Maude Adams Documentary
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- Опубликовано: 2 июл 2023
- Who was the most popular actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries? Direct descendant of President John Adams, Maude Adams (1872-1953) appeared on stage at just nine months old. Trained by her actress mother Annie Kiskadden, Adams headed to New York City from Utah in her early teens to stun Broadway under New York theatre manager Charles Frohman. Working with the Barrymore acting family, Adams caught the attention of popular playwright J. M. Barrie. They formed a friendship (he called her "Maudie") and Barrie made her his Peter Pan in American productions. Adams bought multiple pieces of New York real estate early on in her career, including over 600 acres in the picturesque Catskills. With her expertise in lighting systems and stagecraft, she was granted three U.S. patents during her employment at General Electric - Schenectady. Her relationship with the Sisters of Cenacle at Lake Ronkonkoma deepened during her relationship with author Louise Boynton, which lasted until Louise's death in 1951.
Sources:
Katherine Kiessling, Albany Times Union, "Catskills home of the original 'Peter Pan' actress Maude Adams, for sale" www.timesunion.com/hudsonvall... (December 2022)
United States Patent and Trademark Office, "Out of the Limelight", www.uspto.gov/learning-and-re...
James Haag, "The Local Life of Maude Adams", Patch.com, patch.com/new-york/sachem/the...
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Once again, this is a fascinating story expertly told, especially in terms of combining artistic talent, technology and business. My novice level study of the history of movies has taken me into this time peiod of theatre and its impact on movies. I was aware of the importance of Frohman and his theaters (business) and had heard of the significance Barrie , the Drews and the Barrymore, but the central role of Maude Adams is a revelation.
Based on your reporting here, Maude Adams' importance in the development of movies cannot be overstated. The eventual ability bto use electric lighting enabled the studio sytems created in the 1910s and 1920s. So much of what us novices attribute to actors and directors is really due to directors of of photography, cum cinematographers.
I look forward to your book about artists, technology and business of the performing arts of the period, 1885-1925.
Wow thank you so much! If you’re especially interested, you can check out sources linked in the description of the video. You may find even more to explore :)
P.S. Maude and Ethyl were drop-dead gorgeous.
Weren’t they just? They were lifelong friends. I don’t know if Ethyls brother John tried a conquest of Maude though…I can find no record of it, if it happened
@@RadioWhoPoo I'm sure he tried. I'm sure he failed. He too would be a great counterpoint. She remained "single" to devote herself to her art. He wasted his arts on wine , women and song. the points and counterpoints just keep jumping out of this story.
Lake Ronkonkoma is a challenge for non-New Yorkers - this is the second video channel that has stumbled over it. It's pronounced pretty much as it is spelled: Ron-Con-Co-Ma.
Very nicely done video. Maude was an amazing actress, inventor, and theatrical designer. It's a shame she isn't spoken of more often in theatre classes today. 😢
Yes it is unfortunate, hopefully some Maude Adams biographies are published and more can learn more about Maude!
Well, after a little research, I finished your video. How do you find such engrossing stories?
I apologize for being so forward as to habitually give you new job assignments. This story is inherently dramatic and suitable for a movie. I imagine opening title credits with almost abstract sounds amidist darkness of people waiting for the "opening curtain". At the end of the title credits, a simple statement of "Harvard Football Stadium 1909". At the appropriate momemt, flood the screen with Maud surrounded by her light.
After a scene from "The Maid of Orleans", follow with an almost impressionistic scene of the opening night part with speakers, seen and unseen talking and whispering about the star, her lighting skills as used in the play, maybe whispers of her lesbian lover, and acknowldgement of he being the greatest star in the world. Blending the abstract images of an Edwardian party with dissonance of the various snippets of conversations could be enlightening without being educational. It would make the audience want to know more about whom everyone is talking.
Then have Maud make her entrance with the spotlight on her. Have her emerge from the screen. Then begin telling her story in flashbacks and flashforwards. Never letting it become disorienting.
I even have a cool idea for an ending. As she dies, she is hit with a spotlight and she is back in Harvard Stadium on opening night.
Sorry, bur your work is an inspiration.
😉
Story ideas pop up based on whats being read or watched at the time.
Wouldn’t a Maude Adams biopic be great? Who would you get to play her? I can’t think of a decent American actress today who could do the job credibly…but maybe Olivia Cooke, who’s British.
@@RadioWhoPoo actually that's easy - Margot Robbie. She is the only modern actress with the delicate beauty of an Edwardian star. Plus she has her own production company. She has done a lot of high-end indie stuff also. She's seems to be a sharp cookie and no dumb beaty princess - just like Maude.
Maude's story is so modern but between two worlds. I'm no writer but I think the movie would need the flashback/flashforward element to demonstrate. Starting the story with the triump of "The Maid of Orleans" let's the lead explode from the scree in the first 15 minutes and puts the rest of her life into context.
I would let the last 15 minutes (Every screen play must have a great first 15 minutes and a gripping last 15 minutes) giving the new medium the lighting it needs for the twentieth century. Her lesbian parnership becomes a humanizing backstory to a woman breaking all boundaries even while embracing her femminine charms. Technological excellence with artistic excellence. There is so much poetic balance to her story.
Hmm maybe, but Robbie is Australian, not American
@RadioWhoPoo I don't think that would limit her, if you are referencing her accent because she has no discernable accent when playing Americans, e.g. Barbie. Regardless, I'm just an old man thinking out loud. PS I live in a rural area and my internet is knocked out for 4 more days.
@@RadioWhoPoo Sorry, but a stormed has wiped out my internet while ressponding to you and will remain wiped out for a while.
First of all, I am neither a producer, director, casting director or anything else. I watch movies. I watch your videos. 🙂
I suggested Ms. Robbie for her beauty, acting chops and business acumen. I believe she successfully produces her own movies. If this movie were properly conceived and made, it would be Oscar-bait for a gifted star actress.
Again, this ladies story is both poetic and epic and sheds light on the societal transition from the Victorian era to 21st Century. It would have so much to say about so many important issues and ideas without being preachy or devolving into a history class.