New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-07-11
SWELLING THE PAYROLL.
THE STORY OF A BIG GANG OF STAGE
HANDS.


In the course of conversation the subject OF
the large number Of employees necessary TO run
a theatre came up, and at once the starch de-
parted out Of the theatrical managers collar
and it began to melt down. people thinK run
ming a theatre is a profitable business, ne saiu'
land so II is when the house is full, Dul theS
don't know that the expense is just as large
when the house is empty as when 1t Is CROWDED
In other kinds of business you can retrehcn
when business is bad, but in theatre al '"e
saving Of expense that you can DO is SO si''a''
that it is hardly worth while to try 10 MAKE IT,
Now as you were saying. it takes surPiiS''6
number of stage hands not to mention any
other department, and 1t taxes just DIS many
whether there is any audience or not. If you
could have all the time you wanted Per""p'
three or four men could set all the acenes; but
when you have a heavy scene that "'uS' w -
In ten minutes you must have enough men to 90
IT, and though you may not need them III 'ne
course of the night except for those ten minutes
yet YOU must pay them all for iuii "1s"'
work.
and it isn't anything here to what IL IL III
England You wouldn't believe me if couid 'eh
Won how MANY stage hands Henry Irving mas
ot the Lyceurn. one man has to set up tins lit'ie
,ioco IF the scene and that other little piece mas
T., ba set up by Just such another man. ana
ono particular man must bring this particular
nroperty over and put it down, and 1t won ~
for any other man but him to do IT,
"put think got ahead of Henry Irving once.
7, ,.oe vears ago when was managing comic
ocaro company We had fine production ana IL
really did take a good many men to operate It,
but | WAS astonished when got the piiis a' ''ic
end Of the first week. There was the s'dse
managers b-all his assistants put oo"h III
order by name. Smith so much ana brow" -
,nrch and Jones and Robinson each so hiuon
Then there was the property man piii WIN an
,is assistants in the same way, John Doe 50
r,,uch and Richard Roe so much ana theH '.'e
Gas mans bill. with a whole list OF assistants
,b,~ same way It took S13S week for men -
help light that stage alone.
We'll. / paid the bills the first week ana
then | got to thinking about it, The next "eeh
bills came in the same way. Then coui'eu up
the men and according to those DIS 'leIe "o'o
100 men on that stage not counting any Vi 'i'e
,,o,forr,ors well where do they find room for
t,,ar, ollo, 7 said. | went back and investigated
and YOU can see without my telling you just no"
II was Here were ell these men that the stage
manager had and they had nothing to do great
doal of the time, so the gas man or the property
r,an would get them to do some little thlng lor
him and give them dollar a night, maybe and
mt down some name on the bill ana charge me
{. Wcu scaled those bills down nearly nall.
but If was amusing to see how they did it, Yes
was really amused.
II used to know man IN theatre out III Cai-
ifornia who don't suppose could really put a
Garnet down on a stage-he didn't know enough
But he told me that he made about Soo a week
at that theatre in just such ways as these For
instance. he got $40 every Sunday for washing
tho staqe Probably he hired some woman TO 90
Z, for a dollar and a half. | was with travelling
counanv out there once and we got to town
late one afternoon and / hired lot of fellows
that were standing around to help carry in the
trunks I told them | would give them half a
Aollar each and let them come in to see the show
In the evening So wnen they got through gave
eacb Of them half dollar and told them to come
in the evening and would remember them and
LET them in. Well. some others that were stand
Ing around heard what said. and hadn't more
3han got to the theatre in the evening when VI
tame two little boys that couldn't have lifted
one end of a trunk between them. and one OF
them said: Say mister were de feliers what
fool, in de trunks and yer said yer'd let inter
de show.