The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-08-31

IS down. Even 4 stage carpenter II :,
perstiiious enough 10 KNOCK M n antor ~ has
with a brace provided no acioi n,o
punished him before the stage hand ieaett'-
IS him. The punishment appears 10 nS
an Impulse In the breast OF sNery . nian
and woman on the stage Tor tnis sis''n a.,
on the rag is generally accep,.u ~ "a al
omen that the piece VIII be n lallure 80, 60
the failure OF a new piece concerns 49, rSsa
body c0nnected with the tneatr re-. ,.-orT
actors believe that If a stage Is get Wrons'
with n Kitchen wing TO Q parl9r sV',e,'
one tormentor on and the otner on.
wrong borders overhead. or sonetnluis
goes up. IT should not be changed Tor
fear of certain bad luck. 1910,
Few actors are so peculiarly consruSted
that one OF them can see another hv 3li
an open umbrella over hiS mead on .he
stage. even az directed In the play, Win
out shudder. and it Is never done at
rehearsal There is not an actor HFihs
who would fnture. or suffer TO be IN
jured. black cat, or. In fact. a cat OF any
other color while on the stage, ana no
less celebrated an authority among the
atrical managers than Mr.. AugUstin palv
Is quoted as declaring that new piece
Is doomed 10 ruin II crOss-eFed man be
suffered to enter the theatre at a nrst
night.
Ones authority should be questioned
who would tell OF a theatre in the world
which does not contain at least a dozen
horse shoes nailed securely 70 some part
Of the woodwork, oyer the entrance door,
over the doors OF the drcssing-Tooms ana
in the box Office, TO say nothing OF t!e
trunks Of actors and the walls where the
gasight shines full upon them, 70 Keep
the theatrical man and woman constantly
I'm mind of the superstition that morse
shoes bring good luck. Some claim mat
the talisman should b. nailed II one
place, some insist upon other places near
~ all assert that IL must he over tne
entrance door, and the etnlcs OF the sup
ject are various enough 10 M D'g doom
Is.aff h1V , fav
shoe must come from the left nina loOt
OF a mare. have three nails IN IT Wheh
found, and be nailed by those very mans
to the woodwork or the wall. ENDS up ma
cork down, or the charm Will not WORK
Singularly nearly the whole world - al
fault concerning the placing OF the horse
shoe. II one VIII give II Thought. ailI
call 10 mind the position OF atnosl 81 T..
not quite all. the horseshoes placed III
position, one Will remember tnat they
have been nailed with the ends down,
probably because the horseshoe mas turu,
SO placed. This is a iauRhabie foct ana
make the superstitious man look shef pish,
for the old superstition declares that the
horseshoe must be nailed mp, immoVaoiy,
ends up 10 catch ana IoIg tne
luck. and that 6ad luck ~
course the shoe looks more symmetrlcdl
if placed in the common way, but woe D.
tide the person who nails II In the wrong
way. After this knowledge has come
To- the ewes and ears of those who have
made the sad mistake Of putting up inc
shoe the wrong way. they will be able 70
account for all the bad lnck that tne
shoe has failed 90 ward off from mem
and they will without q moments delay,
correct this calamit0us blunder. Natch
the shoes and mark the change.
II is not At all remarkable that nun
actors should bc suurrstiticus, for there
Is much In the vicisstudes of their busl-
moss that IS beyond rational fvplanation
1t Is the oil ject ana the chief aim OF
actor and MANAGER ohhe 10 iedHe' Htt
many times. after straining every nerve
and spending a fortune upon new piece
that the authorities declare Will be JUST
what the public VIII take -. there lH
disastrous failure for oll parties c9n'.'r-
ed. There appears tO be no satisfactory
reason for the bad luck Of play. There
may be a Friday. or thirteen. rr an an
hrella or something other than these M
II, and there many actors rest. imllc'tF
believing that nothing secsihle VIII &C.
count FOR the whims OF the theatre
gOeTS.
Sometwenty years ago a manager went
out from New YORK with a me Go1mlp",ny
OF good actors directly from Waliack
Theatre. with "The Veteran" among
other plays in the ,repsrtory' scenery
painted by sherwood and other good ar
away away and al made in the
New York Theatre: Theodore Moss and
SChOnbeTg. managers. II was a costly
company. The plays We're produced as
Il
pany began a two weeks engagement
at the Opera House I'm Albany. y. Y,
II had n handful ~ an audience, while
a circus in town had 300 people. most
Of whom remained after the show. and
were swindled out OF an extra quarter ~
hear - grand concert which was given
by some wornout acrobats. whose least
fault was the lack II voice
Many millions OF dollars are invested IN
plays every year. and their progress IS
keenlv watched by all VINO float their
capital upon these frail barks. one COM
pany NAV start out with bad play poor
cast. bad paner. ana n poor name, and.
in spite of an. succeed In making money;
while another company. WIN nne.
strong piece taking title good people.
and able management, that afvertises
literally. meets with disaster az every
step Then. sometimes. the luck of
company VIII suddenly change in the
most astonishing manner
An actor will tell you that It IS lucky
20 find four-leaVed clover, a horse
shc@. or 10 receive money carly on
Monday, or "a PUT on stocking wrong
side cut accidentally, or to pick mp a
yenny in the strset. Some years aEo
Bertha WcIby was about 70 start cut
with new piece. bad prospects ahead,
snd other causes 80 trepidaHon. One day
she picked uD q horseshoe IN the street,
and felt more confidence IN the chances
Of her success. The next day Cecil
Logan fonrd and sent to her q four
leaved clover. Then Bertha ericd Ike a
woman. anu NffldIfl. NOW must nav q
good luck" And size had good luck
A common superstition Is that il brings
bad luck % look at the house from the
right side, but others claim that IL Is the
left side. and consequently, 70 even up
the two" the peep hole" IS always IN
the centre OF the rag. Another u.s. thar
once the curtain rings 10 ascend. it
must 20 all the way up no matter what
may happen on the stage. before r. may
be lowered again. or the results viii be
disastrous.
The most unlucky play ever produced
is said to be Macbeth" although many
tragedians have made fortunes by IL
The reason assigned Is that the incidental
music Of the witches is unlucky. so
actor, IL Is said. ever goes into the cast
Of that great play without shaking IN
his socks
II has been remarked Of Jewish actors
that they viii never leave a theatre by
the door which they entered.
Concerning individual superstitions.
many instances may be cited. George
e. BOniface has an Interchangeable horror
Of empty barrels. and If he discovers
load Of them in the street. he knows
that misfortune viii oyertake him. y II
be has a cOunterpOise. in the shape OF
baby'S caul, and puts II into operation
without delay to spoil the evil omen.
the theatre by the road which he chose
the first time. unless too much preOccupied
10 notice his error. and when on one or
two occasions he omitted this manner Of
doing, he went back after he reached
the theatre and started anew. Many
actors will shudder at the color of the
hospital flag, and like q bull that gets
mad at the sight Of a red pettlcoat an
actor Will 80 into a rage at anything
with the color OF yellow presented 10
him in particular.
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