Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-10-16
A Celestial Green Room.

The rooms essential TO chinese GnedUel
are not many, The green room has about
the same area as the stage, and is only
divided from it by a thin partition Direct
ly behind the orchestra is a large opening
in the wall, and some of the noiser instru-
ments are really in the green-room, but the
twilight of the place prevents anything
from being visible to the audience which
is desirable to conceal. The reporter found
it filled with histrions in the cast OF the
play which was in progress. Many OF them
were royalty arrayed in silks of purple and
goid heavy with embroideries, and worth
Ia kings ransom, walking listlessly about
with lugubrious efforts at mirth, OF sit
ting thOughtfully on the trunks that con-
tanned the stage apparel. He was told
that the theatrical wardrobe cost $4,000 in
! China, where every thread Of it was OBJ
tanned; but it appeared impossible that it
could be made and purchased for four tunes
that amount in this country. The opera
ton of robing and disrobing was going on
with the assistance of two sallow property
men, who mingled their monotonous clat-
/
cupied comedians and tragedians, various
ly attired as kings, mandarins. warriors,
peasants, angels, OF demons. The wall OF
Queen Elizabeth's clothes-press was not
so thickly covered with garments as these
There were suspended on all sides, masks,
weapons, boots and shoes Of silk and vel
vet, so thickly that scarcely a superficial
inch of partition was visible. The presence
OF the inevitable American was received
here as everywhere, as d matter OF course
only one person, and he the representative
Of noble parsonage Of the Chung Lung
dynasty, which hourished eight thousand
years before the Christian era, seeming to
object. He swept d superb robe of blue
silk about the stage, looking occasionally
out of the corners of his almond-eyes at
the intruder, and striking attitudes that
were nearly as graceful as tobacconist's
lay-fgure. Unterrified, however, by the !
evident hostility of the pre-adamite Chin
Lung, the reporter clamly inspected the |
embroidered dragons on his robe, tWeaked
a horrid demon by the nose, examined a |
warriors spear, and peered incontinently !
into all the dark hooks and ill-smelling |
corners Of the unsayory place. Behind the |
green-room is q smaller room, containing
the paints, which are as necessary to the
Chinese actor for facial decoration as to-
the American indian. There are no private
dressing rooms. The three OF four men
who play the part of women have room
by themselves about the size of the front
entry of a small tenement-house, where
the reporter found them lettering in an ex-
ceedingly timber way before little looking
glasses placed on the tops OF small bureaus,
and applying red paint to their cheek
bones until it was literally an inch thick
l PI1iffI actor is made like piece Of cum
ming cabinet-work, and if, when finished,
he does not know his business sufficiently
well without prompting, he is good for
nothing but to be returned to China with
the scraped corpse Of his countrymen,
unite as PLAYED out and useless as they are.
The actors were continually passing out
and in through the only two entrances to
the stage, without any special direction
from anv one. Further details than these
that were apparent to the eye, it was i'm
possible to obtain. The Cinnamon seldom
speaks English in a way that is not pain
ful to the listener, and besides he is prone
to suspect that every inquisitjve person is
a tax gather So the reporter ran the
gauntlet of the Joss-altars, the paint-room
and the kitchen, and found himself once
more in the open air.--,S0n francisco
Chronicle.