zeal. Immediately he wrote a glowing letter
regarding Delsarte and MacKaye to his friend

Mr. James Cakes, of Boston, who was the fides
Achates of the great actor, Edwin Forrest, to
whom Cakes showed the letter. By Forrest, in
turn, the letter was shown to the Rev. William
Rounceville Alger, a prominent Unitari an minisier
and author, of Boston, who was then writing his
Life of Forrest; and through Alger its contents
were communicated to Prof. Lewis B Monroe, head
of the Boston College of 0ratory.7

 

6
These future friends were to be instrumental in preparing
the groundwork for MacKaye‘s successful lectures on his
return to the United States.

As a result of the Franco—Prussian War, eventually
leading to the siege of Paris, MacKe ye and Del se rte were
separated fc rever, MacKaye returning to America and Delsarte
fleeing to his native village, salesme.

Delsarte‘s great dream was to perfect all his vein is
and to form a great school in which he could apply them

and show their results, in training artists in all depart-

ments of art. It seevs that the es trly arts gonism to Del-
sarte‘s methods was still evidert in his later year;.

No endiwvent could be secured in Paris for this
school. Besides, Dels arten had na any enemies in tde
gay capital, nor were his thods atn.o:iated except
by a very few. They were so different, not to say
antagonistic, to the traditional methods of the
Conservatoire, that the ey provokei great oppositiin.
For this and other reasons, he concluded to come to

America.71

 

YOMacKaye, Epoch, op. cit., p. 138.

 

 

(18. S. Curry, ”Delsa rte aid MacKe ye, Werner‘s Voice
Magazine (New York, 1W 0), VII, March, 1885, '3.

31

So, MacKaye came to this country and sought to open the
way by a course of lectures, and to interest leading
people in founding the school here. His efforts were
partly successful, and Delsarte began preparations for

a visit to America.

MacKaye's Career in America

 

A detailed account of the content of the Delsartian
Lectures by Steele MacKaye will be presented in Chapter II
of this study. The following material indicates the impor-
tance of the institutions at which MacKaye lectured, and the
prominence of the audience members.

The first of these lectures is reported to have been
held on the evening of Tuesday, March 21, 1871, in the
parlour of the St. James Hotel. MacKaye delivered his
first lecture on Delsarte and the art of expression before
an audience of the leading citizens and literati of Boston,
illustrating it by his own expressive powers in acting and
pantomime. The next morning, the young artist ”awoke to
find himself famous.”72 The lecture was twice repeated in
Boston at Tremont Temple. Each time there was a large
audience.”73

On the evening of April El, 1871, Steele MacKaye

presented a lecture in Massachusett's Hall at Harvard College,

 

7lelacKaye, Epoch, op. cit., p. 150.

 

73Morris, 0 . cit., p. 9.

‘

j?

where Henry W. Longfellow was the committe Chairman for
the event.

The reports of MacKaye's highly successful lectures
in Boston brought to im another remarkable invitation
from a group of artists and educators in New York to
speak at Steinway Hall, in response to which he
lectured at that place twice in April, with several
additional repetitions [May 8, December 19] in New
York and in BnJoklyn, the latter by'invifiation of
Henry Ward Beecher and others [in May}.7

All of the plans which had been made were abruptly

terminated by the untimely death of Delsarte. MacKaye‘s
interest in the establishment of an American
d'Aesthetique” began to wane. It was after the death of
Delsarte that he directed his energies toward the theatre.
Delsarte, it must be borne in mind, was primarily
interested in the training of singers. MacKaye was

’1

interested in the training or actors. Only in the hands

of pupils of MacKaye and of pupils of his pupils was the
system applied to ”expression” or interpretation.75

This is the beginning of another period in the life of
MacKaye-~that of acting, directing, and playwriting.75
Though the HCours d‘Aesthetique” which Delsarte was to

have led was abandcmfixL,IWacKaye worked and studied for

J.

twenty years, constantly developing the Science ans the
PhilOSOphy of Expression. At the same time he built up

and perfected ”. . . that system of psycho-physiial

 

74MacKaye, QE;_£1£°3 99° 56-57°

758haver, op: cit., p. 210.
76

Morris, 0 . cit., p. 10.

¢...-

THESI

 

 

Do
u.)

training which [at that time} . . . under the name of
Aesthetic or Harmonic Gymnastics, formed so large a
portion of the practical training of the ‘Eels“rte

System,‘ as it was taught in classes and in schools,

|,_Jo

and set forth in the val.

1:77

textbooks now publishgd

r,

on
on the subject.

In subsequent rears, during and berween his numer~

.' n" '4 ' ‘t‘ I O ,h 0" ~ ' fl '1 r r _ ‘4 C ‘ ‘ I‘."‘mr‘ .' "" r~ 1,":
ous and variei thEatTlual v ntules, Jaffic steels Macna,u

continued his lectures, appearing before audiences in

the many cities from fiaine to Pennsylvania. Virginia
Morris, Percy MacKaye, F. A. Durivafe. 5. ;. Curry, ani
Claude Shaver state that Machavé was always well received
and even marveled at by his audience. An article in

seems *o ail a

SD
\1
r .J
'3
(D
Q,
'E‘
E‘
H
:73
I?
H
p._l
()3
O:
O

The Theatre Mag

 

contradiction to these statements, which is include:

I +

here in order that the reader might have a more temple,

m

understanding oi the ach: cements of NatflayEE

Some years ago . . . a young enthusiast, tfiVEJ
Mr. James steele Na have, brought out hiwself and
a pupil at a t i tien known as the St, Jafles
and failed. It was 0 * an audac101s thing
do, tc><3one befrnwz for time vezxi.” ‘t
time, not only'as an .2 or, but as a teacher; but
then tlmnws towered ovei“3%uflflaye a kirnl of phantcwn
about which the majorit* had nev.r heard anything
before, good, bad, or indifferent. The phantom, we
were all told, was Steele MacKaye‘s own master,
Delsarte. It was absolutely marvellous to note how
Mr. MacKaye managed to make the papers talk about
what they did not understand, and even invent a
phrase for the purpose of illuminating their readers,
IThe Delsalnjeui'fheoryy‘ ihmfoitunatelyg eaitner the

r-v
p.)

t
.3
r—
f‘, (<

>—-+
y;
91'
Q I

77. n . , -
~‘Mrs. 5. Maokaye, loc. cit.

 

2.2:;

. J

public was not up to the mark or he h‘v Eli was
below it, for no one would accept him, either as
Delsarte's prophet or as the greatest actor ever
seen. He became, instead, the Don Quixote of the
stage, and rid cule was plentifully heaped upon
his devoted head He had however, very cleverly
managed to raise q uite a fog ofe esthetic talk,
whi.ch more or less has continue3 to this day, and
in which his ow nam me has always loomed iorth
conspicuously“

(IE

Though this difference of opinion concerning
MacKaye‘s debut is interesting, it is by no means totally
valid. What does seem to be evident, thus far, is that
the Delsarte theories were apparently so unique to the
American public, that the initial introduction of them
by Steele MacKaye resulted in strong and lasting impres3
sions in America. This fact becomes more thl\us in

light of the later controver ies, misinterpretations. ani

Ln

criticisms as they appear in the next chapter of this
study.

MacKaye was in E gla nd and Ireland during the
winter of 1873—187a. Along with continuing his writitg,

he played the title role of Ham‘ewf He was quite success-
ful as the first American Eaglet to brave an Inglish

. ' (
audience.7fi

On his return to America in the Winter and autuml

of 1874, MacKaye once again did an extensive lecture tour.

 

 

78”American Notes, The Theatre Magazine
New York), Vol. I~-New Series, March l, l ' “

r
79MacKaye , 3.32.9.8: .‘ZELLE’LLT; 9 [3 ° i9? °

THES

 

LA)
\jW

There was an engagement of twenty nights for him in
Boston alone. Below is a list of the lectures on the
Philosophy of Emotion and Its Expression:80
I. The Mystery of Emotion
II. Gesture as a language
III. The Philosophy of Laughter
IV. The Mystic Law of Beauty
V0 The Marvels of the Huran Face and Hand
VI. Nature‘s Art

VII. Ma

0}

Rs and Faces of Society

1"?
C)”
\D
U.)
(D
’3
'73
T)
'3
\“f

VIII. The Emotional Significance of

IX. The Philosophy of Love

MacKaye's ActingASchoolg

 

Here is an account of MacKaye‘s organization of
dramatics schools. ”As teacher, his work falls under twc

heads” instruction of private pupils; instruction in

I " ~
H '
n

organized schools of acting and expression in arts.

In the former it comprisej the teaching, first
of Aesthetic PhiIQSOphy, being his own system of
philosophical deductions from the teachings of
Delsarte, the Transcendentalists and the Evolu-
tionists of physical science; second, Aesthetic
Gymnastics, evolved and invented from his work
with Delsarte; third, the Principles of Stage
Business, deduced from the second in relaticgfito
his own practical experience in the theatre.“

 

80lbid., p. 231.

81Percy MacKaye, ”Steele MacKa e, The Iraua Magazine
(Chicago: 1911), No. A, 146»u .

82

 

Ibid.

m

THEE!

 

36

In the schools organized by him, it comprised the
second and third above named, together with rehearsals
in the professional theatre.

Private pupils came to him intermittently during
two decades for instruction. Through them, the seeds of
his artistic sowing bore fruit in various fields: in
the church, through the Rev. William R. Alger, of Boston;
in the organized teaching of expression, Prof. Lewis B.
Monroe, of the Boston University, Dr. S. S. Curry, of
Boston, Mr. Franklin H. Sargent, of New York; in univer-
sities, Miss May Monroe, of Vassar, Mr. George Riddle,
at Harvard; in Educational Theatre work, Mrs. Emma
Sheridan Fry; in the theatre itself, his son and pupil,
William Payson MacKaye (an actor of noble promise, who
died at twenty—one years of age), John McCulloch, Neurice
Barryomre, Edwin Forrest, Matilda Heron, and other actors
and actresses who acknowledged his teachings and influence;

in general society, througn scores of unprofessional men

V.)

and women.8
Four schools were known to have been organized by him:
The School of Expression, or Conservatoire Esthetique, in
1877, at 23 Uni.n Square, New York; the Lyceum Theatre
School, in l884, New York; MacKaye‘s School of Acting and

Expression in Art, in 1885, in New York; the Stage School

 

83lb

5 A]
'..a... ‘J.

. , 151“]: .

o

THES

“mm

 

 

37

of the MacKaye Spectatorium, in 1893, Chicago. All of
these, but the second, were of brief duration.

MacKaye wrote a concise prospectus for his first
school at 23 Union Square. This prospectus gives some
indications of the ideals which he aspired to:

When managers can produce fine art with success,
personal pride and self—respect will lead them to
prefer it to all others; but actors and actresses
of inferior culture and character can only give
life to plays on a level with themselves; and the
public, though quick to sympathize with what is
aSpiring, and anxious to applaud what is good,
can never be induced to patronize a play, however
noble itself, whose ideals are only half realized,
or are rendered ridiculous by those who attempt
to interpret. It is far more agreeable to see
something commonplace well done than to see some-
thing fine unworthily done; for nothing is more
revolting than the abasement of the sublime from
its high and modest simplicity by the loud, vulgag).1
or weak action of the mediocre and trivial actor.

MacKaye‘s chief associate in the Lyceum Theatre
School was Mr. Franklin H. Sargent. This was just after
or during the time of his (MacKaye‘s) lectures in the

eorge Hall. Assisting the founder and

C.)

studio of Mrs.

his as

(I)

ociate was Mr. David Belasco, who later went

forth to carry the more purely theatrical principles to
a perfection of his own.85 The Lyceum Theatre School was
afterward continued as the Academy of Dramatic Arts and
prospered for many years under the direction of Franklin

Sargeant. This institution is still in existence today.

 

Bulbid. Steele MacKaye‘s original prospectus,
cited by Percy MacKaye.

85Ibid.

A pr evi usly cit ed article from The Theatre Magazine

 

again offe eirs an interesting difference to the majority of
opinions on Steele MacKaye.

Not successful on the stage, he determined to
succeed off. He opened, in Union Square, 3a
school for drama,‘ and erected a stage in his
back bedroom, which was very small, but very
complete, and here he taught the young histrionic
idea how to shoot. Several of his pupils soon
manifested that his theories, when modified,
carried into practice made admirable actors.
Possessed of a pl u<:ky spirit, whicn nothing
could or can daunt, Mr. MacKaye-~wno, mind you,
is a perfect gent leran in every sense of the
word. cultivated, cul urel and honest as
the days in July are long--made many valuable
friends, and with their aid has at last suc—
ceeded in providing for New York a theatre
which he advertises is to be ”a wholesome place
of wholesome amusement. '50

It would seem that, ”esp

Ho

te any negative opinions
as to his worth as a performer, MacKaye was a theatrical
personage of many valuable attributes, not the least of
which being a gifted teacher. Of this gift, Percy MacKaye

states

- J

Ir1 hi s m€ii70355 :63 teirzhirig, *ty ita:her‘ re hiteil
little to writ..g but taught by personal insii

gation and exemp iii tion, or‘en far excee.3r1g

the set hours of routine in h:s ent:h1siasm. Some

chaotic manuscript of his exists; but, in the

stress of other labdrs, the books on Aesthetic
rage Te ‘ Wiue which he had

Philosophy 82.1%} o _
clearly formulate:l hen.al;y a:
to write, were nev er written.3.

—I

—." a». ~“ ,, ,4
‘-.1wa,s pialll-€u

‘48
Q

 

86”

American Notes,” op.

87MacKaye, Epoch, op cj 2., p. 153.

39

MacKaye-~Playwright and Producer
In 1878 MacKaye presented a series of twelve

lectures on the philosophy of expression in the Boston
School of Oratory, of which the previously mentioned
Professor Lewis Monroe was the founder and dean. The
lectures were attended by the entire school and were
seemingly quite successful. Percy states that hereafter
his father made no further lecture tours until the year
1885. In the meantime he had written eleven plays, six
of which he produced himself.88 MacKaye was eventually
to write ”thirty plays, including Hazel Kirke, Won at

Last, Through the Dark, Paul Kauvar, Money Mad, A Fool's

 

Errand and In Spite of All. He acted in seventeen differ—

 

ent roles from his plays.”89 The best of the group are
Hazel Kirke (1880), In Spite of All (1885), and Dakolar

(1885).90

 

 

In order to carry out his ideas he remodelled the
old Fifth Avenue Theatre, installing elaborate scenic
apparatus, overhead and indirect stage lighting, and a
double movable stage. It opened in 1879 as the Madison

Square Theatre.

 

88Ibid., II, xvi.

 

89Dillport, loc. cit.

O
9 MacKaye, Epoch, loc. cit.

 

THEE

 

L10

Here his best play, Hazel Kirke, was first put
on, and ran for nearly two years, though owing to
MacKaye's unbusinesslike methods he received very
little money from it. It was frequently revived
and was seen in London, where MacKaye's first
plays, mainly adaptations and collaborations had
been done.

Unable to continue working at the Madison Square
Theatre, he went to the Lyceum on Fourth Avenue, installed
electric lighting, and established the school mentioned
previously.92

During the winter of 1885-1886, MacKaye lectured and
taught private pupils at his New York home, nor did he
ever completely relinquish teaching and lecturing, though
these were kept at a minimum. ”During the following years
MacKaye continued to instruct private pupils and to make
an occasional lecture tour. On several occasions he
attempted to found a school similar to the ‘Cours D'Esthe-
tique Appliquee,‘ but his efforts came to naught as other
interests drew him away.”93 Aside from several articles

9L1

in Werner's Magazine, nothing was written, or at least

 

published.
In late November, 1885, MacKaye recieved an invitation

from the President and twenty professors of Cornell

 

91Geoffrey Cumberlege (ed.), Oxford Companion to the
Theatre (London-New York—Toronto: Oxford University Press,

1951}, 494.
92Ibid.

93Shaver, o . cit., p. 209.

 

94Ibid., (Mr. Shaver refers to four articles by F. A.
Durivage which appeared in Werner‘s Voice Magazine in April,
May, June, August, 1887.)

 

THESI

- )r-h Q“; .

 

 

41

University, asking him to renew his activities in the
lecture field by delivering a lecture at that university.
As a result of this invitation, MacKaye made a lecture
tour from December, 1885, to February, 1886. He lectured
in Ithaca, Utica, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, New
York.95

The latter part of the life of MacKaye was primarily
devoted to the designing and building of a magnificent

theatre, called the Spectatorium, for the Chicago World‘s

 

Fair of 1893. Because of financial reverses, this
gigantic project, fully comprehensible only in the mind
of its creator, was never completed. in its place was

substituted the Scenitorium, which, in many respects, was

 

a miniature of the Spectatorium. It is these projects, in

 

particular the Spectatorium, which will be the primary

 

concern in the final chpater of this thesis.
There is a seeming paradoxe in the statement that

Delsarte and his theories

(/1

,eem to occupy a weaker position

3‘
';__J
(/1

in the life of MacKaye in later years, and the statement

that the Spectatorium was a direct product of Delsartian

 

theories as MacKaye adapted them. However, as MacKaye gave
up extensive lecturing in pursuit of his great project, his
re—working of the French master’s life work is clearly
evident. A summation at the end of Chapter ll of this study

should help to strengthen these assertions.

 

95MacKaye, Epoch, op. cit., pp. 89-60.

 

THES

 

 

The greatness of the proposed Spectatorium empha—

 

sized the success of the theatres in New York which
MacKaye renovated and managed in earlier years. These

theatres were the St. Janes, Madison Square and the

 

 

Lyceum. Some inventions of MacKaye which had been
included within these theatres were the ”double stage,”
ventilation by machinery, the folding theatre chair,
and the sliding stage.96

”On the 23rd of February, l89fl, James Steele

MacKaye, because of hi wretched state of health, left

0.:

Chicago and his Scenitorium for a period of rest in
California. He diedcthhe train, February 25, l894”97. . .
"Henry Irving, another player of the role of Hamlet,

sent a wreath to MacKaye‘s funeral on which were the

egg1198

following words of tribute: ‘Goodwnight, Sweet Princ

96Morris, op. cit), p. l5.

97Ibid.

98Mchaye, Epoch, op. cit., p. e62.

THES

 

 

CHAPTER II

AN EXAMINATION OF MACKAYE'S PRESENTATION
OF DELSARTIANISM IN AMERICA

It is now relevant to turn to a closer inspection of
the Delsartian techniques as James Steele MacKaye presented
them to the American public in 1871. The innovations and
additions which occurred in the development of Delsartian
principles in later years were the result of the initial
painstaking labors on the parts of both Francois Delsarte
and Steele MacKaye, and any new discoveries that the latter
made were immediately accepted by Delsarte. The system,
as MacKaye first introduced it, must have been very similar
to what he and the master first taught in Paris, France, a
short time before. What becomes very evident, however, is
that MacKaye became very much concerned with his own con-
tributions. These, along with many aspects of Delsarte's
original theories and techniques evolve and become incor—

porated into the Spectatorium.

 

"Delsarte” soon became a household word after its
introduction in America. The name was plagiarized, and
became synonymous with everything from foundation garments
and mere physical culture to elocution and voice. These
misconceptions, abuses, quackeries, and fraudulent practices

43

All

which were later centered around the Delsarte name caused
much confusion. MacKaye was probably very much responsible
for it, as he never had the time to write down and publish
the true theories and techniques which he had a significant
part in developing. It is necessary to clarify some of
this confusion before elaborating further upon the later
influences in the American theatre with which MacKaye

was so immediately concerned.

Along with clarifying the issues already mentioned,
this chapter will present some pertinent newspaper reviews
of MacKaye's lectures, personal correspondence, letters,
and other miscellaneous data that further clarify any
misconceptions as to MacKaye's role as the founder of
Delsartian Methods in America, and enlighten the reader
as to his degree of success in this venture.

Virginia Morris treats of the first matter in her
thesis on ”The Influence of Delsarte in America as Revealed
Through the Lectures of Steele MacKaye.” These lectures, I
might add, are dealt with in a much more detailed manner
than the scope of this study will permit; however there are
some considerations which must be noted. ”A pertinent
question which could be asked in this thesis is what
material, if any, did Steele MacKaye contribute to the
Delsarte System of Expression? Did MacKaye in his lectures

teach only Delsarte, or did he also include his own

THES

. N‘ 113;. .

 

 

45

philos0phy‘?"99 The answers to the above questions can
be derived after careful scrutiny of several sources.

Percy MacKaye, son and biographer of Steele MacKaye,
adheres to the viewpoint that his father had definite ideas
of attitudes and poses even before his meeting with Delsarte.
As proof of this statement, Percy MacKaye describes the
following episode:

While in the service of his country, Steele MacKaye
posed for J.Q.A. Ward, a sculptor. One day MacKaye visited
the studio of Ward and found the man quite irritated.

Ward, while striving to achieve a pensive attitude for

his statue of Shakespeare, had worked hours to no avail.
The results seemed negative. MacKaye assured him: ”That‘s
simple, J.Q.; instead of making him pensive, you‘ve made
him sleepy. The difference in pose is slight but radical.
It affects the whole body—-legs, torso as well as head.

The posture of thought should be like this.”100 MacKaye
then assumed this position while Ward worked furiously at
his clay to catch the pose.

In a notebook of Steele MacKaye'

U)

dated February 7,
1862, there are detailed studies and analyses of expression,
from which the following is an excerpt:

In the expression of the passions there is a
compound influence at work. Let us contemplate

 

99Morris, op. cit., p. 20.

loOMaCKaye, Epoch, I, Op. cit., p. 79.

THEE

 

 

146

the appearance of terror: Eye intently fixed upon

the object of his fear; the eyebrows elevated to the

utmost; the eye largely uncovered; with hesitating

and bewildered steps, his eyes wildly and rapidly

in search of something . . . . Observe him further:

a spasm in his breast; the muscles of his neck and

shoulders in action, his breath short and rapid;

there is a convulsive motion of his lips, a tremor

on his hollow cheek, a gulping and catching of his

throat. His heart knocks at his ribs while yet

there is:nocirculatiClefor his lips and cheeks

are ashy pale .
Further readings in these notebook excerpts betray a
remarkable resemblance to manifestations of expression
with which Delsarte was concerned. And it was to be
several years before the two geniuses were to meet.
"With this material as a background, the reader may safely
conclude that Steele MacKaye, in his own thinking, made
critical observations concerning expression and bodily
attitudes; consequently, additions of MacKaye to the
Delsarte system would seem only natural.”102

Franklin Sargeant wrote in 192M; ”. . . He [MacKaye]
developed a great deal that Delsarte had left in an un—
finished state, methodised much that was left in a purely
fanciful form by his master.”103
Probably the greatest amount of confusion as to

the identity of the creator centers around the invention

Of ”Aesthetic of Harmonic Gymnastics.” It is said that

Delsarte taught a series of gestures, beautiful and

b

101Ibid., p. 92.
102Morris, 0 . cit., p. 21,
103

MacKaye, Epoch, op. cit., p. 457.

 

expressive in character, which were very difficult to
execute. Mr. MacKaye learned them very rapidly, due to
the preliminary training through which he put himself.
The exercises invented for this preliminary training,
and the principles discovered at that time became known
as Harmonic Gymnastics.lOL'L

During the late 1800*s, Madame Geraldy, Delsarte’s
daughter, made a visit to this country. It was shortly
after this visit that the family of Steele MacKaye was
barraged with letters of inquiry regarding Delsarte--his
life, his methods, and the difference between his teaching
and that of Mr. MacKaye. To these letters Mrs. Steele
MacKaye, in defense of her husband, wrote an article in

July, 1892, edition of Werner‘s Voice Magazine, an article

 

which does much to clarify the ”gymnastics” issue.

Claude Shaver quotes from an article by E. Miriam

. H ,;_1 .~ -. o,, n ,o - H -- .
Coyriere, Mme. GFfain‘S lisit to America, which seems

to support MacKaye as the originator of ”Harm onic Gymnao
tics.” Mme. Geraldy stated:

My father t.aught expressio1 . . . he did not teach
gymnastics. I do n; t say your relaxing exercises
and posings are not valuable, for I believe they
may be for certain purpos s; but I do say that my
father did not teach them . . . . But he, [referring
to Steele MacKaye] like everybody else, has not
been content to leave Delsarte‘s work as the master 105
left it, but has added material of his own devising. J

 

lOAMrs. Steele MacKaye, 0p. cit., p. 138.

o,
\o
[\1

l . . . . . ., _ fl
05Werner-s VOice Magazine, XIV (April, 1 ), 103.

letter and state

A8

This seems a rather ungrateful criticism of the man
considered as a replacement for his lost son. MacKaye,

however, wrote his wife April 11, 1892:

In relation to Harmonic--or as I first called
them, Aesthetic Gymnastics--they are, in philos0phy
as well as in form absolutely my own alone, though
founded in part, upop some of the principles formu—
lated by Delsarte. 0

To explain this seeming contradiction, he continues the

(I)

O
0

In the beginning of my teaching I never dreamed
of separating my work from his for it was done in
the same spirit as his . . . . It is only now, when
others are teaching so much nonsense in his name,
and basing it upon the truths stolen from me, that
I am forced to do this. It is not done to detract
from the desert of Delsarte, but to defend us both
from the frauds who trade upon and obscure . . . our
philosophy as well as our own names;C3

The article of Mrs. Steele MacKaye already cited

affirms and elaborates upon the above:

Mr. MacKaye made no attempt to separate his own
contributions from the body of Delsarte's work .
Mr. JacKaye has now been working and studying for
over twenty years, and during that time he has been
constantly developing the Science as well as the
Philosophy of Expression; at the same time building
up and perfecting that system of psycho-physical
training whose beginnings were made while he was
still with Delsarte, and which today, under the
name of aesthetic or harmonic gymnastics forms so
large a portion of the practical training of the
lDelsarte System’ as it is taught in classes and
in schools, and set forth in the various textbooks
now published on this subject . . . . One of the
most important principles underlying the system of

f

 

106
MacKaye, Epoch, II, op. cit., p. 270.

107Ibid.. pp. 270—271.

A9

harmonic gymnastics is that of relaxation. This
principle was discovered by Mr. MacKaye alone . . . .
In regard also to the principle of poise--which

is another of Mr. MacKayegs discoveries-—many of

the exercises . . . are abused and misunderstood

to an extent which often robs them of every feature
of grace, and beauty, and therefore of any hOpe

of usefulness.100

In reference to an item in the Boston Journal by

 

M. Alfred Giraudet, a ditinguished pupil of Delsarte who

occupied one of the most important chairs in the National

Conservatory of Paris, an interesting conversation is cited

which throws further light on the evidence thus far.

Someone asked M. Giraudet if Delsarte applied gymnastics

to voice culture and declamaticn, to which he replied,

"No, not at all, as far as I know. With the exception

of two or three exercises for the development of the

suppleness of the arms, Delsarte paid no attention to

. . l ”

gymnastics in general.” 09

Both Mme. Geraldy and M. Giraudet are entirely

right. Delsarte never taught g1mnastics. The
whole system of aesthetic of hirtm ic gzmnisiics
is, from the first word to t;e l:m t, entirelv of
Mr. MacKaye’s invention. Del sari Ji: int JeeJ tea.ch

e
a series of es are. which wele very bead-iiul and

expressive in character, but exceedingly intricate

and difficult of imitation . . . lo the amaze—
ment, yEt entire satisfaction of Delsarte. Mr.

MacKaye mastered then in three months. This result
was accomplished, firs ., by the most diligent study
in analyzing the no er ents, and, after this analysis
in overcwoni‘ g the physical ob cles xisting in

his own organizagion to the iza tion of periection
in these movements. In r‘ 1 was .Juring the

S 33.
eal
i

l
- +
U

 

108 fi .. r . . .1“) v,“ ,e.
Mrs. Steele Machaye, op. pit , pp. loo-:9.

10‘ .. . . ,. .
9Ibid., Citing the Boston Journal, no date.

 

L:
,0

study of this series of gestures that the necessity
of a preliminary training was made apparent, and the
exercises then invented for this purpose, and the
principles at that time discovered are the foundation
stones of that system now known as Harmonic Gymnastics.
Mr. MacKaye afterward taught something of this system
of mento—muscular movements to one of his fellow stu—
dents, applying his newly discovered principles and
exercises with a resultowhich aroused Delsarte's
delighted enthusiasm.
On the other hand, the Rev. W. R. Alger stated that
Delsarte did, indeed, teach aesthetic gymnastics as part
of his system. Alger himself studied with Gustave Delsarte,
son of Francois, during the year following the death of the
master himself. He later wrote that both he and another
student (Mrs. Henrietta Russell) found that Gustave taught,
as imparted to him by his father, the same system of
expression, the same laws and rules, the same gymnastic
training, give at a subsequent date by Mr. MacKaye to his
pupils, and still later, published in several books by
Miss Genevieve Stebbins.lll Later in the same statement
Alger commented, ”Steele MacKaye no doubt has corrected
some errors in it, developed some portions of it further,
made some additions to it, and improved the name by changing
,"lla

it from 'aesthetic' to 'harmonic.

Steele MacKaye told Alger in 1869 that,

 

 

Shaver, op- cit., p. 210.
Ibid , pp. 210—11.

The first thing Delsarte does, when he takes charge
of a pupil, is to put him through a series of decom—
posing motions, to liberate every jOint, art ticulators
and muscles (sic) of the body; next, he puts him
through a series of recomposing exercises to adjust
the organism for free and economic action as a harmonic

whole . . . .

Then Alger states,

. . . At that very interview, Mr. MacKaye unequivocally
said that this systematic arrange ement of liberating

and harmonizing exerciseI3 was desii gned by Delsarte as
'Aesthetic Gymnastics.‘

Alger sums up his feelings on the matter by recognising
that, "There is due to him [MacKaye] also the immense and
imperishable credit of lovingly and livingly receiving it
from its author and communicating its outlines to the public
for perpetual transmission . . ., but the integral system

itself, as such, was constructed and bequeathed to mankind

by FranCOis Delsarte.”llu

The resultant misconception of Delsarte's theories in
America are partially explained by Claude Shaver. He deduces
from the entire weight of evidence that all claims as to
MacKaye's inventing harmonic gymnastics are valid:

MacKaye accepted the trinitary concept of Delsarte,
and, in general, the whole speculative philosOphy, but
being less profoundly religious than Delsarte, or at
least not Catholic in religion, he was probably less
interested in the philosophical implications than in
the practical aspects. [This becomes a ve ery impo crtant
fact lacter in this study.] Thus MacKaye seems to be
responsible for the emphasis on gesture in the Delsarte

system as taught in America, although . . . MacKaye's

113Morris, Op. cit., pp. 23—2A.

lluibid,

 

52

failure to make a clear and unambiguous statement
about the system and his own contributions to it
contributed to the conversion of the system in

America into a method of physical culture.ll/

A tentative conclusion can safely be drawn at this
point in the study: The system of expression upon which
MacKaye lectured was basically that of Delsarte.

A valuable source of information in the proceeding
pages will be a thesis of Miss Virginia Morris, ”The influ—
ence of Delsarte in America as Revealed Through the Lectures
of Steele MacKaye,” an unpublished M.A. thesis from the
Louisiana State University. It is relevant to a small
portion of my study, as it includes actual lectures on
file in the forementioned school.

Since Delsartian theories have already been summar-
ized in the first chapter of my study, the material utilized
at this time will be Specifically limited to the principles
of the system that were stressed by MacKaye, and the manner
in which they were conveyed. This should clarify somewhat
the degree to which Delsartian influences can be discerned
in MacKaye‘s artistic nature, and how these influences had
a direct bearing upon the theatrical goals he set for him—
self in his final years. These goals, the most important
of which is the onestatorium, will he treated in Chapter
III of this study.

As to the lecture material,

 

R., ,
llJShaver, loc. Cit.

 

Like Delsarte, unfortunately, MacKaye, the genuine
disciple, did not publish any of his material on this
system. He did, however, leave notebooks,.manuscripts,
and lectures. At his death, this material of MacKaye
came into the possession of Dr. S. S. Curry, who in
turn failed to publiSh any exposition of the Delsarte
system. After the death of Curry, the material came
into the possession of Mr. Martin Luther, president
of the Expression Company, publishers, Boston, Massa-
chusetts. After a number of years, this material of
MacKaye, along with other materials of W. R. Alger,
Curry and others, Was sent to Ehg Speech Department
of Louisiana State University.

Some of MacKaye’s lectures were lost or not available, but

what remains is perhaps a fair sampling of what was taught

to expression teachers, students and actors here in America
according to MacKaye s individual approach.

Miss Morris gives a detailed description of the

4

lectures as they exist todav in their original handwritten

(‘

form; however, thelimitations of the scope of this study
will not permit such utilization, nor would such information
be vital to the purposes stated herein, It is pertinent,
though, to rmnxa'tne actual leyfimfflfiiflilC“ exist and are
helpful to this study:

A ' ‘ F- "LA" ‘T’- l'f‘r N I" ("T‘.’ ‘ 4:
oesture ES sar:e s gVSirm of Dfdmdpl“ Ar;-

m
[7
a
114

is:

(2
0
u
r
l
P—
F

 

A r‘.

Scientific Easis oi Aesthetics, a series of lectures; and

 

Delsarte and His philosowhy c- Emotion.

In Gesture As A Language, MacKaye emphasizes tie

 

importance of HaddressH (by this he means suitable manners),

Whether one is seeking to realize his ambition of learning,

116 . ..
Morris, 9p. eit., pp.

”mu ‘.

R)

-33

5n

wealth, or public office he must have proper manners for

the success of such a venture, These "manners" do not only
assist in securing the good will of neighbors, but tend to
strengthen in a person his self—respect. From this he
asserts that gesture as a language creates all the eloquence
of our manners and exerts more influence than words them-
selves; therefore, it is superior to speech; As MacKaye

H

'It gesture often tells in an instant a story

H.117

states,
that would require a lifetime of words to revealc
It is the tones of the voi e which are exsressive
of our vital condition, the sensual self” Articulation and
speech are products of one‘s reflective self; they correspond
to the inward speech-—thoughtl Pantomime manifests a person‘s
will and the moral condition of the soul; It is most patent
because it reveals the profouhdest depths of human natured
In summation Mazkaye states that tone is one product of the
lungs, mouth and larynx. Spee L is tne product of the

tongue, lips, and teeth, and p ntomime The product of the

Q3

cooperation of torso, read, and limbs. The human body is

but the clothirg of toe human SOll‘ ”Precisely as we per-
ceive in man a vital, mental and moral principle of being —
so in his body we find vital, mental and moral agents oi

. 9
express10na”ll‘

 

ll'7Steele Matf e,
virginia Morris, lg}, city

118

1 A. . .. ‘ .
" ' ‘ — (W I“ I r“ ‘1 F" - , r~ ' 1‘. .‘ 1 f' . *‘ v 7
UCSTUIG A0 a udhéudgc, klued Lv

 

EH

12.1... :1 .

\Yl

\vi

From the division of the body into three distinct
parts; head, limbs, and torso, MacKaye concludes, "Thus
might we go through with the examination of all the expres-
sive portions of the human body and would find them con-
stantly subdividing into three distinct parts, and if I
had time I could show you by the nature of their expressions
sified themselves into

vital, mental and moral agents of expression,”119

la

(0

that these divisions naturally

(D

The next division is made in the principles of

U)

expression of whrh.there are three clas es:

1, Universal principle of expression underlying all
expression among men,

2, Individual principles, those that modify one*s
expression coordirg to his own indivdualityo

3. Perfection principles, those which tend to ennoble
both the man and his manners,

Then, a further sub-division of these Principles is

r—2-
'5 -3
‘0

made; the universal physi,a1 being divided into dyram
physiological and pheiogromical principles, Then the dyramig
principles are stated as being the laws of velocity, exten—

sion and attitude, Ehese laws may be de ined as fol tws;

"I *' g o v‘_V Y~A ’_ o 3"? o _‘ o A A ‘ _fl "’1 ! o N
I velxmritv—«-welotifgy is ill pr:ux3-tibri

O

1, Law

mass moved and the force moving,

llglbid,

 

ldOibid , pp, 1o13tu

.u..—w-u

\ n
O\

2, Law of extension-—the extension is in proportion
to the unsustaired vehemence of emotionc

3, Law of attitude~-gestures for positive emotion
rises, negative emotion falls,

The law of muscular action states that the muscular
action of the body is in proportion to the intensity of
feeling, thought and purity of the affective emotiono

The law of visceral action states that visceral
action is properly the product of the involuntary nervous
system and therefore in proportion to the suSpension of
voluntary nervous action is the action of the visceral
system of the body under the influence of the emotional,

The last law explains that abnormal nervous action
always tends to produce reactions: ”When the nervous action
is stimulated by feeling, pleasant or painful, if uncontrolled
by the mind or will, it discharges its forze irregularly
upon the visceral and mus;ular systems most--as are mos:
habitually used by the individual,“‘;

It would seem that these laws" were stated by Del-

sarte as further evidence of the trinitary division into

1| H

o 5 1‘ v- u 0' n“ _V fl
which he maKes all his trecries lit, Also, these laws

1

are an exemplificatior of whac he terms the "science of art

which formed the uaSlS of his work.

r-
—.

'*o simplify invese ”laws

into more practical, artistic meanirgs, it might be asserted

 

57

that: (l) the Speed of movement depends on bodily pro-
portions, plus the motivating force moving them; (2) the
limbs of the body will extend as far as continued force is
propelling them, until their furthest length terminates
the extension; {3) positive, or assertive, emotions are mani-
fested in rising motions, negative emotions are manifested
in downward movements; (A) feelings, thoughts, etc,, are
partially manifested in muscular movements; (5) since
emotional reactions are connected with the nervous system,
of which the visceral--internal organs of the body——action
is a product, it is con3luded that the visceral system is
influenced by the emotional conditions,

The three physiognomical principles are form, force,
and inflectione Ihe law of form explains that sensation or
feelings excite movements from the center to circumference

\

(eccentric motion) rhvsical-ecgertric; thought or reflection

I ..=;__J.. ._.- - ._ ._._.. -

 

excites movement from the circumference to the center, mentfl-

.—__.p_.

concentric; and affection or love extites a normal equilibrium

 

of motion about the center, He ails of this are stated it
Chapter I of this study?
The Law of force--states tnat conscious orce assumes

feeble attitudes; conscious weakness assumes strong attitudes.

And finally, the law of inflection explains twat periendicular

inflections in gesture are affirmative; horizontal are nega—

tive and obliQue inflections in gesture are suspension,

In the second division of the principles of expres—
sion, it is noted that individual principles assume three
distinctions; (l) constitutional principles relating to
the temperament of an individual; (2) habitual principles
relating to the habitual life of an individual; and (3)
temporal laws of expression relating to the age of an
individual.

Constitutional laws of expression are divided into

three temperaments; (l) the vital temperament tends to

D

,l of expression; (2) the mental temper-

I

(

intemperance (extrem
ament tends to give subtlety and nervous energy to expres—
sion; and (3) the moral temperament tends to give coldness
and restraint to expression,
the habitual laws of expression are also of three

kinds: (1) the law of occupation, which states that those
portions of the frame that are most used in occupation
become most promirent in expression; 12) the law relating

to education, whi_h states that a cordirg to the degree of

H)

culture complexity, subtlety and command of expression arr
developed; and (3) the law relating to social position,

which states that the tendercy to have ease of bearing and

H
L)
«2
H
1...!
p_4
"j
m
p. .1
J
C‘
5
'1.)
"C?
O
’ ‘i
f—t-
H.
O
' N
,._J
(-1"
C)
(I)

conventionality o‘ express'
height of the social sphere,
Temporal laws relate to the three general ages in

man; (1) youth is expansive and tends to vital (normal

movement) forces in expansion; (2) maturity is normal and

tends to both mental and vital forms; while (3) old age is
contracted and tends to concentric (reduced, in toward the
center) forms of expression as well as strong attitudes of
the body,

Turning next to the third principle, one finds that
there are three laws involved, They are the laws of consis—
tency, precision and opposition.

Briefly, the law of consistency is the measure of
sincerity in expression, All geruine expression of emotion
is consistent, The law of precision states that economy of
force demands precision of motion, Precision gives subtlety,
directness and expression,

The law of opposition creates the eQuilibrium of motion,
MacKaye explains: ii‘i’nis is the law of power in mechanics,
law of beauty in form, the law of grace in movement and the
law of significance in all expression

MacKaye :onzluded this lecture by disc ssing the

lack of training for men in treii outward movement as well

as their inward emotion,

' fl ~" ,' "--- r~ 1 ,A ',:-, - . " ' . ‘V g’ai . I ~,»‘- (w - . ' 1": 'l,‘ _ ' vr'~ _
n , , bplrltual gOnlelO?b uni?» oOlldlfy the sac

wjl _
' ' Vi . Y z — h -~ A r‘ 1. a M ,‘t VII-n F " “ r“ ~ ‘
Stance of manhood ln the SOJl t j are lacking. What we rave

Ileed of is a culture and a science which will reveal the

YLidden springs of human nature, and illuminate one's ideals

 

_—

 

 

a... m .‘E m1

 

of manhoodc Such a culture can only come by one s giving

more heed to beauty: sincerity to his manners,

MacKaye stated, "a , o if we would ennoble the inward

life Of man, we must seek to surround him with forms more

ule

lovely and grand, Science and art would both work

towards this end,

H

The following lecture, A Glimpse of Delsarte’s

Scientific System of Dramatic Expression," need only be

0' .t, J‘ 1'-.. raw-rm.

briefly summarized, It is an earlier lecture which COm- ;
pliments his then living friend, Delsarte, together wifh

 

s system of dramatic art.

I

the main features of the latter>
The Delsarte system, having the simplicity of
science, is no mystery at allo Delsarte, by the use of
his system, seeKs to make the actor an artist and to cause
him to lose his own personality and adopt that one which
is necessary for the role he is acting, The actor who is

a follower of Delsarte is taught to express an emotion

‘

Ll

according to the laws of that emotion-~tne use of the
appropriate and most powerful presentation of the impassioned
thought, MacKaye stated that the use of the laws of expres—
sion will gradually become instinctive and will actually

H

enter into the vital nature of the actor; thus, a scientific

and perfectly correct manifestation of passion will become

 

 

h H125
spontaneouso
124m..
321.9.
C; . - .rr 7' o v -o o 0 ‘w‘ . 0 ... ' {—
12/836918 Machaye, 11;.l'i'ed by Vlrglmla ngbf-LLS, 9120 L249 ,
ppo 20—250

Ch
'r__l

From the preceding line of thought, Ma Kaye concludes
that there must be an edual development of the emtional and
the mechanical for a perfect artists The genius, the soul,
is God-given, but the mastery of the.instrument is obtained
by incessant training and careful study” Such training
reduced to a scientific basis is supplied by the system of
Delsarte.

The French master believed that art is emotion passed
through thought and fixed in forma This definition would

indicate the relationship of the mechanical to that of the

 

Spiritual in art" Emotion and thought come before form,

but all three are necessary in art, and spontaneity is or

(—f
P.

f c basis

f—h

should be in no way affected because of a scien
for the arty

The following statement is rignly significant, not
because of its bearing on Delsartian principles, but because

it reveals a somewhat paradoxical element in ha;Kaye s

artistic natured ihfibgfi «a have seems to be criticiZir;

theatrical trends oi the time, it soon becomes evident frat

--/-'~ r\ a ~,A,<~«v 1" fl ~— ~ L7 -— —- a -\
he was very mums a LIQ&JS~ of ”t r~a :e of rls * We, _:

better stated, a leading force in the theatre of his time,

MacKaye comments:

The scene painter, the marninist, and tie costumer
are too often the real stars of the siage today, and
in every branch of art sensational effects are made
more prominent than earnest thought or pure emotion)
Such a state tends to excite r sensual

and develop tl’
e

A firs
rather than the spiritual sid of societynl'd

 

lgbibid,

 

Unless some radical change took place in MacKaye--
and there is no evidence to support this view--it is quite
likely that he was referring to scenery, machinery, and
costumes as entities removed from the artistic whole, Mac—

Kayeis gifts as an inventor of machines, creator of realistic

effects and scenery, action accompanied by music, acting with

F '11-}
little dialogue, can be verified. This was the same MacKaye
who preached the gospel cf Delsarte, RomeWhere along the *

way he reconciled any existing contradictions, and fused his

knowledge into an harmonious whole,

 

During the course of this lecture on Delsarte s

’science' Ma Kaye gave illustrations of the nine cries of

L

( \

grief, nine kinds of laughter, nine elementary principles of
dramatic art, element of attitude in gesture and the element
of form in gesture,

The system of Delsarte exercises have a triple purpose:

st physical power of expression by

(T)

(l) to develop the great

—~‘ . ‘ ‘—

g1v1ng each muscle and Joint its Iuiiest and reeSt play;

of observing instinctively scientific principles of power

and truth in gesture, and thus to secure to s.ontaneous
“—7

emotion a prompt and perfect form of expression, f

 

 

lETIbidt

(T ’\
LU

A program of exer:ises follow, They are exercises
for the arms, legs and the face particularly, MacKaye
created such facial expressions as indifference, distress,
grief, pain, terror, amazement and stupidity, He presented
the contrasts in gestures as in the cases of shame and indig—
nation, supplication and furyc

The last phase of the demonstration was a presentation
of the nine gradations of irsarity from the first degree of *
brooding to idiocy, the nihth degree,

Several studies could he done on various aspects of y

 

the lectures as they exist today) For purposes of this study

it is now expedient to give a concise summary of the Del-

CD

sartian Philosophy 8 it was taught by lames Steele MacKaye,
and a glimps of his manner of instruction or approach as
they are evident in his lectures,

1, Highlights of the Eelsarte Philosophy and SySTem

47

oi Expression

lhe 'Livine tetnod' is a sour.c CL inspiration aid
expression for the Delsarte system as exyounded by steele
MacKaye in his lectures, This method is “omnipotent, omni—

' -r-,. -, .'a— ‘ ,“..r-\
T: ls ‘LAIJLV‘a; 884') 4.":

'l -~ ‘

present and implies omniscien e,
application of this method to te efieitive must he studied,
analyzed and industriously used,

There are a great waxy laws to te derived from this

D1Vine Method” which Will develop the l“QlVlJaal are pet e;t

 

 

 

lg'ng , -' ,r V - 4. v n" “ii a a w: 4‘ , Lit—o [:r'
[HakK—aj e 9 ”.1 Ed {Ky "10] I .L t” ’ OK. 3 x— L411 ) AEJIJ ’I a"- 2? 1

-—._

 

‘
._.—-—

en

the race, A knowledge of these laws constitutes the
n -. -- "129
scientific basis of aeSthetics,

Considering the great principles of the "Divine
Method," onw finds the first to be the lrinity, This
principle underlies the existence of all things, A
trinity is a ”unity of three things each of which is
essential to the other two, each co-existing in time, co~
11130

penetrating in space and cooperating in motion,

Because there is a mutual influence of each of these three

Q)

upon the other two, "hire essential factors of univers l

l°l e . . . . c . , i~9
J ihis trinity extends to human

 

phenomena" are evolved,
nature, All persons feel, think and reflect because of

the fact that there exists in human nature three principles
of being: a vital, a mental and a moral one, ”Each of
these principles of being implies power of perception and
power of performance peculiar to itself, Each power, how-
ever, cooperates with the other two,']32 The mn'ual
influence and nooteraiiog of one hifh TOE other two formu~

' i," : , , ,,.2 . i ,_ A- , 7‘-, ‘. “M ,O \ °.-, ,
‘13 Ml ;iI;dmihq:SnlOu, :y the grlfl lie

,_ .I

t.)
f.
t—d

lates the prino'

(i)

I O , A . _‘ ‘7 .‘, ,~, r‘. ~n r‘ » F - », P. F‘ g ;,l x _ a I“ 0 fl 0 I‘ 4‘_ .'—\ "A
du CircumincessiOn, translated as the principl of intel—

-. -» r ~.vv~-r* I-\ “.A. FA - TY' -« 1 ‘ ~';— '1 7‘. ‘~ 1, -
.he body expresses not only soul, but, to a degree,

. . I!
tWining,

both life and mind.“13¢

 

 

lgglbid,

l3Olbid,
13122190
132 ,

l t m . i . .. i
338’ S, Curry, fife PrOVince of Expression, ClTEd by
Claude Shaver, op, C15,, pg 30:

1” "

 

65

The second ”divine" principle is opposition, This
law states that in Nature there are found numerous lines of
opposing force° "Two points with a common center oppose
each other," Opposition is not antagonistic. "a , . Two
lines diverging opposed to each other will meet somewhere,
but two lines in the same direction will never meet,"134
This principle of opposition is the law of unity in nature°
"It is the law that governs the perfect development of

everything,”135

The third ”divine" principle is evolution, The order

 

of evolution with Knowledge is first the extremes and then
the center, but when the mind becomes perfected by the
"Divine Method," the evolution is from the center to the
surface, This principle governs in training and development,

The greater part of MacKaye-s lectures is taken up

with the application of the "Divine Method," to human expres-

piration and

g;

sion, The ”true” artist goes to nature for in
the knowledge of the ”Divine Method,” Since genius is a
matter of development and training, the system of expression
described by MacKaye would be bereficial to all persons,
Perception comes first, then performance. Both are essen—
tial to expression,

The perfect system of training is that which will

perfect one's power of manifesting what is mystic in himself

 

‘J—
I

'MacKaye, cited by Morris, loc, c1.,

 

- .Vl I , .fIW (hufii’tfi-W'

‘0‘".

 

after perfecting his power to perceive the mystic in

nature,

There is a difference between emotion and expres—

sion--expression is the manifestation of emotion, which

is the designer of the express

ion,

This is adeguate

proof for the necessity of impression before expression,

The universal trinity-—something that exists (physi—

cal or vital), something that guides (mental) and something

that impels (moral)—-is found in the human body,

these principles,
characteristic form and motion
convex in form, with movement
is concave and eccentric, wnil
toward a center,

These three principles,

, The vital pri

about a center,

e the moral is

to be perfect, must be

J

F

in the universe and in humanity,

Each of
has a
ciple is

The mental

concentric~-

 

 

 

 

equilibrium with the other two principles, An overdevelop-
ment of one will produce a “vice {here meari g ar imnaia e
of one or more of the prin iples,)

As the following hart illustrates, there is a series
of trinities within the large trinity: the vita, mental and
moral,
vital vital _ moral mental
(normal) motion. Spa e time _—_
moral force form purpose
(concentric)
mental power manifested love manifested wisdom mani~

(eccentric) by beauty

by goodness

fested by Cfltfl

 

 

._..—__ .—

 

67

A perfection of the three principles

.,

love, wisdom,

and power and their outward manifestations is in proportion

to the unity of each with the othero

By a continuous following of the Delsarte pr

both in theory and pra

one may become perfect in spontaneous expressiono

in man's life become spontaneous if continuously performed,

the action being depostied in the central nervous
the whole m

"137

"There must be a perfect unity of

order to maKe any part perfect in expressions

systemn

F?“

d l

ciple

ctical application to human expression,

"Deeds

H
53
E

"136

_- VIEW: '1 m

if:

’PW‘. .

The three main trinities in the body which serve as
agents of expression are the head, Torso and limbs, These

parts are further subdivided, their combirations

producing

 

 

nine expressions for each grouping of three, It is by
first knowing the different divisions and what the motion
of each manifests and then applying su 3’h K owledge that
perfect expression is obtained,

The three languages of emotion in man \anotter
trinity) are voice, spee h, and pantomime, The last one
mentioned over— tadois the other two in iVyo1*an e, T1love-
ment and gesture are the vital forms of expression” Voice
plays a minor role. Tris principle, along with the Lr-r.i}ie
of circumincession and its importance, was found to be

136233,)

1371

..11.d»

emphasized in the French notes of MacKaye made w
pupil of Delsarteo'138
ll. Method of instruction used by James
MacKaye in his series of lectures:

Scientific Easis of Aesthetics,

 

 

la MacKaye first explained the Delsarte
of expression before applying it to the uses of
body, In the lectures themselves the philosophy
simplified and some parts even omittedi For exa
the exception of theinferences derived from the
Method,H no reference to the trinity of the God-
made. This whole concept of the ”triure univers

tioned mainly in relation to its prafit cal appli

k-

the art of GXPPGSSiOfin

20 By aid of questions presented by his
MacKaye could review and emphasize the most obsc
difficult points to he grasped»

3, lne explanatiOh of the Theory W”S a::

with demonstrations of the many attitudes) Char

r‘
>4.)
FF)

he a ill ng ai '

4
H
}__l
,_J
l\‘
q,
Q
Q)
L/J
(ll
L
C)
p.»
_,
H
17
F—J

grams were u)’
u, 1W-ar:£<’;aj.»‘e7s system of lecturing present

ized grouping of the agents of expression, Firs

eyes, torso, legs, hands, etc,, was considered s

bl le a
Steele
The

.— —..—-—-

philosophy
the human

is greatly
mple, with
term, "Divine
head was
e” was men—

oation in

listeners,

ure and

ompanied

ts and oia~

ed an organ—
t, each agent,

eparately,

 

138

as Seen ihrough the Notes of Steele MacKaye,

dissertation of the University of Wiseonsin, l93

'> V H A“ ' A r— ]- I'N‘.’ ”‘4‘ q '_ "1
Claude Shaver, lne Delsarte system or

 

69

but was finally related and interwoven with the expression
of the body as a whole,

50 Training the student in Aesthetic Gymnastics was
a most important feature of MacKaye's teaching, This
training was explained by demonstration rather than words.
A presentation of the facts surrounding the contributions
of MacKaye and Delsarte to gymnastics has been accounted
for in the earlier portion of this chapter° 139

60 One may assume that the series of lectures,_£he

I

Scientific Basis of Aesthetics, presented a fairly complete

 

picture of the Delsarte system, since MacKaye stated in the

lecture, A Glimpse of Delsarteis Scientific System of Drama—

 

tic Expression° "Io give a just and complete exposition of

 

Delsarte 8 system, i ought to dwell for a long time upon
his scientific basis of aesthetics in art 0 a quA0
The following articles contain both critical com—
mentaries from a variety of newspaper articles, along with
descriptions of MacKaye s appeal to members of his American
audienceo Within these commentaries, some definite clariv
fications should begin to emerge as to gradual changes of
stress in the Delsartian theories since the days when Mac—

Kaye and Delsarte had worked and taught together, At the

conclusion of these critical commentaries, it will be the

~ 7 q." -'-"-'\ ”143'" n" ' ~'.§.4 ‘k!!’7

 

 

139See ppo 29—320

12.1.0 . _ ~ , v _ _ N - "A _ 7V1 { o _. y o
MacKaye, Llitd by worris,_lgcc Cit,

1r.

purpose of this study to point out pertinent conclusions
that will have a direct bearing on the third and final
chapter of this thesis.

Upon MacKayeis return to this country in 1871, and

in the following years, most criticisms were highly favor—

able. The appearance of the young genius, and the philosophy

 

rrv
which he expounded, created a rather astounding reaction. i
E. P. Whipple in the Boston Transcript remarks: "We do not i
believe that a lecture on the scientific basis of the g
dramatic art, so rich and valuable in the fruits of the 3
L--

 

s this one, has ever before been

Q1

ripest study and skill

,-
delivered.H141

A critic of the Boston Advertiser writes: HThe

 

impression made by Mr, MacKaye was at once highly favorable.
In person he is tall and slender, but lithe and well-
proportioned. His face, set off by thick black hair, is
distinguished by an arresting earnes'hess, thoughtfulness
and purity of expression. His voice is deep and exceedingly

. - - . n‘ug
resonant, sweet and flexible . . , . t

.v

The Harvard Advocate, commenting on Nacnaye

U)
;__1
( b
{:1
Ct
523
F‘;
(D

 

in Massachusetts Hall at Harvard College, states ghat, . . .
The lecture proceeded to a brief description of

tific basis‘ of his art . . . . The lecture was listened to

 

lulMacKaye, Epogh, 1, 991.213»: p. 151.

luglbid., pp. 1S1~53w

71

throughout with an interest it well deservedfldu3 Continuing
its praises, the article states that MacKaye‘s lecture brought
home an interest in elocution to the minds of the audience,
more forcibly than anything else could have done, MacKaye
actually practices the art which Harvard talks so much
about and, does so little.

In a letter written years afterwards by Joseph Clark,
dramatist and poet, to Percy MacKaye, son of Steele MacKaye,
a fine tribute was paid: “. . . From that April night of

his lecture in Steinway hall the name of Delsarte advanced

 

k-fi
Quickly to be a synonym of art expression the country over.lu4 '

The success of these lectures made it certain that
Francois Delsarte would be well~received in America. Such
success was largely the result of MasKaye's dynamic person-
ality. "As a lecturer, Mr. MacKaye was brilliant. He could
think and talk on his feet with all the fluency of an orator."lu5

The impressions Which Ha Kaye made upon so many of
his audience may be illustrated by the reaction of Franklin
Sargeant, who, at the tire of Ma3haye s lecture at the Eoston

SChool of Oratory, was a student there, he claims that the

lectures were so condensed, profound and learned that he
143Ibidl, p. 155.

lqubid.,

lug ‘ x " ‘ r" I ' 0
“”James Steele MacKaye," Werner‘s_:gice NagaZine,
NGW'York City, N.Y., 1579), XVI, No, 12, Dec., 189h, p. 558.

‘P

{27’
,/

'13
F4

 

“\l
fl)

found great difficulty in fully comprehending, He did

recognize the great thought and science of the content of

these lectures,1A6

Many years later Sargeant wrote to Percy MacKaye:
o . , I took rapid notes, filling my notebook,

and when, at the close, Steele MacKaye left us, I
found myself left alone in the hall, meditating on

the profundity of his discourse, overflowing for 7“
me with revelations, As I walked in the dean?s f
private office, I aSked: ’Prof. Monroe, what is _
this?E And I shall rever forget tte patriarchal :
old man 0 a c as he looked up at me and said, 'My -
boy, this is the key to the universe;147
Sargeant further states: I
t

 

sSion which I thereafter
followed in my tea tings at Harvard University,
and subseQuently in my position as dranatic
instructor at the Madison Square Theatre was
founded strictly upon ihose glimpses of profound
truth, which I had obtained from the twelve
lectures given by Steele MacKaye in the Boston
School of Oratory;L 9

On December 1, 1885, after a lapse of several years
from the lecture tours, WacKaye did an extended tour of

various cities in New Ydrk State, lhe Rochester Democrat

.__.__

 

ii

reported: Steele Hagkaxe, tie Iogemost American expressionm

ist of today said in bi 'There are three

(/1
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phe body; by

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Ways of pantomiming. by permanent

o

Passsing attitudes; ard Ly gestures, Gestu° ntomimic

' '3
(D
U)
Q)
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”71
m

verbs, They indicate doing or desire. éttitudes are adverts

1246 o ‘ .,:_..'_. \ ’1
Morris, 9E; c.:,, p, i

1A7M

”Sly,

I \. J

“Kaye: E3912, OL__1_ 59m

modifying gesturesg :earings are adjectives qualifying

«1149

the subject 9 J

The Cornell Era of Dec, M, 1885, wrote:

 

H '1— o . - - 0- T’ ‘.
a a in his lesture here at Library hall, December

llth, on the Philosophy of Expression, Mr, MacKaye
will show the great laws underlying all art expres-
sion° As an actor of fascinating skill and power,
he will illustrate his lecture by scenes from the
great dramatists wherein he will do much to bring
about a new interest ir the literary work in the
University, and also to lead the way for the formua
lation of a dramati; club among the students, which
will help to ao=rect the impression that our culture
is being rapidly absorbed by larger technical
interests 0 o c'lDO

 

The Buffalo Courier reported; , , , ‘Pantomime,’

 

he said, ’is subject to laws definite and easily learned,
All in us which constitutes the element of manner is panto-
mime in nature,3 Illustrations were given showing how we
form our judgment of men from acts which are wholly volun-
tary , o 0 Much stress was placed upon the repose of mar—
151

ners.”

The comments Of T“? Vii a Daily FFESS were:

No speaker could have *eld more the indixidual
attention of his leajers, 3e said , , a As a means
of expressing the tsautile, the body itself should
be used, rathe7 than devices iniented by the caprices
of man a , , lhe whole domaih of e\pressic' is as

‘ n: “ble as *he law of gravi '
“e s1 1 ir.is

 

 

1492339, II, p, F3

150 _.
1m d ., , L 0 aria,

~_,_—.,_-.—--

711

more we can understand of all psychological natures,
the more effortless will become our mode of expres—
sion, Add soul enough to speech and we have a
Dante, a Milton, a ShaKespearec Add soul enough

to pantomime, and we have a Raphael o a 1’ At the
close Mr, MacKaye answered numerous Questions from
the audience ritter on slips of paper His illus-
trations were simply perfection,i

According to the Syracuse Standard, MacKaye lectured,

 

afternoon and night, to the clergymen who were assembled

w o

in Plymouth Church, Syracs ed Steele MaCKaye told

the clergymeh how to preach o 1 , TActor and preacher,2

he said Eshould so sink their pers naliti es that there

,. A, L:
WOUld ONlY be rhe imp1ess ic n oi the uttered words . , oHl/B

d"

ghaye-s triumphant series

Q
0: '

Some further tributes tt
of lectures throughout the following years are referred to

in an earlier two-part article written for the Drama Magazine

1’|_J.'\ V

 

 

 

of Nova, 19ll and Feb,, 191?, The gosion Transcript, March

 

22nd, 1871 leaves little doubt as to the initial impression

made by the great man.

Mr, MacKaye s le tyre last ewerihg‘was in every
respect a brilliani triump', in spite of the severe
storm, an audie*.e composed hf uv mQFT cultivated
citizens filled the “all, Ste reatmess a“d a3curaC;
of Mr, Ma Kaye s statement:. ire gra e ard ease of
his bearing, the exquisite beauty and fitness of
his gesticulatio - which justress, modesty and for’e
were equallv combined~~tne merwelous viviuness and
rapidity of his Iacial changes, ma e his auditors
express their atpzoval ard delig t in [onstaht
applause, We is not reiiete 1na* a lettzre on the

 

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Ul

scientific basis of the dramatic art, so rich and
valuable in the fruits of the ripest study and
skill as this one, has ever before been delivered°

15M

And in The New York World (February 18, 1872):

 

We gladly chronicle the success which has attended
Mr° MacKaye s dramatic venture, In the light of
his success, we shall perhaps be able to see more
clearly what this young artist has accomplished, o a
Without professional sympathy or support of any
kind, Mro MacKaye has planned, and carried in to
successful execution, a trial season of three
months, During this time, he has in his own
person united the varied and conflicting duties
of manager, agent, capitalist, actor, author,
and tutor, Not withstanding this herculean
burden, he has fought his way to recognition
even from those whorwere at first his most
bitter opponents.'i3

Describing his work, Mr, F, F, Mackay, the veteran

actor, himself a tea her f distinction, writes recently:

0

"By the introduction of the Delsarte system of study . , ,,

MacKaye gave a new thought to the srudy of elocution in its

application to dramatic art“ His was a brilliant, inventive
— a /
' ° ‘ ° '75:?
mind, in advance of his age."Lx

And Mr, Augustus lhomas, the dramatist, thus:

Steele MacKaye was a mister o: the art of physical

’1
expression, No man of his day, or more that I know
now, had or has a better kncwleige or the purpose
and effect of gesture, of fa ial expression, and
of the eloQuen e of restraint, His kionle9;e of
these was praitical, l3 knew exactly what he
wished before he dire ted it, He ‘ad the ability
to make his wish understood, and he had treltalent
to do the thing he asked the astol to do."‘

 

 

 

76

The final article to be cited has a direct bearing
on the concluding summary of this chapter, as it presents
a rather complete idea of the total effect produced by the
actor by the Delsartian Methods, Taken a few steps further,
we shall note how James Steele MacKaye, a theatrical genius
very much in, or slightly ahead of, his time, incorporated
his knowledge of Delsarte with the theatrical trend of
pictorial realism manifested during these years

This is a final portion of an article from The Boston

 

Advertiser, March Bath, 187l, Cited previously in this

 

chapter;

V36 showed a number
OF faiial expPeSSlOH,
astoris ning and impres_

,-_

p U)
HH’C) O (I) DJ

As a grand summarizing, hr
of 'chromati; scales: or gamu
as he called them, which were

sive as to beggar all des ripti r;. in exhibiting

these gamuts, he stood before h s speitators perfectly

motionless, except in his reurteranoe, and, starting

from the normal expression, would make his face pass

very slowly through a dozen grades of emotion to some
r

predetermi ed phase and then e le would descend,
reversing the p1evious steps, to perfect repose,

Thus, in one ins“ante, he showed a "tremati: state

of feeling running rrro1M sati sfac tior, pleasure,
tenderness and love to adoratior, azd, having iCtiaced
his steps, descended fa ially tnzohgk dislike, disgust,
envy and hate to fuzy, Again he exriCi ed, with

T'

demanded for the performance of this 1.
i"

ludicrous, but edifying vividness, the transi*i0ns
from repose through jollity, Silliress and prrstrati ion,
to utter drunkenness; and made a most astoniSCihg ti‘
painful spectacle of his fine face passing through
all the grades of mental disturbance to insanity, ard
down all the srairs of mental weakness to ut er idio,y
It would be hard * overestimate eitie t ffort
_ o
by which the he: essary skill was or g1 ally attained
The impression p1o W1 ed upor tTEBEJQl- e was at on e
,

very lively and very profound»

 

 

 

lgglbigo, pp, lfl7~48,

Tl

 

 

77

A few concluding statements concerning the preceeding
material of this study will aid the reader in recognizing
the Delsartian influences as they were evident in MacKayeis

Spectatorium, To accomplisn this, a brief summary is

 

necessary, giving the most salient facts pertainin to
this viewpointo
It would seem that the TDelsarte Scienceg varied
little as it was taught by James Steele MacKaye and Francois
Delsarteo Under closer scrutiny, however, there were
gradual, but definite, shifts in certain areas of concen-
tration when the system was introduced in the United States,
It has been stated that Francois Delsarte was, first
of all, a singer, As a singer, he studied elocution,
Upon losing his voice, he turns to the study of artistic
expression and did extensive study of the human anatomy,
He believed that there were a set of scientific laws under—
lying human expression, aCd, if these :ould he mastered,
an artist would result, His cupils wonsisted of singers,
actors, public speakers, clerics, i,e,, all people requiring
higher communicative Skills. gnere seems to be no indication

that any one aspect of artistic expression took precedence

_]

"p

over another, *he students were coached in all aspects o1

expression, no matter what their m jor occupation was.

('1)
(i
(I)
CL
ff

Delsarte's ’Cours’ was never conr.c“ “tn the opera,
theatre, conservatory, or seminary, though many students

of the fore-mentioned attended his lectures. Also, there

 

 

( ,1)

is serious doubt as to whether or not Delsarte used gymnas-
tics to any extreme degree, other than necessary for ease
of bodily gestures, Though Speech, pantomime, voice, etco,
were worked on separately, at times, the ultimate desire

of the master was the complete artisn--skilled in every

communicative skill,

 

Percy MacKaye presents evidence that his father was 5““
fascinated by the various poses the human body could assume-- ;
and this was long before Steele MacKaye met with the
French master, Na:Kaye, however, never formed a scientific E

3
system and his later acquired Knowledge was a result of E »

Delsarte s training. Upon MacKaye s arrival in Paris, Del—
sarte and he were introduced, betame fast frien s, studied
and taught together, all within a relatively short swace of
time, The evidence suggests that MacKaye learned Delsartian
techniques rapidly, as a result of gymnastic exercises which
he himself developed, Telsarteis reasiioh was so favorable
that gymnastics begah to be ir_luded as one of the aspects
of the ’Coursf, »elsart3 accepted Eajlaye s individual con—
tributions to the system, which, even at this early period,
revealed some tendency to mere emv
Perhaps, as was stated, this was because the Roman Catholic
doctrines-—upon which Delsarte’s theories were based——were
rather alien to MacKaye; if not alien, perhaps just not as

important,

It should be borne in mind that Steele MacKaye
came to America intent upon preparing for the arrival of
Delsarte, who desired to found a school in this d3untry,
After Delsarte‘s death, MacKaye was forced to continue
expounding his masterls theories, along with pursuing his
own career, This career, though it began with acting,
soon branched into writing, managing, producing, teaching,
and inventing highly technical theatrical devices. Though
he disliked scenery, costumes, etc,, that were mere arti-

ficial embellishments, it will soon be noted that he was

 

{tions far beyond tnose

I)

greatly responsible for s ehiv icv
ever utifized before, linsrzim, his irvehtiOhs produced
illusions very similar to nature, and this inclination of
his was very much in keepirg with the theatrical trend of
the time-~the pictorial theatre of romance and realism:

MacKaye's dramatic s hools, where young aspirants of

acting were trained in bElSfif“la’ elliJitc, wers usuallr
in connecgion with a tnea*;e_ whéyetwr Ma have managed a

theatre, dramati; vaa Vita was dona iv "allahoration with

it, so that the partiainati g actors were highly skilled

in the technigues Ma have believed in, As the theatrical
trends from the spectawle, to t-e melodrama, to the drama

D
r»

of intimate realism evolved, puree names are gonstantly
g.

referred to, lnese are; David

James Steele MacKaye, A, Nicholas varoar, in the fillswing

m
x f
U
1‘
T

‘ u
C17
7
Q
<
(l)

I
7)
l

r 1’
H
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1
’“J

(a

chapter of this study, refer

80

as a 'cycle,’ of which these men formed an important trium—
virate. The photographic ideal, which crept into aesthetic
favor, was very much in keeping with the pictorial aspects
of Delsarte's system. Dialogue came to be unimportant. It
might be stated that MacKaye did not relinQuish Delsarte's
system in his last years, but, rather, exploited those
aspects of it that were basic to the theatrical tastes of
the time.

Referring back to the lectures compiled by Miss Morris,
noticeable changes of stress begin to occur. MacKaye does
explain the Delsarte philosophy in great detail in the course
of these lectures. Elocution is also incorporated into the
l cture material, particularly when the particpating members
of the audience were people very much concerned with this
skill. It seems rel vant, however, that the last recorded
lectures r veal MacKaye performing demonstrations of facial
expression totally r moved from the great dramatic scenes
previously used for these purposes. Dialogue seems already
to be receding into the background. Perhaps this was the
Delsarte theory carried to its logical end. After all,
external manifestations of human emotion were one of the
essential concerns of Delsarte, though these manifestations
were based upon 'scientific laws' which originated in the
Holy Trinity.

Following Delsartian theories from their origin in

France to their introduction in America, it is possible to

y - .1. :p- 'stlsrgfl
.3

 

81

trace a number of influences. Some of these influences

were total misconceptions, having nothing whatever to do
with the original contribution. The outstanding influences
derived from Delsarte's life—work, it seems, are to be found
in the American Theatre trends of the late nineteenth cen—
tury, just before the advent of the silent motion picture.

The Spectatorium represents the general trend of the

 

pictorial theatre of realism and romance better than any
other example, as it included every theatrical device known
at the time to create a pictorial illusion of reality. This
pictorial reality, the result of ingenious mechanical devices
and the actor's body, was to have reached the pinnacle of

realization with MacKaye's monumental project.

Yf 31.5.3.3!
J

 

CHAPTER III

THE SPECTATORIUM: A CULMINATION OF THE
MACKAYE-DELSARTE COLLABORATION

A. Nicholas Vardac elaborates upon MacKaye‘s
contributions to the theatrical trends prevalent at the f”‘
time. Regarding his inventions, he states: ,

To these mechanical devices, all aimed at the
enhancement of the pictorial aspects of produc-
tion, must be added his sponsorship of a system
of acing which arose out of and exploited a purely
Visual appeal. This system, in ehich he had
gathered his first training from M. Delarte in
Paris and which hascome to be known by this name,
owed much of its favor in America to Steele Mac—
Kaye. At the New Lyceum Academy, the Delsarte
method, depending upon the pictorial values of
body positions and attitudes, became the founda-
tion for his course in acting. Such a pictorial
approach to acting was thoroughly in accord with
the theatrical trends of the times and was fully
exploited upon the stage by MacKaye himself.15/

 

l L‘Ku» arm». '
A

Each of the men making up the great triumvirate in
the nineteenth—century pictorial theatre of realism and
romance represents a particular stage in the culminating
phase of this cycle. The contributions of Steele MacKaye
were terminated by his death just a year before the vita-
scope (first version of the motion picutre) was exhibited.

Irving's popularity (one of the well-known producers of

 

159A. Nicholas Vardac. Stage to Screen: Theatrical
Method from Garrick to Griffith. (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 19397, p. l35.

82

83

the triumvirate) reached its peak simultaneously with

the arrival of the film, and subsequently lessened as he
embarked on a tour of the provinces. Belasco came closest
to the photographic ideal--not prior to the cinema, but
after its popularity had been established. The reason for
this was that Belasco's work, while moving in the same

plane as the motion picture, did not run directly against

urn-A

its competition. Never abadoning his reproductional tech—

..‘c Q' “5-2

niques (he once transported a section of a Child‘s Restaurant 3

to the stage of a theatre), he strove to outrival the screen

 

by an exploitation of certain Specific areas. These areas
were: (1) acting in the restrained, naturalistic style
with graphic business, and (2) settings of interiors,
reproductionally lighted, architecturally constructed, and
filled with a multitude of realistic, authentic, and
recognizable details. In these areas Belasco suffered
little interference from the early motion picture.
Chronologically speaking, MacKaye came first, then Irving,
and Belasco last. However, Steele MacKaye’s contribution
to the realistic development of romantic staging was, in

his short career, of a larger scale (the Spectatorium)

 

than that of his colleagues.160
James Steele MacKaye was in no way a revolutionist;

that is, his contributions to scenic effects and acting

 

160Ibid.

 

8A

dared no transgression against the pictorial mode of
theatre then in vogue. It was in 1875 that he adapted

Rose Michel from the French of Ernest Blum for A. M.

 

Palmer. It was produced on November 23 of that year at
the Union Square Theatre with scenery by R. Marston.
Nym Crinkle (Andrew C. Wheeler) wrote that MacKaye told
his "story from first to last . . . by action.
Evidently this adaptation had something in common with
the slient film, for another reviewer, writing that

”pantomime and picture are unquestionably the prime essen- - g

i' IQ!

 

l..-

tials of good drama,” proclaimed that to test the excellence
of this play ”it is only necessary to take the language
out.”162 This provides an excellent definition of pre-
cinema theatrical standards. Dialogue was unimportant,

as "each incident lived in the memory as a vivid picture.163
The photographic analogy present in this production was

not lost. ”So cunningly have the playwright and the manager
set this fable in vital tints, so deftly have they fashioned
its living parts, that every phase of it is a photograph

”1.64

itself, either of character or of situation. This

 

161lbid. Vardac cites a review of Rose Michel by
Nym Crinkle dated Jan. 18, 1876, pp. 135—36.

 

162Ibid. Vardac cites a review of Rose Michel which
appeared in the New York Graphic.

 

 

 

l631bid.

164lbid.

11161 ~'""'

85

pictorial kind of playwriting was supported by equally
realistic stage views which ”are rather built than
painted,"165 and ”which leave nothing whatever to be
added for the imaginative eyes.”166
A. Nicholas vardac states that MacKaye's own plays,
in keeping with nineteenth century theatrical traditions,
were melodramatic, dependent upon external effects, and
replete with the cinematic conceptions of this dramatic
form. Oftentimes, as in the film, such plays found
successive productions under fresh titles while the

spectacular effects which sponsored the original venture

remained the same. Through the Dark, first produced at

 

the Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York, on March 10, 1879,

was revived as A Noble Rogue at the Chicago Opera House,

 

July 3, 1888, and as Money Mad at the Standard Theatre,

 

New York, April 7, 1890. The plot naturally, was ”very

much on the dime-novel order,”167 but audiences came to

see the pictures which were both sensational and realistic.

A great model of the Clark Street drawbridge was mechanically
reproduced on the stage for the Chicago opening. Dramatic
conflict arose from the physical aspects of this setting.

At the mmmafisthat the villain of the piece, Hack Murray,

 

165
166
167

New York Times, Nov. 24, 1875.

 

Ibid. Review of Rose Michel dated Nov. 24, 1875.

 

New York Dramatic Mirror, April 12, 1890.

 

' .‘hfiu

 

86

pursuing the hero's father, overtakes him by sleight at
the foot of the bridge, ”the bridge swings open for a
vessel to pass and prevents the son from going to his
father's assistance and the latter is overpowered and
thrown into the river.”l68

When the show moved to New York as Money Mad,

 

Nym Crinkle wrote praisingly:

._ It ‘3!" n

Nothing in all the important sensations of
English melodrama can compare, in structural
audacity and pictorial effectiveness, with this
bridge scene, as MacKaye now presents it. The
very idea of swinging a causeway fifty feet
long across the whole stage for the passage of

 

a lake propeller at least sixty feet long, ;“I

will cause a success of wonderment.l
In Boston, ”a smoking, snerting tugboat"170 followed the
steamer. At the San Franciso Grand Opera House, to
heighten suspense and climax during the attempted
murder, the steamer became 112 feet long and a tank of
real water was utilized for the drowning. The steamer,
as in the other productions, was rolled up in the fashion
of a panorama, and bridge was swung out over the audience.171
As the steamer passed slowly through the night across the
prescenium opening, Ha realistic illusion of soft cabin

lights, ship’s gongs and marine whistles sounding . . .

 

168Vardac, op. cit., p. 136. Cites from a review of
Money Mad dated Dec. 5, 1888.

169New York World, April 8: 1890“

 

170Boston Transcript, Sept. 30, 1890?
171

 

Vardac, op. cit., p. 137.

87

electrified the audience, above whose heads . . . the
cries of the hero . . . rang out through the auditorium,
as he shouted frantically to the play-characters on the
stage."172
Delsartian extremism began to be evidenced. Dialogue
itself had little significance. The plot hinged entirely
upon the situation and the reproductional, mechanical
aspects of the setting. In fact, the photographic realism 1

of the entire scene nearly broke the aesthetic distance,

for the cries of Wilten Lackaye to the bridgekeeper, who

 

refused to close the draw, and the curses, grunts, and
pleadings of the figures fighting in the dark became173
almost too real to be pleasant.”l74 While the motion
picutre, endowed with a greater aesthetic distance, might
carry this sort of sensational realism to a higher level,
the stage had apparently reached its limit with this
particular production.175
Steele MacKaye’s numerous melodrama productions all
possess the cinematic qualities characteristic of the period.176

That he was in the foreground of the prescessions racing

 

172MacKaye, Epoch, II, p. 2A2.

173Vardac, loc. cit.

 

174New York Sun, April 8, 1890.

 

175Vardac, loc. cit.

 

l76ibid_.

88

toward the photographic ideal can scarcely stand dispute.

Anarchy; or Paul Kauvar, written by MacKaye for production

 

in Buffalo on May 30, 1887, and in New York at the Standard
Theatre on December 24, 1887, was called a superb realisation
upon the stage of one of the grandest eras in human history,“l7-7

and according to Nym Crinkle, surpassed the efforts of even

‘ .u- VII-ll

Henry Irving: ”Paul Kauvar is a play of action, action,

 

action . . . You are asked only to look and vibrate.—-So

‘o e ,I '

with Mr. Henry Irving‘s productions . . . But this is the

point: Mr. Steele MacKaye has outreached with pictorial art

 

all our importers.”178 The play, undoubtedly, did not

belong to the order of dramatic compositions that depends

' but like the motion

mainly upon dialogue for success,’
picture, ”its vital elements are action, incident and
situation.”179 These concepts of playwriting were supported
by realistic and spectacular stage pictures which could
”speak to the heart as no words of poet, historian or

H 180

dramatist could speak. Nym Crinkle, holding that as

a stage artificer MacKaye had no equal, described the vision
effect at the end of the first act where the hero dreams of

his beloved, Diane, at the guillotine as ”electrical":181

 

177Rober G. Ingersoll, cited by MacKaye, E22222 Qfifl
Cite: p0 51’

l781bid., p. 158.

179New York Dramatic Mirror, Dec. 31; 1887:

 

180Boston Herald, Dec. 11: 1888»

 

181Vardac, o . cit., p. 138.

89

I have never seen a theatric picture whose subject
was so terrible, whose action-—as the heroine mounts
the scaffold in her grey dress and falls into the
horrible arms of the executioner—-was so quick a
combination of life and illusion. Had it been done
by Mr. Henry Irving, this dream scene would have
been recognized as an unparagoned triumph of
realism. But nothing that Mr. Irving has attempted
in this country at all approaches it in artistic
ensemble, iggpictorial effect, or in mechancial
execution.

None of the gruesome details were spared and it is small
wonder that Diane fainted into the arms of the executioner L
who, while she mounts the steps leading to the platform of

death, ”takes from the bloody knife the dripping head of the i

 

last victim.”183 Referring to this tableaux, the contemporary 5"'
press proclaimed, in terms which indicate its clear realtion—
ship to the film, that the production's ”most skillful

. . . . . ‘ M
invention is a Silent picture."i8

This spectacular scene
bears a close kinship to one of the earliest topical—

episode films, the Beheading of Mary Stuart, made in 1895.

 

Motion tableaux, silent pictures, were used throughout

Paul Kauvar to picturize its significant and climatic

 

moments. Two others, The Conquest of Evil and Liberty,

 

were added several weeks after its New York opening to

counterbalance Anarchy.185 It has, indeed, been noted that

 

1821bid., citing MacKaye, Epoch, loc. cit.

 

183Philadelphia Times, an. 6: 1889°

 

184New York Star, Jan. 2, 1888.

 

185vardac, loc. cit.

90

Steele MacKaye, with this production, ”presented . . . a
vital sequence of ‘1iving pictures‘ in motion, more than
a generation before the advent of the modern vitagraph."186
These tableaux derived much of their vitality and
realism from the groupings, vocal patterns, and movements
of the mob. Percy MacKaye, Steele MacKaye's son, had made
the following claim:
Paul Kauvar was the first American play (perhaps
the first modern play) technically builded [sic]
upon mass effects in preduction, visual and aural;
that is, the large ensemble situations, the half-
distinguishable dialogue of the mob (which appears
in no printed or manuscript text), the tempo and
flux of its rhythmic sound-surges were structurally . .
intrinsic parts of the plot and motivation, not
introduced for mere whirling clamour and spectacle,
but to clarify and impersonate dramatic significances
of the play‘s national folk-theme.l 7
And so, in the fasion described by early screen critic
vachel Lindsay as the ”Motion Picture of Crowd Splendor,"
MacKaye had developed a dynamic, personalized mob which,
as a unit, became the most significant single dramatis
persona in these scenes. The pattern of aural-visual
relationships presents an interesting analogy to modern
methods in the sound film.188 The connection here between

Steele MacKaye and D. W. Griffith becomes ”more obvious in

subsequent examinations of the early motion picutre, for,

186MacKaye, Epoch, pp. cit., p. 153°

 

187Ibid., pp. 145—46.

188Vardac, o . cit., p. 139.

_. M 35.“ 3.1:“ .Iflu- i

and ‘7‘

'0:

 

I.”

k0
}_J

like the great mobs of Judith of Bethulia or Intolerance,

 

the mob of Paul Kauvar became a ”hideous rabble of maniacal
men and women, inflamed with passion and liquor and led by
Carrac--a notorious and bloodthirsty monster. Human realism
11189

cannot go much further than it has gone in this mob.

John Carboy of the New York Despatch wrote: ”The demoniac

 

madness; the wild fury, the bloodthirsty desperation and

 

the brutality of a Parisian revolutionary mob, have never

 

before had so truthful and impressive a showing upon the

”190

stage in this country. Even David Belasco conceded

: paints: -

that this amazing mob scene ”was the first genuine,
thrilling mob we ever had.”191
And, as with the earliest of motion pictures, the
incidental music ”was suited to the action, as Paul Kauvar‘s
entrance was heralded by a certain figure, and the enslaught
of the mob was accompanied by the anarchic theme.”192
MacKaye’s success, then, with this play, as, indeed,

throughout his career, came from the exploitation of

lues: scenery, mass movements,

'91

external productional v
spectacular action, tableaux, visions, all on a reproduc-

tional level and thoroughly inte rate” by music. His

(IQ

 

 

l l‘ ' ' (“r—x
89New York Sun, Dec. -5, 1867.
1 OO '9 f“! . I):

/ New York lespatch, Jan. 8, 18:8.

 

l9lmacKaye, o . cit., pp, 146-A7.

192Buffalo Express. May 31: 1887~

92

approach to theatre was almost entirely in terms of
motion pictures and, ironically enough, the performance

of Paul Kauvar in London at the Crown Theatre, Peckham,

 

April 9, 1900, was followed by ”an exhibition of Edisono-
graph war pictures.”193

There is scarcely need to elaborate further upon
MacKaye's techniques in the staging of melodrama. His
intentions, achievements, and contributions are quite
clear. His conception of theatre was largely visual, and
his concern with language small. He exploited the optical
qualities of theatrical presentation through reproductional
scenery, thrilling action—tableaux, spectacular sequences,
and gripping visions. His stagings often achieved a three-
dimensional, architectural quality sometimes surpassing
those of Henry Irving but always moving toward the photo-
graphic ideal.194

MacKaye‘s achievement as writer and producer of
melodrama forms the least significant part of his contri-
butions to the American theatre. His cinematic leanings
and accomplishments were even greater in the other two

branches of his theatrical activity.195

317.711. _.

 

 

19jVardac, op. cit., p. 140. Quotation cited by
vardac from a review of Paul Kauvar.

194

 

Vardac, loc. cit.

195Ibid.

In the theatre of melodrama Steele MacKaye con-
formed to the pattern set by his colleagues and predeces—
sors. Like Belasco and Irving, he continued and enlarged
upon the basic traditions of the nineteenth—century theatre
of realism and romance. But between the lines of the
preceding section is to be found an occasional suggestion
of dissatisfaction with existing staging facilities.
"Steele MacKaye, more so than his colleagues, was an i

inventor of staging devices. This genius was focused

5051......

upon carrying the legitimate stage into the orbit of the

 

1‘? R.”- .:
n

motion picture and marked his greatest contribution to the
. - _ H196
theatre of the nineteenth century.

The Madison Square Theatre was remodeled in 1879

under the direction of Steele MacKaye and opened on February

4, 1880, with his own play, Hazel Kirke. According to

 

MacKaye, all changes were governed by the desire ”to
focus attention, time, and money on the creative art of

. . . , . . ”197 .. -

the stage picture itself. J He recognized the value of
musical accompaniment to support the exterral nature of
his staging technique and at the same time felt the need
for eliminating the distraction of an orchestra playing

directly in front of the stage picture. A platform was

built above and behind the prescenium opening and here the

 

l95lbid.

197MacKaye, Epoch, I, op. cit., p. A10. Interview
cited by N. vardac.

9A

musicians sat, invisible to the audience, palying their
musical illustrations for the stage picture below. In
addition to this, an elevator stage was installed.198
This was designed to enable MacKaye ”to sort and distribute
. . . scenery upon three floors, instead of huddling it
upon one; to control the waits between acts, avoiding
tedious delays; and to produce scenic effects impossible
upon any other stage.”199 Sensing the dislike of metro-
politan audiences for the conventional staging methods and
not yet willing to sacrifice speed and variety in his
scenic pictures, he was able through the use of the elevator
stage, to fulfill the pictorial requirements of this
romantic theatre with solid, built—out, and practicable
settings. This was one of MacKaye's earlier attempts to
reduce the then established theatrical conventions.200
Further confirmation of his pictorial conception
of theatre and of his belief that certain forms of drama
might dispose of dialogue altogether was given in 1892,
when MacKaye applied for a patent for a ”Silent Unfolding

' stating that its

Announcer Appliance for Theatres,’
purpose was ”to provide means by which the performance or

scene which is being exhibited may be automatically

 

198Vardac, o . cit., p. 141.

199MacKaye, Epoch; op. Cite: 9° 323°

 

200Vardac, loc. cit.

 

explained or interpreted by a silent unfolding announcer,

wtihout subjecting the audience to the annoyance incident

11201

to an oral explanation. This and other devices were

carried out and demonstrated in connection with his
Spectatorium and his Scenitorium.

It would seem that the visual aspects of Delsarte‘s
system had, by this time, assumed major importance, speech
being considered not only of slight importance, but actually
annoying and distracting. One wonders whether the great
master, himself, would have approved of these extremes,
even from his favorite pupil.

At about this same time MacKaye application for

I

patents for an ”Illumiscope,” ”Colourator,’ and so forth,

developing further techniques for heightening the scenic
illusion. These were intended

. . . to provide means for the improvement of

scenic illumination upon the stage and the increase
of realism in scenic effects. To this end I have
devised improved appliances for imitating the

shades and tints of light which color the land—
scape, from the darkness of night, through dawn,
sunrise, early morning, noon, afternoon, evening,
sunset, twilight, moonlight into the darkness of
midnight again; these appliances permitting the
imitation of the tints of the hours to be produced
completely, or in part, as desired, and facilitating
the passage and blending of the various tints each
into the other so as to illustrate the slow progress
of the hours throughout the whole day. They also
permit the imitation of clouds moving through the
sky, and of cloud shadows moving over land and

 

water.
201MacKaye, Epoch, II, op. cit., addenda, lxxxii.
202

Ibid., 1xxxiv.

\O
0\

By means of this series of devices the color and lighting
effects connected with the progress of time and other
natural phenomena were projected and controlled by a
fixed mechanical operation.

In the same year he claimed a patent for a ”Sliding

' The purpose of this was similar to that of the

Stage.’
elevator stage, but the technique called for horizontal

rather than vertical movement. Specifically, he sought

As“

 

. . . to provide a sliding or movable [moveable]
stage and means for handling or moving and
controlling the movements of stages or stage
equipments and scenery with facility so as to
adapt such devices to be easily moved forward or
back, sidewise or in an oblique direction

across or in front of a proscenium opening, and
to readily change the direction of motion so

as to produce the desired result in shifting

set or other icenes or stage appliances or
equipments.

 

if 9-... 1,—3.1)“ "I w

lWacKaye‘s inventive strength was directed entirely toward
irlcreasing the physical facilities of the stage for pictorial
illusion.

Next came the ”Floating Stage,” similar to the
Sliding stage but with much greater flexibility in the
(filoice of direction OPkind of movement. Here MacKaye
afiJned at providing

. . . an improved floating stage which is susceptible
of a to and fro or rotary movement and may be pro—

pelled forward and back or in a curvilinear direction
upon an artificial lake, tank or other body of water

and sustained when desired in a fixed position in
respect to other objects or other stages of the same

203ibid., xci.

 

Q7

kind arranged in a proximity thereto, so that
scenery, paintings or other objects or persons
placed on the stages may be exhibited to an
audience through the usual prescenium opening
of a theatre or other structure adapted for
the exhibition of spfigtacular, dramatic, or
other performances.

While various types of moveable stage were all calculated
to provide a rapid and easy shifting of architecturally
real scenery, his "Luxauleater" enhanced the spectacular un—
appeal of such shifts by eliminating the ordinary curtain
and providing in its place a curtain of light. This was
devised to intercept "all sight of anything that may be *

placed or moved in the space at the rear of the prescenium
"205

 

opening or arch. With centrally controlled electric
lighting, this curtain of light could be manipulated for
cinematic dissolve effects, or fadeouts and fade-ins, thus
providing much more subtle and realistic transformation
effects than were possible with the conventional wing-
and—border system.206

His "Cloud—Creator" or "Nebulator," a device for
the projection of moving clouds, seems closely related to
the motion picture. Here he provided "means for creating
clouds or cloud shadows so as to produce the effect of

clouds or cloud shadows moving upon or over landscape or

sky foundation or other scenic arrangement, for the

 

2O“Ibid., xciv.

 

205Ibid., 1xxiv.

206Vardac, op. cit., p. 1A2.

 

improvement of realism in land and water scenic effects."207

To these many machines for the reproduction of natural
phenomena and the presentation and control of a number of
architecturally real settings was added the "Prescenium—
Adjuster." It was calculated to provide a greater flexi-
bility in the pictorial arrangement of the stage. Changes
from panoramic views to close-ups, from a gigantic cathedral
set to an intimate fireside scene, could be handled instan-
taneously with any one of his mechanical stages plus this

automatic adjustment of the size of the picture-frame

 

opening. To accomplish this MacKaye devised "improved
means for enlarging and contracting the prescenium opening
at will, so that without a moment's delay and almost
imperceptibly to the audience, except as to the result,
and during the performance or exhibition, the opening

may be enlarged or contracted in conformity with the

"208 In this way MacKaye

requirements of the occasion.
could control the type of stage picture offered, in the
fasion of the motion picture with its long or medium
shot, its panoramic or tracking shot.

The inventions of MacKaye all aimed at realizing

the most perfect of visual productions, just as the Delsarte

System carried to its extreme would do for acting. In his

 

207MacKaye, Epoch, op. cit., lxxvii.

 

208Ibid. xcvii.

99

presentation of the role of Paul Kauvar it was noted that
he expressed everything by an

. ingenious system of physical symbols which
conclude to be a demonstration of the theory invented
by M. Delsarte, of whom Mr. MacKaye was at one time
the apostle. He acts by a kind of algebra so to

speak . . . . It is only fair to say that he gets
there just the same, and with an accuracy that
fully bears out the simile . . . . His acting,

in addition to these intelligible strokes, is

further ditinguished by a profusion of graceful

but meaningless gesture and 30568“: very much like

a writing master's flourishes.
Carried to its logical conclusion, such a system would
have resulted, as would his ever—all productional approach,
in the complete elimination of dialogue. "Drama then
would have become a series of visual symbols, pictures
envisioned by the scenic artist and created by the stage
mechanic and by the body of the actor. Theatrical inven-
tion plus the rigid application of the system of Delsarte
brought the theatre of the nineteenth century to the very
threshold of the silent film.”210

In 1886, MacKaye's pictorial proclivities brought

him into an association with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
His reputation as stage artificer had reached William Cody,
who engaged him to stage a series of mammoth pictures
illustrating the struggle of the growth and expansion of
America. This cycle, named by MacKaye The Drama of Civili-

zation, became the first of a new type of drama for America,

 

 

209Boston Courier, Dec. 16, 1888.

 

210Vardac, loc. cit.

100

a dramatic form which has developed into one of the signifi—
cant expressions of the motion picture, and which has been

called by Percy MacKaye the "Masque of American Life."211
Many phases in the historical spectacle of the rise of

America have since been reproduced. In The Drama of

 

Civilization, the theme was the same as that exploited

 

by the motion-picture epic of the 1920's, The Covered

 

Wagon, MacKaye's scenario was completed in October and the
production opened at the Madison Square Garden on November
27, 1886. Some idea of the magnitude of this romanticized
reproduction of the growth of a nation and of the care and

expense which were involved has been provided by Louis

Cooke.212

It was necessary to cut through solid walls,
building temporary housings or lofts on the roof,
to carry ropes and blocks, to handle the heavy set
pieces and move the panoramas in order to produce
some of the storm and atmospheric effects. Trenches
had to be dug across 27th Street to connect with
the steam plant in the old Stevens carshops. This
steam was used to supply batteries of four six-foot
exhaust fans, which operated one of the most effec-
tive cyclones that has ever been staged.

Preparatory to this, in the autumn before snowfall,
men had been sent into the foreSt to gather up tons
of fallen leaves and small shrubbery, sufficient to
last through the winter. Two or three wagon loads
were used at each performance, by throwing them in
front of the great drafts, created by the fans which
forced air through funnels that could be turned in
any direction . . . The rear of the fans, and the
rush of air turned upon the camps of miners and
troopers, lifted the tents from their fastenings,

 

2111bid., pp. 144—45.

212Ibid., p. 145.

 

 

101

causing the flags to snap in the gale. Then when
the storm was at its fury height, the leaves would
be turned loose, sweeping the arena with terrific
force, lifting equestrians from their horses and
creating other sad havoc . . . The light and cloud
effects, the old Deadwood stage-coach striking a
snag in the ravine and going to pieces, while the
six mules escaped on a dead run, with only the
forward wheels, dragging the driver by the reins--
all this never failed to bring a tremendous final
curtain call . . . The production included also

one of the most realistic prairie fires ever presented,
when we saw a stampeded of real horses, cattle, 213
buffalo, elk and deer, dashing across the plains.

The panoramic background for this Spectacular epic, painted
by Matt Morgan, was ”a picture half a mile long and fifty

feet high. The result, comparable to the James Cruze

epic, The Covered Wagon, was not unlike a Thomas Ince

 

western motion picture;

First Scene-—"The Primeval Forest," with bear and
antelope. Here the aboriginal Indians appeared,
two tribes Joining in a friendly dance, broken in
upon by a hostile band, a fight ensuing, with
antique weapons . . . Second scene--a Prairie
Encampment, with the old emigrant schooners and
a realistic prairie fire. A Virginia Reel on
horseback . . . Third scene--a Cattle Ranch,
where the cowboys' fun is interrupted by an Indian
attack, which is beaten off at last by Buffalo Bill
and party of rescue . . . Fourth scene——a Mining
Camp in the Rocky Mountains. Here rides the
"pony express" and the Deadwood Coach is robbed,
though the road agents are captured.

And finally, as climax, the camp was carried off by the
CYelone. The pictorial qualities of this production,

tremendous and painstaking as it must have been, can

 

2
13Newark Evening Star, July 1, 1915.

2 A
l MacKaye, Epoch, II, p. 83-

215Ibid., p. 85.

 

 

102

hardly be denied. It would be difficult to imagine any
other development that would have surpassed this project,

yet A. N. Vardac states that MacKaye's Spectatorium

 

caused the Drama of Civilization to fade into obscurity.

 

Of the plan itself Anton Seidl said, in 1892:
"In the art of poetic spectacle this project far
exceeds Baireuth [sic] as Baireuth exceeded the
drama of Wagner's predecessors." And during F“
the production of Caliban in 1916, when I [Percy *
MacKaye] showed some of these designs to Joseph 2
Urban, "Why!” he exclaimed, "in Germany we have y
not yet developed anythigg so comprehensive in '
theatrical invention."21

In the Spectatorium, indeed, was forecast a creative

 

 

future for the theatre, the aesthetic values of which were ‘-5
purely Visual.
Here there was to be not pictorial illusion of
reality but reality itself, the creation of
pictures-in—the-round-in motion, that is, three—
dimensional motion pictures.

The aesthetic values striven for in the Spectatorium, a

 

three—dimensional and purely visual illusion, could be
said to have been the culminating phase of Francois
Delsarte's influential system of artistic expression.

As described by the American painter, Robert Reid,
who was present at the Chicago Chamber of Commerce banquet
in 1892 when MacKaye's ideas were presented, the Specta-

torium was ”in essence the birth of the modern art of the

 

216Percy MacKaye, "The Theatre of Ten Thousand,"
Theatre Arts Magazine, VII (April, 1923), 119.

 

217Vardac, op. cit., p. 1A6.

103

motion picture--only it was a picture-of-motion done in

the round, to the life,--an actual 'movie,' not a photo-

graph."218

by MacKaye in a manifesto for "an entirely new species
of building, invented and devised for a new order of

entertainment entitled a spectatorie . . . to present

the facts of history with graphic force."219

All of the inventions discussed in the previous
pages were incorporated into the Spectatorium on a
colossal scale.

There were to be twenty-five telescope stages, all
of which were to be furnished with scenery of an
entirely new species devised by myself [MacKaye].
The frame of the stage pictures was 150 by 70 feet,
and the full range of the vision of the public,
at the horizen of the picture, would have been
over 400 feet. It would have required over six
miles of railroad track for these stages to move
upon, and their aggregated weight would have been

over 1,200 tons . . . the machinery of the building
. would have made each change within forty
seconds . . . An entirely new system of lighting

was to be used in connection with these stages,
the aim being to arrive at as close a reproduction
of the subtle light effects of nature as modern
mechanism made possible

There was also the cyclone machinery, the running
of which would have required over A00 horse DOWGP,
and the immense current—and—wave—makers, requiring
an equal amount of force . . . This mechanism
would have been capable of producing, in the most
realistic manner, all sorts of land-and-water-scape
effects, and every kind of weather, as well as
natural illuminating effects

All the arts and all the sciences were evoked

 

18
MacKaye, Epoch, op. cit., p. 331-

219Chicago Times, Aug. 2“, 1892.

 

 

lmfi_
.

.. , .3.

 

10A

Among the light realisms were all the optical
phenomena preduced by the passage of time from
night, through the early dawn, the rising of the
sun, followed by all the tints of the twilight,
and the gradual appearance of the constellations,
accurately depicted as they exist in the southern
hemisphere--the stars softly stealing through the
evening sky into the night, and thence through
deepest darkness to the day again; also the
falling stars and meteors, the milky way, the
aurora borealis, the real lightning, and the real
rainbow . . . Among the weather effects, were
to be the clear day through all the subtle modu— f
lations of the approaching storm with real haze ;
and fog and rain. In addition, the real wind
effect of almost every degree of force, with the
movement of real waves of water, presenting thus
all the phases of the atmosphere produced by .
different degrees of temperature and humidity, g
combined with the many capricious aspects of the
sea . . . The purpose of this mechanism was to
bring into the realm of art as perfect a repro-
duction of nature as possible.2 0

 

III’I‘L
| q

Tide entire stage apparatus was to be powered by electricity
Eirid the performance controlled from beginning to end by
C>r1e man from a centrally located overhead booth. The
tDLlilding was in the process of contruction, intended to
t>ea the main feature of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893,
vvkien the financial ”panic of '93" occurred. After hundreds
CDI‘ thousands of dollars had been invested and the building
Eil¢ready in its final stages, for want of a few thousands
UNDire the entire project was discarded and, soon after, the

bleilding torn down, not one public performance having been

 

 

gi:ven.22l
220 .
MacKaye, Epoch, op. cit., pp. 3A6—A7.
221

Vardac, op. cit., p. 1A7.

105

One might ask: What were the artistic and social
aims of this Theatre of the Ten Thousand, designed to

paroduce as its first offering The World Finder, a

 

Spectatorio by Steele MacKaye on the theme of Columbus,
.for which Dvorak was composing the interpretive music
(afterward partly incorporated in his New World Symphony).
.Added to these endeavors, Victor Herbert was directing
'the choral music, Leon Espinosa the school of dance and
Ioantomime, and such citizens as George M. Pullman and
ILyman J. Gage were associated as business directors.

Steele MacKaye best answers the question in his
crwn words, written in the Spring of 1893:

To create a form of fine art which shall draw the
multitude sufficiently to insure the financial
success essential to sustain its worthy production
is an aim which has seemed to me worth the devotion
of a lifetime. By a practical experience of over
twenty years, I have been taught that the tendency
of our modern public taste is toward realism rather
than idealism. This for two excellent reasons:

First, the character of the occupations which
absorb the majority of our people renders them
more prone to appreciate the common facts of prac—
tical life than the uncommon illuminations which
sublimate that life in the eyes of genius. Second,
that total lack of thoroughness in artistic
training, consequent upon this, which characterizes
most of our professional performers makes it far
more difficult for a manager artistically to realize
the ideals of the poet and the philos0pher, than
successfully to present the sensational realism of
the stage carpenter, the costumer and the scene
painter. In consequence, there has been of late
years a much greater development of the sensational
than of the spiritual side of theatric art. Since,
then, the realistic is that element in art most
thoroughly comprehensible to the common people, I
have labored, first, to increase and improve the

 

 

106

element of realism in stage art, and then so to
combine that with the spiritual and poetic as to
make the fascinating force of realism a means of
popularizing idealism.

After many years of anxious endeavor, I finally
developed and combined a number of mechanical
systems, which in their ensemble constitute an
entirely new form of theatric construction, and
to this intended tabernacle of the fine arts I
gave the name of Spectatorium. I also devised
a new order of theatric art, the aim of which was
to unite the mystic with the realistic for the
moving presentation of the themes of human history,
in such wise as to illumine the ordinary minds to
the ideal value of the ideal. To this new art of
the theatre, involving a structural harmony of
pantomime, music and spectacle, I gave the name of
Spectatorio.2

‘- a I. I”: "'“oxmBh-“filnfl
l
. .ll

 

The Spectatorium was to have been located on the

 

Lake Shore, at the north entrance of the Columbian Exposi-
tion grounds, in Jackson Park, a suburb of Chicago. At
the time, it was the largest structure ever erected for
the alliance of the arts in the domain of drama and music.
Its frontage was 500 feet, depth nearly 400 feet, altitude
at the dome 270 feet. Together with its studios and power
house, it occupied an area of 600 feet. In architecture
it was a combination of the Spanish Renaissance and
Romanesque. Its audience chamber was equipped to accomo-
date about 10,000 people; its scenic department, in area,

was over 100,000 square feet.223

 

222"Stee1e MacKaye," The Drama Magazine» Feb-» 1912’
op. cit., 169-70-

223"The Theatre of Ten Thousand,” Theatre Arts Maga—
zine, op. cit., 121-22.

 

 

107

Though the entire structure seems to be entirely
a mechanistic achievement, thereby being scientifically
rather than artistically oriented, MacKaye makes it
perfectly clear that the mechanics of the Spectatorium
were only a means to an end.

The aim of its vast mechnaims is to create the
means for a harmonious blending of nature and
art, hitherto unachieved, to illustrate the
noblest dramatic conflicts of history. Its concep-
tion indeed is on such a scale that as a permanent
institution it can never, its supporters believe,
be degraded to the presentation of the petty or
the vulgar. Therefore its management hope to
commence a series of productions, to follow one
another in the years to come, which shall by
progression reach the loftiest heights of
artistic achievement, and make Chicago as famous
as an art center as it is fast becoming the focus
of business ability.

To this end a free, but strictly professional,
school of acting, music, dancing and scenic fine
art has been started, with the hope that, as the
means of the management may increase, it shall be
equipped with every facility which invention and
the ablest leaders may insure for the culture of
the theatre's art in America.22”

Though the building was razed before a single
performance could have been given, large-scale models
had been completed. The World Finder, re—creating the
trip of Columbus into the New World, intended for the
inaugural performance of the Spectatorium, had been

staged. An audience of newsmen at the preview of this

projected production

‘ "71.7.: m..-1Yk 1A|~—_n.:._-1

 

 

224

"Steele MacKaye," The Drama Magazine, loc. cit.

108

. saw the clear white lights of innumerable stars
shining out of such a sky as only the Mediterranean
reflects, and recognized familiar constellations

saw red beams of light streaming from the little
church, in which Columbus knelt, while Padre Juan
Perez said mass . . . lights in the windows behind
which the crew of the Santa Maria were singing

tipsy songs . . . saw the declining moon fade out
church and cottages disappear in the "darkest hour
before dawn"; saw the stars gradually grow pale--
outlines of church and cottages reappear dimly—-a
faint glow on the eastern horizon deepen impercep—
tibly, till [they] beheld what has been sung since
Homer's day--the grey dawn stealing over land and
sea--the despair of painters and the delight of i
poets. This was the last touch . . . "That is g
dawn itself . . . The picture is as true as any I T
have witnessed, before sunrise, standing on the
high bank of the Hudson and gazing seaward. Mr.
MacKaye, your art and your science together have
solved the problem of absolute realism:

 

'TFZBREmw-u
. _ _ . ._ . _ , ..

As the glow of the rising sun deepened, a land
breeze sprang up, filled the sails of the Santa
Maria, covered the calm sea with ripples, rustling
the leaves of trees on the shore. Not only did their
shadows move with the swaying of the branches, but
they shortened as the sun rose higher, just as
shadows do in nature. The little fleet stands out
to sea. Palos recedes. The beacon is passed. The
Santa Maria, her brave captain and the quaking
crew are tossed on the mysterious sea . . . It is
rather too heavy a tax on one's imagination to
determine the probable effects upon an audience of
10,000 when the completed spectacle is presented
with all the accessories of finished actors and
the music of great masters.

The zenith of the pictorial theatre of the nineteenth
century had at last been reached. The century-old quest
for the photographic ideal was at the point of being
realized upon the stage, in or by 1893, just two years

prior to its demonstration upon the screen.226 Percy

 

225Vardac, op. cit., p. 148.

226Ibid.

109

MacKaye refers to the comments of F. R. Green, assistant
to Steele MacKaye, concerning the construction of the

miniature:

When you think of the mechanical difficulties—-
the proscenium opening in a horizontal semi—circle-—
a curtain of light, invented by him, in order to
change scenes--a tank of water, with tracks under
water--cables to move the truck—cars (which held
the scenery), operated by windlasses——and everything
in relief, built up to cast real shadows from an
electric sun-~and consider that all was demonstrated
to be practical: it is clear to see that there
never was a theatre like his Spectatorium, before
or since, nor any approach to it.227

It appears that everything had been directed toward
the cinematic illusion. "The curtain of light was used for
dissolve effects and to accelerate scene changes. Scenery
was prearranged upon twenty-five stages which could be
controlled from the central booth. Lighting effects could
be integrated from the same control."228

Size and scale were, obviously, tremendous. The
ships of Columbus, for example, were equipped to carry

"229

"SO-feet masts. Such magnitude had its effect upon

acting which, of necessity, would become entirely pictorial.

Actors "neither Spoke, as in dram, nor sang, as in opera,"

but were "reduced, in that respect, to pantomimists."230

A special school had to be set up for these actors,

.r- f .. fwfi'fl

-. _---—- ‘v v

 

 

227MacKaye, Epoch, pp. cit., p. 323.

228Vardac, op. cit., p. 149.

229New York Dailerews, March 13, 1893.

 

230MacKaye, Epoch, 0P9 Cit°s p. 345.

110

essentially "a pantomimic school, educating the student to
understand and develop his natural resources of expression
in physical action " And it was specifically stated that

"231 Music, too, was utilized

"elocution will not be taught.
to cement the episodic pattern of this epic-dramatic form
and enhance its pictorial values. MacKaye envisioned the

same kind of thing as that of the early screen epics,

Intolerance, Ben Hur, and so forth. Thus, while the

 

&1, 250, 000 reputedly invested in the unfinished project
was a loss, the aesthetic and historical value of the
attempt must be recorded as the creation, before the

arrival of m ion-picture apparatus, of a motion picture

ot
23

l\)

in the life.

Despite the financial collapse of the Sepctatorium

 

[resulting from the financial panic of 1893], Mackaye
managed to secure a backing of $50,000 in the following
year to carry out the original plan on a somewhat smaller
scale. An old theatre was reconstructed at 130 Michigan
Avenue, Chicago, and a modified version of what the great

Spectatorium might have been was launched. The Scenitorium,

 

as it was called, seated only eight hundred and boasted a

prescenium Opening of only sixty by twenty feet. Neverthe-

233 H

less, it was reported that the pictures approached so

 

'231Ibid., p. 353.

2‘2 - .
5 Vardac, ioc. Cit.

 

233Ibid., p. 150.

 

111

closely to perfect realism as to challenge nature herself "(3“

The same scenario, The World Finder, was staged.235
The smaller—scale presentation of the scenes originally

laid out for the Spectatorium was still in advance of con-

 

temporary pictorial staging. Electricity, too, was fully
exploited for naturalistic lighting values, and it was con-
ceded that ”Mr. MacKaye is the first artistic scientist

who has been able so to control electric lighting that he
can give to stage Views all the verisimilitude of night

and day as perfectly and imperceptibly as if it were the

"236

very method of nature. The two completed achievements

of Steele MacKaye in the staging of the spectacle "mark a

peak in the pictorial theatre of the realistic-romantic
"237

movement of the Nineteenth century.

Certainly nothing short of the great Griffith
screen spectacle would have surpassed MacKaye's
Spectatorium vision for The World Finder. That
the dream of Steele MacKaye was to be consummated
by the apparatus of the motion picture is not a
coincidence. Both had come in response to a
similar ”social tension ” aesthetic preference, call
it whatever you will.‘

MacKaye attained the pinnacle of his expression
just as the cinema was about to appear. The motion picture

soon picked up his work where it had been dropped by his

 

23uChicago Times, Feb’ 6, 189“-
235V
236

 

H

ardac, oc. cit.

Chicago Inter—Ocean, Feb. 6, 1894.

|._l

237Vardac,
238

oc. cit.

Ibid.

5

‘5 vb 3;." "LL- m-

 

E:
l""

112

early death and, exploiting the aims as well as certain
specific techniques of MacKaye's method, carried out
original premise of this pictorial theatre to its proper
perfection.239 In 1927, A. F. Victor of the Society of
Motion Picture Engineers wrote to Percy MacKaye,

Many of the methods we employ nowadays in motion
picture making were originated by your father for

use in his Spectatorium. Whether his ideas were f
remembered and put to use later on, or whether they 3
were rediscovered, it is difficult to state without ;
a certain amount of investigation . . . It is espe- i

cially interesting to note that the means employed .
by Steele MacKaye for the reproduction of atmos- é
pheric phenomena, and which were patented by him '
in 1893, are identical with those now in common
practice . . . The cloud—producing scheme is an
example of such priority of conception . . . I

find every indication that the thing which today
has developed into the most powerful form of public
entertainment was in his mind, and that he recog—
nized the appeal of that form of entertainment . .
Even titles and subtitles had been recognized by
him as an essential to proper presentation, and
these did not arrive in the picture industry until
after many years of exploitation of the pictures
themselves.¢

 

Steele MacKaye, the, in the brief span of his career,
carried theatrical production from the artificiality of
the two-dimensional pictorial conventions into the very
realm of graphic authenticity and the staged silent motion
picture.

Of the triumvirate of outstanding pictorial theatrical

producers, Irving, Belasco, and MacKaye (the creation of

 

2391bid., pp. 150—51.

240MacKaye, Epoch, I, op. cit., xx.

113

the most cinematic staging of the nineteenth century
must be credited to the later). MacKaye, from his
earliest connection with the theatre, had demonstrated
a thorough agreement the pictorial mode of the era.
Though his approach to theatre was altogether graphic,
he sought to overcome the counterfeit conventional
methods for handling the thrilling spectacular sequences
of melodrama through the invention and introduction of a
number of staging devices. Such machines as the sliding
stage, the elevator stage, and the floating stage sought
to eliminate two—dimensional scenery by providing means
for the storage and rapid shifting of solid, three-
dimensional scenery by providing means for the storage
and rapid shifting of solid three-dimensional settings.
His luxauleater, illumiSCOpe, colourator, cloud—creator,
or nebulator all strove to heighten the visual illusion
through advanced usage of electric lighting. His silent
unfolding announcer sought to eliminate dialogue, as his
prescenium adjuster provided a method for controlling the
size of the picture frame automatically to accomodate
either a close-up, medium, or panoramic View.2141
This inventive genius in the physical setting
of the play was coupled with the sponsorship of
a system of acting which, if carried to the con-

clusion of its basic premise, would have eliminated
the need for the vocal illusion, for dialogue,

 

 

ZulVardac, o . cit., pp. 249—50.

11M

completely. The actor would have become utterly
subservient to the demands of MacKaye's scientifi—
cally created stage picture, and theatrical pro-
duction would have assumed the quality of a silent
film. These various inventions, plus a severe
version of the system of Delsarte, were combined

in his Spectatorium (incomplete), 1893, and his
Sceniterium, 1894. Here, with his many scientific
devices, electrically harnessed, he succeeded, just
two years before the arrival of cinema, in staging
a centrally controlled "motion picture-in-the-
round," thus demonstrating beyond any possible [
question that the aims of nineteenth-century popular ;
theatre were identical with those of the moving 1
pictures. Within the few years of his short career 5
Steele MacKaye had envisioned and achieved on a
restricted scale the pictorial stage production

of The World Finder, surpassed only by such later
spectacle filmings as Intolerance, TheABirth of a .
Natiop, Ben Hur, or The King of Kingi.‘“‘ t

 

 

 

It is interesting to note that the references to
Delsarte are far fewer in this chapter than they were in
the preceding chapters of this study. This, perhaps,
needs some explanation. Certainly, it is evident that
the Delsartian influences were very much a part of
MacKaye's theatrical knowledge and activity, right up
to the time of his death. Why, then, aren't there con—
tinuing references to the man responsible for much of
MacKaye's success? The reasons must now be elucidated.

Delsarte founded a system which he called the
"Delsarte Science and Art of Artistic Expression." This
system was taught to James Steele MacKaye, who, in turn,

contributed his ramifications. These ramifications were

 

 

115

accep.ed by Delsarte and incorporated into the system.
Had Delsarte lived to come to America and teach his
system, perhaps his influences would have been of a
different kind. What appears to have happened, is that
MacKaye taught his master's theories as they had been
basically set down. Naturally enough, he seems to have
begun putting more stress on some aspects of the system,
less on others. Perhaps this was done unintentionally
and in good faith.

As the theatrical needs ofthe time became apparent
to MacKaye, the Delsartian principles began to attain
new meanings- A series of changes took place. Speech
receded to an unimportant position. The visual became
of the utmost importance. Emotion was expressed with
the body alone. Together with these factors, the trend
to pictorial—realism was strengthened and aided by exact
imitations of nature through the use of ingenious theatri—
cal devices. MacKaye's inventive skills were put to
good use.

Delsarte's system had been assimilated and applied
to the theatre of the time as Steele MacKaye saw fit. His

genius had utilized the genius of another. Both artists

were very much of their time——in some respects, ahead of it.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

 

 

 

 

 

Dimmick, Ruth C. OLP Treatres To day and Yesterday.
New York: lhe h. K. Fly Company Publishers, 1913.
[7‘
MacKaye, Percy. Epoch: The life of Steele MacKaye.
2 V018 . I‘Jel": YUI‘lfi: Bull; CLUQ Li V61. -5110, .LQLI 0
Morgan, Anna. An Hour tit h Delsarte. Boston: Lee and
Shepard Publishers. New fork: Charles T. Dillingham, {
1890. g
s;
O'Dell, George C. D. Annals of the rm York Stage. 15 ;
New York: Columbia University Press, 1937

Oxford Companion

 

Cumberlge.
University

Stebbins,
York:
1902.

Vardac, A. Nichol
from Carnot:

Genevieve.
Edgar

to the Theatre. Edited by Geoffrey
London—New York—Toronto: Oxford
Press, 1951

tem of Expression. New
shing and Supply Co.,

Delsarte Sy
Werner Publ

 

S. l

(N

S age to or
(1111111

Ifietliod
1 1:. p a. r d.

as.
k to

16611: if 6'
‘o‘tihbl‘ltige, [V17

 

11

r
labs: o:

 

University

,1 '
111’71
._i

. s '1 .‘
('1 ’\ l 1 V“ "
_ l " . - E :3 .«‘1[ i 1 1

Press, 11949

Peri 0:11 wt."

('0‘

 

ll
1

NC t6: ,
161.

1 .
Uhneroxxan
p .

 

 

 

 

l‘l“1e';2.t. re 1“”1‘;J.Ef.i.2’lli6 , Vol . 1 (Much

 

Boston Courier. Dec. 16, 1558.
Boston Herald Dec. ll, 1987.
Boston Transcript. Sept. 30, 1390.
Buffalo Express. May 31, 1837
Chicago Inter—Ocean. Feb. 6, 1399.

 

 

Chicago Times Aug, 2 ,
Chicago Times. Feb. 6,

 

 

 

I

 

 

 

 

Curry, S. S. "Delsarte and MacKaye,’ Werner's Voice
Magazine, VII (March, 1885), pp.‘L2-Ah.

Durivage, F. A ”Delsarte,” The Atlantic Monthly,
(May, 1871), pp. 613-620.

Fleming, Margaret. "The Delsarte Theory,” Munsey's
Magazine, IX (April, 1893), pp. 32-38.

Hapgood, Norman. ”Books and Plays,” Colliers Weekly,
XXXIII (August 27, 1904).

MacKaye, Percy. ”Steele
(NOV.. 1911; Feb.,

MacKaye," The Drama Magazine
1912).

 

XXVll

 

MacKaye, Percy. ”The Theatre of Ten Thousand,” Theatre
Arts Magazine, VII (April, 1923), pp. 116-126.

 

 

Hr:
\

MacKaye, Steele Mrs. Steele MacKaye and Francois Delsarte:
A Letter Outlining their Personal and Professional
Relations,” Werner s Voice Magazine, XIV (July, 1892),

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pp. 187-189.
Newark Evening Star. July 1, 1915.
New York Daily News. March 13, 1893.
New York Despatch. Jan. 8, 1888.
New York Dramatic Mirror. Dec 3;, 188
New York Dramatic Mirror. ij11 12, 1890.
Nevv‘Yciii Grvgfliic. .Jan 1:, i1876
New York Star. Jan 2, 1888.
New York Sun. Dec. 2:, 1887.
New York Sun. April 8, 1890.
New York Times. Nov. 24, 187:
New York World. April 8, 1890.
Philadelphia Times. Jan. 6, 1889

 

118

Shaver, Claude. ”Steele MacKaye and the Delsarte System,"
A History of Speech Education in America. Karl
Wallace (ed.). New York: Appleton-Century—Crofts,
Inc., 1954. '

 

Unpublished Material

 

Batchellor, Joseph. ”A Comparative Study of the Contri—
butions of Steele MacKaye and David Belasco to the
American Theatre." Unpublished Master's dissertation,
Department of Speech, University of Minnesota, 1938.

Dillport, Rayda Wallace. ”The Pupils of Delsarte." Un-
published Master's dissertation, Department of
Speech, Louisiana State University, 1946.

Morris, Virginia. ”The Influence of Delsarte Philos0phy
of Expression as Revealed through the Lectures of
Steele MacKaye.” Unpublished Master's dissertation,

Department of Speech, Louisiana State University, 1941.

Neely, George Albert. ”The School of Delsarte." Unpublished

Master's dissertation, Department of Speech, Louisiana
State University, 1942.

Shaver, Claude. ”The Delsarte System of Expression as Seen
through the Notes of Steele MacKaye.” Unpublished
Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Speech, University
of Wisconsin, 1937.

 

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