The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-10-16

to do with the present state of art on
the stage as any other aus 1--WE
can afford to bear small ills for thN
sake of great benefits" and forgive lit
tie annoyances for the sake of some
pleasure in our art. M mage
however, alone have it in their power
to make h stage a home Of true art
One writer asserts that about the
year 1910, mechanical effects were
used In religious plays. An earth
quake was one of the most taking eff
fects. Maritime scenes, with full rig
ged ships, were Used in France (Paris)
about 100. Traps have been used for
years in fairy spectacles. The ingenu-
ity, skill and dexterity involved in
stage tricks in general are wonderful.
In the secret regions, in stage par
lance, the word trick has a wide
meaning, ranging from the simple
property trick" to the ~ponderous me-
chanical manipulation of the trans
formation scene in a fairy's spectacle.
Under the touch Of the fairy wand
by that mysterious agency allied with
the region behind the footlights, gorg-
eOus plants bloom and golden flowers
burst into life. Without a knowledge
Of the afore planned tricks the scenic
painter is really handicapped.
Clear judgment is required to secure
these effects in laying out a scene plot
ChLSC1 q IlldlldSCl IdS dCCSplSu anu
decided to produce a play. AS a rule
the scenic painter needs a copy of the
play or opera, or a description Of the
scenes furnished by the author. In
such a lay out there is a detailed
write-up of the action as to where a
character enters through a door Or
jumps over a cliff. These points are
Gated the practical notes. the
artists making. a ra".'ul study of the
play and noting all the important
points, action and locality, period, time
of day. etc. If possible the studies
ale made on the ground, and should
the scene be laid in the present time
and in a place easily accessible. to the
artist, ne obtains photos and makes
studies and sketches. If no particular
locality has been indicated, he IN
vents, answering the requirements
with the material from imagination,
considering how he can arrange for a
stage picture to fit the action Of the
play. The first thing he does is to
make a ground plan Of such act and
the separate scenes, a diagram on a
a of, perhaps, one-half inch to the
loot. These differ from a scene plot
as n first Is the actual layout to q.
certain scale or proposition. While
the latter is a description Of the
scenery only in detail as to entrances,
period, business, etc.
From the statistics, photographs
ground plans the artist draws the
different parts Of his scene on card
board, corresponding in scale to his
stage plan. finishing his models In
water color, pastel, charcoal or simply
In pencil. When the different parts
OF the model are ready and cut out,
they are fitted and glued together up
on the lines of the ground plan upon
the stage in miniature, front of which
Is modelled in shape like the pros
cenlum opening of a theatre. (The
model is a reduced copy of the stage
setting.) Some models have the diff
terent characters in costume, so that
one realizes the relative proportion in
color and composition. a " sE
The scene model exhibit at the Paris
exposition was one of the features of
the fair, being a picture history of
the theatre in France for 100 years.
The creation lof the scene in the model
Is n of the most interesting Of the
many processes that constitute the
scene painters art. The uninitiated
in the theatrical world would be sur
pr1sed to see the odds and ends used.
IN the makeup of a model with glue.
pieces of coal, clay and plaster Of