Evening star., 1900-12-15
CURTAIN RAISERS IN PARIS.
An Attempt to Improve a Much Neg
lected Institution.

lected Institution.
Paris Correspondence OF the Pail Mall Gazette.
The question of curtain raisers' is being
discussed on the boulevard by no means
for the first time, and probably not for the
last. The one-act pieces that precede the
piece de resistance on the theatrical bills
can scarcely be said at present to serve
any conceivable purpose, and the point has
been mooted whether it might not be pos
sible to render them of some utility. These
hors doeuvers of the dramatic banquet
are as tasteless and unsatisfying the
property" dishes which make their ap
pearance when the table is set the
stage. The theatrical managers attach no
Importance to them whatever In nine
cases out of ten they do not even take
the trouble to read them, but take what
ever comes first to hand or leave the choice
to a subordinate. The lever de rideau is
never rehearsed in any strict sense of the
word 1t is dropped" rather than put
on the stage, and it is acted by mysterious
incapabeS who cannot be called actors and
actresses, as they know nothing of their
calling, and are paid too little for it to be
possible for them to live by it. 1nane in
plot, il-written, grotesquely staged and in
famously acted, the curtain raiser is be-
meath contempt a species of dramatic
production 1t bores the few score persons
who by accident, or out of simplicity, ar
rive al the theater early, and there its
services end.
The idea has been broached that the cur
tain raiser might be made to serve the in
terests of the budding dramatist by Civ
ing him opportunity of exercising his
prentice hand and of bringing himself
before the public. A reform undertaken
with this object was carried out some hf-
teen years ago. Authors dues in France.
as - generally known, levied by the
Society of Dramatic Authors. This body
is sovereign in all matters touching the
payment of authors fees. Up to the time
of the reform in question it had ordained
that the author of the lever de rideau was
entitled to third of the - per cent on the
nights takings. which is the sum the man
ayers have to hand over to their authors.
A third of the fees is, of course, very
considerable matter and in the old days
the author of the principal piece had to
take care as a rule to be also the author
of the curtain raiser. or to make arrange
ments by which he appropriated the lions
share of the disputed third
To throw the field open to the hedgling
dramatsts, the society reduced the pay
ment for the lever de rideau to / per cent
on the takings and added the proviso that
this payment must never exceed the mag
nificent sum of 10 francs. This measure
did not have the result hoped for. The
curtain raiser remained the unconsidered
trifle it had previously been. The mana
gers refused. as before, to take the least
trouble to see that it was properly mount
ed and acted. and young authors of talent
declined in these circumstances to let their
work be played to empty benches.
The suggestion now made is that the So
ciety should take in hand the cause of the
young dramatists in more effective fash
ion. 1t is proposed that the society should
appoint a committee of it's members whose
business it would be to read the curtain
raiSerS submitted to them. The pieces
they approved would see the light in virtue
of a new regulation by which managers
would he bound to play the levers de
rideau presented by the committee No
piece would be allowed to run for more
than month, and the concession would be
made to the managers that they would
have fees TO pay. On the other hand,
they would have to give a dress rehearsal
of the piece, to which the press would be
invited. If this scheme were carried out
it would certainly be to the advantage Of
the public and the young dramatists. but
the managers might be expected to grum-
bic at the interference with their liberty
of action. And grandmotherly legislation
In the theatrical world might have no bet
ter results than elsewhere.