The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-11-28

Stage effectS-SnoWStorrnS, morse
races, railroad wrecks, earthquakes,
and SO forth, are the vital part of
many theatrical productions. Nu-
merous stage effects are an entire
mystery to thousands who see them
and who have no practical idea how
the results are obtained.
A man whose ingenuity has made
possible many of the most spectacular
effects of the stage is Lincoln j. Car
ter, who disclosed some Of his secrets
in an, interview for The New York
Times the other day.
II have been interested in theatrical
effects since early boyhood," said Mr..
Carter. "Few men have given the
time and study to such matters which
/ have. There are plenty of stage car
penters and inventors, but l attribute
what success / have had to ability in
those lines combined with the knack
Of conceiving an idea, developing the
effect and then writing a play around
it.
ct wrote my first play, The Fast
Mail twenty years ago 1t was Wha
is popularity called a sensational melo-
drama. Scenic novelties were rare at
that time.
1.-THE real spectacular scene Of this
performance was a train of cars which
passed across the stage at h rate of
about thirty miles an hour. The way
this had been accomplished prior to
that time was a very crude one. Sep
arate cars were constructed Of light
materials. and mounted upon trucks.
The engine was built in the same
manner. All were then fastened to-
gether and a rope attached. At a
given signal the stage carpenters
caught hold of the end of the rope and
ran across the stage into the side
wings, drawing the cars after them.
The train could go only as rapidly as
these men could run. There were Oft
en- tangles and tie-ups-even wrecks
not included in the price Of admission.
1.-THE means I employed to show the
train was quite different and has been
used ever since. The people little
dreamed as they watched he rapidly
moving engine with it's accompanying
line of coaches and listened to it thun-
der into the distance, that what had
just caused their breath to come ana
go more rapidly was in reality mainly
a strip Of canvas nine feet high and
about 800 feet in length. The real
train was cleverly painted upon the
canvas which was then attached to a
wire cable stretched taut across the
front Of the stage by a pulley n cord
fastened to it's upper side at intervals
of six or eight feet. The cord was at
tached to q large fly-wheel back of the
scenes to which were fastened two
cranks. A couple Of stage hands were
ready to turn the cranks at the proper.
moment.
Simple When Explained.
"The sparks and smoke were made
by the use Of What Is called a smoke
and spark pot attached to the chimney
of the engine n had about, the same
con Instruction "a q Roman cdlutS.
The headlight was a magnesium light
attached to the canvas. The grinding
of the brakes, the clang of the shell,
and the rumble of the wheels which
caused those Of a nervous tempera-
ment to start suddenly was anything
but a real train. Large iron drums
we're beaten to produce the sounds de-
sired, and with a piece Of tubing hit
with a mallet served nicely for a bell.
Up to the present time, no one has
come forward with a better idea.
"My next attempt at scenic produc-
ton included a view of Niagara Falls
from the suspension bridge. That was
the first time the, falls had ever been
shown on the stage to my knowledge.
The mist which rose from this n or
the worlds wonders was not caused by
the churning of angry waters, but to
the leaking of steam from a perforated
pipe. The clouds which passed slowly
T. over the scene were made of a thin
transparent silk, painted to represent
the real thing. The panoramic effect
was magniied by a S~tereoptlcon Ian
tern placed at the front Of the theatre.
1.-The silken clouds were drawn slowly
across the stage by the aid of pulleys.
The water effect was produced by the
use Of a shiny green oilcloth, upon
which lights were thrown. This is
the method of showing water upon the
stage most used today, and let me tell
you that if a. man entered h theatre
, after a long journey without water it
would be hard to convince him that
he was not looking at the genuine ar
ticle.
"In this performance I showed a
freight train for the first time. The
engine was brought to. a dead stop up.
on the stage. The engineer climbed
out and oiled it. After he again
mounted to the cab the freight con-
tinued upon its journey just as the
curtain fell. This train was a much
more elaborate affair than the Fast
Mail. The sounds which accompanied
its motion were produced in the same
way. 1t was drawn across the track
in the same manner, but was of en-
tirely different construction.
"a large frame was first built OF
! wood, then the engine was formed by
the use of rush iron. The cars were
again painted upon canvas. The
wheels of the engine were arranged
to allow them to revolve so as to con-
vey the impression that they moved as
do those Of a real engine. This was
accomplished by using pulleys and
sprocket wheels attached to cords fas-
tened to the side wall, so that when
the fly wheel was turned 1t caused the
~S&heels to revolve with a speed in pro-
portion to that of the engine. The
brakeman was in evidence on top and
waved a lantern to and fro. Wasn't