, 1884-11-08
THE PROPERTY MAN.
One of the Most Important Individu-
ais About a Theatre.
The Responsibility of Position
Things 10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
nj the Property Mana
stage Banquet.


IuucLlulaIlct hDOut u lueAtIt II Tue lIVltNlJ
man. said one who has grown gray in the
business the other day. BY the property
man is meant the person whose duty It Is TO
furnish tho properties for all the plays pro-
duced, and TO see that they are placed con
veniently at hand 10 DO ready when wanted.
Properties are everything used in a play ex-
cept the scenery. The carpets, furniture and
curtains, guns aud pistols, pockct-books,
money, candles, matches, cigars, pianos,
pictures, food and drink, letters, musical IN
st~ruments-all these and countless other
things come under the head of properties.
THE PRoPERTY-ROON.
avery theatre has what is called a prop
erty-room where these things are kept. II
has very much tho appearance OF u pawn
brokers' shop, except that nothing Is wrapped
up and there Is no counter, Come In hero
and sec for yourself, J." he continued, as be led
the way into a dingy room at the back Of the
stage, where there was a most heterogeneous
collection Of such articles as he had named.
Few people have any idea OF the care and
responsibility OF a property man. He has
more on his mind than anybody else about
"a theatre. There are $50 different things.
large and small, that he must remember, and
woe betide him II he forgets any one Of them
or fails to have IL in its proper place at tho
right time. People who visit the theatre have
no idea how dependent they are on the prop
erty man for their pleasure, for IL he forgets
anything or docs not have everything just az
1t should be 1t will give rise to a contretemps,
which will retard the action OF the scene aud
ninr its whole effect
A CHOICE OF PISTOLS.
"For example; It is part Of bis duty 10 at
tend to all the firearms used on the stage. In
the most critical part Of the play the leading
man Is % rescue the leading lady from the
tolls Of tho villain by killing him with a
pistol shot. The property man selects the
best pistol in his collection, cleans and
loads it carefully, fires 1t off in the prop
erty-room 70 make sure that It Won't miss
FIRE, loads IL again, and In u perfectly
comfortable frame Of mind gives 1t to the
leading man as he goes on for his great
scene. The critical moment arrives The
leading man cries out In his most terrible
voice; Dis yillainr and pulls the trigger,
but the pistol doesn't go of, so the villain
must either fall and die without having been
shot, or else he must live on, succeed-in alb
Quoting the beautiful maiden and thus ruin
tho play. 1 am sorry to shy that property
men, being somewhat given to profanity,
divide their firearms into three clRsses-the
sure. the very sure and the id sure. The
first nre given TO tho most unimportant Of
the supers, the second are given TO those OF
somewhat greater importance, while only the
last are ever given TO tho people who play
important parts and whose guns must go
of IN order to carry out the plot Of the play.
writing letters is another important duty
of the property man The letters which peo-
pie read ON tho stage are all written for them
by him. Actors do not commit them to
memory, but simply read them when they
are banded TO them upon the stage. In the
multiplicity Of his cares the property man
sometimes forgets TO write one OF these let
ter1, and when the actor 10 whom Il is
handed opens It ho hnds only a blank sheet
OF paper. His wits must serve him then. and
II he knows the general purport Of the letter
he can %improvise IT, II not he can
only aIert TO read aud exclaim when he has
finished 'Tis WELL
SWEARING AT PROPERTY MEN.
aaoge fault is found with the property man
than with all the other attaches OF the stage
put together. A property man Is expected 10
know how to make anything and everything.
II there Is a crown and scepter required, II
a golden goblet Is needed, or II there is a
demand for a handsome ~drawing-room man
tol. tho property man must make them all.
and no one outside Of the profession can have
any idea Of the skill with which a frst-rats
property man can make a most deceptive
imitation Of almost anything. Turkeys and
chickens, either with their feathers ON or
dressed and roasted for the table; fish and
vegetables OF all kinds, pies and cakes-aIl
are within the resources Of his art, a. indeed
it would be hard TO name anything that Is
not
Several days before the production of a
new play there Is given to the property man
a complete list OF all the properties required
therein, and it Is his duty TO see that they
arr all ready in their proper places at the
proper time. Many OF these things, of course,
be already has in his extensive collection IN
the property-room. Others he will borrow,
II he can, from other theatres or from stores
which deal in the articles required. China and
glassware, furniture, fancy riding whips,
paintings and bric-a-brac are always
borrowed from stores, the dealers being glad
to loan them for the sake Of obtaining free
admission to the theatre and Of having their
name ON the house programme.
A STAGE BANQUET.
Stage banquets, suppers md meals OF
all kinds often put the ingenuity of the
property man to n severe test II the man
ager is economical the most elegant ban
quets are but hollow mockeries. The tur-
keys and chickens, which seem 10 spectators
to be roasted to such n delicious degree Of
BROWNIES, are only brown holland stuffed
with snwdust The wines are cold tea or
water colored with burnt sugar. Sometimes
they afe drank from pastsboard goblets and
then they are purely imaginary. Do you re-
member Dickens description OF how MIR.
Crummles used to take long draughts al
nothing ont Of the pa,tcboard goblets in ban
quet scenesf'
"Yet in these banquet scenes the people eat