The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-04-20
ELECTRICITY ON The STAGE.
Its Use to Produce Storms with Light
ming and Thunder.

Its Use to Produce Storms with Light
ming and Thunder.
Theatrical performances are to-day
dependent to greater degree than
ever before on spectacular effects, and
the strides which have been taken in
this direction have been so great that
it requires something of quite super
lative merit in stage setting to elicit
more than passing mention. This dis
tinction is certainly attained in the
representation of Julius Caesar" now
being played in New York.
Special reference is now made to the
thunderstorm in the third scene of the
ment of the kind ever seen in this city,
says Electricity. The conditions un-
der which the conspirators discuss the
proposed murder of Caesar could hard
ly be more fitting even in nature, so
90. The crescendo from the low moan
of the rising wind and the rumble,
rapidly dying away, of the distant
thunder, the kissing of the raging
gale, and the crash of the deafening
peal overhead-everything is perfectly
carried out. The main dependence,
however, of this wonderfully powerful
scene is upon the lightning effects,
which are exceptionally lurid and real
istic. These are produced electric
ally. Sheet lightning of any degree
of brilliance is secured by rubbing to-
gether piece of carbon and a file
connected to an electric light circuit.
For forked lightning a specially con-
structed apparatus is used.
The camera lucida is made on the
principle of large magic lantern. It
contains an arc light and has in front
revolving disk of dark plates of
glass. On these plates are drawn the
outlines of the particular kinds of
flash desired for projection on the
scene, and at the required moment
the disk is rapidly turned by hand and
the light is flashed through the instan-
taneously exposed pattern on the
plate. The effect is heightened by
having various portions of the scenery
painted on some transparent substance
and flashing a light behind them, so
that as the forked lightning plays
over the scenery these portions seem
1uridly illumined by it.
Cloud effects are produced in the
same manner, the image being usually
thrown on gauze drops. The marvel
ously faithful production of mimic
thunder is attained in various ways.
In former days the great resource of
the stage manager for the imitation of
the artillery of the storm was a sheet
of tin, which was shaken with more or
less violence as the storm tiuctuated.
Now a more elaborate device is
adopted, and the making of thunder is
reduced to a science. For low, distant
rumblings a thick sheet of vellum is
| used. This sheet is stretched over a
large wooden box, and tightly and
securely fastened down. This reson-
ant and sensitive drum is operated on
with thickly padded drumsticks. When
a larger volume of sound is required
wooden balls of different sizes are
rolled around the parchment, and the
rise and fall of the sound can be regu-
| lated by the manipulation of the balls.
For louder peals of thunder wooden
troughs about foot square, which
run the entire length of the wall at
the back of the stage, from the roof to
| the cellar, are used. In the upper
part of these troughs or boxes a num-
Der of cannon balls are kept in readi-
ness. At signal from the stage man
ager these balls are disengaged, and
as they roll down the noise COM
mences.
At first, owing to the distance from
the stage, it sounds far away to the
audience, but it gathers in volume as
it nears the level of the stage and dies
away as it passes downward to the
cellar. The electrical attachment
which governs the operation of this
device is so arranged that the attend
ant can control the number of balls to
be let loose, so that the amount OF
noise required can always accurately
be given.
For the crashing thunderclap which
follows the lightning instantaneously
a huge rattle is used. On the top of a
box about ten feet long and four feet
square are fastened a series of Stats.
The ends of these Stats are rapidly
caught by pins on rapidly revolving
cylinder at the end of the box. As
the pins pass upward the Stats droE
and a loud, continuous rattle is the
| T,aC111t