bombastic or declamatory, terms that suggest its emphasis on oratorical skills". Due to this emphasis on speaking, rehearsal time was short, stage movement was standardised, and actors often spoke directly to the audience rather than characters onstage. Wilson and Goldfarb go on to say that there were a few innovators who were "opposed to the emphasis on declamation, stereotypical positions of performers onstage, and singsong delivery of verse; they wanted to create individual characters, and they wanted to have more careful rehearsal procedures". As a performer, Macklin was confined to the mainstream practices of 18th-century theatre companies but, through training young actors, he was able to put his ideas into practice. How Macklin trained his students Appleton states that "Macklin believed acting a science, founded upon nature. He stressed the importance of a thorough knowledge of one's role, of propriety of dress, and of attention the business of the scene; the necessity of avoiding monotony of tone". It was not uncommon for Macklin to advise a student to unlearn all they had learned about acting. According to Appleton "Macklin made this the preliminary condition for all of his pupils. To hesitate was to be instantly dismissed. But once the condition had been agreed to, Macklin proved a dedicated teacher, willing to take infinite pains and often willing to instruct them for nothing". Most importantly, Macklin wanted his students to speak as they would in everyday life; basically transferring reality to the stage. Appleton portrays how Macklin trained his students to do this: “In the garden of his Drumcondra, Dublin house, two of his pupils would stroll down two parallel walks while Macklin walked in the middle. They would walk for ten paces, and then exchange bits of conversation. They would repeat this many times until Macklin was satisfied in every particular”. In this way, Macklin drilled his students until they acquired an ease of speech and manner. To cope with projection in the theatres, Macklin would often recite from Milton's Paradise Lost or soliloquies from Macbeth or Othello, having his students to imitate him in clarity, speech, and volume. Appleton adds that "while he concentrated primarily on achieving clear and natural diction, he stressed as well the importance of mastering variety of tone and pause to indicate transitions of thought and associations of ideas". Macklin taught his students three fundamental pauses: moderate, longer, and grand. Each type of pause served