The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-11-23
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. Director.
washington, ID. @.
BEHIND THE VAUDEVILLE SCENE

the spotlight is rarely focused on the
hidden side of vaudeville.
The vaudeville player differs from
the actor in a three-act play in that
he hos no manager travelling with his
production to take care of trunks,
scenery, and music. Nearly every
week he plays on different stage,
with different furniture about him,
and a different orchestra in front, and
if anything goes wrong with his act,
he is responsible.
If you watch the stage entrance to
vaudeville house any Monday morn
ing, you will see the actors for the
week going into rehearsal. About
nine o'clock they begin to drift in, and
wander about the stage, consulting the
property man and the electrician, To-
eating dressing rooms, renewing &C
auaintanees with other players who
happen to be on the bill that week
The electrician goes about 1otting
down on chart which ones want a
spotlight, or colored lights, or any
other special effect. Carpenters and
stage hands begin rolling down drops
painted like forests and city streets
from the dim upper regions.
The property man has received in
advance from each set of actors aSplan
of the scene showing what properties
will be needed. If a bust of George
Washington, a red bandana handker-
chief, or a special curtain is used in
an act, the actors carry it with them
But ordinary furniture and settings are
supplied blythe theater.
The plan which the property man
holds, perhaps, calls for Studio, full
stage. Two telephones, telephone ben,
three gold chairs, piano lamp, curtains
at window" The property man says
these are ordinary pieces of stage fur
niture and can all be got out of the
property room Just off the stage where
live" props-those often used-are
kept. =
A Hard Setting.
The plan for the next act, however.
calls fer a colonial kitchen.
Hardest kind of a set to set to-
gether," remarks the property man.
Have to go up to the store ROOM"
An elevator shoots us up to the fifth
floor of the theater to room stocked
like well-equipped old attic or sec
ond-hand furniture store. He digs
out a spinning wheel from under
pile of wicker porch chairs, and
kettle is discovered back of a throne
chair, all red velvet and gilt paint.
81 made that throne" says the prop
erty man. "Took the legs of an old
square piano for the legs, and the
pedals for the arms. I made this
grandfather's clock, too" and he
points to a tall wooden, cardboard
certainly deceive anyone.
1--WE got to get the rain apparatus
while I'm up here" he mumbles from
the depths of q heap of chairs and
tables. Here it is. You see it's a
round wooden pan with a handful of
shot in it. When you rattle it around,
it sounds just like rain. For surf we
use this wire netting box with oyster
shells inside You rock it steadily
back and forth to get the effect of the
roll of the waves. We bang a bass
drum for thunder, and drop this
crash off-stage. To get the effect of
approaching horses hoofs. we beat two
cOcoanut shells-on carpet for turf,
or on a piece of concrete for street.
Ever see stage books? We take a
round piece of wood like a broom
to look like the back of a book. The
halves are glued to the shelves of a
bookcase. Most of our props, are
bought, tho.r
Rehearsal.
When we descend, the stage looks
and sounds more chaotic than ever, for
rehearsal with the orchestra has just
begun. A rowboat is being put to-
gether by a stage hand under the
direction of an actor who has brought
1T in sections to use in his scene. Be
hind this bit of carpentry, the stage is
weirdly dressed in drop cugtain rep
resenting a long vista of a ballroom,
with garden files belonging to diff
ferent act on each side, and pieces of
lowered silk curtain are being put
together and hung from a pole in front
of the forest
Down at the front of the stage n
dancer hands the orchestra a set of
books with his music inside.
"Open with the introduction twice.
at strict tempo" he says Then. off
suddenly, and when I hold out nv
hand to the girl, swing into Love
Me'''
The orchestra leader mods. and the
introduction is played, while the young
dancer jerks his head and his foot to
show the time he wants.
Thats it. Now for the next num-
per, 1 want the drums strong at the
end" So he goes thru the act point
ing out the irregularities in the score
ana the cues and insisting on the time
being just so. Only the difficult parts
are played, for there is not time to
rehease everything.
The next number is an eIaborate
production with a large cast and a
great deal of music. 1t has brought
along Its own orchestra leader, SO the
| Iesuiar director sits down in the front
row OF the orchestra chairs to rest.
a. . nervous about
their music" he explains. referring to
the vanishing dancer and his girl
partner. The least variation from
the proper time may throw them ont
OF STEP or spoil the effect of a finale.
The Fire Menace.
There's the inspector from the fire
ment"-pointing to a man in
nlue uniform who is carefully irving
TO set fire to some blue and silver
curtains He comes in every Mopdav
to see that the curtains, paper flowers
and other decorations brought by the
actors are fireproofed
The big drop curtain in this
theater is steel asbestos, nine inches
thick. 1t weighs IA tons. and when
II s down you can hardly hear the or
chestra behind the scenes 1t would
take an hour to burn thru it, Remem-
Der that old theater fire in Washing
ton, when not piece of the asbestos
curtain, that was supposed to be fire
prood, could be found in the wreck ?''
When the rehearsal is over, and we
go back on the stage, it is set for the
first act of the afternoon performance.
In, > he xx~sv, i,