Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1892-01-12
ELECTRICITY ON THE STAGE.
Its Use to Produce Storms with Light
ming and Thunder.


Theatrical performances are to-day de-
pendent to greater degree than ever be-
fore on spectacular effects, and the strides
which have been taken in this direction
have been SO great that it requires some
thing of quite superlative merit in stage
setting to elicit more than passing mention
This distinction is certainly attained in the
representation of Julius Caesar now being
played in New York.
Special reference is now made to the
thunder storm in the third scene of the first
act, which is the finest achievement of the
kind ever seen in this city. TIE condi-
tions under which the conspirators discuss
the proposed murder of Caesar could hard
ly be more fitting even in nature, 30 far as
ocular and aural demonstration go. The
crescendo from the low moan of the rising
wind and the rumble, rapidly dying away
of the distant thunder, to the kissing of the
raging gale and the crash of the deafening
peal overhead, everything is perfectly car
ried out The main dependence, however,
of this wonderfully powerful scene is upon
the lightning effects, which are exception
ally lurid and REALISTIC. These are pro-
duced electrically. Sheet lightning of any
degree of brilliance is secured by rubbing
together a piece of carbon and file con-
| nected to an electric light circuit. For
| forked-lightning a specially constructed
apparatus is used.
The camera lucida is made on the princi-
| pie of large magic lantern. 1t contains
an arc light, and has in front revolving
| disk of dark plates of glass. On these
| plates are drawn the outlines of the partic-
ulsr kinds of flash desired for projection
| on the scene. and at the required moment
| the disk is rapidly TUNED by hand and the
| light is flashed through the instantaneous
ly exposed pattern on the plate. The ef-
| feet is heightened by having various por-
| tions of the scenery painted on some trans
parant substance and flashing light be-
| mind them, SO that the forced-lightnipg
| plays over the scenery these purtions seem
luridly iIlumined by it.
Cloud effects ars produced in the same
manner, the image being usually thrown
ON gauze drops The marvellously faith
full production of mimic thunder is attained
in various ways. In former days the great
resource of the stage manager for the imi-
tation of the artillery of the storm WAS a
| sheet of tin which was shaken with more
or less violence "a the storm fuctusted.
| Now, a more elaborate device is sdopt-d,
| and the making of thunder is reduced to q
science. For low, distant rumblings Q
thick sheet of vellum is used. This sheet
is stretched over a large wooden box and
tightly and securely fastened down. This
resonant and sensitive drum is operated
on with thickly padded drumsticks. When
larger volume of sound is required, wood
| en- balls of different sizes are rolled around
the parchment, and the rise and the fall oi
the sound can be regulated by the manipu
lation of the balls. For louder peals oi
thunder, wooden troughs, about foo
square which run the entire length of thu
wall at the back of the stage from the roo
to the cellar, are used. In the upper par
: of these troughs or boxes a number of can
non balls are kept in readiness. At q Gig
| nal from tbe stage manager these balls ar
, disengaged, and as they roll down the nois
l commences.
At first, owing to its distance from th
stage, it sounds far away to the audiences
, but it gathers in volume as 1t nears the lev
: el of the stage, and dies away as 1t passe
downward tn the cellar The electrical a
tachment which governs the operation c
& this device is SO arranged that the atter
q dants can control the number of balls to
let loose, no that the amount of noise r
o quired can always be accurately given.
% For the crashing thundsrclsp which fc