The times., 1899-11-12
TEE ACTOR ON. TEE ROAD
How the Thespian Eats, Sleeps,
Dres es. and Travels.
Incidents Grave and Gay That Rob
Life of Its MOnOtOny ut Least
Trials Experienced in Travelling
on the RaiIwny-ThtnEs Not on the
BiII-HOteIs and boarding Houses.

The life Of an actor on the road Is not
all romance, and the daily scenes of his
existence are not as brightly illuminated
as the surroundings in which he is viewed
by the public The calling of an actor
takes him into strange places, and as is
natural in a rowing life, it presents ex-
periences varied if not always pleasant.
Successful players. whose tours on the road
are confined to large cities, are usually
able to find a fair degree Of comfort, but
there are few of these who at some time
or another have not had to endure the
vicissitudes of overnight stands, with
queer hotels, queerer boarding houses.
and theatres in which every suggestion OF
comfort is lacking.
II is a peculiar fact that when an ac-
tor or actress starts on a journey alone
he or she is likely TO be almost as helpless
as q child Checking baggage is mys-
terry, and the preliminary details Of travel
ing are unknown TO them. This is due
to the fact that when the player is enrolled
in a company he practically ceases to be
a unit in himself. and becomes only one
part of a larger unit.
Conductors on railroads have come to
recognize this fact, and when the man in
the blue coat and brass buttons passes
through the train on which a theatrical
company is travelling he accepts a nod Of
the head and the word company as an
assurance that before he finishes his round
he will find man who carries the tickets
for all The latter is known as the treas
urer or business manager of the company,
and he relieves the actors Of responsibility
by buying all the tickets and looking out
for the various details of the trip.
The advance agent makes the terms with
the general passenger agent, and sends
back a memorandum, from which the
treasurer knows how much the tickets are
to cost and all other necessary details.
The agent also finds out the rates at the
various hotels and boarding houses which
cater to the calling. and these are posted
on the callboard of the theatre in the pre-
ceding town. Sc that the actors can make
up their minds beforehand where they will
stay.
Before reaching the town the property
man goes to each member of the company
and finds out the address of his abiding
place, so that the trunks may be delivered
promptly. The property man has pre-
viously attended 10 the collecting and
checking of the trunks, so that all the
actor has to DO is to see that his trunk is
packed on time. In one-nght stands the
actors frequently carry only one trunk.
which contains both the stage and street
wardrobe In such cases. the handsome
leading man who wants TO appear well on
Sunday is likely TO take his way 10 the hotel
or train on Saturday night carrying under
his arm bundle containing starched
shirt and the various accessories of his
street garb.
Hotel Versus BOARDING House.
In every large city there are one OF more
theatrical boarding houses. They are pat
ronized by the rank and file, but the best
known players, as rule, do not go to
them. Still some OF these. in memory of
earlier days, patronize the humble board
ing-house in preference to the hotel Some
do so in a spirit of economy. The keepers
of some of the best-kHo theatrical board
ing-houses have been players who, tired of
the uncertain life of the road, have settled
down to the grind of catering to their old
associates. In some cases they have gone
into the business as a makeshift while
waiting for a good engagement which never
turns up.
The keeper of a theatrical boarding
! house usually knows her clients we'll. She
enters sympatheticaIly into their joys and
hOtSf anu Win players tOUlluB anu sOluS
all the time she is never at a loss for
gossip with which 10 regale her guests.
The centre table in the parlor of the
theatrical boarding house is usually adorn-
ed by an album of red plush, which, in
its turn, is adorned with the faces of
those who are patrons of the house The
maDtIepiece holds pictures of the land
| ladys favorite soubrette, or possibly OF
| her daughter, who, she says proudly. is
| lin the profession. Not all the land
| ladies are kind hearted. There are some
| such boarding houses in which repose the
| wardrobes of mimic kings and queens, who
! for monetary reasons have had to steal
! forth in the dead of night leaving their
! trunks behind them.
! But the theatrical boarding houses are
not the only queer things the actors find
! on the road. In some of the small towns
! the theatres are even stranger than the
/ boarding houses. 1t is not an. uncommon
! thing for all the men OF the company
! TO be obliged to use one dressing room
! and the women another, well known
| actor who played a long and successful
( season in New York was booked on toul
/ In several small California towns. In the
! first of these it was found that the scenery
! of the production was too large for the
/ house and that OF the town theatre had tC
/ be used. This consisted of two flats one
representing the exterior of log cabin
and the other a kitchen interior. The
/ play was a modern society drama. and The
contrast OF the actresses elaborate gowns
with the dingy scenery was worth goine
to see The only light came from large
/ headlights placed in the wings and fec
with kerosene.
Dressing Under Difficulties.
Nine of the men dressed in one room
which would have been crowded by three
There was only one looking glass anC
that was nailed to the wood partition il
such a position as TO be of use only wheI
! one stood on q chair.
There was not even a lamp. The actors
took turns in holding up a candle so tha
the makeup could be put on. The womeI
had to go through similar makeshifts, an'
yet the remarkable part OF IL is that wheI
they appeared on the stage their toilets
IDOn'f CL10