Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-04-09

seldom penetrated ny the vast
majority of The public, and it's
many provinces always appear
moIe or less attractive from the front
of the house" The scene painters. for ex-
ample are a most important part of the
production. On first night they share
the anxiety of the author, manager and
star.
Washington with her small array of
theaters, boasts of but two who con-
fine themselves exclusively TO the paint
ing of scenery. One of them is j. Lucian
Duffey, master of the brush for the lie
ultimate" houses, and George 7. Thomp-
son. who not only fills that position at
Chase's, but is also the stage mana ger.
Mr.. Thompson aptly expressed the place
held by the men of his profession. SO far
as the world at large is concerned, by
saying: "If a scene is well done they
practically never notice 1t, but if it is
badly executed they jump the painter"
To be any kind Of Landscape or por-
trait painter. one must he first of all
an artist in the fullest sense of the word.
In some cases that Is the major. portion
of the requirements. Not so with the
scene painter, however, for he must be Il
strange conglomeration. He must be
somewhat of an architect in order that
his houses may be plausible and his
bridges able to bear any required amount
of weight. He must be somewhat of a
hotanist, In order that his vegetation will
not give the lie to the locality in which he
is painting his scene. He must be some
hot Of ri in hot no
demand for any certain period will not
disconcert him. And last, but by no
means least. he must be an artist with
an Unborn sense of color and an instinct
for effects. In other words. he is a col
laborator with the author and actor. Tn
known to the majority Of the public, con-
siderable depends upon him.
Expressed III the yernacular. the work
of the scene painter has been termed as
being a "cknch," but in every case the
painter himself will deny the truth of
such a statement. Nor does his work be-
gin and end with the mere act of daubine
little spots of vari-colored paint on can
vas which at a distance looks like a
flower garden. II the scenery of an entire
production is to be painted by one man
the first step Is the reading % the man
uscrYpt over carefully. in order to obtain
"a clear idea of the plot and feeling of the
play.
4 second reading has 10 be made to get
the gist of the action. this being found in
the various small notes inserted by the
author. as for instance: Robert enters
door at l.. c., and, going over to r., gazes
out of window" From such facts as
these the scene painter learns where his
various exits and windows are to he
placed, and, I'm the case OF a musical
show, how many people will be required
to pass through the door at one time.
Trivial as that may seem. 1t is neverthe-
less an important factor. as door large
enough to admit "our hero may not be
of the required size to answer for: The
entire chorus rushe in from left
This point reached, the scene painter
starts in on his models. These are the
various parts which, go to make up the
regular stage setting. exact in every de-
tail. the only difference being that they
are doll size and executed on cardboard.
The result is a dolrs-size stage. When
this is complete 1t is shown to the man.
aver and author and, II satisfactory. the
scene painter has nothing left to do but
follow his model exactly. If. on the other
hand. the author simply tells the scene
nainter he wants an exterior showing a
tropicaI island, with a hut on one side
and the sea in the distance. the painter
&c left to his own devices. In a case OF
nf no rlynY