Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1893-10-20

JoD as super anu SHAH open inc ISL OF
September"
Say, what's a super? 1t isn't one of
these free lunch places that the mayor
closes at midnight. is it, And the gro
Gerry man looked sorry.
"Oh, thunder. you want salt on you!
A super is an adjunct to the stage. \
supe is fellow that assists the stars and
things carrying chairs and taking up
carpets and sweeping the sand off the
stage after dancer has danced a jig,
and he brings beer for the actors and
helps lace up corsets and anything he
can do to add to the effect of the play.
Privately, now, l have been acting as
supe for a long time on the sly, and my
folks didn't know anything about it, but
since reformed and decided to be good
felt it my duty to tell Ma and Pa about
it. The news broke Ma all up at first,
but Pa said some of the best actors in
this country were supes once, and some
of them were now, and he thought su-
ping would be the making of me.
Ma thought going on the stage would
be my ruination. She said the theater
was the hotbed Of sin and brought more
ruin than the church could head off, but
when l told her that they always gave a
supe two or three extra tickets for his
family she said the theater had some re-
deeming features, and when l said my
entrance upon the stage would give me
splendid opportunity to get the recipe
for face powder from the actresses for
Ma and l could find out how the &C
tresses managed to get No. feet into
No. shoes Ma said she wished would
commence suping right off. Ma says
there are some bad things about the the
alter that are not 80 all fired bad, and she
wants me to get seats for the first comic
opera that comes along.
"Pa wants it understood with the
manager that supe's father has
right to 90 behind the scenes to see that
no harm befalls him, but l know what
pa wants. He may seem pious and all
that, but he likes to look at ballet girls
better than any meek and lowly follow
er ever see. and some day you will hear
music in the air. Pa thinks theaters are
very bad when he has to pay 81 for
reserved seat, but when he can get in
for nothing as relative of one of the
'perfesh' the theater has many redeem
ing qualities. Pa and Ma think l am
going into business fresh and green, but
I know all about it. When I played
with Mccullough here once
"Oh, what are you giving us" said the
grocery man in disgust, when you
played with Mccullough! What did
you dor
"What did do? Why. you old seed
cucumber, the whole play centered
around me. Do you remember thescene
in the Roman forum where Mccullough
addressed the populace Of Rome? Twas
the populace. Don't you remember a
small Teller standing in front of the
Roman orator taking 1t In, with night
shirt on, with bare legs and arms? That
was me, and everything depended on me.
Suppose had gone off the stage at the
critical moment or laughed when
should have looked fierce ut the inspired
words Of the Roman senator. 1t would
have been a dead give awsy on McCul-
Tough. As the populace Of Rome I con-
slider myself glittering success. and
Mac took me by the hand when they car
ried C@sar's dead body out, and he said.
Us three did ourselves proud Such
praise from Mccullough is seldom &C.
corded to supe. But 1 don't consider
the populace Of the imperial city Of
Rome my masterpiece.
where excel is in coming out be-
fore the curtain between the acts and
unlocking the carpet. Some supes go
out and turn their backs to the audi
ence, showing patches on their pants,
and rip up the carpet with no style about
them, and the dust flies, and the boys
yell 'supe,' and the supe gets nervous
and forgets his cue and goes off tum-
bling over the carpet, and the orchestra
leader is afraid the supe will fall on him.
But 60 out with quiet dignity that is
only gained by experience. and take
hold Of the carpet the way Hamlet takes
up the skull Of Yorick, and the audi
ence Is paralyzed. I kneel down on the
carpet to unlock it in devotional sort
Of Q way that makes the audience bow
their heads as though they were in
church, and before they realize that I
am only q supe have the carpet IN
hooked and march out the way 'Pisco-
pal minister does when he goes out be-
tween the acts at church to change his
shirt. They never guy me, cause l act
well my part. But / kick on holding
dogs for actresses.
Some supes think they are made if
they can hold dog. but have an am
bition that a pug dog will not fill. I
held Mary Anderson's cud of gum once
while she went on the stage, and when
she came of and took her gum her fin
gers touched mine, and had to run my
fingers In my hair to warm them, like
fellow does when he has been SNOW
balling. Gosh, but she would freeze ice
cream without salt. I shall be glad
when the theatrical season opens. cause
we actors get tired laying off,"
"Well. I'd like to 60 behind the
scenes with you some night" said the
grocery man, offering the bad boy an
orange to get solid with him. in view of
future complimentary tickets. mo
danger, is thereY'
mo danger if You keep off the grass.
But you'd a died to see my Sunday
school teacher one Saturday night last
summer. He keeps books in o store and
Is pretty soon week days, but he can tell
you more about Daniel in the lions den
ON Sunday than anybody. He knew I
waa ao1id at the fheafar and xrantnd mo n
get him behind the scenes one night, and
another supe wanted to go to the spar
ring match. and thought it wouldn't
be any harm to work my teacher in, so I
got him job that night to hold the dogs
for the Uncle Toms show. He was in
one Of the wings holding the chains, and
the dogs were just anxious to go on, and
it was all my teacher could do to hold
them.
II told him to wind the chains around
his wrists, and he did so, and just then
Eliza began to skip across the ice, and
we sicked the bloodhounds on before
my teacher could unwind the chains
from his wrists, and the dogs pulled him
right out on the stage on his stomach
and drawed him across. and he jerked
one dog and kicked him in the stomach,
and the dog turned on my teacher and
took q mouthful of his coattail and
shook it. and I guess the dog got some
meat; anyway the teacher climbed up
stepladder, and the dogs freed him, and
the stepladder fell down, and we grabbed
the DOGS and prt some courf y,1asSee an