The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1872-09-14
Showmen and their Troubles.
ftrum the New York Clipper

Prom the New York Clipper
Wall, you are agoin' tew act eout to-
night Il suppose you know your piece p
is quite apt to be the query Of the actor )
casual acquaintance III the baT-room Of the
rural tavern Then follows a graphic des-
cription Of how | play act'd in the old
sohool-house luther end o the town, and
>pouted the familiar lines
Iuud .,iiye expect ny age"
The rrahcrs;li Is one Of the mysteries Of
the stage. although am sorry that rehear-
sails arr to" often given at the evening 5
performance and the players, to use the
phrase II our rural friend. do not 4 know
their piece ~ the business II the play.
At the nrst rehearsal the parts are
read. hcin- run gibly through, that all
ihaY obtain ;,n idea Of the play and the
intentions u the author. At subsequent
rehrar>als the players art expected to re
cite from memory, when greater attention
l. gwen the + business Of the piece, that
the conception Of the author may be CON
vryrd t. the audience by every position
and gesture.
The theatre il dinly lighted, and doubly
dismal If the weather is cold, the actor
of the day. nonotonously repeating the
lines and moving carelessly through the
position and situations as pointed out
ANA eNplamid by the stage manager.
While tattling Of the stage might as
well relate an anecdOte that occurs TO me
Of my old friend Tyler not that George
is old, strictly speaking, if he has grown
bald in the service Of dramatic art.
| first met George one cold morning
before light in the depot at Washing
tnD. and we at once became fast friends
that is, Iuarreled every day in regard to
the - copy of poster, programme, and
4 advertisement, and concluded each " spat
with 4 hearty laugh Tyler was fresh from
Laura keene's farm, Riverside Lawn,
and no young lord of an ancient domain
carried himself with higher head than my
good looking Dundreary whlskered friend,
who was happy when thought to be " one
If the keene family, and, Of conse-
quence, an Englishman. George managed
a theatre in Halifax during "a summer
season. and there learned to COckney-ise
himself 1t was his wont in every city we
visited 70 either praise TO the skies or ut
terly condemn the hall or theatre in which
We played, and to dilate learnedly upon
the acoustic properties.
At last the company appeared III a
temple of amusement where every word
spnken upon the stage went chasing has
fellow about in space, reverberating till il
was lost in n jarg0n of voices ndlstlgulsh-
able tu the auditor.
Tyler lost no opportunity iii button
hue,ng the proprietor Of the edlfice, and
expatIated with NOR warmth than choice
ness Of dlctIon upon the vileness OF the
= acoustic properties.
The proprietor admitted all, but said in
a pursuasive way, placing his hand con-
solingly upon his shoulder :-
You know how it is yourself, Mr..
Tyler there's so many of these scalawag
companies travelling through the country
that take everything out of the building
that they can lay hands on when they come
"a leave, that ! sometimes wonder that
there is ever a chair or a scene left. Why,
it want a month ago that Pilgrims Progress
showed here, and when they left they
packed up the curtains of the private
boxes with their own duds and carried
them of, and / didn't know anything
about it until two days afterwards. "
THAT is the way il is all over, inter
rupted Tyler " Respectable showmen,
like respectable merchants, have to suffer
for the misdoings Of vagabonds.
Just 50" returned the hall man,
slappine George upon the back 81 here ii
an example in your own company-nics
people, every one of them, gentlemen
aid ladies, but you've got t.
suffer on account of those who's beer
afore You. One of the principal things
did when | first opened this place was t.
have lot of them acoustic properties
made and put in here for the benefit o
those that played here, and don't know
whether you believe it or not, but then
Pilgrims Progress fellows stole every on
Of them and stuck them in their trunk
long with the box curtains"
Tyler gazed vscantly into the face o
the speaker, and then walked mournfult
away all the grandiloquence he had pour
: ed into this mans ears for days had fallel
upon uncultivated soil In book stor
window he saw Webster's Unabridged
but such a remedy would have been n
adequate relief for that mans malady.