Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-03-18
ONE-NIGHT STANDS.
Experiences ora Theatrical Manager
On the Road-SOme Tricks of the
Trade-The Pride of Small Towns.

Experiences ora Theatrical Manager
ON the Troublesome Tricks of the
Trade-The Pride of Small Towns.
The average New Yorker gets his idea
of the one-night stand from the funny pa
pers or the Weber and Field burlesques
The popular idea is that the one-n!ght
stand Is comedy. AS matter OF fact
it is nearer tragedy First there Is the
local manager. The towns idea of his tm-
portance is, of course, great; his own idea
is even greater. If he is in the syndi-
cate" as he generally is. IL the town is of
any size, he has at some time or other paid
a visit TO New York, and knows how TO
carry on conversation with feet on the
desk. hat on the side of his head. cigar IN
his mouth. The visiting manager is none
the less aggressive, and If he is not, be II
said in all modesty, he learns the TRICK
very quickly.
The terms for the one-nlght stand are
arranged in New York either by the syn
dictate or separately by wire. If the play
has been a metropolitan success, and the
star is favorite in the town visited. the
terms are good If not, they are bad. Sew
enty-five per cent to the company" and 20
to the house are good terms; Go per cent
TO the company and 40 10 the house are
bad-for the company. But 10 matter
what the terms are, the local manager is
callously Indifferent when the population
shows indiffereneeeto the attraction.
When the companys manager arrives in
town the first thing he does Is TO go 10
the theater to see what the advance sale is.
If it is good, there is mutual congratula-
ton; If it is bad-and glance at the
board tells the tale-there is an air of cold
ness about the theater.
At night the question of passes comes
up. The advance agent proceeding seven
days ahead of the show has signed an
agreement whereby the local manager is
allowed to give out, say, forty passes IL
there are. three papers in the town about
thirty of these go to the press. Ten or
fifteen more than the number agreed on
are generally issued, this being a method
adopted by the local manager to pay his
butcher, baker and candlestick maker. As
the company manager issued no passes at
all. he sees no reason why he should help
pay the other fellows debts and then
there is the usual squabble. If the local
manager is honest as he frequently Is,
these extra passes are not SO serious.
When he Is not honest there comes a tus-
sic. The company manager stands at the
door beside the ticket taker 10 see that
everybody who comes in drops either a
ticket or a pass into the box. If the man
ager Is not sharply watching the ticket
taker will not drop every ticket into the
box; he VIII hold out fifteen, twenty or
thirty, and slip them back 10 the box Of
flee. where they are counted as unsold.
My first experience of this kind occurred
the other night In X. The leading lady
had told the first old woman that she
wasn't mice" and in order that there
might be peace and a performance / was
obliged TO go back on the stage and
straighten matters out. The ticket-taker
needed watching, and, although / was
gone but a few minutes in that time he
had got In his fine work. This was the
method of detection: At nine O'Clock.
when everybody Is supposed to be in, the
treasurer OF the house prepares state
ment Of what ne has sold. II he is hon
est II will agree with the number OF tickets
in the box; II he is dishonest, It will also
agree. But-the manager of the company
knows the capacity Of the house II the
orchestra holds 40 people and the treas
urer OF the house says he has sold 800 tick
cts there should be left 100 whole tickets.
This is the "deadwood," and II, when It IS
called for there are found only fifty whole
tickets and fifty with the seat coupons
missing, the chances are that fifty people
have got through the door without tick
cts. or IL they gave up the tickets. the
ticket-taker has returned them secretly 10
the box office Curious as il may seem.
and evidence of the lax business methods
prevalent IN this business, the 'deadwood, -
the only real means OF telling what has
been sold is seldom counted, and when It
Is asked for the local manager feels insult
ed At y, when called for Il. both
the house manager and the treasurer cho-
rused:
you don't think anything IS wrong. do
you?"
Certainly not / replied. Counting up
the deadwood is simply d way l have Of
amusing myself"
On counting the tickets In the box they
were found 10 tally exactly with the treas
urers statement. On counting the dead
wood / found twenty whole tickets uB-
accounted for and fifty stumps-a small
robbery Of seventy tickets, which. al 81 -
apiece, meant sios. After much argument.
which almost led 10 blows. and a threat
on my part 10 stop the performance, sle5
was added to the statement
This. Of course. Is the most disagreeabie
feature OF the ene-night stand. A less un-
pleasant and more amusing one - Inc
indignation OF growing town because we
play there only one night. drummer
comes TO a town, ard II he finds he csn
get ali the orders possible In a dag, he
goes on 70 the next town. and nobody says
a word. But an actor in -ne same posi-
ton is accused OF beiittiing a town IT
may seem humorous. but 4 Is an absolute
fact that the mayor Of fairly important
city wrote Us that he was obliged TO pro-
test" against our making C a one