University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1913-04-04

} crowd OF manlklnS with a manlk1
: orchestra were playing before a mar
ikin audience. The show, audienc
and all, was put on for the amusemen
of a real audience of students and Co
lumbians.
A manikin clown danced out upo
the stage and performed wonderful
feats. The people in the boxes on tn
left applauded. The old man in tn,
lower right hand box consulted hi
bottle of Refreshments" He was to
tally Indifferent to the show until tn,
beautiful doll" made her appearance
The applause engendered by this fail
performer made necessary a prolong
ed draught of stimulants But the re.
freshments proved his undoing, for by
the time the devil made his advent
the old mans nerves were in such
condition that he began to see things
and he disappeared from the box with
Mortified squawk.
There were forty in the company.
including the orchestra and the audi
ence-quite large number for a sin
gle vaudeville act in a 1O-cent show
but papier-mache manikins do not
cost much and they do not eat any
thing. They are not particular abou,
their lodging. either. for they hang on
a rack all the while they are not per-
forming. Then, too, brains are what
command high prices in the show
business. and so forty manikins are no
more expensive than one on that ac-
count.
Where the Brains Are.
But there must be some brains
somewhere around if show is any
good. The man who does the thinking
for the mariOnette company was
smoking Scotch calibash pipe with a
very large crook and a big bowl. 1t
was a good pipe with a thick crust
and it seemed to help him think.
Yes" he said, taking a soulful draw
at his Jimmy" Il have been in the
show business since l was a kid. l
have been in circuses. side shows and
gardens. l had a ventrilo- I,
luist act before l took this one. We
have been on the road with this act |
six years and in that time We have
been in nearly every state in the
Union and in Canada.
This is a unique show for a vaude-
Vile act. 1t originated in England
and was introduced here by a man
named Till, who Travelled with Bar
lum. Till was a good friend of mine
md it was from him that l got my
deas of a marionette show. l used
o watch him for hours at a time
when l was kid. / have improved
IN the show quite bit, though. This
dea of the orchestra and the audi
nee is original with me- l have made
lot of improvements in my scenery
nd equipment since l started out. l
ave rebuilt that frame about four
ines to get away from excess bag
age
Il made my figures from papier- !,
lache instead of wood They are Just
S serviceable and lot lighter. An
,nglishman came here and copied this y.
ct. He did not have half the stuff !,
have, but he had about twice the
'eight. He went broke and now is :
'orking for somebody else.
Keeps His Wits Busy.
You see there is not much manual
lbOr about a show of this kind, but Z;
ou've got to know your business. 1t
eeps me busy thinking new features =,
nd improvements. Uf course it is
mechanical show and does not take
great deal of work once it is thought
ut. I've got to keep my head work.
lg to keep the show from getting
ale. l am always on the lookout for
nprovements in equipment, for ev-
y bit of excess baggage l carry
eans just that much money thrown
way.
Here, Lena" he said as he climbed
the bridge from which the mani
ms were operated, "see what is the
after there" One OF the chorus
rls had her feet tangled in the
rings to which the little clown owed
S life
Il could make a fortune with five
six of these acts" he continued
! he untangled strings and hung the
ayers in their respective places, If
could get somebody to run them,
1t it's no use trying. The work is
1t hard, but you've got to know what
ring to pull at the right time. There
a string for every movement and
u must learn to pull them in time
th the music. .
\ small bell clattered over by the
all.
rs that the last reel? All right.
n ready" The curtain behind the
ri ain roSa apd tho cbour ,.;.h;, :.