Interview with Ellen Terry

Hello, fellow bloggers! It’s M. Hoff reporting to you about artists of the 19th century. Today, we’re meeting the lovely and talented Dame Ellen Terry!

 Q1: Now Mrs. Terry, please tell us a bit about where you are from and your family. I hear your family members are all actors!

 ET: Thank you so very much, my dear, for having me today. And, yes, you are quite right! I was born in Coventry, England on the 27th of February 1847. My mother and father, Benjamin and Sarah Terry, were both well-known actors in Britain. I was raised in a home of actors, including my eleven brothers and sisters and myself. My mother was the eldest of 12 children in her family (“Sarah Siddons”). Her mother and father, Roger and Sarah Kemble, were leaders of a traveling acting company in England. My father performed as a stock actor with Macready in Scotland and had already become an accomplished actor by the time I was born (“Ellen Terry”). My sister, Kate Terry, was dancing onstage when she was three (Auerbach 30). Theatre is a part of my life because of my family, and I will love always be grateful for that.

 Q2: What events or people in your early life helped you get involved and interested in the arts?

 ET: My family was the biggest influence. My mother and father opened my eyes to theatre and I developed a passion for it as a child. My earliest memory of theatre was when my mother would dress me and my other brothers and sisters, and we would sleep in the drawers of her dressing room. Long before I spoke in a theatre, I slept in one (Auerbach 31). As a child, I could remember my father being charming and my mother could read Shakespeare beautifully (Stokes 65). Kate and I toured with two plays, trying to make our way to London. Kate helped me love the art of acting even more.

 Q3: Ms. Terry, you talk a lot of your sister and parents. Are there any more mentors in your life, and what role did they play in helping you develop your talent?

 ET: When I was nine, I was in Charles Kean’s production of The Winter’s Tale portraying the role of Mamilllius. The Kean family were all very lovely people, but very serious about their profession. Ellen Kean supervised me during rehearsals and performances, and also taught me how to project my voice (Stokes 65). The rehearsals were long and I remember them lasting until four or five in the morning. However, I could never forget the discipline and training I received from the Keans (Stokes 66). Later in my career, I joined Henry Irving’s acting company. I understood him, and respected every decision. Irving was always a busy man; acting, stage directing, stage managing, artistic director, treasurer, and business manager (Prideaux 115). We took one of our shows to America and grew to become great business partners, and friends.

 Q4: As your career went on, where there any hardships and struggles?

 ET: While my sister and I toured around London, Kate became the family star. She was offered many jobs in different acting companies, and I was offered nothing. I met a portrait painter George Watts, who had little in common with me. He used Kate as models in his paintings, but started using me when Kate had show commitments. Watts started to paint his own interpretation of myself. Tom Taylor, one of Watts’ friends, and mine suggested to Watts that I should become his wife. Watts was aware if the dangers of marrying a girl 30 years younger than himself. He wanted to shape me and change me into something I wasn’t. I married George Watts in 1864 when I was only seventeen years of age, and Mr. Watts was forty-six years old (Auerbach 76). Every person was aware of the failed marriage between Mr. Watts and myself, and I truly hated my life. I knew I was being gossiped about, and I wasn’t welcome in the Watts art (Prideaux 58). I returned to my mother and father, in desperate need of support. My mother and father were kind, but my brothers and sisters saw nothing good in me. Kate was never around, and when she was, I was reminded of my failed career as an actress (Prideaux 58).

 Q5: What were the key opportunities that led you to the turning point in your career?

 ET: One opportunity that led my career the right way was when I made my comeback in London. I was alongside my sister in the production The Hunchback. I was feeling ill and extremely angry; they put my married name on the bills (Prideaux 65). I slowly started to accept more engagements. After Kate got married, I opened a new troupe at the New Queen’s Theatre. Our third performance was an adapted version of The Taming of the Shrew and was titled Katherine and Petruchio (Prideaux 69). I portrayed the role of Katherine alongside Henry Irving. Charles Reade, one of my patrons, refused to let me leave the theatre once more. Reade gave me roles in three of his shows and helped me pay attention to my acting and things I could do to improve.

 Q6: What was the world of theatre like when you entered?

 ET: When I entered as an actress, I played mostly young children roles and male roles. Touring with my mother and father was a normal routine for me and my brothers and sisters. When I entered after my failed marriage with George Watts, I was not happy. In the bills, I still had my married name and Kate was successful and loved. While I was the leading actress with Henry Irving and his acting company, I was improving my skills and trying to become a better actress and person. We toured in America with our show, which was successful.

 Q7: How did the economical, cultural, and political situations of your lifetime impact your work?

 ET: Life in Britain was growing as technology became advanced. Theatres were being built faster and society was changing. My life was changed by the availability to travel with my acting company to America. 

Q8: What were your major accomplishments as an actress? Did you use methods to help you reach those goals?

 ET: My major accomplishments as an actress were all of my roles. I was a leading Shakespearean and comic actress, and I got the opportunity to play amazing roles. I portrayed the role of Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Ophelia in Hamlet, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, and Portia in The Merchant of Venice. All of these roles showed my true talent as an actress. A method I used to help me receive success with these roles were taking personal issues from my past and putting them in perspective of my characters. I consider my comeback into theatre a major accomplishment in my personal life. I was unsuccessful as an actress and my personal life became known to everyone. I gained strength and trust in myself that I could be successful and become known to London as a talented actress, and not a young girl who married an older man.

 Q9: Who are the people that you admire both in the arts and beyond and why do they inspire you?

 ET: My inspirations as a child were my parents. I could see the support and love from them and they helped me get back on the stage. I am a successful actress because they believed in me, even when I was going through the worst time in my life. Towards the start of my successful career, Henry Irving became an inspiration in my life. He trusted me and wanted to make me the best actress that I could be.

 Q10: What personal stories explain how you became successful in the arts?

 ET: While I was a teenager, I was not a successful actress. My sister was the popular actress from my family, and I was making mistakes. My family really pushed for happiness in my life, trying to get me back into something that made me happy. I’m not a person who openly dislikes a human being. While I was acting, I would use my personal experiences with George Watts and people who mistreated me, to help me express honest emotions.

Works Cited

Auerbach, Nina. Ellen Terry: Player In Her Time. Canada: Penguin Books Canada Ltd., 1987. Print

Bassnett, Booth, and John Stokes. Bernhardt, Terry, Duse: The Actress in Her Time. Great Britain: University Press, Cambridge, 1988. Print

Prideaux, Tom. Love or Nothing: The Life and Times of Ellen Terry. United States and Canada: Berne Convention, 1975. Print