Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-08-08

1Scut sting holes III is dark drop and keep
the gas at the back Of ik at full head
while the burn ers I'D front Of the scene.
/ al red uced sto u blue gliMnler. IIiea
illusion was ken ont 81 " this scene tor.
the writer, who one evening at % o'clock
called at q city theatre to- hive an m
tterview with the lianage and finding
him, him On the stage hacking holes with
lis pen knife ii black daubed cam
Yass hanging near the rear wall ct the J
theatre Ss.s sss. ss
ID making more lights in Liver !
POOL. said he. Ills scene Is tile Big
gest success Of The whole piece. : ::
Tile moon was d long time q puzzle
20 the stage fol The best they could
tllo was to slice a piece out Of q drop
diagonally alld set in another movable
strip on a part of which was d nloonof
creased muslin, with q bright light be-8
hind ii. VI This could be hauled UP or
lowered, according as Luna got q cue
to rise or sci, but the illusion was moth !.
ing. It was too often positively ridi- 7
culous to make the device popular
with either manager OF actor. All
cursed the moon. Lately, however, the
property man has worked it on princi-
Die of the stereoptic He throws an
illunin ated disc on a transparent has
from behind the scene, and thus by
moving the lens can establish Luna In
any quarter of the stage armament
and make her take any course without
5betraying her prospective orbit to the
keen-eyed critics on the other side Of
the footlights. IN. n. ~%s &s "
. A Bowery actor travelled over the
country for several years playing a
drama which had no attraction but the
effect of the hero being hanged by a
mob. The moose was put around his
neck and be was actually strung up in
the sight of the audience. He even rex
manned kicking, and submitted to three
encores night. Every one marvelled.
Yet he siznply wore harness OF leather
and iron bands under his clothes; there
was a hook at the back of the neck
which was attached to the rope above
the moose, and the hanged man was
simply kicking astride Of cushioned
seat--an iron bar which was connected
with the harness by an iron band, which
followed the spinal column up to the
neck, terminating in the hook, which
brought all the strain in the proper place
for comfort.
In old times, when ''Mazeppa" was
the rage, the writer joined the mob in
bowls of wonder and delight at the
spectacle of the hero's ''iery. unframed
OF t11.7,o hi 10
insensible masters face and caressing
him labially after his terrible ride. At
q later day, when this deponent, from q
coin Of vantage in the second entrance,
0. p, detected that Mazepps held
carrot under his arm, and that it was
not love Of. the hero but q taste Of yege
tables that actuated the noble steed; he
felt sick at heart at the rude dispelling
of the poetry of his boyhood.
Juliet's balcony looks real, and you
imagine the lovely maid peering, indeed
from rich boudoir TO moan to "tle in
constant moon" for her proWling lover.
But viewed from the side-scenes, with
Juliet standing on a totterlng ladder
and growing at the grimy carpenter,
who is steadying it, it is quite another
thing
The railroad train rushing by was for
a long time d thrilling sensation. Yet it
Is simply several sections of painted can
vas On framework, run across the stage
in a CREASED groove by carpenters, and
telescoping on itself when it touches the
Sidewalk of the theatre.
The effect of scudding clouds in q
storm at sea is only the dragging across
the dark fat e net with guaze patches
sewed on it, and touched up by the
painter to resemble clouds under the
uncertain light of the stage. =
A fog of mist has always puzzled ma
chinists, and puzzles them yet. The
best they can do is to hang successfully
curtains of tarletan or mosquito netting
(gauzes they call these curtains on the
stage across the stage at the different
entrances, and raising them successfully
as the fog is supposed to disappear
There is no Illusion at all. It's never
used except when absolutely necessary,
as in Midsummer Nights Dream, and
even then is often cut out after the first
nights trial
+ Another great stage effect is the en-
quilting Of a steamer at sea. It's dis
jointed parts roll Off at the wings and
sink down traps, and the surging waves,
in the form of,a dusty piece of canvas,
called a sea cloth, flow or are hauled
down to the first entrance, and asitated
in wild pillows until the curtain falls to
uproarious applause. The lumpy nature
of the waves and their wild rolling fill
the audience with wonder. The expla-
mutton, though, is ridiculous. Each
wave is a super. Under this cloth are
from ten to twenty according tothe ex-
tent Of the OCEAN, of these wretched as
pirants for dramatic fame, just hump
ing themselves. According as they
hump Or loaf the sea is wild and tenn
pestuous OF smooth and billowy. As
this scene is sure to be encored two or
three times, there is no use in asking at
the prompter's desk: "What are the
wild waves saying?" They are swear
ing all the time. #