The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-26
THE CHINESE ACTOR AT HOME.
Curious Methods Adopted by Leading
Stars-Costumes and stage Fixtures.
from the Ne7r York Press.


Curious Methods Adopted by Leading
Stars-Costumes and stage Fixtures.
From the Ne,c York Press.
To read the following de: cription Of the
way theatrical performances are managed
III China and Japan, one would think that
the audiences could be as well entertained
by reading the story of the play at their
homes, so much being left to the imagina-
ton.
In the first place, it is no easy matter to
determine who of those upon the stage are
supposed TO be visible and who are not.
There are men, dressed like ordinary cool
les, whose business it IS, fitting hither and
Jhlther, TO place chairs or properties ana TO
| remove them, to change the large labels
| hanging on the walls, which announce this
Is a wood" or this is palace" to arrange
a set OF curtains, whon required, upon
bamboo rods, which drop into sockets at the
| back OF the chairs, whereby window Is
indicated, or bed or doorway. These ser
wants are conventionally understood to he
invisible.
| 1t being conceded that there is to be no
attempt at actual Illusion and that heavy
tax is to be placed upon the imaginative
faculties, one is tempted to wonder why
special costumes should not also be dis
pensed with. Where are we to draw the
lines If label is to do instead of scenery
why should not q ticket hanging from
button announce that the wearer Is prince,
minister or simple citizen!
The Chinese carry the principle of con-
ventlon bewilderingly far. A set code OF
attitudes and movements are understood by
plgtalled audience to indicate certain
things Thus, the raising Of one leg and
half turn (vaguely suggesting the act of
getting into the saddle implies that the
character Is on horseback; crescsndo of
gong beating ard quick walk round the
stage informs the spectators that the per-
formers have moved to another place
what place is told on the changed label on
the wall.
AS there is no curtain consequently there
are no acts; performers come IN and out of
the two doors-the thread of the story never
broken-until their work is finished. There
is no attempt at grouping or artistic dispo-
s1tlon OF the Characters for there are al
ways many on the stage that have nothing
| to do with the play.
To a stranger it is difficult to tell who is
engaged IN the action or who Is not, for the
stage being low and unincumbered by
scenery, the occupants of the front seats
are constantly climbing up and down,
sauntering at the sides or into the dressing
room, conYersing with actors or talking
with musicians. 1t is therefore necessary,
without interfering more than is needful
with the freedom of the promenaders to
place janitOrs at eithor door to keep them
clear for entraLceS and exits. A casual
| buzz or talk does not interfere with the per-
Torrance, as tho performers always yell and
shout.
There being no wings, it is not possible for
rows of lamps to be concealed. The Japa
nese, therefore, boldly accept the drawback
as inevitable, and since there can he no il
| fusion rather make the most of it than 9TH
erwise.
| Five or six ordinary kerosene lamps hang
along the top where proscenium ought to be
| giimmering like tirehies; along the edge of
| the stage below are two or three standards
and of stationary illumination that is all
The back cloth or scene is, as a natural
consequence, in partial obscurity, and so
would the performers be were they not spe
cially provided. They carry their lights
| with them.
just as the star actor is supplied with light
from the wings or flies by NEAR of the lime
| light, so is the Chinese and Japanese pre-
| mler sujet follOwed-by a candle. Prepos-
ferrous and funny as it may seem, close to
| the hero or heroine there crouches on the
| boards, clad in the ordinary dress Of the
| streets, an attendant, who grasps a red lac
| quered stick, some six feet long, like fish
| ing rod, at the end of which, stuck in a
sconce, is a candle, and a common every day
| Cdilul5 AZ Llldb, du tNu
| thing with paper wick, which constantly
needs shutting and supplies as much light as
| a glow worm.
| This he holds up to illuminated the actors
| features, and should the latter stride rapidly
| across the stage his ''gas man" follows at
his heels, holding the candle at a convenient
| distance.
| True to tho Chinese custom this person is
conventionally invisible Tor supposed to be-,
and his presence and ungainly movements
| in no wise shock the audience. When the
| light of his masters life expires, the dutiful
| link boy extinguishes his ''illuminatorn and
departs, as the business of both is over.
| In a scene Of great movement it is mex
pressibly comic to see four or five excited
personages strutting across the stage in an
| excited manner, each followed by his hoy,
fishing rod and candle" and it is a common
thing TO see them collide with one another
and extinguish "his' light. Nor is this all.
The actors dresser likewise appears with
him; invisible, of course, and it is his duty
to rearrange the attire of the actor should
I l. 4 GOD