The St. Charles herald., 1921-12-17
Turn of Switch Transforms the
Scenery, Costumes and Fig
ures in London Theater.
WORKED OUT BY A RUSSIAN
NJ. Samoiloff Asserts He Is Merely
Utilizing Harmony Between IIsnt'
Line and CoIor-Principies
Are Not New.

London.-The wonders accomplished
in transforming scenes, costumes ana
actual figures from one period or MS
tory to another by mere change Oh
light on the stage of the Hlppodrome
has set all London talking. In revue
now playing there lis scene repre-
senting a very modern damsel signing
for her lover in d frowninS mountain
pass. She sings the echo answers ana
the audience is beguiled by the sweel
sentimentality of the situation.
Then behind the scenes somebody
does something and everything Is
altered in a flash. The grim noun
tains become a Hindu temple, the
frowning rocks melt into sands anu
palms and the tall, slender young
woman turns into stout Indian
maiden. 1t has all been brought about
by change in light, by the manipu'
latiOn of more than 100 dlftelent
switches at the same moment, ana tie
audience is carried back 5000 years
| and from one continent to another.
Every detail is transmogrified, and the
girl. who was clad conyentiOnally III
| a yellow artificial silk blouse with blue
| facings and u rust-red golf SKIRT, ap'
pears now with her bust draped III
white, embroidered in black and
brown, with her waist unclOthed anc
her trousers-skirt pale cream with 8
graceful figured pattern.
Back Goes Everything.
An Oriental scene follows. with TIT
customary dances. Men and womel
/ in all the finery of the East enter ant
weave in and out in the mazes of tn
ballet. The lover comes on, to all ap
nearances robed in the loose white gar
ments and the trousers of certai
castles of Hindus. The action grow
fast and furious; the heroine is threat
ened by a rival; She runs to the her
for protection, and as he clasps her t
his arms some one throws thOs
switches again.
Back goes everything to the mour
tain gorge, and very modern youn
man in brown lounge suit OF unel
ceptiOnable cut is seen embracing tn
young woman in the crowd of equall
modernly dressed people.
!. How is it done? Only Adrian
Samoiloff. the Russian artist who hf
worked the thing out, and the Mo:
Empires, who hold the patent, can te
in detail, but it is possible to give
general idea of this startling ne
stage effect. When NJ Sanioiiotf W;
asked about it, he said:
"It's merely "a matter OF estabiis
ing and utilizing a harmony bei.wet
! light, line alN color. Is 1t new! we
all the elements of it have been BET
known for years; have mere
brought them together and work.
them out scientifically and systema
I cally. Do you remember, for instant
u the postcards we had as chiidre
which showed one inscription in O
light and another in another? We
< that's part of it. Then during +
war he heard lot about dazzle Al
camouflage, and how few apparent
random lines of paint wopld alter
:. the distant observer the shape of t
8 outline of a vessel. That's part of
too. / have merely worked along the
and similar lines until l got the
= suits I wanted"
D, Light Changes Costume.
E "But the girls skirt and blouse
the mountain scene seemed to be
solid color and heavy material, VIII
le I'm the Hindu scene they were gu