iiiiwmiiwiwMWil THE TECnNfOUE OF PAGEANTRY > c « » LINWOOD TAFT » » • > ' i jum ^ mwti mfnmamimmmKmeiimifm'nn uoiMMsuii SBoiiBOB«eaBe«JM<»asaHi!i9«si gained through association with many different persons all working unselfishly for the advancement of some particular community. Their co-operation and assistance have made possible whatever of success has crowned the efforts of the author. Suitable recognition of all of them is not possible. Grateful acknowledgment is here made to those most closely k} associated with the author in producing different* pageants: Mrs. F. W. Flower, Mr. Henry O. Gilmer, Miss Mary L. Klingner, Mrs. C. A. McCanse, Dr. F. Louise Nardin, Savannah Festival Association, Mr. Ralph K. Watklns, Miss Gladys M. Wheat. CONTENTS PART I CHAPTER PAGE I. The Introduction i II. The Organization lo Pageant Chairman. Pageant Committee. Pageant Master. Business Manager. Pageant Artist. Costumer. Musical Director. Scenic Manager. Electrician. Advertising Manager. Episode Director. ~ III. The Book 40 Title. Author. Language of the Book. Content. Style. Sale of the Books. Editing. Need for the Book. IV. The Music 55 Function. Standard and Original Composition. Arrang- ing the Music. The Pageant Orchestra. Placing the Orchestra. Orchestral Difficulties. Pageant Songs. En- trance and Exit Music. V. The Cast 65 Selecting the Cast. Appropriate Casting Character Parts. Pageant Acting. Principal Parts. Central Figures. Epi- sode Casts. Professional Actors. VI. The Rehearsals yS Orchestra Rehearsals. Group Rehearsals. Full Rehearsals. Dress Rehearsals. Inspections. Full Dress Rehearsals. Group Dress Rehearsal. General Considerations. VII. The Performance 92 Makeup. Character Makeup. Final Inspection. Begin- ning the Pageant. Ushers. Discipline. Tempo. Pageant Master and the Performers. Pageant Finales. Lost and Found. Number of Performances. vii viii CONTENTS PART II PAGE I. A Pageant of Thanksgiving 109 Programme. The Book. II. Historical Festival and Pageant 139 Descriptive Programmes. Savannah a Hundred Years Ago. A Newspaper Notice. III. Programme of a Patriotic Pageant 163 IV. A Newspaper Notice 167 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY PART I I. THE INTRODUCTION Pageantry has become so familiar to the people of the United States Avithin the last few years that no detailed ex- planation of its scope and aims is necessary. It may be well, however, to review some of its principal aspects for the sake of those who have had no intimate personal con- tact'with the organization and administration of a pageant. The organization and effective administration of a pageant that is to be worth while bear the same relation to the man- agement of an ordinary dramatic production that modern "big business" bears to the limited business organizations to be found in the third quarter of the last century. Such an organization cannot be perfected overnight. It must be the result of careful planning and the wise selection of personnel. The matter of the number of people in the cast points very clearly to the complicated organization necessary to ensure a reasonably correct performance that shall move forward with few or no interruptions. Aside from the matter of the selection of these persons and their assign- ment to definite parts, and this is a problem of considerable magnitude in a pageant using hundreds of characters, the mere mechanical arrangements necessary in order that the entrances and exits may be carried out as planned call for an elaborate organization of directors and assistants almost appalling in its intricacy. Add to this the successful opera- tion of all the other details that go with the presentation 2 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY of a successful pageant performance and something of the magnitude of the undertaking may be understood. Taking care of hundreds of characters when they are not on the stage is enough to tax the ingenuity of even an experienced director. With a community thoughtfully and completely organized these many details are, however, taken care of more or less automatically and the burden which falls upon any Individual is relatively slight. The chapters which fol- low attempt to give the essential points in the organization of a community in such a manner that a smoothly running machine results, a machine that makes practically certain a successful production which shows no sign of the machin- ery existing behind the production. A pageant is much wider in its scope than is an ordi- nary dramatic performance. It may present in a broad sketchy manner events widely separated in time so long as they are closely related in character or in the ideals ex- pressed. One's sense of the fitness of things Is not offended although the whole range of the history of the world is included In the action of a pageant so long as all of the episodes contribute to the idea which the pageant seeks to express. The pageant Is not bound by the traditional unities of the drama yet it must have some continuity of action or emotion to hold the various parts together. A mere collection of historical episodes cannot correctly be called a pageant unless they all express the same idea or all con- tribute to the building up of a central Idea. Unity of Idea is the only unity the preservation of which Is essential In pageantry. Freedom from the restraints of time and place allows nearly unlimited scope in the selection of material for pageant episodes. In fact the more widely separated in point of time and place the episodes arc the more effective they are apt to be from the standpoint ol the spectacular. The acting of a pageant is more formal, impression- istic, and lacking in detailed delineation ol character than is the acting of the drama. The staging of a pageant Is, how- ever, much less formal than the staging of a play. Much THE INTRODUCTION 3 of the action of a pageant may and probably will take place on the stage but on the other hand a considerable portion of it may take place in the aisles and other open spaces within the view of the audience. In the most effective form of pageantry the entire audience is made to feel itself a part of the pageant and hence the stage in reality includes all of the space within the building or, if the pageant be given out of doors, all the space near the formal stage. In other words the whole pageant space is considered as possible stage space and utilized as such as occasion warrants. The stage of the drama is confined to the restricted area re- moved from the audience by all the conventional appliances of the theater created to foster illusion and give a sharper perspective to the stage pictures. Instead of being the commercial enterprise of an indi- vidual or a small group of people as is the regular theater drama, the pageant is, or should be, the non-commercial, non-professional, more or less spontaneous expression of some phase of the life of a community. The pageant does not aim at dramatic perfection. Its very life would be sacrificed in the effort to gain such dramatic perfection. The spontaneous and the community aspects are the vital ones in pageantry. Any sacrifice of either, whether it be by the employment of professional actors or by limiting the organ- ization to a small group, destroys to that extent the real nature, and hence the possibility for service, of the pageant. To be spontaneous it must be as natural and unstudied as possible. To be a real community enterprise it must involve all of the institutions and interests of the community. The former may be secured by allowing the members of each episode group to work out in their own way the expression of the message of their episode as they understand it. The latter may be assured by selecting the episode directors, not only for their executive ability, which is of primary impor- tance, but also because they will be able to bring into the pageant organization institutions or groups of people not otherwise to be interested. 4 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY No individual, ©r group of individuals, expects to profit financially from a pageant. In this sense it is not a com- mercial enterprise as is the drama in the regular theater. As a matter of fact very few pageants are a success finan- cially because of the very great expense involved in such productions. One produced several times in and near New York recently is reported as having netted a very large sum for charitable purposes but in this case the expenses were practically all taken care of by persons interested in the charity and hence the gross receipts and the net receipts were very nearly the same. One given in St. Louis in the summer of 191 8 for the benefit of various war activities resulted in a rather large deficit. The Savannah Centennial Pageant of April, 19 1 9, resulted in a net profit of a few hundred dollars. Although the patriotic pageant given in the smaller cities and towns of Missouri under the direction of the Woman's Committee of the Missouri Division, Council of National Defense, 1917-1918, was not primarily intended as a source of profit yet it did yield many thousands of dollars to the Red Cross and to the Council of Defense over and above all expenses. This work was done under circum- stances favorable for the making of money and the expendi- tures were very carefully supervised. As a matter of fact financial gain should not be a primary motive in the presenta- tion of a pageant. The main purpose of a pageant, correctly so called, should be the worthy expression of some phase of community life and the financial aspect of such a per- formance should be considered only as a secondary matter. In much the same way the acting of a pageant should be non-professional rather than professional. Professional actors will guarantee a more finished production il it be considered from the standpoint of dramatic excellence alone, but, as before stated, dramatic excellence is not a proper aim of pageantry if it be emphasized at the expense of the com- munity aspect. Ihc actors should be members of the com- munity and should have the intense personal interest in the events which the jiageant commemorates that cannot usually THE INTRODUCTION 5 be expected from professional actors. They are interested in acting for its own sake. Pageant actors should be interested in that particular bit of acting because of its significance to the life of the community. For this reason resident amateurs give a much more satisfactory and con- vincing pageant performance than even the most skilled of non-resident professional actors. Pageantry is not a suitable medium for the expression of the art of the trained actor. His proper field is the real drama with its possibilities for the portrayal of development of character. Development of character has very little part in the construction of pageants. Each episode of a pageant can, and should, show only one significant moment in the life of any one individual or group of individuals. The acting of the pageant is static rather than dynamic, hence it can be effectively done by an untrained person of the type demanded by the character of the particular episode In question. The modern pageant is the direct outgrowth of the mys- tery play of the later middle ages, in fact, the pageant is still defined in the standard dictionaries as a mystery play. With this in mind many of the Inconsistencies of pageantry could more easily be avoided. The masque features so often found in pageants would be excluded, much If not all of the dialogue that portrays the development of character would be excluded, and much of the Irrelevant dancing, excellent enough In itself and in its proper place, but having little or no relation to the pageant, would also have to be omitted. There is no desire here to decry forms of dramatic inter- pretation not intrinsically related to pageantry. There Is, however, a very definite wish to distinguish as clearly as possible between the pageant in its pure form and the hodge podge of dramatic forms often dignified by the term pageant. The mystery play dealt with events outside of the experiences of human life in its human relations. It con- cerned itself with those rare moments of human experience when existence was transformed and glorified through con- tact with the divine. Its story was the story of some part A 6 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY of the life of Christ but that story in its relation to the men and women who saw the mystery. It was an attempt to interpret for them the mystery of the relation between God and man. Later many irrelevant and unworthy elements were inserted in order, one may imagine, to popularize the appeal but this led so directly to the exclusion of the mystery play from the church service and even from the church premises that a very definite warning to moderns is implied. The modern pageant does not deal with religious matters as often as with historical events. At the same time the sort of event that makes suitable and convincing pageant material is the unusual event, the kind of thing that happens only in exalted moments when men are inspired by lofty and unselfish motives. Divine relationship is accepted as an essential part of such events without question and without doubt. Let us, by all means, have as many and as varied dramatic forms as is possible. It would, however, seem the part of wisdom as well as of art to attempt to keep these forms fairly distinct and not to bring them all Into disrepute through an unnatural and unnecessary mixture, regardless of the name by which it may be called. There are two main types of pageants. There is the more or less local and historical pageant such as is given in connection with centennial celebrations, and there is the pageant dealing with impersonal forces such as the spirit of thanksgiving which can, nevertheless, be personified. As a matter of fact, the latter would have a strongly historical character, but the history involved would be general rather than specific, world history rather than local history. The first type of pageant would be suitable only for the particular place for which it was written. The second type would be appropriate in any place at the Thanksgiving season. The first form of pageant is much surer and more direct in its appeal but is limited by its local nature and its strictly historical character. Its history must be authentic, its facts accurate. 7hc second form has no such direct appeal to THE INTRODUCTION 7 local pride but because of its general character it allows much wider scope in the selection of material and in the artistic handling of the theme. It can emphasize the artistic where the first form must attend primarily to accuracy to well-established and well-known facts. The historical pageant has the greater educational value, probably, but the aesthetic possibilities of the general pageant are limited only by the resources of the group presenting it. The first type of pageant is illustrated by the Savannah Centennial Pageant and the second by the Pageant of Thanksgiving, both included in this volume (Part II). The Savannah pageant dealt with the founding of the principal institutions of the city in connection with the sailing of the Savannah, the first steamship to cross the ocean. The cen- tennial week dealt largely with the sailing of the Savannah. The pageant grouped about that event other important events of the decade. The Thanksgiving pageant had to do with the spirit of thanksgiving as exhibited by different nations at different times in the history of the world. Although given in Savannah, Georgia, it would appeal to any other group of people in any other place just as strongly. It did not have the same intense appeal to local pride as did the other. The first question to be settled after a community has decided to give a pageant is the place where it will be given. Upon this decision depends the work of the author and to some extent the other pageant ofl'icers. A pageant to be presented out of doors requires a different method of treat- ment and administration from one to be given in a theater or auditorium. The difference is In reality more in the distribution of the work than in the nature of the organiza- tion. The scenic manager has a greater task in arranging an outdoor stage than a stage in a theater. At the same time he has much greater opportunity for unusual effects. The same thing is true in varying degrees with all pageant ofiicers. An Indoor performance Is much simpler in many ways. The seating of the audience is already taken care of as is 8 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY the matter of the weather. A theater is not, however, a good place for a pageant. Its construction is wrong. It aims to separate the audience from the players as completely as is possible within a space small enough for the speaking v^oice to be heard. The feeling of separation is the last thing to be desired in a pageant. A pageant audience should feel itself an integral part of the performance and this is not possible with the restricted construction of a theater. A theater audience feels itself entirely apart from the world of the stage, a world where things are usually the opposite of what they seem and where all the arts and devices of the theater are employed to make things appear entirely dif- ferent from what they actually are. The stage world Is a world of illusion in so far as the audience is concerned. In pageantry the audience is taken entirely into the confidence of the actors. Instead of building up an illusion the aim is to secure a feeling of sympathetic participation on the part of the audience. For this reason an auditorium with broad aisles and easy access to the stage is the best kind of building for a pageant that must be giv^en indoors. The great advan- tage of a theater building is the facilities for lighting effects. Since these or similar effects may be secured by an ingenious electrician in an auditorium, a theater building would be con- sidered only as a last resort in producing a pageant. Theater employees are more completely organized than almost any other group of workers. In renting a theater for a pageant it will usually be necessary to employ the full force of employees at the regular rates, whether they are needed or not, in order to get the use of the building and the services of the one or two employees that are needed. It is very difficult for amateurs to work with professional theater workers, even where the theater force will consent to work with them. The attitude of many theater electricians and stage hands towards amateur performances is often one of supreme contempt. This is not at all surprising and is not particularly to their discredit when one stops to consider the difference in the aims of amateur and professional per- THE INTRODUCTION 9 formances. These regular theater workers Insist on doing things in the conventional theater way and are more of a liability than an asset when special effects are desired. One cannot blame them for trying to protect the interests of their class, since that seems to be the aim of all classes of society to-day. In preparing for a pageant one can, however, save a great amount of friction and considerable unnecessary expense by using a building other than a regular theater or by having the pageant out of doors. Except for the difficulty of seating the audience and for the uncertainty of the weather every argument is in favor of an out-of-door performance. Unlimited space for a stage, long avenues of approach for groups of characters, the pos- sibility of using large groups without producing the effect of crowding, greater ease in disposing of groups when off the stage, and many other features are all in favor of the out-of- door pageant. Then there is an emotional appeal to a pageant given in the open that is lacking when the per- formance has to be compressed to the limitations of a building. In a final analysis the climate and season of the year must, of course, be the determining factors in settling the question of whether a pageant shall be given in the open or under cover. The Savannah Festival Association plans regularly for a programme of approximately an hour in length for its community Christmas celebration. The celebration is held in the principal park of the city and the climate is such that people seldom experience any discomfort from cold while standing through the programme. In California, during the summer months, there is no question of the weather inter- fering with an out-of-door performance. During the winter months there is the same uncertainty about the weather in California that there is in the summer in New England and advertised performances must often be postponed until better weather arrives. The pageant given out of doors is, however, usually much more effective than one given inside. II. THE ORGANIZATION Pageant Chairman. — When a community, or any group of people within a community, decides to give a pageant as a fitting expression of some phase, past or present, of the community life the first step in the necessary organization is the appointment, or election, of the pageant chairman. A majority vote of the group planning to giv^e the pageant is probably the best way in which to decide upon a pageant chairman. This method of election practically ensures a chairman with whom a majority of the people of the com- munity can work harmoniously. The pageant chairman should be a person of experience in handling people, who has the confidence and respect of the community, and who can give time enough to the pageant to secure unity of organ- ization and directness of execution. As the president of a bank has general control of the business and policy of the bank but delegates the actual doing of the business and the carrying out of the policy to sub- ordinates, so the pageant chairman has general control and direction of all the various phases of the pageant but leaves the carrying out of the plans to other pageant ofiicers. He should, therefore, help select all pageant officers as a means of obtaining a group of people who will work together har- moniously. The business of the pageant chairman is to coordinate the efforts of all of the other officers. He will advise with them concerning the details of organization and methods of carrying out the policy of the group for which he is acting. In many cases his great difficulty is maintaining peace in the official family; the prevention of injured feelings and the soothing of feelings that have been hurt, quite 10 THE ORGANIZATION u unintentionally usually, by the logical working of so complex an organization. This personal attitude is the great stumbling block in the way of all community effort. It can- not always be avoided but it can be minimized if from the beginning all pageant officers show plainly that they are not working as individuals for personal advancement but as members of the community for the sake of the community as a whole. Such an attitude on the part of pageant officers is sure to make the work of administering the pageant infinitely easier and more effective. Members of the various committees and of the cast quickly recognize this attitude on the part of the officers and as quickly emulate them. This is the factor that makes the pageant the most appropriate form of dramatic expression for community purposes and the skill of the chairman can nowhere be better employed than In supporting and extending a democratic, unselfish attitude of working with the group for the good of the whole. Each pageant officer must, of course, have practically final control of that portion of the pageant work that rightly falls within his province, yet the chairman must have veto power over the decisions of even the chairmen of the different com- mittees. Lacking this unit of control the efforts of the different committees may be at variance and the results neutralized. The number of people involved in a pageant and the time and expense necessary to a successful production make it imperative that the organization be so complete that all these elements will be conserved. It cannot be entirely complete unless the chairman has final authority in all mat- ters relating to the pageant. As a matter of fact the wise chairman Avill be guided in large measure by the judgment of the majority of the pageant officers in any matter that con- cerns the production as a whole but there will be times when it is not possible to call a meeting of the officers even when it is imperative that a question vital to the success of the pro- duction be settled. In such cases the pageant chairman must decide by himself, keeping always In mind the purpose of the group which he represents. The community aspect of the 12 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY pageant will be enlarged or restricted according to the ability of the pageant chairman in selecting the members of the pageant committee and in selecting through them the other pageant officers. Pageant Committee. — The pageant chairman should select the pageant committee consisting of two or four other members. A larger committee may be desired in order that the major interests of the community may be represented, but since the minor as well as the major interests may, through wise selection, be represented through the other pageant officers this point is not vital with regard to the pageant committee. There is a distinct advantage in having a small committee since it is a well-known fact that business may be conducted more expeditiously with a small committee than with a large one. The important thing in selecting the members of the pageant committee is securing persons who will know the different groups and elements that make up the community and who will also know of individuals within each of these groups who will be dependable in carrying out the details of the pageant. These Individuals would, of course, be selected as pageant officers or as chairmen of sub- committees. The first and most important duty of the pageant com- mittee as a whole is the appointment or election of the other pageant officers: (a) pageant master; (b) business manager; (r) pageant artist; (d) costumer; (e) musical director; (/) scenic manager; (^) electrician; (/?) advertis- ing manager; (/') directors of episodes. With the appoint- ment or election of the pageant officers the main function of the pageant committee, as such, has been fullilled. They should, however, attend all general meetings of the pageant officers and serve individually in an advisory capacity as occasion demands. They will also have opportunity to interest many people and groups of people In the pageant and thus contribute to its success rather directly. The pageant committee will, either by themselves or THE " ORGANIZATION 1 3 assisted by the other pageant officers, select the time and place for the performance, fix the price of admission, and settle such other matters of general policy as may arise. In addition to their advisory duties as individuals they may be called upon to act as a committee in advising as to certam details referred to them by pageant officers. They certainly will have a deciding voice in outlining the groups of the pageant and the scale upon which it is to be organized and presented. Pageant Master. — Probably the most important of the pageant officers is the pageant master or director. Both terms are common in describing the person who is in charge of the actual production of the pageant. Upon him devolves the task of coordinating and unifying the more or less detailed work of the episode directors. Indeed, he very often must work with the pageant chairman in coordinating the efforts of all of the pageant officers whether their work be directly or indirectly related to the actual production of the pageant. He must, of course, direct the rehearsals and the performances. His esthetic ideals and artistic apprecia- tion will make or mar the success of the pageant from the standpoint of dramatic and artistic effect. He must have a high degree of executive ability and must be able to work harmoniously with all sorts and conditions of people. It is usually well to select a person with as much previous experi- ence of the right kind as is possible. The pageant master is the one officer who should usually be chosen from outside the group or community giving the pageant. The success of the whole pageant enterprise depends upon him and he should be a person of experience and training. Such persons are not usually found in any except very large cities or uni- versity centers. If a community does have an experienced director as a member of its group his work will undoubtedly be more effective than that of a stranger although the latter may be more experienced or better trained or both. The pageant master will need a secretary to attend to 14' THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY telephoning, typing lists of characters, and getting the material for the book in shape for the printer. It Is not good buslnesss to leave him to do this purely clerical work, as he must often neglect it or else neglect the work that more properly belongs to his office. Usually someone will volun- teer their services as secretary. If not. It would be well to employ a part time secretary for the last two or three weeks of the preparatory period. In a small pageant the director may combine the duties of his office with those of some of the other pageant officers such as pageant artist, musical director, and the like, depend- ing upon his ability. There are advantages in this arrange- ment. The director, or pageant master, can often drill the orchestra to do what the pageant requires In less time than it would take him to hold conferences enough with the musical director to ensure his understanding of the needs of the different episodes. In much the same way the pageant master may be able to work out the color scheme and lighting plans without help from others. A higher degree of unity may result from this concentration of responsibility and authority. On the other hand if a pageant master Is perform- ing the duties of some other officer, such as those of the musical director, these duties may occupy his time and atten- tion so completely during the performance of the pageant that the details properly belonging to his office have to be left to chance or neglected. The folly of this course Is evi- dent. If it Is Impossible to find properly qualified persons to act as directors of the music, the lighting, or the staging, it may be necessary for the pageant master to assume the duties of these directors. Under such circumstances it would be well to train two or three assistants to the pageant master to look after the details that require attention during the performance. Each assistant could be given few enough responsibilities so that there would be no danger of any of them being forgotten or neglected. In this way the pageant master himself would be free to direct the orchestra or to look after any other part of the performance. In a pageant THE ORGANIZATION 15 with a cast of two hundred or more it is much better to divide these duties and responsibilities among the different officers listed above. The necessity for the pageant master to take on the duties of musical director will probably occur oftener than any other combination of duties. This is due to many things. It is sometimes difficult to find a musical director who can give the time necessary to perfect the musical background for the pageant. Often a small city or town may not have a resident director. In some cases there are so few instru- ments available that all who play must be used in the orchestra and it seems essential that the musical director be free from any other tax upon his attention. The reason for this is that in a pageant the music must be fitted to the action instead of the action being fitted to the music as is the case with opera. If the musical director is to accomplish this he must be free from any other duty so that he may watch the action as it progresses and fit the music to it. Another duty that a pageant master is often called upon to assume is that of electrician. In many cases where an electrician is available it is necessary for the director to stay with him during the performance and supervise directly the shifting of lights. In illustration of this the predicament of a certain director may be cited. Her lighting cues were all carefully arranged and given to the electrician. Imme- diately after the beginning of the pageant her duties took her to another part of the auditorium and the electrician was left to his own devices. She was detained throughout the remainder of the pageant and from the time she left him until the end he missed every cue and gave the wrong light every time. If this can happen where the electrician has been working on the same switchboard for months and has also worked with the director before, what may happen under less favorable circumstances can be imagined better than described. Less difficult than the combinations of duties spoken of above is that of business manager or advertising agent and i6 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY those of pageant master. These combinations are considered as less difficult because the conflict of duties is not apt to come during the actual performance of the pageant. The conflict may be just as serious when it interferes with rehearsals but it seems less so as less depends upon the continuity of a rehearsal than upon the continuity of a per- formance. During the recent war pageant masters often found it necessary to assume duties properly belonging to other pageant officers but under ordinary circumstances this should not be necessary and it will often limit the effective- ness of the pageant if it is attempted. Business Manager. — Next in importance to the pageant master is the business manager. His duties are to make all financial arrangements such as leasing an audi- torium or park, arranging for sale of tickets, keeping a check upon all expenditures, and in general seeing that the pageant is conducted in a financially safe way and that sound business principles are applied as the standard to proposed scales of expenditure. He should know the minimum probable income from sale of seats and should keep an itemized account of all expenses that have been authorized so that at any time the pageant master may be informed as to the advisability of expansion of plans or of the necessity for retraction. 7'his statement assumes that while there will be no attempt to make money on a pageant there will be a definite attempt to make it a self-supporting enterprise. The expenses of a pageant are always large and it is much easier to let them swamp the project financially than to keep them within the limits of the probable income. This is so well recognized that the city of St. Louis, 19 17, asked for a deposit of several thousand dollars as a guarantee fund from an organization proposing to use the open-air municipal theater for a pageant. Kvcn where the persons taking the parts assume the expense of their own costumes the other expenses are enough to bring the total up to a high figure. For this reason a business manager is needed who THE ORGANIZATIOiN 17 will always have the exact financial situation in mind and who will be able to show why a proposed expense must not be incurred or why it may be Incurred with safety. The sale of tickets may be handled in several different ways. The business manager will see that they are printed and that essential information is placed on them. The title of the pageant, the place and time it will be given, and the price are essential to a successful sale of tickets. In addition it is well to include the hour of beginning. If an advance sale of seats is desired, and it very often is, arrange- ments must be made for this sale through special committees or through the school children. In whatever way the advance sale is conducted one thing should be insisted upon. The territory should be districted and the individuals or groups selling the tickets should be Instructed to confine themselves strictly to their own districts. Overlapping in this matter has often prejudiced the public and annoyed Individuals to the extent of making them decide not to buy tickets and not to attend the pageant. It is more unfortunate to have persons importuned repeatedly by different sales agents to buy tickets than it Is to have the advance sale neglected entirely. Arrangements will need to be made for a box oflSce sale of seats and for the exchange of tickets for reserved seats If any seats are to be reserved. It seems much more democratic to charge a flat rate of admission for an out-of- door pageant and let those arriving early have a choice of the seats. If the pageant is given indoors the same rule holds except that there may well be a difference In price for balcony and for orchestra seats. The former are the better seats for a pageant, hence would bring a higher price. There is reason to doubt the advantage of the advance sale of seats. Experience seems to show that not many more seats are sold than would be the case If the sale were confined to the box oflUce. It is always a difficult matter to get unsold tickets returned and accounts checked before the performance. The agents will want to retain the tickets with the hope of selling some at the last minute, and many people do refuse to buy 1 8 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY until they are sure of being able to attend the pageant. If the agents are allowed to keep the tickets until after the performance there is usually still greater difficulty in getting the accounts completed and checked. The only satisfactory method of keeping account of all expenditures is to limit purchasing power to one or two officers or to require itemized statements of expenditures every few days from all who are authorized to purchase. Probably both of these safeguards might well be insisted upon. Requisition blanks issued by the business manager would undoubtedly be the most exact way of all from the standpoint of the business manager but in actual practice this is found to entail so great a loss of time that its useful- ness is seriously impaired. While financial restrictions are valuable and even very necessary, their usefulness ends when they interfere with the preparations for the pageant. When the scenic manager and the costumer must find the business manager and get a requisition endorsed before they can buy a necessary article, perhaps of small value, the delay to their work may affect the success of the performance to an extent altogether disproportionate to the amount involved. Fre- quent checking of accounts, then, would seem to be the best method of keeping the expenditures within the probable income from the pageant. Experience also shows that it is better to maintain charge accounts at the different shops and pay no bills until after the pageant. This saves time for the shops as well as for the pageant officers. The bills should be checked, item by item, by the business manager and the officers who incurred the expense before the bills are paid. This should he done in addition to frequent checkings before the pageant. Fstimnting tlic probable miiiinuim income from a pageant is a very essential part of the work of the business manager. In fact, the character of tlic jiroduction must depend directly upon this estimate. If it is approximately correct the expenses of the pageant can he niet without undue worry and effort. Hie estimate should be made at the THE ORGANIZATION 19 earliest possible time so that the pageant master may know how much money will be available and how it may be appor- tioned in order that each department may be conducted to the best purpose. A definite budget should be adopted. The advertising manager should be allowed a certain amount, a definite amount set aside for the printing of tickets and programmes or pageant books, an allowance made for buying music, and so on through all of the departments. That the estimate may be reasonably accurate it is necessary to know exactly the seating capacity of the building where the pageant is to be given or to decide upon the number of seats that are to be put in if an out-of-door pageant is being planned. Knowing the number of seats, the scale of prices may be arranged to furnish the amount of money desired, but there must always be admissions that are within the reach of practically every person in the community. Perhaps a better way is to determine the price of admission that should be charged, than the number of seats available, and then with this as a basis apportion the money thus provided among the different departments. Allowance must always be made for a proportion of empty seats and unsold tickets, but as this is a matter that will be different in different places, local experience must be depended upon to give the informa- tion. It is much better to make a conservative estimate and have the proceeds of the pageant exceed it than to be too optimistic in estimating and have the proceeds fall below the expenditures. Very often when the pageant celebrates some event of local history and is a real community enter- prise the local authorities will vote money for the purpose. Such an appropriation is a legitimate source of income for the pageant and should be added to the estimated income from the sale of tickets before the apportionment of funds is made. The reason for adding this money to the estimated income instead of subtracting it is that it was appropriated in recognition of the fact that the pageant is a community enterprise that will increase the prestige of the locality, advertise it, or worthily express and memorialize some phase 20 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY of its history. It Is eminently appropriate, then, that the money should be used In presenting a more elaborate and creditable performance than would otherwise be possible. When money has been appropriated for a pageant a certain number of free seats should be scheduled. Knowledge and ability on the part of the pageant officers will often make up for lack of money In arranging a worthy production but In general the effectiveness of the pageant Is In direct ratio to the amount of money that may be spent on It. Pageant Artist. — The pageant artist has the responsi- bility of deciding upon the color scheme for the pageant as a whole and for the color and lighting effects within the episodes, including the colors for individual costumes, the grouping of these colors on the stage, and the use of colored lights If the pageant Is to be presented at night. A high degree of co-operation between the pageant artist, the cos- tumer, the electrician, and the pageant master is essential If the plans of the pageant artist are to be carried out effectively. Audiences may be entirely unconscious of the method by which their emotional response Is secured but they are not at all unresponsive to beauty and harmony whether they be of tone, form, or color. Each episode of a pageant may be beautiful from the standpoint of form and color but if no regard Is paid to the progression of colors as the episodes follow each other a very strong source of appeal is lost. An audience v^ery Hkely would not realize wliat was lacking under these circumstances but it would none the less be conscious of the lack. A pageant presented In Kansas City some years ago Illustrates the need for a carefully worked out color scheme for a pageant as a whole. Peo]ilc who attended this pageant, in commenting upon It alterward, comphilned of a feeling ol monotony as they watched the progression of episodes. 7 hey could give no reason for the impression nf)r could they cxplnin how it was received or when they hcg;m to feel It. Wlicn (juestloned ch^sely they maintained that the different episodes were beautifully THE ORGANIZATION 21 staged and elaborately costumed, yet a vague feeling of lack of satisfaction persisted. The only explanation of their impression is that the pageant was planned by episodes in so far as the color scheme was concerned and the pageant as a whole was neglected. 7 he result was a series of episodes, each excellent in itself but not properly related to the pre- ceding or following episodes in the matter of color. Lack of variety or contrast and lack of harmony was inevitable, or almost inevitable, under the circumstances. The Thanks- giving pageant included in this book was planned differently. The pageant artist decided upon the color of the stage settings first, then upon the colors for the costumes of the central figures and of the attendants, who were on the stage when the curtain was first raised. Since each pair of attendants was assigned to a particular episode group the colors allowed within each episode were determined by the colors of the costumes of the attendants. The samples of the colors for all the episodes were then arranged in the sequence they would follow in the pageant and the necessary corrections and modifications were made. Finally colors were assigned to individual characters within the episodes. A varied yet ordered progression of color effects was secured that gave a most satisfactory impression. The attention of the audience was held throughout v/ith no feeling of weari- ness or monotony. Since the impression that will be retained by the audience depends upon the pageant as a whole rather than upon special episodes this is the better way to plan for the colors to be used. Within some episodes a great variety of colors may be used effectively if proper regard be observed In the grouping of the characters. The pageant master and the pageant artist will be able to work out together the details of such a matter when it is necessary. Where the episode is restricted to a single color and only tones of that color may be used such detailed care is not so essential but even there it is well worth while. Episode II of the Thanksgiving pageant referred to was restricted to the use of tones of yellow by 22 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY the pageant artist. The episode group passed In proces- sional form down the center aisle of the building, mounted the broad steps to the stage, wound its way across the stage and disappeared Into the wings as though making Its way on a ceremonial pilgrimage to the shrine of Athene. The tones of color in costumes and properties were so arranged that there was a regular progression from the delicate cream color of the leaders to the deep yellow and tan of the war- riors at the end of the line. The arrangement was very effective. It would undoubtedly have become monotonous if all of the episodes had been handled in the same way but this episode followed one with a barbaric display of heavy colors and was followed by one costumed in white, purple, and tones of purple. The arrangement of tones in the last mentioned episode was not progressive but In masses, the tones of purple being surrounded by white, with the real purple used In the ornamentation of the white garments worn by a group at one side of the stage. In the Savannah Cen- tennial Pageant, also included in this volume, the costumes were largely heirlooms that originally belonged to the ancestors of those wearing them In the pageant. From the viewpoint of history and of sentiment It was much better that these be worn although the artistic effect was not as good as though the colors could have been selected with the effect of the groups as units in mind. The effect of artificial light on color is a matter of great Importance to the pageant artist If the pageant is to be given In the evening. Artificial lighting must be depended upon If the performance Is given Indoors regardless of the time of day. Very few buildings are so constructed that an adequate amount of properly distributed daylight is available. Here another problem for the pageant artist enters. Artificial light used to supplemcni a limited amount of daylight gives quite different effects from either artificial light or ilaylight when used alone. The pageant artist must know the effect of the light that will he available on the colors selected if the result is to be what was desired. Certain lights intensify THE ORGANIZATION 23 blues, yellows, and greens but neutralize reds. Other lights Intensify reds but neutralize greens and blues. The safest plan Is to select the colors under the same kind of light that will be used. Since 1 9 14, because of many contributing causes, it has been very difficult to obtain fabrics for costumes in satisfac- tory colors except In very expensive materials. The only solution of this difficulty is the dyeing of inexpensive materials. The supervision of this work belongs to the pageant artist. The Putnam dyes give very beautiful results when skillfully mixed. The De Luxe dyes are also very satisfactory. The great advantage of the De Luxe dyes for Inexperienced workers is that a carefully worked out chart has been prepared giving exact directions for obtaining any tone of any color that may be desired. No other part of the work of preparing a pageant is more exacting than the dye- ing of fabrics for costumes and for backgrounds but no other expenditure of time and energy brings such rich returns in Increased beauty and effectiveness. COSTUMER. — The costumer will have authority to pre- scribe the general scheme of costuming for the different episodes and the detailed construction of Individual costumes according to the color plan worked out by the artist. Due regard to historical accuracy must be observed in those pageants dealing with local or world history. Accuracy of detail may be slighted in mass groupings but the figures that stand out from the groups must be accurately enough cos- tumed to be convincing. Eternal vigilance In details of this sort Is the price of success. Professional costumers, even the most expensive ones, are careless about historical accuracy. They either do not know the difference or else they believe that a variation of a century or two makes no difference. It Is exceedingly disconcerting to have, at the last minute when it Is too late to make corrections, a group of French courtiers in a Joan of Arc episode appear in Elizabethan costumes, yet profes- 24 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY sional costumers, after repeated warnings that exactness was desired, have done this and worse. Another difficulty experi- enced in renting costumes is that of getting the costumes long enough before the time set for a pageant so that dress rehearsals may be held and the necessary adjustments made. Many of the best costume houses will not send costumes a day ahead of the date of the performance unless an extra fee is paid. The best costumers are scrupulous about the sanitary condition of their costumes but they often send them out stained with use, although safe so far as the possibility of infection is concerned. If costumes must be rented from a professional costumer the only safe way is for the pageant costumer and the pageant artist to select, personally, all of the costumes that will be used. Seamstresses may be employed to make the more impor- tant costumes. The expense of this may be borne by the pageant committee or by the persons for whom the costumes are made. Whoever pays the bills, the seamstresses should be under the direction and supervision of the costumer. The necessary accuracy and harmony of color and style can be secured in no other way. When the pageant is being given by a school or when a school forms one of the units of the community giving the pageant, the clothing classes of the domestic arts department may be willing to take care of the making of the costumes. Where this has been done, and sufficient time has been allowed to do the work satisfactorily, the teachers of such classes have said that no other problem has interested the classes so completely nor have the students increased their knowledge and ability to such an extent in dealing with the rather abstract, unrelated, minor problems previously used. The color and style of individual costumes are both important but not more so than the way the cos- tumes fit. The costumer must give personal attention to these details if they are to be properly taken care of and completed and since no one person can do all of the cutting and the sewing, seamstresses, either professional or volun- teer, must be secured. THE ORGANIZATION 25 Musical Director. — The success of the actual per- formance depends largely upon the skill and ingenuity of the musical director. His preliminary work is also of great importance but mistakes there may be corrected while an error in the conducting of the actual performance mars the whole pageant. The musical director must either select or advise concerning the selection of the music to be used. He must be willing and able to modify it so that it will form a suitable background for the action of the pageant. He must be able to so control the orchestra that sudden and unex- pected happenings on the stage can be responded to instantly. He must also be able, at short notice, to orchestrate a desired piece of music from the piano score. The more extensive the knowledge of the musical director the better able he will be to select appropriate music for each of the episodes. The wise director will select music that naturally expresses the sentiment of an episode rather than some other music the tempo of which must be violated in order to bring it into harmony with the episode. Enough liberties will need to be taken with the music without care- lessly selecting some that could never be appropriate unless changed. A competent director would never select an Intricate example of chamber music to accompany an episode the characters of which were peasants. A simple folk-song would be much more appropriate and effective. The music selected for the entrance of the national groups in Episode VIII of the Thanksgiving pageant was In each case the appropriate national anthem. In the recessional, however, the same music was used for the exit of all, and since the reason for the assembling of the nations was a world-wide thanksgiving the music selected was the Gloria from Haydn's First Mass, not a war march such as would have been used had the nations been marching out to war against a world wrong. The modification of music to suit the pageant episodes Is practically unavoidable. In the first place music that forms the background for the action must end with the action or 26 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY very shortly after the action ends. The necessity for main- taining the tempo of the whole performance makes this imperative. To secure this co-ordination the orchestra must be ready to end a piece of music quickly and harmoniously at the command of the director. This can be justified on the ground that the music is not employed to make a separate appeal of its own but merely to strengthen the emotional appeal made by the action of the pageant. The volume of sound must also be regulated by what is happening on the stage rather than according to the marks put in by the com- poser or sanctioned by custom. This is an added reason for care in selecting appropriate music as a background for pageant episodes. The absolute control of the orchestra that enables the conductor to respond to every variation of the action is difficult to obtain when dealing with amateurs. It is equally or more difficult to obtain with professional musicians since they have the habit of expecting to complete any musical composition that they once begin. Their attention is habit- ually upon the music as custom has determined its interpreta- tion. Absolute control is necessary, however, as the orchestra must cover up and correct all errors made in the action. With the few rehearsals possible when dealing with such large numbers of people errors are bound to occur. Then the acting being, as It must be, spontaneous In character, no two performances will ever be exactly the same and no performance will ever take exactly the same amount of time as the rehearsals. Watchful waiting describes the attitude necessary on the part of a successful musical director when conducting for a pageant. Very often a director feels that he must use a piece of music for which orchestra parts cannot be bought. There is no other way but to orchestrate it hlinself or persuade some friend to do It. He will usually do it better, as he will know the strength and the weakness of the orchestra and so will be able to lean on the one and favor the other. Very much of this orchestration would be too great a burden THE ORGANIZATION 27 on the director and since practically all standard music has been arranged for orchestra it is much better to buy music already arranged unless there is some special reason for doing otherwise. A word here about the selection of the members of the orchestra may not be out of place. Long and varied experi- ence indicates the superiority of fairly capable amateurs over regular theater orchestra players. Clever amateurs respond more readily to the variations in tempo of the pageant action, and these variations cannot be avoided without more rehearsals than can wisely be called. Amateurs are also more inclined to enter into the spirit of the pageant and to look upon it as an expression of community life of which they are a part. Regular theater musicians are more inclined to see in the pageant only a "show" and their playing is, con- sequently, more mechanical. It is doubtless more accurate but it certainly is more mechanical. Scenic Manager. — The business of arranging the stage rests, of course, with the scenic manager. He will, after the stage has been located for an out-of-door per- formance, see that the space is properly rolled, the grass cut, shrubs planted to screen entrances, and will put in place upon the stage such articles of stage furniture as form a part of the stage setting. The nature of the pageant episodes must determine the exact location of the stage. For the Thanksgiving pageant the stage would better be located in front of a building of classical architecture or one having very simple, dignified lines, because a majority of the epi- sodes either deal with classical figures, as Episodes II and III, or else they represent action that took place within doors. A formal background, therefore, is better than a natural one of shrubs and trees. The crowning of the Dauphin in the Cathedral of Rheims depicted in Episode V of the same pageant would be exceedingly effective when given before a background such as is indicated above. It would lose much of its dignity If it were given with natural 28 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY greenery as a background. Episode I of this pageant would be much more convincing if the bacl^ground showed only shrubs and trees or vistas of open country. The nature of a majority of the episodes must determine the nature of the background. Voices carry much better when a building is used as the background of the stage and this is a matter that cannot be ignored as one of the great problems in out-of- door pageants is having the lines spoken by the characters heard by the audience. A building acts to some extent as a sounding board. Whatever stage settings are used should be permanent, that is, should form an intrinsic part of the stage as required by the production. Any changing of scenery between epi- sodes detracts materially from the effect. It is difficult to recapture the attention of an audience when it has been lost through the incongruity of re-arranging the scenery in an out-of-door performance. There can be no curtain to hide the activities of the stage hands. Even at night, with the stage dark, the stage hands will be seen more or less clearly and the noise of moving scenery interrupts the continuity of impression that the audience is receiving. There is less diffi- culty in changing scenes for an indoor performance on a regular stage with a drop curtain but even here the effect is much better with a neutral setting against which any sort of action is convincing. A warm gray fabric that will hang in folds is probably the best material with which to cover the wings and back drop of a theater stage for a pageant. If the pageant deals with out-of-door episodes to a large extent a different background would need to be used. But even in that case a rather formal arrangement of trees and shrubs such as are seen in formal gardens gives a better effect than a freer arrangement of greenery. Stage settings can very largely he eliminated if the scenic manager has ingenuity and imagination. In the ThanksgiNing pageant the stage (a regular auditorium stage) was hung with a warm gray fabric and the only accessories were the throne for the Spirit of Thanksgiving, a composite altar at the opposite side of THE ORGANIZATION 29 the stage, and a low, small platform at the rear. Being of no particular style or period, the altar could be used without offense in Episodes I, III, IV, and V. Standing at the side of the stage as it did, it did not obtrude in any of the other episodes. The small platform at the rear was used for the royal personages in Episode VI and in the other episodes only when it was desired to elevate characters at the back of a group so that they would not be entirely obscured by those In front of them. In Episode VIII it was occupied by Serbia and Belgium. There is something very impressive about the steady, uninterrupted movement of pageant groups as episode follows episode that is lost when the curtain falls at the end of each episode for the shifting of scenery. In the drama it is often advisable to lower the curtain to indicate the passage of time. This is not necessary in a pageant as it is taken for granted that long periods of time elapse between episodes and since the lapse of time between pageant episodes does not have to do with the development of an individual character but with an impersonal force or a locality personified by the central figures present on the stage throughout the performance there is no confusion in the minds of the spectators. The announcements of the spokesman for the central figures indicate the nature of the Interval clearly enough for all pageant purposes. A little Ingenuity on the part of the scenic manager will make it possible to avoid the use of a curtain except, perhaps, at the beginning and end of the pageant and even in these places it can readily be dispensed with if an impressive entrance and exit in processional form be arranged. The scenic manager may also serve as property man if desired, but this work properly belongs to the directors of the episodes, each director being responsible for the proper- ties of his episode. In case the properties are made up by the pageant committee and belong to the pageant organiza- tion it Is well to have a property man who will check the properties out to the episode directors just before the per- formance and then check them in again at the end of each 30 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY performance. These episode properties should include such articles of stage furniture as are absolutely essential to the action of the episode but which cannot be made a part of the permanent stage setting. They must be taken onto the stage, placed in position, and at the end of the episode taken off the stage again by persons who are in the cast of characters for the episode; slaves, pages, and the like. In Episode VI of the Savannah Centennial Pageant the older pupils of the dancing class carried benches in for the pupils to sit on. This was done as soon as the Herald had finished the lines introducing the episode. After the benches were in place the pupils assembled and then the dancing master entered. At the close of the episode after dancing master and pupils had passed from the stage the same older pupils carried the benches off again. This did not seem at all incongruous, as the arranging of a room is to be expected when it is to be used for a specific purpose. In Episode III of the Thanks- giving pageant Augustus carries in his hands the brazier in which is burning the incense for the altar of Jove. He places it upon the altar as a praise-offering. At the end of the episode he, with due ceremonial, again lifts the brazier from the altar and carefully bears it away, taking his place in the group as it leaves the stage. Electrician. — If the pageant is to be given at night or indoors at any time of day a person interested in the artistic effect of the pageant and who knows something of electrical lighting of stages should be selected as electrician. This person must give time enough to the pageant, attending rehearsals, having conferences with the pageant master, etc., to thoroughly familiarize himself with the lighting effects desired and when and how they are to be secured. Profes- sional electricians may have to be employed to work the switchboard but they will need the supervision of such an electrician as is indicated above if any other than the con- ventional theater effects are desired. The electrician will constantly consult and be constantly consulted by the pageant THE ORGANIZATION 31 master, the pageant artist, the costumer, and the scenic manager. In this way color effects beautiful beyond expecta- tion will be secured. In a large out-of-door pageant given in Jefferson City, Missouri, in' June of 19 18, with the approach to the capitol building for a stage, the lighting apparatus had to be installed in "crows' nests" built twenty feet from the ground on electric light poles. The professional electricians who must manage the lights could not spare time to learn just where and how the lights were to be used. A supervisor for each operator was trained. They stayed In the "crows' nests" with the operators all through the performance. Many of the entrances were along balustraded terraces lead- ing to the main entrance to the building, in other words, to the stage. These entrances were started thirty or forty rods from the stage and had to be lighted with spots. Because of the presence of the supervisors with the operators not a single entrance was missed. The lights picked up the figures at exactly the right moment and followed them steadily. Theater electricians have a strong predilection for the spot light with Its sharply defined margin, A tactful super- visor can often persuade him that it is good technique to use the spot to accentuate a special figure on a brightly lighted stage without turning off all of the other lights. In this way the spot loses its hard brilliance and prismatic margin and simply emphasizes the desired figure by intensifying the light upon It. Tact, next to some knowledge of lighting of stages, Is the quality most to be desired in the electrician, of whom we have been speaking as "supervisor" of the elec- trical operator. Tact will often secure results not to be achieved by mere knowledge. One may know that a bunch or flood light placed in a certain way in the wings will give a certain effect but It often requires tact on the part of an amateur to persuade the operator that it is better to use It so, with the stage lights on, than in the conventional way. No particular color effects were attempted In either of the pageants Included in this volume when these effects would 32 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY depend upon electrical lighting. The building used in each case was not well equipped for special effects and the pageant artist was not familiar with lighting devices. It seemed better to use a steady, soft light throughout the pageant, depending on careful selection of colors for costumes for effects, rather than to attempt unusual electrical effects when there was a possibility of failure. In the Thanksgiving pageant a flood light was so placed in the wings behind the group of central figures that it gave a halo effect to the group, while a similar flood on the opposite side illuminated the figures that stood near the altar. There are many simple devices that can be arranged when the electrical supervisor is interested and is familiar with the details of the per- formance. Advertising Manager. — However carefully a pageant may have been planned and however complete the organiza- tion may be it will not be a really successful pageant unless a large number of people see the performance. To ensure this the services of an advertising manager or publicity agent must be secured. He will see that notices are given to the newspapers concerning any items that will have news value such as names of persons taking important parts, lists of historical articles that will be used as properties, costumes handed down for generations that will be worn, or anything that will attract attention and stimulate interest. He will also see that neighboring towns are supplied with suitable posters and that arrangements, such as parking space for automobiles, are made and advertised for caring for the out of town attendance. Advertising in the town where a pageant is to be given will take care of itself, largely, unless it is a very large city. The organization described in this chapter will ensure the interest of practically every group of people in the city. The large number of people in the cast also ensures an iiiuisual amount of \cry practical advertising. It is well, however, for the advertising manager to supplement all this with THE ORGANIZATION 33 some formal advertising matter that will attract the attention of strangers and will give definite information as to admis- sion fees and time and place of performances. The news items in the local papers are of value, but it is usually con- sidered essential to have some paid advertising. This is sometimes taken care of through the courtesy of regular advertisers in the local papers. The space they use ordinarily is frequently donated for the use of the pageant. The pageant gets free advertising space in this way and at the same time the firm donating the space gets rather more advertising than as though a regular advertisement had occupied the space. The Items that will have news value in one city will have no news value in another. The advertising manager must, therefore, know his city and also the type of item that the papers will consider of value. In one city the local papers are always willing and even eager to print lists of names of all who take any part in a pageant and will use practically all of the pictures that are supplied. In another city such lists of names are considered as having no news value and only the names of persons taking important parts will be used. In certain places of historical distinction items concerning heirlooms that are to be used in the pageant are welcomed. There is an educational value of a sort in this kind of news item. Relics of pioneer days that are seldom exhibited publicly have historical significance and news items calling attention to them help advertise the pageant and at the same time renew an interest in the things that served the needs of earlier generations. It is worth while to have relics exhibited in shop windows during the time of preparation for the pageant. In the case of the Savannah Centennial Pageant several of the largest stores in the city gave the use of their show windows. Articles of wearing apparel for men, women, and children were borrowed from the descend- ants of those who wore them a hundred years ago and exhibited. Pictures of the people of note in the settlement and development of the colony were loaned for exhibition. 34 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY Various household utensils were also shown. These things might have been exhibited in the historical museum of the city for years without being seen by a small part of the number who looked at them carefully in these shop windows. At the same time the pageant was very effectively adver- tised. Advertising a pageant in the neighboring territory is an essential part of the duty of an advertising manager. The best medium for this is probably the poster that has been made by persons with some artistic ability or by pupils in the public schools under the direction of the drawing teachers. Here again there is some educational value in the work as well as an effective means of advertising. The making of posters involving as it does lettering and design as well as work in colors is a part of the regular course in the public school art departments. The students have an immediate interest in the posters that are to be actually used for advertising purposes while their interest is only mediate if they are asked to design posters that are not to be used for a definite purpose. Posters made in this way are much more distinctive than printed ones and attract much more attention. We are so accustomed to all kinds of printed posters used in advertising that we give real attention only to those that are especially attractive or very unusual. Where large numbers of posters are needed it is probably well to have outline sheets printed and have this outlined design filled in with colors. The printed matter may also be done on a press instead of by hand if time is lacking or if large numbers are desired. A very attractive advertising plan is implied in the sug- gestion that the advertising manager arrange lor out of town attendance. So many people motor rathL-r long dis- tances that a well advertised arrangement for the parking of cars, free, will attract a large number of jicrsons from extensive areas. A rather delicate comj)liment Is Involved that will do much to further and extend a comnuinity spirit. The fnrt thnf flic pageant officers desire the attendance of THE ORGANIZATION 35 persons who must motor In and that they take the trouble to arrange for their convenience while in the city is a great Incentive for them to attend not only the particular pageant in question but to form associations that will bring them back frequendy. Certain restaurants may be persuaded to make special terms to holders of pageant tickets or some local organization like the Y. M. C. A. or the Y. W. C. A. may establish cafeteria service for the convenience of those attending. If such service is planned and advertised, and those arranging for It are satisfied with a small margin of profit it will do much to advertise the pageant. It will do more, probably, to advertise the friendly spirit of the city and thus contribute to a mutual understanding and establish a good basis for future intercourse. Episode Directors. — The last of the pageant officers, but by no means the least when considered from the stand- point of the success of the pageant, are the episode directors. Each episode should have some one person named as director and if the cast for the episode is unusually large or if the action is subdivided in a very marked way two or even three directors should be appointed. Each should be respon- sible for a certain very definite part of the episode and should be the final authority, under the pageant master, for the group assigned to him. The reason for this clearly marked division of authority is the impossibility of any one person taking care of the details connected with more than one group of characters. Each episode director, together with the pageant master, selects the cast for that episode and under the direction of the pageant master plans the action of the episode. He must see that the members of his group attend the rehearsals that are called, that they are prompt at these rehearsals, that they remain together and quiet in the place appointed for them at the general rehearsals, and that at the actual per- formance each individual in the group is ready for his entrance at the proper time and that each individual Is prop- 36 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY erly costumed and is supplied with the necessary properties. In fact each episode director is a stage manager for his episode. All the responsibility for the success of his episode rests upon him and this is no slight matter. The manner in which episode directors live up to the responsibilities of their office determines, in a final analysis, the success of the pro- duction. Another duty which must be performed by the episode director is the writing of the description of his episode as a basis for the work of the author of the pageant book or of its editor. This implies the writing of the book according to the plan described in the chapter fol- lowing. The various and exacting duties cited as devolving upon the episode director indicate the reason for limiting the number of people for whom he is responsible. The one burden of telephoning instructions as to rehearsals would become monumental if a large number of persons were on each episode director's list. Of course the number of char- acters in an episode will vary with the pageant. A variation of from tw^enty to two hundred is not at all uncommon. Should the cast for any one episode be very large the director will need assistants for telephoning and similar duties. The wise director will have announcements concerning the whole cast made when all are together in order to save so much telephoning, but it will not be possible to avoid a large amount of it. Then at rehearsals it will require a very determined director to keep his group together and quiet enough so that there will be no loss of time when the pageant master is ready for them. An episode director will usually select the cast for his episode from his own circle of acquaintances. It may be that he must look for a peculiar type of person and hence must search through the whole city. His troubles are apt to be fewer if he is working with people whom he knows rather well, as he then knows who can be depended upon to do as they should without too constant supervision. Rather close supervision must be maintained under the most favorable THE ORGANIZATION 37 of circumstances, hence it is to the advantage of the director to reduce it to a minimum through selecting responsible persons for the cast. The pageant master will probably have the details of the pageant as a whole much more clearly in mind than will any one director and so can select more wisely for the principal characters of the episodes but he should be limited to those persons selected by the episode director except under unusual circumstances. The most satisfactory way is for the episode director to invite the persons whom he wishes for his episode to meet the pageant master and then through a simple process of try-outs the particular persons best suited to particular parts can be selected. The episode director has the primary responsibility in the costuming of his characters. He will receive his instruc- tions from the costumer and the pageant artist and then must see that the individual characters carry out these instructions. This is no small task as there are always well intentioned people who think they have costumes that will do very well and in the kindness of their hearts insist upon wearing them or loaning them to some person in the cast. Nine times out of ten such costumes are not at all suited to the particular need of that episode. Another difficulty over costumes is that some people invariably wait until the last minute to get theirs ready and then there is no time left for the almost inevitable corrections. The properties occasion much perplexity to the episode director. Each character should be expected to provide the necessary properties but here, as in costuming, diversity of opinion as to what Is suited to the episode often brings about embarrassing situations. When a person has gone to some expense and considerable trouble to get a needed piece of property he is naturally displeased if It Is not considered suitable. When there Is time, and money, available It Is much better for the pageant master to have all the properties made up and Issued to the episode directors or directly to the cast just before they are to be used and checked in again at the (Q Q Q Q O O O U ili O 38 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY end of each performance. The matter of swords, when they are needed, will Illustrate this point. A modern military sword or knights-templar sword would not do at all for a warrior in a primitive episode nor in an episode with Greeks of the age of Pericles forming the cast. Yet, if left to them- selves, the majority of persons would get such a sword for these parts. When a sword is to be the symbol of all swords rather than a particular sword the Integrity of the character- ization is marred If the sword carried is obviously of the style of 1 86 1, 1812, or 1776. A painted wooden sword with a straight cross hilt is much more convincing than a modern cavalry sword in the hands of a feudal knight. What Is true of swords Is true also to a large extent of all pageant properties. They must be In keeping with the age represented by the episode or else they make a false note that is difficult to overcome by excellence of acting. When- ever a piece of property used on the stage attracts attention that should be centered on the acting It is inappropriate and should be replaced by something that will contribute to the general effect and not destroy the whole scheme of relative values. The episode director should bear the same relation to the cast of characters for his episode that a stage manager bears to the actors In a regular play. He is responsible for them and for every detail of the episode to the pageant master. If things go wrong with his episode he Is the one that is blamed. An episode director who Is careless or Indifferent will find his own inefficiency reflected In his episode. Experienced pageant masters claim to be able to classify episode directors as efficient or otherwise by watching the way the details of management are taken care of In the different episodes of a pageant. If, in reading this chapter, one Is impressed with the assertion with regard to the pageant officers that the success of the pageant rests ultimately upon each of these several officers, this rather contradictory position can be definitely maintained. A pageant Is so essentially a community affair THE ORGANIZATION 39 that the sort of organization best suited to bring it to a suc- cessful issue is the one that makes each individual officer responsible for a definite indispensable part of the whole pageant. If an indispensable part of a pageant fails, to exactly that extent has the pageant failed. III. THE BOOK There are two ways of preparing the book of a pageant. It may be written by a professional author, a ready made product, as it were, or it may be worked out as a community project by the episode directors and the author or editor. Since this book is written from the standpoint of community projects the latter is the method preferred. The pageant committee, having been selected to organize the community for the production of a pageant, is by reason of this fact usually instructed with regard to the nature or theme of the pageant to be presented. For example, the committee appointed to have charge of the Savannah Cen- tennial Pageant presented by the Savannah Festival Association of Savannah, Georgia, April 24, 19 19, knew from the time of its appointment that the pageant it arranged must show noteworthy events of Savannah one hundred years ago. The general theme was at hand, ready made. The task of the committee was to decide exactly which of these notable events would best lend themselves to pageant presentation and would at the same time show the important happenings of the early years of the colony in historical perspective. Title. — So, with all pageant committees, the general theme, the title of the book, one might say, is selected by the community or by the group which is giving the pageant. The title of the book is selected for the committee. The committee must, however, decide upon the particular epi- sodes or events to be presented. The names of these events or episodes become the chapter headings of the pageant book. Author. — As soon as the episodes have been decided 40 THE BOOK 41 upon the episode directors must be appointed If they have not ah-cady been selected. This Is as important from the standpoint of the pageant book as from that of the actual presentation of the pageant. Efficient directors are essential If the book is to be of real value. Even before the cast is selected the episode director must sketch out the general plan of the action of his episode. The episode directors, together with the pageant master, arrange, as before indi- cated, for the manner in which the episodes are to be pre- sented. Each episode director then writes a fairly detailed description of his episode and submits this, with the cast of characters for his episode, to the person who is to write the pageant book. Actually, the author writes only a small part of the book. He usually writes the lines of the central figures or of their spokesman and edits or revises the material concerning the individual episodes that has been handed in by the episode directors. Strictly speaking the term author is a misnomer since the finished book is the result of the labor of so many people, yet there is no attempt or intention In this to claim credit for work done by other people. Perhaps editor would be a better term, and yet that misses the exact truth almost as far as the other. Since it seems to be generally understood that in a pageant that is a community project this Is the customary procedure, there really is no misrepresentation In using the term author. As a matter of fact It Is often necessary to rewrite practically all of the episode descriptions in order to achieve unity of style and form. To be strictly logical In carrying out the community idea the episode director would first select his characters or at least he would select them after working out with the pageant master the important points in the action of the episode. Then he would call his group together and they, advised by the episode director and the pageant master, would discuss and decide upon the details of the action. In other words the persons taking the parts would actually decide by the laboratory method upon the way In which the 42 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY events with which the episode deals is to be presented. In actual practice this works very well when there is time enough to experiment. A more intelligent interest is sure to be developed on the part of the cast and the actual per- formance will be that much better. The community spirit will also be developed and will last beyond the pageant and Vv'ill function to an appreciable extent in other civic activities. Then the episode director has an outline for his description of the episode that is to be turned in to the author. The pageant master is usually the one who acts as author or editor in civic pageants. There is a distinct advantage in this when he has the ability to use sincere dignified English, He would probably spend as much time in acquiring a working knowledge of the details of the book if it were written by some other person as it would take to write It himself. The one essential point is that the person who writes the book must have a very complete command of the English language and must have a high conception of the nature and function of pageantry. It is to be readily admitted that a quite different method of writing the book may be followed. The person who writes the book may do all of the work himself from cen- ceiving the pageant as a whole to designating all of the details of how the episodes are to be acted. He may not be a member of the community giving the pageant. He may not even visit the community while he is working on the book. In this case the author would write the book without consulting anybody else and when it is finished the pageant master would simply assign to each episode director the description of his episode and the director and the cast would have no opportunity for initiative in the matter at all. They would only follow instructions. An example of a very effective dramatic work that has been given pageant treatment is llie Pilgrim and the Book written for the Pilgrim tercentenary celebration by Percy Mackayc in the manner described above. It is very proper that a pageant designed for use in any church in any part of the country desiring to observe this centennial should be THE BOOK 43 written in this way. Ordinary rules do not hold under such unusual circumstances. A ready made pageant of this gen- eral character is undoubtedly better than one on the same subject that could be worked up locally. Local writers of Mr. Mackaye's ability are very uncommon and since the theme is general it is better that it be handled by an expert. It is only the local historical pageant that is so intrinsically a community project and therefore to be developed as such. The dramatist and the literary critic will very likely consider the writing by an experienced author the best way in which a pageant book may be prepared, and it will result in closer dramatic unity. It has, however, made the pageant that much less of a community project and has robbed the members of the community of that avenue of self expression. Since spontaneous self expression of individuals working in groups is the real essence of and excuse for pageants, we are constrained to follow the more democratic method of assembling the book and then having it edited. Even the general pageant that does not deal with local history may be used to advantage as a medium for community work. When this democratic method is followed there is a rather intangible something infused into the acting and into the book that inspires a wonderful feeling of solidarity among the pageant workers which carries across and affects an audience. The author or editor of the pageant book has more to do than merely to collate the work of the episode directors. He must furnish the main plot or, more correctly speaking, the main thread of continuity, however slender it may be, upon which the episodes are strung. Without this principal theme or thread of continuity running through all of the episodes and binding them together there would be con- fusion and loss of interest. It seems hardly fair to this dramatic form to select a number of totally unrelated scenes and call the aggregation a pageant. There should always be some unifying idea that relates and binds together what might otherwise become almost entirely dissociated bits of action through a haphazard method of working out each 44 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY episode. A convenient device for thus binding together the episodes is a small group of figures, symbolic in character, personifying the community or impersonal forces such as Hope, Despair, or Truth, which remain on the stage throughout the pageant and review the episodes, relating each to the main theme as it passes. The author must, of course, write the lines for these central figures. They may well be given the exposition or argument of the pageant as a sort of prologue with other lines introducing and explaining very briefly and not too obviously the action of each episode as it is to be presented. In the Savannah Centennial Pageant this group of central figures included the Spirit of Savannah with six attendant female figures, two heralds, and eight buglers; the Spirit of the River with attendant waves; nymphs; dryads; and the ten years, 1 8 19-1829. This is a much larger group than is ordinarily used. A very few lines were given to the Spirit of Savannah, but throughout the greater part of the pageant two Heralds, standing at the front against the arch, acted as spokesmen for the group. In the Thanks- giving pageant the Spirit of Thanksgiving, Hope, and Despair, spoke all of the lines of the central group. They had attendants and buglers but no lines were given to any of them. The buglers acted in both of these pageants as the official announcers of the approach of episode groups or as attendants of the principal figures calling upon the different episode groups to appear. Regular bugle calls were used but they were given a tempo less rapid than is common when they arc used for military purposes. At the command of the central figures the buglers on the stage would sound an appropriate call which would be repeated by the buglers stationed at the entrance where the group was to appear. Such a formal announcement of the ajiproach of an episode grouj) seems to hold and concentrate the atten- tion of the audience, and when it is well done it is very impressive. An added ilcvice for unifying the action of the different groups in the Thanksgiving pageant was tbc use of THE BOOK 45 attendants, two for each episode, who were stationed at the different entrances and who conducted the groups to the stage and then off again at the end of the episodes. Language of the Book. — An indication of the sort of language considered suitable for a pageant book was given in the paragraph dealing with the qualifications necessary for the author of a pageant book. The events which make suitable material for pageant treatment are of more than ordinary significance. They are the great moments in the history of a people or of a community. The treatment of them must be in keeping with the character of the events. This will exclude from the pageant book all merely smart or colloquial language. What is ordinarily considered as the comic element will be excluded for the same reason. Comedy and the language of comedy have little or no place in the exalted experiences of the life of a community or a nation. Sincerity and dignity should be the dominant notes in the language of a pageant book. Not only the lines of the characters but the descriptions of the episodes should be in this same dignified, almost austere, style. Any other style seems trivial by contrast with the events depicted. Variety may be obtained by using songs in chorus or solo arrangement, dances that are appropriate and that belong intrinsically to the action, and some few lines by the principal characters. These devices are to be used sparingly, how- ever, if an effect of continuity is to be secured. A very common error of authors of pageant books is that of making use of too much dialogue. Anything that par- takes of the nature of conversation becomes trivial by com- parison with the breadth and scope of a dignified, worthy expression of the life of a community. Anything conceived on so large a scale, anything making use of such masses of characters, must not be belittled by ordinary conversation between actors. It must be sustained and dignified by the oratorical and the declamatory. Hence the author will do Avell to make the lines of his central figures not mere dialogue 46 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY but the expressions of lofty emotions that may be fittingly expressed in tones loud enough to be heard to the limits of the out-of-door auditorium. The lines of these figures should not be allowed to become incongruous because of the lack of proportion between the v^olume of voice used and the nature of the words so expressed. A few short, well-written speeches of the kind indicated are sufficient to carry along the story of practically any pageant. Dialogue of any length, even were it desirable, could not be sustained in a voice loud enough to carry beyond the front rows of seats. As a result the audience would become restless and its attention would waver. Attention thus lost is difficult to regain. A single example may be cited. The prologue of a very beautiful pageant presented in the open-air municipal theater of a large city and enacted by an actor and actress of national renown lost much of its effect because the effect depended too much upon the lines which could not be heard beyond the first quarter of the seats. The audience became restless; read newspapers, and entered into half-audible conversation with neighbors. The attention thus allowed to wander was never completely regained and the inspiring message of a beautiful pageant was lost to three-quarters of the immense audience. What is true of the central figures is also true to a greater extent of the characters in the episodes. They should seldom be given any lines. Like the small boy of proverbial fame, they are more effective when seen and not heard. There is something unexpectedly impressive about the silent, steady progress of episode after episode played against a background of appropriate music, each introduced by only essential explanation or left to explain itself through the action. Even the printed description of the episodes in the pageant book should be as brief and concise as possible without neglecting the essential features. The audience should be able to read all that pertains to an episode in so short a time that they will not miss anything of importance in the action. THE BOOK 47 Those lines in the pageant book that are to be spoken by the different characters might well be printed in a different kind of type from that used for descriptive matter. In the Savannah Centennial Pageant the lines of the principal char- acters were printed in italics. The only departure from this is that the lines of Savannah at the opening of the pageant are in ordinary type but widely spaced. The reader soon becomes accustomed to this arrangement and can follow the lines or can distinguish the parts of the book that deal with the episode action without loss of time. In the same way the type used for the descriptive material is different from that used for the casts of characters. The cast of the central figures is put in different type from that of the episode casts but there is no reason for confusion in that as there is no other kind of material on the page with the cast of the principal characters in this particular book. Ordinarily it would be better to use the same type for all casts of char- acters. These or similar devices should be used in all pageant books to distinguish clearly between the different kinds of material included so that confusion and vain search- ing for specific information on the part of the spectators may be avoided. Content of the Book. — The pageant book will con- tain, then, the lines of the central figures, the descriptions of the different episodes, the words of whatever songs are used, the cast of characters for each episode, the cast of the central figures, the list of pageant officers, the pageant com- mittee, the programme of music, the names of the members of the orchestra, a list of the episodes, and a foreword indi- cating the purpose and aims of the community in presenting the pageant. The person who writes the foreword and the lines of the central figures and who edits the descriptions of the episodes is conventionally termed the author. Quota- tions and original lines by episode directors or others are usually acknowledged in foot-notes. The order in which these items should be arranged is a 48 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY matter for debate. A very good arrangement places the pageant committee, the author, and the pageant officers on the first page, the names of the members of the orchestra on the second, a Hst of the episodes with the directors assigned to each on the next, the cast of the central figures next, then the episodes with the cast for each following in order, and last the musical programme by episodes. The foreword Avould probably better be placed first of all instead of between the lists of officers and the episode descriptions. It is well to have the reader informed concerning the aims of the com- munity in giving the pageant before he is informed as to the persons who are carrying out the ideas of the community and the manner in which they propose to carry them out. Style of the Book. — There has been great diversity in the style of pageant books gotten out for different pageants. The book of the Savannah Centennial Pageant is included in this volume in its original form. This pamphlet of twenty-four pages contains all of the material used in the pageant except the words of the song in Episode I, a few- lines of dialogue in Episode II, the words of the song in Episode III, the address in Episode V, and the words of the song in Episode VII. These items should have been included but the material was not ready in time. The book does not follow exactly the order suggested in the preceding paragraph. It would doubtless have gained in clearness had it been so arranged. Page one would not be readily under- stood except by one who had helped with the pageant. Phis arrangement was due to the fact that the formal pageant in the city auditorium was preceded by a street pageant in which the order of grouping was that given on page one, v.ith the exception of the last two groups. Ordinarily a book of this size is entirely adequate for the material that really needs to be included in a pageant book. No book was printed for the 1 hanksgiving pageant because of lack of funds. A four-page programme with a brief synopsis of the episodes and the cast of characters was printed and dis- THE BOOK 49 tribiited. Unless a pageant book is printed it is necessary to have a programme similar to this one. Such programmes should contain as brief a statement as possible of the different episodes, the casts of characters for the episodes and the cast of the central figures. Only the most important of the pageant officers can be included and the names of the members of the orchestra may have to be omitted. The programme of music by episodes will have to be omitted, also. The description of each episode should be confined to a single sentence when possible. None of the lines of any of the characters can be included. The programme of the Thanksgiving pageant precedes the words of the pageant in the present volume, and is a fair sample of what such programmes should be. The programme of the Jefferson City pageant which precedes the programme of the Thanksgiving pageant is much the same except that it has no episode descriptions. These were not necessary as pageant books were available. This was one of those pageants of general appeal written by a regular author; the ready made pageant spoken of earlier In the chapter. Being printed by a commercial publisher for use in many different places the books contained nothing but the words of the pageant and it was necessary to have programmes with the cast of characters printed. There v/as, however, no need for episode descriptions to be Included as the books contained full descriptions of the episodes. The book will gain In clearness if the paging of the epi- sodes Is so arranged that each episode description can begin at the top of a page. This Is particularly appropriate since the episode description together with the cast of characters for It Is to be treated as a chapter of a book is treated. No printer would begin a new chapter of a book In the middle of a page and yet many of them will start a new episode description In the middle of a page as readily as at the top of a new page. The reason for this is especially obscure because each episode description is given a title and is num- bered with Roman numerals as chapter headings are always 50 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY indicated in books. Separating the episode descriptions by proper paging is an aid to the audience in following the story of the pageant as the action progresses. Less attention Is taken from the action itself when episode divisions are thus clearly indicated. Many pageant books have been made exceedingly elaborate with half-tone or colored illustrations. They often run into a large number of pages, ninety-six to one hundred forty-eight. Books of this kind are very expensive to issue and must be sold for comparatively large prices. It is, however, a very decided advantage to have half-tones of the different pageant groups and of the important characters used to illustrate the text of the pageant. Even in a book of twenty-four pages a few of these half-tones may be included if costumes can be made ready in time. It takes from four to seven days to get the plates made after the pictures are taken. Allowing only a week for the printer to get out the books this means that any group whose picture is to appear in the book must be completely cast and costumed at least two weeks before the date for the pageant. This seems very simple at first sight but experience shows it to be an almost impossible task. Line drawings are much easier to prepare as the pageant artist can make the drawings while the costumes are being made and it takes a much shorter time to get the zinc plates made than the copper ones used for the half-tones. Books illustrated with the line drawings are very interesting and much less expensive to publish. They lack the personal appeal of the pictures of the people who take the parts In the pageant and it is this personal appeal that Influences the sale of the books. A book of twenty-four or even forty-eight pages could be gotten out in 191 6 for from seventy-live to ninety dollars a thousand with a reduction for the second and subsequent thousands. These books would be printed on a fair quality of paper and would have heavy paper covers printed ^\ith an appropriate cover design. At this price It was possible to sell the books for ten cents a copy and make a little money THE BOOK 51 on them. The book of the Savannah Centennial Pageant was sold for ten cents a copy but that was not enough to cover the cost of the printnig which had advanced greatly since 1916. The pageant committee considered that it was better to sell the books at a small loss than to charge more for them and so reduce the sales. They wanted everybody who attended the pageant to have a book for reference dur- ing the performance. It is usually found necessary to sell the pageant books as copies of the libretto of an opera are sold. A much better plan would be to distribute them freely as theater programmes are distributed in this country but the cost of printing usually prohibits this and they must be sold for enough to pay for the printing. Since they contain the cast of characters and may contain half-tones of groups or of individual characters or line drawings illustrating the episodes they become valu- able souvenirs of the pageant. Such books, containing con- siderable historical material, often become really valuable documents after only a few years. No advertisements of any kind should be used in the pageant book. It is essentially inappropriate to use them, as they would spoil the artistic quality of the book and to some extent impair its historical value, as well. Even pageant programmes are better with no advertisements in them to distract the attention of the audience. The only excuse for using advertisements on such programmes is that the money for them will reimburse the pageant committee for the cost of the programmes. Economy in some other place would better be exercised and the programmes as well as the pageant books left free from advertising matter of any kind. Sale of the Books. — If the pageant books can be gotten out several days before the date set for the pageant they serve as valuable advertising material. They should be put on sale in the book stores and music stores, at the places where the tickets are for sale, and at special booths arranged 52 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY in the post office and other public buildings or wherever many people pass in the course of the day. On the day of the pageant persons from the cast, in costume, should be assigned to the approaches to the pageant grounds, and to the inside of the grounds as well, to sell the books. Ushers, boy scouts, girl scouts, and camp-fire girls may sell the books if preferred but the person in costume appeals to the imagination of the people in the audience and stimulates interest in the pageant. The salesmen in costume help create an atmosphere, if we may use that much worked word. Of course, when the pageant begins, the sale of books must stop except as it can be done quietly and unobtrusively by the ushers. Nothing has been said about who should be responsible for the handling of the pageant books. In some cases the advertising manager is able and willing to do that in addition to his other duties. The business manager is also willing to undertake the sale in some cases. Considerable experience seems to prove that it is much better to hav^e some person with no other duties of any nature appointed to have entire control of the sale of books. A person with no other duties is able to give his entire attention to this rather difficult task and so carry it through to a successful completion. The successful conclusion is not so much the making of money from the sale of the books as it is to so manage the sale that practically everyone who attends the pageant will have a book for reference during the performance. Editing the Book. — The editing, as such, consists in unifying the style of the episode descriptions and making uniform the lists of names and casts of characters. It is a difficult matter to secure uniformity in these details and hence the task should be given Into the hands of a person who at least knows the language of printers. If a very care- fully typed copy be given to the printer his labors are greatly minimized. Very good printers who take a pride In their work will attend to the details mentioned better than a per- THE BOOK 53 son not familiar with the trade can do. The author should consult the printer constantly or arrange to have the printer consult him when in doubt as to the way any detail of the book such as paging and spacing of names is to be arranged. With the hundreds of names listed in a pageant book errors are very difficult to detect. The proof should be read care- fully by at least two persons and each episode director should read the proof for his episode. Even with this precaution one need not be surprised to discover errors and omissions in the book when issued. The errors and omissions are always those that are the hardest to explain and when names are omitted it usually happens that they are the names of all names that should have been included if misunderstandings were to be avoided. For the Thanksgiving pageant several marines were- coming at their own expense from a post some distance away to take part in Episodes VIII and IX. Their names were omitted from the preliminary programme printed the day before the pageant was to be given and it took three hours of long distance telephoning to straighten out the diffi- culty. Under such circumstances the persons who read the proof would better not try to explain. It is much simpler in the end to admit the fault and express regret, even if there is a real excuse for the error. Need for the Book. — Why has it been taken for granted that a pageant book is essential? Because a pageant, contrary to general opinion with regard to the drama, gains in effect if the audience is taken into the con« fidence of the pageant group and is informed as to what is to be seen and the significance of it. A pageant is, by the nature of pageantry, a very broad sketchy treatment of events or forces, any detail of which might well form the plot of a full-length drama. It is, therefore, in the nature of an intensification of the impression made if the action on the stage is supplemented, or even anticipated, by the pageant book. The tradition that the audience would better be ignorant of what was to be seen and heard in the theater 54 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY grew up before the day of published plays. Now that many plays are offered for sale in printed form before they are ever produced on the stage this tradition is going the way of many traditions that grew up under former conditions. Many actors now maintain that the ideal audience is the one that is familiar with the play that is being given. They claim that such an audience listens more intelligently and responds more promptly than an audience that is in suspense as to the trend of the action. This change of attitude cannot be placed entirely to the account of the printed play by any means. There has been a corresponding change in the character of the plays produced. Whatever may be true with regard to the drama there is but one conclusion with regard to the pageant. There is everything to gain and nothing to lose by having the audience familiar with the words of the pageant and the best way to accomplish this is through the pageant book. IV. THE MUSIC Pageant music Is in a class by itself. The nearest approach to it, probably, is the music used in the picture houses. Even this is so diiierent in character and treatment that it can hardly be said to resemble pageant music except that both aim to deepen the impression made upon the audience by what is seen on the stage and the screen. The great difference between the two is in the type of music used and in the way it is used. The appeal of the films is frankly made to the popular taste, hence the ordinary popular music finds a very prominent place In the programmes of music for picture theaters. This Is entirely right and proper and the music used varies with the type of picture shown and with the character of the audience. Many of the better picture theaters use classical music to a large extent because their audiences are made up of people who understand and appre- ciate the best in music. In general, however, the music that is suited for a pageant is of a better type than that used for the pictures. The treatment is also different in that the pageant music is subordinated more completely to the action of the pageant than is the case with the music in the picture houses. The very rapid development of the story on the screen makes it difficult to follow every change of mood with an appropriate change of music. In a pageant the episodes are usually so arranged that there is no necessity for a change of theme in the music throughout the episode. Whenever many changes in the music are required in the course of an episode one is fairly safe in assuming that the author has not fol- lowed the pageant form very closely but has used a mixture of dramatic forms and has called the result a pageant. The music for a dramatic entertainment of this sort is very diffi- 55 56 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY cult to handle. As a matter of fact such a so-called pageant would better be discarded entirely or else largely rewritten. The alternative to this is to make the music the important feature and subordinate the action to It. The result may be pleasing but It is not pageantry in the proper sense of the term. Function of Pageant Music. — The music for a pageant should simply form a background for the action of the pageant. It should never become the prominent feature of the pageant but should be subordinated to the action and should be used only In such ways as will support and intensify the emotional appeal made by the action of the pageant and by the stage pictures. It should bear the same relation to the action of the pageant that an accompaniment bears to the solo. In many pageants the orchestra plays almost con- tinuously, especially during the entrances and exits of episode groups. While the characters are speaking the music should sink nearly to silence and then should swell out again as the action without speech is resumed. The music helps set the tempo for the whole performance, yet It Is always secondary to the action of the pageant. The audience should not be acutely conscious of the music except at specified places. The emotional appeal of the music should, however, be depended upon to intensify the effect of the lines and of the action of the pageant throughout the performance. Standard and Original Compositions. — It Is only occasionally, and for certain parts, that it is an advantage to use original music. Usually suitable music can be found in the works of standard composers and in collections of folk and national songs. The selection of the music to be used should be made carefully with the character and intended tempo of the different episodes kept clearly In mind. It would he as inappropriate to use a minuet for a Roman processional as it would be to use a dignified but rather noisy march for all the phases of a Joan of Arc episode. The music selected lor the Roman episode in the Thanks- THE MUSIC 57 giving pageant was "Antony's Victory" (Gruenwald) from the Antony and Cleopatra suite. It has dignity, volume, and strongly marked rhythm and melody, just the characteristics best calculated to deepen the impression made by a Roman triumphal procession. A French folk-song would be the proper accompaniment for an episode dealing with the early life of Joan of Arc while a stately minuet would be better suited to an episode showing her at the court of the Dauphin. The music selected for the Joan of Arc episode in the Thanksgiving pageant was the first number of the Antony and Cleopatra suite (Gruenwald) entitled "In the Arbor." The introduction with the obligato omitted made an excellent processional hymn for the entrance of the Archbishop of Rheims and his clergy while the romantic main theme of the composition seemed very fitting accompaniment for the movements of the court group. It is only for certain special features of a pageant that special music must be written. That composed for the Mountain, the Intervale, and the River spirits of the Thet- ford Pageant could not well have been dispensed with. Music written especially for the occasion by someone thoroughly in harmony with the mountains, valleys, and rivers of the region seemed essential. The composer caught the spirit of the mountains, the meadows, and the streams and expressed it subtly through his music. In a pageant given at the University of Missouri by the School of Educa- tion in 191 6 suitable music for the words of one of Froebel's action songs was not available so one of the students wrote a melody to accompany the words and orchestrated it. The next year the same student set to music the song of Autolycus from The Winter's Tale to use in a pageant dealing with the development of literary forms. Usually, however, music already orchestrated meets all the requirements of a pageant and saves an infinite amount of time, labor, and money. Arranging the Music. — When folk and national songs are used it is often necessary for the musical director to 58 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY arrange them for the particular instruments that are avail- able. The air needs to be well marked while the harmony is of only secondary importance in music of this character. A strongly marked melody with enough harmony to avoid monotony is all that is required. What is desired is a suit- able accompaniment for certain pageant action. It is often well when arranging folk songs for pageant use to arrange them for only a few instruments, preferably the strings. National songs usually need greater volume and hence all sections of the orchestra need to be included. Under these circumstances it is well to give the melody to the violins and wood winds and perhaps part of the trumpets, while the other string and brass instruments fill in the harmony. No set plan can be followed, since the instruments available and the skill of the players must determine this detail of the work of the musical director. The Pageant Orchestra. — An important duty of the musical director is the selecting of the members of the orchestra. Since the musical director is often a member of the community a knowledge of the talent available is taken for granted. Were the pageant master to direct the orchestra he would be obliged to depend upon the knowledge of the pageant committee in selecting the orchestra members. Only general principles can be given for the selection. If the pageant is to be given indoors a small orchestra with the strings and wood winds predominating will be found the best. For an out-of-door pageant a large orchestra with a strong brass section is better. There are often local com- plications that practically force the musical director to use combinations of instruments that are not desirable from a musical standpoint, but since our premise is that a pageant Is, or should be, a strictly community project the good of the community must be taken as the standard of judgment in settling this as well as all other questions of pageant man- agement. A pageant is not, primarily, a "show" or a con- cert. It is a community project expressing an ideal of the THE MUSIC 59 community as a whole, and all questions affecting the pageant should be settled with this in mind. As has been stated before, fairly proficient amateurs make much better material for the pageant orchestra than do regular theater players. There are two principal reasons for this. First, the theater musicians are all members of the union and so have a rather high fixed price per hour. There is nothing to be said against this ordinarily, but for a pageant It Is a different matter and Is difficult to handle. Pageant funds are seldom extensive enough to allow so great an expense for a single item, no matter how important an Item it may be. Then, as soon as the paid professional element enters Into the pageant the spontaneous community aspect of it Is lost and it takes on the character of the professional theater performance. Another union restriction that is entirely proper under ordinary circumstances but which is very troublesome In arranging for the pageant music is that union musicians cannot play under the direction of any but a union director and the musical director of a pageant is very seldom a professional musician. Neither may they play with non-union musicians. This professional, commercial, tend- ency In a pageant Is to be avoided whenever possible for reasons that are developed from the nature of pageantry. The second important reason for preferring amateur musicians Is that they have fewer conventional theater habits of playing to overcome and hence are more readily respon- sive to the directions of the leader. This would not be true, of course, of the large symphony orchestras nor of the orchestras of the large metropolitan theaters but these are so seldom available for pageant purposes that they need not be considered here. The orchestra leader often needs to take very great liberties with the score by varying the tempo and the volume in very different manner from that intended by the composer. This is justified because of the subordinate value of the music in the pageant performance. Its position Is secondary to that of the action and hence It must be modi- fied to meet the requirements of the action. Professional 6o THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY musicians often find it difficult to adjust themselves to these unusual variations. Another advantage that the amateur has over the pro- fessional musician is that he can usually afford to spend a much greater amount of time at rehearsals. Joint rehearsals of episode groups with the orchestra must be held if the performance is to go smoothly. The orchestra must have enough rehearsals, by itself, to ensure familiarity with the music before it is called to rehearse with episode groups. These rehearsals of the orchestra with the different episode groups must be held whenever the music forms an integral part of the episode as is the case when there is dancing, singing, or where fine co-ordination is desired between the climax of the action and the musical climax. These group rehearsals are almost indispensable if long delays at full rehearsals are to be avoided. There is no time at full rehearsals for the orchestra to stop and study out any detail of the music. Neither is there any good excuse for the rehearsal to be interrupted by the necessity for the orchestra and any small group of actors to co-ordinate their work. All this should have been done at preliminary rehearsals of the groups and the orchestra. The full re- hearsals are for the purpose of putting together the pageant and making such final changes as are demanded by the unity of the pageant as a whole. The orchestra should be ready to go through these full rehearsals with no hesitation. If the whole orchestra cannot attend all of the group rehearsals the pianist and such other members as can attend are very often able to carry the whole orchestra along at the full rehearsals. Placing of Orchestra. — The placing of the orchestra is an important matter. It should be so placed that it is not interposed between the audience and the stage. This is nearly impossible in an indoor performance because of the construction of the buildings. One of the most effective pageants the author has ever seen was given in a small THE MUSIC 6i auditorium with a balcony. The orchestra was placed at the rear of the center of this balcony and was thus entirely out of the range of vision of the audience. The emotional effect was very marked. Other elements entered largely into this especially successful performance but the placing of the orchestra was an important factor. The pageant of Thet- ford, mentioned before, had the orchestra placed in a special booth at one side of the stage so that it was at the right of the audience instead of being between the audience and the stage. In an out-of-door pageant the orchestra could be hidden from the audience by a screen of greens that might form a part of the stage setting. Orchestral Difficulties. — Orchestras sometimes have considerable difficulty in changing from one piece of music to the next because of the putting away of the first piece and finding the second. Any delay here is fatal to the impression that is being made by the pageant because this change of music often comes at a crucial point in the action. About the only time that can safely be allowed for this change of music is when the spokesman for the central fig- ures is introducing a new episode. This is not usually a long time and yet the orchestra must be ready to resume playing as soon as these lines are spoken. The audience has been told what it is going to see and if it is kept waiting while the orchestra arranges music its attention wanders and the spell of the pageant is broken. Many devices have been resorted to in order that these delays might be reduced to a minimum. The members of the orchestra seldom have time to follow the action with the pageant book. The best substitute is a typed programme of the music, by episodes, which can be pinned to the music rack where it is always visible. With this in view and with the music arranged in the order in which it is to be played there should be very little trouble through delays. The pianist will need an assistant who will sit beside him and find the music as it is needed and put away that which has been used. 62 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY It Is often well to train boy or girl scouts to do this and assign one to each member of the orchestra. So many boys and girls of to-day, through their public school training, have at least a superficial knowledge of music that it is easy to find enough in any troop to serve in this capacity. A pageant given out of doors has special problems for the musicians. Some have been spoken of in connection with the work of the musical director. One that is of par- ticular importance so far as the individual orchestra mem- bers are concerned is the keeping of the music in place on the racks. The slightest puff of wind, no matter how gentle, will scatter the music. Clothespins of the spring variety are often used to hold the music in place. If the wnnd is at all strong and the music Is clamped to the ordinary metal music racks there is danger of racks and music being upset together. In extremities of this sort boy scouts may again be called into service, one for each stand, to hold the music in place and the rack upright. Absurd as this may appear at first thought it has been resorted to in more than one case and has always been found a satisfactory method of over- coming the difficulty. It is a very serious matter for even half of the orchestra to be deprived of music in the midst of an episode. It is much better to arrange for service from the scouts than to have the music stopped by a sudden wind when no precautions have been taken. Pageant Songs. — The introduction of songs not Intrin- sically related to the pageant is of doubtful dramatic value. They do lend variety but if at the same time they lessen rather than increase the unity of the theme of the pageant they are a liabiHty instead of an asset. The one excuse of variety is not sufficient ground for their being included. In many cases songs do belong naturally in certain episodes. This was true of the song used in Episode VII of the Savannah Centennial Pageant. The song was originally composed in honor of Lafayette's visit to Savannah and was sung at a dinner given in his honor. The song, therefore, Is THE MUSIC 63 an essential part of an episode dealing with Lafayette's visit. The same thing is true of the hymn sung by the Bethesda boys in Episode I of the same pageant. This episode is not based upon fact but is none the less convincing, dramatically, and the hymn is felt to be an appropriate part of such an event. Another use of songs in a pageant Is shown in the open- ing and closing choruses of the Thanksgiving pageant. The audience joined in the singing of these two songs and by that participation became to that extent identified with the pageant. The intention was to make every person in the audience feel a part of the pageant and become personally identified with the action. Such an opening chorus helps materially in establishing a sympathetic attitude on the part of the audience towards the pageant. The hymn of praise used as the opening chorus did more than this. It established the type of emotional response that was to be the key-note of the whole pageant, and thus not only helped to unify the audience but prepared directly for the proper response to the appeal of the pageant. A pageant dealing with the history of education Intro- duced a violin solo into the episode showing the modern extension of higher education to include painting, philosophy, literature, and music. Philosophy argued the case for equal rights and responsibilities for men and women. Literature and painting expressed their spheres in pantomime. Music played a violin solo. As many as four different ideas will not often be compressed into the space of one episode but here the ideas were so closely related that no sense of inconsistency was felt. This same pageant contained the episode mentioned as making use of the Froebel motion song. The mother, in educating her very young children, made use of games and songs. It was fitting in an episode showing this type of education that the mother should sing the song and act It with the child. The fact that the song was very beautifully sung did not affect the integrity of the episode but it did increase the pleasure of the audience. When special music 64 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY is an essential part of the episode action it may be used to advantage. Otherwise it would better be omitted. Entrance and Exit Music. — One very interesting part of pageants would be very flat and comparatively uninteresting were it not for the musical accompaniment. This part is the long entrances and exits of pageant groups. There seems neither rhyme nor reason to the entrance of a group of pageant figures down a long aisle of an auditorium on their way to the stage unless there is a background of music to give it effect. The persons in the groups feel exceedingly awkward when called upon to make such entrances at rehearsals without the orchestral accompani- ment but they feel entirely at their ease when the orchestra is playing. There seems to be something rather funda- mental about this feeling and it is shared to a great extent by those who witness the entrances. The same thing holds good with regard to pantomimic acting. Silent acting would be uninteresting by itself but it acquires new values through the music that accompanies it and thus becomes very much worth while. The music may not be noticed particularly for itself. It only contributes to the effect of the acting. V. THE CAST Selecting the Cast. — The aim, in selecting the cast of characters for a pageant, is to get persons who will look the parts and who have dramatic ability either already developed or latent. Only for the few parts that have lines is there need for good speaking voices as well. The selection of persons who look the parts implies a very complete acquaintance with photographs of historical personages, or if these are lacking with the conception of them as expressed by leading artists. Unfortunately the ideas of episode directors cannot be trusted on this point to any marked degree. There will be, of course, episode directors who are either already familiar with this historical material or who will inform themselves concerning it. Generally they do not know and seldom take the trouble to find out. The pageant master, then, is often the only person connected with a pageant who will know. He may not know what Lafayette or Julius Caesar looked like in the flesh but professional pride will in that case compel him to inform himself. The patriotic pageant given by the Woman's Committee, Missouri Division, Council of National Defense, 19 17- 191 8, in seventeen different places called for a person to represent Lafayette. The pageant master was the same person in all the places but the episode directors were differ- ent for each place. The type of person presented for approval by the seventeen different episode directors as being their idea of what Lafayette looked like when he first came to offer his services to Washington ranged from a rather plump blond man of twenty-five to a very tall, thin, dark man of fifty years of age. In between there were fifteen different sizes, shapes, and ages. No one of these directors 65 66 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY knew, apparently, that Lafayette was a slender youth only nineteen years old when he made his first visit to this country and was given an honorary command. Sometimes the pageant master was able to persuade the episode director that a young man should be substituted but usually they were sincere in thinking that the person of their choice was a good likeness of the French nobleman. The desire to give impor- tant persons a prominent place in the pageant and thus secure their interest and support may have influenced the episode directors in some cases, and there are circumstances when it would be well to sacrifice historical accuracy to community interests. It may well be argued that in such cases, where there seems to be no definite popular conception of the personal appearance of an historical character, it makes little diflier- ence what sort of a person is given the part. This is doubt- less true to a great extent. On the other hand, a pageant master who realizes the educational opportunities offered by a pageant is not quite content to be anything but as accurate, historically, as is possible with the resources at his command. In a community project such as a pageant it is often better to sacrifice dramatic and even historical verity than to insist on their preservation at the expense of community solidarity. This discussion brings out very clearly what has been spoken of in chapters dealing with other phases of the pageant; the difference between the commercial drama and the community pageant. The commercial drama exists for its own sake and in it dramatic unity and verity should be preserved at all costs. No other influence should interfere in any way. But the community pageant, and all real pageants should be community pageants, is a medium through which the community life may be expressed, built up, and co-ordinated. It exists for the sake of the com- munity first and is a dramatic expression as a secondary matter, 'f'he dramatic verity of a pageant can be sacrificed, then, wlien the interests of the community demand it. Appropriate Casting. — The difficulty in finding suit- THE CAST 67 able persons to take the part of Lafayette, cited in a previous paragraph, indicates an important factor in the success of the pageant from an artistic point of view, namely, the age of the character represented and the age of the per- son taking the part. This is implied in the fact that a very young person would not ordinarily be selected as a suitable type to take the part of an old person. Yet theater traditions are so strong with us that many directors are inclined to select for dramatic ability alone and trust to makeup to supply the necessary physical characteristics. It may be necessary and desirable to do this in the theater, although it is to be seriously questioned even there, but in a pageant it is almost fatal to the impression of sincerity that should be the key-note of a pageant. It is just as absurd to have a very young person impersonating extreme age as it is for a person well along in years to take the part of a very young man or woman. Young persons can assume the physical infirmities of age with some degree of success, although they usually exaggerate them. It is almost impossible for any but the most highly trained and experienced actors to assume the mental aspects of age and this training and experience can only be acquired through years of effort which make the impersonation not so much of a character part, after all, for the one acting it. An important feature of selecting the cast for a pageant, then, is to find persons who are of the right type and also of approximately the same age as the characters they are to represent. There is never any serious difiiculty in persuad- ing people past their first youth to take part in a pageant because of the nature and purpose of the pageant. People who never would consent to be in a play will very readily agree to take a part in a pageant because of the nature of the acting in a pageant. The fact that it is a community project appeals to them, the dignified treatment also appeals to them, the lack of dialogue Is an incentive, and finally, the dramatic instinct never atrophies but functions through life whenever conventional inhibitions are removed through public sentiment. 68 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY Character Parts. — Moving picture directors are com- ing to realize the limitations of makeup as a substitute for the right kind of actor more and more as their art develops. This does not necessarily mean that they are discarding the makeup box. It does mean that they are discarding the excessive use of makeup and are using it more intelligently. They are also selecting their actors with better discrimina- tion. It is within a comparatively short time that film actors have been chosen because of their age. That is to some extent an exaggeration, yet in recent films the characters that are old in the story are represented by persons of approx- imately the same age in the picture. Formerly the film mother was so unmistakably made up to look the correct age that the action was often made ludicrous. Advancing years bring such unvarying characteristics, physical and mental, to the majority of us that youth cannot hope to simulate them convincingly. Pageant treatment brings the characters under almost as close a scrutiny as the camera and character makeup and subterfuges of all sorts are fully as evident as in motion pictures. The use of the aisles for entrances and exits brings the actors into immediate proximity to the audience and any but appropriate casting of parts is evident and the desired illusion is destroyed. Where any really serious acting is required physical characteristics that are obviously assumed detract from the sincerity of the action to exactly the extent to which they distract the attention of the audience from the acting. Pageant Acting. — Dramatic ability was the second qualification mentioned as desirable in pageant actors. A pageant master soon learns to look for this ability in very unexpected quarters. The dramatic instinct may remain dormant for years and then suddenly stir to life when a suit- able medium is found. The one who has dramatic ability of the kind needed in pageantry may be entirely unconscious of it until nn opportunity to demonstrate it arrives and then latent ability of a high order will show itself. THE CAST 69 Pageant acting is more nearly allied to the pantomimic art than to any other branch of the drama. The technic of it seems to be quite different from that of the motion picture, although at first thought it might seem to be the same. It is more nearly like the acting in the modern drama of ideas than it is like the acting required by the earlier drama. Per- haps if Greek drama could be revived in its original form we would recognize many points of resemblance to pageant acting. There is little or no opportunity to portray the development of character, as the pageant seldom deals with that phase of life. The thing that pageant actors must possess is the ability to express, usually without the help of lines, character that is already developed. In the Thanksgiving pageant the only opportunity for acting, as such, is in the part of Augustus in Episode III and in Episode VI where the things Columbus has brought back from the New World are shown to the court of Ferdinand and Isabella. There is opportunity for considerable panto- mime in the latter episode. In the other episodes the duty of those taking the parts is to look like the persons they represent and see that the grouping on the stage is balanced and appropriate as seen from the audience. Some people have a natural feeling for stage grouping and they are the ones who should be selected to have prominent places in those episodes depending upon such groupings for their effects. They instinctively take the right places. An experienced director learns to pick out from a group of people those who will have ability of the sort necessary in a pageant. He acquires an almost intuitive knowledge of what can be expected from different people and is able to pick out, on the street or at social gatherings, those who will be valuable in different parts. Their physical characteristics have an important part in this but their mental processes as evidenced by their actions is the thing that appeals quite as strongly to the pageant master. Principal Parts. — Those parts with lines must be taken by persons with the necessary physical appearance and 70 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY speaking voices that have carrying power, A loud voice often does not carry as well as one of different timbre but of less volume. Enunciation and articulation have very much to do with the carrying power of voices. The person with a good singing voice very often has a poor speal^ing voice. The only way to make sure of the speaking parts is to try all who are in any way eligible In the place where the pageant will be given. It is especially difficult to find people whose voices will carry out of doors. Conditions are so different from even the large auditoriums that only those who are especially gifted are able to make the lines heard any distance from the stage. An example of this difficulty even with trained actors was cited in Chapter III (page 46) . On the other hand persons with no training and very little experience often show great facility in so placing their voices that they carry great distances. In the Jefferson City pageant the group of central figures was stationed at least half way up the very long flight of steps leading to the main entrance to the capltol building while the audience stretched for many rods out in front towards the street. No exact figures are available but the street was probably thirty rods from the woman who had the principal part. She had had no special training and no great amount of experience, yet every word of her lines could be heard and understood, which is an entirely different matter, nearly to the street. This Is an unusual case but It is cited to show that It is well for a pageant master to give every person interested an oppor- tunity to try for the speaking parts regardless of previous experience or the entire lack of it. Central Figures. — The cast of the central figures should, naturally, be selected by the pageant committee and the pageant master. The most satisfactory way is for the pageant committee to propose candidates for these parts and then for the pageant master to try the candidates on the stage and select the ones he deems best fitted for the parts. When there is time for open trials interest in the pageant THE CAST 71 will be stimulated if the trials are opened to all who desire to try for the parts of the central figures. Very often unusual talent for pageant acting will be discovered in these open trials. Usually the pageant master will be able to place to advantage in the different episodes some of those who have tried for the parts in the central group and who have shown characteristics essential to the success of some particular episode. Episode Casts. — The casts of characters for the episodes will be selected by the episode directors in consultation with the pageant master. Here, again, interest is often stimulated if trials for important parts can be opened to all. Unre- stricted trials often result in a very great loss of time and energy. It is better for the episode director to ask a group of people to meet the pageant master and then when all are together the persons who are to take the particular parts can be selected. This is a very satisfactory way, as the group as a whole and the relation of individual figures to the remainder of the group may be fixed with much greater certainty than where the members of the group appear one by one. No person can carry in mind the relative heights and postures of many different people. A good plan In casting the episode groups Is for the pageant master to meet the group and explain the episode to the group as a whole. Then a discussion will follow as to how the subject Is to be presented In order that the audience may understand the Idea embodied In the episode. During this discussion certain persons will appear to have a better conception of how to express the Idea than others will have. These persons might be asked in turn to take certain leading parts as the group goes through the action. This will pro- vide a comparative basis for judgment and the cast can be made up very easily. Opinion Is divided as to whether or not the episode director should take one of the parts In his episode. It Is, of course, out of the question for him to take a part in an 72 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY episode other than his own, as he must always be with his group. Many episode directors have thought that they had better control of their groups while on the stage if they were on the stage with them. The only way to arrange this is for the episode director to be costumed and become an integral part of the group. If the director takes an important part it should occupy his attention to the exclusion of everything else while the episode is being presented. No one can do this and at the same time take care of the group. If many rehearsals have been held it would be possible for the group to be left to manage itself, largely, but this is seldom the case. It is possible, though, for an episode director to take a minor part and so actually be on the stage with his group and direct the action. This is an advantage where the rehearsals have been slighted but it is an advantage that Is secured at the price of lessened efficiency while the group is off the stage. Experience has shown that a director In cos- tume Is not so well able to control a group of people while off the stage as one who is not distracted by the necessity of keeping his own costume in condition for a stage appearance. In an emergency the episode director must be ready to take a part and direct his episode from the stage as a director stationed In the wings Is rather helpless In trying to have the group do the right thing when they have no Idea of what they are to do. An extreme example of this Is provided by the masque given as a laboratory exercise by the pageantry class in the Drama League Institute of 1920. The masque was given in the municipal pier auditorium of Chicago. The members of the class, who were acting as episode directors, had no acquaintance In Chicago, so had no way of getting people to take the parts in their episodes. They went out to the pier early on the afternoon of the day the masque was to be given and collected from among the children and young people who were visiting the pier for purposes of recreation enough to fill up the ranks of their episode groups. I hese young people had no idea of what the masque was about nor of what was expected of them. They were put into the THE CAST 73 costumes, hurried through one brief rehearsal, and then were as prepared as was possible under the circumstances for the actual performance of the masque. Under these conditions the episode directors were obliged to go on as leaders of their groups. It was much to their credit that no serious error occurred in the action of any of the episodes. A great advantage in the selection of the group casts by the episode directors is that every director has a different circle of friends and acquaintances from that of every other director and by selecting from these different circles many different community groups are brought into the intimate relationship of the pageant. If the episode directors are selected In the first place with this as one of the qualifications a real community consciousness may be found to have replaced the former group consciousness that existed prior to the pageant. Professional Actors. — The same rule holds for the cast of characters as was suggested for the selection of the orchestra members. Professional actors and actresses are usually better left out of the cast. They put the same stamp of the professional theater on the action of the pageant as the theater orchestra does upon the music and this should be the last influence one would select. It helps break down the very spirit of community life that the pageant is expected to build up. There is a great contrast between the acting of profes- sional players and that of amateurs who must make up the greater part of a pageant cast and the contrast is not always in favor of the professional. Acting that seems sincere on the stage of a theater with all of its accessories in the way of lights and scenery seems theatrical and exaggerated on a pageant stage with little or nothing in the way of scenery and lighting. The studied art of the theater is out of keep- ing with the spontaneous character of pageantry at its best. A pageant given in New York soon after the United States entered the recent war was probably one of the most beau- 74 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY tiful that has ever been presented in this country. Profes- sional actors and actresses took all of the prominent parts and possibly all of the minor parts as well. This fact does not, however, contradict the previous statements for this very beautiful pageant was given in a theater equipped with everything art can devise in the way of scenery and lighting and so the Illusion of the theater was maintained and was not brought into contrast with a simpler less sophisticated type of acting and setting such as is expected in a community pageant. In reality it was epic drama rather than real pageantry. Several of the large pageants of the country have availed themselves of the services of actors and actresses. Nothing could be said of the way they carried their parts except that it is very difficult to carry over to and make effective in the field of pageantry the more detailed art of the theater where the action is reinforced by the lines. If the pageant could be given in the theater building, as was the one cited above, and professional actors and actresses engaged for all of the parts, there is no doubt that a more finished artistic produc- tion would result than is possible with amateurs; and the pageant would have been transformed into a drama. The dramatic perfection of the pageant is not its main purpose or even one of its principal aims. It is a desirable deta?l if it can be secured without sacrificing the main purpose of the pageant. The business manager, who must make both pageant ends meet, would never recommend the engagement of actors whose services are secured at a price. Some extra admissions would be sold because of the fame of the actors but generally these would not be proportionate to the added expense of salaries and incidentals such as special dressing rooms and attendants. Anything that adds in a marked degree to the expense of production is scrutinized closely by a good business manager. He is in a position to know just how near the amount of the income is to the amount of the expenditures. Fvcn if the business manager did think the THE CAST 75 salaries of the actors were warranted because of increased income from admissions the pageant committee would still have to decide whether, from a community point of view, it would be wise to engage them. An honest and clear thinking committee would be obliged to decide in the negative however great an advantage it would be for the people of the community to see these famous actors. The consistent thing for the committee to do would be to use local talent in the pageant and then at some other time arrange for the appearance of the actors under conditions favorable to their form of dramatic expres- sion. VI. THE REHEARSALS Orchestra Rehearsals. — The orchestra rehearsals have already been discussed. Briefly the plan is this. The orchestra will have enough rehearsals to familiarize them- selves with the pageant music which, by the way, is not difficult music as a rule. The great difficulty of the orchestra will come in getting used to being stopped at any place in the music that is required by the action of the episodes and in finding the music for the next episode in the short time allowed. The first difficulty cannot be overcome by separate orchestra rehearsals. Only an approximate understanding between the orchestra leader and the episode directors can be reached at the group rehearsals, either. Facility in this will be gained by actually having to find the music under pageant conditions and this is possible only at full rehearsals. As there are seldom more than two full rehearsals and often only one, the latter difficulty would better be taken care of as was suggested in Chapter IV (page6i). The orchestra, after becoming familiar with the music, must meet with the different episodes for group rehearsals at which the action of the episodes will be planned and the music fitted to the action as well as possible. If the full orchestra cannot attend these group rehearsals, and it very seldom can, at least the pianist and as many of the others as possible should be present. Misfortune always descends upon the orchestra that neglects these precautions. Unfor- tunately the misfortune swamps not only the orchestra but the episode as well. At the full rehearsals the orchestra that has followed these suggestions will not cause any delay to the progress of 76 THE REHEARSALS 77 the rehearsal. The members will be ready with the music when it is required, will know how the episode action requires that it be modified and modulated, and will help materially in getting the different parts put together by causing no vexatious delays while the pageant master strives to explain to them something they should have learned at group rehearsals. Every interruption of a full rehearsal is a serious matter because of the large number of people who are left standing about waiting for the rehearsal to be resumed. It is a difficult matter to regain their attention and start the rehearsal again. Forms of Rehearsals. — Two forms of rehearsals for the pageant have already been mentioned, the group rehearsals and the full rehearsals. Each episode group will work out and perfect the action of its episode and then at the full rehearsals the episodes will be put together and unified. Group Rehearsals. — At the group rehearsals the pageant master should designate the position of each group when not on the stage, fix definitely the entrances and exits, and drill the group in its action. If the action is not more complicated than usual and if there is no dance that is a part of the episode, one group rehearsal lasting an hour is all that will be needed. When there is a dance in an episode some part of the orchestra must attend the rehearsals for it. These rehearsals should be held before the group rehearsal is called. The musical director will find his task much simpler when it comes to directing the actual performance of the pageant if he and the pianist, at least, attend all such rehearsals. This is not so formidable a matter as one might think, as there are seldom more than two or three such episodes in any one pageant. The position of the pageant groups when not on the stage is difficult to arrange. Out of doors there is very little difficulty but Inside all sorts of elements enter In and com- plicate the work of the pageant master and the episode 78 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY directors. There Is no good reason why pageant groups should be kept out of sight of the audience either before or after the episodes in which they appear. There is a dramatic tradition that actors must never be seen by the audience except when they are on the stage. This may be supported by good reasons in the theater but in pageantry the presence of costumed figures among the audience helps to break down purely artificial lines of demarcation and encourages a feel- ing of being a part of the pageant in the audience. In an out-of-door pageant the simplest way is to have the episode groups seated by episodes in such a manner that it will make a minimum of disturbance when they leave to prepare for their entrances. They may be seated at the rear of the audience, on the side, or sit on the ground as they please, so long as each group stays together. It is not well to have them stay apart from the audience unless they can be kept at a distance sufficient to prevent the noise of talking from being heard. However they are seated the sections reserved for the different episode groups must be plainly marked so that there will be no misunderstanding, and all of the mem- bers of each group should be required to remain In the sec- tion reserved for the group except when they are on the stage or are making entrances or exits. No one should leave a group except with the knowledge and permission of the director of that episode. The same precautions hold In an Indoor performance except that still greater precautions are necessary in order that the talking of the actors may not disturb the audience and that the noise of moving out of the seats to prepare for entrances and upon returning after the episodes be reduced to a minimum. Those taking part in a pageant often wish to buy seats so that they may see as much of the pageant as possible to good advantage but this should be discouraged unless the whole group will buy them In a block. Even then they shouk] get seats at the rear or In a balcony because of the disturbance made in leaving for their episodes. If the actors can be kept in a different building altogether and only brought in for their particular parts the comfort of the THE REHEARSALS 79 audience would be greater but this is almost never possible both because of lack of facilities and because the actors wish to see the pageant. The practical solution is to reserve seats at the rear and in the balconies and assign episode groups to seats nearest the place where they will make their entrances. This reduces the number of seats that can be sold but the business manager must make allowance for it in his original estimates. The next matter that will claim the attention of the pageant master at the group rehearsals is instructing the groups as to the way in which they will make their entrances and exits, and their position while waiting for their en- trances. If seats have been reserved for the pageant actors they should leave these seats at the beginning of the episode preceding theirs, and go at once to the place from which their entrance is to be made. Allowance must be made here for narrow corridors and for the group already on the stage whose exit will occur before the entrance of the w-aiting group. Where groups are large and many of them must be waiting for entrances at the same time, as in Episode VHI of the Thanksgiving pageant, extreme care must be exercised to have them arranged in the order of their entrances or con- fusion will reign. This last Is a matter that must be arranged at the full rehearsal. The approximate place for each group can, however, be pointed out at the group rehearsals. After the group has been Instructed as to the seats to be occupied and the way in which the entrances and exits are to be made, the group should be called to the stage, the sig- nificance of the episode explained, and then a discussion held as to the best way in which to portray the thing which the episode Is to present. During this rather free discussion of the action of the episode some of the individual members of the group will show more than average Intelligence in under- standing the meaning of the episode or catch the spirit in which it may be worked out more clearly than others. These should be selected for the important parts in the episode and then tried in turn in these parts as the group as a whole goes through the action. With this comparison as a basis 8o THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY the parts should be assigned permanently, the episode rehearsed again, and then the whole group sent to the seats they will occupy during the pageant to rehearse the episode again from the time they will leave their seats until they are back in them again at the end of the episode. It may be necessary to do this several times but it should be rehearsed until the group can leave the seats without undue noise, make the entrance as instructed, carry the action of the episode through convincingly, make their exit, and return to their seats again in an orderly and quiet manner. The third matter spoken of as important at the group rehearsals, the drilling in the action by the pageant master and episode director, has been discussed in the preceding paragraph. The thing that has not been considered is the part the episode director will take in the group rehearsals. He is the one to set the time for the rehearsal so that it will meet the convenience of the pageant master. He must then notify the members of the group. The pageant master will hold the episode director responsible for the attendance of the group members. Since the pageant master will not know the individuals in the group by name the episode director will act as agent for him in arranging the details of the episode and will be able to give valuable advice as to the abilities of different persons. As has been stated earlier in the chapter, the episode directors would better not attempt to take a part in the epi- sodes because of their other duties. Their relation to their groups is much like that of an officer to his regiment. Even at rehearsals this attitude must be maintained to a certain extent. He must see that they are ready and in their places. He is responsible for each member of the group having the properties that are demanded by the episode, and it is not safe to omit the use of the properties from any of the rehearsals. I Ic must see to it that everything about the action of the episode is understood and can be carried out without serious deviation from the plan as worked out in consultation with the pageant master. THE REHEARSALS 8i Special features of episodes, like dances, should be rehearsed separately and before group rehearsals by epi- sodes are called. In the end this saves time for everybody, as the whole episode group is not kept waiting while a small number are rehearsing their special feature. Full Rehearsals. — The first full rehearsal is the time that tries the souls of all pageant officers. There is always, even under the rnost favorable circumstances, a considerable amount of confusion. Episode directors who are efficient will reduce the confusion to a minimum but they cannot be expected to prevent it altogether. It is next to impossible to bring hundreds of people together and restrain their movements and conversation so that the directions of the pageant master may be heard. It is especially difficult to keep some members of the groups from wandering off on one pretext or another and not returning in time for their parts. By speaking at all of the group rehearsals about the necessity for quiet at the full rehearsals and during the per- formances a predisposition to listen to reason on this subject may be developed in the members of the cast. A pageant master may sometimes be compelled to dismiss a rehearsal because of unintentional disorder. The word unintentional is used here in a relative sense. No individual in the group really intends to make so much noise that it will be impos- sible to continue the rehearsal. Very few people, however, seem to realize that a great noise is often a composite of many small noises that in the aggregate make a degree of confusion that is deafening and which makes rehearsing an impossibility. Promptness is another virtue that should be preached and practiced from the very first group rehearsal that is called. At the time set for the first full rehearsal all the episode groups should be in the places assigned to them at their episode rehearsals and the orchestra should be in its place with instruments tuned ready to begin. The group of central figures will have been trained in special rehearsals with the pageant master so that they will be in their places 82 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY ready to carry through their part of the pageant with no interruptions. It is well for the first two episode groups to be stationed ready for their entrances instead of in the seats assigned to them, as this is the way they must be arranged for the actual performance. With the preliminary work carefully done and instruc- tions for the conduct of the full rehearsal definitely under- stood by the episode directors there should be little difficulty in getting through the full rehearsal without any marked interruptions. Episode groups may have to be sent back to make entrances over because of some error on their part, because the orchestra needs to know more definitely how much time Is going to be needed for specific entrances, or because some change is demanded that the unity of the pageant as a whole may be promoted. The action of certain episodes may need to be repeated that groupings may be corrected, that the orchestra may learn the exact moment when a dance is to begin, or that especially dramatic action may be intensified. If the episode groups are attentive they soon learn how their parts are to be related to the whole and how their episode Is to be managed so as to avoid conflict with the exit and entrance of other episode groups, and the rehearsal will move smoothly after it gets well started. A very great help to the pageant master and to the epi- sode directors may be secured through the services of boy or girl scouts, in uniform, who are detailed to act as personal attendants. These boys or girls should know all of the pageant officers by name and should be able to deliver a message as It was given. These personal attendants should stay with the person to whom they are assigned ready to carry messages or execute orders of any sort. When the person moves the attendants should follow so that no time will be lost In hunting for them when they arc needed. I'our attendants for the pageant master and two for each of the episode directors will usually be sufficient. The success of more than one pageant has been secured through the quick- ness and reliability of just such attendants. THE REHEARSALS 83 Another device that will save much time at the rehearsals and will give considerable assurance of a successful per- formance is a telephone system installed to connect the pageant master with the orchestra and with the episode directors. Boy scout messengers, as suggested, serve as a substitute but the telephone is so much quicker and surer that it is a very great aid. It is almost a necessity for a large out-of-door pageant. The director should be out in front where he can see exactly how the pageant is going while the episode directors are with their respective groups taking care of the details of the action. Instantaneous communication with them and with the orchestra will often prevent an awk- ward wait and will provide a method of taking care of the unexpected accidents that will occur when so many people are Involved. In one pageant two members of an episode group were to enter from the wings while the remainder of the group were to enter from the rear of the auditorium up the main aisle. The pageant master was with the orchestra, the episode director was with the main group, and these two characters were left to look out for themselves as they had done at rehearsals. Something delayed them, and as the pageant master had no means of communication with the dressing rooms he was helpless and they never did appear in the episode. A telephone would have enabled the pageant master to get them in time. Messengers would have been too slow. It is possible to save time for many people and at the same time lessen the possibility for confusion at the full rehearsals by having the episode groups report at the time their episodes may be expected to be called instead of having them all report at the time the rehearsal begins. If there is no finale that requires the presence of all the groups on the stage each episode group may be excused as soon as that episode is finished. But since there will be only one or two full rehearsals it seems better as a general rule for all to report for the beginning of the rehearsal and stay through to the end. If the group rehearsals have been conducted 84 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY properly these full rehearsals should not last more than a third longer than the actual performance. Dress Rehearsals. — Opinion is divided as to whether or not the last full rehearsal should be a dress rehearsal. It takes a long time for several hundred people to get dressed for such a rehearsal and the time is always badly needed for actual rehearsing. Pageant costumes are often rather hastily constructed and the wear and tear of a full dress rehearsal either necessitates the remaking of the costumes or at least robs them of their freshness. On the other hand it is an advantage to have the costumes reviewed by the pageant master, the pageant artist, the costumer, and the episode directors. There are really only two good reasons for having a dress rehearsal for a pageant; the reviewing of the costumes and the need for individual actors to get accustomed to wearing a different type of garb from the one they usually wear. The solution of this problem of the dress rehearsal seems to be to have it in sections, that is, for each episode group to have a dress rehearsal by itself. The last group rehearsal for each episode might well be a dress rehearsal where all matters relating to costumes, properties, and makeup can be decided. When the whole pageant cast has a dress rehearsal there will not be time for so large a number of persons to get dressed, made up, and then do any rehearsing. No pageant master would hesitate in selecting which of these three things should be done at the full rehearsal. The costuming could just as well be done by episode groups. The makeup can be taken care of to better advantage in small groups. The rehearsing is the one thing that is essential when all of the pageant cast is together. Two hours can easily pass while the members of a whole pageant cast are putting on costumes and are being made up. This leaves very little time for rehearsing or for the necessary reviewing of costumes ?nd makeup. If all the time available for a full rehearsal is THE REHEARSALS 85 devoted strictly to rehearsing there are two things, only, that one can hope to secure; first, the familiarity of the groups with their positions when off the stage and their entra.ices and exits in relation to the positions and movements of other groups; and second, the fixing, with the orchestra, of the tempo of each episode and of the pageant as a whole. Very little time can be devoted even to the action of the different episodes, or to the movements of the central figures except as they are involved in the action of the episodes. How much less, then, can time be spared at such a rehearsal for costuming and makeup ! Whether the rehearsal be held in an auditorium or out of doors there is always considerable wear and tear on the costumes. Many pageant costumes are made of light material, delicately colored, which soils easily. If the rehearsal is held as near the time of the performance as is possible, which is frequently the case, there will be no time in which to launder the soiled costumes and freshen up those that are wrinkled. This is a very serious drawback to the full dress rehearsal held near the time for the first per- formance. If several performances are given preceded by the dress rehearsal the costumes will be in a sad state before the final performance. Inspections. — It is very necessary that all costumes be reviewed by the pageant master, the pageant artist, the cos- tumer, and the episode directors. Inspecting from two to four hundred costumes in the time left after that number of people have put on their costumes is an almost impossible task for one evening. Of course all of the costumes do not have to be absolutely accurate but all of the costumes of the principal characters do have to be accurate and the others should be approximately so. Artistically conscientious officials will not be satisfied with costumes very far from correct, historically. Even if there were time to inspect all costumes carefully at a full dress rehearsal there would hardly be time for the required changes to be made before 86 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY the first performance because the full rehearsal Is usually called as near the performance as possible. The directions given at the dress rehearsal as to corrections to be made in costumes should be explicit and should be carried out exactly. If this work has been done carefully a very brief inspection of the groups before each performance will be all that is needed. Correctness in costume accessories like shoes, hats, and wigs or beards is difficult to secure. The correct form of footgear is the most difficult of all to secure. The principal offenders in this detail are the women who insist on wearing high heels with Greek robes. No amount of persuasion will convince some of them that they look exceedingly awkward and ungainly dressed in this way. They are used to the high heels and insist that they cannot walk without them. These women are not in the majority but they will be found in every pageant group and will not get sandals unless considerable pressure is brought to bear. It is much better to transfer such persons to an episode where their high heels will not be grotesque. Otherwise the inspecting officer may be obliged to force them to leave their heels and go in stockings without shoes of any kind. Among the men the most glaring inconsistency in footwear is the wearing of ordinary high black walking shoes with the court costumes of feudal times. This happened in one of the largest pageants ever given in the United States. Even in the professional field such things do occur. An instance was quoted in connection with an opera company recently touring the states. Report has it that a member of the chorus of this company appeared in Aida in the regulation Egyptian costume but wearing with it ordinary walking shoes and gray spats! Whether or not the report be true it serves to illustrate the problem of cor- rectness in costume accessories. Constant vigilance alone can keep these accessories even approximately correct. The only way to avoid glaring inconsistencies is for the costumer to have the footwear made where It varies from the modern style to any extent. THE REHEARSALS 87 With the question of suitable hats comes also the style of hairdressing. Hats may be omitted to a great extent and no one will notice the omission except in rare cases. When hats are not worn the style of hairdressing, especially for the women, is important. In this respect, however, there is usually very little trouble. Much more difficult than the question of hats is the one of crowns for pageant royalty and for Liberty or America, or whatever name is given to the personification of the country. The tendency here is to appear with so extensive an expanse of gold covered card- board that it is very unbecoming and attracts attention to itself to the exclusion of the remainder of the costume and of the action and lines of the character. It is a false note that cannot be overcome in any way. The alternative would seem to be the renting of crowns from costumers but this is almost as unsatisfactory. Stage jewelry that can be rented is of the type that was used in the last century with elaborate court costumes and is not appropriate for use with modern simple pageant costumes. Crowns of this sort seem out of character except in an Elizabethan or feudal episode and even here they are a little incongruous unless the costumes have been rented to match them. The gold covered card- board crown is to be preferred for figures like America or Liberty but it must be kept to modest enough proportions so that it is becoming and inconspicuous. Gold lace and colored beads may be combined into very convincing crowns for kings and queens of the middle ages. A foundation of hat wire is all that is needed and they can be kept to suitable proportions and harmonious colors. The thing to be kept in mind is that shoes, hats, and crowns are costume accessories and should never be the dominating feature of the costume unless the action of the episode demands. They should con- tribute to the effect of the costume as any detail contributes to the whole effect. Wigs and beards are a source of great vexation to pageant officers. Those that can be rented from costumers are seldom satisfactory as they almost never fit well and 88 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY often are enough "off color" so that they are obviously wigs and as such distract the attention of the audience when it should be concentrated upon what is happening on the stage. The expense of having special wigs made for a pageant is practically prohibitive except for the very few characters where wigs are essential. The wigs for colonial characters are easily procured. It is not essential that they resemble the natural hair so closely. Powdered hair appears to the present generation as artificial anyway and so we accept the white wig as an essential part of the colonial costume with- out feeling that it is a false note. A character part like a seer or a prophet must usually have both wig and beard. It would be worth while in this case to allow enough money so that suitable ones could be made or else very good ones bought ready made. Small, close-cropped beards and mus- taches can be made from crepe hair if care and skill are exercised. The hair should be combed out from the braid, stuck on with spirit gum, and then trimmed carefully. Other than for the sort of character indicated wigs and beards would better be omitted. Their omission attracts less atten- tion than the use of poorly fitting ones does and the comfort of the actors is greatly increased by the omission. Full Dress Rehearsals. — When a full dress re- hearsal cannot be avoided it is an advantage to have it held at such a time that school children can attend and to charge a small admission fee. It may appear that an audience com- posed ^Imost entirely of school children would be very dis- orderly and would interfere with the progress of the rehearsal. Of course such a rehearsal would not be allowed unless the preliminary group rehearsals had been very satis- factory. An audience, even of children, docs serve as a check on the tendency of the cast to talk and to wander away from their groups and fully as much time and annoyance are saved In these respects as is lost through having an audience. The amount taken in at such a rehearsal is a welcome addi- tion to the pageant fund. 'f"hc rehearsal also makes it THE REHEARSALS 89 possible for many children to attend the pageant who could not attend a regular performance because of the price of admission. The full dress rehearsal is not recommended but if it cannot be avoided this plan for an audience is considered worth while. The two reasons for having a full dress rehearsal, as before suggested, are the inspection of the costumes and the necessity for the actors to get accustomed to wearing a type of clothing entirely different from what they are used to wearing. Essentially these two reasons for a full dress rehearsal are reasons for not having a full dress rehearsal at all but for having group dress rehearsals instead. If each group has a dress rehearsal in addition to enough other group rehearsals to bring the action up to the desired degree of accuracy, one full rehearsal will be all that will be neces- sary, if the orchestra has followed the plan outlined in previous chapters. If this plan does not save time for all concerned it will take no more time than the full dress rehearsal and will save much irritation to the pageant officers. Group Dress Rehearsals. — The group dress rehearsal will allow time for careful inspection of all costumes and also for the giving of detailed instructions as to what changes are to be made and how they are to be made. As a matter of fact the only way to secure proper inspection of costumes and accessories is to have time enough to do it carefully and time enough to explain just why certain changes are demanded. This cannot be done at a full dress rehearsal because of lack of time. Another advantage of the dress rehearsal by episodes is that they must be held earlier than the full rehearsal and that means adequate time to modify and complete costumes. There are always people who leave everything, the making of costumes included, until the last minute and if the costumes are required for a dress rehearsal of the episode several days before the date of the pageant there is more likelihood of the costumes being ready and 90 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY approved than if the dress rehearsal is a full rehearsal very near to the time of the performance. It is important that the cast be used enough to the pageant costumes to wear them with an air of custom. Put a business man in tights and a plumed hat and it takes him some time to become reconciled to himself. Put the same business man in a Roman toga and it will take him much longer to feel, and hence look, at ease. Young athletes feel entirely at home in Greek chitons which leave arms and legs bare but they find some difficulty in adjusting themselves to the vestments of the church. A group dress rehearsal, because the number of people involved is comparatively small, allows much greater freedom of action than is pos- sible at a full dress rehearsal and hence the process of adjustment to a new style of clothing is hastened. When one can walk about and look at himself and exchange person- alities with others garbed in an equally strange way the new- ness wears off much more quickly than when all are obliged, for the sake of the rehearsing, to remain seated in one place except when on the stage. General Considerations. — When all of the pageant cast are together at the final full rehearsal the pageant master should give such instructions as are necessary with regard to the performances. The exact time of beginning should be stated, the time when the cast is expected to report to dress and be made up announced, directions given for the benefit of those who will make up at home, the caution with regard to talking and moving about after the pageant begins repeated, and specific instructions given as to where each episode group is to report for the final inspection before going to the places assigned to them for the performance. The greater part of these instructions will be a repetition of what has been said before but the repetition is a necessary precaution, nevertheless. It is well to leave one whole day free from rehearsals before the pageant is to be given. There will always be THE REHEARSALS 91 groups asking for extra rehearsals on this last day but they should be refused unless there is a very great need for the extra rehearsal. The actual performance will go much better if this interval has been left between it and the re- hearsals. There are many details that will occupy the pageant officers during this day of rest for the cast. Prop- erties should be checked over, final touches given to the stage settings, conferences held with episode directors, and such other things attended to as always come up at the last minute and which must be neglected if rehearsals are being held. Too many rehearsals will destroy the very spontaneity that is the essence of pageantry. There must be enough rehearsals held so that each group as a whole will know what to do and when to do it but the details of the acting should not be so definitely arranged that no one of the cast will move except In the ordered way. Many of the most effective bits of pageant acting are those that come at the time of the performance without having been previously learned. The important thing is to have the episode groups so filled with the spirit of the pageant that the details will almost automatically adjust themselves, and the acting follow as a matter of course. VII. THE PERFORMANCE Makeup. — As a preliminary to the pageant perform- ance the matter of makeup should be given careful attention. At the last rehearsal members of the cast were instructed as to the time they should report for dressing and makeup. It saves confusion to have them come by episode groups. The first group should appear at least an hour and a half before the time set for the performance to begin. Those groups that will have to be helped with their costumes should be called first. The men, particularly those taking the parts of Greeks and Romans, will need considerable help. Primitive peoples will need more time than others because of the extensive makeup required for them. Aside from this the groups might well draw for the time to report. Time should be allowed between the time appointed for the arrival of the different groups so that the first group may be nearly ready for final inspection before the members of the next group begin to report. This saves congestion in the dressing rooms and allows the final inspection to be made more leisurely than if all reported at once. Practically all of the men in the cast will have to be made up in the dressing rooms. Many of the women will be made up when they report. It is well to have some woman in the women's dressing room who will make up those who need it and who will see that those who made up at home have done it in the approved way. Several young men should be given instructions as to how the men should be made up and they should be in the dressing rooms to take care of that matter. It saves time if one of them is trained to use the rouge, another the pencil, another the powder, and so on. The pageant master or his representative should be present 92 THE PERFORMANCE 93 to inspect the makeup after it is finished and before the individuals join their groups for the final inspection just before taking their places. What little makeup is used should be only enough to accent the natural features. If enough is used to attract the attention of the audience the force of the action is weakened to that extent. Under artificial light some makeup is almost necessary but the smallest possible amount should be used. Even in a daytime performance out of doors enough must be used to make the characters look natural. It must be used with skill and discretion, however, if it is to serve its purpose instead of defeating it. In a large pageant given by the students of a state university two young men failed to report at the time appointed for their episode. They came to the dressing room just as the makeup man was putting away his materials in order to report for duty elsewhere at the beginning of the pageant. The young men evidently helped themselves generously to the makeup, for when they appeared on the stage they presented a marked contrast to those who had been made up by the regular man. A casual observer would have thought they were having scarlet fever or else were red Indians in disguise. The remainder of the cast looked like normal human beings except possibly a little more attractive than usual, but these two were like nothing human and normal. Semi-moist rouge, eyebrow pencils in two colors, and flesh-colored powder are all that is needed for the makeup of the men. The women will need the same except that white powder is usually preferred to the flesh-colored. They often want cold cream and generally prefer a lip stick instead of the rouge for the mouth. Character parts will require additional materials such as cold cream, blue and black grease paint and crepe hair. Grease paint is to be avoided as much as possible in pageantry. The characters are sub- jected to such close scrutiny that it is not possible to prevent a greasy appearance if the grease paint, or even the cold cream in any quantity, is used. It shows plainly and is 94 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY objectionable, since it, rather than the acting of the char- acter, holds the attention of the audience. Character Makeup. — Character parts must be made up when it isn't possible to get a person with approximately the right physical appearance to take the part. It is much better, though, to search until the right person is found than to make up a different sort of person and have the audience think of the makeup all the time he is on the stage. The tendency is to use too much makeup rather than too little. A person trained to make up for the stage invariably makes the eyes up to look too theatrical. The one thing to avoid on the pageant stage is the appearance that we have in mind when we say "theatrical." The characters should look natural and normal and give the audience the feeling that they are seeing real people carrying on the real life of the world. If the actors look as though they were made up for the stage an element of make-believe and insincerity creeps in and spoils the atmosphere of the pageant. This is in no way intended as a reproach to the stage and its practices. Its very life depends upon creating and maintaining illusions. The point here is that pageantry has no part in such illusions and should avoid anything that looks like an attempt to create a theatrical atmosphere. Wigs, except for character parts such as colonial characters, and excessive makeup are to be avoided, even for the technically called character parts. A type of person should be selected for the part that will suggest the character and then the imagination of the audi- ence can be trusted to supply any lack. Final Inspection. — Episode directors should call the roll of their respective groups, inspect the members indi- vidually, and then report them ready for the final inspection of the pageant artist, the costumer, and the pageant master. I he final inspection by these three officers should begin at least fifteen minutes before the pageant is to begin. If a dress rehearsal has been held for each group the labor of THE PERFORMANCE 95 inspecting before the performance will be greatly minimized. It can not wisely be omitted, however, as there are always a few people who have neglected to make the corrections as instructed. Those persons who appear in the later episodes will often demur at being asked to report for final inspection at the beginning of the pageant, especially if there are several performances, but it is the only safe plan. In no other way can the episode directors know whether or not all of the members of their casts are present, costumed, and made up. The preliminary roll call and inspection makes it possible for the episode director to hurry out and find a substitute in case any important character is missing and get the substitute costumed and instructed in his part before it is time for the group to appear. No less than three such substitutions had to be made in one pageant. The groups in which they were made spent the time when they were waiting for their turn to appear in different dressing rooms and corridors rehears- ing the substitutes in their newly assumed parts. In selecting the cast for the different episodes it is well, as a precautionary measure, to make the cast considerably larger than is actually desired for the performance. A few minor characters, more or less, do not affect the integrity of the group unless it is a few less than the irreducible minimum for the episode. Then it is very noticeable. It is much better to have a few more in the group than is absolutely necessary than to have too few in it. By selecting a larger cast than is really needed one takes care of the liability of members of the cast to drop out, often for good reasons, at the last minute. Then if episode principals drop out it is easier to shift a minor character to the part than to train someone who has no knowledge of the episode action. There are always a few characters missing from every pageant performance. The number varies with local con- ditions. In one pageant given in a university town the final inspection showed at least fifty members of a cast of about two hundred and fifty persons absent from the performance. 96 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY Except In emergency cases all dressing rooms should be cleared at the beginning of the pageant and the groups should be in their appointed places as instructed. It is true that this makes it difficult for persons to take more than one part but an attempt to take part in two or more episodes nearly always ends in disaster for one or the other of the episodes. In the Thanksgiving pageant several young men were allowed to take part in Episode I and in Episode IV. Episode IV appeared on the stage at the performance with very greatly depleted ranks. The explanation, given after- wards to the pageant master, was that these young men were still in the dressing rooms washing off the primitive makeup when they should have been on the stage in Episode IV witnessing the confirmation of the King of Kent. Beginning the Pageant. — With the costuming and makeup attended to on schedule time, the final inspection made, the dressing rooms cleared, and every group in its place, the pageant is ready to begin on time. Every pageant master can probably remember a performance, usually his first, that was late in beginning. A successful director soon learns to announce at the final rehearsal that the pageant will begin promptly at the time advertised whether or not all of the cast have reported, ready to appear. When the habit of promptness has been built up during the rehearsals there will be but little difficulty about beginning the performance on time. If the audience must wait twenty or thirty minutes after the specified time for the pageant to begin its attitude towards the pageant will be quite different from that of an audience not kept waiting after it is well seated. Orchestral preludes, not intimately associated with the main theme of the pageant, are a poor makeshift for promptness. They serve to distract the attention of the audience. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that such preludes direct the attention of the audience along their own particular channels by awakening their own peculiar emotional responses. Then when the pageant opens, probably on an entirely different THE PERFORMANCE 97 emotional key, there is the strain of unconscious readjust- ment and a consequent loss of interest. There are places where the audience has the habit of being fifteen or twenty minutes later than the hour set for beginning any evening entertainment. It is practically impos- sible to begin a pageant on time if the audience Is still coming in and getting seated. The only thing that can be done in this case is to wait until the greater part of the audience is in, hurrying the doorkeepers and ushers as much as possible without making the audience feel as though they are being hurried. Since the corridors and aisles must be used by the pageant groups they must be comparatively clear before the pageant can begin. Ushers. — Belonging to the opening phase of the pageant is the ushering of the audience to the seats. When- ever reserved seats are sold there must be a body of ushers to locate them for the audience. In many theaters and in some auditoriums the managers have contracts with the regular group of ushers to the effect that whenever the build- ing is rented for any public entertainment this group of ushers will be used at a stated scale of prices. This means that in renting the building for a pageant the business manager must also employ these ushers and pay them accord- ing to their contract in addition to the rental of the building. Where this condition does not exist boy or girl scouts are often detailed to do the ushering. In the St. Louis municipal theater the boy scouts are employed. In the Savannah, Georgia, municipal auditorium the girl scouts have been trained for this work. Unless the boy or girl scouts are very well trained it is better to get more mature people to act as ushers. Young women, in uniform, under the direc- tion of another young woman as head usher have been found the most reliable and competent, especially in the case of a building where the audience is not accustomed to go, or for an out-of-door performance. The head usher will assign the other ushers to certain sections and then drill them In 98 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY finding seats until they know the location of every number in every row in their sections. Discipline. — Discipline is usually thought of in con- nection with schools, the army, and the navy, but if there is any place where strict discipline should be maintained it is in the episode groups of a pageant during the full rehearsals and more especially during the performance. At the begin- ning of the pageant the first two episode groups will need to be waiting in the corridors or in the wings for their entrances since it would make unnecessary noise and confusion for them to go to their seats and then leave almost immediately to make their entrances. The other groups, too, must be kept near enough to the stage so that they may be ready for entrances as needed. In an indoor production they must be kept within the building. This means that practically all talking must be prohibited and that no member of the cast of any episode may leave except with the knowledge and consent of episode director. It may seem that this is extreme but long experience has shown that it is necessary. It is most disconcerting to find, when it is time for St. Catherine to bestow her sword and her blessing upon the Maid of France that the good saint has slipped away and gone joy riding with the king of the West Saxons while waiting for the time when she is to appear. Even should they stay within the building the noise of the moving about of the performers is most objectionable. So much move- ment is necessary in making entrances and exits that all other moving about has to be prohibited. Tempo. — The emotional reaction of the audience, spoken of in a preceding paragraph, brings us to a considera- tion of the tempo of the performance. If the action of the pageant is allowed to drag, the attention of the audience wanders. On the other hand, if the tempo is too fast the pageant becomes a mad scramble for place which must be relinquished before it is well attained, i'he tempo will be THE PERFORMANCE 99 different in different episodes and will vary within certain episodes as the action demands. The pageant master must set the tempo and must give directions for varying it either by telephone or messenger as is necessary from time to time. When working towards a climax either of action or of massed characters the tempo will naturally be quickened. It should not, however, be quickened in so marked a manner that the audience will be conscious of it. The audience should feel only an added emotional exaltation without being conscious of its origin. The Pageant Master and the Performance. — The position of the pageant master during the performance should be such that he can command a view of the audience as well as of the stage. He will then be able to estimate very readily the attitude of the audience and act accordingly. If the audience is getting restless he can increase the tempo by having the orchestra play a little faster. In one out-of-door pageant with a storm approaching, the performance was shortened nearly fifteen minutes simply by having the music played more quickly than usual. The chances are that the audience was not aware of the increased tempo. Probably even the members of the cast were unconscious of it. The tempo of the music unconsciously influenced them and the whole performance went that much faster. Except for special reasons the pageant master should not stay behind the scenes nor in the wings during a performance. The details of management there should be left to the episode directors. If they are at all efficient there will be no need for him there and things will go fully as well if he stays out in front. All sorts of things may happen during a pageant but the pageant master can do very little to prevent them at the time of the performance. His work should have been completed, largely, with the final rehearsal except for setting the tempo and warning the episode groups of the time for their entrances when they are so placed that they cannot see for loo THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY themselves. His best plan when things begin to go wrong is to remain quiet and let those involved extricate themselves. Intelligent people can ordinarily make the best of an awk- ward situation if they are not worried by commands from other people. The interruption to the orderly progress of events is less than when the pageant master tries to correct the error. The mere fact that he is taking the situation in hand exaggerates the effect of it. A group of colonial people in a certain pageant illustrate this point. There had not been sufficient rehearsals and then the last full rehearsal had to be dismissed because of a sudden change in the weather. The same cold wave made it necessary for the pageant to be given indoors, although the plan had been to have it outside. This meant no rehearsal in the building where the pageant was given. The colonial group failed to apply the instructions they had received as to the manner of their exit from the out-of-door stage to the limited conditions of the auditorium. They became excited, the pageant master, who was with the orchestra just in front of the stage, began to give them directions, the episode director, who was in the wings, gave them contrary directions, and they literally didn't know what to do. They finally did something and made an exit of sorts. The lesson of this is that if the pageant master had kept quiet they might have followed the directions of the episode director and saved themselves and the audience an embarrassing minute or two. An instance where the pageant master was wiser forms a contrast. In this case Joan of Arc was to enter mounted on her war horse. The young woman had never practiced the entrance with the horse, although the pageant master had repeatedly urged the necessity of it. I'he pageant was given in the evening and when the light was turned upon Joan the horse refused to approach. The pageant master simply kept the orchestra playing as though nothing unusual had hapj)cned. The young woman did her best to control the horse but finally dismounted, fastened the animal to a fence, and entered on foot. It was infinitely better for her THE PERFORMANCE loi to do this than for the pageant master to have embarrassed her by trying to settle her difficulty for her. These instances of what the pageant master should and should not do brings us to the close of the performance. Pageant Finales. — Many pageants, at the end, call for the massing on the stage of nearly all of the characters that have appeared In the pageant and of some new ones. The arrangement of these groups In the corridors and wings forms one of the difficult problems of the pageant master. The ones who enter first for this finale must take their places at the beginning of the preceding episode at the place where they are to enter. The group that will enter next after them must take its place directly behind this first group, moving up to the entrance as soon as the first group is out of the way. All groups in this finale must leave their seats at nearly the same time to take their places for this entrance. A high degree of discipline must be maintained while the members of the cast are waiting In the corridors and wings for this final entrance. Talking will be heard by the audience and will spoil the effect of the episode then playing. The most effective endings will be spoiled If there Is much noise In the corridors at such times. A very impressive closing for a pageant where all of the characters are massed on the stage Is to have a recessional. The groups, usually In the order in which they came to the stage, will march out, preferably down the main aisle, into the corridor and then directly to the dressing rooms. They must not be allowed to break ranks so long as they are in view of the audience. The massing of the cast at the end, followed by a recessional, occurs in the Thanksgiving pageant. It is exceedingly difficult to hold the members of the cast in the line until they are out of sight of the audience. It is especially true in an out-of-door pageant. The breaking of ranks, prematurely, robs the finale of all dignity and should be prevented by all means. The author recalls two such recessionals that show the extremes of this tendency to 102 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY break ranks too soon. Both were out-of-door performances. In one case the hundreds of characters massed upon the stage left in order, wound their way across a bridge, and then were lost to view around a curve in the drive. Not a person left the line so long as they were in sight of the audience. It was a very beautiful and impressive sight. In the other case the persons massed on the stage left the stage in order but as soon as they had passed beyond the stage limits they broke ranks and, picking up their garments, classical and otherwise, climbed a fence and made, helter- skelter, for the dressing rooms. All this was in plain view of the audience. No record was kept of what the pageant master said on this occasion, but there is no doubt about his having said it. It is almost as difficult to hold the audience in the seats until the recessional has passed out of sight as it is to keep the members of the cast from breaking from the ranks as soon as they have left the stage. The Thanksgiving pageant was comparatively successful in holding the audience until the line had passed out. Two devices were employed to bring this about, either of which alone should have been enough to prevent them from leaving their seats and mingling with the cast in the recessional. Boy and girl scouts were lined up at the sides of the aisles as close together as their numbers would permit and they stood there until all the cast had left the stage, falling in behind by twos as the last of the line passed them. The other device was to have the audience sing America as the line passed out. Just enough verses were used to get all of the cast off the stage and out of the main entrance. Both of these devices together served to hold the audience until the recessional was over. Each, used alone at other times, has failed. There were, of course, other reasons for using these devices than the desire to hold the audience until after the recessional. Both were effective, dramatically, the singing of the song was an appropriate act of patriotism, and the boy and girl scouts were an essential part of the last episode. THE PERFORMANCE 103 Lost and Found. — Although the dressing rooms are cleared of the members of the cast during the performance it is much better to have a responsible person in charge of each as a protection for the clothing and other property left in them by the cast. With so many people using so small a space as is usually available for dressing rooms small articles are sure to be lost, but if a reponsible person is in charge of each room during the pageant there will be little complaint on account of things being taken. Another way of caring for this matter is to establish a check room and advise all members of the cast to bring suitcases or traveling bags in which to put their things as soon as they get their costumes on, checking the bags immediately and then reclaiming them when the pageant is over. One great objection to this plan is that many pageant costumes have no pockets in which the check stubs can be kept during the performance. Many things are lost through the carelessness of the owners but many others are taken from the dressing rooms when no provision is made for caring for them. It cannot be pre- vented with the number of persons who have some part in the pageant. It is unavoidable that some should have little respect for property rights. The fact must be acknowledged and steps taken to guard against such losses. Many of the things reported lost at the end of the pageant are found in clearing out the dressing rooms. The dressing rooms, after a pageant, are a sight to discourage even the least orderly of mortals. Costumes and clothing of all descriptions are stacked in the middle of the floors or strewn about with no regard to their value or ownership. When the debris is cleared away most of the lost articles will have been found. Many of the articles found are never claimed. It is almost beyond belief that people will go home without shoes, hats, and all other articles of wearing apparel that usually go in between these two. As a matter of fact everything from shoes up to hats may often be found in the dressing rooms after a large pageant. Many of these things are doubtless parts of costumes worn in the pageant and dis- I04 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY carded afterward as useless, but this will not account for all of the things that are nev^er claimed. Number of Performances. — Considering the time and expense involved in bringing a pageant to a successful per- formance, regret is often expressed that it is so soon over. That brings up the question of one or several performances. If more than one performance is given they must be given within a relatively short time, say a week, or the groups begin to disintegrate. Usually the business manager asks if the ticket office receipts will be augmented in proportion to the added expense of the extra performances. From an educational standpoint it is desirable that as many children as possible should see such a production. These considera- tions are sufficient to make advisable more than one per- formance of a pageant if it is possible to arrange for them. The necessity for all of the performances of a pageant being given within a comparatively short space of time is apparent when the number of persons involved is remem- bered. Some will become ill, others will be called out of town on business, and various other very good reasons will prevent some from taking part. The total number dropping out may not be very great but if among that number are many having important parts the substitution of new persons may be difficult. Because of the business men who are tak- ing part it is often impossible to arrange for afternoon per- formances of a pageant. Very often, however, all of the business men in a small city will agree to close their shops for the duration of the pageant on a certain day. Where this is possible two evening performances and an afternoon matinee will be sufficient except in a very large city where the per- formance may well be repeated every day for a full week. Saturday and Sunday afternoon performances are especially to be commended since adults as well as children are free at those times. Friday evening, Saturday evening, and Sunday afternoon would be a good schedule of performances for a small city, i'hursday evening, Friday evening, and Sunday afternoon would he equally satisfactory. THE PERFORMANCE 105 The business manager is interested first of all in the returns from the pageant, so his question is whether or not the returns from the extra performances will warrant the extra expense. Experience shows that a second and third performance of a pageant are as well attended as was the first performance. Indeed, the attendance is often larger as the effectiveness of the pageant becomes known. The expense of the extra performances is slight in comparison with the original expense. Usually the rent of the building and small amounts for lights and operators are all the expenses that are added. If professional actors and musicians are employed the expense of extra performances will, of course, be largely the same as for the initial per- formance but a real community pageant where all except the pageant master are amateurs, will not have these expenses even for the first performance. The educational value of a pageant to the people of a community cannot be estimated adequately. It far surpasses that of the drama or the films because it is talked about during the period of preparation and so those who see it have a background of knowledge that is verified and fixed by witnessing the spectacle. The pageant, in itself, has much greater historical value than any one film and is especially worth while for school children. The full dress rehearsal with a small admission makes possible the attend- ance of many children who otherwise could not see the pageant. A matinee is by far the better plan, however, with special rates for elementary and secondary school pupils. A few adults will attend a matinee of this sort and it is desir- able that they should, but they will be in the minority. Pageant officers often object when a matinee performance is proposed because they are afraid that an audience of chil- dren will be noisy and unruly. Their fear Is not well founded. Matinees given in cities that were mining or industrial centers have proven exceedingly satisfactory. Buildings crowded to capacity with children were as quiet and orderly as any person could v/Ish. The response of an io6 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY audience of children is most stimulating to the actors. The constantly changing groups and steady action of a pageant hold the children's attention completely. The lack of words that they might not understand, anyway, is an added advan- tage. The active imaginations of childhood fill up all gaps and invest the characters with charm and grace and sincerity. Each performance, within limits, is better than the one preceding it in spite of changes in the cast that are necessary when dealing with large numbers of people. Three or four performances of the same pageant within a few days have not been uncommon in the experience of the author. In no case was there regret for having arranged for more than one performance. If the pageant is a worthy expression of some noted or impressive phase of the community's life, past or present, there must be a feeling of enlarged living in either seeing or enacting these noble events, and the feeling is augmented rather than diminished by the reasonable repetition of the experience. PAR T II PROGRAMME A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING Given Under the Auspices of Savannah Festival Association and S, H. S, Parent-Teacher Association by Faculty and Students of the Senior High School Under Direction of the Principal November 29, 1919 City Auditorium Incidental Music by the S. H. S. Orchestra PAGEANT OFFICERS Chairman DR. TAFT Business Manager MISS WINN Publicity Agent MISS WAYNE Pageant Artist MISS CABANISS Costumers MISS COOLEY, MISS VARNEDOE Electrician MR. FUNK Scenic Manager MR. McCREERY 109 no THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY A Pageant of Thanksgiving (Lines of Central Figures by Dr. Taft.) The ceremonies and celebrations held by different peoples in thankfulness for blessings received or for notable victories won. HYMN OF THANKSCmNG {To be sung by audience, standing) Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. PROLOGUE Despair questions the right of the Spirit of Thanksgiving to her outlook towards the future. Hope calls upon the nations of the world to reproduce their great moments of Thanksgiving, showing not only how the Spirit of Thanksgiving has developed and become purified, but how in the agony of the world-war a fellowship in service was built up that blossomed out into a world-wide Thanksgivang when the armistice was signed. Spirit of Thanksgiving — Marian Hartfelder. Despair — Mildred Thomas. Hope — Evelyn Thompson. Heralds — Paris Atkins, Robert Bissett, W. V. Davis, Jr., Roddy Pritchard, Beverly Rockwell, Rhanston Stillwell. Attendants — W. C. Carlisle, Maude Warren, Lloyd Edenfield, Sarah Shuptrine, Frank Teeple, Morton Waring, Max Pruitt, Helena Cunningham, Robert Snead, Humphrey McCranie, Hattie Pead, Lucy Penton, Inez Helfrich, Wesley McCarroll, Jesse Jackson, Kathryn White, William Stubbs, Ruth Helfrich. EPISODE I A Primitive Pastoral Thanksgiving Director — H. G. Swayne A Primitive People make offerings to the Gods whom they fear as well as worship as an act of propitiation rather than of thanksgiving. ' King of Tribe — Ambrose Solomon. Favorite Son — John Lanier. Princess — Gracie Lanneau. Sorcerer — William Lowndes. High Priest — Claude Youmans. Priestesses — Inez Keller, Ruth Morrow, Emma Dunwoody, Mabel Carter. Slaves of the King — Spencer Rockwell, Samuel Newton, John Snead, Abrara Leffler. Shepherd of the Flocks — Hugh Saussy. Shepherdesses — Angela Altick, Natalie DcWald, EHzabeth Cranberry, Catherine ParncUe. Warriors. and Members of Tribe — Louise Stokes, Catherine Corish, Ruth Aimar, Bertha Bookhoop, Susie Clyburn, Walter Hughes, Joseph Levington, Mary Shechan, Sadie Meyers, Margaret Johnson, Helen Lind, Dorothy rAUan, Ravenal Gignilliat, Decatur Hankins. EPISODE II The Panathcnaca Director — Miss Olmstead Once each year the Greeks went in a processional up to the shrine of Athene with the new robe specially woven for their patron goddess. Greeks — Robert McPhcrson, William Wade, James Snedckcr. Otis Jones, J. T. Chapman, Jr., Romana (Jalloway, Elizabeth Intrlcsby, Mary Waring, Dorothy Sellers, Gladys Cook, Kathcrine Srnith, Sara Clark, Kathcrine McGraw, Cornelia Cunningham, Margaret Clay, Margaret Dcbclc, Elizabeth WclU, Anne Hancock^ Mary Wam.'.loy, Marianne Sugdcn, Pamela Baker, Margaret Wells, Mahia Kent, Eleanor Reid, Elizabeth Galllard, Herman ParLsh, George Cargill, Charles LcWy, Henry Hodgkins, Otto Scnwalb, Jami-; Dolson, May V'eruki, Mildred Gribblc, Annie Launc Connor, Kline Allen, James Brcckcnridgc, Albert Waitc, George Hahn, George Todd, Clement Johnson. A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING m EPISODE III Pax Romana Director — Miss Magone The Romans celebrate peace in the Roman dominions, after conflict, in a characteristic procession and offerings to the Gods. Augustus — C. F. Wiehrs, Jr. Ball Players — James Downey, Robert Lockett. Flute Players — Bernard Fuchs, Benjamin Symons. Dancers— Katherine Corish, Ruth Ferst, Dorothy Gordon, Sarah Levy, Willa Webb, Elizabeth Kaplan, Varian Brooke. Senators — Lehmon Bowen, Emanuel Lewis, Alfonso Orsini, Meyer Morris. Matrons and Maidens — Martha Youngblood, Alice Woodruff, Lamar Lucas, Katherine Collins, Lorraine Hendry, Lutie Webb, Elizabeth Stone, Letilia McKay, Bertha Bradley, Mary Decgan. Egyptian Dancers — Hilda Span, Luella Tripp, Ethyl Wilson, Lily Belle Frost. YoDTHS — Louis Friedman, Albert Grimm. EPISODE IV Confirmation of Elhelbert, King of Kent Director — Me. Hodge The crowning achievement of St. Augustine's missionary efforts in Britain was the conversion and subsequent confirmation of the King of Kent. St. Augustine — William Robinson. Priests — I. J. Gaines, D. B. Hodge. CRUarER — Henry Glenn. Ethelbert — Kenneth Leautey. Queen — Olga Siem. Ladies of Court — Marie Bargeron, Anna Asendorff, Gertrude Schwalb, Alice Hillis, Eloise Hester, WiUie Godley. Courtiers — Charles Haddon, Joe Greenberg, John Lytjen. . - • . EPISODE V Crowning of Dauphin of France Director — Mrs. Strong As a symbol of tne victories"of the French under Joan of Arc over the English the Dauphin is , crowned in the Cathedral of Rheims. Joan of Arc — Miss Varnedoe. Joan's Squire — John Foy. Archbishop of Rheims — Huger Williams. Priest — Jack Craig. Priest— Robert Pollock. Acolytes — Ravenal GigniUiat, Kurt Nanninga. Dauphin— Frank Exley. ' ' Dauphine — Marian Hesse. Constable of FRANCE^Cornelius Ford. Princes — Hugh Saussy, Frances Galloway, Arthur Hillbraith. Ladies in WAinNG— Joan Hartfelder, Lily Folger, Marie Michel, Veda Royall, Elizabeth Goodrich, Mildred Geiger, Katherine Mulford, Elizabeth Norton, Ethel Powell, Dorothy Grayson, Hannah Foss, Marie Krieger, Myrtle Burney, Isabel Beasley. Courtiers — Lamar Cunningham, Edward Lovell, James Greene. Men-at-Arms— James Sweat, Claude Youmans, Ridgeley Warfield, William Reckling. Pages — Alice Weichselbaum, Josephine Hirsch. EPISODE VI Return of Columbus Director — Miss Jones Columbus is received at the Court of Ferdinand and Isabella in honor of his discovery of a new world. Isabella — Martha Perkins. Ferdinand — Langford Anderson. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court — Justine Savarese, Helen Whalen, Rita Eisenberg, Marion Stubbs, Anne Christie, Evangeline Grimm, Mary Forney, Annie Frierson, Leila Cubbedge, Marie Garfain, Anna Pritchard, Charles Wiehrs, Jules Benton, Sam Idelsohn, Reginald Mitchell, Philip Schirm, Lawrence Bissett. Columbus— <)uincy Hodges. Indians — Clifford Roberts, Carl Rustin, William Mobley, Frances Stubbs, Margaret LaFar. 112 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY EPISODE VII The First American Thanksgiving Director — Miss Beard The Pilgrims, after their first year in the new world, met to return thanks to God for their preserva- tion and to feast with their Indian neighbors. Go\t;rnor Bradford — Ambrose Solomon. Pilgrims — Alberta Carson, Kayton Smith, Marguerite Teeple, Mildred Corson, Marie Green, Elizabeth Loadholt, Margaret Mustin, Arthur Davis, Albert Rauzin, William Lowndes, Herbert Hutton, Edward Leonard, Arthur Carter, Thomas Alnwtt, Miriam Stokes, Gladys Wolf, Beth Setze, Louise Strickland, Lorraine Dugger. Indians — Clarence Miller, Herbert Matthews, Horace Friedman, George Heriot, John Collins, Richard Dutton, John Ohsiek, Nell McEachern, Leola Clark, Anna Clarkin, Orlean Cubbedge, Margaret Coulling, Jeanette Harris. EPISODE VIII The Federation of the World Director — Mrs. Downey The nations of the world join in thanksgiving at the signing of the Armistice. Serbia — Walter Strong. Russia — Mrs. Floyd, Miss Baggs, Mr. Clower, Mr. Dyer. Belgium — Mrs. J. S. Howkins, Miss Eugenia Johnston, Mrs. N. J. Gillespie, Mrs. J. J. Powers, Mrs. Thomas Purse, Mrs. Wilbur Coney, Mrs. F. C. Battey, Mrs. L. M. LeHardy, Mrs. H. H. Lattimore. France — Margaret Lane. Britain — Etta May Rimes. J.APAN — .'Vnna Palmer. It.^ly — Minnie Friedman. Greece — May Veruki. Aherica — Frances Wall. Girl Scouts. Boy Scouts. Marines — Sergt. Martin DeFrank, Sergt. J. A. Bowen. Sailors — Sergt. J. W. Towe, Mr. A. L. Stalnecker. Y. M. C. A.— Kari Sisterhemn, Mr. Willard Flynn. War Camp Community Service — Mrs. lola G. Bishop, Miss Martin Sasnett. Overseas SER\acE — Miss Sarah Elliott. Surgical Dressings — Miss Ruth Stanton, Miss Gertrude Maree. Motor Corps — Mrs. Karl Sisterhemn, Miss Eliza Schley, Miss Emma Walthour. C.^nteen — Mrs. Edwin Cubbedge, Miss Rosalie Dana. Hospital Social Service — Miss Marie Love, Miss Hazel McNees. Home Service — Miss Mary Paul Wallace, Miss Martha Young. Knitting — Helen Wilkins, Louise Jarrott, Mary Walker. Nursing Corps — Cassie Sowell, Mary Pettus. IX— RECESSIONAL As the United States flag leaves the stage in the Recessional the audience is requested to stand and sing America. Atrurica My country! 'Tis of thee. My native country, thee — Sweet land of liberty, Land of the noble free, Of thee I sing; Thy name I love; Land where my fathers died 1 I love thy rocks and rills, Land of the Pilgrim's pride! Thy woods and templed hills; From ev'ry mountain side My heart with rapture thrills, Let freedom ring. Like that above. Our fathers' God! to Thee Author of Liberty, To Thee we sing! Long may our land be bright With freedom's holy liehtT Protect us by Thy miglit. Great God, our King! A Pageant of Thanksgiving BY LINWOOD TAFT, Ph.D. Being the ceremonies and celebrations held by different peoples in thankfulness for bless- ings received or for notable victories won. Application for the right to produce this Pageant should be made to the publishers A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING INTRODUCTION At the beginning of the pageant and before the curtain rises the orchestra plays "Old Hundred" through once. This serves as a prelude. Immediately the audience rises and sings to that tune the following Hymn of Thanksgiving. Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. As the hymn of praise is finished the curtain rises. The orchestra continues to play "Old Hundred" while the audi- ence is being seated and until quiet is restored. At the right of the stage and near the front is a dais about two feet high and large enough for the throne-like seat of the Spirit of Thanksgiving and for Hope who stands at her right. On a low stool at the left and near the feet of Thanksgiving is seated Despair, crouched over, with hair falling over her face. Two Attendants, a young man and a young woman, stand at each side of this group and form a part of it. Opposite this group at the left of the stage is a platform six inches high and about four feet square. Upon this platform is an altar. In front of the altar and facing the group about Thanksgiving stands, as the curtain rises, a group of eight Heralds with bugles. About the stage in attractive group- ings are fourteen other Attendants. At the center of the stage near the back is another platform six inches high and five feet square. A broad flight of steps lead from the stage to the floor of the auditorium. "5 ii6 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY PROLOGUE Spirit of Thanksgiving Hope Despair Attendants (eighteen) Heralds (eight, with bugles) After the singing of the opening hymn the orchestra, as before stated, continues the music of "Old Hundred" until quiet is restored. As the last chord dies away Hope speaks. Hope. — Such unison of praise and thanksgiving uprising to the throne of the most high God can spring only from a people with a single aim, a single purpose, and a single vision. Thanksgiving. — Long have I hoped for a world-wide unison of thanksgiving: a world at peace, praising God from whom all blessings flow. Ages ago, before History was, primitive peoples gathered in from the chase and from their rude harvests and gave thanks to the gods they feared and worshiped. Such half-praise, half-propitiation, v>'ith intent for personal, individual profit, was only the first faint beginning of real thankfulness and praise. Other peoples in later ages gathered together in gorgeous ceremonials to fittingly express their joy over national con- quests. Yet even this was but imperfect, partial praise — an exultation over the downfall of another sister nation. Shall there ever be a full, unrestricted, unselfish thanksgiving welling up from the heart of the world? Hope. — With this song of praise still in our ears how can we doubt the universal brotherhood of man expressed in hymns of praise? Despair. — To-day ye join in praise, yes. But how of yesterday? And will not to-morrow and all the morrows yet to come be filled with petty aims, self-seeking, strife for place and power, unworthy deeds and individual rather than universal gain? Hope. — Call forth thy soul, Despair, that it may look upon the souls of nations deeply moved to thankfulness. Let it no longer remain crouched in gloom perceiving only the world's mere material seeming. It is only in great moments that the souls of nations as of men stand forth in their true aspects. Could you recall pictures of the past you would see how the spirit of Thanksgiving has ever reached higher and more exalted planes as the centuries have passed and the peoples of the world have struggled onward and upward. Thanksgiving. — O clear-eyed Hope, favored daughter of the stars, recall, I pray thee, these exalted moments of the nations. It is only through thee, if ever, that we may sec and know their aspirations and their promise. A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING 117 At a signal from Hope the Heralds and all of the Attendants except the four standing beside the Spirit of Thanksgiving take their stations and await the entrance of the episode groups. There should be a Herald at right and left of the stage by the main entrances from the wings, and a pair of Heralds by each of the entrances to the auditorium. We are assuming a rear or east entrance and two side entrances, north and south, connecting by a cross aisle with the main aisle which runs from the east entrance up to the stage. At each entrance as many pairs of Attendants take their stations as episode groups will enter there. These figures are always in view of the audience and must hold their pose throughout the time they are waiting. EPISODE I A PRIMITIVE PASTORAL THANKSGIVING Hope. — First we must see how primitive man sought the protection and favor of his Gods. The Herald at the right of the stage blows a bugle call and the pair of Attendants assigned to this group lead on the people of Episode I. The Attendants take their places at the extreme front of the stage, one at the left and the other at the right, against the arch and facing each other. At the end of the episode they follow the group from the stage. King Favorite Son Princess Sorcerer High Priest Priests or Priestesses Slaves of the King Shepherd of the Flocks Shepherds and Shepherdesses Warriors Members of the Tribe An oriental pastoral people make offerings to the Gods whom they fear as well as worship as an act of propitiation rather than of thanksgiving. They enter in processional form singing a rude harvest song. Hail! O thou Mighty Ones! Gods of the harvest! Take of our increase First-born and fairest. Grant us protection, Keep us from cold and harm, Bless with abundance, Make us thy chosen ones. ii8 A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING 119 So may thy altar fires Ne'er be extinguished, Never be lacking gifts; — Grain, fruits, or flesh! The Slaves of the King carry a rude canopy over him as he walks. He takes his place near the center of the stage, the others grouping around him according to their rank. One by one the people come forward and show the offerings they have brought. The Priests confer as to the value of each gift and signify their approval or displeasure to the King, who praises or rebukes accordingly. Among others the Sorcerer comes forward with his wand and basket and shows how he will honor the gods by his greatest magic — the charming of the snake in his basket. (This can be man- aged by strings tied to the snake's head and manipulated from the wings.) After the offerings have been shown the rude chant is again begun and the group leaves the stage by the left exit, followed by their Attendants. EPISODE II THE PANATHEN.€ Hope. — A pagan people, rejoicing always in the fullness of life, still remember that it is meet for them to set aside special days for votive offerings to the gods who have blessed them with happiness and plenty. The Heralds at the east entrance to the auditorium sound a bugle call and the Attendants assigned to Episode II lead on the Greeks. Once each year the Greeks went in a processional up to the shrine of Athene with the new saffron robe specially woven for their patron goddess. So now come two Flute Boys leading (about ten feet behind the Attendants) the procession. Then come the Priests bearing the saffron- colored robe. They are followed by men and women, youths and maidens, all bearing some offering to Athene. Some carry jars of oil, others baskets of fruit or garlands of flowers. Among other things carried as offerings are baskets of wheaten cakes. A maiden carries a small harp across the strings of which she, from time to time, draws her fingers. The young men carry their swords and spears which, with their shields, they will dedicate anew to their patron goddess. This is a joyous ceremonial and as the procession winds its way up the steps and across the stage to the left exit the people are happy and carefree, and talk and laugh with some abandon, although they retain their places in the pro- cession. I30 EPISODE III PAX ROMANA Hope. — The ancient Romans, doing everything in an orderly way, ordain a special day of celebration for the establishing of peace in the Roman World. The Heralds stationed at the south entrance to the audi- torium blow a bugle call and the pair of Attendants assigned to Episode III lead on the Romans in the following order. Ballplayers (two small boys) Flute Players (four youths) Dancers (six or eight) Augustus Senators Matrons and Maidens Egyptian Dancers Youths The Romans celebrate peace in the Roman dominions, after conflict, in a characteristic procession and offering to the Gods. Behind the Attendants come two small boys running about and playing with a soft rubber ball. Four youths come next with pipes of reed or cane upon which they appear to play. Following them and dancing as though to their piping comes a group of maidens in Grecian cos- tumes. They have no studied steps in the dance but each expresses joy in free movements. The group should have the appearance of being composed of running, whirling, and posturing figures that, however free their movements appear, yet keep to the space apportioned to them in the processional. Augustus, reverent and dignified, bears in both hands at the height of his eyes a brazen bowl in which incense is burning. 121 122 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY As the Attendants reach the stage they separate and take their stations at the extreme front of the stage at the left and right against the arch. The Senators group themselves near the altar. The Matrons stand near the center of the stage. The others group themselves at the back, Augustus approaches the altar, steps up on the platform, lifts high the bowl of incense, and then places it on the altar. While Augustus is doing this the others stand with uplifted faces and arms extended in supplication. Augustus makes a rev^- erent obeisance before the altar and then takes his place near the Senators. The Egyptian Dancers now come before the altar and do a characteristic dance that would leave an Impression of reverence and praise. As this dance is finished the Attendants come together in the center of the stage and lead the group off at the right stage exit. Augustus ap- proaches the altar, steps up on the platform, lifts high the bowl of incense, steps down, and then, turning, takes his place in the procession. The music accompanying the action ceases as the group has left the stage and Despair speaks. Despair. — What cause for hope is here? Did they not use their day of thanksgiving as opportunity for fresh conspiracies and fratracidal strife? Hope. — Truly the Romans did besmear the escutcheon of their honor with petty jealousies, strife for place and power, and with personal ambi- tion, but they so organized the ideas and ideals of men that other nations might go forward from the height they themselves were barely able to reach. In the fullness of their triumphs they still remembered the heathen on the borders of their dominions and through their Bishop, now Saint, Augustine the British King of Kent is brought to a joyful submission to the Christian faith. EPISODE IV CONFIRMATION OF THE KING OF KENT The Heralds on the stage, first the one on the right and then the one on the left, sound a bugle call and the Attend- ants assigned to Episode IV lead on from the right stage entrance the following characters. Ethelbert, King of Kent His Queen Ladies of the Court Courtiers Warriors The crowning achievement of St. Augustine's missionary efforts in Britain was the conversion and subsequent con- firmation of Ethelbert, King of Kent. So these characters come m and form a group at the right center of the stage as the Attendants take their places at the front by the arch. Then from the left of the stage come a Crucifer carrying a silver cross, two priests, and St. Augustine with a double silver crozier, as in a processional before service. They take their places near the altar, St. Augustine in front of it, a Priest at each side of him, and the Crucifer at the left of the altar. St. Augustine gives his crozier to a Priest, who returns it after the confirmation. Ethelbert takes off his crown and hands it to a Courtier and then kneels before St. Augustine. All of the court also kneel, on both knees. St. Augustine lays his hands upon the King's head, holding them there as long as it would take to speak the confirmatory sentence. Then, while all are kneeling, he gives the Epis- copal benediction. As they stand, Ethelbert returns to his place and resumes his crown. The Crucifer leads the pro- cession from the stage at the left. He is followed by the Priests, St. Augustine, the Court, and the Attendants. 123 EPISODE V THE CROWNING OF THE DAUPHIN OF FRANCE As a symbol of the victories of the French under Joan of Arc over the English, the Dauphin is crowned in the Cathedral of Rheims. Dauphin Dauphine Pages Constable of France Princes Ladies in Waiting Courtiers Men-at-Arms Crucifer Acolyt«s Assisting Bishops Archbishop of Rheims Joan of Arc Joan's Squire Hope. — Again unfaltering faith in God and in his Saints brings help to a despairing people. The Maid of France, vision-led, crowns the Dauphin at Rheims in symbol of the saving of the Kingdom of France. The Heralds at the south entrance to the auditorium blow a bugle call and the Attendants assigned to Episode V lead on the French Court group, in the order listed, up the aisle to the stage, taking their places by the arch at the front as the court groups about the Dau{)hiii and Dauphine towards the right of the stage. The Page who has been supporting the train of the Dauphine spreads it out. The other rests the standard (white with gold flcur-de-lls) he carries on the floor, holding it erect with his right hand, 124 A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING 125 The Constable, who carries the crown on a cushion, stands just at the left of the Dauphin. A Courtier Is near. The church group now marches In from the left of the stage in the order named in the cast. The Crucifer carries a gold cross. He stands at the left of the altar but back from it. The acolytes carry lighted candles in tall candle- sticks which they place on the altar after proper obeisance. They stand at each side of the altar during the coronation. The Archbishop and the attending Bishops stand before the altar. Joan, who is in armor but without helmet, takes her place near the constable. Her Squire, who carries her white banner spangled with silver fleur-de-lis, stands behind her. When all are In place Joan hands her sword and shield to her squire, receives the cushion with the crown from the Constable, and takes her place beside the attending Bishop nearest her. The Dauphin removes the rich cape he is wearing, hands it to the Courtier standing near, and kneels before the Archbishop. Joan presents the crown to the Bishop, who lifts it from the cushion and passes it to the Archbishop of Rheims, who lifts it high as though presenting it for divine blessing and then places it on the head of the kneeling Dauphin. The court stands with bowed heads while the Archbishop blesses them. As the Attendants come from the sides where they have been standing to lead the group back down the aisle to the south entrance, the Dauphin goes back to the Dauphlne, his cape Is replaced, and they follow the church group as they leave the stage behind the Attendants. The Acolytes, meanwhile, have taken the candles from the altar with suitable obeisance and have fallen into line behind the Crucifer, as in their entrance. The Bishops, the Arch- bishop, and the Court follow In order. Despair watches them curiously as they disappear. Despair. — Yet these same Frenchmen, with the coronation of their prince fresh in their memories, yield up their savior to the savage hate and bigotry of their enemies — a human sacrifice upon an altar of fire? Is this a fitting expression of thanksgiving! 126 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY Hope. — They erred, 'tis true. The few, seeing according to their faith and acting for the many, did deliver the Maid over to death and to calumny worse than death, but her ideal of service to her king and to her country triumphed over the bonds of death and hate and her spirit became the inspiration of millions of Frenchmen who revered her name and presently elevated her to their most exalted galaxy of saints where she is honored and glorified. In all their battles in the times since then they have felt that she has fought for them. Her spirit has given them courage even to the saying of an implacable and almost irresistible foe on the field of Verdun, "They shall not pass." But there had not yet been time for men to rise above the fears and superstitions of an earlier age. Yet the end of the same century whose early years saw the celebration, with mass and coronation, of the overthrow of a sister nation, saw a more magnificent spectacle pro- claimed in honor of the peaceful conquest of a new world. Spain honors Columbus for the discovery of a New World. EPISODE VI COLUMBUS RECEIVED AT THE COURT OF SPAIN Columbus is received at the Court of Ferdinand and Isabella in honor of his discovery of"a new world. Ferdinand Isabella Ladies of the Court Gentlemen of the Court Columbus Indians The Heralds stationed at the east entrance to the audi- torium blow a call and the Attendants for Episode VI lead the Spanish Court group up the center aisle to the stage, taking their places at the front by the arch as the King and Queen mount the small platform at the rear of the stage and the members of the court group themselves around, leaving the center of the stage free. Columbus, followed by the Indians, comes on from the right of the stage. They take their places near the center of the stage. Columbus kneels before the King, who invites him to stand. He rises and faces the King in such a manner that he presents nearly a side view to the audience. He calls the Indians forward one by one and exhibits the things they carry as trophies of the new world in the west. One Indian may carry some ears of corn, another a live parrot, another some rude gold ornaments. The Chief removes his headdress for the inspection of the King, who passes it to a Lady. She tries it on, to the alarm of the Chief and to the joy of the court. Indian women have bowls and jars of clay, baskets, and bead ornaments. 127 128 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY When everything has been admired the entire group leaves the stage by the right stage entrance, followed by the Attendants. As the King and Queen move towards the exit they pause and motion for Columbus to follow them, pre- ceding the court. The Indians come at the end, single file, just ahead of the Attendants. Despair has watched throughout the scene with her eyes on Columbus. As the music ceases she turns to Hope. Despair. — Another devoted leader, bringing to his sovereign glory and honor and riches and power — yet he dies in poverty and extreme neglect, bowed down by the ignominy of chains and imprisonment. Hope. — Be patient yet a little longer, Sister of my Heart. In the end you yet shall see a world at last conscious of its responsibilities to those individuals who have made their all-but-supreme sacrifice for a universal peace and for their ideal of democracy. Yet first one other picture would I show. The Pilgrim Fathers, established for religious freedom on a bleak and rock-bound shore, hold a day of solemn thanksgiving and feasting with their native neighbors in memory of the watchful care and protection of the Father of us all. EPISODE VII THE FIRST AMERICAN THANKSGIVING The Pilgrims, after tlieir first year in the new world, meet to return thanks to God for their preservation and to feast with their Indian neighbors. The Heralds stationed at all entrances blow, in succes- sion, a bugle call. Attendants who have been standing near the stage entrances since the beginning of Episode I come forward and take their places by the arch at the front of the stage. From the various entrances come, in couples and small groups, the Pilgrims, who meet and greet each other on the stage as people are wont to do in a public place. This should be done calmly and deliberately, without hurry. Last of all comes a group of Indians, braves and squaws, with a group of Indian girls behind them. The Indians do not mingle very freely with the Pilgrims but keep somewhat apart. After suitable greetings have been extended to the Indians Governor Bradford steps forward and reads a Thanksgiving lesson: When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. — (Psalm 126.) Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of the saints. 129 I30 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY Let Israel rejoice in him that made him; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise his name in the dance; let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people; he will beautify the meek with salvation. — (Psalm 149, 1-4.) Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: Praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. — (Psalm 150.) The group of Indian maidens dance the corn dance which symboHzes the digging of the hills for the corn, planting, covering, reaping, husking, and grinding it, and finally the offering of the meal to the Great Spirit. As the dance ends the Attendants come together at the center of the stage and lead the Pilgrims and Indians out the center aisle through the east entrance to the auditorium. EPISODE VIII THE FEDERATION OF THE WORLD The nations of the world join in thanksgiving at the signing of the armistice. Hope. — So from its far-off rude beginnings have we s^en the spirit of praise and thankfulness grow and purify itself. We now shall see ful- filled the vision of the poet of an earlier age who looked. "... into the future far as human eye could see; Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be, — Till the war-drum throbb'd no longer, and the battle flags were furled In the Parliment of man, the Federation of the world." We shall see with what universal acclaim the nations of the world only two short years ago, abandoning the daily occupations of life and gath- ering in the public places and houses of worship, gave voice to their over- powering thankfulness. Their joy was not, mark you, Despair, that a nation had gone down in defeat by force of arms, but that a higher con- ception of democracy became potentially realized with the overthrow of autocracy and the establishment of the Parliament of man, the Feder- ation of the world visioned by the poet. I will now unroll before you the procession of the nations joining together in heartfelt praise over the signing of the document that put an end to the horrors of that great disaster of the centuries. As they come mark how the great and good of the past return to reinforce the present and how the present, through its organized youth, looks for- ward with yet new promise to a still more exalted future. The Heralds at the south entrance sound their trumpets and a man in Serbian costume, carrying the Serbian flag comes to the stage to the music of the national anthem. He stands on the platform at the rear of the stage facing the 131 132 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY south and east. The Heralds at the north entrance sound a call and a woman in long lilac and purple robes, carrying the Belgian flag, comes to the stage. She is followed by eight other women in lilac and gray. Belgium stands on the small platform near Serbia. Her followers line up behind her facing her flag instead of the audience. The entrance of Belgium is accompanied by the national air. The Heralds at the east entrance now sound a call and two men, one car- rying the flag of the Russian provisional government, and two women in Russian peasant costumes, singing the old Russian Hymn, without accompaniment, come up the center aisle and take their places behind and facing Serbia. In this way they face the center of the stage near the back. They balance the followers of Belgium, who are on the opposite side of the stage. The Heralds at the south entrance blow a call and a young woman in pink carrying the French flag comes to the stage and stands beside the Russian who carries the flag. She is followed at a distance of twenty feet by the people of Episode V led by their Attendants. They go up stage, pass between France and the Russians, and stand behind and facing the French flag rather than the audience. The line may extend into the wings if there is not room on the stage. It is essential that the line be kept unbroken. The Heralds at the north entrance now sound a call and a young woman in dull pale green carrying the British flag comes to the stage and stands opposite France and facing her at a distance of four feet. Britain is followed at a distance of twenty feet by the people of Episode IV lead by their Attendants. They pass up the center of the stage between Britain and France, then turn to the left between Britain and the Belgians and stand back of and facing the British flag. This and all other groups may extend out Into the wings if necessary In order to keep the line Intact for the Recessional. Japan, represented by a single figure carrying the Japanese flag or by a group following the leader with the flag, Is now announced by the Heralds at the south entrance and comes to join her ally, Britain. They stand at A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING 133 the end of the line behind the British flag. The Heralds at the south entrance now sound another call and a young woman in lavender carrying the Italian flag comes to the stage and stands beside France. The people of Episode III led by their Attendants come as the others have done and, passing between Italy and France, fall in line facing the Italian flag. From the north entrance a call is sounded and a young woman in pale yellow carrying the Greek flag comes to the stage and stands beside Britain and facing Italy. The people of Episode II, led by their Attendants, follow and, passing between Greece and Britain, stand facing their flag. A call is now sounded from the east entrance and as the orchestra begins to play the Star Spangled Banner, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, two by two, march in from both north and south entrances. As these lines meet at the center aisle the lines on the stage side join, each leaving the former partner and taking a new one from the other line, and marching toward the stage. At the same time the other lines have joined and marched toward the east entrance. They all now face their partners and move backward until they are near the seats, leaving the open aisle between the lines. They stand at "salute" until the young woman In white carry- ing the United States flag comes from the east entrance and, passing between the lines of scouts, takes her place on the stage beside Italy. The scouts now stand at "attention" until the end of the pageant. The Pilgrims, led by their Attendants, follow the United States flag up the aisle between the lines of scouts and, passing between America and Italy, stand facing the flag. While the Star Spangled Banner is still being played representatives of all forms of war service come and stand In line opposite the United States flag and faoing It and the Pilgrims. The following are suggested as suitable for this group: Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, etc., Y. M. C. A., K. of C, Salvation Army, War Camp Com- munity Service, Overseas Service, Surgical Dressings, Motor Corps, Canteen, Hospital Social Service, Home Service, Knitting, Nursing Corps. 134 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY The stage Is now filled with people all facing the center of the stage which is left as an aisle four feet wide from the front to the back of the stage. At the back are seen Serbia and Belgium standing on the platform. On each side of the aisle are the flags of the nations. While the war workers have been coming to the stage the Attendants of Episode I have come onto the stage at the right back, unnoticed, and taken their stand In readiness to fall in line behind Serbia in the Recessional. The Attendants of Episode VI have at the same time come on at the left back ready to fall in line behind the Belgians and ahead of the Russians. It will be noted that the people of Episodes I and VI have been given no place in the Recessional. EPISODE IX THE RECESSIONAL As the last war worker reaches the stage the music changes to the Gloria from Haydn's First Mass in Bb- The Heralds march to the stage and turn ready to lead the Recessional. They are joined by the Heralds whose stations have been on the stage. The Scouts are still lining the main aisle to the east entrance. The Heralds leave the stage first, going down the main aisle and out the east entrance. They are followed by Serbia, Attendants to Episode I, Belgians, Attendants to Episode VI, the Russians, France and the French, Britain and the British with Japan, Italy and the Romans, Greece and the Greeks, America and the Pilgrims, the War Workers. These should leave the stage as groups, each group being compact together but separated from the other groups by about ten feet. As the United States flag leaves the stage the audience stands, there is a pause for a moment, then without prelude save a single chord, all join in singing America. My country! 'Tisofthee, Sweet land of liberty. Of thee 1 sing; Land where my fathers died! Land of the Pilgrim's pride! From ev'ry mountain side Let freedom ring. My native country, thee — Land of the noble free, Thy name I love; 135 136 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and templed hills: My heart with rapture thrills, Like that above. Our father's God! to Thee, Author of Liberty, To Thee we sing! Long may our Land be bright With freedom's holy light! Protect us by Thy might, Great God, our King! As the War Workers leave the stage Despair is seen to have arisen, thrown back her veil of hair, dropped her outer garment of dull gray, and now stands radiant in bril- liant purple. The curtain falls on the group of central figures, Thanksgiving, Hope, Despair, and the four Attend- ants who have stood beside Thanksgiving during the pageant, as the last of the War Workers leave the stage, or the curtain may remain up until the three stanzas of America are finished. The Scouts fall in behind the War Workers, those nearest the stage going first and then the others in order. The pageant ends with the last words of America. MUSIC APPROPRIATE FOR THE PAGEANT Prologue Old Hundred Episode I. No orchestra Episode II. Aida March Verdi Episode III. Antony's Victory Gruenwald Episode IV. Gloria from First Mass in Bb Haydn Episode V. In the Arbor Gruemvald Episode VI. Aria in D Barri Episode VII. Ein Feste Burg Luther Chant du Nord (for Corn Dance) Lange Episode VIII. National Anthems of the Nations. 1. Serbian Hymn. 2. La Brabanconnc (Btigian). 3. God save our noble Czar (Russian). 4. La Marseillaise (French). 5. Rule, Britannia (British). A PAGEANT OF THANKSGIVING 137 6. Kimagayo (Japanese). 7. Garibaldi Hymn (Italian). 8. Greek Hymn. 9. Star Spangled Banner. Episode IX. Gloria from First Mass in Bb Haydn America As soon as the bugle call has sounded for an episode the orchestra begins the appropriate music and continues it until the episode is finished and the group is out of the auditorium. If lines are spoken, as in Episode VII, the music softens down and stops for them. In Episode III the music of the episode is suitable for the dance if the rhythm is strongly marked. In Episode VII the music for the dance of the Indian Maidens is used for the exit of the group as well as for the dance. Color Scheme for the Pageant If the stage can be draped in a soft gray material that hangs in straight, simple folds a most effective background will be secured. The stage and auditorium are brilliantly lighted throughout the pageant. If a flood light can be focused on the group of central figures it will throw them into a desirable high relief. A satisfactory color scheme for the pageant is as follows. The Spirit of Thanksgiving, soft corn color; Hope, soft pastel tones of pink, lavender, yellow, green, etc., in vertical stripes under a spangled net tabard that comes to the bottom of the dress; Despair, brilliant purple with an over garment of dull gray that can be slipped off easily; Attendants beside Thanksgiving, red purple, orange, lilac, yellow; other At- tendants, any soft harmonizing colors based on the colors for their episodes; Heralds, white with lilac tabards decorated with gold. Episode I. Heavy reds, browns, and dull blue. Episode H. Yellow through orange to brown. Episode HI. White, lilac, purple, gold. Episode IV. Dull blues, greens, silver. 138 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY Episode V. Rose pink, red purple, blue lavender, red orange, gold. Episode \ I. Black, various tones of orange. Episode VII. Gray, brown, black. Episode VIII. Serbia, bright colors. Belgium, purple and lilac. Russians, browns, grays, burnt orange. France, soft pink. Britain, dull pale green. Japan, any colors. Italy, soft faint lavender. Greece, pale yellow. America, white or cream. Descriptive Programme Historic Festival and Pageant SAVANNAH A Hundred Years Ago 1819 AND 1919 Author and Pageant Master, DR. LINWOOD TAFT Musical Director, MISS ESTELLE CUSHMAN Presented by The SAVANNAH FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION Mr. E. v«^. ROBERTS, President MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM April 24, 19 19 - Savannah, Ga. SAVANNAH FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION Officers E. S. ROBERTS General Chairman NINA A. PAPE First Vice Chairman HORTENSE M. ORCUTT.. Secofid Vice Chairman EDITH D. JOHNSTON Secretary D. M. MYERS Treasurer CLARE VAUGHAN Custodian Savannah Historical Pageant April 24, 1919 EPISODES AND DIRECTORS Senior High School Drum Corps, J. P. Gardner, Drum Major and Acting-President. Savannah with Heralds, Buglers, Attendants. Miss Sarah Cunningham, Dr. Taft. Spirit of the Savannah River with attendant nymphs and dryads. Mr. Noble A. Hardee, Miss Katherine Storer. The Hundred Years. The Huntingdon Club. Miss Sarah Cunningham. I. The Founding of Bethesda. Mrs. A. R. Lawton. II. Founding of Savannah Female Orphanage. Mrs. John L. Cabell. III. Ball in honor of President Monroe. Mrs. J. S. Wood, State Regent, D. A. R. IV. Cast of "The Soldier's Daughter," the play given at the opening of the Savannah Theater. Miss S. L. Magone. Mrs. Annot B. Downey. V. Opening Reception of Chatham Academy. Mrs. T. Mayhew Cunningham, Jr., Miss Anna M. Winn. VI. Mr. Goodwin's Dancing School. Pape and Myers Schools. Miss Clara Vaughan. VII. Visit of Marquis de Lafayette. Lachlan Mcin- tosh Chapter, D. A. R. Mrs. E. P. Noyes, Regent. Pageant Committee: Miss Hortense Orcutt, Chairman; Miss Jessie Anderson, Mr. Noble A. Hardee, Miss Jane Judge, Dr. Linwood Taft, Miss Clara Vaughan. The Girl Scouts acting as ushers and attendants. Mrs. J. Izlar Oliveros. 141 142 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY MEMBERS OF ORCHESTRA Miss Estelle Cushman, Director Violins: Concert Master, Ralston Wylly; Miss Grace Cushman, Mr. Roscoe Lovell, Lawrence Alnutt, Edwin Sickles, David Rogers, Henry Whiteman, Albert Wylly. 'Celli : Mr. Samuel Lawrence, Kenneth Palmer, Flute: Garry Boyle Horns: Sylvan Hirsch, Mortimer Hazlehurst. Drum : William Dooner. Tympani : Neal Banks. Pianist: George Ball. SPIRIT OF SAVANNAH, SPIRIT OF THE RIVER, AND ATTENDANTS Spirit of Savannah. — Miss Frances Howard. Attendants. — Misses Ellen Johnson, Eleanor Puder, Mildred Freeman, Mary New, May Inglesby, Sena Jones. Heralds. — W, Cosby Carlisle, Stephen A. Wilson. Buglers. — Paris S. Atkins, Robert Bissett, Edwin Hodgkins, R. S. Pritchard, Jr., Beverly Rockwell, Rhanston B. Stillwell. Spirit of Savannah River. — Mrs. G. Arthur Gordon. Nymphs and Dryads. — Frances Brown, Eleanor Cor- ish, Harriet Stewart, Jeannette Strong, Dorsey Bruen, Mary Stuart Gordon, Beverly Trosdal, Caroline Lovell, Mary Cope, Mary Bond, Margaret Stod- dard, Virginia Bourne, Eleanor May, Mary Lane, Gertrude Corish, Anne Staplcton, Margaret O'Brien, Alicia Baran and Rosalie Hull. HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT 143 Savannah. — "Nearly two centuries have passed since first Savannah sprang to vivid life ! Savannah ! City by the sea! Gift of the river whose name we bear! Years upon years of brilliant glowing life have been our portion. From many lands and from far distant climes have come great men and women to rest within our heart and to do great deeds and shape the noble events that have diademmed our crown with stars of splendor. No year has passed without some wonder left behind as a remembrance. Yet through all the sparkling years and honorable renown, one group of years shines out, destiny illumined, as the crowning glory of an illustrious life. Within the meager confines of a single year such high and noble circumstances shaped themselves that here we give pause once more, on this anniversary day, to review the wonders of a century ago. We shall see brave men and devoted women, dedicated to the high service of God and of humanity, establish refuges for the desolate; homes for the destitute of God's little ones. The Arts contribute of their grace and culture; the drama with Its pictured life, music with Its moving cadence, and rhythmic motion with the charm and dignity of measured step. The nation's chief executive comes to honor the sailing of our namesake-ship. Wise and learned men establish halls of education and of worship. The gallant Frenchman, renewing his allegiance to a once struggling nation, receives from us and from our children the warmest welcome In our gift. These only of the scores of high and noble deeds of the century may we pic- ture; yet all others should we hold in due remembrance. Go, Heralds, to the appointed stations and announce the moving of the memories of the past." A fanfare of trumpets accompanies the Heralds as they conduct Savannah to her dais and then take their stations. Savannah remains standing until the flourish of trumpets ends and then speaks again: "Yet this review must needs give place, for a time, to those more elemental influences that underlay our very 144 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY origin. Ho, Heralds, summon to us here the spirits of the great river whose name is ours and from whose bounties we do Hv^e. Call forth the nymphs of the forests and the fields who gave of their carefully guarded treasures that we might live and grow." The Buglers in attendance upon Savannah sound a call which is answered by other Buglers. The Spirit of the River accompanied by nymphs and dryads dance in symbol of their gifts to the city. "And at her feet the silent waters flow Oft kissed by zephyrs rare and sunsets glow!" Savannah. — "And now, my Heralds, bid those appear whose noble lives and deeds of high endeavor we here com- memorate." Herald. — "Call back the years, the hundred years, that round our century of remembrances. Bid them unroll before us their measured passing. From out their midst retain with us that most niemorable decade whose circumstances of iin- perishing renown we here, to-day, commemorate. Bid them, of all the years, stay zvith us and present to us for approba- tion and for reverence those very circumstances imperish- able, knit into the fabric of our being, that are our pride and our glory." A bugle call is sounded. Other bugles respond, and 1919 leads on the hundred years. As they pass the last ten detach themselves from the line and move to their places, five on each side of Savannah, where they remain until the years are again rolled forward at the end of t!ic pageant. EPISODE I THE FOUNDING OF BETHESDA Herald. — "IFe shall now see, Savannah, how dedica- tion to the service of God and of humanity brought to the forlorn and needy of thy children the care and love of those whose hearts beat strongly for the desolate and the oppressed. A home for boys, early established and faith- fully maintained, is here depicted! )> As before, bugles announce the approach of the Bethesda group. In this same manner all the following episodes are heralded. The Bethesda Pageant represents an imaginary visit of Lady Huntingdon, the Patroness of this Orphanage. She is accompanied by George Whitefield and John Wesley; the former her adviser and friend in this work, and the latter a co-worker with Whitefield. In her train are James Haber- sham, the first instructor at Bethesda, and seven boys, his first pupils; General James Oglethorpe and his great friend, the Indian Chief Tomochichi, with six of his Indian follov/- ers; also eight ladies and gentlemen of the Court of George II. These characters are announced with due solemnity by a Beadle. The pupils present Lady Huntingdon with flowers grown upon this estate, her gracious gift to the colony — and then sing for her entertainment two verses of "Love Divine, All Love Excelling," written by Charles Wesley. The Beadle Mr. Julian Schley Lady Huntingdon Mrs. A. L. Alexander George Whitefield Mr. Richard Adams James Habersham Mr. Alexander R. Lawton, Jr. 145 146 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY General James Oglethorpe Mr. Frederick Pennlman ToMiCHiCHi Mr. James C. Branan John Wesley W. W. Douglas Group of Bethesda Boys LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE COURT OF GEORGE II Mr. and Mrs. Alexander R. MacDonell Miss Eliza Schley Mr. and Mrs. I. A. Sims Mr. Alan MacDonell Miss Sarah Bacon Mr. A. R. Lawton Mrs. Ford Fuller First Pupils Wm. T. Boseman Oscar Sims Harry Beaseley Franklin Sims Lancy Fripp William Opper Walter Beck EPISODE II FOUNDING OF SAVANNAH FEMALE ORPHANAGE Herald. — "Not boys only, but girls also were found among t'hy needy ones. Nor were there lacking noble women who, putting aside personal gain andpleasures, built up within thy borders a home wherein such girls might grow in knowledge and in grace as well as stature. The founding of the Female Orphanage we noiv commemorate." This episode represents a meeting of the Board of the Savannah Female Orphan Asylum, depicting the manage- ment and life in that institution in 1819. President of the Board, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith. Represented by Mrs. John Heard Hunter Secretary, Mrs. Margaret Hunter. Represented by Mrs. J. A. G. Carson Treasurer, Mrs. Sarah Lamb Represented by Mrs. Max WolfF Mrs. Holcombe Represented by Mrs. John S. Howkins Mrs. Ann Clay Represented by Mrs. F. C. Battey Mrs. Jane Smith Represented by Mrs. R. M. Aldrich Lady Ann Houston Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. J. F. C. Myers Mrs. Hannah McAllister Represented by Mrs. Gordon Saussy Mrs. Sarah Jenkins Represented by Mrs. H. Wiley Johnson Mrs. Ann Moore Represented by Mrs. Gordon Groover Mrs. Rebecca Newell Represented by Miss Hesse Mrs. Mary Wall Represented by Mrs. Alex Thesmar Matron of the Asylum, Mrs. Lydia Myers. Represented by Mrs. George Cope Children of the Asylum of 1819. Represented by Children of the Savannah Female Orphan Asylum 147 EPISODE III BALL IN HONOR OF PRESIDENT MONROE, MAY, 1819 Herald. — *'The nation's Chief Executive, President Monroe, honors thee, SavannaJi, in coming to witness the sailing of thy namesake-ship, the first such ship in all the history of the world to brave the dangers of the sea. The high and noble of thy sons and daughters receive their Presi- dent and make merry for his pleasure " James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, and the second to visit Savannah, was received in the city on Saturday, the eighth of May, 18 19, with every demonstra- tion of delight to honor the Chief Executive. Most prominent of the entertainments given in the Presi- dent's honor was a ball, in a building prepared for the occasion in Johnson Square. This act depicts that historic ball, and shows the guests being presented to the President, by the Honorable William Scarborough, a merchant prince of Savannah, to whom the city owed much of its advance- ment, and at whose home the President stayed while in Savannah. A feature of the ball will be a song, sung by "Mrs. Kollock" (Mrs. Gordon Harrison). Many notable people from Savannah and the surround- ing counties attended the ball. Among them were the fol- lowing : President Monroe Represented by Dr. Francis Turner The Hon. William ScARnoRoucH. Represented by his great-great-nephew, John Stark '1 iiK Hon. James M. Wayne, Mayor of tlic City. Represented by his descendant, Wayne Cunningham 148 HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT 149 Gen. Francis Huger Represented by his great-grandson, Lieut. Percy Huger Francis Harris Macleod Represented by his grandson, Harris Macleod King Gen. Floyd Represented by his descendant, Marmaduke Floyd Gen. Gaines Represented by Frederick Walter Hon. William Bulloch (Vice-President of the day"). Represented by I. A. Sims Mrs. William Bulloch Represented by Mrs. I. A. Sims The Hon. W. R. Waring (alderman). Represented by his descendant, Dr. T. Pinchney Waring Martha Brailsford. Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. T. P. Waring Margaret Moore Lawson. Represented by her granddaughter, Mrs. James S. Wood Mrs. Richard D. Arnold. Represented by her granddaughter, Miss Margaret Cosens Alexander Telfair Represented by Joseph Inglesby, Jr. Mrs. Alexander Telfair. . . .Represented by Mrs. Joseph Inglesby, Jr. Miss Mary Telfair Represented by Mrs. Feay Shellman Thomas Heyward. . .Represented by his descendant, Heyward Howkins Mrs. Thomas Heyward Represented by Mrs. Heyward Howkins Lady Ann Houstoun. Represented by her great-great-granddaughter. Miss Eugenia Johnston Col. James Johnston. Represented by his great-grandson, James Houston Johnston of Atlanta, Ga. Mrs. James Johnston. Represented by her great-granddaughter, Miss Edith Johnston The Hon. Soloman Cohen. Represented by his great-grandson, William Henry Battey Dr. Louis Turner. . . .Represented by his grandson. Dr. Newell Turner George Barnard. . . .Represented by his descendant, Tattnall Pritchard I50 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY Mrs. George Barnard Represented by Mrs. Tattnall Pritchard Mrs. Maria Campbell Kollock (wife of Dr. Lemuel KoUock). Represented by her great-granddaughter, Mrs. Gordon Harrison W. W. Gordon.. .Represented by his great-grandson, W. W. Gordon, Jr. Georgia Bryan. Represented by her great-granddaughter, Miss Daisy Gordon Andrew J. Miller of Augusta, Ga. Represented by his great-grandson, Frank LeHardy Mrs. Jared Irwin (Isabella Erwin). Represented by her great-great-great-niece. Miss Ruth Huston, of Coatesville, Penn. Jane Iravin, daughter of Gov. Jared Irwin. Represented by his great-great-niece, Mrs. Charles Albert Chapman Joseph Habersham. Represented by his great-great-grandson, Welborn Colquitt Mrs. Joseph Habersham. Represented by her great-great-great-niece. Miss Josephine Clark Isaac Minis Represented by his grandson, Abram Minis Mrs. Francis Hendricks of New Jersey (The Hendricks Copper Mills furnished the copper used in the Steamship Savannah). Represented by her great-granddaughter, Mrs. Abram Minis Captain Moses Rogers, who commanded the Steamship "City of Savannah." Represented by his descendant, Mr. Ernest Rogers of New London, Conn. Mrs. Moses Rogers Represented by Mrs. Ernest Rogers Children of the day — represented by; The Children of the Kate Baldwin Free Kindergartens. The Children of the Savannah Kindergarten. The Children of the Kindergarten of the Council of Jewish Women. The Children of the Bishop Beckwith Kindergarten. EPISODE IV OPENING OF SAVANNAH THEATER Herald. — "A home for mimic art, established early, gave pleasant entertainment for thy leisure. These now, who come, do so in the persons of those whose art depicted life when the theater was first opened and inscribed with thy name." "The Soldier's Daughter," a patriotic play, was written by Andrew Cherry, an actor of some repute of the London stage. The play was first produced in London, when England was ablaze with patriotism, due to the apprehen- sion of a Napoleonic invasion. The play was given in Savannah at the opening of the Savannah Theater, Decem- ber 4, 1818. CAST OF CHARACTERS Gov. Heartall Harold Belford Frank Heartall Robert Knox Malfort, Sr Allen Woodruff Malfort, Jr Jack Crowther Captain Woodley Hugh Saussy Ferret Andrew Caraker Tim Quaint Ambrose Solomon Simon Emanuel Lewis The Widow Cheerly Nan O'Connor Mrs. Malfort Louise Strickland Susan Reba DuBois Mrs. Townley Irvina Morris 151 EPISODE V OPENING RECEPTION, CHATHAM ACADEMY, 1813 Herald. — "That there might he no lack of learned and godly men and women in thy service, halls of education and of worship were founded. Chatham Academy is here before us shown as in its first days of service, opened with the dig- nity and courtliness befitting such an enterprise." The Republican and Savannah Evening Ledger of December 12, 1812, contained a notice signed by John Bolton, R, M. Stites, and John Lawson, one paragraph of which reads: "The undersigned committee of the trustees of the Chatham Academy are happy to announce to their fellow citizens and the public that the academy will be opened in the elegant and convenient edifice, lately erected in this city, for the reception of pupils in the various branches of litera- ture proposed to be taught in the institution, on the first Monday in January next." The Republican and Savannah Evening Ledger made an announcement on Friday, January i, 18 13, of this invitation: "The ladies and citizens of Savannah in general are respectfully invited to attend at the academy on Tuesday, the fifth of January next, at twelve o'clock, at which time the building will be opened for the reception of scholars, and an appropriate address will be delivered on the occasion." William Stephens, president of the board of trustees (Mr. T. M. Cunningham, president of the Board of Educa- tion) . 152 HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT 153 John Bolton, R. M. Stites, John Lawson, committee of trustees (Col. G. Arthur Gordon, Mr. William F. McCau- ley, members of the present board of trustees of Chatham Academy), Mr. John Cabell, Mr. F. T. Saussy. Address by Rev. Henry Kollock, D. D., pastor of the Independent Presbyterian Church (Mr. M. C. Kollock, grand-nephew of Rev. Henry Kollock). Extracts from original address, arranged by Mr. Otis Ashmore. Mr. J. D. Fyler, first principal of Chatham Academy (Mr. G. J. Orr, principal of Massie and Barnard Street Schools). The trustees announce that he is "a gentleman highly recommended, and well known as possessing every qualification for that ofl'ice, not only in extensive erudition, but in experience as a skillful instructor." PUPILS OF CHATHAM ACADEMY GLEE CLUB Angela Altick May Bracey Winifred Brooks Agnes Collins Fannie Clark Margaret CouUing Catherine Coyle Mary Crosby Esther Dich Nellie Folger Romana Gallaway Ruth Harrell Alice Hillis Louise Hooper Loretto Heagarty Grade Lanneau Fannie Belle Outler Nan O'Connor Anna Palmer Edwina Pritchard Etta May Rimes Cornelia Sudderth Florrle Thompson Margaret Walker Elizabeth Wells Louise Winn Robert Bissett Lawrence Bissett Jack Craig Harry Friedman William Eyler George Granberry Mortimer Hazlehurst Kenneth Leauty Joe Levington Fred Long Walter Maxwell Sam Newton Roddy Pritchard William Reckling Frank Slater Jack White Allen Woodruff 154 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY OTHER PUPILS Eva Alpert Mary Barnes Bertha Bradley Annie Baxley Jessie Cary Leola Clark Catherine Cubbedge Leila Cubbedge Philippa Delph Gladys Dawson Julia Broderick Joyce Edwards Rita Eisenberg Fanny EstrofF Ida Friedman Mary Horrigan Lottie Jackson Hannah Foss Dorothy Porter Marian Pinkussohn Margaret Lane Helen McCarthy Belle Morecock Camille Leacy Myra Palmer Anna Pritchard Justine Savarese Sara Schwab Helen Sinclair Nadine Solteric Catherine Stafford Mamie Smith Anna Starrs Gertrude Schwalb Katherine Smith Helen Smith Alice Tunno Leila Waite Katherine White Leola White Louise Whitehurst Pauline Wills John Bridger Samuel Cohen Osgood Bridger James Dotson Cooper Morcock William Turner Herbert Matthews William Sheehan Edwin Hodgkins William Stubbs Walker Saussy Herbert Hutton William Taliaferro Charles Wiehrs SPECTATORS AND PATRONS Miss Katherine Davis Miss Mary DeBardeleben Miss Anne D. Jones Mr. and Mrs. T. A. F. Williams Mr. H. L. Weatherby Miss Eloise Varnedoe Mr. and Mrs. Ira Gaines Mrs. Z. D. Wheat Mrs. M. G. Blnnton Mrs. A. T. Lemon EPISODE VI MR. GOODWIN'S DANCING SCHOOL Herald. — "T\hy people, Savannah, loving life in all its aspects, made prompt provision for gay hours of pleasure. A dancing master now presents before us the stately minuet, with other graceful measures of the time. }} Mr. Goodwin, "who for ten years had the honor of being patronized by all the principal families in Savannah, gives proof of his remaining abilities in the steps of grace, as illustrated by his pupils in the minuet and a dance called 'Independence, or The Stars.' "" ) n Mr. Goodwin Mr. Alan MacDonell PUPILS Alicia Young Lois Luther Elizabeth Thesmar Helen Wright Edward Lovell Beach Edwards Aubrey Abbott Herman Kulman Edith Hunter Annie Mcintosh Ann Lawrence Jean Beckett Mary Waring Nina Hammond Fannie Blun Daniel Baldwin Alexander Caroline Johnson Mary Alstaetter Mary Fantl Jack Stoddard Remer Lane Storm Trosdal Kurt Nanninga Winthrop Dwelle Pope Barrow Callie Wilkinson James W. Mclntire Mary Lcfflcr Margaret Kayton Virginia Norton Margaret Elton Olin Mcintosh, Jr. 155 EPISODE VII RECEPTION OF GENERAL LAFAYETTE Herald. — "Lafayette, first European friend of young America! Received with our most cordial welcome at the renewal of his, and our, allegiance. Here is shown the pride and pomp of his reception when, in revisiting the nation whose integrity he helped to save, he honored us with his presence." General Lafayette, returning to America nearly fifty years after his first arrival in this country, "to plunge with youthful ardor into the American struggle for independ- ence," visited Savannah on March 19, 1825. He attended the laying of the cornerstones of the Greene and Pulaski monuments. This episode is a review of the festivities arranged in honor of General Lafayette during his visit. The words of the song were written for the occasion by George Robertson, Jr., and sung at the dinner. In the pageant General Lafay- ette is received by notable people of Savannah at that time, and a flag made in his honor is presented to him. The original of this flag was borne on a flagstaff at the bow of the Altamaha as that vessel carried General Lafayette from Savannah to Augusta. Among the notables who took part in the ceremonies were: Lafayette Represented by Mr. Raiford Falligant Gen. Murat Represented by Mr. Tattnall Pritchard Gen. Francis Huger Represented by Lieut. Percy Huger Gen. Tattnall Represented by Mr. Richard Adams Commodore John Herbert Dent, U. S. N. Represented by his great-grandson, Gratz Dent 156 HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT 157 President of St. Andrews Society. Represented by Mr. Olin Mcintosh, great-great-grandnephevv of Gen. Lachlan Mcintosh, founder of St. Andrew's Society in 1790. Gen. John Floyd Represented by Mr. Marmaduke Floyd Gen. Charles Floyd Represented by Mr. Hazlehurst Noyes (As a West Point Lieutenant in command of a company of Marines sent to receive Lafayette when he arrived in New York.) Gen. Stewart. .Represented by his great-great-grandson, John Stevens Alderman John Shellman. Represented by his great-great-grandson, W. F. Shellman Isaac Minis Represented by Mr. Abram Minis August Oemler Represented by Mr. Heyward Oemler (He designed the miniatures placed in the corner stones of the Green and Pulaski monuments.) Dr. George Mosse. Represented by his great-grandson, Dr. Walter Norton Col. Nowlan. .Represented by his descendant, Mr. Eugene MacDonell (Col. of the 35th Ga. Reg. of Savannah in 1812.) Lieut. Schley. Represented by his great-great-grandson, Lieut. Larcombe Schley Mrs. Martha Brailsford. Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. T. P. Waring Mrs. John Peter Martin. Represented by her descendant, Mrs. Walter S. Wilson (Captain John Peter Martin was with Pinckney in the disastrous assault on Savannah in October, 1779.) Mrs. Sheftall. Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. Elliott Reed Mrs. Thomas Pilkington Purse. Represented by her great-great-granddaughter. Miss Wilhelmina Purse Mrs. John Floyd. Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Miss Ruth Foster Mrs. Mary Floyd Hamilton. Represented by her descendant, Miss Nell Noyes Madame de Sableaux (wife of Louis Philippe de Sableaux, who came to this country with Lafayette). Represented by her great-great-granddaughter. Miss Janey Davant iS8 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY Miss Lavinia Christian (who was crowned queen of the carnival by Lafayette at West Point, Va.) Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. J. R. Marshall Isabella Steele. Represented by her great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. Hoyt W. Gale of Cleveland, O. The youth of the city gathered with their elders in Johnson square to welcome Lafayette. Mary Teasdale Julia Frances Floyd Ruth Foster McCaskill Hal Noyes Olaf Otto, Jr. Margaret Ellen Lester Elizabeth Inglesby Gussie Clay Hilda Allen Lizzie Gray Davis Martha Gaillard Benjamin Palmer Axson Nell Furlow Axson John A. Foster, Jr. Camille Nicolas Elizabeth Chapeau Philip Minis Eugene Edwards Sallie Thesmar Sophie Thesmar Andrew Edwards Lucile Gorin Helen Walthour Jean Labouchere Virginia Walthour Dudley Sweat Helen Sweat Dorothy Bonney Gladys Henderson Marmaduke Floyd, Jr. Eugenia Granger Virginia Powell Elinor Brown Woody DuBose Fannie Patrick Elizabeth Stephens Elizabeth Foster Jane Tharin Floyd Foster Marjorie Thomas Charlotte Lanneau Rosalie Foster Mary Pritchard Elizabeth Foster Beggs Georgie Foster Alice Backus Alice Waring Helen Hejnvard Majorie Vandivere Frances Floyd Ida Floyd Lee Russell Eulalie McLeod Ina McLeod Cora Howard Thomson Charlotte McDowell Jeanette Martin Mary Waring Agnes Morris Catherine Tew Mrs. J. Lawton Wightman Mrs. Edward Frost Mrs. Crafts Mammies of Long Ago Impersonated by Mrs. E. Thomas, Mrs. J. B. Cherry PROCESSION OF THE YEARS 1819-1919 Herald. — "Such noble gifts, Savannah, conferred upon thee by these years of early endeavor, are not to be equaled — not by any decade passing since. What yet may be is not for mortal knowing. Yet each decade, in passing, has left with thee worthy deeds of great consequence. These now, in swift procession moving, come to remind us of their gifts to thee." The ten years of the first decade of the century come down from the dais and, recalling the next decade, pass off the stage. Each decade passes thus in turn, presenting to Savannah the memorial of their contribution to the life of the city. The last decade consists of nine figures in red, representing strife and war, and one figure in white, repre- senting the peace to come. All depart except 19 19, who presents a scroll to Savannah. 1819-29 During this Decade the Episodes of the Pageant Took Place Mrs. Isaac Minis, Mrs. H. B. Skeele, Mrs. Francis Muir, Mrs. Pritchard, Mrs. J. A. Moore, Mrs. J. J. Powers, Mrs. lola Bishop, Mrs. A. V. Chaplin, Miss Nora Edmonston, and Mrs. E. W. Cubbedge, Jr. 1829-39 First Railroad Started in this Period In April, 1836, a company was formed and preparations were made for the beginning of the Central of Georgia R. R. 159 i6o THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY Mrs. G. H. Bass, the Misses Alberta Grayson, Hazel Robinson, Era Cook, Josephine Glaimas, Hilda Allen, Mrs. Bula Bentschner, Marie Solomon, Ethel Allen, Elizabeth Perkins. 1849-59 Beginning of Public School System In April, 1 841, the will of Peter Massie gave to the city a sum of money to be used for the education of the poor children of the city. Mrs. Wayne Cunningham, Mrs. Fred Saussy, Mrs. Julian Chisholm, Mrs. Franz Behnes, Mrs. David Schwartz, Mrs. Jabez Jones, Mrs. J. D. Maxwell, Mrs. L. B. Taylor, Mrs. Edward Demere, Miss Martha Sasnett. 1949-59 First Park Founded In 1 85 I, through the suggestion of Mr. Wm. Hodgson, the first park was laid out as a place of recreation for the people. It was given the name of Mr. John Forsyth, of Georgia, then Minister to Spain. Misses Alice Battey, Edith Battey, Mrs. George Hunter, Mrs. Harvey Gilbert, Mrs. Ambrose Gordon, Mrs. Edwin Cubbedge, Mrs. L. H. Dimmitt, Mrs. Byron Glover, Mrs. S. R. Dighton, Mrs. Valmore Lebey. 1859-69 Civil War Period During much of this time the entire city was enlisted in the cause of the Confederacy. Mrs. Wm. B. McNeil, the Misses Ellen Morgan, Lila Cabaniss, Bessie Garden, Hazelle Beard, Walton Parker, Mrs. I. W. McDowell, Mrs. John Dyer, Miss Julia Bourne, Miss Henrietta Cohen. HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT i6i 1869-79 First Art Gallery Started In June, 1875, Miss Mary Telfair died, leaving to the city her residence as an Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fund for Its maintenance. Mrs. A. R. Lawton, Jr., Mrs. Thos. Hilton, Mrs. T. C. Myers, Mrs. H. P. Smart, Mrs. J. K. Train, Mrs. S. F. Marshall, Mrs. Craig Cranston, Mrs. R. L. Denmark, Misses Mildred Cunningham, Fanny Philips. 1879-89 Naval Stores Started During this decade this Industry grew from almost nothing to such proportions that Savannah became the leading market for naval stores in the world. Mrs. Harry Bruen, Miss Mary Davis, Mrs. Carl Espy, Mrs. James Furse, Mrs. Olin Mcintosh, Mrs. Walter Nor- ton, Mrs. Gordon FIndlay, Misses Agnes Jones, Ruth Rankin, Annie Lynah. 1889-99 Spanish-American War Period It was during this decade that the Spanish-American War occurred, and Savannah had a large number of troops encamped here. Misses Elizabeth Jenkins, Ellen Postell, Louise Butter- field, Mary Harper, Julia Gordon, Florence Crane, Helena Cunningham, Isabelle Harrison, Suzanne Bell, Cabell Mar- shall. i62 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY 1899-1909 Growth of Industry During this period the city made great strides in its industrial and financial growth. Misses Katherine Willink, Ruth Kayton, Virginia Heard, Mary Lattimore, Isabelle Dwelle, Sarah Neville, Frances Jones, Emily Cope, Eleanor Alexander, Lucy Armstrong. 1909-19 World War The most important event of this decade was the Great War — brought to a close by the present year. Misses Lilla Train, Caroline Jones, Harriet Aldrich, Mary Wilder, Joan Rauers, Catherine Rauers, Frieda Cunningham, Leona Simkins, Margaret Simkins. 1919 Miss Elizabeth Pettus. At a fanfare of trumpets the buglers and heralds return and escort Savannah, who reads from the scroll presented by 19 1 9, as she moves forward from the dais. She is preceded by 1919, and speaks for the young year: "Young and mute, uncertain yet of what the future has in store, this present year, in all sincerity and all humility, comes as the symbol of a new era of peace from out the red years of war's desolation. This present year, with unlimited possibilities for worthy deeds, gives to us the opportunity to rival those noble deeds here to-day recalled and revivified. Shall we not, with such evidence of human achievement and hu?nan devotion behind us, pledge to this year and to all the future the most generous service, to Savannah, to America, to the World!" The bugles sound a last call as the pageant ends. One Form' of Program Patriotic Pageant The Progress of Liberty CAPITOL PLAZA JEFfERSON CITY. MISSOURI Wednesday, June ig, 8:i$ p.m. Thursday, June 20, 8:ij p.m. Given under the auspices of the Wonmn's Commitlee, Missouri Division, Council of National Defense, and Cole County Unit of the Committee. Mrs. Houck McHenry, Chairman Pageant Chairman Mrs. Chester A. Piatt Dances Miss Rayma Irwin Books and Tickets Mr. Charles Winston Grounds and Seating Mr. William Painter Lighting Mr. Ray Palmblade Mr. Graham Director Linwood Taft COSTUMER Mrs. F. W. Flower Piano Estelle Dircks Mrs. John Jobe ist Violins Dorothy Miller Louis Burkel and Violins Rosalind Heisler Jane Enloe Viola H. C. Sattler ORCHESTRA Clarinet Dr. E. T. Tanner Cornet Oscar Muck Trombone Theo. Haar Saxophone Claude Bartlett Drums Theo. Haar, Jr. EPISODE I The Rule of Tyranny and Force Director, Mrs. Chester Piatt Reapers Mrs. Gertrude Nelson Poet Mr. Donald Mosby Miss Margaret Heisler Miss Rose Brown Seer Rev. George L. Barnes Miss Katherine Hope Miss Margaret Zeitz Princess Miss Marj. Schmiehausen Miss Mildred Hammond Miss Margaret Bramlet Watchmen Mr. James Walsh, Jr. Miss Margaret Tucker Mr. W illiam Busby Mr. Walter Hampton Mr. Henry Asel Liberty Mrs. S. B. Cook Mr. Ralph Hammond Mr. Robert Nelson Angels or Peace . . . .Miss Adalyn Paris Mr. Guy Sone Miss Mildred Berry Mr. Buster Miss Marie Ellis Alberta Coleman Louise Kerr Trumpeters Mr. George Player, Jr. Mr. Andrew Sew^ard Standard Bearer Mr. Theodore Schott Soldiers Mr. Earl Ruthven Klng Mr. T. J. Walker Mr. Joe Wheeler Mr. Carl Bos'-h Priests Mr. Will Hoefer Mr. M. D. Harbaugh Mr. Chas. Tweedie Mr. Lincoln Mintick Mr. Harry Hodgman 163 EPISODE n The Struggle of the Greeks Against the Persians Director, Miss Daisy Seaber Hellas Miss Mary Louise Bowles Greek Women . Peeslan Ambassadoes.Mf. J. L. Wagner Mr. John Harris Aechons Mr. Davis Mr. Leo Holtschneider Grekk SOLDrESS. .Joe Walsh Henry Bedsworth William \\'iley Winfred Peasner Joseph Bedsworth Richard Ope 1 Paul Bosch Calvin Speedy Harry Edwards Nelson Brandhorst Spartan Maidens . Marathon Rttnner. . . Herndon Painter . Mrs. Joseph Kolkmeyer Mrs. Davis Miss Nadine Baker Miss Pearl Peasner Miss Irene Strong Miss Lydia Ann Fischer Miss Clara Beck Miss Helen Ruthven Miss Grace Steppleman Miss Ivy Seaber Mrs. David Enloe Mrs. Davis .Miss Helen Clark Miss Anna Cullen Miss Mary Virginia Mosby Miss Beatrice Beasmore Miss Gladys Henry Miss Searle Faris EPISODE m The Gifts of the Romans to Keep Rome Free Quaestors Mr. Thomas Fischer Dr. Ralph Graham LiCTORS Mr. Tom Cole Mr. Paul Schmidt Mr. Elsey Edwards Mr. Bruns Director, Mrs. Frank P. Sexton Peasants Roman Matrons. Senators. Slaves Roman Girls . . Dr. George Haigh Judge Fred Williams Rev. McDonald Mr. Ed Austin .Miss Gladys Freeman Miss Helen Barth Miss Olive Pash .Miss Elizabeth Overall Miss Eugenia Roach .Mr. James Blair Mr.Meredith Williams Mr. Sam Bob Graves .Mrs. E.J. Bean Mrs. J. C. Russell Mrs. D. M. Oberman Mrs. Wm. Busby Mrs. Renn Dallmeyer Miss Alice Bairctt RUtron Mrs. J. C. Johnson Sons. Herald . .Julius Meyerhardt Frank Russell .B. M. Seward EPISODE IV A Legend of Swiss Hatred of Tyranny Director, Mrs. John Harris Tyrant Man-at-Arms. Soldiers Bridegroom . . . Mountaineers. Peasants. Swiss Women. Bbide. . . . Guild REN. . . Mr. Irl T.Oliver . .Dr. Albert Hammen . .Mr. Rogers Smith Mr. Joe Norman . .Mr. Modcer . . Henrj- LePage Mr. Al Weingartner Mr. William Holmes ..Russell Kirkpatrick Mr. B. Ray Franklin Mr. Freeman Mr. Jaqua Mr. Fred Jens Mr. Robert Nolan , .Mrs. J. R. Nohin Mrs. Mabel Ilulton Mrs. Gus Schcli Mrs. C. C. Wildman Miss Stella Hcldman Miss Louise Rose , .Miss Gladys Cook .Mary Elizabeth McClung Billic Sue Irwin Sallic Elizabeth Castleman Mary Elizabeth Nolan Cortez Enloc, Jr. Brtoesmaids. Mountain Spirits . . Miss Selma Brewer Miss Pauline Richardson Miss Vivian Moore Miss Feme Pare Miss Helen Derkum Miss Fdilh Hincs Miss Margaret Scherer Mrs. Jaqua . .Marcella Buscb Marj' Carson Jewel Ott Henrietta Ilagcrman PauUnc Linxwciler Dorothy I'avis Nellie Chaiiman Bcrnicc Scnevcy Josephine Murray Lucy Eichcrt Ruth liirclicnbach Margaret Harris Mary Armstrong Beatrice Temmcn Venita Tanner Ella Mac Hott 164 EPISODE V Joan of Arc Director, Mrs. James Walsh Joan of Arc Mrs. S. E. Skelly St. Cathekine Mrs. Cortez Enloe France Mrs. Paul Hunt Peasant Maids Miss Ruth Laudman Miss Katliarine Sinclair Miss Effic Ottman Miss Katharine Mocrschel Miss Madge Waddill BuROUNDiAN Monk. Sinister Figures . . . Dauphin . . . Dauphiness. .Mr. Nelson . Jean Enloe Margaret Blair Katherine Kolkmeyer Marjorie Cray Eleanor Kersting Mary Elizabeth Baker .Mr. Philip Ottman Ladies of the Court . Mrs. John Weber Mrs. A. Linxweiler Mrs.T. G. Burkhardt Mrs. Charles GruVjcr Mrs. L. B. Landman Mrs. Kate Bolton Mrs. Ed Ruwart Miss Nell Green Miss Clara Kesweter Courtiers Mr. Larry Powers Mr. Edson Burch Mr. Howard Payne Mr. John Dodge Mr. S. E. Skelley Pages John Keiley Wcndel Manchester Paladin Mr. Gordon Darby Squire Clibourne Schulte . Miss Frances Mosby EPISODE VI Signing of the Magna Charta Commercial Club; Director, Mr. L. B. Landaman Barons and Earls . . . Mr. Sam Haley Pages Russell Chapman Mr. Henry Guhlcman Harry Elliot Mr. James O'Connor Mr. H. J. Westhues Archbishops Mr. Henry Feindt Mr. H. S. Miller Mr. Ed Favier Mr. William Ruwart Mr. George Young Priests Ed. J. P. Vilm Jeff Keane Standard Bearer .... John Henry Knights Rev. A. Y. Beattie Mr. William Hager Kino John Mr. W. C. Irwin Mr. R. J. Morissey Baron Mr. O. C. Stegmeyor EPISODE VII America Honoring Washington and Lafayette D. A. R.; Director, Mrs. William Painter George Washington. Mr. T. L. Price Lafayette Mr. H. P. Ragland Soldiers Mr. H. B. Hunt Mr. C. P. LeMire Flower Girls Rachel Parker Louisa Stephens Madeline Harrup Phyllis Clay Susanne Davison Evelyn Manchester Frontiersmen Mr. L. S. Parker Mr. Oliver Bassman Mr. W. A. Norman Capt. Porter Gilvin Indians Mr. Kemp Asel Mr. Carl Antenweith Colonial Ladies Mrs. W. W. Graves Mrs. T. 0. Towles '■■ Mrs. Caddie Albritain Mis. Hugh Stephens Mrs. Zach Patterson Mrs. Ashley Ewing Colonial Ladies Mrs. J. H. Cutten Miss Juliet Price Miss Evelyn Rainer Miss Patty Hendy Miss Ethel Owens Miss Mary Church Miss Katrine Dallmeyer Miss Tess Walton Miss Mar>' Tull Miss Margaret Moore Colokial Men Rev. Lawrence Proctor Mr. C. B. Bee Mr. E. R. Barnthouso Mr. Houck McHenry Mr. Ray Miller Mr. Douglas Dodson Mr. Wm. Colbum Mr. Howard Boone Mr. Gene McCowan Mr. Edward Bannister Mr. Wm. Gardner 165 EPISODE VIII The Spread of Democracy Standard Beakers. . Mr. William Gundlefinger Mr. Robert Young Mr. Tom Dumm, Jr. Mr. Stuart Woodson Director, Mrs. John Harris Greece. Miss Mary Louise Bowles Italy Miss Rose Wasserkrug America Mrs. Claud L. Clark Brtttania Mrs. Frank Zuber Franci Mrs. Paul Hunt Chinese Mrs. John Maj-hall Mrs. John Radar Miss Agnes CuUen Miss Florence Schott Miss Virginia Rodeman Miss Gladys Schott EPISODE IX Marshaling of the Hosts of Democracy Serbia. Director, Mrs. Winifred Guenther . Mr. Percy Steppleman Belgian Women . Standard Bearer .... Mr. Leonard Hampton RussL-vN Students. Peasants. . Mr. Clyde Thomas Mr. Leonard Shamel Mr. Edward Petry Mr. Herman Bosch Mr. Pearl Smith Mr. George Diercks Dr. Edward Mansur . Mr. Harry Hodgman Mr. Joe Osgood Mrs. W. A. Dalbneyer Mrs. Vivian Hayes Mrs. Edward Petry Miss Florence Henley Miss Ada Enloe Miss Esther Thomas Miss Frances Oliver Miss Isabel Wildman Bklcixtm Mrs. L. S. Parker . Mrs. Alan Gordon Mrs. John Jobe Mrs. Cletus Pope Mrs. Wm. Wildeboor Miss Irene Richardson Miss Mary Lee Paris Miss Camille Roseen Miss Mable Collins Canada Rev. A. Y. Beattie Australia Mr. Wm. Hager South Africa Mr. R. J. Morrissey India Rev. Talbot Japanese Mrs. Nolan Wrightsman Miss Mildred Coose Miss Mildred Stadler Miss Martha Overstreet Forty-Eight States Directors, Mrs. Earl Grant, Mrs. Roy Morrow Mrs. F. D. Gardner, Mrs. Anna Moore, Mrs. Sidney Moore, Mrs. Wm. Roesen, Mrs. Paul Schmidt, Mrs. C. C. Carson, Mrs. Claude Grove, Mrs. Fred Voth, Mrs. Jack Lindley, Mrs. Fred Church, Mrs. E. J. Miller, Mrs. Wm. Gundlefinger, Mrs. Henry Andrae, Mrs. Otis Manchester, Mrs. S. A. Baker, Mrs. Willard King, Mrs. George Haigh, Mrs. Elmer Watson, Mrs. J. A. Hill, Mrs. Chester Miller, Mrs. I. T. Uptegrove, Mrs. Salmon, Mrs. Overstreet, Mrs. A. Y. Beattie, Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Ed. Fladd, Mrs. Boone. Miss Carrie Bohn, Miss Freda Knaup, Miss Gladys Wildman, Miss Julia Twccdic, Miss Roxic McCullough, Miss Anna Ruby Dillard, Miss Edna Morris, Miss Laura Hocfcr, Miss Kcll Ellis, Miss Eugenia Wyatt, Miss Margaret Richardson, Miss Grace Clemmons, Miss Elaine Church, Miss Pauline Holtschneider, Miss Clara Holt- Bchneider, Miss Lydia Salisch, Miss Fay Oliver, Miss Virginia Fladd. America's War Contribution Director, Mrs. W. A. Moore Surgeons Dr. Hill Dr. Mc Chester Soldiers and Marines. Corporal Jickey Corporal Lc Roy Red Cross Workers. Private Werner Sargent Huff Sargent Moulton Mrs. Sapp Director Mrs. Monnig Mrs. Williams Mrs. Party Mrs. Boscn Mrs. Raitbcl Mrs. Sono Surgical Dressing Workers. Canteen SERvacE. . . Junior Red Cross. . v. M. C. A. Workers Camp 1'ire Girls. . . Boy Scouts Home Guards. Mrs. Stegmcyor Mrs. Corwin Mrs. Ross Mrs. Glover Mrs. Leslie Mrs. Purdue Mrs. Houchin Mrs. Twccdic Mrs. Brandcnberger Central School Margaret Morris Commissioner Gordon Darby Capt. Grubcr x66 HISTORICAL FESTIVAL AND PAGEANT 167 A NEWSPAPER NOTICE FROM THE SAVANNAH MORN I NO NEWS. April 25, 1919. COLORFUL PAGEANT Recalls City of One Hundred Years Ago. PROCESSION of THE YEARS Tells of Savannah's Wonderful Achievements and PROUD HISTORY Pageant Written by Dr. TAFT. By JANE JUDGE. Life in Savannah a hundred years ago was very beautifully recalled yesterday at the historical pageant written by Dr. Linwood Taft and directed by him and presented by the Savannah Festival Association. Probably not even those in charge of the various episodes and working on the committees were prepared for the charm and beauty of the spec- tacle as it unfolded itself, exquisite in color and grouping, dignified and lovely, rich with tradition and his- toric interest, not without its occa- sional enlivening touch of humor and accompanied by the sweet music of string and wind instruments and the clear note of bugle calls. Thousands of people were on the streets around the historic Chatham Academy, now the High School, and in front of the Independent Presby- terian Church on Oglethorpe Avenue and in the neighboring streets when the procession led by the Spirit of Savannah left the Drayton Street entrance promptly at 4:30 o'clock and passing around Hull Street and down Bull entered the green at Ogle- thorpe Avenue. Here walking over the grass and between the rows of trees that border the park they were the most beautiful picture. The symbolic figures of Savannah and the Savannah Kiver and attendant nymphs and dryads in flowing dra- ?eries of many colors the "Hundred ears" grouped by decades wearing robes of different colors and carrying symbols of the art or industry that distinguished them and the hundred of characters of a century ago in quaint old fashioned dress made a marvelous procession as they moved over the green in the afternoon sun- light with flickering shadows from the trees falling upon them and vagrant breezes playing about them. It was like a dream story come true people felt, strange and beautiful and wholly charming. Beautiful though the outdoor pro- cession was it hardly prepared people for the beauty of the indoor spectacle which moved swiftly from scene to scene with always the lovely back- ground of the symbolic figures grouped on the stage. The charming lines of Dr. Taft's pageant which wove all the scenes together gave such prologue as was necessary to gather up all that was to come, and before the episodes the heralds stationed at each side of the stage announced the approaching scene and bugles in different parts of the house sounded calls and were answered by other buglers. The whole house broke into spon- taneous applause as the lovely Spirit of Savannah with attendant maidens, heralds and buglers passed through the audience when the pag- eant opened, ascended the stage and summoned the beautiful Spirit of the Savannah River with nymphs of the forest and the flood. Had the pageant lacked anj'thing of beauty, chgnity or grace the Proces- sion of the Years 1819-1919 would have been enough to make it quite perfect. Poetically conceived this long pro- cession ending across the stage at the beginning of the" Hundred Years " hand in hand was like the unfolding of all the poetry and tradition the century held and, reappearing again at the end of the pageant decade by decade each decade with its symbol of accomplishment the "Hundred Years" gave beauty to the story. The ten earliest years clad in robes of purple and representing the decade when the episodes of the pageant took place occupied seats on the dais at each side of Savannah at whose feet rested the Spirit of the River and the nymphs and dryads. At each i68 THE TECHNIQUE OF PAGEANTRY side of the Spirit of Savannah a herald stood to sound the bugle calls and the two heralds who announced the episodes stood at the corners of the stage the others standing at the entrances of the auditorium. This was the lovely picture which made the background for all the dramatic episodes: the visit of Lady Hunting- don to Bethesda, the Savannah Female Orphanage first board of "lad}' directors," the visit of Presi- dent Monroe, the opening of the Savannah Theatre, the opening of Chatham Academy, Mr. Goodman's Dancing School and the Visit of Lafayette. When the end of the pageant came and before the epilogue was spoken the ten years of the first decade of the century stepped down from the dais and recalling the next decade passed off the stage. Decade by decade the years entered bearing their gifts to Savannah, each decade in robes of different color, and as they entered music suited to the spirit they expressed was beautifully played by the orchestra. The last ten years represented the years of war and the new year of peace and nine of them were clad in red each child in the group carrying an American flag. Little Ehzabeth Pettus carrying an olive branch represented the peace year 1919 with its hope and promise. As she stood alone beside the Spirit of Savannah the Epilogue was spoken. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below •IK 6 '^ -. ^^^^ 0^' '*^^ J • Form L 0-15(/(-7,'35 Tpn 3203 T12 copT^ technique of — laft - UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY llll|lllllllllll||llil|iiilliiiiiiiiii|iiiii AA 000 413 035 tk PN 3203 T12 cop. 2