New-York tribune., 1897-01-03
PUTTING ON A. PLAY.
A HARD AND pREARY PIECE OF WORK

A HARD AND pREARY PIECE OF WORE.
DETAILS THAT MUST BE ATTENDED
TO FROM rHE FIRST READING TO THE
DRESS REHEARSAL
.puttiur a play upon the stage" Is the title cons
monty given to an operation Of which the general
public which supports the theatres sees absolute
Iv nothinG There is moreover no especially good
reason why the two should ever be brought into
contact with each other. and II H. without DOUBT
an act OF real kindness to the public to exc'ude'w
r,gidly from rehearsas. Unfortunately. thought.
fne.. NJ this sort Is not always appreciated Quite
ignorant of the agonee which they have escaped,
the ma iority of people would be Immensely pleased
at being permitted to attend one OF these anafs.
the privacy of which carries with II Suggestions OF
mystery and consequent entertainment For any
one directly connected with the matter-say. for
instance the author Of the play, whose point OK
view has perhaps been less often considered fhan
that of othcrs-there Is no mystery, and sti less
entertainment The whole period OF time wnicn
elapses between the completion OF manuscrps
and the frst-right production OF the play is' TOT
that person. nothing but an ordeal "a nor,'o'e
ordeal" one particularly empnauc p'aS"'s"'
assures his friends.
FIRST CATCH THE MANAGER.
ITO begin" properly, "at the beginning" there
everything else depends. When the author mas
put the final stroke OF the pen to the last act OF
his play he realizes that his motto must tnen DC:
First catch your manager" As a tribe theatricai
managers are naturally suspicious OF anytnins
which purports to be play. They have read 30
many hundreds OF distressing failures In that Iine
that their faith is weak. 1t must be pretty faf
article which will appeal TO them. and even fnen
their attitude toward will be critical TO the point
Of hostility. 'Th,y seem to like the blamed thns'
was the inelegant but characteristic remark OF
certain New-York manager, one FIRST night not
long ago. to the author Of the play, as the two SAT
watching the audience from box. He had &C.
cepted the manuscript only after much persuasion;
had frequently expressed his doubts about II at
rehearsals and professed the most complete as
tonishment at its success. which was as pronounced
az the most ambitious author could have desired.
On the WHOLE considering these peculiarities OK the
managerial authority 1t is a long step FORWARD
when the play is once lodged permanently In his
hands.
The next stage to follow out the usual proceed
ings Of the most successful authors Is the reading
Of the play to the company. This Is. beyond Ques-
tion a trying piece OF work for the playwright.
Every member Of the company, from the star down
to the actor whose part consists Of two or three
lines. is present on the appointed morning inc
meeting Is the stage Of the theatre IN wnich
the play is to be produced At that hour OF the
day It Is usually dark and cold, and one cannot
help thinking that the general cheeressness might
suit tragedy. but Is likely to be hard on tne
modern comedy OF society.
THE SACRED DIRECTORS CHAIR.
In the centre Of the stage is table. beside which
stands the directors chair The sacred attributes
of this piece of furniture having been thoroughly
demonstrated In a recent suit In court, II Is nos
necessary to dwell here upon Its Importance. The
author, however Is permitted to seat himself there.
in. and the entire company then ranges nd Itself
imp impression OF the assembled group is that each
bng Of eyes and heroic endeavor to s,ne ps yaWns
After 1t is we'll under way, the nature and quality of
the drama determine whether this senerai oro"s''
The several actors have their individual parts in
their hands and natural each one wbisS lSows WIS
has with the rest Of the pay to Se and Il the
company usually listen for the entire e1ect OF
e~ to that which directly Concerns their work
The actor-critic is inclined toward severity rather
na scas he readily pathetic stun
ations. He Is conservative In his comments. ana ana
openly to its author person feels that there Is
reason to be encouraged.
THE FIRST REHEARSAL.
For pure "woodenness" and absence OF any
dramatic feeling, the first rehearsal probably can
not be surpassed anywhere. 1t Is usually cahed
for the morning following the reading and Is SIM
ply mass of directions. preparatory to the real re-
hearsing which is to come. Each actor comes upon
the stage with his typewriter part In his hand.
and reads the lines they before him. Then
the position which he is to take is given TO MIN py
beress little actions which later appear SO sponta.
neous on his part.the business as T., rnsy y,,,s are
detail. Until he has learned these Thoroughly IN
mechanical way. he does not attempt to put any
Precisely what each actor is going to do, even to
the smallest and seemingly most trivial tmnSs
must be perfectly understood by every one IN the
or confusion would he likely to follow ,o s1Ss
sa1s S "a ss e
newspaper book after finish reading IT." and
do put my hat on this table when come in
tinuay asked and answered. AS the act goes on
the author or manager takes note ., !ne % sSs
to the naturaness and completeness OF the scene
The property who is functonary o, pa,ms
about his work. Moreover. the property IMAM Is
and % Sa h sas % good op
len of the play is highly esteemed by the average
playwright
CHANGES AT REHEARsALS.
Only the first act of play is generally presented
at the first rehearsal The remaining acts are then
taken up, one each day. until 1t has all been gone
through fifth once BY this time there Is little
more human interest in the acting. and this I'M
proves steadily as the days go by. The author usu.
ally attends every rehearsal and many dramatiso
lay much stress upon the necessity OF this as 10
say that play is chiefly written at Its rehcarsais
This means that constant succession OF changes
are made as the defects In the workmanship OF the
drama appear. Written situations that seemed true
enough In the authors study come out with .
false ring when acted Sometimes the who'e ch"a4
of an Is changed L..
Writers differ, of course. In their fondness for
altering their work. but all do Il more or less MISS
Martha Morton, author OF "A Fool Of Fortune" and
others OF Mr.. Cranes successes, Is uncommonly
critical of her own plays always attending the
whole series OF rehearsals. and condemning remod-
elng and pruning with an unsparing severity.
Owing to the numberless alterations, which occur
UP to the very last rehearsal actors do not usually
memorize their parts until II Is absolutely neces:
sary Spirited arguments between the author ana
the manager or between either one OF these and
the star as to how certain passages are to BE-
played frequently cause long delays which are es.