The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1881-01-12
ILLUSIONS OF TIE STAGE.
Nature Initiated and Audiences COMPOUNDED
by Curious Combinations.

luC SIoSC, iuAAt1tluS i1OOulSuis 5QullSAe, ioAh,
wind, thunder, and other natural phenomena,
are q puzzle to those outside of the business.
How such realistic representations Of these
things as are often witnessed upon the stage
can be made is a question that often enters
the mind of the spectator, and is seldom an
swered in q satisfactory manner.
Thunder is a common stage effect, and is
used with great advantage in many plays. In
former days it was produced by shaking q
large piece of sheet iron hung Immediately
above the prompter's desk. This Continuance
produced q { good imitation of sharp, rafting
thunder, but failed to give the dull roar al
ways heard in storms. A continuance for
this purpose was soon invented. A heavy
box frame is made, and over it is tightly
drawn q calf skin. Upon this the prompter
padded and covered with channels skin. A
flash of lightning, produced with megne-
stun, and a sharp crack Of the sheet iron,
followed by q long decreasing roll upon the
thunder drum produces an effect which is
startlingly realistic. Travelling companies
are compelled to be satisfied with the sheet
iron alone; and the ~tragedian who enters q
theater provided with a complete thunder ap-
paratus always is happy to think that his bat
tie with the elements in ''King Lear will be
worth fighting.
The rain machine in large theaters is q fix
ture placed high up in the %s'flies." a cyLin-
der is made of half inch wood. It is usually
five feet in circumference and four feet in
length. Upon the inside are placed rows OF
small wooden teeth. A lot of dried peas are
placed in the cylinder, a rope belt is run
around one end of it and down to the prompt
er's desk, and it is ready for a drenching
shower. By turning the cylinder, the peas
roll down between the teeth, and the noise
produced by them makes a good imitation of
rain falling upon q roof. A sudden pull OF
the rope, accompanied by a gust from the
''wind machine" gives the sound OF the
sweep of a blast of wind during a storm.
Travelling companies often meet with q thea
ter where there is no rain machine. A suf-
fciently good one, however, is easily pro-
duced. A common child's hoop is obtained,
and a sheet of heavy brown paper is pasted
on it, after the manner Of a circus riders
balloon. A handful Of bird-shot is placed
upon the paper, the machine is canted from
one side to the other and the shot rolls round
the paper, thus producing a fairly good rain
effect.
Wind is an item that is very useful in
frightening the effect Of stage storms. It is
often dispensed with in theatres where strict
attention is not paid to details, but not with
out a loss of realism. It has, moreover, a
great influence over the feelings Of spectat-
ors. The blind Louise ii the Two Orphans
Is much more pitied when the audience can
hear the pitiless blast that makes her shiVer.
Hence in every large theater the wind ma
chine plays an important part. 1t is not q
stationary apparatus, but can be moved to
any point in the compass from which it is
desired that wind should blow. In the last
act Of Ours, every time the door Of the hut
opens snow flies in and a shrek of wind is
heard. The wind machine, in that instance,
is placed just outside the door, and the prop
erty man works it, while his assistant tries to
throw his paper snow down Lord Mendryn's
back. The wind machine is constructed in
this manner. A heavy frame is made, il
which is Get q cylinder provided with paddles
and resembling very much the stern wheels
seen on Ohio river tow-boats. Across the
top Of this cylinder is stretched as tightly as
possible a piece Of heavy gros-grain silk.
This silk remains stationary, while the wheel
is turned by a crank. The rapid passage Of
the paddles across the surface Of the silk
produces the noise of wind. Often travelling
companies are in tbeaters where there is no
wind machine. Then the property man
groans audibly, and proceeds to do what, in
theatrical parlance, is called taking" the
wind. He selects q heavy piece Of gas hose,
called by stage gas-men flexible, = and, find
ing q quiet corner where there is sufficient
room to Eswing q Cat without danger-to the
greatest possible rapidity. This method pro-
duces very satisfactory results-to every one
but the property man. He is q long-suffering
person, but the extraction Of wind from
flexible causes him to find life tedious.
Every one has heard the startling crash
that is produced when the hero kicks the vii
lain through a four-inch oaken door. One
would think that not only the door but the
villain must be completely shattered. This
noise is produced by the crash machine, one
Of the oldest implements of imitation used
on the stage. It is similar to the wind ma