Agnes Mapes was an American actress who appeared in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performances and

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

s throughout the 1900s and 1910s. Originally a part of the Crescent Theatre Stock Company, she was highly praised for her role in the 1907 production of ''The Holy City''. She later worked for the

Kalem Company The Kalem Company was an early American film studio founded in New York City in 1907 in film, 1907. It was one of the first companies to make films abroad and to set up winter production facilities, first in Florida and then in California. Kalem ...

and was part of some of its productions filmed in Ireland in 1911. Her multiple roles in 1912's ''A Fool There Was'' resulted from actors having to be swapped around which led to her playing the lead position and being applauded for her "fascinating and repellant" performance.

Career

During the 1907 production of the play ''The Holy City'', Mapes was asked to fill the role of Salome for the play's week in Philadelphia, as the several actresses who normally played the role were unavailable. The part includes a complex choreographed dance, but the dance instructor was too busy to teach her and could only show her the basic poses. At the same time, none of the dance partners were available to practice with her, forcing her to work on the dance on her own. Her performance, despite this, was highly praised by Philadelphia newspapers. This time period had her working with the Crescent Theatre Stock Company, though she did play some outsourced roles, such as in the 1909 play ''

Are You a Mason? Are You a Mason? is a farce in 3 acts by Leo Ditrichstein, who in turn adapted it from a German play, ''Die Logenbrüder'' (''The Freemason''), by Curt Kraatz and Carl Laufs. The play was performed at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1901.''The Prince ...

'' with the Gotham Company. Mapes was part of the Kalem crew that traveled to Ireland on July 3, 1911, to make films after the success of the Kalem film ''

The Lad from Old Ireland ''The Lad from Old Ireland'', also called ''A Lad from Old Ireland'', is a one-reel 1910 American motion picture directed by and starring Sidney Olcott and written by and co-starring Gene Gauntier. It was the first film appearance of prolific ac ...

'', acting as the wardrobe manager in addition to actress. After a series of tours throughout the highlands of

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Cast ...

, the Kalem crew produced seventeen films of varying lengths, including ''

The Colleen Bawn ''The Colleen Bawn, or The Brides of Garryowen'' is a melodramatic play written by Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre, New York, on 27 March 1860 with Laura Keene playing Anne Chute and Boucicau ...

'' and ''

Arrah-na-Pogue ''Arrah-na-Pogue'', also known as ''Arrah-na-Pogue; or the Wicked Wedding'', is a play in 3 acts by Dion Boucicault. Along with ''The Colleen Bawn'' (1860) and ''The Shaughraun'' (1874), it is considered one of the three major Irish plays penned ...

''. The 1912 production of ''A Fool There Was'' had Mapes frequently play the role of the sister, but after the main actress became ill in November of that year, Mapes was moved to the primary role of the vampiric "Woman". Her characterization of the role was described by the '' St. Louis Globe-Democrat'' as "fascinating and repellant by turns". By 1925, Mapes had become the plays department manager for Conational Plays Inc, helping promote plays to the executive staff for production.

Theatre

* ''The Holy City'' (1907) as Salome * ''Texas'' (1907) as Lady Cecelia Trevor * ''The Dollar Mark'' (1908) * ''The Sporting Duchess'' (1909) as Muriel, Countess of Desborough * ''Robert Emmet'' (1909) * ''

Are You A Mason? Are You a Mason? is a farce in 3 acts by Leo Ditrichstein, who in turn adapted it from a German play, ''Die Logenbrüder'' (''The Freemason''), by Curt Kraatz and Carl Laufs. The play was performed at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1901.''The Prince ...

'' (1909) * ''The Fire Commissioner'' (1909) as the Commissioner's wife * ''A Fool There Was'' (1912) * ''Pilate's Daughter'' (1914) as Rebecca * ''Hedda Gabler'' (1916) as Mrs. Elvsted

Filmography

*''

'' (1910) as Aileene's mother *'' Hubby's Day at Home'' (1911) as Wifie *''

'' (1911) as Mrs. Cregan *''

'' (1911) as Fanny Powers, an adaptation of ''

'' *''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'' (1914), a film adaptation of ''

'' *''

The Glory of Youth ''The Glory of Youth'' () is the first Chinese Army Rocket Force television series based on Feng Jie's novel Graduated, Being A Soldier developed by The Chinese People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, Starring Li Yifeng, Chen Xingxu, Zhang Xinyu ...

'' (1915) *''

The Foolish Virgin ''For the earlier silent.film of the same name see The Foolish Virgin (1916 film)'' ''The Foolish Virgin'' is a lost 1924 American silent romantic drama film released by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by George W. Hill and stars Elaine H ...

'' (1916) as Ella Swanson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mapes, Agnes American film actresses American stage actresses American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses 19th-century American women 20th-century American women