The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-09-08
JAPANESE ACTORS
And PLAY HOUSES
1t Costs a Neat Sum to Be In
troduced to a Jap
Star.
THERE ARE NO ACTRESSES
Theater Goers Check Their Shoes In.
stead of Their Coats-Perform-
ance Frequently Lasts for
Many Hours.

Many Hours.
To the American the Japanese thea
ter is a show in more ways than one.
Instead OF checking his overcoat or
umbrella the patron leaves his shoes in
the foyer. In one way he gets more
for his money than in the United
States, because the play begins in the
morning and lasts until 10 or II o'clock
at night. The interior of the playhouse
is lined with refreshments stands and
restaurants. so that all kinds of food
and drinks are served to the audience
In their seats. The ncighborhood
abounds in teahousas and the easiest
way to arrange n theatcr party is to
| give an adTance order to the proprietor
OF one OF these places. Like the spec
ulators in America the t%cahouse people
control the choicest seats, which enable
them to handle a large volume of the
business. They arrange all details.
even to having their attendants enter
the theater and wait upon their pat
rOnS.
There are no chairs, so the spectators
in the main portion of the building
squat upon mats. The gallery gods
stand up and peer through rows Of
horizontal bars. AS the mob in the
peanut heaven" presses against the
wooden stats that divide them from the
more select patrons. it reminds one OF a
lot of convicts herded together in a big
cell. The admission to this pen is only
Il few coppers. hardly enough, it would
seem, to pay for Keeping it clean. When
the performance begins the manage
ment takes no chances on the audience
missing anything. AS each performer
makes his entrance the drum beats to
call attention to his arrival, and his
exit being noted in the same way. Old
men sit near the footlights to chant an
explanation Of the proceedings as they
progress. The stage hands take plenty
OF time to arrange the properties in full
view Of the audience. and every small
boy in the house delegates himself a
committee of one TO SO back of the
curtain al intervals to see that every
thing is being conducted properly.
No Actresses in Japan.
The japanese stage loses it's attrac-
ton for the American man when he
finds that no women evcr take part in
the performance. The female char
acters are represented by men with
suueaky voices and their impersona-
ton of the fair sex is a sorry burlesque.
All the actors are stiff as pokers. II
one of them should stump his toe he
would break 1t in two, The high, un-
natural tone they assume sounds like
shon, 1y,,a, :, nf ,b.,, l,s tn ah,
d long speech in this strained falsetto
he gets so red in the face from the
effort that he seems ready to burst a
blood vessel.
f,,nt !, hls ., frat ins,n,d az ,,i.;,n a.
iowerinp rurt.ins asin our nl,v,nmsas
the whole thing revolves.
While one scene Is toward the audi
ence another Is being arranged in the
~ ~. r,ana,. ,,nn,ort cno,ia. f,1rnisa
tba n,,t,vo no,y,,. 70 tu,n ~ As ora
SCENE %disa nnn,rs with ,n,,rh shakinv
and sonaal,ir. ,s sicnassnr ro,naa into
,;au. tho nn,e,. ~ ,,a n,rLiIa t,ndinn ~
their nlaras as rirjd as statues
~ the coolies SO foo ,nIIch effort and
chez ~. rin,fnr,, harn,I ~ 80
nnsnt 10 nnrr, ,,arrn,,nnr. ina,n aDh ~
1n,,ch axnostnist mo ami rastIr,iotina
n'hniah - ,n. 1871, al - ~ n1u"
:. ~ -r,nt - pi's'
Neeo's I"ss "'oos" Noo'ence.
Those taking part IN the performance
frequently make their entrances and
exits from the front OF the building
tate this arrangement there are elevated
Walk-ways level win the stage (sim-
I liar to those which our magicians
| sometimes use to get nearer their audi
; ence) which extend TO the foyer. 1t is
only recently that a eguth system OF
. vogue. Formerly Il cowled super how
cred around the actor holding a torch
near his face so that the fine play Of
{ emotion in his features would not be
} overlooked. This super had to know
: his cues perfectly or there was a pros
pect of setting fire to the false whiekers
: OF the star. 1t is an unWritten law Of
> starting such a c~on1lagrat1on shal end
i q tiul@ssioLa .n,evi III ne Spot.
n of rrvenna nnknown RI An,aricsn" N
@ orc WIZ tna snectato,s hano,,, ~
cit.d tbay th,ou. hats baIts ,;n,, ana
i ever thai, coats On ths si,rn This
0 dos not ,naan tSat tba ne,fnr,,,a,. is TO
e keon these articles as so,,vanirs ~
They are . nledre Of ann,anisii,n Of
q . far I,ore s,,hctanti,I chn,,c,n, nv
: valet of the celebrity soon annnar &c and
r returns each @articla tn lie nwnar COL
: lectinr them In lien tharanf :. c,sb
: sum named hy The star Eo, ex,rnnla
IL Dnnnjre tl,e josenh Jeff.rson of Innnn
IL