Los Angeles herald., 1905-03-05
ENDLESS WORK IN
STAGING PLAYS
GEORGE BARNUM RELATES
TRIALS OF PROFESSION
Countless Details Overlooked II Cor
rect, but Create a Bad impress
sion If Not True in Every
Particular

VVhou dI iTuiH dily SlaHuPviAt
whether as manager, actor or simply
gsnial man of the world-George Bar
mum is certainly one Of the most in
tsresting figures in the theatrical world
- Los Angeles, and since the advent
ef the company, at which Mr.. Barnum
stands head. theatrical Los Angeles
has never been so worth while consid
ering. Mr.. Barnum himself would be
the last person to admit this when
one speaks of his work he points to
his company and his management and
tries to slide inconspicuously into the
background.
But with a past of fine artistic ac-
complshment that will rise up against
him, not to mention his work in Los
Angeles, that ranks well with the best
that has been seen here, it Is impos-
sibe for him to hide his light quite as
completely as he wishes. In these days
of over-advertising in theatrical way,
when every ten-penny actor longs to
rush with his past into print and praise.
It Is grateful to meet an artist of Mr..
Barnum's type-one who is working
for his art for arts sake, without
Interior motives.
Once away from the distasteful sub
ject of his personal accomplishment
Mr.. Barnum talks easily and charm
ingly about his work and those who
are making this work possible but he
leaves himself out of this account with
the most battling urbanity.
Labor Is Endless
About the endless labor as to detail
in mounting the plays that each week
hundreds in Los Angeles wait for, he
went into some detail. THE labor is
what the amused but nevertheless crit
ical spectator gives hardly thought
to- the endless study that mounting A
play means. Two weeks beforehand
these plays come into my hands, clean
copies, devoid of stage detail directors
or description, and to the last item
before the company ever sees them l
have to work out every detail as 10
stage setting, costume and position,
know where every actor stands at
every stage of that play, map out every
movement he makes. Then there is
the attention to historical detail, de-
tails that escape the spectator VIII On
they are correct but glaringly spoil
the best scenes when they are incor-
rect, the kind of forethought that
makes one hunt through the town for
a framed shell-piece' of the 1880 period
rather than put colored print or an
etching on the walls of Rosamond's
cottage. A Sowing of the Wind audi
ence would have laughed at a modern
piece of art on the walls; yet l doubt
whether many of them noticed that the
details of that room were correct; they
simply feel that it is right; it does not
seem a thing that obtrudes for COM
ment or praise. 1t is only when the
details are botched that the audience
laughs and the papers point out an
achronisms.
Must Have Cooperation
But 1 myself would be quite power
less in these questions of detail in
taste-details that mean an enormous
but an atmosphere l owe everything
/ have been able to do at Belasco TO
an unusual management, unusual in
its generosity, and to an unusual me-
chanical staff. a staff willing to work
days for some evanescent effect 1 am
trying for.
Just let me illustrate what 1 mean
by generosity. Last week there was
not a paper in Los Angeles that did
not praise loudly the foliage and night
air effect of the second act of Judah;
the enormous labor and expense con-
nected with the effects go without say
ing. My bill for ivy alone comes to
$50 or $40, and the trees and shrubbery
will bring 1t close to $50 or $9O An
other time-you remember the rose
garden in Lady of Quality? Well,
in that scene we used 5000 rose blos-
SONS. And in planning these effects
do not have to do any cheese pairing,
wretchedly doubling every moment
whether 1 ought to buy this or that.
The point that the management is
anxious about is the effect produced
on the audience. 1t is joy to work
for people who think of the artistic
effect before inquiring how it was
managed.
Stage Environment Vital
And let me tell you that there is.
nothing that counts for more. with
an actor than his stage environment;
an environment that is correct and
beautiful as we'll compels unCon-
sciously temperament from the actors.
That may be the reason why the
women and men of this company are
so easy TO work with. | have worked
with actors all my life. but never with
so great a number of intultlvely intelli-
gent men and women. It is an unusual
management and an unusual company
that you are TO thank for all that our
theater gives you. Just how unusual
this company is you will probably