The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-12-06
BEHIND THE SCENE
Lyric Artists Caught at
Short Range.
The Off-hand Habits of the Actors
Just Before the operate
Curtain Rings Up.

| They were getting ready for Trial by
Jury. Down in the depths somewhere
lay pile of open trunks Uttered with
| costumes, swords, stats and other
stage properties. Beyond were the
| dressing-rooms OF the men and women
of the caste, the doors closed upon the
| women but wide open upon the male
| artists who otherwise would have been
| suffocated in their own tobacco smoke
When the Advertiser man dropped in
the Foreman of the Jury was making
up with tracing pencils, rouge and
grease paint. It did not take him long
to fix over a youngish-looking rounder
from the Rialto into a most respect
able old countryman with long gray
hair and tabs of side whiskers. His
clothes were ordinary lounging gar
ments and he put on a finishing touch
with black necktie borrowed from
juryman. The Sheriff had a brown cas-
sock and was jerked up short by the
stage manager for dressing the part as
a Dominican monk. The Sheriff al
lowed himself TO say that it was a trifle
''incOngruous" and was instantly guyed
by the whole company for the word,
which. they claimed, he had brought
with him from England. 1t was a
''joshing" crowd but all took things
good-naturedly and there was no i'll
humor 10 begin the performance with.
The most elaborate makeup was that
of the Judge. Those who saw the
performance will recall his dubious
nose. What was the artificial part made
of? Nothing but cotton-jeweler's cot
ton. The actor covered the end of his
nose with some sort Of mucilage and
stuck the cotton on, carefully shaping
it into a compact mass with more mu-
cilage, finally dauDing the whole thing |
brightly with rouge. His face had |
been crimsoned before that and heavy |
black lines stood for wrinkles and |
crows feet. The Judge is perhaps 70 |
years old, but when he had put on his |
gray wig and spectacleS and garbed |
himself in solemn black he was 90 if a |
day. All the handsome tenor did was |
to redden his cheeks and put on the |
black gown of the Darrister. The Jury |
went to the stage in any old thing.
The stage manager, fat, oily and |
coached the actors UP to |
the last moment. They had rehearsed |
but there were lots Of little points they |
weren't sure Of Some of them Won
dered if they had better follow the dia-
lOgue or each other. 1t was a RELIEF
when the performance came off to see
that they stuck to the dialogue. One
might have thought they did not know
he score, but the audience didn't think
so. On the stage there was no hating
While the artists were decorating |
themselves and chatting each other the
all Fifteen minutes!" resounded
through the subterranean vaults. 1t
vas then 8 o'clock and the house was
filing up. The Judge wanted black
lecktie and sent to some of the women
or it, 4 Juryman busted off his shoes
There was wild search for an ink
bottle for the Judge and a whiskey
bottle for the Foreman of the Jury
The whiskey, bottle was the easier to
ind Then came call for papers for the
Attorney to handle and
someone found a stray number of an
Eastern religious magazine 1t did
veil enough for q brief All the while
he stage manager was giving hints of
What to do and how 20 do it. The Fore
ildIl hSU, StFtLO VICE, IIC Ioiu iIiC
low to fall over the railing of the jury ,
OK | hope he'll see me when | do.
haven't been on the stage very long
nut plenty long enough to learn not to |
all over anything except on the way {
Iome." He didn't fall. *
Time, Come, Mr.. Parmley." The
all broke in, sharp and strident. There
vas a rush of men and women for the
,age, upon which they swarmed like
mob. One pretty girl was angry f
What" she said. 'Do you mean to G
ay we must stand up through Trial =
V Jury? Well. that's the limit" The
ext moment she darted an ingenious I
mile at the audience, for the curtain p
ad gone up. ard the little opera, pre- t
minary 10 "Cavalleria Rusticana" be- p
an unwinding It's smooth skein of :,
lelOdy.