THE MANAGER. Not at all. Your soul or whatever you like to call it takes shape here. The actors give body and form to it, voice and gesture. And my actors--I may tell you--have given expression to much more lofty material than this little drama of yours, which may or may not hold up on the stage. But if it does, the merit of it, believe me, will be due to my actors. THE FATHER. I don't dare contradict you, sir; but, believe me, it is a terrible suffering for us who are as we are, with these bodies of ours, these features to see.... THE MANAGER (_cutting him short and out of patience_). Good heavens! The make-up will remedy all that, man, the make-up.... THE FATHER. Maybe. But the voice, the gestures.... THE MANAGER. Now, look here! On the stage, you as yourself, cannot exist. The actor here acts you, and that's an end to it! THE FATHER. I understand. And now I think I see why our author who conceived us as we are, all alive, didn't want to put us on the stage after all. I haven't the least desire to offend your actors. Far from it! But when I think that I am to be acted by ... I don't know by whom.... LEADING MAN (_on his dignity_). By me, if you've no objection! THE FATHER (_humbly, mellifluously_). Honoured, I assure you, sir. (_Bows_). Still, I must say that try as this gentleman may, with all his good will and wonderful art, to absorb me into himself.... LEADING MAN. Oh chuck it! "Wonderful art!" Withdraw that, please! THE FATHER. The performance he will give, even doing his best with make-up to look like me.... LEADING MAN. It will certainly be a rat difficult! (_The actors laugh_.) THE FATHER, Exactly! It will be difficult to act me as I really am. The effect will be rather--apart from the make-up--according as to how he supposes I am, as he senses me--if he does sense me--and not as I inside of myself feel myself to be. It seems to me then that account should be taken of this by everyone whose duty it may become to criticize us.... THE MANAGER. Heavens! The man's starting to think about the critics now! Let them say what they like. It's up to us to put on the play if we can (_looking around_). Come on! come on! Is the stage set? (_To the actors and Characters_): Stand back--stand back! Let me see, and don't let's lose any more time! (_To the Step-Daughter_): Is it all right as it is now? THE STEP-DAUGHTER. Well, to tell the truth, I don't recognize the scene. THE MANAGER. My dear lady, you can't possibly suppose that we can construct that shop of Madame Pace piece by piece here? (_To the Father_): You said a white room with flowered wall paper, didn't you? THE FATHER. Yes.