The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-08

~ ,f rope-. pulleYS, loIJS ana sceh-
a1yTll'" t,,..re as an old sailing ship to
ah].'. ..egs hand it Is all work and no
TO '"- neral thing. but the old adage
pa, u5rk and no pay makes JACK
o. e a." b,ds as good with this class of
Gun 'o' with the tars, and their pranks
aIllsal9 t-cbsars of actors. But they are
Ie ulg or, evil ana although in one case
. It ,ns of their practical jokes has
7a rsr-knoUn actor 10 foreswear a
li., .', lo.al playhouse. their tricks and
eI.a.l ,rs usually rs harmless as those
:. schoo1oys
separate Glass.
ae,i,.r and "aymen" are the technical
t5mi,f8r terms by which the manipu-
80 n scenery are known in the profess
y, They form a separate and distinct
Z in theatrical life Washington has
.cro.a of these men, a jolly, fun-lov-
.s.,-go.ng SET as willing to swear
ss .,,r AS at O fellow workman, and
as ir5aaarisut as a street car conductor.
,,4rg fair salaries they spend their
MONEY! Freely. miueling in a Bohemian ex-
st.r,4 with those in other branches of
me nrosass.cu. They can be found at
aa resorts talking in technical terms of
4 bsr DAYS. or more correctly, their nights
Tork. language purely Greek to the nov
n
Their familiarity with plays and players
IS born of experience, and their summing
uoof pIays merits and chances of sue
4 cess is Tot altogether based upon the de-
4 fe-ts Of pretty effects scenically, but from
general knowledge of what pieases au-
isn,es and is usually as correct as the
vew Of a seasoned critic.
4 The chic. work of the grips" and fly
4 nsu is .a installing q play for a week 6
Fun in the local houses. When the scenery
arrives Monday morning it is all laid out
on taa floor Of the stage under the direc-
4 ton Of the carpenter, who travels with
tit company with the assistance of the
4 house stage carpenter The number of
gnps and dymen necessary for the pro-
ducdon are called in and the work of
preparing the stage for the evenings pro-
ircti0r is begun. With some spectacular
productions all the house scenery must
be removed 70 make room for the stuff
carried by the company.
Up in the Air,
/ Cpin the rigging aloft, or gridiron. any
Where from forty to sixty feet above the
Stage floor n the local theaterss the work
begins The aymen climb TO this aerial
position and perform their work with the
agility ana nUepidlCy of an A. 3. laying
aiot 10 house the topsail of a clipper ship
in blow The house drops are lowered
70 Iae stage and the new ones rugged.
sand bags Of different weights are used
70 concordance the drops" so that
lhey may be easily lowered and raised.
iAese are also unrigged and lowered TO
NE stage When new lot of scenery is be-
ls put IT, The order is then given for
lae Hymsn IN the loft to jump for the
Op5s ana pull the drop up to what is
Ah0"h as trimming hight" They have
SAee out the particular rope meant.
au1 WIN several of them clinging to it
ee crop is pulled into place. Here the
..n oesIhs' The lyman jumps about four
10y LOT a rope catches a wrong one.
1..A me Ashl sand bag at the other end.
anu H1es aown to the fly gallery at a
LAY. never achieved by The fastest ele-
..g' rms is what is known as riding a
s.'l gag ana the victim picks up his
-S'u oody only 10 be greeted with
a aS@N OIL laughter from the "grips" and
,, ns'oN lhe rigging loft is the second gal
~, ivy, aug me fly gallery. From the lat
u, 1i me hanging stuff is worked nv
t5i. "yiHeh, including the drop cur-
5,. " al9 inc grips work the reruain-
T5o lne scenery from the stage level.
H. uulefWrIters require that each
las c',..s S..'H be- equipped with an ashes
|s .o,la-H' to be used in case of fire on
+, ~ 20 prevent the flames eXtendint,
e5.s --0'. Oh the house and the audi
essr LSe curtains are too weightv for
erai ,.' g so a lighter drop is in gen
f,r avs, 'Le ASBESTOS curtain being held
~ Eases OF emergency.
''sehcicS for Asbestos Curtains
rs sle emergency does not necessarily
SEN '-e presence of flames behind The
gor,r. anu the asbestos Of The LAFAYETTE
rg H. 9ps'a mousse was called into use.
s13 5[r ago. aud when Lillian Russell
o74r ,-. very caioric organization of the
cad NJ type We're playing there. At the
tia ,,. 5'' OF the scenes through which
h0nss 1l' slalhed slipshod the regular
dsfar.. .''" would descend but a certain
a eo7.,,, l'Nahing high enough to give
hte-esti@. ne" of The very shapelv and
Clad .t 'H0 neither limbs of the thinlv
WaI,.. wv VS. anal the very gauzy Edna
pisl ''.f Twice the curtain was
stick vi' ' started down again. only 10
sumo ". ma rka5lo persistencv AT the
perc, e,.. iaen down sailed the omor-
"8s5ss.. 'lI. dnll gray affair. with
aa3r r1l printed across the front in
Instance ..'fs. The audience i'm this
for nor. 'aat tho asbestos was needed
0r.e reasons than one
Ht.H The