The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-04-21
THEATRES IN PARIS.
ALI ARE AT THE MERCY OF piRATrcAL
TICKET MONGLRS.

IICHEt EGp,SLiLltS.
These Agents !"r II E."::.:ur EIta
thc Socicty &: r.. -'tat:<. Authors
and Composers. :: sd an. Latter :s1Ir
the ThcuterS with "a E:oh c,f Ercn
The great aba @ hat tic t,,rltcr going
public in France has - -; Iip witl is tie
ring of piratic:.l ticket ;l,,ruts who buy up
nearly an !hc good seats whvIrtrr t..urr
is popular piece I'uni,iEg and at ,ilav
double or quaIru1lC the prices, OWN. to
their successful CDrnrr. which in conc
uucncc of vested interests uf various Su't;
the law is pGwCr:vss; ~ prevent Ties,
ticket m0ngcrS lie in ambush near I'LL til,
leading thratarS and are Frequently il
league with the huraliS;"S,' or women
WHO, from time beyond memory, havo solo
places ut the regular ticket offices of Tx
thcatcrs.
When asked about the system of selling
tickets at the Paris thc;trrS, Nine Sarah
Bcrnhart!t replied; Il have tried in vain
to ind some WAY of supervising the ticket
mongcrs, but this is impossible in France
unless the matter he taken up by pariin
mcnt. The chief obstacle Is the society OF
the Dramatic Authors and Composers
which is a monopoly and rules all theat
rical managers with Il rod of iron. i
makes contracts with each manager, Spcci
flying the amount the society shall take,
which is usually - per cent OF the gross
receipts. If tho manager refuses to sign
the contract, no plays by members of the
society can bu performed at his thCa::g
This would close his dGCrs, because every
drlmatist in Franco is q member of the
society. All this bears directly on the SALE
of tickets.
The contracts between the different
managers require that the author whose
work is produced shall be entitled to 100
francs worth of tickets, i'll addition to two
dozen seats placed ut his disposal for the
first and second performances. Besides
this, every author who has one act pro
| duccd ut a theatcr is entitled to one free
seat at the thc2tcr for every performance
during one year. no matter whether it be
his own play that is given or the play OF
some ono else. The author who has four
or five acts played at Il thcatcr is entitled
each night to Il free scat for live years
Six acts Cntitle the author to free en-
trance for life. The dramatist who has II
acts produced ut any theater has Il right
to two free entrances each night for his
lifetime, with rcvcrsion after death to such
UClSOIl, tilSO LUZ AllSI WIN may ~
named by will.
You can imagine continued Mime.
Bcrnhardt, chow terribly 'hampered
theatrical manager is in Paris, especially
| when it is remembered that the assist
lance publique takes each night for the
Paris poor onc-elcvcnth of the total gross
| receipts But the worst of it is that the
| authors usually transfer the tickets secured
to them by the Society of Dramatic Au
! thors and Composers to the ticket mongerS
| or other agents, who sell them at the high
| est price obtainable. This consider Il real
| grievance ard explains the ilnTussihility
OF doing away with the ticket m0nccrs. i
think the Society of Dramatic Authors is
to blame for tlis."
As NJ NictOrien Sardou was listening
| attentivcly to this conversation, and as he
is the president OF the Society of Dramatic
| Authors and Composers, the writer asked
him to express his opinion on the subject.
The prince OF French piaywrights replied:
"The tickets and free entrances accorded
TO French dramatic authors with hcrcl
| itary revcrsionS constitute vested interests
| that have accumulated for generations,
and to do away with them would he an
impossible task. Years ago, when l was
| just old enough to go to Tic thC3t"r, it
was not so bad as it is now. In those days
| there was famous theatrical hairdrcsscr
to whom all the dramatic authors handed
over their tickets to be disposed of, and
| from whom they often borrowed money.
He got the whole business into his hands
and founded the present community OF
ticket mongers. quite agree with Mime.
Sarah Bernhardt that it would be impos-
sible to make any change,at present.
ba civ nv u
Bernhardt and NJ. Sardou will enable an
American to understand why it is that
when he presents his ticket ut tho entrance
of u Paris thcater it is not glanced at
hastily by o single gatcman, as in New
York, but is critically examined by three
grave officials. One of these is the ticket
taker of the theater; another is the gov
| ernment envoy, who vcrifics the gross re-
ceiptS, so that the assistance publique
may get its one-ClGventh, and the third Is
| the agent of the Society of the Dramatic
| Authors and Composers. Convenient
features of all the Paris theatrical ticket
| offices are small plaster and wood models
| of the auditorium, with each seat distinct
ly numbered, 50 that the purchaser can see
at "a glance the position of his seat.
The ushcrs and cloukroom attendants ut
Paris thcutcrs, us well as the ticket sellers
ut the ticket Office, are invariably women,
The cloakroom women tIkc charge Of
overcoats, cloakS, umbrellas, etc., fol-
which they give i'll return Il round wooden
! numbered check. During the last en-
tr'acte'' they will, ii so requested, return
the garments to TIE occupants Of the boxes
or stalls so that time may be gained in
putting them ON and leaving the thcatCr.
1t is "a peculiar custom for men to wear
their hats at Paris thcaters while the cur
tain is down. They are always immediate
ly removed, however, as soon as the cur
tain rises i'll Difference to the performers.
The programmes arc sold ut the thcatcrs
for 20 centimcs q cents apiece and con-
tain well executed portraits Of the authors,
motors and actresses, with little scraps If
biography, and frequently with short his
torical sketches of the thcater itself.-Ncw
York Tribune.