The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-11-10
Frederic Haskin's Letter
Behind the Vaudeville.

and sounds more chaotic thu, =.
for rehearsal with the orcks.s
has just begun. A rowbost =
ing put together by stare ~
under the direction of an Acfc,
has brought it In sections 70 =.
his scene. Behind this bif|os ~.
pentry, the stage is weirdly 49,.
In q drop curtain represents, :
long vista OF a ballroom. WIN u.
den "f1ies" belonging to a dis.s,ss.. -.
act on each side. and pieces a. IS.
cred silk curtain are beinr =
gether and hung from i po,s e
front of the forest.
Down at the front of the st,,.
dancer hands the orchestra a NJ !.
books with his music inside
open. with the introduction -.
at strict tempo" he says. en-.
OF suddenly, and when ho,S -
my hand to the girl, swing ~ n.
Love Me-"
/ The orchestra leader mods; ma
the introduction is played, NM, N.
the young dancer jerks his heaS - -
his foot to show the time he IA.
That's it. Now for the -.
number, l want the drums stross
at the end" So he goes throssss
the act. pointing out the irreeuls,i
ties in the score and the cues M
insisting on the time being inst !.
Only the difficult parts are plAvss
for there is not time to rehes,.s
everything.
The next plumber is an elahor,..
production with large cast INA
!, great deal of music. 1t has broush.
along it: own orchestra leader. q
the regular director sits down n
the front row of the orchestr,
chairs to rest.
I Dancers are always neryop,
about their music" he ekplains, 3.
iferring to the vanishing dancer mi
his girl partner. "The least yaria.
ton from the proper time ~,
! throw them out of step, or spoil Il.
effect of a finale. q
The Fire Menace. Va
, There's the inspector from n,
fire department"-pointing to ma
in blue uniform who is careful,
trying to set fire to some blue AZ
silver curtains. "He comes in =
cry Monday to see that the curtain,
paper flowers, and other decoration
brought by the actors are fire
: PROCEED.
. "The big drop curtain in this tbs
atre is steel asbestos, nine inche
/ thick. 1t weighs IA tons, and vhs
it's down you can hardly hear Ii
: orchestra behind the scenes.
/. would take an hour to burn throug
! 1t. Remember that old theatre fr
!. nm Washington, when not piece 4
4 the asbestos curtain, that was SUI
t posed to be fireproof, could be foun
in the wreck
Ell When the rehearsal is over an
I We go back on the stage, it is .,
!, for the first act of the afternoc
| performance. In the wings on eac
side is arranged a little dressin
: room with a cheval mirror and
Y chair, and a screen around it. Thel
:. will be a maid on hand during Il
performance to help with quiz
S changes that have to be made du
S ing an act.
s Men who have to make quiz
e changes sometimes wear sever
: pairs of specially constructed tro
e sers, which snap down both sid
|. like gloves. A swift jerk on cal
g side takes off the top pair in an i
u slant. When stockings have to
oil changed in a hurry it is cust0ma
e to put on as many pairs as will
r needed and peel off one at tin
# when the costume is altered. o.
h friend the property man says hs
= often called on for a hand vi
It troublesome hooks.
It Stage stories heard IA times
e week lose their power to ANU
and even new quips must be unus
e ally clever to win a smile from a
n of the stage staff. For that matt
h the comedian who bubbles with
(. over his own joke before the fo'
IS lights, usually assumes a serio
IS face and tone of voice the NONE
he reaches the wings. Produci
amusement of any kind is serio
IS business.