The Indianapolis journal., 1902-11-09

the scenes. They say tnat ne IL Just the
opposite OF Mansfield. being OF sunny.
kindly nature and never allowing anything
TO worry him in the least. He places en-
tire confidence in the ability Of his stage
manager TO direct the stage and the en-
ployes OF the thester to do everything re-
quired OF them, and instead OF troubling
himself and everybody else between acts,
spends his time in his dressing room en-
gagged in a quiet game OF chess with one of
the members OF his company. During his
Indianapolis engagement he took part in
a long-drawn-out game of chess in which
he became unusually interested As the
curtain fell upon the third act of the play
one night. and while the audience was
..clapping their hands off," in the words of
the stage employees. Mr.. Crane turned TO
one OF the actors and, with thoughtful
expression on his face. said: Let me see
is the next move yours or miner
NAT GOODWIN POPULAR.
Nat Goodwin is popular among the stage
hands and so Is the veteran comedian of
the Bostonians. Henry Clay Barnabee. But
the greatest favorite Of all is Willie Col
Her, who was once a stage hand himself in
Daly's New York Theater and who has,
In consequence. warm fellow-feiling for
all of the men who work behind the big
curtains II is Golfers favorite amuse-
ment to spend an hour two after his
performance telling funny stories, of which
he has an inexhaustibie supply. TO the men
assembled in the property room, and the
last time he appeared in Indianapolis he
remained at the theater engaged in this
pleasant occupation nearly all Of the time
intervening between matinee and even
ing performance leaving the playhouse only
long enough TO swallow a hasty dinner.
His army Of friends in the theaters through
out the country are now lamenting the
fact that he is at present playing an in
definite engagement at Weber & Fields's
Music Hall In New York and will not be
among them again for some time TO come.
The English actress, Olga Nethersole,
does not require much assistance in man
aging affairs behind the curtain. She is
well liked by the employees of the theaters.
as she always has a pleasant word for
everybody connected with the mechanical
side OF stage life. However. one of the
employees OF English's retains vivid recOl-
lection OF an eventful occasion when Miss
NethersoIe completely lost her temper.
She was playing at the Grand in a roper
toire of dramas during her first American
tour and in one of the plays there was a
scene in which the moon, shedding a gold
en- light, could be seen through ar open
window at the back OF the stage. The
moonlight effect was gained by a stage
hand standing on a soap box behind the
rear setting, holding a light behind a
painted moon. All went beautifully until
another employe, hurrying across the stage
behind the rear setting, accidentally kicked
the soap box out from under the light hold
er. There was a terrific crash, followed
by total eclipse of the moon. The scene
was ruined and the young actress was
ragged. She would not even look at the two
unhappy stage hands who had caused the
. eclipse, during the rest of her engagement.
AMUSING INCIDENTS.
Many amusing incidents are constantly
occurring behind the scenes during a pre-
tentious performance. John Tull, the stage
manager at English's. says that in all his
experience he never saw anything quite so
funny the spectacle presented to the
eyes OF the people on the stage during the
first night OF Walker Whiteside's recent
engagement in Shakspearean plays. 1t
must first be explained that the stage
hands at English's loathe and despise the
handsome new plush curtain that was
placed in the theater at great expense at
acknowledge that it is a thing of beauty
and extremely artistic when viewed from
the auditorium, but it has caused them so
many moments of trial and tribulation that
they are not enthusiastic in their praise of
It. When the two heavy parts of the cur
tain close together at the end of an act 1T is
necessary for two stage hands 10 hurry to
the middle OF the stage and quickly arrange
ho fol Of ha in,
the stage is shut out from the audience. 1t
can readily be understood that the two men
whose duty 1t is to attend to this important
matter are naturally kept quite busy when
ever an audience wakes enthusiastic and
demands that the tableau on the stage be
disclosed to their appreciative eyes several
times in succession. When Mr.. Whiteside
as Richard Ill, reached the climax of the
celebrated tragedy the other night the au-
dence responded by warming up" to an
unlooked-for extent indianapolis theater-
goers being notably cold) and showed its
hearty approval of the scene by demanding
that the curtain be parted time and again.
While the scene as witnessed from the au-
ditorium was thrilling one. the picture
that presented itself to the people on the
stage was ludicrous in the extreme, for the
two stage hands, with expressions of in
tense disgust on their faces, were almost
running their legs off as they hustled back
and forth with the opening and closing cur
tains, like two awkward dancers at a coun-
try quadrille.
TWENTY-SIX CURTAIN CALLS.
There were twenty-six curtains in all
that night" said one Of the men in telling
his troubles afterward. land when the per-
formance was over we felt as If we'd been
In a football game
The stage hands at English's expect to
have more than their share of work during
the engagement of "Ben-Hur," which comes
Thanksgiving week. and later on during the
engagement OF THE Wizard of o." These
two productions are among the heaviest
attractions ever offered from a scenic stand
point. and their appearance in Indianapolis
means a great deal of extra labor for the
men who work among the painted can
vases. The management of the theater
recently sent Stage Manager Tull to Gin
cinnati to witness the production in that
city Of "Ben-Hur." and even now the stage
employees are preparing for the big pro-
ductiOn. When The Wizard OF Oz' comes
the lot of the stage hand will not be an