Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-04-16
FcTRIclTY ON THE STAGE.
rse To Produce storms with Light
AZ ming and Thunder.

ming and Thunder.
Theatrical performances are to-day
aorandcnt TO a greater degree than
~ ~ before on spectacular effects, aud
.tc strides which have been taken in
,bfs direction have been so great that
= raouires something OF quite SUPER
istive merit in stage setting to elicit
more than passing mention. This dis
t;nrfiou is certainly attained in the
ranresentation of Julius Caesar" now
heinz played in New York
Srecial reference is now made to the
thunderstorm in the third scene of the
Frst act which is the finest achieve
nnent of the kind ever seen in this city.
says Elcctricty The conditions I'M
der which the conspirators discuss the
nroposed murder of Caesar could hard
II be more fitting even in nature, so
far rs ocular and aural demonstration
90. The. crescendof 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
neal 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
istie. These are produced electric
llly. Sheet lightning OF any degree
Of brilliance is secured by rubbing to-
getber a piece of carbon and a file
connected TO an electric light circuit
For forked lightning a specially con-
structed az aratus is used.
The camera lucida is made on the
principle Of a large magic lantern. 1t
contains an arc light and has in front
a revolving disk of dark plates of
glass. On these plates are drawn the
outlines of the particular kinds of
fash 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-
taueously exposed pattern on the
plate. The effect is heightened by
having various portions of the scenery
painted on some transparent substance
and flashing light behind them, so
that as the forked lightning plays
over the scenery these portions seem
hridly illumined by it.
Cloud fleets 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 sheet
of tin. which was shaken with more or
less violence as the storm Huctuated.
Now q more elaborate device is
adopted, and the making of thunder is
reduced to a science. For low, distant
wmb.ugs q 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 tlickly padded drumsticks. When
a larger volume Of sound is required
U1oden balls of different sizes are
-oled 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
u0ughs about a 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 q num-
Der Of cannon balls are kept in readi-
ness At a signal from the stage man
ager these balls are disengaged, and
as they roll down the noise com
maucos.
Al first, owing to the distance from
the stage, it sounds far away to the
audience, but it gathers in volume as
irnears 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
an, can control the number of balls to
ne lei 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 a rapidly revolving
cylinder ut the end Of the box. As
the pins pass upward the Stats drop
and "a loud, continuous rattle is the
result.