The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-22

ing the ripple. Now the ripple is an cleo
trlcal apparatus timed to go twenty min
utes. 1t is very natural With the old
ripple we were at the mercy of someone
who might not be feeling very well.
remember one time at Mrs. Conway's
theater they were presenting play In
which there was a river and chorus Of
the Boys In Blue The Boys in Blue
sang 'Tentlng Tonight very finely, but
instead Of melting, the audience began to
snlker and then to roar with laughter.
What the DEVILS the matter with the rip
ple?' shouted the manager. l got QUE
and looked and saw the ripple lettering
up and down and skating about the sur
face of the river in exact time to the mu-
sic. We made dash round behind, and
there was the carpenter sitting down, SOL
emn as you please, working the ripple.
He had twenty-five beers in him, and the
rhythm of the time had caught him.
1.-THE colored lights, too, have changed.
In the old days the colored lights were
made by tammy CLOTH Islung on long rollers
in front of the border lights. The colored
cloth was yellow, red and blue. Each color
was about four feet wide, and we worked
the rollers in order to alter the color of
the lights Nowadays we have the red,
blue and yellow electric lights worked by
a little man who has nothing to do but
press a button. He can make the light
blaze with the brightest sun, or dim it
down to moonlight.
1.-THE old water that we used was paint
ed. Now it is real, two feet six inches
deep, the frame behind it painted black,
and deep place, say eight feet, where the
heroine jumps in. The audience wonders
how they handle such a great body of wa
ter on the stage, but it is only deep in one
part. The time has come when scenic eff
fects have as great deal to do with the
success of the play. 1.-THE Dark Secret"
which was great success, Travelled on its
scenic effect. The dialogue was rot. We
owe a great deal to Germany. Her stage
has been progressing in scenic effects and
we have got the benefit of it. Handel
magnificent productions have done a great
deal of permanent good, and King Lud-
wig Of Bavaria, mad or sane, has helped
greatly by the large amount of money he
has spent on his theater, and his efforts to
make everything perfect /,
"Augustin DAILY to-day calls himself an
idealist, and affects to despise stage eff
fects How different he is from the Au-
gustin Daily who wrote Under the Gas
light l remember the run 1t had, and
how it depended on mechanical effect. A
cardboard train ran on the stage blocks,
covered with sand-paper, well rubbed to-
gether to represent the putting, the old
wind-box was worked to represent the
kissing. Nowadays, we would have real
steam and almost a real engine. I think
that out of realism comes idealiSm. / be-
lieve that that is the reason of Henry
Irving's great success. His attention to
realism, otherwise accuracy. Telvin, the
great English scenic artist, charged him
very highly for Nuremberg showing an
| old cathedral Most managers would have
disputed the bill, as the painting on the
| face Of 1t did not show the work. But
| irving could see that, though there were
not so very many thousand strokes of
| the brush, the amount of thought and
| study expended on the painting was very
| great. There was that air of solemnity,
| repose old age and perfect local truth that
made the scene a great work of art.
The scenic artist Is at the mercy of
| many people who can make or mar him.
! More especially Is he at the mercy of the
| stage carpenter, who executes his de-
! signs. 1 placate the stage carpenter to
as great an extent as possible. l consult
| with him and take suggestions A SYM
pathetic stage carpenter who understands
and appreciates your designs is invalua-
| Bile. l try to make all the heads of de-
partments understand the meaning of a
scene and enter into the spirit, so as to
| produce harmony. The result is excellent.
l even consult the leader of the orches-
| ira. For Instance, there was a scene
steamboat going through the ice The or
| chestra played few bars of that mvs-
terry music and when the boat struck II
swelled up, 'brun-ta-ra-rum;' meaningless
| you know. / went to the leader and said
Try and write something suitable. Some
thing that sounds like breaking through
| ice. see your idea, he replied. He
thought good deal and then produced
n1teen oars OF music and fairly made that
scene" 'A"'