Don’t Step Out of Character
By VIRGINIA SALE
ON A PLANE flying from Chicago to New York, my seat companion was a young girl who gave me a friendly smile as I sat beside her, but whose young face showed great sadness. Hesitantly, she told me she was on her way to the funeral of her seventeen-year-old brother, who had been killed in Korea. She also told me that her only other relatives were two brothers, both in the service, and that they had lost their eldest brother in the war in Europe. I wanted to say something to comfort her…I felt so useless…say something to comfort her…I felt so useless…All I could say was “I’m so sorry.” And I thought, “Just what can I do to help bring order and hope into the world today?” And the thought came to me, “I can pray and my prayers will tune in with other sincere prayers to create a mighty force for good and for peace in the world.”
As a girl I was fortunate in having old-fashioned, religious parents, and I often think of the old hymn my good father sang so lustily as stood beside him in church, “I need Thee every hour.” As I’ve grown older my philosophy has changed—in a way. I don’t think of God now as an old man with a long gray beard sitting up on a throne. I believe in a practical religion. What good is it unless I can use it to help solve my daily problems, large or small?
I am grateful for what I consider the most worthwhile things in my life—a happy marriage, a good husband, and a son and daughter who become infinite ly finer as they grow up. Success in my theatrical career has come second to these. However, no matter what my material blessings may be, I realize that my happiness must come from within myself. I can’t get back anything I don’t give out. Anybody knows a sure cure for the blues is to get out and do something nice for someone else.
I have had a wonderful opportunity, on my tours with my one-woman show, to meet fine, good people in every one of the seven hundred towns I’ve played. From them I know that good people predominate in every part of this country.
I love my work. I believe that laughter is a great soul cleanser, and I pray that my audiences may somehow be better off for having seen my show. I believe in blessing everything and everybody along the way. Sometimes I may have let stage fright and nerves rob me and my audience of my best performance. I have failed if I haven’t beforehand blessed everyone in my audience, everyone backstage, and, when I’m working in television, radio or motion pictures, everyone in the studio—my fellow actors and the director and technicians. I admire their courage, their goodhearted generous qualities.
What do I mean by “blessing”? Well, I first have a deep sense of gratitude to an audience, and a feeling of good will and good wishes, so that I know there is complete harmony between them and me, and I know they will like me because I really like them—that we will tune in together.
My late brother, the great character actor and comedian, Charles “Chic” Sale, said to me one time we were talking about spiritual things and about being perfect channels for expression_r: “The thing to do, kiddo, is to stay in character—be God’s child.” And I try never to forget this.
美丽译文
演好自己的角色
弗吉尼娅·塞尔
一次，在从芝加哥飞往纽约的航班上，我坐在一个年轻女孩旁边。我坐下时她对我友好地笑了一下，但她年轻的面孔却流露出深切的悲痛。迟疑中，她向我道出了原委——她此行是要去参加她弟弟的葬礼，弟弟只有十七岁，葬身在朝鲜战场。她的另两位兄弟是她仅有的亲人，都在服役，而她的大哥也已战死在欧洲。我很想安慰她……我觉得自己无能为力……只能对她说：“我很难过。”我想，为了世界有太平和希望，我能做什么呢?突然我想到了祷告。“我可以祷告，我的祷告与其他虔诚的祷告一定能汇聚成一股巨大的力量，让世界充满美好与和平。”
我是个幸运的女孩，父母的思想很传统，笃信宗教。我常记起儿时在教堂里，站在我身边的父亲经常满怀激情地哼唱一首古老的赞美诗，“上帝啊，我时时刻刻需要你!”长大以后我的人生信条在某种程度上有所改变。我不再认为上帝是一个坐在宝座上、留着长长白胡子的老头。我奉行的人生信条很现实。如果它不能帮我解决日常生活中大大小小的问题，那它有什么用呢?
对我来说，演艺事业的成功是次要的，人生最重要的是美满的婚姻、一个好丈夫和一双越来越有出息的子女。这些我都得到了，对此我心存感激。可是，无论我得到什么物质上的`恩赐，真正的幸福必须源自我的内心。没有对他人的付出就不可能有任何回报。众所周知，随时准备行善才是根除忧愁的良药。
我的个人巡回演出给了我一个大好机会，使我结识了我所到的七百多个小镇上无数善良的人们。他们让我相信在这个国家毕竟好人还是占大多数。
我热爱我的工作。我相信欢笑能净化灵魂，我祈祷我的演出能让人们更加幸福快乐。我相信我一路上给每件事每个人送去的祝福。有时我可能怯场、紧张，无法向观众呈现最精彩的表演。我演砸了是因为没有事先为每位观众、每位后台的工作人员祈福，或是在电视台、广播电台、摄影棚拍电影时没有为我的搭档、导演、技师等每位演职人员祈福。他们都那么勇敢、善良、慷慨，令我钦佩不已。
我所说的“祈福”是什么意思呢?我首先对观众充满深深感激，然后对他们满怀美好的祝愿。这样一来我就知道我能和观众和谐互动，因为我真的喜爱他们，他们也会喜爱我——这样我们就能产生心灵的共鸣。
我已去世的哥哥查尔斯·“奇克”·塞尔是一位了不起的性格演员和喜剧演员。有一次我们谈起精神世界的话题，讨论完美的演技。我记得他对我说，“小家伙，做上帝的子民——这就是你要演好的角色”——这一点，我要努力永远铭记在心。
附注：
弗吉尼娅·塞尔：是一名多才多艺、工作勤奋的性格演员。
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