Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-05-24
About Theatres and Actors.

From Olive Logan's new book en-
titled Before the Footlights and
Behind the Scenes" we extract the
following concerning the pay, "make
up," duties of actors, &c. -
The salary Of a leading actor or
actress ranges from $40 to $50 a
week. But l know one leading ae-
tress in New York who gets 500
week, and two who get $75 each.
These, however, are peculiar cases,
all three being actresses specially at
traetive for youth, beauty and talent.
Walking gentleman or lady will get
| from $50 TO S35 week old man or
old woman, from $25 to $40; while
other players of lower grade of
talent than these will get all the way
from $25 down to SO a week. |
should say there would be no lower
salary than $40 week In theatre
for any one who appears on the stage,
even tor members Of the ballet or
'supes, though it is true that some
times extra men are engaged from
the street for some special purpose,
who receive no more than So or S. a
week. The pay of stars is very
different matter. Usually these la
dies and gentlemen play for share
in the receipts at the door; and
when they do this, of course their
pay is regulated almost wholly by
their drawing power. Someti mes.
however, the most celebrated actors
and actresses in the land have en-
gagged themselves for fixed salary
per week or per night. In the case
of very popular players this sum is
sometimes almost fabulously large.
The largest salary that has ever been
paid to a star in this country is that
which was paid to Joseph Jefferson,
at Booths Theatre, in August and
September, 1869, namely, $500 per
night. Even at this price he proved
an immensely profitable star, draw
ing an average of 81 200 every night
throughout the season"
PADDING AND PAINTING.
Concerning the delicate questions
of padding the legs and painting the
face, Miss Logan enters into some
curious details. ''The woman" she
says, or the man either, who cannot
exhibit shapely figure on the stage,
has certainly not learned the way to
the shop of the padmaker, There
are quite a number of these profess
sors of symmetry in this country,
but they are most numerous in Phil
adelphia They advertise quite free
~ in theatrical journals, and no one
need be in ignorance of their where
abouts. They do not bodily adver-
tise the unpleasant word padding,
of course-the popular term for pad
ding is Symmetrical goods Much
need not here be said Of the naodas
operdndj of the pad-maker. The sci
ence lies in weaving. leggings or tights
in such way that they shall in
crease the thickness Of the calf, the
thigh, &c. and putting woven silk
or cotton in the place where flesh is
wanted, and thus concealing leanness
or deformity. Thus q tragedian
with lower limbs like pipe stems can
pull on his tights and stand before an
admiring audience with the sturdy
legs of an athlete.
To make up the face is one of the
subtlest arts of the actor. Who that
has witnessed the acting of Ristori
in Queen Elizabeth, but will remem-
Der how from act to act she visibly
grew older before our eyes Not
only by voice, and manner, and gait
was this change effected, but her
face, bright and joyous at the begin
ming of the play, became gradually
wrinkled, pale, and careworn; her
hair grew grayer and grayer, until
at last, as she lay on the couch rep
resenting the dying Queen, she
seemed reduced to a skeleton and
livid as corpse. This was brought
about solely by her perfect knowl-
edge of how to make up the face
| was behind the scenes of the
French Theatre in New York one
night when Ristori was playing Eliz-
abeth, and when l came to look
closely at her face it seemed mean
ingless mass of white and black
marks with deep dashes Of red under
the eyes but at one step off the eff
feet was wonderful. 1t is easier TO
make up the face to look old than to
look young; nevertheless a careful
mingling. of pinksfor the cheek, Iwhite
for the forehead, black for the brows
and carmine for the lips, will 20
great way toward making an old and
homely woman look like a young and
handsome one"
REQUISITES FOR A THEATRE.
Miss Logan quotes a numerous
list of the articles that the property
man of a first-class theatre has in bis
curious museum ready for USE
Among them are "Sdns and moons
sheet-iron for thunder, and dried
peas for rain powdered rosin for
and cut paper for snow
storms rattles for the crash of bull
ings trumpets for the growIs of fe-
rocious wild beasts rose pink for the
blood of patriots PAPER mache ban
quets; tin money for spendthrifts,
and brass crowns for kings broom
sticks for witches leaden watches
leather armor for the bodies of brave
knights, tin spurs for their heels, and
dog chains for their necks legs of
mutton, loaves of bread, and plum
buildings, all of canvass stuffed with
sawdust -four to make despairing
lovers look pale, and vermillion to
make the noses of jolly landlords
look red"
MEMORY OF ACTORS.
Some remarkable instances of the
memory of actors are given. For
instance, year or two since Mr.. J.
w. Wallck, Jr., it is stated, went in
at theatre in Washington entirely
perfect in the part of Bob Briefly in
the "Ticket-ofLeave Man" having