The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1885-08-21
Story Of a Stage Struck Man.
THE EXPERIENCES OF SEASON ON TIE
ROAD IN A COMIC OPERA CHORUS.

w you Wuht W kUOW soihcthhiB
about the inner life OF the show bust
nessf' said dapper young man to the
reporter. "Well, I'm Just the one who
can give you the straight tip as to
roughing it on the road.
"Ever since l was a boy have had
a hankering after the show life, and a
couple of years ago, while ! was en-
gagged in church choir, felt the fever
coming on mighty strong. l began to
cultivate an acquaintance with theatri-
cal people, and almost before i knew
it had signed a contract with comic
opera company for forty weeks en-
gagement. was to receive $18 a
week besides travelling expenses, and
had it figured out how / was to do
the country, and have few hundred
dollars saved up when we disbanded in
the spring. Everything seemed rosy;
there was an air Of business about all
the details, for the contracts were
drawn up by a well-known agent, and,
although the chorus was mostly COM
posed of amateurs like myself, the prin-
cipals were public favorites, and well
up in their several lines.
at was the middle of August, so we
had about two weeks in which to re-
hearse our parts. The theatres were
vacant at the time, and we had little
difficulty in getting a suitable place.
Although or repertoire consisted OF sew
eral comic operas, we were to be put
through only two, the Others being re-
hearsed while on the road. 1t was here
the trouble began. The chorus was
palnstaking and quick to learn,but the
principals, who were blown up with
selfsufficiency, seldom appeared togeth-
er at the rehearsals; and when we
made our debut in a small town in Jer-
sey one of the men, who had boasted
he knew the whole thing, word Tor
word, forgot his lines. We had struck
our first snag, and the local papers
gave us a poor sendoff the next day.
'tBut enjoyed the life. The gilt
had not yet worn off the business Tor
me, and had conquered all traces OF
nervousness. The only thing we were
afraid to face was the empty benches,
and we saw plenty of them until we
got into Pennsylvania. The boys were
a jolly, devil-may. care lot OF fellow,
and we had not been two weeks on the
road before l had blown in the little
sum of money I had stored away for
an emergency. Then until l again set
foot in Brooklyn, hardly knew what
it was to have dollar in my pocket:
GAS soon as the manager got his
clutches on the door receipts, they were
sent off to the backer in New York.
Of course the principals, whose reputaa-
tions made them independent, got their
salaries but the chorus and the rest OF
MS got nothing but promises. 1t did
not matter how good the houses were,
we were always told we would be paia
in full as soon as we struck good busl-
ness Our travelling expenses had to
be paid. as we'll as the board bills; but
we never had the money in our own
hands. When we struck stand, the
manager would make arrangements
with some thirdclass hotel to board the
chorus. The principals, who had the
spending of their own money, never
put up at the same hotel with us, and l
didn't blame them.
"Why didn't we kick? What was
the use? We were far away from home
without cent in our pockets, and as
long as we stayed with the show we
had something to eat and a place to
sleep. Some of the members who
could afford it telegraphed home for
enough money to take them back to
New York, while others slipped into
rival companies and took their chances
OF jumping from the frying pan into
the fire. We thought of nothing but
schemes to raise the wind, and there
wasn't crook in the country who was
so full of ways that are dark and tricks
that are vain as We Some curried ia.
vor with the principals, and managed
in that way to squeeze the box, while
others bribed the stage manager TO dis
count their notes. But the best of all
was the box Office racket. 1t was this
way. You see, man would buy
something an umbrella, valise, or
any article he liked-and enter into an
agreement with the storekeeper to take
it back for consideration. Then it
would be sent to the box Office with the
bill. This panned out immensely until
one day when we were in Galveston q
Jonah sent coon in with mule, up
on which there was $65 to be paid.
That was working it little too much,
and the manager shut right down on it
there and then. We never got up any
thing so good afterward, although a
Jerseyman we had with us, pretty
hard drinker, hesitated at nothing when
he wanted drink. One afternoon,
while we were rehearsing, he rushed
into the greenroom clad only in an old
oilskin suit all smeared with paint and
tar. He told the manager he had been
taking swim off one of the docks,
and some sailors in a skiff had stolen
his clothes and left the jumper and ov-
eralls in their place. He was drunk
for three days, and when the manager
asked him how he got such fine New
York clothes in Texas he never winked
an eye.
''The manager thought of nothing
""e NAMING ihohct, anu ditef tnc tfeds-
urer had skipped with the receipts one
night, he became harder than ever on
the company. For weeks we had moth
ing but one-night stands, and when the
cities were hundred or more miles
apart we had no sleep except what we
got on the cars. At first we thought
that when the last train left before the
show was over We would have n full
nights rest, but We soon found that the
engineer had received extra pay to
keep the tram waiting for us. We got
our meals in the same haphazard way
as our sleep. Wed telegraph ahead TO
the next station for so many covers,
and as there wasn't time for any exam
ination they didn't care much what
they served. Sometimes the dinner was
good, but the temptation to cheat was
30 strong that we soon began to antici-
pate it, and seldom got what we want
ed. The empty dishes were left at the