The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-03-12
PREPARING FOR A PLAY
SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES EN-
COUNTERED BY STOCK COMPANY.
Loss i'm Destruction of Properties-The
Hard Study-COst of the
Gowns.

renewed. and new play has been presented
each week for twenty-five weeks. The bust
ness of organizing and conducting stock
company is interesting. Three men,. j.
Murdoch, Mr.. Hunt and Walter Clarke Bel
iowes-have charge of the company here.
They select the company and the plays, and
put them on the stage each week in new
performance To select the company is not
easy. Each man has a list Of actors and
actresses whom he rates as to ability, per-
sonal appearance, voice, manner and other
qualifications for a good performer. The
persons for a company are chosen from the
lists, and they are expected to be fully capa-
bic of taking certain places in the cast The
three men who select the company choose
the plays. For this they have an immense
repertoire, with preference for those that
have been tested and are generally liked
by the public. The pulse Of the public has
to be felt in the matter of plays. The effect
OF a play on the audience has TO be known
by the management and this matter of the
public's like or dislike has to be nourished
as carefully as dollhouse plant, for it would
never do to risk FROST To give Ca
mille' last week was one Of the greatest
risks imaginable, for the simple reason that
Camille" is known so well. People have
seen it so much that they know the words
and the situations more than in almost any
other play. They have seen great actresses
In the play. 1t was the part of the manage
ment to select one of the twenty-eight or
more versions and then put ii on. Many of
the plays do not demand a royalty; that is
the case with Camille" as ii was with
Moths" There had TO be a guarantee Of
500 for the use of Too Much Johnson for
week, and THE Senator" had to be paid
for In taking the plays that were popular
several years ago. like "Esmeralda," con-
siderable has to be paid TO have the plays
brought UP TO data little revision that is
necessary. The management is assisted
sometimes in the selection of a play by the
requests that are sent in. Often plays are
chosen for three and four weeks ahead of
the time they are. to be given. The style
OF play has TO be changed. Too much senti-
ment or too little variety must be avoided.
Jim the Penman" has drawn the largest
audiences, for there was an extra matinee
Christmas day.
THE REHEARSAL
The play selected, the next thing is to get
ready to give it. The parts are given out
Monday night and the company is called to-
gether Tuesday afternoon for the first read
ing. The play is read through and the per-
formers get an idea of their lines, to whom
or with whom they are TO be spoken and the
business, where entrances and exits are to
be made, and the entire outline of the play
wednesday morning the first rehearsal is
called. and from 10 to 1890 the hard work
begins Memorizing the parts, while difficult,
Is not considered as important as the action
and giving the cues, for the latter even
more essential A few words might possibly
be changed in the middle of a speech but
the last few words of the speech are the only
guide the next speaker may have. Another
part of the speech that has to be carefully
done Is to interrupt when another is speak
ing. diminished remarks in real life are
many and the playwright Introduces them
frequently. Some parts of plays move off
easily and others have to be done over and
over again, before they are ready for the
public.
Sometimes rehearsals have to be held
twice day from 10 till l2;2p or o'clock, aud
rehearsed until 7:15 and the people were
coming into the theater. TO give one play
in the evening and two afternoons of the
week. and rehearse a second between times.
is not particularly restful but such the
stock company does and Las done for
twenty-five weeks The mental work can
not be appreciated by an outsider. 1t hap
pens that sometimes the brain refuses
to absorb. In such case the actor act
ress has to be given week of rest. 1t was
such an occurrence this that delayed the
performance of Jim the Penman" until sew
eral weeks after the first notice had been
made that 1t would be given.
DRESSING THE CHARACTER.
1t is not all of play to learn the lines
and the business. The character has to be
of an undertaking in the society drama,
dress suits etc, being alike for all, but the
women have to arrange their costumes. The
leading lady in the company has first choice
as to what shall be worn, and there has TO
be a conference between the members of the
company so that the colors shall not clash
in the stage picture and SO that all do not
decide to have pink or some one color. The
time of the play decides the style, but the
details are decided by the actress. To pre-
sent society play requires some nice dress
ing and the clothes must be of good ma
teria and make A shoddy gown shows
quicker under the glare of the footlights
play is what is called a costume play the
gown is secured from the costumer, or
dealer in fancy dress or masquerade suits.
The members OF the stock company not
only have to dress well on the stage but
they must dress well off the stage. They
are required to buy their costumes for the
plays i'm the cities where they are in the
company. They are not allowed 10 use ex-
actly the same costume for any two plays
be a change in the style or the trimming
and then there must be five weeks between
the times of wearing the gowns; The COM
pany is required TO live in good places.
To learn and act and dress the part falls
to the actor or actress. To set the play
falls to the business of others. The man.
agement decides the scenery, first by tire
openings called for in the play, that is the
places where the doors and windows have
10 De. IutSc iici Stlctl liit SoiCA hs'iSAtSo
and properties Four men do nothing else
than hunt properties. This includes all the
articles 10 be used except the scenery. They
are each provided with list, and then be-
gins such shopping tour as the maddest
bargain hunter in town could not duplicate.
'.Esmerelda" and blue Jeans took the
greatest amount of ''old plumber" things
that were difficult TO find within the city
limits, but they were all brought in, and
when the curtain rose no one in the au-
dience could have surmised the experiences
the prop man had TO secure the stuff
Most of the properties are bought outright.
1t is estimated that 800 week would not
pay for breakage. Furniture and bric-a-
brac get some rough usage on the stage.
Accidents will happen in the best house
keeping, and what else can be expected
when lot of men scurry to get the stage
set. An obstreperous curtain one night
touched the edge of a cabinet Of delicate
bric-a -brac and over went the whole thing,
and not a piece in IL but what was broken,
most Of il beyond the members skill.
The value of a year or twoS work in a
stock company is great, for the players gain
a versatility unknown to the one-part per-
former. 1t gives them confidence In their
own powers and gives them reputation.
1t is severe but the best school that there
is and il is often the making of man or
woman in the profession. In the matter of
work il taxes more than any other lines of
business both physical and mental ability
and endurance. Each member in the COM
pany is understudy for the one higher
in the company, so that In case or sudden
illness of one. the play would go on just
the same and there is much maneuyer1ng 10 /