conditions which may be met in a platform experience, for example, the breaking out of a fire? A. There are many happenings probable, on both the platform and the stage, in which mental quickness, presence of mind, good judgment, and tact have wrested the situation from destruction and, in instances, averted tragedies. PART III THE POISE OF THE HEAD Question. In how far is the poise of my head responsible for the posture of the rest of my body? Answer. The poise of the head goes far toward determining the posture of all below it in the human frame. The shoulders, more particularly, follow the head when it is protruded, drawn back, or turned from side to side; other portions of your body move in opposition to preserve the balance. Q. What is the importance of the carriage of my head ? A. The carriage of your head may add a final ugliness to the living picture or become the crowning accomplishment of a shapely person. Q. How does it compare with other agents in the expression of my body? A. An elastic step, a yielding curve of your body, a pliant arm, a supple carriage, all are admirable, but there is no completeness without the final distinction of having your head finely balanced, to balance all the rest. Then, and then only, comes the finished grace of unquestioned personal bearing. Q. What distinction has the head? A. It is the seat of all intellect and emotion. Q. What do the various attitudes of my head reveal? A. The dominant state of your mind reveals itself primarily and most readily in the various attitudes of your head. Q. What is the normal position of my head? A. When it is carried midway between the shoulders easily and without tension, with your chin neither raised nor lowered. Q. Upon what plane do my eyes rest in this attitude? A. Your eyes constantly tend to raise themselves to a level with the faces of others. The more sheltered the situation, the more marked this tendency to bear the head higher and higher. Q. When is the attitude of my head expressive of tenderness, confidence, and trust ? A. When it is inclined forward and toward the object of your esteem. Q. What is the position of my chin in this attitude? |