The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-01-03
In New York
BY PAUL HARRISON

AtSW 4 OAH people have taken most of the fun and ingenuity out of the business of making off-stage noises. Seldom any more does prowler behind the sets come upon Q stage-hand industriously rolling lead shot on a drum head to make the sound ol rain, or chuff- -chufflng sandpapel and banging a bell to let the au- dience know that old No is leav- ing the station. wooden blocks no longer need be clapped together when the hero Is supposed to be galloping home from the hunt. Nor do supers have to be hired to so into a huddle behind the sets and make 8 noise like an approaching mob. All a property man has to do these days is call up one of the big phono- graph companies and order few records. Trains, crowds, street traffic. storms, battles, airplanes birds, happy children, carousels- these and practically every other sound which possibly can become incidental to the action of a play have been recorded. All that's necessary is to await the cue and start the photograph.
 Noises in the Wings
 Some off-stage noises, though, must be so accurately timed that they still are produced by old fashioned contraptions. In "The World Waits", a melodrama con- corning an antarctic expedition, 1t was necessary to have an airplane crash at just the right instant. Sc the stage director balanced bun- dle of thin boxwood, together with a few iron bars, on a stepladder As this was tipped over some ot the stagehands crumped big sheets of cellophaIie, and the re- suit was gratifying realistic . Anther show. Flight Bells'', re. quired the creaking of rigging aboard sailing ship. No records of such a sound were available, Sc door which was swung back and forth.
 Off-stage pistol shots usually are genuine, but there was one short-lived thriller of last seasor which even tried to fake that sound on the opening night, al least. One of the characters slunk | off the set, obviously bent on self destruction. This was the drama. tic climax of the whole show. Ir 8 few moments a dull report was
 heard-patently the plop of ar electric light bulb dropped into. g wooden tub. The audience Uttered and the play was spoiled. 's A couple of summers ago a stock company was playing "Strictly DishOnOrabIe" in an outlying town. If you recall l that neat comedy, there is an episode in which the ingenue hears a cat meOwing outside
 the window. She goes to the
 window and talks to the cat.
 "WcI, what a nice kitty" I she exclains. "Me.ow!" says the cat. Pretty soon the girl
 asks the cat how many kite tens 1t is going to have. On this occasion the off-stage voice had an inspiration that
 almost stopped the show. It replied: "Three-Ow:"
 v
 Giving Actors a Hand
 Although this is a better thar average theatrical season, the
 Stage Relief Fund and it's workers are no less busy than the day when
 they started out with q prayer, c | few dollars. n case of canned gOOds and a couple of dresses to aid the
 towns unemployed performers. II has grown into quite an enterprise
 however, having already distribut'
 cd something like $100,000. sev'
 eral tons of groceries and. in 6
 year. about 30,000 articles oi
 clothing [. Excited actors and actresses arc always tumbiing into the clothing department to get ar opera cape, and evening dress.
 magiclan's silk hat or something
 else which might help them to- gel
 or hold q Job. Sometimes these garments are returned, neatI, cleaned and pressed. And 0eca
 slonaiiy now ones arc sent in theil ''sr Tho money for tho fund comel
 partly from individual donations mostly fF0m benefits given by th,
 casts Of auce0agfpl Broadway shows Tho th0ntor takes eaFl Of its own pFOfension with such
 small percentage Of members autu
 ally destitute.
 A person GnlfapinG from q com s.ss1I t<sa1ss t1nn4 n h..Il AM Nan 0aa