EMOTIONAL ACTRESS

Matilda Heron was said to have founded the "emotional school" of acting. According to Reignolds-Winslow, "Matilda Heron was dramatic to the last degree on every occasion" (1887, 111). Emotional intensity also characterized performances by Lucille Western. It wasClara Morriswho pushed that mode of acting to the heights. For her alternating restraint and release of strong feelings, according to criticAustin Latchaw(Kansas City Star, 4 April 1935), "Morris was unsurpassed. There was a poignancy in the break of her voice, in the very pauses she prolonged, that touched the most cynical audience. We used to go to the old Coates night after night and weep over Clara Morris's heartrending experiences behind the footlights." He added that she became "the most moving emotional actress of her time. She could sound the depths of passion, of sorrow, and could compel us to go into the depths with her. There was no embarrassment when we wept at a Clara Morris performance. When we went to see this actress we had tears to shed and prepared to shed them."

See alsoBooth, Agnes.