The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-11-04
Hollywood Gossip
,By PAUL HARRISON
NEA Service Staff Correspondent

NEA Service Staff Correspondent
Hollywood ~ When actors and
actresses pay good cash money for
the privilege Of playing before free
audiences, that's nwes. Anyway, It's
Hollywood.
Nowhere else In the world
could you find people willing to
buy parts In plays. And even IN
Hollywood II Is often difficult to
scare up enough people who are
willing to squander an evening,
without cost to themselves, as
spectators OF such dubious enter
tainment.
The scheme works like this: A
man who once played butler roles
In third-ratc stock companies
finds himself stranded In Holly
wood and decides TO open q little
thcater. A training theatcr." He
takes O lease on an old barn,
moves In few benches and some
outmoded movie spotlights, car
penters o small stage and remod-
els the stalls into dressing rooms.
Then nc hangs up sign reading:
1.-THE Dark Canyon Show Shop"
or something like that.
In the bottom OF his trunk,
kicking around with some sets OF
false whiskers and o few old
copies Of Variety, he finds the
script Of play. He acquired the
script in 1919 as security for the
loan OF % to q Broadway author
who was starving. The piece is
called "Agathas Aunt" and IA
strictly ham, but II will do oil
right for his purpose.
Plot Thickens $
He calls In O solicitor or two To
canvass the studios. Such agents
ferret out newcomers to the screen
colony and tell them that Herman
p. Jitterwhisk, the distinguished
actor director, Is accepting O few
talented additions to his class OF
apprentice players.
And-surprisei- The Is also as
suring each and every one of them
O part IN his production OF that
riotous laugh-carnival, "Agathas
Aunt" Every movie talent scout,
knowing the histrionic prowess Of
Mr.. Jitterwhisk, will OF course
practically live OF the Dark Cam
yon Show Shop during the run OF
the play, and doubtless will sign
up oil the characters TO fat movie
contracts.
The cost? Well, Mr.. JitterwhislI
Is something OF philanthropist
ha .ha. The tuition Is O mere pit
tance-$i00. OF course, II o 1T
tie chorus girl were especially
anxious TO secure the ingenue
lead, the amount might run o lit
tie higher-perhaps 5000.
Big Success?
BY pencilIng In additional roles,
the producer enlarges the produce
ton TO accommodate the entire
available cast. II there are IS stu
dents, he probably collects from
them total OF $4,000.
The play Is rehearsed for cou-
pie OF weeks, then Is presented for
six days to handful OF curious
transients and some stooges dis
guised as movie scouts.
The players are graduated with
q pretty speech by Mr.. Jitterwhisk,
who confides that three major stu
dos are preparing contracts Tor
some OF them. But the offers never
materialize.
Now, Of course, there are some
perfectly legitimate training schools
In Hollywood, but as q rule the more
legitimate they are the less they
promise. The Screen Actors Guild
and Actors Equity Association have
forbidden their members to appear
In plays for which they are not
paid. so the racketeer-promoters
are preying mostly on movie-struck
amateurs and Chorus girls.
Swlnd'ed Dancer
Recently, on the set OF college
Holiday" I met q dancer who hao
been thus swindled. and she point
ed out three other girls who had
been offered chances to buy rcies
In q shoestring drama with q guar
antee that the play would run ior
q week." -
It hadn't occurred to them thas
they were lucky already to be III
the movies, and that they were
more likely to be noticed there than
II they had bit parts In cow-Darn
convention Of hams.