The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-12-08
THE PROMPTER'S DUTY.
4 Character Which Is in Every Cast,
and Yet Is Not Permitted to
Strut His Brief Hour Upon
the Stage.

wv hat do 1 have to d0? said an
old stage prOmpter. who is now en-
joying his vacation, to a reporter
who inquired of him something
about the duties of that theatrical
parsonage. "Well, I commence with
the rehearsal of the piece by dis
tributing the parts to the various
people. While the stage manager
is dill Getting at rehearsals, the
prom pier is kept busy writing out
the parts for the changes of scene
to guide the stsge carpenter list
of properties required for the prop
erty man, schedules Of the furniture
and tapestries to he bOrro Pad, and
OF the wardrobe = CURED for the
supers."
DO you find the work hard %
81 should say [ did. Ii any one
fancles they are easy, let BIN Try
once, and he will soon bt convinced
to the contrary Il is great deal
more difficult To s and IN the wings
with play book III your bands, and
follow what is being saId, than il is
10 do II fr 90 the front Of the house.
The prOmpter aust foil w the piece
line for lire. If an z 3.or falters in
his speech for moment the
prJmpte must throw MIN the worG
he is creeping for. If an actress
looks appealingly at an audience
the prOmpter knows she is stuck
and Immediately gives her the
needed cue. Some players boast
that they never stick. No matter
If they had totally forgotten their
lines they say something, and l have
never seen the difference noticed by
the audience yet"
'sDO you remember any instances
of that kind ?"
"Once, when / was making the
rounds of the Pacific slope, went to
see performance of Macbeth by |
the company of a friend OF mine at
San Francisco. The players were a
band OF regulation Old time ranters,
and the fellow who played the part
OF the wicked Macbeth was so far
gone in his caps that he gagged the
part more than once in the first
scene. In the middle of the oecond
scene he was entirely lost for his
ines, but he hesifated only for a
moment, when he threw his arms
around Laky Macbeth's waist, and
iraWlng her up to him coolly said:
Let US retire, dearest chuck, and
,on this matter over in a most Sc :
Iuestered spot, far from the busy
launts of men. Here the walls and
loOrs are spies, and our every word
8 echoed far and near. Come. then.
cts away False heart must hide,
7Ou know. wnat the heart dare not
how They made their exit amids
roar of applause, and l thought
hat man had no use for aprompter,
ure enough II
with whom do you experience
he most difficulty ?"
Amateurs or raw actors are nv
horror. The debutante is another.
Size viii forget her lines the mo-
nenG she goes on, and becomes so +
lerVOus that she can scarcely re- :
'eat those the prompter reads tol ;
ler."
"Do you remember any particular \
instances OF that kind ?"
"Yes; l remember one Young lady I
Vho set herself up for Juliet. She
supported by a lot of q
ountry people, and lost every line, .
s usual L succeeded IN putting her 4
Trough the first scene, bat when T
he famous balcony scene was on, a
er mother, an old lady, stood on {
be ladder behind her reading the
pesches word for word, which she {
epeated after her. But mamma [
7as a heavy weight, and the ladder, |
weak invention. gave way in the {
liddle of the farewell. The old 7
sdy tumbled forward against the T
ckety staging Of the balcony, and \
I'll against the set-piece that \
it from the audience. \
uliet. mother, balcony and ali
)ppling down on the gushing
Omeo, who by tine time be was
from the wreck, was as
Iournful lover as the play repre-