James Morrison Steele MacKaye ( ; June 6, 1842 – February 25, 1894) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
playwright,
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, theater manager and inventor. Having acted, written, directed and produced numerous and popular plays and theatrical spectaculars of the day, he became one of the most famous actors and theater producers of his generation.
Biography
Steele MacKaye was born in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
. His father, Colonel James M. MacKaye, was a successful attorney and an ardent
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
; Steele's mother died when he was young. His aunt was Sarah MacKaye Alling (1809–1904) and he had two sisters, Emily MacKaye von Hesse (1838–1919), Sarah MacKaye Warner (1840–1876) and two half-brothers, William Henry MacKaye (1834–1888) and Henry Goodwin MacKaye (1856–1913). While young, Steele attended Roe's Military Academy in
Cornwall-on-Hudson
Cornwall-on-Hudson is a riverfront village in the town of Cornwall, Orange County, New York, United States. It lies on the west bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of New York City.
The population as of the 2010 census was 3,018. It ...
and the William Leverett Boarding School in Newport. Under the influence from his father, who was also an art connoisseur, MacKaye initially planned to become an artist. During his teens he studied painting with
William Morris Hunt
William Morris Hunt (March 31, 1824September 8, 1879) was an American painter.
Born into the political Hunt family of Vermont, he trained in Paris with the realist Jean-François Millet and studied under him at the Barbizon artists’ colony, bef ...
, then continued his studies at the
École des Beaux Arts
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région ...
in Paris. He returned to the U.S. in order to serve for the Union Army during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. A member of New York's Seventh Regiment, he eventually rose to the rank of
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
before an illness forced his retirement. MacKaye would later model in full uniform for
John Quincy Adams Ward
John Quincy Adams Ward (June 29, 1830 – May 1, 1910) was an American sculptor, whose most familiar work is his larger than life-size standing statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall National Memorial in New York City.
Early ye ...
's Seventh Regiment Memorial statue, which stands in
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
.
![7th Regt Mem of 1861-1865 CP big jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/7th_Regt_Mem_of_1861-1865_CP_big_jeh.jpg)
In 1869, MacKaye traveled to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
with his family, where he became the disciple of the renowned French acting teacher
François Delsarte
François Alexandre Nicolas Chéri Delsarte (19 November 1811 – 20 July 1871) was a French singer, orator, and coach. Though he achieved some success as a composer, he is chiefly known as a teacher in singing and declamation (oratory).
Applie ...
. Under Delsarte, MacKaye learned to enhance performance through pose and gesture. He would later teach and utilize this system during his career. On his return to the United States a year later, he lectured on the philosophy of ethics and "natural" acting in New York, Boston and elsewhere. In 1873 he became the first American actor to portray
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
![1874 RedpathsLyceum emotion BostonMusicHall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/1874_RedpathsLyceum_emotion_BostonMusicHall.png)
MacKaye was the author of thirty plays. As a dramatist, MacKaye is seen as representative of the transition from an older theatrical tradition to a newer one, incorporating realism and naturalistic portrayals. His first play to be published was ''
Hazel Kirke
''Hazel Kirke'' is a play in four acts written by American actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye.
Overview
The play was written between 1878 and 1879 in the town of Dublin, New Hampshire.Quinn, p. 497 MacKaye meant it to be expressly for New York ...
'', which was privately printed in New York in 1880. The play, while a smash-hit with audiences, received neutral-to-negative response from theatre critics, who criticized its lack of a primary antagonist.
In the mid-1880s he helped establish the first school of acting in the United States, the Lyceum Theatre School, which later became the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...
(AADA). He was also well known for his theatrical innovations, having invented a variety of devices including flame-proof curtains, folding theater seats and the "Nebulator", a machine for creating clouds onstage. In all, he patented over 100 theatrical inventions.
[Steele MacKaye]
. (2008). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved on August 28, 2008.
By 1885, MacKaye had established three theaters in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
: the St. James,
Madison Square
Madison Square is a town square, public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway at 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. The square ...
and the
Lyceum Theatre. For the
Chicago World's Fair of 1893, he began to construct a theatre capable of seating 10,000 people—the "Spectatorium"—but the
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...
deprived the project of necessary funds. The project was left incomplete.
MacKaye married Jeannie Spring, the daughter of
Marcus Spring
Marcus Spring (October 21, 1810 – August 22, 1874) was, with his wife Rebecca Buffum Spring, the creator of the Raritan Bay Union, a utopian community in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
Early life
He was born in Northbridge, Massachusetts, in 1810 ...
, during the time he was teaching art at Marcus Spring's
Eagleswood Military Academy
The Eagleswood Military Academy was a private military academy in Perth Amboy, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, which served antebellum educational needs.
The Eagleswood Military Academy was started by Rebecca Spring (1812–1911) ...
, in
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...
. After a brief marriage to Jeannie, which ended in divorce, MacKaye married his second wife, Mary K. Medbery, in 1865. The couple had six children, four of whom attained notability: philosopher
James MacKaye, poet and playwright
Percy MacKaye
Percy MacKaye (1875–1956) was an American dramatist and poet.
Biography
MacKaye was born in New York City into a theatrical family. His father, Steele MacKaye, was a popular actor, playwright, and producer, while his mother, Mary, wrote a dr ...
, conservationist
Benton MacKaye
Benton MacKaye ( ; March 6, 1879 – December 11, 1975) was an American forester, planner and conservationist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut; his father was actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. After studying forestry at Harvard Unive ...
, and suffragist
Hazel MacKaye
Hazel MacKaye (August 24, 1880 – August 11, 1944) was an American theater professional and advocate of women's suffrage. She is best known for helping present a series of pageants in support of women's suffrage.
Family and early life
MacKaye ...
.
Steele MacKaye fell ill in February 1894, and his physicians urged him to move to a warmer climate. He left Chicago on February 22 on a private train headed for San Diego. The train was near
Timpas, Colorado
Timpas is an unincorporated community located in Otero County, Colorado, United States. The U.S. Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies ...
on February 25 when MacKaye's health began to rapidly decline up until his death at 7:45 in the morning. His son, Percy, published his father's biography, ''Epoch: The Life of Steele MacKaye'', in 1927.
Inventions
Steele MacKaye was widely known for being an innovator in theater technology. He patented and invented more than 100 inventions including the Folding Theater Chair, the Fire Curtain, and the unique Double-Stage System.
The Double-Stage System was a large elevator-like structure that was used to load scenery on and off of the stage. It was only ever installed in the
Madison Square Theatre
''The Madison Square Theatre'' was a Broadway theatre in Manhattan, on the south side of 24th Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway (which intersects Fifth Avenue near that point.) It was built in 1863, operated as a theater from 1865 to 1908, ...
(not to be confused with
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
) because of its cost and complexity.
The system cut the time of intermissions between scenes of plays from around 6 minutes to 40 seconds, which made the theatre more enjoyable to go to as a whole.
MacKaye is also responsible for converting the
Lyceum Theatre to an overhead-lit theater. This is the first recorded occurrence of an overhead lighting structure in a North-American theater.
Works
![SteeleMacKayeposed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/SteeleMacKayeposed.jpg)
He wrote the plays ''Monaldi'' and ''Marriage''. Other works include:
* ''The Twins'' (1876) (with
Andrew Carpenter Wheeler)
* ''
Won at Last'' (1877)
* ''Through the Dark'' (1878), later called ''Money Mad''
* ''
Hazel Kirke
''Hazel Kirke'' is a play in four acts written by American actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye.
Overview
The play was written between 1878 and 1879 in the town of Dublin, New Hampshire.Quinn, p. 497 MacKaye meant it to be expressly for New York ...
'' (1880)
* ''Anarchy'' (1887), originally called ''Paul Kauvar; or Anarchy'', later shortened to ''Anarchy'', and then again changed to ''Paul Kauvar.''
* ''A Fool's Errand''
* ''In Spite of All''
References
Sources
*Bordman, Gerald. 1994. ''American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1869–1914''. Oxford University Press.
*Brace, Gerald Warner. ''Days that Were''. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 1976. .
*Brown, Thomas Allston. 1903. ''A History of the New York Stage From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, vol. III''. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company.
*Glassberg, David. 1990. ''American Historical Pageantry: The Uses of Tradition in the Early Twentieth Century''. Chapel Hill: UNC Press.
*Hewitt, Barnard. Theatre U.S.A.. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1959.
*Hornblow, Arthur. 1919. ''A History of the Theatre in America from Its Beginnings to the Present Time''. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company.
*MacKaye, Percy. Epoch: the Life of Steele MacKaye, Genius of the Theatre, in Relation to His Times & Contemporaries. Vol. 1-2, New York, Boni & Liveright, 1927.
*Quinn, Arthur Hobson. 1917. ''Representative American plays''. New York: The Century Co.
*Rocher, Yann, 2014. ''Le théâtre fatal du réalisme américain'', in ''Théâtres en utopie''. Paris: Actes sud.
*Ruyter, Nancy Lee Chalfa. 1999. ''The Cultivation of Body and Mind in Nineteenth-century American Delsartism''. Greenwood Publishing Group.
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackaye, Steele
1842 births
1894 deaths
19th-century American male actors
American male stage actors
Male actors from Buffalo, New York
19th-century American dramatists and playwrights
Broadway theatre producers
Writers from Buffalo, New York