Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-04
THE CHORUS GIRL.
An Occupation that Has More Hard
Work Than Glitter,

Baltimore Sun.
The demand for goOd-looking Young
women with passable voices to take the
stage in light opera or burlesque is not at
all diminished this year, as advertise
ments in the papers of the larger cities
show. Every theatrical manager who
launches his boat upon the uncertain
waters of opera boutfe knows that his
''show" viii be nothing without a troupe
of Young things in bewitching costumes.
Those who think the chorus girl leads
an easV life are mistaken. They have to
work hard. and their salaries, which
range from 50 to SIS a week. allow them
small margin for dressing WELL They are
usually stuck away in some cheap and
obscure hotel when on the road, and very
often they are glad enough to accept the
offer of some transient admirer to 20 and
have supper. Ii the girls are not required
to sing or dance they are not carried
with a company, but are picked up in each
city as they are desired. A troupe that is
giving more than one comic opera or
extravaganza usually selects good sing
erS, who understand music, and make
about six voices in each part do for the
chorus, while the ranks are filled up with
dummies. The chorus girls who have the
best professional regulations come from
Boston, New York and Cincinnati also
turn out a good many. Baltimore has
furnished some girls whose regulations
were made so quickly that they are COM
ing out of the ranks and taking tuneful
utility parts. A girl who gets a part is
always the envy of her associates in the
chorus.
II am going to join my company in
day or two" said a handsome glrl from
the West End of Baltimore, who has fig
ured in opera chorus for several seasons,
to San reporter. II didn't bring much
money back with me this summer, partly
because / spentit, and partly because that
hateful old manager, who ran the such
and such show last year, didn't show up
our salary for the last five weeks of the
season. / was left in St. Louis,
home. 1t is work and not fun to
be chorus girl. OF course there
are temptations to dissipation, but they
must be resisted if a girl expects to adj
vance in the profession. The men send us
flowers and give us suppers, which good
ness knows we are glad enough to get
sometimes. Once when l was playing IN
Rochester there was baldheaded man,
who heard l had an appetite, and if you'll
believe me he sent me bouquet of flowers
every night with soup-hOuse ticket in it,
and thought it the richest sort of joke.
Some of them, however, send rings and
jewelry in the flowers"
From other revelations of professional
life the reporter learned that with few eX-
ceptiOns symmetry of figure as well as
brightness of complexion on the stage is
due more to art than nature. "Girls are
very careful Of their Costumes" the
chorus girl went on, mot only because
they want to look nice through the sea-
son, but because the manager quarrels
so. Managers are awfully cross. They
ScOld and push you around when YOU are
rehearsing just like anything. l hate
rehearsals. We had to rehearse
every morning, no matter whether the
piece was new or not. In fact, all opera
companies do if they are we'll managed.
1t don't take a smart girl long TO catch on
to stage tricks. She is very soon at home
if the other girls are nice to her. There
is very seldom anything vicious about
chorus girls, although they learn careless
manners, use slang, and do things that
might be considered out of the way in
good society. If you are going to put all
this in the paper, please speak a good
word for the profession. 1t is very little
UnderStOOd,n