The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-06-26

as large as big white wash brush to an
other as small as that Of China
decorator. The colors are all of mineral
and are mixed with watt + into the desired
consistency at table which serves as d
sort of movable palette for all three of the
workmen When the canvas within reach
is transformed into the outlines of the
interior, the drop is lowered by means of
tackle fastened high up in the upper fly
galleries and the artists go to work on the
new stretch of cloth which has already
been primed, but which is barren of
decoration.
As fast as a scene is completed it is
lowered down and stored away to await
the opening of the theatre. The work pro-
crosses rapidly and with the skilled artists
who are engaged in it, it is apparently
nothing but play. As they bring out de-
lightful colors and shadings on the frame
in front of them, as they build mountains
covered with trees and rocks, as city
streets grow up with modern looking
houses, church spires in the distance and
all the accessories, as brooks are painted
flowing through green meadows where
the wild flowers are in bloom and the
tlnge OF sunlight is Frightening the
verdant hillsides, as palatial drawings
rooms with frescoed walls, silken draper
les and beautiful paintings spring up be-
meath their brushes, these artists find
time to tell rollicking stories of theatrical
life, give anecdotes of many fam Gus
actors and sing songs in a truly Bohemian
manner.
And as has been said these men who can
build mountains in an hour or furnish
house in the same amount of time that
most people would spend in picking out
draperies to match the carpets, work
without models or designs. They have
what Mr.. Morange terms "artists short
hand Sketches, mere rough outlines of
what the scene is to be that is all Greek
to the ordinary observer who would not
be able to tell from looking at them
whether they were meant for mountain
scenes or palace interiors. The scenes are,
in fact, painted from sample plots known
to the artists, who carry the colors, the
shadings and all i'll their heads. And yet
these men work with great care, and
when the scene is finished the observer
will find that the coloring, the detail, the
shading is all complete and that the re-
suit is almost perfection. For, as everyone
must know, it is necessary that these
scenes should be as perfect as is the finest
oil painting, only of course they are
painted on more liberal scale and neces-
sarily the detail is coarser.
Mr.. Gates and his partner Mr.. Morange
paused in their work and chatted while
with man from the PRESS. While
talking Mr.. Morange held a paint brush
in his hand and idly daubed his hands
with paint. A fly lighted on the tip of
his ear and he brushed him away with
the paint brush, leaving little spot of
color of deep green hue where the fly
had been.
Morange. when the PRESS man laugh
ingly called his attention to the green
mark on his ear. ''We don't mind that
sort of thing because these colors are all
of mineral and perfectly harmless. They
wash off as quickly as so much dust.
Once we had fellow working with us
who wore long whiskers. If his brush
needed cleaning he would rub it through
his whiskers and at the end of an after
noon his beard would be alternately
green, blue, pink and every other color
and shade, forming regular rainbow
about his phiz.
Mr. Gates and Mr.. Morange are very
jolly gentlemen and have many witty
stories to tell and much valuable infor-
their visitor some of the designs they
painted on drop curtains, including those
of the new Columbia theatre in Washing
ton, Mark Hanna's theatre in Cleveland,
Gilmore's Court Square theatre in
Springfield, Mass, and many others.
These designs were all very beautiful and
were on all manner. of historical,
They chatted about the new theatre and
told of it's magnifcence and enthused
over its decorations. Both Of these gentle
men believe that it's ornamentatiOn is to
be the most perfect as far as artistic COM
pleteness is concerned of any theatre in
the country. They say that the building
itself is by far the most substantial that
they know of, and it.is their opinion that
it will rank with the four best houses in
America.
Mr.. Morange said that the scenery of
the new theatre was to consist of twenty
full sets with all of the accessories. In
speaking of the arrangements for hand
ling Mr.. Morange said that counter
weight system invented by Col. Wood the
architect of the building, would be used
to manipulate the scenery. In this
system the old MANILA rope is done away
with and wire gear is substituted, thus
taking out from behind the scenes a most
infammable material and making it
possible to handle every drop and border
from the stage floor. The design for the
drop curtain of the new house is COM
pleted, but the work on the curtain itself
has not yet commenced. 1t is sufficient
to say that it will be equal to the best
work yet done by these gentlemen and
will be in keeping with the elaborate
decoration of the house.
Messrs. Morange and Gates have recent
~ completed for Stuart Robson the scenery
for his new piece which they think is the
best work they have yet accomplished and
which will attract great attention when
it is seen at the beginning of the season.
The plasterers have nearly completed
their work in the interior of the new
theatre and will soon be able to leave it
entirely in the hands of the decorators
The whole scheme of decoration is after
the style of the French Renaissance and is
to be very pretty. AS Mr.. Morange said
yesterday the decorations are to be highly
artistic, very pure and chaste and will
appeal to the aesthetic taste of the people
of Portland. While the 'mob'' as this
gentleman expressed it will not at once
become enthused over the decorations, the
whole effect will grow upon them and
they will, after viewing the gaudy adorn-
ment of Keith's in Boston and similar
houses of dazzling decoration, return to
Portland and realize that their own
theatre is far more beautiful and it's gen
eral effect more pleasing.
just now the work that is being done
in putting up the wainscoating and the
pillars is very interesting and something
entirely new in this city. 1t is nothing
less than the making of marble of the
most beautiful kind and this is accom-