The St. Louis Republic., 1902-11-09
MANSFIELD'S CORPS
OF STAGE W0RkMEh
Employees of the Actor Who Have
Been With Him for Many
Years.
DUTIES OF THE ARM0RER
Star Is a Keen Judge of Men and
Cannot Tolerate a Dull
lard, a Shirker or
an Idler.

an 10ler.
The stage where Mansfield plays Is a pris
! on for secrets.
No one not actually engaged in the worl,
of the production is admitted beyond the
stage door.
y All who are entitled to admttance must
: present tl.eir tickets Of admission, just as
II the auditors present tickets at the wicket
L in front CT the house.
L But Information viii leak out: whether Of
fcially UnofiiciaIly. and one of the most
| interesting revelations from the Mansfield
stage has to do with remarkable executive
| mechanism. which contributes unseen to the
| effectiveness Of his production of Julius
| Caesar"
What the audience sees is increased
orchestra of some twenty musicians. a cast
of thirtyfve principal players, and a great
number OF supernumeraries.
But, unseen, there is another little army
of workers behind the scenes buster than
any one would imagine.
At the door is the board" on which the
arrivals are registered each in.
Near by is the calIboy. whose duty it is
to keep track OF delinquents or absentees,
summon understudies. and keep the dress
ing players advised of the progress of the
hours.
Earliest man to the theater is Mr.. Mans
fields dresser.
day in his masters dressing room. attend
ing to his costumes. wigs, boots and linen.
He is back again before TO make ready
for Mansfield, who is apt 20 appear any
time after O'Clock, always the nrst com
er, an infallible example TO the young play
ers who imagine art is all CheesecakeS and
honey.
There are others who have anticipated the
arrival OF the actors, because the hundreds
on hundreds of costumes are irs their
charge
rir ri this quartet stitch clean
renovate and press costumes with dill
gence that defies time and packing.
1t is no small portion of the labor. or of
the Importance of so elaborate production
as Julius Caesar.
Nearby is the armorer- Aye, the armorer.
with malet and driver TO CLOSE the rive;s
In the last act of Caesar. on "the wooded
plains OF Phi!lipi," there is a gorgeous pa
geant of Roman soldiery.
Fancy what it means 10 keep conditioned
the metal leggings, armpieces, breastpiates.
gauntlets. shields. swords and helmets.
There are 157 suits of Roman armor for
His wigman leads a more quiet life. BY
day he is on the stage with his wigs and
blocks combs and tongS, but at night he
goes about with critical and patronizing
air, an arbiter of wisps and curls. bald
pateS anu all manner OF hirsute problems.
When the makeup man has arranged his
pots and brushes, the crowds may come,
for every one is ready for their transporta-
ton into Roman citizens.
The principals, of course. have their own
trunks and rooms. and make themselves
up. The supers are divided OF into several
big rooms, about fifty or sixty dressing in
each one.
They give up their own coat. vest and hat
in exchange for their Roman vestments,
which are kept in a great room lined with
numbered boxes.
When the play is over they make another
trade.
Once in costumes the supers pass along to
Here is another of these workmen. who.
unseen by the audience, contributes his
He applies the makeup to the supers SO
that from colorless mass OF saTleness
they become individualized and character
These are only few Of Mt Mansfeld's
numerous unseen staff.
They all under the stage manager
ywho is the stars adjutant general.
n He has two assistants. Every depart
There are the lights. These are sent from
New York. They are gas calciums. expen-
sive, but safer, and truer than electric cal
ciuns. SO Mansfield will have them
In control of them is the head gas man:
and he has an an assistant at each pair OF
of the color and strength of the lights. just
as the actors do for their entrances and ex-
its.
HOW SCENERY is MOVED.
The scenery is all in charge of the head
four know the Julius Caesar production
in the dark and they direct and help the
ater.
Everything placed on the stage not part
Of the scenery Is a prop"
Mansfteld's present production Is nerve
racker for his two property men. for they
have more to care for than ever before
The house furnishes them helpers to bring
on and take OF the props
So it happens that the stage staff brought
by Mr.. Mansfield for Julius Caesar is
little company In itself.
These are not all his workmen- There is
the master Of transportation, who Is really
the baggage man. and as such is RESPONSE
BILE for the 100 or so trunks which go into
the theater ana an equal number which are
their hotels. Manshelds chef and the por.
ter on his private car. They. enjoy brief
spells Of work and long stretches Of yaea, ,,,a.
on his car when actually travelling. His
valet, who is with him TO attend to his con-
Mansfield is a keen Judge of workmen and
servants. He cannot tolerate dullard.
But let man prove himself efficient and
he may consider himself pensioned.
have been with him for thirteen Years Years wiz
All of them have been there several or
many years, except Just one man. the ar
n.orer, who came into servica especially for
the Roman arrnors in Julius Caesar"
Many are the courteses shown back and
forth between Mansfield and his
He proudly shows several handsome
pieces If silver in his home which bear the
the impressive part is that the same names
appear on nearly every piece.
nearly every man remembers jolly Christ
mas dinners or has a souvenir OF his dis
tinguished employer.
Several of them remember other and more
touching kindnesses such salaries paid
during sickness, receipted hospital bills and
doctor bills.
The work OF loading the special train is
begun when the last curtain fells on the
last performance in a city. There is no
rest for the workmen until the train starts
of, often as late dawn.
At such times. though Mansfield has gone
to his stateroom and Is asleep, he has
thought of his men,.
They find that the chef has made ready an
ot,rnd liant I'm nf EQn lvxf
fee in the dining-room of the private car. ,
While the rehearsals of Julius Caesar
were in progress Mansfield one day found
work so urgent that he kept. the whole
company past the monday meal hour.
There was some eyeing and wondering
among the big crowds of principals. stage
hands, musicians and supers, but presently
q wagon arrived from ar adjacent caterers
with sandwiches and other substantial re-
freshments.
:. BY consideration and appreciation, though
not always demonstraaye % appreciation. @ and ana
q willing faithful and efficient corps OF