Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-04-29
HOW A GREAT
PLAY IS STAGED
THE MAN WHO STAGED "TRILBy,'
1.-THE HEART OF MARYLAND,
AND ssEHE BLACK CROOK, DEs-
CRIBES THE ART.


BY Richard Narration.
There is a great deal more of art in
making lot of daubs SO that they will
look like landscape from the gal
Iery than the general public imagines.
To be a good scene painter one must
have the true tale4t OF the artist and
must serve long apprenticeship.
Richard Marston, the most famous
maker of stage scenery in this country.
worked three years in London as an
apprentice without receiving one penny
in remuneration for his services. Now
he makes piles OF money
Mr.. Marston was brought to this
: country several years ago to prepare
the scenery for the original production
of the BLACK Crook" which cost $780,
600, and there has been such great
demand for Ills work that he has not
been able to get away.
III order to do all the work that
is offered to him lie would have to have
five or six mere bgains and right arms.
He gets anywhere from $500 TIC $1,000
for scene. The average price paid TO
the best half-dozen scene painters for
a scene is $500. But there are a great
many Elore scenes painted for 500
+, than $500. Theatregoers can see that.
1.-The scenic artist doesn't have the
opportunity here that he gets abroad,
said Mr.. Ma-ston ~tp correspondent
ofthis newspaper a few days ago;
This is largely due to the rush that
permeates everything in America. Mr..
Irving SPENDS months in making the
scenes for a production, and they are
studies Too often we have to work on
the run.
1.-The scenic artist takes his orders
from the author and the manager. He
plans all of the properties for the
scenes that he paints, and the stage
carpenter follows his directions. He is
called upon to make scenes from all
parts of the world and of all periods of
history, and consequently must be
man of broad information. The author
may give him most exact description,
but he must know something about the
scene himself in order to get any color
into it.
Realism in stage scenery and stage
properties is quite impossible unless
you call producing a realistic effect up
on the audience realism. Real trees
and real logs put upon the stage would
not look real unless they were painted.
There are no shadows on the stage,
so we have to paint shadows. A real
cannon would not look as much like a
cannon as one made of papier mache
and painted.
But If one gets too close to the stage
the realistic effect is sometimes spoil
ed, and the scenery looks like daubs.
A young woman who saw one of my
canvasses close at hand said: Why
it's only lot of daubs. ] don't see
how you can see anything in it your
self. Really | don't believe that this
is scenery, or else you don't know
what you are doing But when the
XolGxIMoman saw the canvas on the
stage thatS evening she cIapped her
hands andl said: How beautiful
Dion Boucidault used to say that the
whole stage art was only a bag of
tricks, and that stage people were fool
ish to let the public see the inside of
the bag AS the bald-headed men who
sit in the front row are not strong of
eyesight, that wouldn't matter much
except for the opera glasses. In
painting scene one has to remember
that there are a great number of opera
glasses in the orchestra seats.
Yes; [ have assistants who do some
of the simplest of the work, and | put
on the finishing touches to their work
and on the more different parts. In in
teriors they help me a great. deal
When we are in a hurry | give them
considerable leeway; that is, on inter
Tors. Every stroke on one of my land
Scapes is mine.
Every property, and even the scenes
are made up in pasteboard and put to-
gether as they will be on the stage be-
fore one begins work on the actual
thing. This serves for model for the
stage manager after we have done with
it. do my drawings on the models in
black and white | used to do them in
color, but sometimes rival manager
would drop in my Workshop looking
around, and possibly might see my
own castle or country house or what
ever it happened TO be, put on the stage
OF the rival managers theatre before 1t
got on the stage OF our own.
Tons of scenery arc made every
year. Tons OF it must go into disuse
every year. What becomes OF that
which goes into disuse?
What becomes of tie pins? Most of
them are bent and thrown into the ash
barrel. ] guess. Most of the scenery
is bent and thrown into the ash barrel,
I guess. After production is through
with its rim the scenery goes on the
road, and, If it is very successful
piece, it is pretty well worn out by the
time the plays run is over.