St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-11-24
BY THE WAY.
How Amateur Theatricals Are Pre-
pared For the stage.
Some Incidents Drawn
From Life.

AS sit down 10 WIlIe lnlS AFTERNOON, Two
topics which demand my immediate con-
sideraton present themselves to my mind.
but when this article appears in print
everybody will be talking about Saturday
nights theatricals. and if l wish to make
myself heard. [ must talk about them too.
My remarks. however. instead OF conhnlng
themselves TO theatricals in particular, Will
reach out and strike theatricals in general;
and instead of looking at the subject from
the auditorium. shall go behind the scenes
and examine the hidden workings of what
result in ali amateur entertainment.
Every community is periodically attacked
with dramatic mOlOmania. 1t comes as
inevitably as birds in the spring or as gro
GERS bills on the first of the quarter. One
day, sooner or later, it may be at an
evening party or ball. or dinner or pic
mic, somebody is sure to rise in response to
divine inspiration and say, Surprising
we get I'D some theatricals?" The idea
is bounced upon by the company. passed
around, discussed and finally adjudged
excellent Then comes general
overhauling of the available dramatic
talent. There is Johnson; awfully
funny man; capital fellow for the leading
comedy part; knows lots of business, too;
makes believe swallow cigar and all that
sort of thing. Yes; johnson is one. But
what about Thompson? Thompson, the
polished young man, who always has the
air of concealing something. Thompson,
the gay, the sad, the sentimental by turns.
Enough! The very name of Thomps N
suggests heroic role, and he is chosen by
reclamation. Then Simpson; mustn't for
get him. Back-haired youth; dark eyes,
sallow compilations; wears sardonic smile
every day in the week, Sundays included.
For the Williams part Simpson
is universally conceded to be
without a peer But who will do
the old man? Must have an old man. Let
me see. Jameson? No, Jameson wont
answer Too bashful. Robertson? Hardly;
he has an impeachment in his speech.
have it-Blakeson. General amusement at
not having thought of Blakeson before. So
Blakeson is set down for the old man. His
good qualities being widely known he is
taken for granted, as it were, and without
discussion. Now for the female roles. The
dashing Miss Leach Immediately suggests
herself to all minds. Pretty. vivaciOus
fiirtatious. and endowed with an automatic
laugh which would be particularly eff
fective on the stage. Miss Leach,
of course. for the rebellious child.
Miss Beach is another admirably
adapted for the heroine. 1t is we'll known
that she can quote more poetry than any
young lady in POdunk, and she has been
seen by tardy strollers sitting on her bal
cony at midnight in the act OF communng
with the stars. If you are after elevated
sentiment, Miss Beach is your girl. There
remains
THE SOUBRETTE PART,
which Miss Peach is so eminently fitted to
fill. Who has not seen that Miss Peach has
no conception of the untamed soubrette?
She would be success without making all
effort Just turn her loose on the stage and
the ideal soubrette will materialize before
the eyes of the audience.
So much for the cast. The next thing
to be considered, of course. is the play. A
committee is appointed to select one, with
instructions to take pains that it may be
adapted to the varied dramatic abilities OF
Messrs. johnson. Thompson, Simpson and
Blakeson, and of the Misses Leach. Beach
and Peach. A play accordingly is chosen
which, in the opinion of the august COM
mittee, meets all the requirements. 1t is
called 1.-The Chink of Gold" At this meet
ing it is discovered, to the surprise of the
committee who have labored conscien-
tously, that Messrs. johnson. Thompson,
Simpson and BlakesOn and the Misses
Leach, Beach and Peach are all dissatisfied
with their roles and think that something
better might have been found. So the COM
mittee assemblies again in solemn cOncIave,
and this time it hits upon "A Sprig OF
Broom" which is unanimously conceded to
l.. ,1,,fa Hox rlQHInn
place. Mr.. johnson is delighted. Mr..
Thompson reluctantly acQuiesces. Mr..
Simpson is kind enough to say it might have
been worse. Mr.. Blakeson has his doubts.
Miss Leach sullenly protests that she never
heard of such a thing. Miss Beach de-
clares that her mother would never let her
do il. Miss Peach bursts into tears and
desires somebody to tell her if she really
has any resemblance to the horrid
thing that she is expected to rep
resent. However, the committee had
secured one ardent supporter in
the person of Mr.. Johnson; they had so to
speak. got their heads under the fence, and
! they decided to leave it to Johnson to pull
them through. johnson, being assigned
the very best role in the piece, was not lack
ing i'm zeal. He easily won over Thomp-
son. Simpson and Blakeson by all unstinted
use of brilliant rhetoric and specious argu-
ments. He pointed out the merits of their
several roles and tried to lower the import
ance of his own in the general estimation.
With the ladies he had more difficulty, but
reinforced by his new allies, he succeeded
in overcoming the objections of Miss Leach
and Miss Beach. Miss Peach was for a
| long time obdurate, insisting with tears in
her eyes that she had been insulted. But
what can one do against six? In the end
she was forced to yield.