The Washington herald., 1909-02-28
TRIALS OF THE SUPER

action Of the drama and furnish cues for
the movements CT the mob.
Only about half the supers were to go
on IN the first act, and all they had 10
do was-the lords and ladies 10 bow and
courtesy on the entrance Of the Duke
OF ChamplgaCn. and walk around carry
ing on dumb show OF conversation.
while the starving peasants were 10 be
brought IN by the ROyalist soldiers. and
IN this instance graciously pardOned and
allowed 10 get out in a hurry before the
duke could change his mind
Hardupp was only a l0oker-on AT this
part Of the rehearsal He felt elated at
the prospect Of such easy money"
The third act was the next one TO be
Tehearsed- II required the presence on
the stage Of the entire aggregation Of
supers.
Now. gentlemen and ladies'" said MI
Bluff, this scene IS laid in the public
square OF the city OF Nancy Il IS the
tiue OF the Reign Of Terror. You are the
pecple-you are on top You have been
cutting OF heads and otherwise killing
the hated aTistOCrsts until you are
crazed with a thirst for blood You are
Of wild Oeasts-agaIn, when popular lead
ers appear you rend the air With enthu-
siastic cheers. IN short. you are sup
posed 10 be capricious. fckle suspicious.
I want you 10 act Hear me, You
must Timber up. bend your bodies. ges-
ticulste, throw yourselves around with
the greatest abandon. Remember, this
mustn't be any English or American
crowd. bur a mob Of brutslized. madden
ed French peasants Of the eighteenth
century"
At the beginning Of this act you are
raging around looking for certain parties
! 10 kill. You are to rush on the stage
with a savage roar OF execration," and
the stage manager gave further direc-
tiOns as 70 positions. business. &C
a bas les aristocratsr' shouted Bluff.
This was the cue and the mob advanced
rather timidly with groans, and a yell
here and there.
stop. Get back cried the manager
This won't do az all How are you TO
impress an audience with the idea Of fe-
rocity, baaing Ike sheep. Wen try it
again.
Eyes front, Look at me. not al each
&
the front Of the stage ali the time.
Now then. In the play advance thus
down the middle OF the square, mounting
a platform erected for the guiIlotine. I
announce the death in Paris Of various
enemies OF the people. 7 cry out Pascal
IS deadH 'Du Gueselin is dead 'Giebier
IS dead. JambOn is deadr 'Du Barry Is
dead" AS I pronounce each name you
must give a shout OF triumph. and when
I come 10 the hated name OF Du Barry,
the bette nOir Of the people. you raise
a tremendous roar OF exultation.~
AS Mr.. Bluff uttered each name the
entire assembly gave vent 70 a lusty
cheer. Hardupp had a cold. but he did
his best and strained his vocal chords
At the windup OF the scene the boys
certainly seemed TO let loose with great
vigoT, but they didn't make enough noise
10 satisfy the manager. Said he. You We
got 70 do better than that tonight
You've got to shout like thousands, wave
your arms above your heads. get together
and display genuine enthusiasm. No cow
boy yells will 20, either. Remember, YOU
are Frenchmen Of the eighteenth cen
tury, not a crowd OF Americans on the
bIeachers
So the rehearsal proceeded, the ener-
getic Bluff compelling the unfortunates
under his temporary charge TO shout in
various ways. to advance slowly or rush
on, as occasion required, to dance the
Carmsgnole. &C.
After two hours Of this sort Of thing
the ordeal came 20 an end.
Before dismissing the crowd. Mr.. Bluff
announced that this was only q pre-
lininary rehearsal There would be a
regular rehearsal at 2. m. in which
/ the real actors would participate You'll
be paid for the afternoon rehearsal" said
he. Your compensation for the week
vii; be as; six nights, one matinee, snd
rehearsal Is this satisfactory
A subdued murnur arose. but Hardupp
didn't stop TO hear anything further. He
thought he'd beat II while his shoes were
good. He needed the money. but his
voics was worth more than S3-25 20 him
There were others, however. in sufficient
numbers 70 carry the show through the
week with some degree Of success. In a
play OF this kind a great deal OF the ef-
feet depends upon the mob scenes, and
consequently upon the supers. II re-
quires certain amount Of intelligence TO
follow a~lot Of stage directions. and &
good deal Of docility TO submit to the sar-
casm OF the stage manager, and all for
the sum Of S5-25 per