Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-22
THEVALUE OF SCENERY
1T CONTRIBUTES MUCH TO A
PLAYS SUCCESS.
Big Sums Are Spent on These Features
How the Artist Goes About
His Work.
From the New York Evening Post.


scene painting-and 1t goes back to the
shadowy days of the Mosques when priv
higed spectators sat on the stage at the feet
Oh the actors-there has been q strong de-
sire among playgoers to penetrate the mys-
leries or stagecraft. In view OF this fact
the conspicuous absence from tones of the
past OF any book treating exclusively of
scenic painting or the secrets of the mech
anism that property masters and stage car
penters delight in, is surprising And vet
'heir story, IL they would tell 1t. would fill
volume so rich and varied in all sorts of
wisdom, that the grave and the CAV. ths
lively and the severe, would find untold
measures of instruction and entertainment
in its pages.
FIFTY feet above the stage on which the
Naikure nlaidens chanted thier wild noun
tain call TO an audience during the las.
wagner festival in New York, swings the
narrow boardwalk on which one of the best
scene painters of America spends ca RI day
ana an occasional night creating the set
tlngs that will be seen in the productions OF
the new season. To this lofty pedestal the
laynan must follow him who would appre-
ciate the DID, and yet distinctly new art of
scene painting, and unravel the illusions
that irradiate stage setting with suplisht
Stariight, moonbeams, snowfiakes or forked
lightning.
Wrought in Water Color.
FOR the scenic master is monarch OF all
ne surveys when he climbs to his throne
near the roof Of the house and looks down
on the three wizard worlds below, ruled.
respectively, by the stage carpenter th>
property master and the electrician Rack
OF MIN Is the massive stretch of canvas on
Whlch ne uses his myriad brushes when he
turns 10 race his work. II is lowered or
raised by heavy ropes so that he can re
main stationary while he paints the door
KNOBS and the cupola of palace Beside
MN is his palette"-A long table bordered
Win sixty dishes fun OF sixty different COL
ors In paints, and decorated In the middle
with brushes OF every length and width
from the wide implement for covering ba ok
grounds to the tiny brushes of filigree pos
sibilities P''
No oils or grease are In evidence Thev
are excluded by law. Their cornbustibIs
nature makes them dangerous in a tbeatar
and every piece of scenery that Is used in
the most elaborate Broadway production
must be wrought in water color Occasion
ally one-nght-stand company touring the
remote south or west tumbles over a few
shaoby oil-painted canvases that have
eluded the law or been ignored by it. But
they never are seen in a New York play
house.
Happy is the painter il his picture calls
for his favorfte colors There are soma
hues that fatigue the worker quickly and
others that delight and constantly refresh
him. Red irrttates some artists; and strong
biues and greens are avoided by all through
force of habit. They do not wear well M
der artificial light. Some of the scenic ar
lists paint all of their canvases in the glow
of electric light, but others prefer the day-
lght when 1t Is possible. The work that
is done by day always looks well at night.
But the harmonies blended in electric light
may appear discordant when noontide falls
upon them.
No Clash in Colors.
Before he chooses his color scheme the
artist considers the tones of the gowna
that the star or leading woman viii wear
In the play. and he guards against any
possible clashing. One man had the ex.
perience OF seeing a first night PERFORM
ance Of production that he had painfe,i
utterly marred-for him at least-because
the heroine for whom he had prepared q
superb yefloW atmosphere. unexpectedly
came forth In vivid peagreen gown.
Perspective may be quite as disastrous a
reef between player and painter as cos
tune. A lighthouse stood in the misty dis
lance in another of this same mans stage
settings one OF the chorus boys wandered
away from his position in the picture and
aimlessly reached the lighthouse up-stage.
Assuming languid pose, he rested his
arm upon the top of the structure and
stood there. helplessly unconscious of his
crime. The artists only protection against
such laundering nomads is the building OF
substantial obstacles around distant" re-
gions in the scene, so that no player can
approach them.
Another of the painters difficulties Is tbe
planning of his model so that it may ap-
peal to the eye of spectators in extremely
opposite sections of the house. His work
must be criticised by the gallery gods and
the box parties on both sides of the house
at the same time. If he pleases all he does
only what he is expected to do, and his
name may not be noticed on the program.
II he offend any his scene is a failure al
though from some vantage points 1t may
be apparently perfect in form and color
Changes in Properties.
LIGHTS
ed influence in Transforming it, and so the
artist often relies upon this department OF
stage craft to perfect the Illusions that his
brush suggests. He knows as much about
the mechanism of fire light, snowdrops and
thunder as the practical stage carpenter or
property man.
Snowfiakes are not always salt or paper
They have moved from their old-fashioned
ways into magical circle and are little
white spots on dark disks. which revolve
SO madly by electricity that the effect Of
blizzard Is produced In moment at any
place decreed by the scenic astronomer.
Forked lightning no longer requires zlgzag
rents In canvas, back of which vivid light
periodically is flashed. 1t Is produced by
stereopticon play. There is no sheet light
ning-literally speaking. But there is
thunder sheet and a thunder chute. The
tin thunder sheet is antiquated. The chute
is perilously modern. Yet no one ever has
fallen from its open mouth. This cavity
yawns directly under the roof and a prop
erty man must make the ascent to drop the
cannon ball into the long wooden tube The
chute runs in angular course around the
stage, and is provided inside with valves of
iron, against which the cannon pals fall
when the storm is violent and sharp re-
ports of thunder are needed.
An Inventor and Mechanic.
The scene painter today must be almost
as great inventor and mechanic as he
is an archeologist, architect, illustrator and
painter. He first receives the manuscript
Of the play and absorbs its contents in one
swift glance. He sketches on paper his
idea of the scene, points and mounts each
piece in the set miniature stage. The
result is the model" which he submits to
the stage manager for suggestion or ap-
prevail. In this small trial picture no detail
Is omitted. In a meadow scene tiny wood
en- cattle were introduced to simulate real
ism. And the great artist often pauses IN
his painting to build diminutive bench
with a block of wood and four nails or
lacks to serve for legs.
The good that scenic painters DO seldom
lives long after them. And their actual in
come from the fabulous sums that man
ayers spend every year in productions Is
less than favorite leading man" receives.
The money placed at their disposal is I'M
limited in planning production, but their
own compensation is seldom very great.