The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-02
SOUBREITE' RARD TASK
SHE IS OFTEN IN REAL, DANGER
WHILE SHE SAVES THE
EEROfS LIFE
MANY ARE HURT EVERY YEAR
Mishaps In Sliding Down Ropes and
Crossing Chasms-One Who
Is Glad to Make APP
pie Pie.

With the microbe of organization work
ing in the theatrical profession, with the
Actors society, the managers assOcia-
tons, the White Rats and the While
Mice already established It would seem
that the next combination should be of
the soubrettes OF melod-aml, says the
New York Sun. When that organization
is formed, it will undoubtedly include an
accident fund as its chief feature for the
melodramatic soubrette is exposed t. all
the perils of life and limb to be found
between the flies and the basement-not
stage perils, but real ones
The melodramatic soubrette IS the
more or less young person who G es out
at night without chaperon, filing In
the play the place of an unrecognize d
hfe-saving service Without her the hero
would be killed at the end OF the first
or second act, and the play would no.
proceed She transports herself to far
distant countries. while apparently NOT
In possession Of either cash or pass She
has an entree to the homes Of the rich
She is the guest of honor in humble flats
BY the grace of the author, all times ana
places are her own to be shared with the
hero. She is the feminine melldra matte
1t. Even the heroine bows before her.
She has a voice-sometimes knows how
expert marksman, and some of the stunts
required Of her in her various roles would
make flying trapeZe performer pause 10
think
Writers Of melodrama appear TO i'm
agine that sensational Incident gains In
effect through the employment OF a SOU
brette as the central figure Her en-
beavers are largely confined to preserv-
ing the life Of the hero. 1t IS a very poor
"
an opportunity to save his life at least
three times out of the five acts For this
reason the ingenuity of the play coa-
structor is devoted to the invention or
new forms Of life saving devices. s1ch as
would hardly be regarded with favor by
coast guardsmen.
AS an example Of how this trend OF
modern melodrama affects the soubrettes
one play, which started out last fall. had
souprette slide down a rope from the
second story of a warehouse in the first
act make her escape from a burning
building In the second act and jump 10
the roof OF rapidly moving freight car
In the third. On the Opening Night the
manager suggested to the young woman
VINO played the part that she t7y tie
slide before the curtain rose There had
been no complete dress reflea- 81 Of the
piece. The property man had provided a
y
the necessary strength, was hard v larger
than lead pencil
The slide was accomplished. and the
soubrette arrived on the stage with tho
skin torn from her fingers. owing to the
TACT tnat the rope was not large enough
to be properly grasped. Almost fainting
from the pain she had the Injured hands
hurriedly dressed while the ov r.ure was
being played. Twenty minutes later a
second descent had TO be made. with the
result that the wounds were torn still
deeper
In spite Of the agony she was enduring
she was forced to cross the stage. climb
a stepladder to the deck Of scenic ship
and save the life Of the secondary hero
AS the curtain dropped she tainted, being
saved from falling off the platform by
the villain she had just subdued At the
close Of the third act Of the play she
stumbled off the platform on which she
was supposed to ride across the stage.
She handed in her two weeks noti"e.
The present soubrette uses a rope big
enough for a ships cable
In another play in one scene the sou
brette is let down to the sage at the
end Of a rope ana last season a broken
strand deprived the company of the serv-
Ices Of one Of the best players Of the part
When she left the hospital she decided
to take to speciality in peaceful vaude-
Vile, letting the risky leg 'tima.e severely
alone.
The soubrettes part In still another
drama contains two scenes which threat
en- the safety of the lifesaver. One Of
these is that in which she swings across
the ravine at the end OF a rope in order
to save the life OF the hero, who lies
helpless on the ground, a dynamite cart
ridge securely tucked between his feet.
This act used up three soubrettes in
one season, after which the property
man was informed that the next dine
the rope broke he would lose his Job
After this the slaughter Of soubreties
was conducted exclusively by the press
agent.
This worked wei for a season; then,