./ 
 
 PROPERTY OF 
 DEPARTMENT OF DRAMATIC ART 
 
HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 

 
HOW TO PRODUCE 
 AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 A Practical Manual 
 
 BY 
 
 BARRETT H. CLARK 
 
 PROPERTY OF 
 GEPARTMENT OF DRAMATIC ART 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
 1921 
 
{Jopyright, 1917, 
 BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 ARf 
 
ff!7 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THIS book aims to supply the demand for a 
 simple guide to the production of plays by ama- 
 teurs. During the past five years a few man- 
 uals have appeared touching upon the subject, 
 but these deal either with theoretical and edu- 
 cational, or else with limited and, from the 
 practical viewpoint, unessential aspects of the 
 question. In the present manual the author 
 has attempted an eminently practical work, 
 which may be used by those who have little 
 or no knowledge of producing plays or any of 
 the numerous problems arising in this con- 
 nection. 
 
 The book is not altogether limited in its ap- 
 peal merely to producers ; the actors themselves 
 and others having to do with amateur producing 
 will find it helpful. The author has added a 
 number of suggestions on a matter which is 
 rapidly becoming of prime importance: the 
 
vi PREFACE 
 
 construction of stages and setting, and the 
 manipulation of lighting. 
 
 It is always well to bear in mind that no art 
 can be taught by books. The principal purpose 
 of this volume is to lay down the elements and 
 outline the technic of amateur producing. 
 
 A careful study of it will enable the amateur 
 stage manager to do much for himself which 
 has heretofore been either impossible or at- 
 tended with dire difficulty. 
 
 The plan of the book is simple : each question 
 and problem is treated in its natural order, from 
 the moment when an organization decides to 
 "give a play", until the curtain drops on the 
 last performance of it. 
 
 It is hoped that the aid here given will encour- 
 age and stimulate amateurs to think a little 
 more seriously about a phase of our social life 
 which is rapidly assuming an important posi- 
 tion in every community, and which may in 
 time free our small towns and cities from the 
 domination of Broadway. 
 
 The author acknowledges his indebtedness 
 for suggestions and help, likewise permission to 
 reproduce diagrams, photographs, and passages 
 from plays, to Mr. T. R. Edwards, Mr. Hiram 
 Kelly Moderwell, Mr. L. R. Lewis, Mr. Clayton 
 
PREFACE vii 
 
 Hamilton, Miss Grace Griswold, Miss Edith 
 Wynne Matthison, Mr. Maurice Browne, Miss 
 Ida Treat, Mr. Sam Hume, John Lane Com- 
 pany, Samuel French, Brentano's, and Henry 
 Holt and Company. 
 
 FEBRUARY, 1917 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PREFACE . . . . 
 
 V 
 
 I CHOOSING THE PLAY . ." 
 
 1 
 
 II ORGANIZATION . . 
 
 8 
 
 Ill CHOOSING THE CAST .... 
 
 . 18 
 
 IV REHEARSING I . . . 
 
 22 
 
 V REHEARSING II 
 
 . 48 
 
 VI REHEARSING III 
 
 . 73 
 
 VII THE STAGE 
 
 . 76 
 
 VIII LIGHTING 
 
 . 86 
 
 IX SCENERY AND COSTUMES 
 
 . 91 
 
 X SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 . 110 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 
 I COPYRIGHT AND ROYALTY . 
 
 , 127 
 
 II A NOTE ON MAKE-UP 
 
 . 130 
 
 INDEX 
 
 139 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 SETTING FOR A POETIC DRAMA, BY SAM HUME Frontispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "THE GROTESQUES", BY CLOYD HEAD. PRODUCED 
 
 AT THE LITTLE THEATER, CHICAGO . . 8 
 
 "THE TROJAN WOMEN" OF EURIPIDES. PRODUCED 
 
 AT THE LITTLE THEATER, CHICAGO . . 18 
 
 "CAPTAIN BRASSBOUND'S CONVERSION", BY SHAW. 
 SET OF ACT I, AS PRODUCED BY THE NEIGH- 
 BORHOOD PLAYHOUSE, NEW YORK ... 22 
 
 SET FOR MUSSET'S "WHIMS." PRODUCED BY THE 
 
 WASHINGTON SQUARE PLAYERS ... 48 
 
 "SISTER BEATRICE" OF MAETERLINCK. PRODUCED 
 AT THE WESTERN RESERVE COLLEGE FOR 
 WOMEN 74 
 
 Two VIEWS OF THE STAGE AT TUFTS COLLEGE, 
 SHOWING PLENTY OF OPEN SPACE FOR THE 
 STORING AND SHIFTING OF SCENERY . . 76 
 
 AN ORDINARY BOX-SET. FROM DUMAS FILS* "THE 
 MONEY QUESTION." PRODUCED AT TUFTS 
 COLLEGE 80 
 
 SCENES FROM EURIPIDES' " ELECTRA." PRODUCED 
 
 AT ILLINOIS STATE COLLEGE .... 90 
 
 Two VIEWS OF THE STAGE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH DAKOTA . . . . . .106 
 
HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR 
 PLAYS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 CHOOSING THE PLAY 
 
 THE first important question which arises 
 after the decision to give a play, is "What 
 play ? " Only too often is this question 
 answered in a haphazard way. Of recent 
 years a large number of guides to selecting 
 plays have made their appearance, but most of 
 them are incomplete and otherwise unsatis- 
 factory. The large lists issued by play pub- 
 lishers are bewildering. Toward the end of 
 the present volume is a selective list of plays, 
 all of which are, in one way or another, " worth 
 while " ; but as conditions differ so widely, it 
 is practically impossible to do otherwise than 
 merely indicate in a general way what sort of 
 play is listed. 
 
 1 
 
2 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 Each play considered by any organization 
 should be read by the director or even the 
 whole club or cast, after the requisite condi- 
 tions have been considered. These conditions 
 usually are : 
 
 1. Size of the Cast. This is obviously a 
 simple matter: a cast of ten cannot play 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 2. Ability of the Cast. This is a little more 
 difficult. While it is a laudable ambition to 
 produce Ibsen, let us say, no high-school 
 students are sufficiently mature or skilled to 
 produce " A Doll's House." As a rule, the 
 well-known classics Shakespeare, Moli^re, 
 Goldoni, Sheridan, Goldsmith suffer much 
 less from inadequate acting and production 
 than do modern dramatists. The opinion of 
 an expert, or at least of some one who has 
 had experience in coaching amateur plays, 
 should be sought and acted upon. If, for 
 example, " As You Like It " is under con- 
 sideration, it must be borne in mind that the 
 role of Rosalind requires delicate and subtle 
 acting, and if no suitable woman can be found 
 for that part, a simpler play, like " The Comedy 
 of Errors ", had much better be substituted. 
 Modern plays are on the whole more difficult : 
 
CHOOSING THE PLAY 3 
 
 the portrayal of a modern character calls for 
 greater variety, maturity, and skill than the 
 average amateur possesses. The characters in 
 Moliere's " Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme " (" The 
 Merchant Gentleman "), Shakespeare's " The 
 Comedy of Errors ", Sheridan's " The Rivals ", 
 are more or less well-known types, and acting 
 of a conventional and imitative kind is better 
 suited to them. On the other hand, only the 
 best-trained amateurs are able to impart the 
 needful appearance of life and actuality to a 
 play like Henry Arthur Jones's " The Liars." 
 Still, there are many modern plays among 
 them, Shaw's "You Never Can Tell" and 
 Wilde's " The Importance of Being Earnest " 
 in which no great subtlety of characteriza- 
 tion is called for. These can be produced as 
 easily by amateurs as can Shakespeare and 
 Sheridan. 
 
 3. The Kind of Play to be presented usually 
 raises many questions which are entirely with- 
 out the scope of purely dramatic considerations. 
 In this country especially, there is a studied 
 avoidance among schools and often among 
 colleges and universities, of so-called " un- 
 pleasant plays." Without entering into the 
 reasons for this aversion, it is rather fortunate, 
 
4 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 because as a general rule, " thesis ", " sex ", 
 and " problem " plays are full of pitfalls for 
 amateur actors and producers. 
 
 While it is a splendid thing to believe no 
 play too good for amateurs, some moderation 
 is necessary where a play under consideration 
 is obviously beyond the ability of a cast: 
 " Hamlet " ought never to be attempted by 
 amateurs, nor such subtle and otherwise diffi- 
 cult plays as " Man and Superman." Plays 
 of the highest merit can be found which are 
 not so taxing as these. There is no reason 
 why Sophocles' " Electra ", Euripides' "Al- 
 cestis ", or the comedies of Lope de Vega, 
 Goldoni, Moliere, Kotzebue, Lessing, not to 
 mention the better-known English classics, 
 should not be performed by amateurs. 
 
 It goes without saying that the facile, trashy, 
 " popular " comedies of the past two or three 
 generations are to be avoided by amateurs 
 who take their work seriously. Nor does this 
 mean that all farces and comedies should be 
 left out of the repertory : " The Magistrate " 
 and " The Importance of Being Earnest " are 
 among the finest farces in the language. The 
 point to be impressed is that it is better to 
 attempt a play which may be more difficult 
 
CHOOSING THE PLAY 5 
 
 to perform than " Charley's Aunt ", than to 
 give a good performance of that oft-acted and 
 decidedly hackneyed piece. It is much more 
 meritorious to produce a good play poorly, 
 if need be, than a poor play well. 
 
 If, after having consulted the list in this 
 volume and similar other lists, the club is still 
 unable to decide on a suitable modern play, 
 the best course is to return to the classics. 
 It is likely that the plays that have pleased 
 audiences for centuries will please us. Aris- 
 tophanes' " The Clouds " and " Lysistrata ", 
 with a few necessary " cuts " ; Plautus' 
 "The Twins" and Terence's "Phormio"; 
 Goldoni's " The Fan " ; Shakespeare's 
 " Comedy of Errors " and half a dozen other 
 comedies ; Moliere's " Merchant Gentleman " 
 and " Doctor in Spite of Himself " ; Sheridan's 
 " The Rivals " and Goldsmith's " She Stoops 
 to Conquer " ; Lessing's " Minna von Barn- 
 helm " almost any one of these is " safe." 
 A classic can never be seen too often and, since 
 true amateurs are those who play for the joy 
 of playing, they will receive ample recompense 
 for their efforts in the thought that they have 
 at least added their mite to the sum total of 
 true enjoyment in the theater. Another argu- 
 
6 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 ment in favor of the performance of the classics 
 is that they are rarely produced by profes- 
 sionals. If an amateur club revives a classic, 
 especially one which is not often seen nowa- 
 days, it may well be proud of its efforts. 
 
 If, however, the club insists on giving a 
 modern play, it will have little difficulty in 
 finding suitable material. It is well not to 
 challenge comparison with professional produc- 
 tions by choosing plays which have had pro- 
 fessional runs of late; try rather to select 
 (1) good modern plays which by reason of 
 their subject matter, form, etc., cannot under 
 present conditions be commercially success- 
 ful (like Granville Barker's " The Marrying 
 of Ann Leete ") ; (2) translations of contem- 
 porary foreign plays which are not well known 
 either to American readers or producers ; and, 
 finally (3) original plays. Here it is difficult 
 to advise. It cannot be hoped that an amateur 
 club will discover many masterpieces among 
 original plays submitted to it, but if any of 
 the works considered has even a touch of origi- 
 nality, some good characterization, any marked 
 technical skill ; in a word, if there is something 
 interesting or promising, then it is worth pro- 
 ducing. Doubtless many beginners are dis- 
 
CHOOSING THE PLAY 7 
 
 couraged from writing plays for lack of ex- 
 perience gained by seeing their work staged; 
 for such, the amateur club is the only resource. 
 Besides these particular considerations, there 
 remain the minor but necessary points relat- 
 ing to rights and royalties. A full statement 
 of the legal aspect of the case is to be found in 
 the first appendix in this book. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 ORGANIZATION 
 
 A GREAT many more factors go into the mak- 
 ing of a successful dramatic production than 
 may at first be apparent. The organization 
 of a staff whose duty it is to furnish and equip 
 a theater, hall, or schoolroom ; to arrange and 
 efficiently run rehearsals ; to supply " props ", 
 costumes, and furniture; to manage the stage 
 during the performance all this is next in 
 importance to the acting itself. 
 
 Of late years, in particular, it has been made 
 clear that the art of the theater, although it 
 is a collaboration of the brains and hands of 
 many persons, must be under the supervision 
 of one dominating and far-seeing chief. That 
 is to say, one person and one alone must be 
 responsible for the entire production. Except 
 in rare instances this head cannot know of 
 and attend to each detail himself, but it is his 
 8 
 
2 ^ 
 
 - 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
ORGANIZATION 9 
 
 business to see that the whole organization is 
 formed and managed according to his wishes. 
 The function of this ideal manager has been 
 compared with that of the orchestral con- 
 ductor: it is he who leads, and he should be 
 the first to detect the slightest discord. While 
 the foregoing remarks are more strictly ap- 
 plicable to acting and staging, it will readily 
 be seen that if the same leader is not in touch 
 with the more practical side of the production, 
 there is likely to arise that working at cross- 
 purposes which has ruined many an amateur 
 as well as professional production. While a 
 great deal of the actual work must be done by 
 subordinates, it should be clearly understood 
 that the director has the final word of authority. 
 
 Much in the matter of organization depends 
 upon the number and ability and experience of 
 those persons who are available, but the sug- 
 gestions about to be made as to the organiza- 
 tion of a staff are based upon the assumption 
 that the director is a capable person, and his 
 assistants at least willing to learn from him. 
 As a rule, he will have plenty of material to 
 work with. 
 
 The Director. The producer, the head under 
 whose guidance the entire work of rehearsing 
 
10 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 and organization should lie, is called the 
 director. However, since this position is often 
 held by a hired coach or by some one else who 
 cannot be expected to attend to much outside 
 the actual rehearsing, there must be elected 
 or appointed an officer who is directly re- 
 sponsible. This officer is : 
 
 The Stage Manager. As the director can- 
 not always be present at every rehearsal, and 
 as oftentimes two parts of the play are re- 
 hearsed simultaneously, it is evident that 
 another director must be ready to act in place 
 of the head. It is chiefly his duty to " hold " 
 the prompt-book and keep a careful record of 
 all stage business, " cuts ", etc. At every 
 rehearsal he must be ready to prompt, either 
 lines or " business " action, gestures, crosses, 
 entrances, exits, and the like and call the 
 attention of the director to omissions or mis- 
 takes of every sort. In the event of the 
 director's absence, he becomes the pro tern, 
 director himself. 
 
 It is advisable though not always possible 
 to delegate the duties of property man, 
 lightman, curtain man, costume man (or ward- 
 robe mistress) to different persons; but even 
 when this is done, it is better for the stage 
 
ORGANIZATION 11 
 
 manager to keep a record of all " property 
 plots ", " light plots ", " furniture plots ", etc. 
 
 It is also the stage manager's business to 
 arrange the time and place of rehearsals, and 
 hold each actor responsible for attendance. 
 
 On the occasion of the dress rehearsal and 
 of the actual production, it is the stage manager, 
 and not the director, who supervises every- 
 thing. His position is that of commander- 
 in-chief. He either holds the book, or is at 
 least close by the person who actually follows 
 the lines; sees that each actor is ready for 
 his entrance; that the curtain rises and falls 
 when it should; that his assistants are each 
 in their respective places ; and that the entire 
 performance " goes " as it is intended to go. 
 
 The Business Manager. This person attends 
 to such matters as renting the theater or 
 arranging some place for the performance 
 printing and distributing tickets; in short, 
 everything connected with the receipt and 
 expenditure of money. It is not of course 
 imperative that he should have much to do 
 with the director; the only point to be borne 
 in mind being that every one connected with 
 the production of a play should be in touch 
 with those in authority. The business manager 
 
12 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 ought to have at least a preliminary conference 
 with the director, and report to him every 
 week until a few days before the performance, 
 when he should be within instant call in case 
 of emergency. The property, light, furniture, 
 and costume people must naturally keep in 
 close touch with him, although no purchases 
 should be made without the permission of the 
 director, who in this case must be at one with 
 the club or organization. 
 
 The Property Man. The duties attaching to 
 this position are definitely and necessarily 
 limited, but of great importance. Working 
 under the stage manager, he supplies all the 
 objects such as revolvers, swords, letters, 
 etc. in a word, everything actually used 
 by the actors, and not falling under the cate- 
 gories of " scenery ", " costumes ", and " furni- 
 ture." 
 
 It will be found necessary in some cases to 
 add to the staff one person whose business it 
 is to attend to the matter of furnishings : rugs, 
 hangings, pictures, furniture, and so forth ; but 
 in case there is no such person, the property 
 man attends to these details himself. 
 
 It cannot be too strongly urged that from 
 the very first as many "props", as much funii- 
 
ORGANIZATION 13 
 
 ture or as many set pieces as possible (de- 
 pending on whether the set is an indoor or 
 outdoor one), should be used by the actors. 
 In this way they will be better able to associate 
 their thoughts, words, and gestures with the 
 material objects with which they will be sur- 
 rounded on the fatal night. If this is imprac- 
 ticable, that is, if most of these objects cannot 
 be secured from the first, then at least some 
 good substitutes should be used. Such funda- 
 mentally important articles as the wall in 
 Rostand's " The Romancers ", and the dentist's 
 chair in Shaw's " You Never Can Tell ", when 
 used from the first rehearsals, always minimize 
 the danger of confusion of lines or business at 
 the last moment. 
 
 The property man must keep a list of 
 everything required; this should be a du- 
 plicate of the one in the possession of the 
 stage manager. 
 
 The Lightman. Sometimes even nowadays 
 called the " Gasman." He is not indispen- 
 sable, because in almost every case the regular 
 electrician attends to the switchboard. How- 
 ever, some one should be with the electrician 
 at the dress rehearsal and on the evening of 
 the performance to give him the necessary light 
 
14 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 cues. Usually, however, the stage manager 
 who holds the prompt-book where all the light 
 cues are indicated can fulfill this function. 
 
 The Costume Man (or Wardrobe Mistress, 
 as the case may be). Again the duties are 
 simple. If the play is a classic Shake- 
 speare, for instance, the costumes, in ninety- 
 nine cases out of a hundred, had better be 
 rented from a regular costumer. The costume 
 man, then, together with the business manager, 
 attends to the details of renting, and sees that 
 all costumes are ready for the dress rehearsal. 
 If the costumes are made to order, the matter 
 is supervised by the costume man. But, as 
 with everything else connected with the best 
 amateur efforts, there should be some expert 
 adviser, not so much one versed in history and 
 archeology as an artist with an eye for color 
 and style. The director in any event must 
 be consulted, so that lights, scenery, and cos- 
 tumes may harmonize. Details as to costumes 
 are to be found in many books, and need not 
 here be discussed. In spite of a good deal that 
 has been written to the contrary, historical 
 accuracy is not of vast importance: so long 
 as there are no glaring anachronisms, Shake- 
 speare may be presented with actors wearing 
 
ORGANIZATION 15 
 
 pre- or post-Elizabethan costumes, provided 
 they are beautiful, and harmonize. 
 
 Among the thousand and one minor details 
 of producing, there are some which in large 
 productions might be assigned to specially 
 appointed individuals, but most of the duties 
 to be briefly enumerated below may easily be 
 given over to the stage manager, property man, 
 or costume man, or even to the lightman. 
 
 Handling and Setting of Scenery and Furni- 
 ture. This is usually taken care of by the 
 property man and his assistants, under the 
 direction of the stage manager. As in every 
 other branch of the work, all details must be 
 planned beforehand, and recorded. 
 
 Music. The music cues should be marked 
 in the stage manager's prompt-book. Inci- 
 dental music, whether it be on, behind, or 
 off-stage in the orchestra pit, ought to be re- 
 hearsed at least two or three times. On the 
 occasion of the performance, the stage manager 
 gives directions from his prompt-book for all 
 music cues. 
 
 Crowds or Large Groups. The management 
 and rehearsing of crowds or large groups is 
 considered under "Rehearsing" (p. 58). 
 Here it will suffice to state that it is well to 
 
16 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 have an assistant whose duty it is to see that 
 the " supes " [supernumeraries] are conducted 
 on and off the stage at the right time. 
 
 Among the further details which must be 
 looked after are the duties which are sometimes 
 left to the stage manager : the ringing of bells, 
 calling of actors at the regular performance, 
 etc. A " call boy " may be delegated to do this. 
 
 Understudies. Trouble is always likely to 
 arise, especially among amateurs, because there 
 is no effective method of holding the actors to 
 strict account. Often, one or more of the 
 cast finds, or thinks he finds, good reason for 
 leaving it, and a new actor must sometimes 
 be found and trained to fill the vacancy on 
 perilously short notice. Sickness or indisposi- 
 tion invariably give rise to the same problem. 
 If possible, an entire second cast should be 
 trained, so that any member of it could at a 
 moment's notice be called upon to play in 
 the first cast. While this second company 
 should be letter-perfect and know the " busi- 
 ness " in every detail, it is not necessary that 
 their acting be so finished and detailed as that of 
 the others. Understudy rehearsals are under the 
 direction of the stage manager, although the 
 director should witness at least two or three. 
 
ORGANIZATION 17 
 
 Since the performance depends almost wholly 
 on the knowledge, sympathy, and taste of the 
 director, the greatest care should be taken in 
 choosing him. Needless to say, the ideal 
 director does not exist; still, his attributes 
 should be constantly borne in mind. If he 
 lacks the artist's sense of color, rhythm, and 
 proportion, then an art adviser must be called 
 in to suggest color schemes as regards cos- 
 tumes, scenery, furniture, and lighting. Nowa- 
 days, great attention is being paid to these 
 matters, and the subtle effect of background 
 and detail is much greater than is commonly 
 supposed. The play is of first importance 
 that must never be forgotten but these 
 other matters are too often neglected. 
 
 Similarly with costumes, music, scenery, it 
 is never amiss to consult authorities. But 
 once more be it repeated, the whole produc- 
 tion should bear the imprint of the director's 
 personality, because only in this way can we 
 hope for that essential unity of effect which 
 is a basic principle of all art. 
 
 Cooperation with, but, in the last analysis, 
 subserviency to, the director, is the keynote of 
 success. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 CHOOSING THE CAST 
 
 OBVIOUSLY, the choice of the cast should 
 depend upon the ability of the actors, although 
 in the case of an organization like a school or 
 college dramatic club, this system is not always 
 practicable or even advisable. Every member 
 of such a club should be trained to work for a 
 common end, and a system by which amateurs 
 are made to understand the necessity of assum- 
 ing first small and unimportant roles and 
 working up gradually to the greater and more 
 important ones, makes for harmony and com- 
 pleteness of effect in performances. It should 
 be one of the chief ends of amateur producing 
 to get away from the curse of the professional 
 stage: the star system. It has been stated 
 here that the greatest emphasis must be laid 
 on the play itself, and no actor, professional 
 or amateur, should ever labor under the de- 
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CHOOSING THE CAST 19 
 
 lusion that he is of greater or even as great 
 importance as the play in which he strives to 
 act his part. The average actor is inclined 
 to judge a play's merit according to the sort 
 of part it furnishes him; the amateur spirit 
 has done much to do away with this attitude, 
 and it is to be hoped that no coach will ever 
 do otherwise than discourage it. 
 
 Competition as a means of selecting a cast is 
 in most cases the best method. The play once 
 selected, the people from among whom the 
 cast is to be formed are assembled. It is a 
 good plan to have every one read the play 
 first, and make a study of at least one scene of 
 it. Then, either alone or in company with 
 one, two, or three others, he reads or recites 
 from memory the scene in question, either 
 before the entire club or before a committee 
 of judges. Each actor is judged on appear- 
 ance, ease, voice, and insight into the character 
 he is portraying. The judges, seconded pos- 
 sibly by the members of the club (whose votes 
 should, by the way, be of only secondary im- 
 portance) , then select those whom they consider 
 best fitted for the parts. In every case the direc- 
 tor should give final sanction to the selection. 
 
 In cases where members must at first assume 
 
20 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 only minor parts because of club rules, there 
 may arise some difficulty: for example, a 
 beginner may be better fitted to assume an 
 important r61e than older club members. Such 
 cases must of course be dealt with individually. 
 
 In organizations which are not run on so 
 democratic a basis, the director selects the 
 cast himself. On the whole, this is much the 
 best system, as the director is left a free field 
 in which to work out his own problems in his 
 own way. If it is at all possible, an amateur 
 club ought to put everything, including the 
 responsibility, into the hands of a competent 
 director. In this respect, the despotism of the 
 professional stage is most beneficial. Whether 
 the coach be an outsider hired for the occasion, 
 or a regular member of the club, in nine cases 
 out of ten he will establish and maintain har- 
 mony, allow no real talent to languish, and be 
 at least in a position to produce definite artistic 
 results. Amateur management has spoiled 
 much good material. A director with full 
 authority can work more easily and efficiently 
 if left to his own devices than if trammeled 
 with rules and regulations. 
 
 The theater, behind the scenes, is a despotic 
 institution; it must be, but the greatest care 
 
CHOOSING THE CAST 21 
 
 must be taken in choosing the right despot. 
 Should the coach be a professional manager 
 or actor, or should he be an amateur? The 
 question is a difficult one. There are, it goes 
 without saying, many excellent directors who 
 are or have been professionals; on the other 
 hand, it cannot be denied that some of the 
 best amateur work in this country has been 
 done by directors whose experience on the 
 professional stage has, to say the least, been 
 limited. Some such training is beneficial, but 
 to put a professional of many years' experience 
 in charge of amateurs is likely to make of the 
 amateurs a company of puppets imitating only 
 some of the externals of professionaldom. The 
 best director, therefore, seems to be a person 
 who has some professional experience, but 
 who has likewise dealt with amateurs; one 
 who enters into the amateur spirit, and under- 
 stands its difference from the professional 
 world, and does not try to train his company 
 to imitate stock actors or " stars/' 
 
 Understudies may be chosen in the same 
 manner as the first cast. 
 
 After the choosing of the casts, the next step 
 is rehearsing. To this complicated process the 
 next three chapters are devoted. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 REHEAKSING 
 
 THE first rehearsal should be "called" as soon 
 as possible after the cast has been selected 
 and a place chosen in which to work. If the 
 play is to be performed in a regular theater, 
 it is wise to block out the general action and 
 have at least the first two or three rehearsals 
 on the stage. It would be still better if all 
 the rehearsals could be conducted there, but 
 as this is seldom possible, the stage manager 
 should take its dimensions and secure some 
 room as near the size of the stage as he can 
 find. A room too large or too small, or not 
 the requisite shape, is more than likely to con- 
 fuse the actors. As many of the essential 
 " props " and articles of furniture as possible 
 should be used from the very first, in order 
 to accustom the actors to work under approxi- 
 
 22 
 

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REHEARSING 23 
 
 mately the same conditions as on the occasion 
 of the performance. 
 
 If the play can be secured in printed form, 
 each actor will have his copy, and a general 
 reading to the cast by the director or stage 
 manager be rendered unnecessary. However, 
 a few remarks by him as to the nature and spirit 
 of the play will not be amiss. It is not un- 
 common to hear of professionals who have 
 never read or seen the entire play even after 
 acting in it for many months. Unless each 
 actor knows and feels what the play is about 
 and enters into its spirit, there can be little 
 chance for unity and harmony. 
 
 " Cutting ", or other alteration, is often 
 necessary. The director should read his al- 
 terations and allow each actor to make his 
 text conform with the prompt-copy. 
 
 When the play is not obtainable in book 
 form, each role is then copied from the manu- 
 script, together with the " cues " and all the 
 stage business. In this case, a general reading 
 to the cast is imperative. 
 
 The preliminaries disposed of, the play is 
 read, each actor taking his part. This is 
 merely to familiarize the actors with the play 
 and show them briefly their relation to each 
 
24 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 other and the work as a whole. At this 
 first rehearsal, there should be no attempt 
 at acting; that is reserved for the next 
 meeting. 
 
 At the second rehearsal 1 which should 
 take place the day after the first the director 
 blocks out the action. If the play be a full- 
 length one (approximately two hours) then 
 one act of this general blocking out will be 
 found to occupy all the time. If the play is 
 in a single act, and provided it be not too long, 
 then the entire play may be blocked out. 
 
 What is " blocking out " ? Let us take an 
 easy example and block out the first few 
 minutes' of Wilde's " The Importance of Being 
 Earnest." 2 Here follows the text of the first 
 two and a half pages : 
 
 Scene Morning-room in Algernon's flat in 
 Half Moon Street. The room is luxuriously 
 and artistically furnished. The sound of a piano 
 is heard in the adjoining room. 
 
 [LANE is arranging afternoon tea on the table, 
 and after the music has ceased, ALGERNON enters.} 
 
 1 The system here followed must of necessity be arbitrary, 
 but the principle is easy to grasp. A great deal depends on the 
 ability of the actors and the time they can afford. 
 
 2 Editions published by French, Putnam, Luce, Nichols, and 
 Baker , 
 
REHEARSING 25 
 
 ALGERNON. Did you hear what I was play- 
 ing, Lane? 
 
 LANE. I didn't think it polite to listen, sir. 
 
 ALGERNON. I'm sorry for that, for your sake. 
 I don't play accurately any one can play 
 accurately but I play with wonderful ex- 
 pression. As far as the piano is concerned, 
 sentiment is my forte. I keep science for 
 Life. 
 
 LANE. Yes, sir. 
 
 ALGERNON. And, speaking of the science of 
 Life, have you got the cucumber sandwiches 
 cut for Lady Bracknell ? 
 
 LANE. Yes, sir. [He hands them on a 
 salver.] 
 
 ALGERNON. [Inspects them, takes two, and 
 sits down on the sofa.] Oh ! ... by the way, 
 Lane, I see from your book that on Thursday 
 night, when Lord Shoreman and Mr. Worthing 
 were dining with me, eight bottles of champagne 
 are entered as having been consumed. 
 
 LANE. Yes, sir, eight bottles and a pint. 
 
 ALGERNON. Why is it that at a bachelor's 
 establishment the servants invariably drink the 
 champagne ? I ask merely for information. 
 
 LANE. I attribute it to the superior quality 
 of the wine, sir. I have often observed that 
 
26 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 in married households the champagne is rarely 
 of a first-rate brand. 
 
 ALGEKNON. Good Heavens ! Is marriage so 
 demoralizing as that? 
 
 LANE. I believe it is a very pleasant state, 
 sir. I have had very little experience of it 
 myself up to the present. I have only been 
 married once. That was in consequence of a 
 misunderstanding between myself and a young 
 person. 
 
 ALGERNON. [Languidly.] I don't know that 
 I am much interested in your family life, Lane. 
 
 LANE. No, sir; it is not a very interesting 
 subject. I never think of it myself. 
 
 ALGERNON. Very natural, I am sure. That 
 will do, Lane, thank you. 
 
 LANE. Thank you, sir. [LANE goes out.] 
 
 ALGERNON. Lane's views on marriage seem 
 somewhat lax. Really, if the lower orders 
 don't set us a good example, what on earth is 
 the use of them? They seem, as a class, to 
 have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility. 
 [Enter LANE.] 
 
 LANE. Mr. Ernest Worthing. [Enter JACK. 
 LANE goes out.] 
 
 ALGERNON. How are you, my dear Ernest? 
 What brings you up to town ? 
 
REHEARSING 27 
 
 JACK. Oh, pleasure, pleasure! What else 
 should bring me anywhere? Eating as usual, 
 I see, Algy? 
 
 ALGERNON. [Stiffly.] IJbelieve it is custom- 
 ary in good society to take some slight 
 refreshment at five o'clock. Where have you 
 been since last Thursday? 
 
 JACK. [Sitting down on the sofa.] In the 
 country. 
 
 ALGERNON. What on earth do you do 
 there ? 
 
 JACK. [Pulling off his gloves.] When one is 
 in town one amuses oneself. When one is in 
 the country one amuses other people. It is 
 excessively boring. 
 
 ALGERNON. And who are the people you 
 amuse ? 
 
 JACK. [Airily.] Oh, neighbors, neighbors. 
 
 ALGERNON. Got nice neighbors in your part 
 of Shropshire ? 
 
 JACK. Perfectly horrid! Never speak to 
 one of them. 
 
 ALGERNON. How immensely you must amuse 
 them ! (Goes over and takes sandwich.} By the 
 way, Shropshire is your county, is it not ? 
 
 JACK. Eh? Shropshire? Yes, of course. 
 Hallo! Why all these cups? Why such ex- 
 
28 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 travagance in one so young? Who is coming 
 to tea? 
 
 The first point to be noticed is that the stage 
 directions are not sufficient. To begin with, 
 the only information we have as to the morn- 
 ing-room is that it is in Algernon Moncrieff's 
 flat in Half Moon Street, and that it is " lux- 
 uriously and artistically furnished" The next 
 directions " LANE is arranging tea on a table" 
 
 prove that there is a tea-table with tea 
 things on it. We are therefore dependent on 
 the ensuing dialogue and the implied or briefly 
 described action to furnish clues as to the en- 
 trances, furniture, and "props" which will 
 be required in the course of the act. It is, of 
 course, the director's and the stage manager's 
 business to go through the play beforehand, 
 and have all these points well in mind. Let 
 us now see how this is done, and proceed to 
 block out the first part of the play. 
 
 The room evidently at least has two doors : 
 one leading into the hallway up-stage Center 
 
 the other halfway down-stage Right, 1 let 
 us say for the present, as in the diagram : 
 
 1 Right and Left in stage directions mean from the actors* 
 point of view. Up-stage and down-stage mean respectively away 
 from and toward the footlights. 
 
REHEARSING 29 
 
 Center door 
 
 J 
 
 Before Algernon's entrance, Lane, the butler, 
 is preparing tea. Where is the table? Some 
 subsequent business may necessitate its being 
 in a position different from the one first chosen, 
 but let us assume that it is up-stage to the 
 right : 
 
 Tea taWe 
 
 There it is not likely to be in the way of the 
 actors ; furthermore, it is not on the same side 
 of the stage as the sofa which is the next 
 article of furniture to be placed. If the table 
 and the sofa and the door were all on the same 
 side of the stage, it would be much too crowded, 
 especially as the larger part of the subsequent 
 action revolves about them. 
 
30 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 Lane, then, is busied with the tea things for 
 a moment, as and after the curtain rises. 
 Then the music of a piano is heard off-stage 
 to the right. It stops, and a moment later 
 Algernon enters. As he evidently has nothing 
 in particular to do at that moment, he may 
 stand at the center of the stage, facing Lane, 
 who stops his work and respectfully answers 
 his master's questions. When Algernon says: 
 " And, speaking of the science of Life, have 
 you got the cucumber sandwiches cut for 
 Lady Bracknell ? ", what more natural than 
 that he should look in the direction of the 
 table, and perhaps even make a step toward 
 it? Lane then goes to the table, takes up the 
 salver with the sandwiches on it, and hands 
 it to Algernon. Here there are no other direc- 
 tions than " Hands them on salver" The 
 other " business " is inferred from the dialogue. 
 Algernon then " Inspects them, takes two, and 
 sits down on the sofa." 
 
 This is the first reference to the sofa. The 
 original prompt-copy must, of course, have 
 made clear exactly where each article of 
 furniture stood, but, for the reasons above 
 enumerated, let us place the sofa as in the 
 diagram : 
 
REHEARSING 
 
 J 
 
 Sofa 
 
 Notice now that nothing is said of the salver. 
 But from the direction near the top of page 3 
 (Luce and Baker editions) " Goes over and 
 takes sandwich " we may assume that Lane 
 takes the salver back to the table. Un- 
 doubtedly, he does this as Algernon sits on 
 the sofa. This stage direction should be in- 
 dicated in the prompt-copy, as well as in that 
 of the actor playing Lane, as follows : 
 
 EZ3 
 
 * - ^ ^ Lane takes salver to table 
 <\A!gen 
 
 As soon as Lane has done this, or even be- 
 fore, Algernon resumes his conversation, while 
 Lane turns and listens to him. Lane stands 
 somewhere between the table and the sofa, 
 
32 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 at a respectful distance from Algernon. The 
 next " business " occurs when Algernon says 
 " That will do, Lane, thank you ", and Lane 
 replies " Thank you, sir ", and goes out. This 
 brings up another question which is not 
 answered, as yet at least, in the text. Does 
 Lane go out Right? Possibly; or is there 
 another entrance Left, leading to the butler's 
 room? So far as we are able to determine, 
 there is no good reason why the room to the 
 right, where Algernon was playing, should not 
 lead to the butler's room, or to wherever he is 
 supposed to go. And in this case, there is 
 no reason why Lane cannot, during Algernon's 
 soliloquy, have heard the doorbell ring, 
 answered it, and been ready to reenter, an- 
 nouncing, as he does : " Mr. Ernest Worth- 
 ing." Jack then enters, Right. Although 
 again there is no stage direction, it is likely 
 that Algernon rises to greet his friend and 
 shake hands with him. 
 
 Once more, the stage directions, or rather 
 the want of them, are apt to confuse. On 
 the top of page 3, we read that Jack pulls 
 " off his gloves" He wears a hat, of course, 
 and probably a coat. He carries his hat in 
 his hand, but presumably still wears his coat, 
 
REHEARSING 33 
 
 and certainly his gloves. Lane, before he 
 leaves, would undoubtedly take Jack's hat, 
 help him off with his coat, and take them out 
 with him. Then, before the two men shake 
 hands if they do Jack pulls off his gloves. 
 Jack's line, " Eating as usual, I see, Algy," 
 is sufficient indication to prove that in one 
 hand Algernon holds a sandwich. Algernon 
 then sits down. The dramatist would surely 
 have mentioned Jack's sitting down if that 
 had been his intention; therefore Jack may 
 stand. Now comes the direction about Jack's 
 "Pulling off his gloves." What does he do 
 with them? For the present, at least, let us 
 allow him to go to the tea table, and lay them 
 on it. A moment later, Algernon " Goes over 
 and takes sandwich" He stands by the table, 
 eating, and this attracts Jack's attention to 
 the somewhat elaborate preparations for tea. 
 Algernon then says : " By the way, Shrop- 
 shire is your county, is it not ? " But Jack, 
 too engrossed in the preparations, scarcely 
 hears the other, and answers : " Eh ? Shrop- 
 shire? Yes, of course," and so on. Then 
 he evidently goes to the tea table. 
 
 This is the general method of attack to be 
 pursued. It may be that later in the same 
 
34 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 scene it will be necessary to go back and undo 
 some of the " business ", because the only 
 available text of this play and this is almost 
 always true of printed plays is not in prompt- 
 copy form. The making, therefore, of a 
 prompt-copy is a slow process. First, the 
 director goes through the play and plans in a 
 general way what the action is to be, but 
 only by rehearsing his cast on a particular 
 stage and under specific conditions, is he able 
 to know every detail of the action. By the 
 time the actors are letter-perfect, the prompt- 
 copy ought likewise to be fairly perfect. It 
 is always dangerous to change " business " 
 after the actors have memorized their parts. 
 
 During this preliminary blocking-out process, 
 little or no attention need be paid to details: 
 the mere outlining of the action, together with 
 the reading of the lines by the actors, is 
 sufficient. 
 
 Sometimes printed plays suffer from too 
 many stage directions, and occasionally even 
 the careful Bernard Shaw, as the following 
 extract will prove, is far from clear. Here 
 are the opening pages of " You Never Can 
 Tell": 1 
 
 1 Published separately by Brentano's. 
 
REHEARSING 35 
 
 In a dentist's operating room on a fine August 
 morning in 1896. Not the usual tiny London 
 den, but the best sitting-room of a furnished 
 lodging in a terrace on the sea front at a fashion- 
 able watering place. The operating chair, with 
 a gas pump and cylinder beside it, is half way 
 between the center of the room and one of the 
 corners. If you look into the room through 
 the window which lights it, you will see the fire- 
 place in the middle of the wall opposite you, 
 with the door beside it to your left; an M.R.C.S. 
 diploma in a frame hung on the chimneypiece ; 
 an easy chair covered in black leather on the 
 hearth; a neat stool and bench, with vice, tools, 
 and a mortar and pestle in the corner to the 
 right. Near this bench stands a slender machine 
 like a whip provided with a stand, a pedal, and 
 an exaggerated winch. Recognizing this as a 
 dental drill, you shudder and look away to your 
 left, where you can see another window, under- 
 neath which stands a writing table, with a blotter 
 and a diary on it, and a chair. Next the writing 
 table, towards the door, is a leather covered sofa. 
 The opposite wall, close on your right, is oc- 
 cupied mostly by a bookcase. The operating 
 chair is under your nose, facing you, with the 
 cabinet of instruments handy to it on your left. 
 
36 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 You observe that the professional furniture and 
 apparatus are new, and that the wall paper, de- 
 signed, with the taste of an undertaker, in fes- 
 toons and urns, the carpet with its symmetrical 
 plans of rich, cabbagy nosegays, the glass gasalier 
 with lustres, the ornamental, gilt-rimmed blue 
 candlesticks on the ends of the mantelshelf, also 
 glass-draped with lustres, and the ormolu clock 
 under a glass cover in the middle between them, 
 its uselessness emphasized by a cheap American 
 clock disrespectfully placed beside it and now 
 indicating 12 o'clock noon, all combine with the 
 black marble which gives the fireplace the air of 
 a miniature family vault, to suggest early Vic- 
 torian commercial respectability, belief in money, 
 Bible fetichism, fear of hell always at war with 
 fear of poverty, instinctive horror of the pas- 
 sionate character of art, love and the Roman 
 Catholic religion, and all the first fruits of plutoc- 
 racy in the early generations of the industrial 
 revolution. 
 
 There is no shadow of this on the two persons 
 who are occupying the room just now. One of 
 them, a very pretty woman in miniature, her 
 tiny figure dressed with the daintiest gaiety, is 
 of a later generation, being hardly eighteen yet. 
 This darling little creature clearly does not be- 
 
REHEARSING 37 
 
 long to the room, or even to the country; for 
 her complexion, though very delicate, has been 
 burnt biscuit color by some warmer sun than 
 England's; and yet there is, for a very subtle 
 observer, a link between them. For she has a 
 glass of water in her hand, and a rapidly clear- 
 ing cloud of spartan obstinacy on her tiny firm 
 mouth and quaintly squared eyebrows. If the 
 least line of conscience could be traced between 
 those eyebrows, an Evangelical might cherish 
 some faint hope of finding her a sheep in wolfs 
 clothing for her frock is recklessly pretty 
 but as the cloud vanishes it leaves her frontal 
 sinus as smoothly free from conviction of sin as 
 a kitten's. 
 
 The dentist, contemplating her with the self- 
 satisfaction of a successful operator, is a young 
 man of thirty or thereabouts. He does not give 
 the impression of being much of a workman: 
 his professional manner evidently strikes him 
 as being a joke; and it is underlain by a thought- 
 less pleasantry which betrays the young gentle- 
 man still unsettled and in search of amusing 
 adventures, behind the newly set-up dentist in 
 search of patients. He is not without gravity of 
 demeanor; but the strained nostrils stamp it as 
 the gravity of the humorist. His eyes are clear, 
 
38 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 alert, of sceptically moderate size, and yet a little 
 rash; his forehead is an excellent one, with 
 plenty of room behind it; his nose and chin 
 cavalierly handsome. On the whole, an attrac- 
 tive, noticeable beginner, of whose prospects a 
 man of business might form a tolerably favorable 
 estimate. 
 
 THE YOUNG LADY (handing him the glass). 
 Thank you. (In spite of the biscuit complexion 
 she has not the slightest foreign accent.) 
 
 THE DENTIST (putting it down on the ledge of his 
 cabinet of instruments) . That was my first tooth. 
 
 THE YOUNG LADY (aghast). Your first! Do you 
 mean to say that you began practising on me ? 
 
 THE DENTIST. Every dentist has to begin on 
 somebody. 
 
 THE YOUNG LADY. Yes : somebody in a 
 hospital, not people who pay. 
 
 THE DENTIST (laughing). Oh, the hospital 
 doesn't count. I only meant my first tooth 
 in private practice. Why didn't you let me 
 give you gas? 
 
 THE YOUNG LADY. Because you said it 
 would be five shillings extra. 
 
 THE DENTIST (shocked). Oh, don't say that. 
 It makes me feel as if I had hurt you for the 
 sake of five shillings. 
 
REHEARSING 39 
 
 THE YOUNG LADY (with cool insolence). Well, 
 so you have! (She gets up.) Why shouldn't 
 you? it's your business to hurt people. (It 
 amuses him to be treated in this fashion; he 
 chuckles secretly as he proceeds to clean and re- 
 place his instruments. She shakes her dress into 
 order, looks inquisitively about her; and goes to the 
 window.) You have a good view of the sea from 
 these rooms ! Are they expensive ? 
 
 THE DENTIST. YeS. 
 
 THE YOUNG LADY. You don't own the whole 
 house, do you? 
 
 THE DENTIST. No. 
 
 THE YOUNG LADY (takihg the chair which 
 stands at the writing table and looking critically 
 at it as she spins it round on one leg). Your 
 furniture isn't quite the latest thing, is it? 
 
 THE DENTIST. It's my landlord's. 
 
 THE YOUNG LADY. Does he own that nice 
 comfortable Bath chair ? (pointing to the operat- 
 ing chair). 
 
 THE DENTIST. No : I have that on the hire- 
 purchase system. 
 
 THE YOUNG LADY (disparagingly). I thought 
 so. (Looking about her again in search of further 
 conclusion.) I suppose you haven't been here 
 long? 
 
40 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 THE DENTIST. Six weeks. Is there anything 
 else you would like to know ? 
 
 THE YOUNG LADY (the hint quite lost on her). 
 Any family? 
 
 Shaw's stage directions here are more than 
 sufficient: they are intended not only for the 
 director, stage manager, property man, scene 
 painter, and actor, but for the reader as well. 
 His directions are always stimulating and sug- 
 gestive, and should be studied by the actors ; 
 but, from the point of view of the director and 
 stage manager, they are bewilderingly diffuse 
 and sometimes confusing. The fact, for in- 
 stance, that the action takes place precisely 
 in 1896, can be of little interest to the manager. 
 Nor can a clock indicate twelve o'clock " noon." 
 In such stage directions as these the director 
 will therefore have to separate the purely me- 
 chanical elements from the literary and atmos- 
 pheric. Let us now apply ourselves to the 
 rather difficult task of making a diagram of 
 the stage and its settings. 
 
 It is a " fine August morning." The sun is 
 shining out-of-doors and, as the room looks 
 out over the sea, the stage must be lighted 
 through one of the windows. The dramatist 
 
REHEARSING 41 
 
 goes on to say that the room is " Not the usual 
 tiny London den, but the best sitting room of a 
 furnished lodging." By inference, it is a large 
 room. The operating chair is " half way be- 
 tween the center of the room and one of the cor- 
 ners." Which corner is not designated. Let 
 us try to plot out the stage on the assumption 
 that we are looking at it through a window 
 halfway down-stage on the left (the actor's 
 left, of course). The window which lights the 
 room is placed thus : 
 
 \ 
 
 ' \ 
 
 % 
 
 I Chaic ( Vflndptf 
 
 f N 
 
 / 
 
 Looking through this window, " you will see 
 the fireplace in the middle of the watt opposite 
 you, mth the door beside it to your left " : 
 
 i 
 
 Fireplace 
 
42 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 The next article of furniture mentioned is 
 the easy chair " on the hearth " : 
 
 i 
 
 ^ Easy efwtfr v 
 
 Then come " a neat stool and bench " and, 
 near them, a dental drill: 
 
 8er/ch I 1 Q OentaJdcitt 
 
 / Stool O 
 
 % 
 % 
 i 
 
 " Near it " is not definite, but for the time 
 being, let us allow it to stand up-stage near 
 the stool and bench, but a little toward Center. 
 Next, you " look away to your left, where you 
 can see another window." The direction here 
 is not practicable, but the window may well 
 go above the fireplace, instead of below, 
 thus: 
 
REHEARSING 43 
 
 ,'TZ 
 
 Wndow o *\ 
 
 / . 
 
 Underneath this window stands a writing 
 table and a chair: 
 
 r~ET 
 
 \ 
 i 
 
 % 
 % 
 
 % 
 
 the writing table, towards the door, is a 
 leather covered sofa." To add another article 
 of furniture to this already crowded side of 
 the stage would not only make the room ap- 
 pear unnatural to the audience, but would 
 render it impossible for the actors to move 
 about with ease. The director will therefore 
 have to use his ingenuity and judgment as to 
 where to put the sofa. Some subsequent 
 " business " may necessitate a change of the 
 disposition of more than one chair or sofa or 
 stool, but the process here outlined is the first 
 
44 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 step. To proceed : the sofa, then, must be 
 placed somewhere else. But where ? By mov- 
 ing the drill to the left, in the corner, the sofa 
 can be placed next to the table, as follows : 
 
 " The opposite wall, close on your right, is 
 occupied mostly by a bookcase. The operating 
 chair is under your nose, facing you, with the 
 cabinet of instruments handy to it on your left.' 9 
 
 Q. 
 
 o 
 O 
 
 i 
 
 ng chair 
 
 It is at once observed how necessary it was 
 to move the drill from the other side of the 
 room to this : over by the table, it would be 
 out of convenient reach of the dentist. 
 
REHEARSING 45 
 
 The difficulty of arranging the stage in this 
 case will at once prove the imperative need of 
 going through the play with the utmost atten- 
 tion to stage directions and lines, in order to 
 make an accurate series of stage diagrams, 
 property, light, and furniture plots. 
 
 Notice that in the preliminary stage direc- 
 tions the center entrance is not designated. It 
 soon becomes evident, however, that a center 
 door (or one, at least, at the back of the stage) 
 is taken for granted. 
 
 This elementary diagram will serve as a 
 working basis. A very little rehearsing will 
 soon make it necessary to arrange the furni- 
 ture, and so on, in a manner more pleasing to 
 the eye and more convenient to the actor. 
 
 Center door 
 
 /Orn 
 
 c 
 
 CuttetaUne 
 
 There is one more kind of text with which 
 amateurs have to do: it is the reprint of 
 
46 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 actual prompt-copies, and is usually accu- 
 rate in material details. The following ex- 
 tract is from the opening pages of the fourth 
 act of Henry Arthur Jones's " The Liars " 
 (in the special edition published by Samuel 
 French) : 
 
 Scene : Drawing-room in Sir Christopher 9 s 
 flat in Victoria Street. L. at back is a large 
 recess, taking up half the stage. The right half 
 is taken up by an inner room furnished as library 
 and smoking-room. Curtains dividing library 
 from drawing-room. Door up-stage, L. A 
 table down-stage, R. The room is in great 
 confusion, with portmanteau open, clothes, etc., 
 scattered over the floor; articles which an officer 
 going to Central Africa might want are lying 
 about. 
 
 The diagram, as given in the text, is this : 
 
 Recess 
 
 Table 
 
REHEARSING 47 
 
 This is merely a skeleton, as it were, of a 
 diagram, but first, the preliminary stage direc- 
 tions quoted above and the detailed and 
 full marginal and other stage directions in the 
 text, make clear every crossing, entrance, and 
 exit, and designate at least the important 
 articles of furniture and " props." For ex- 
 ample, it is learned from the text on the first 
 and second pages of the act, that there is a 
 uniform case " up-Center " up-stage, that 
 is, in the center of it; a folding stool by the 
 table; a trunk to the left of Center; and a 
 sofa on the extreme left. Unlike the quota- 
 tions from the Wilde and Shaw plays, those of 
 Jones supply all necessary information to the 
 stage manager and the actors. Of course, as 
 always, modifications must be made to meet 
 the exigencies of certain stages and certain 
 actors, but these are minor matters. 
 
 The fundamental principles of this pre- 
 liminary blocking-out having been laid down, 
 we shall now proceed to a consideration of the 
 infinitely varied problems of grouping and de- 
 tailed stage business. 
 
 PROPERTY OF 
 
 iEPJSBTMfNT f)f nPAMITIP DT 
 
CHAPTER V 
 REHEARSING 
 
 n 
 
 WHILE it is true that the possibilities of 
 variation in the matter of grouping, crossing, 
 and so on, are infinite, still there are some 
 definite principles to be followed. 
 
 Suppose that the blocking-out process is 
 over with, and the actors have a fair idea of 
 their entrances, positions, business, and exits. 
 The two following extracts (the first from the 
 third act of Jones's "The Liars", the second 
 from Edouard Pailleron's "The Art of Being 
 Bored") serve to illustrate two ways of going 
 about the problem of grouping actors on the 
 stage. The first contains specific directions, 
 the second only the merest suggestions. Below 
 is the diagram of the stage in the third act of 
 "The Liars": 
 
 48 
 
REHEARSING 
 
 49 
 
 Cacden cloth 
 
 Passage 
 
 Window 
 
 Chair Armchaicpl O O Chair 
 vine 
 land 
 
 Up to page 107, which is reproduced on page 
 50, the characters are grouped as indicated : 
 
 Following carefully the stage directions in the 
 text and on the margin, the action is traced as 
 follows : 
 
 Mrs. Crespin shakes hands with Sir 
 Christopher. Then (marginal note) "Sir C. 
 opens door L. for Mrs. Crespin " : 
 
50 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 MRS. CRESPIN. 1 They all stand looking at each 
 other, nonplussed. SIR CHRISTOPHER slightly touch- 
 ing his head with perplexed gesture.) 
 
 SIR C. 
 Our fib won't do. 
 
 LADY R. 
 Freddie, you incomparable nincompoop ! 
 
 FREDDIE. 
 
 I like that ! If I hadn't asked her, what would have 
 happened ? George Nepean would have come in, you'd 
 have plumped down on him with your lie, and what 
 then? Don't you think it's jolly lucky 1 said what I 
 did? 2 
 
 SIR C. 
 
 It's lucky in this instance. But if I am to embark 
 any further in these imaginative enterprises, I must 
 ask you, Freddie, to keep a silent tongue. 
 
 FREDDIE. 
 What for? 
 
 SIR C. 
 
 Well, old fellow, it may be an unpalatable truth to 
 you, but you'll never make a good liar. 3 
 
 FREDDIE. 
 
 Very likely not. But if this sort of thing is going on 
 in my house, I think I ought to. 
 LADY R. 4 
 Oh, do subside, Freddie, do subside ! 
 
 LADY J.* 
 
 Yes, George and perhaps Gilbert will be here 
 directly. Oh, will somebody tell me what to do? 
 
 i Sir C. 
 
 opens 
 door L. 
 for Mrs. 
 Crespin; 
 after her 
 exit, 
 closes 
 door. 
 They all 
 turn and 
 look at 
 Sir C. 
 He sinks 
 into a 
 chair up 
 C.,and 
 shakes 
 his head 
 at them. 
 
 *Lady 
 Jess, sits 
 L.C. Sir 
 Chris, 
 puts hat 
 on book- 
 case C., 
 and 
 comes 
 down C. 
 
 Lady R. 
 and 
 Lady 
 Jess, 
 agree 
 with Sir 
 C. 
 
 4 Crosses 
 to him C. 
 Freddie 
 sits R. C. 
 annoyed. 
 
 * 5th call. 
 George. 
 
REHEARSING 51 
 
 Then, "after her exit, closes door. They all 
 turn and look at Sir C. He sinks into a chair 
 and shakes his head at them." Into which 
 chair does he sink? Since in a moment he 
 must put his hat on the bookcase, Center, he 
 had better sit on the chair to the right of it : 
 
 , t 
 
 / \ 
 
 ft o n \ 
 
 I SitC X V 
 
 / \\ 
 
 I V 
 
 / \ 
 
 I \ 
 
 I * 
 
 / \ 
 
 I t 
 
 Then, at the end of Freddie's speech, "Lady 
 Jess, sits L. C. [left of Center] . Sir Chris, puts hat 
 on bookcase C., and comes down C." 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 l 
 
 \ 
 
 Q 
 
 \ 
 \ 
 
 S> 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 \\ 
 
 \ 
 
 \\ 
 
 \ 
 
 \\ 
 
 s***^ \ 
 
 \ \ 
 
 
 siccV 
 
 *) ^ 
 
 Lady Jess. \ 
 
 The last speech of Lady Rosamund on this 
 page is accompanied by the following stage 
 
52 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 direction: "Crosses to him [Sir Christopher] 
 C. Freddie sits R.C. annoyed" 
 
 This is very simple, but only in the rarest 
 instances are stage directions so carefully 
 worked out and indicated. The director will 
 usually be confronted by long pages where 
 there are few or no definite or dependable 
 directions. The original text of Shakespeare 
 affords us only the most elementary explana- 
 tions of stage "business", so that when Shake- 
 speare is produced it is wisest to use one of 
 the many stage editions, in which the tradi- 
 tional directions, or others equally good, are 
 given at some length. Usually, however, the 
 director will be aided by directions which are 
 fairly full and fairly accurate, but never quite 
 dependable. The following excerpt from 
 "The Art of Being Bored " qontains the 
 
REHEARSING 
 
 53 
 
 ordinary sort of directions, the kind that are 
 found in good plays and bad. The set is de- 
 scribed in the first act as being : 
 
 " A drawing-room, with a large entrance at 
 the back, opening upon another room. Entrances 
 up- and down-stage. To the left, between the 
 two doors, a piano. Right, an entrance down- 
 stage; farther up, a large alcove with a glazed 
 door leading into the garden; a table, on either 
 side of which is a chair; to the right, a small 
 table and a sofa; arm-chairs, etc." 
 This may be plotted in the following manner : 
 
 I sofa J ) 
 
 /Poor left, 
 
 There are no specific directions as to the 
 position of the sofa and chairs, but as a large 
 number of characters are on the stage at one 
 time, a great many will be necessary. The 
 exact number of chairs, as well as the positions 
 they will have to occupy, depend largely on 
 
54 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 the size and shape of the stage. The above 
 diagram will serve at first as a working basis. 
 Turning to the opening of the second act, we 
 find the following directions : 
 
 (Same as Act 1. 
 
 (Bellac, Toulonnier, Roger, Paul Raymond, 
 Madame de CSran, Madame de Loudan, Madame 
 Arriego, the Duchess, Suzanne, Lucy, Jeanne 
 seated in a semi-circle, listening to Saint-Reault 9 
 who is finishing his lecture). 
 
 SAINT-REAULT. And, make no mistake about 
 it! Profound as these legends may appear 
 because of their baffling exoticism, they are 
 merely my illustrious father wrote in 1834 
 elemental, primitive imaginings in comparison 
 with the transcendental conceptions of Brahmin 
 lore, gathered together in the Upanishads, or 
 indeed in the eighteen Paranas of Vyasa, the 
 compiler of the Vedda. 
 
REHEARSING 55 
 
 JEANNE (aside to Paul). Are you asleep? 
 
 PAUL. No, no I hear some kind of gib- 
 berish. 
 
 SAINT-REAULT. Such, in simple terminology, 
 is the concretum of the doctrine of Buddha. 
 And at this point I shall close my remarks. 
 
 (Murmurs. Some of the audience rise). 
 
 Here two or three Bellac and Roger, and 
 one of the ladies, let us say rise, and chat in 
 undertones in a small group among themselves. 
 
 SEVERAL VOICES (weakly). Very good! 
 Good! 
 
 SAINT-REAULT. And now (He coughs). 
 
 MADAME DE CERAN (eagerly). You must be 
 tired, Saint-Reault? 
 
 At this, Madame de Ceran might well rise, 
 as if to put an end to Saint-Reault's speech. 
 The others are impatient, and perhaps one or 
 two start to rise. The others whisper, or ap- 
 pear to do so. Then Saint-Reault continues : 
 
 SAINT-REAULT. Not at all, Countess ! 
 MADAME ARRIEGO. Oh, yes, you must be; 
 rest yourself. We can wait. 
 
 It is likely that here Madame Arriego would 
 
56 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 rise and go to Saint-Reault. Two or three 
 others would follow her. 
 
 SEVERAL VOICES. You must rest ! 
 
 MADAME DE LOUDAN. You can't always re- 
 main in the clouds. Come down to earth, Baron. 
 
 SAINT-REAULT. Thank you, but well, you 
 see, I had already finished. 
 
 (Everybody rises). 
 
 Saint-Reault's audience may then form into 
 small groups, somewhat as follows : 
 
 Care must be taken not to give the stage a 
 crowded appearance, nor yet an air of too well- 
 ordered symmetry. To continue : 
 
 SEVERAL VOICES. So interesting ! A little 
 obscure ! Excellent ! Too long ! 
 
 BELLAC (to the ladies). Too materialistic! 
 PAUL (to Jeanne}. He's bungled it. 
 
REHEARSING 
 
 57 
 
 SUSANNE (calling). Monsieur Bellac! 
 BELLAC. Mademoiselle ? 
 SUSANNE. Come here, near me. 
 
 (Bellac goes to her). 
 ROGER (aside to the Duchess). Aunt! 
 
 The direction "aside to the Duchess" shows 
 that (1) Roger, after the company rose, either 
 went to the Duchess; or that, (2) meantime 
 he goes to her. This may be done either way, 
 so long as the two are within reasonable whis- 
 pering distance. 
 
 DUCHESS (aside to Roger). She's doing it on 
 purpose ! 
 
 SAINT-REAULT (coming to table). One word 
 more! (General surprise. The audience sit 
 down in silence and consternation). 
 
 Bearing in mind the change of position of 
 Bellac, Roger, and Saint-Reault, we may re- 
 seat the characters as follows : 
 
58 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 While, as has been said, grouping depends to 
 a great extent on the size and shape of the 
 stage, it should always be borne in mind that 
 the stage should in most cases be made to 
 resemble a picture as regards balance and 
 composition. This means that the director 
 must avoid crowding; that the actors must 
 learn to take their places as part of that pic- 
 ture, and not attempt either to usurp the 
 center of the stage or to disappear behind 
 other actors. No grouping should ever be 
 left to chance or the inspiration of the moment ; 
 every actor must have marked down in his own 
 script every movement he makes. Groups and 
 crowds require a great deal of rehearsing, in 
 order that they may always assume the right 
 position at the right moment. 
 
 When an impression of vast numbers of 
 people is desired as in "Julius Caesar" 
 large numbers of "supes" are not needed. 
 Eight or ten or twelve people, well managed, 
 are sufficient to create an effect of this sort on 
 a small stage, and perhaps twenty on a large. 
 The basic principle of the art of the theater is 
 suggestion, not reproduction. 
 
 In the "forum scene" of Shakespeare's 
 "Julius Csesar" there are practically no stage 
 
REHEARSING 59 
 
 directions. The management of the mob, 
 therefore, is left entirely to the director. When 
 the Third Citizen says: "The noble Brutus is 
 ascended. Silence!" we are of course given 
 to understand by the word " Silence ! " 
 that there has been some noise and confusion. 
 The text affords the most important indi- 
 cations. 
 
 Plot out, for practice, the position of the 
 various members of the mob throughout this 
 scene. 
 
 As a rule, the best impression of a crowd is 
 made by massing and manipulating groups of 
 from three to six individuals. If movement 
 is demanded, it must be precise and measured 
 out carefully during rehearsals. Therefore, 
 since it is nearly always impossible to get 
 trained actors to compose mobs, it is well to 
 intersperse two or three "leaders" in any 
 crowd, who will give the cue for concerted 
 action. 
 
 The foregoing discussion, both in the present 
 and preceding chapter, has been made largely 
 from the director's and the stage manager's 
 viewpoint. Let us now go back to the actor, 
 and suggest a few methods which will help 
 him. 
 
60 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 An easy and vivid way of remembering 
 "business" at first is to make a very simple 
 diagram, thus : 
 
 I ~| Small table \ 
 
 r\ 
 
 / o\ n /\ 
 
 I ^^ \\ ' >v * 
 
 / \ \ target table and chaie ** a X t 
 
 1 \ ^^ / * 
 
 /; . ' V^ / 
 
 Supposing A, who stands down-stage before 
 the sofa, crosses up-stage to the small table, 
 as he says: "I'll not stand it any longer!" 
 Just after this line, the actor places a mark 
 referring him to the margin of his "script", 
 and makes another diagram : 
 
 \ 
 \ 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 \ 
 \ 
 
 This represents A crossing to up-stage, left 
 of the small table. In this way, when the 
 actor is studying his lines, he cannot help 
 
REHEARSING 61 
 
 studying the "business", and vice versa; and 
 since lines and "business" almost always go 
 hand in hand, he will run no danger of having 
 first learned the one without the other. 
 
 Considerable confusion is likely to arise 
 when an overzealous director insists that his 
 actors be "letter perfect" before the "busi- 
 ness" is well formulated and worked out and 
 thoroughly learned. 
 
 In the first chapter on Rehearsing, the 
 blocking-out process was discussed, but the 
 order in which each act was to be rehearsed, 
 the time to be spent on it, etc. these matters 
 were deferred, and will now be taken up. 
 
 At the next rehearsal that is, after the 
 blocking-out of the first act the second is 
 treated in the same way. And after the 
 last act has been blocked out, the first should 
 be rehearsed with greater care. Details of 
 "business", grouping, the delivery of lines 
 especially the correction of errors in interpre- 
 tation must be carefully considered. Prob- 
 ably some of the "business" blocked out in 
 the first rehearsal will have to be changed, or 
 at least amplified. Entrances and exits must 
 be repeatedly rehearsed until they go smoothly. 
 The crossings and recrossing of one, two, or 
 
62 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 more characters, can scarcely be rehearsed too 
 often. 
 
 Let us take a few examples of this sort of 
 detail work. A man comes home late, tired 
 and hungry. Outside the sitting room through 
 an open door, is seen the hatrack. How can 
 this simple incident be made to appear true 
 and interesting? Here is at least one manner 
 of accomplishing it: a door is heard closing 
 off-stage; footsteps resound in the hall. A, 
 the man, appears, wearing a hat, overcoat, 
 and gloves, at the Center door, looks into 
 the room to see whether any one is present, 
 seems surprised, utters a short exclamation, 
 and then turns to the hatrack. His back to 
 the audience, he takes off his hat, hangs it 
 carelessly on a hook, then slowly draws off his 
 gloves, allows his coat to fall from his shoulders, 
 looks at himself in the glass for an instant, and 
 then, with a sigh, comes into the room again. 
 
 The incident, of course, is capable of a 
 hundred variations, depending upon the char- 
 acter of the man, the circumstances under 
 which he comes home, and so forth. 
 
 Or, a little more complicated instance : A, B, 
 and C, three men, are seated, talking after 
 dinner. They are stationed as follows : 
 
REHEARSING 
 
 A sits on the arm of the davenport, B on the 
 davenport itself, and C in a chair at the lower 
 right-hand side of the table. 
 
 Notice first that the davenport is not placed 
 at right angles to the audience ; this is done so 
 that two people, sitting side by side, may be 
 better seen by the "house." Notice, too, that A 
 is at the extreme left-hand corner of the daven- 
 port. Visualize this for an instant: here is 
 proportion, line, and balance, but without the 
 appearance of stiffness or symmetry, which 
 should always be avoided. B rises and stands 
 before the fireplace : again notice the grouping : 
 
 / 
 
 1 
 f 
 
 / 
 
 LL 
 
 u 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 
 >s< 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 / 
 
 t 
 1 
 
 * y-N~ 
 
 
 X^ ^ ' 
 
64 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 A then rises and goes to the center of the 
 stage, standing near the left of the table : 
 
 This simple moving about the room should 
 never be obtrusive ; that is to say, the audience 
 must never be conscious of the director's hand. 
 First, every bit of "business", every move, 
 every gesture, must be justified, otherwise it 
 calls attention to itself. This is a distinct 
 problem with amateurs, who naturally find it 
 difficult not to move about when they have 
 nothing else to do. They feel self-conscious 
 unless they are "acting." The best rule for 
 any amateur although it is again the di- 
 rector who is responsible and should look 
 after this is, never to do anything unless 
 he knows precisely why he does it, and unless 
 he feels it. 
 
 One further example : imagine a five-minute 
 conversation, in the text of which there are no 
 stage directions. It is between two women: 
 
REHEARSING 65 
 
 D and E. They are seated, one in an arm- 
 chair by the fire, the other in an ordinary 
 chair to the right of a library table: 
 
 There are not many plays in which two 
 characters merely converse for so long a period 
 without well-motivated reasons, but it is well 
 to take an extreme example. Let us assume 
 that D is telling E the story of her life, and 
 that for two minutes her speech contains little 
 more than straight narrative. Suddenly she 
 tells a sad incident, and E, who has a sympa- 
 thetic nature, wipes her eyes with her hand- 
 kerchief. D continues, and E, no longer able 
 to restrain her tears but not wishing to show 
 her emotion to D, rises and goes to the left of 
 the stage for a moment or two. The long 
 conversation scene is now broken up by a 
 natural bit of action. While in life such a 
 conversation might consume hours, on the 
 stage it must be made more attractive and 
 
66 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 emotionally stimulating; in the theater, the 
 appeal is through the eye and ear, to the 
 emotions. 
 
 Such a scene as the one just outlined must 
 be repeatedly rehearsed, until every detail of 
 the "business" is worked out perfectly. 
 
 After approximately ten days' work on the 
 first act during which period each of the 
 other acts should be run through at least three 
 times the actors should be letter perfect 
 and able to give a fairly smooth performance. 
 
 Then the other acts are rehearsed in like 
 manner. Each act, after it is finished in this 
 way, must be rehearsed at least every three 
 or four days. When all the acts have been 
 worked out, then each rehearsal is devoted to 
 going through the whole play. Minor points 
 in acting, minor "business", rendering of the 
 lines, voice, gesture, etc., must naturally be 
 insisted upon. Special cases must be dealt 
 with outside the regular rehearsals, for the 
 play should be interrupted as seldom as possible, 
 because it is wise to let the actors become ac- 
 customed to going through the entire piece. 
 It will be found expeditious, too, for small 
 groups of characters who have scenes together 
 to rehearse by themselves. The full rehearsals 
 
REHEARSING 67 
 
 of the play are valuable both to actors and the 
 director, for the latter is given a general view 
 of his stage pictures which could in no other 
 way be afforded him, and he is in a position 
 to judge of his general and massed effects. 
 At the same time the actors will more readily 
 enter into the spirit of the work if they are 
 permitted to play without interruption. Where 
 the actors forget their lines, they should be 
 prompted without other delay, but if they do 
 anything actually wrong, or if the director 
 wishes to make an important change, the per- 
 formance must, of course, be stopped for a 
 moment. 
 
 The number of rehearsals necessary for the 
 production of a play by amateurs depends 
 largely on the attitude of the amateurs them- 
 selves, and the amount of time at their disposal. 
 It is safe to say that ninety-nine out of a 
 hundred such performances suffer noticeably 
 from need of rehearsing. Nor is this to be 
 wondered at, for the average professional play 
 usually requires four or five weeks' rehearsing 
 seven to eight hours daily for six and 
 sometimes seven days in the week ! Of course, 
 an amateur is an amateur because he is not a 
 professional, and he cannot afford very much 
 
68 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 time for work which is after all only a pastime. 
 One other point should be well borne in mind : 
 the average amateur has not the patience of 
 the professional. If he is rehearsed too long 
 or too steadily, he will grow "stale", and lose 
 interest in his work. 
 
 Still, no full-length play can safely be pro- 
 duced with less than four weeks' work, on an 
 average of five rehearsals of three hours each, 
 per week. (This does not include special and 
 individual outside rehearsals.) Four weeks is 
 the shortest time that can be allowed, while 
 six or seven should be devoted to it. So much 
 time is not necessary in order that the com- 
 pany may attempt to become professionals ; 
 that would be impossible and not at all advis- 
 able. The amateur, if rightly trained, should 
 be able to impart a certain natural, naive, un- 
 professional tone to the part he is impersonat- 
 ing, but this can only be done by constant 
 rehearsing. The director usually finds that 
 the amateur's first instinct is to imitate the 
 tricks of the professional actor, and not allow 
 himself to feel the character of the role. The 
 professional quickly assimilates mannerisms 
 which are only too likely to become mechanical, 
 but which the amateur, because he is an ama- 
 
REHEARSING 69 
 
 teur, is not likely to learn, if at first he is trained 
 to avoid them. 
 
 There is no particular excuse for presenting 
 plays which can be seen acted anywhere and 
 any time by professionals; amateurs should 
 strive to produce classics, or modern plays 
 which for one reason or another are not often 
 seen, and impart to them that peculiar flavor 
 which charms as well as interests and attracts. 
 Nor is there much use in the amateur actor's 
 striving to become professional in manner : he 
 cannot hope, in the short time he can spare for 
 his work, to become a good professional; or, 
 if he gives signs of becoming such, then he no 
 longer belongs in amateur dramatics. Allow 
 the amateur plenty of leeway in the matter 
 of interpretation, if he has any original ideas 
 of his own; but of course these must never 
 be at variance with the general idea of the 
 play. Let him work out his own salvation : 
 here lies the value of amateur production, 
 both to the actor and to the audience. 
 
 Often amateurs are called upon to portray 
 feelings, actions, passions, of which they have 
 no knowledge or experience. Love scenes, for 
 instance, are invariably difficult. In this case, 
 the actors must be taught a few conventional 
 
70 HOW TO PKODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 gestures, attitudes, and tricks, but they should 
 not be permitted except in rare cases to 
 lay much stress on the acting. This also ap- 
 plies to such purely conventional matters as kiss- 
 ing, dying, fighting, etc., for which a set of recog- 
 nized technical tricks has been evolved. Any 
 competent director can train actors to do this. 
 
 One more point before this part of rehearsing 
 is dispensed with : amateur productions suffer 
 largely from a lack of continuous tension and 
 variety. Often the action is slow, jerky, and 
 consequently tedious. Constant rehearsing, 
 with a view to inspiring greater confidence 
 and sureness in the actors, under a good direc- 
 tor, is the best means to overcome these great 
 drawbacks. The last eight or ten rehearsals, 
 after the cast are familiar with their lines and 
 "business", are the most important in the 
 matter of tempo. Details of shading, well- 
 developed and modulated action, and a well- 
 defined climax, are what must be worked for. 
 When the actors are no longer thinking of 
 when they must cross or sit down or rise, they 
 are ready to enter whole-heartedly into the 
 spirit of the pl#y as an artistic unit. 
 
 As an example, on a small scale, of how a 
 scene may be modulated and shaded, two pages 
 
REHEARSING 
 
 71 
 
 from Meilhac and Halevy's "Indian Summer" 
 (published by Samuel French) are here re- 
 printed with marginal notes explaining how 
 these effects are obtained. 
 
 Slowly 
 
 and 
 
 quietly. 
 
 Slight in- 
 crease of 
 speed and 
 tension. 
 
 Slowly 
 rising 
 tension 
 and speed. 
 
 Staccato. 
 
 Emphasis, 
 
 Momen- 
 tary 
 pause. 
 
 Dimin- 
 uendo. 
 Tense, 
 but quiet. 
 
 Slight in- 
 crease 
 again. 
 
 I ADR. Just a moment ago I forgot that such a thing 
 was out of the question 
 BRI. Why out of the question ? 
 ADR. Why, because 
 
 f BRI. Because what ? How much did that American 
 I family pay you ? I'll give you twice as much three 
 < times as much. WTiatever you want ! 
 ADR. Only to read to you ? 
 BRI. Why, yes. 
 
 ADR. That wouldn't be so bad there's just one 
 thing against it it might be just a wee bit compromis- 
 ing! 
 
 BRI. Oh ! 
 
 ADR. Really, don't you think so ? Just a bit ? 
 BRI. At my age ? 
 
 ADR. (gaily). Oh, it's all very well a young person 
 like me alone with you. (Seriously.) Oh, if you 
 only didn't live alone ! 
 
 BRI. If I? If I weren't alone? 
 ( ADR. If you only had some relatives married 
 ^ relatives your nephew, for instance, with his wife 
 [then I might 
 
 BRI. Once more, don't speak to me of ! He's the 
 one that brought all this trouble on us that letter 
 that forces you to that letter came from him. 
 (ADRIENNE makes a quick movement of protest.) Tisn't 
 his fault, I know, but I hold a grudge against him as if 
 it were 
 
 ADR. And yet, if I told you 
 BRI. (stopping her). Shh! If you please. (Pause.) 
 ADR. (moved). Then I must go. That was the only 
 way ; and you don't want to do that. I'm sure I don't 
 know what will happen afterward. I still hope But 
 for the moment, I must (Mild access of crying). Oh 
 Fm sorry so sorry (Falls into chair at side of table), 
 r BRI. (excitedly). Adrienne! 
 
 I ADR. (recovering mastery over herself). I beg your 
 ) pardon there! There! (Brushing away her tears). 
 ( See, it's all over! 
 
72 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 Quickly-- 
 increasing 
 rise. 
 
 Quickly. 
 
 Moment 
 of sus- 
 pense. 
 Climax. 
 
 High ten- 
 sion after 
 the 
 
 climax, 
 and pre- 
 paratory 
 to another 
 climax 
 later on. 
 
 BRI. Adrienne ! 
 
 ADR. (rising). Monsieur! 
 
 BRI. It's true, then, if there were some way, you 
 would ? Not the way I mentioned just now but 
 another you wouldn't leave, would you ? You'd 
 stay here near me always and be happy ? 
 
 ADR. (lightly). Oh yes, it's too I say it from the 
 bottom of my heart ! 
 
 BRI. Very well, you shan't go. 
 
 No, you shan't go. 
 But how? Why? 
 I have found a way ! 
 And it is ? 
 
 To make you my wife ! 
 (Sits down again, overcome). 
 I'll do it ! Go and speak to your Aunt 
 Come here! (Enter NOEL, right, carrying a 
 bundle of papers). Come here ! Don't be afraid ! You 
 may go and get your wife. Bring her here ! I'll forgive 
 her as I forgive you ! (Shakes hands loarmly with NOEL) . 
 NOEL. Uncle ! 
 
 BRI. You were right now I know it ! What do I 
 care if she is a watchmaker's daughter? Go and get 
 your wife bring her here and we'll live together, 
 the four of us 
 
 NOEL. All four of us ? 
 
 BRI. Yes, all four! (To ADRIENNE). I am going 
 to speak to your Aunt I'll be back at once. (Exit 
 Center). 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 REHEARSING 
 
 m 
 
 THE dress rehearsal usually takes place on the 
 night before the regular performance. 
 
 Every effort must be made on this occasion 
 to have conditions, on the stage and behind it, 
 as nearly as possible like those under which 
 the play is to be given. Scenery, lighting, cos- 
 tumes, must all be ready, and the performance 
 carried through with as few interruptions as 
 the director can afford to make. The director 
 should be in the back .of the " house ", and 
 stop the players only when they do something 
 absolutely wrong. It is very unwise to change 
 lines or " business " at this eleventh hour. 
 The stage manager and his assistants must 
 be in their assigned places, the lights manipu- 
 lated, actors " called ", the curtain rung up 
 and down on schedule. The director watches 
 the general effects, sees that the stage is not 
 
 73 
 
74 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 crowded, that the lights are in order, and above 
 all, watches the tempo of the performance. 
 
 The actors must be informed that on the 
 occasion of the performance the audience is 
 likely to distract them by applause, laughter, 
 etc., and that they, the actors, must pause for 
 a moment when there is any such interruption. 
 A little advice as to resting, not worrying about 
 lines, etc., will not be out of place. 
 
 Besides the acting dress rehearsal, there 
 should be a scene and light rehearsal. This 
 is merely for the assistants behind the stage. 
 The different scenes (if there is more than 
 one) should be set and " struck " (taken 
 down), furniture and " props " stationed, lights 
 worked, exactly as they are to be on the follow- 
 ing night. Everything should go according to 
 clockwork, the stage manager " holding the 
 book " on all his assistants. 
 
 The performance should begin on time. 
 Every one knows the irksome delay usually 
 incident to amateur performances, and it ought 
 to be the object of every director to remedy a 
 defect which is inherent in our usual slipshod 
 method of reproducing plays. Promptness is 
 the prime requisite of efficiency, and the produc- 
 tion of plays is successful only when the com- 
 
REHEARSING 75 
 
 ponent elements are organized on a sort of 
 military basis. The actors must be in the 
 theater on time, and " made-up " in costume, 
 at least half an hour before the curtain rises. 
 It is well for each actor to see the property 
 man arid make sure that all the " props " 
 necessary to his part are in readiness. The 
 property man himself must also check up his 
 list for the last time, in order to avoid con- 
 fusion during the performance. 
 
 When everything is in order, there is little 
 more to be done. The director might make a 
 few general remarks to the cast, endeavor to 
 inspire them with confidence and impress upon 
 them the necessity of playing together har- 
 moniously, and so on, but if his work has been 
 well done during rehearsals, this will not be 
 necessary. 
 
 The prompter must follow the play line for 
 line and be ready to prompt any actor who 
 forgets his part. It is well for the stage manager 
 to be near the prompter, in order that every 
 cue for lighting, " business " off-stage like 
 ringing bells, shooting, etc. may be acted 
 upon as required. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 THE STAGE 
 
 A GREAT deal more attention is being directed 
 in this country, at least to the improve- 
 ment of the physical requirements of the stage 
 than heretofore. During the past few years, 
 numerous writers 1 have made a systematic 
 study of theaters abroad and at home, and 
 revealed the fact that on the whole our 
 theaters, both before and behind the curtain, 
 are antiquated, ill-equipped, and fall far short 
 of the infinite possibilities which have been 
 made realized in certain cities of Germany and 
 Russia. 
 
 Revolutionary experiments in lighting, as 
 well as in the disposition of stage settings, have, 
 
 1 Hiram Kelly Moderwell, in his "The Theatre of To-day" 
 (Lane), and Sheldon Cheney, in his "The Modern Movement 
 in the Theatre'* (Kennerley), have rendered signal service in 
 this field. The first book contains a thoroughly systematic 
 account of practically all the new theatrical experiments. 
 76 
 
Two VIEWS OF THE STAGE AT TUFTS COLLEGE, 
 
 SHOWING PLENTY OF OPEN SPACE FOR THE 
 
 STORING AND SHIFTING OF SCENERY. 
 
 (Courtesy of L. R. Lewis). 
 

 
THE STAGE 77 
 
 during the past ten or twelve years, opened 
 up fields formerly undreamed of. 
 
 It is not the purpose of this chapter to de- 
 scribe at great length these innovations; the 
 reader is referred to the books of Moderwell 
 and Cheney mentioned in the footnote above. 
 A few elementary suggestions, however, which 
 may be used by skilled and intelligent amateurs, 
 will prove suggestive to the average director 
 and stage manager. 
 
 It is likely that by far the greater number of 
 amateur plays will be performed on a stage 
 which is already built and equipped. In such 
 cases, all the stage manager can do is to use 
 his own scenery and at least have a voice in 
 the matter of lighting. Still, many plays are 
 performed on improvised stages, in private 
 homes, clubs, or schoolrooms, or out-of-doors. 
 This allows the stage manager a little more 
 leeway, and often he may modify the size of 
 the stage to suit himself, and introduce some 
 innovations of his own. 
 
 To those who are in a position either to 
 build or temporarily construct their own stages, 
 this chapter is primarily addressed. 
 
 We shall now proceed to a consideration of 
 a few of the more important innovations on 
 
78 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 the modern stage. The first of these is un- 
 doubtedly : 
 
 The Cyclorama. This is " a white or tinted 
 backing for the stage, built in the form of a 
 segment of a vertical cylinder. It may be 
 constructed of canvas or of solid plaster. . . . 
 Now, if made of canvas, it is more usually 
 kept, when not in use, on a vertical roller, at 
 one side of the stage, near the front, and carried 
 around behind the stage, unrolling from its 
 cylinder the while, until it connects with a 
 similar cylinder at the opposite side of the 
 stage. It hangs from a circular iron rail, and 
 almost completely encloses the stage, rising 
 to the required distance. ... It can be 
 rolled up on its original cylinder when it is 
 not needed, leaving the stage once more ap- 
 proachable from all sides. . . . The chief 
 uses of the cyclorama are evident. It presents 
 a continuous dead white or tinted background, 
 which, when played upon by the proper lights, 
 gives a striking illusion of depth and luminous 
 atmosphere. . . . But perhaps the chief value 
 of the cyclorama, from the standpoint of the 
 stage artist, has not yet been mentioned. For 
 the new device changes altogether the problem 
 of lighting. Ordinary sunlight is, as we know, 
 
THE STAGE 79 
 
 not a direct light, but an infinitely reflected 
 light, bandied about by the particles of air 
 and by the ordinary physical objects on which 
 it strikes. The mellowness and internal lu- 
 minosity of ordinary sunlight is wholly due to 
 this infinite reflection. It was the lack of 
 this that made the old stage lighting, with its 
 blazing direct artificial glare, so unreal. The 
 cyclorama, and especially the dome cyclo- 
 rama, permits the stage to be lighted largely 
 or wholly by crisscrossing reflection. The 
 mellow and subtle lighting which makes it 
 possible was altogether unknown under the 
 older methods." 1 
 
 The construction of a cyclorama, either of 
 cloth or of plaster, is rather difficult, but there 
 are certain simple substitutes which may be used 
 to secure some of its elementary effects. The 
 following system has been used by some ama- 
 teurs with signal success. 
 
 First take a wooden rod, or better, iron 
 pipes, curved to the desired shape. 
 
 Fasten this framework either to the ceiling 
 of the " loft " or, if that is too high, to the 
 wings. On the rod hang curtains of burlap, 
 
 1 Moderwell's "The! Theatre of To-day." John Lane Com- 
 pany. 
 
80 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 Cyclorama 
 
 Curtain 
 
 or some similar material, or else two or three 
 thicknesses of cheesecloth, so that they fall 
 in simple folds. The color will depend on the 
 sort of play to be produced and the kind of 
 lights used. As a rule, dark tan, green, or 
 dark red are the best colors, and can be used 
 on many occasions and for nearly every sort of 
 play. Whether the " cyclorama " thus impro- 
 vised be permanent or temporary, this is one of 
 the best possible backgrounds. In out-of-door 
 scenes, it gives a suggestion of distance. 
 
 In Constance D'Arcy Mackay's book on 
 " Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs " the 
 author describes how a " desert and oasis " 
 
THE STAGE 81 
 
 scene can be made from the simplest means: 
 
 " A plain sand-colored floor cloth. A back- 
 drop or cyclorama of sky-blue against which 
 very low sand mounds appearing as if at great 
 distance, with palm trees, also made small by 
 distance. These mounds and palm trees should 
 be painted low on the backdrop, since a vast 
 stretch of level sand is what is to be suggested. 
 It would even be possible to use a plain blue 
 sky drop, and run some sand-colored cambric 
 into mounds across the back of the stage, so 
 as to break the sky line." 
 
 It i$ not necessary, though, to paint the 
 cyclorama: darker cloth, made to represent 
 mounds, thrown across the lower part of the 
 cyclorama, would be equally effective. Further 
 examples of what can be done with the cyclo- 
 rama will be cited in the chapter on " Lighting." 
 
 Another of the recent innovations which is of 
 particular value to amateurs is the system by 
 which the proscenium opening can be made 
 large or small, according to the demands of 
 the play. Usually the proscenium looks like 
 the following diagram. 
 
 Suppose one scene of a play calls for a large 
 courtroom filled with people. Obviously, all 
 the stage space is required. But suppose that 
 
82 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 Proscenium arch 
 
 Ocapety 
 
 Stage opening 
 
 the next scene is a small antechamber. On 
 the average stage the discrepancy is at once 
 observed, and the effect is more than likely 
 ridiculous. Even if the sets used are " box 
 sets " (that is, with three walls and not mere 
 conventional screens or curtains), the effect 
 of great size can easily be obtained in the first 
 scene, and smallness in the second, by means 
 of the device about to be described. This 
 applies, of course, to plays where the same 
 set must be used for both scenes. If, however, 
 a different set is used for the antechamber 
 scene, the new device is imperative. 
 
THE STAGE 83 
 
 First, construct two tall screens (on a wooden 
 framework), made either of painted canvas or 
 draped cloth, of some dark and subdued tone, 
 and place them on each side of the stage, just 
 behind the proscenium arch, as in the dia- 
 gram : 
 
 Screen Screen 
 
 These screens can be easily set closer to 
 the center of the stage, thereby diminishing 
 its size on the sides. Then the " grand dra- 
 pery" above, which hangs down from behind 
 the top of the proscenium arch, and which 
 should be of the same color and material as the 
 side screens, is lowered. This process makes, 
 from the inside, a smaller proscenium arch. 
 Many of the German and some other stages 
 
84 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 have added a fourth side to this frame, by 
 " boxing " the footlights : 
 
 Lowered drapery 
 
 Boxed "foots" 
 
 This last, besides giving the effect of a de- 
 tached picture to the set, prevents the direct 
 rays of the footlights, when they are used, from 
 shining up into the gallery. 
 
 To return to the smaller scene made by the 
 inner proscenium arch, it will readily be seen 
 that the cyclorama if there is one or back 
 wall of the set, or else the curtain, must usually 
 be brought forward a little. The advantage of 
 the inner proscenium becomes apparent when 
 
THE STAGE 85 
 
 such a play as " The Merchant of Venice " is 
 performed, and the absurdity of using a stage 
 of the same size for the Portia-Nerissa scene 
 in the first act and the casket scene, is forcibly 
 brought to our attention. 
 
 The Revolving Stage and The Wagon Stage. 
 These are fully described in the books which have 
 been referred to. They are both extremely val- 
 uable, but as yet too complicated and expensive 
 to be seriously considered for amateurs. 
 
 The introduction of simpler scenery and 
 simpler lighting does away with much that 
 was difficult to manage under the old system, 
 and a few well-trained amateurs should be 
 able to set and attend to almost any produc- 
 tion without having recourse to the revolving 
 stage and the " wagons." 
 
 As much space as possible should be kept 
 clear behind the curtain; occasions are likely 
 to arise when the entire stage may be used, 
 and manipulation of scenery on a full stage 
 is a difficult task. 
 
 A few suggestions as to lighting and its rela- 
 tion to scenery and color and action will be 
 set forth in the next chapter. 
 
CHAPTER Vin 
 LIGHTING 
 
 IT has been rightly urged that recent in- 
 ventions and discoveries in lighting constitute 
 the greatest contribution to the modern art of 
 the theater. This manual is intended primarily 
 to help the producer and the actor, but the 
 present short chapter may assist the former 
 or his associates in their effort to improve the 
 physical conditions of the stage. 
 
 The prevalent system of using footlights and 
 border lights is on the whole bad, because it is 
 false, unnatural, and above all unnecessary. 
 Says Moderwell (pages 107-108, in "The 
 Theatre of To-day ") : 
 
 " Before we can begin work in artistic light- 
 ing we must do some destroying. One element 
 in the old lighting must go, and go completely. 
 We can say this with careless ease now that 
 the Fortuny system has given us a better 
 
LIGHTING 
 
 87 
 
 way. But even before this invention was 
 made known, the case against the footlights 
 must have been obvious to any sensitive man 
 of the theatre ; that the * foots * continued as 
 
 From "The Architectural Review." 
 OPERATION OF THE FOETUNY INDIRECT LIGHTING SYSTEM. 
 
 long as they did indicates the stagnation of 
 the old theatre in all but purely literary art. 
 " The footlights, with their corresponding 
 border lights from above, give a flat illumina- 
 tion. They make figures visible, but not 
 
88 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 living ; they destroy that most precious quality 
 of the sculptor, relief. ... It is the shadows, 
 the nooks and crannies of light and shade, that 
 show a figure to be solid and plastic." 
 
 The Fortuny system mentioned is a device by 
 which light is reflected and diffused : " An 
 arc-lamp and several pieces of cloth of various 
 colours these comprise the Fortuny appara- 
 tus in its simplest form." While only an 
 expert electrician and, if the effects are to 
 be artistic, an artist, can erect and manipulate 
 a system built on Fortuny's principles, still 
 amateur electricians and directors should do 
 their best, by means of experimentation, to 
 use indirect lighting. 
 
 Just how this can be done must rest with 
 individuals, but two or three experiments may 
 be briefly described. 
 
 Suppose that the cyclorama, or the hangings 
 masking the back of the stage, are made of 
 white or light-colored cloth. In this case, 
 an arc lamp or ordinary calcium light can 
 be placed up in the loft, above the top of 
 the cyclorama, and behind it. A little experi- 
 menting will reveal many striking light effects. 
 If one light or lamp is not sufficient, others 
 can be placed in various positions to reenforce 
 
LIGHTING 89 
 
 it. As conditions vary so greatly, it is im- 
 possible to supply more concise directions. 
 
 Where box sets are used in which there is at 
 least one window, and provided the scene does 
 not take place at night, it is much better to 
 have all, or at least an appreciable portion of 
 the light come in through one window. In 
 the second act of Charles Klein's " The Music 
 Master " played by David Warfield and pro- 
 duced by David Belasco, the stage was at one 
 time brilliantly lighted, supposedly by sun- 
 shine from the outside, from the two opposite 
 sides of the stage! If, however, screens and 
 curtains are used (see chapter on " Scenery and 
 Costumes "), then it is best to introduce some 
 sort of central reflected light. To station 
 lights on all sides of the stage will first of all 
 make the stage too bright, and furthermore 
 produce unnatural and distorted shadows : 
 there is no chance for effects of relief or any 
 illusion of plasticity. If possible, the foot- 
 lights should be entirely eliminated; if not, 
 then most sparingly used. Our stages are for 
 the most part overlighted. 
 
 The production of Lady Gregory's " The 
 Rising of the Moon " by the Irish Players 
 was one of the simplest and at the same time 
 
90 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 most effective of stage pictures. The follow- 
 ing diagram will show in a rough way the 
 general disposition of the settings : 
 
 Parapet 
 
 Curtain 
 
 The back of the stage (the shaded area) was 
 flooded with white light to suggest moonlight. 
 There were no " foots " or " borders " ; any- 
 thing besides the single light would have 
 ruined the effect of perfect placidity. 
 
SCENES FROM EURIPIDES' "ELECTRA". PRODUCED 
 AT ILLINOIS STATE COLLEGE. 
 
 (Courtesy of Rollin H. Tanner). 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 SCENERY AND COSTUMES 
 
 VERY little need be said regarding the usual 
 conventional sets, whether they represent in- 
 teriors or exteriors. The purpose of this 
 chapter is (1) to suggest simple but effective 
 means of staging without using the conventional 
 sets, and (2) to lay down a few principles as to 
 costuming. 
 
 By means of the simple devices about to be 
 described, the amateur is enabled to do with- 
 out " box sets " and all the paraphernalia of 
 the old stage. The tendency nowadays is 
 away from naturalism in setting; the aim is 
 rather to supply simple but beautiful back- 
 grounds with as little obvious effort as possible ; 
 to suggest rather than to represent. When 
 the word " conventional " is used it is in- 
 tended to convey the meaning not of " old " 
 and " hackneyed ", but of " simple ", " sug- 
 91 
 
92 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 gestive." Beardsley's drawings are conven- 
 tional because attitudes and lines are conven- 
 tionalized. 
 
 In the main, there are three sorts of setting 
 which may be used for practically all kinds of 
 plays. They have been successfully tried out 
 on numerous occasions, and few plays have 
 been found which cannot fit at least one of 
 them. 
 
 1. The first and simplest of them all con- 
 sists of draperies and tall screens. The Greek 
 classics and Shakespeare are particularly effec- 
 tive with this sort of background. Where 
 Greek plays are given, a peristyle of wooden 
 pillars up-stage, behind which may be hung 
 white or tinted curtains, is especially desirable. 
 Any Greek, and most Latin plays, can be 
 produced with this setting. Often such plays 
 are given in the open. If the performance 
 takes place in the daylight, there is no difficulty 
 as to artificial lighting; but if it is at night, 
 then a flood-light must cover the stage. This 
 is placed toward the back, or else behind the 
 audience. 
 
 Shakespeare is seen at his best with the 
 simple background. A sort of cyclorama 
 may be constructed by using curtains hung 
 
SCENERY AND COSTUMES 93 
 
 at the back of the stage, upon which is 
 thrown light from one place: behind the 
 proscenium arch, from above, or from one of 
 the sides. Suppose that " The Comedy of 
 Errors " is the play to be performed. The 
 first scene of the first act is " A hall in the 
 Duke's palace. 9 ' This, of course, should be 
 printed on the program, but on the stage all 
 that is needed is a suggestion or two, like a 
 gilded chair, and a painted white bench or 
 two. These are not needed in the action, 
 but they serve to create an atmosphere. The 
 second scene is " A public place." Absolutely 
 no " props " or furniture are needed ; indeed, 
 their very absence indicates the "place." 
 The first scene of the second act is the same. 
 The curtains around the stage must be made 
 in sections, in order to allow the actors to 
 enter and exit through them. The lines are 
 always sufficient to indicate where a person 
 is coming from or going to. In the first scene 
 of the third act, Dromio of Syracuse says : 
 
 DRO. s. (within). Mome, malt-horse, capon, 
 
 coxcomb, idiot, patch ! 
 Either get thee from the door, or sit down at 
 
 the hatch: 
 
94 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 Dost thou conjure for wenches, that thou call'st 
 
 for such store, 
 When one is one too many ? Go, get thee from 
 
 the door. 
 
 A house is evidently intended to be repre- 
 sented, but it is not necessary that we see it: 
 Dromio of Syracuse can speak from behind 
 the curtain. The convention will readily be 
 accepted. Nor is it necessary to differentiate 
 the various " public places ", except for the 
 sake of variety: perhaps a bench or two now 
 and then will accomplish this purpose. And 
 when, in the first scene of the fifth act, the 
 public place is " before an abbey ", still there 
 is no need of any definite set pieces. From 
 time to time, doubtless some special article 
 of furniture or set piece of some kind will be 
 mentioned in the text, not elsewhere, in which 
 case it can easily be supplied. 
 
 This " Shakespeare-without-scenery " is not 
 the only method by which Shakespeare can 
 be performed, but it is the easiest and, if done 
 with taste, the most effective. 
 
 Let us now take rather a more difficult play, 
 " Twelfth Night." The first scene of the first 
 act is " An apartment in the Duke's palace." 
 
SCENERY AND COSTUMES 95 
 
 The Duke sits on a sort of throne or sofa. 
 In Max Reinhardt's production of this play 
 at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, the set 
 consisted simply of a semicircular lounge 
 extending all the way across the stage. 
 It was covered with dark blue plush; the 
 hangings were of the same color. A warm 
 yellow light directed from above flooded the 
 stage. 
 
 Either a throne or sofa for the Duke, then, 
 and a few other chairs for the remaining 
 characters, who sit down the musicians 
 stand or else, following Reinhardt, a semi- 
 circular lounge. This is all. The second scene 
 is " The seacoast." The stage is bare here. 
 The third scene is " A room in Olivia's house." 
 Different chairs or sofas and a throne for 
 Olivia. The following scene is the same as 
 scene one. The first scene of the second 
 act is the seacoast once more. The next is 
 "A street." No furniture. The third scene 
 is " A room in Olivia's house " ; evidently not 
 the same as that in which Olivia first ap- 
 peared. The room is probably in or near 
 the wine cellar. A table, therefore, and three 
 or four chairs, will not be amiss. Tne next 
 is the same as in act one, scene one. The 
 
96 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 fifth scene of the second act is " Olivia's gar- 
 den." Here the stage business requires a few 
 definitely placed shrubs and a bench or two. 
 The best arrangement of this scene is suggested 
 in the diagram : 
 
 
 Sack- drop or cy dor am 3 
 
 
 . 
 
 O o 
 
 _ 
 
 
 O m o 
 
 
 I 
 
 Of fo 
 O* ">o 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 Curtain 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 Malvolio comes down-stage Center, while 
 the others are hiding behind one of the benches, 
 either Left or Right. These benches, as in- 
 dicated in the diagram, are partially concealed 
 by shrubs. Bay trees, planted in green-painted 
 tubs, make especially good decorations. They 
 can be used on many occasions, as will be 
 shown later. Nor, in the case of the scene 
 from " Twelfth Night ", are they so high as to 
 conceal the actors who are supposed to be 
 hidden behind them. The following scene is 
 
SCENERY AND COSTUMES 97 
 
 the same. The second scene of the third 
 act is the cellar room again. Following this 
 is " A street " ; then " Olivia's garden " once 
 more. The next new scene is the first of the 
 fourth act : " A street before Olivia's garden." 
 Perhaps a little variety can be introduced in 
 the shape of a shrub or two. The remaining 
 scenes are repetitions of those already con- 
 sidered. 
 
 The suggestions above given are extremely 
 summary, but, if acted upon, will be seen to 
 prove sufficient. 
 
 2. Out-of-door scenes of a more elaborate 
 character, in plays like Rostand's " The Ro- 
 mancers ", often require more complicated 
 sets; they may still be produced with the 
 most elementary sort of background, how- 
 ever. The stage directions of this play are 
 as follows: 
 
 SCENE: The stage is divided by an old wall, 
 covered with vines and flowers. At the right, a 
 corner of BERGAMIN'S park is seen; at the left, 
 a corner of PASQUINOT'S. On each side of the 
 wall, and against it, is a rustic bench. 
 
 This is set in the following manner : 
 
98 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 Cydocama 
 
 O 
 
 Curtain-line 
 
 The background hangings may be of tan 
 burlap or else dark green. Gaps, covered by 
 the folds, must be made up- and down-stage 
 to allow the actors to enter and leave the 
 stage. The wall must be constructed of solid 
 wood, in order to support the actors, and 
 painted to suggest bricks. There is a rustic 
 bench against each side of the wall. Though 
 they are not mentioned in these preliminary 
 directions, there are other rustic benches, 
 down-stage to the extreme right and left. 
 These are used later in the act. 
 
 In the second act, " the wall has disappeared. 
 The benches which were formerly against it, 
 are removed to the extreme right and left. [The 
 extra benches mentioned in the first act have 
 
SCENERY AND COSTUMES 
 
 99 
 
 of course been removed.] There are a few 
 extra pots of flowers and two or three plaster 
 statues. To the right is a small garden table, 
 with chairs about it." This scene is set as 
 follows : 
 
 The third act stage directions are : "The scene 
 is the same except that the wall is being rebuilt. 
 Bricks and sacks of plaster lie about." A few bricks 
 may serve to indicate the partly finished wall. 
 
 Since the scene of this play is laid at first 
 in parks, there ought to be some suggestion 
 as to this fact. Here bay- or box-trees can 
 be used. Perhaps three or four should be 
 arranged more or less symmetrically at the 
 back of the stage, and as many to the right 
 and left, down-stage. One or two can ,be 
 added, close to the wall. This is all that is 
 absolutely necessary. 
 
100 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 The foregoing remarks have been applied 
 largely to romantic plays, but what is to be 
 done in modern realistic pieces? There are 
 two courses open, besides the conventional 
 one (using box sets) : 
 
 The first method is to use the regular hang- 
 ings as before and set a few needful articles of 
 furniture about the stage. This is not realistic, 
 but there are many realistic plays which can 
 be produced without correspondingly realistic 
 settings. Of course, where windows are re- 
 ferred to and used, there must be real windows, 
 and where a character is directed to hang a 
 picture on a wall, there must be a wall. How- 
 ever, there are many realistic plays where 
 box sets are not required. Hermann Suder- 
 mann's " The Far-away Princess " is a case 
 in question. The author has definitely sug- 
 gested a certain setting for the play, but as 
 his suggestions are not absolutely essential 
 they may be modified. The directions are : 
 
 " The veranda of an inn. The right side of the 
 stage and half of the background represent a 
 framework of glass enclosing the veranda. The 
 left side and the other half of the background 
 represent the stone walls of the house. To the 
 
SCENERY AND COSTUMES 
 
 101 
 
 lefty in the foreground, a door; another door in 
 the background, at the left. On the left, back, 
 a buffet and serving table. Neat little tables 
 and small iron chairs for visitors are placed 
 about the veranda. On the right, in the centre, 
 a large telescope, standing on a tripod, is directed 
 through an open window. ROSA, dressed in the 
 costume of the country, is arranging flowers on 
 the small tables. FRAU LINDEMANN, a hand- 
 some, stoutish woman in the thirties, hurries in 
 excitedly from the left." 
 
 If the dramatist's stage directions are im- 
 plicitly followed, a realistic set will be required. 
 The scene as set according to the diagram, has, 
 however, often been used : , 
 
 Gap for entrance 
 
 Shrubs 
 
 Curtain 
 
 Once more, the little shrubs may be used in 
 order to give an atmosphere of outdoors. 
 
102 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 Or, to take an example of a " modern- 
 interior " play in which the same conven- 
 tionalized scenery may be used to advantage 
 Alfred Capus' " Brignol and his Daughter " 
 (published by French) is set as follows : 
 
 SCENE : An office., fitted up with various arti- 
 cles of parlor furniture rather pretentious in ap- 
 pearance. To the right, a table with letter-files, and 
 a safe; beside the safe, a bookshelf. At the back 
 is the main entrance; there are other doors, right 
 and left, one opening upon a bed-room,- the other 
 upon the parlor. 
 
 Here the setting is so usual, so conventional, 
 that no actual room is required: merely the 
 table, chairs, safe, etc., as called for. Of 
 course, it is not imperative that such plays 
 should be set in this manner: the arrange- 
 ment with screens about to be described is 
 usually the best way. The point here to be 
 impressed is that realistic sets are not always 
 required for realistic plays. 
 
 3. By the introduction of screens not to 
 be confused with the large screens mentioned 
 by Gordon Craig, however practically any 
 realistic play can be produced. The diagram 
 
SCENERY AND COSTUMES 
 
 103 
 
 below will afford some idea of the very simple 
 principle : 
 
 Three screens, about seven feet high, made 
 in three sections, and covered with burlap or 
 some similar material, are all that will usually 
 be required on a moderately small stage. 
 These can be set in various ways. If an 
 ordinary room is called for, they may be set 
 as in the above diagram. 
 
 " Brignol and his Daughter " may be staged 
 by using three screens (as in the diagram 
 above) : the opening at the back is the 
 center door; the doors on the right and left 
 are the openings left between the lower ends 
 of the side screens and the inside of the pro- 
 scenium arch. The furniture is set in this 
 scene as it is required in the stage directions. 
 If the proscenium opening is too large, then 
 
104 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 the grand drapery can be lowered to within 
 two or three feet of the top of the screens, and 
 the side screens, behind the sides of the pro- 
 scenium arch, brought closer together. Behind 
 the screens representing the room, burlap or 
 a suitable substitute may be hung. To take 
 concrete examples once more, the setting of 
 the first act of "A Scrap of Paper" (the 
 adaptation by J. Palgrave Simpson) is thus 
 described in the text : 
 
 Drawing-room in a French country house. 
 Windows to the floor, R.C. [Right Center] and 
 L.C. [Left Center], at back, looking out on 
 gardens and park. The window L.C. is at first 
 closed in with barred Venetian shutters. The 
 window R.C. opens on the garden. Fireplace, 
 C. [Center] between the windows, surmounted 
 by a mirror. On each side of the mirror is a 
 bracket, within reach of the hand; the one R. 
 supporting a statuette of FLORA, the other, L., 
 empty. Doors, R. 2 E [See diagram] and L. 
 2 E. Sofas R. and L. up-stage. At C. of 
 stage is a round table, with a lamp, and an em- 
 broidery frame, a book and other objects scattered 
 upon it in great disorder. Chairs R. and L. 
 of table. Arm chairs R.C. and L.C., down- 
 
SCENERY AND COSTUMES 105 
 
 stage. The furniture is to be rich but old- 
 fashioned, and a little worn. Carpet down. 
 
 Five screens are here required: one at the 
 back, behind the fireplace; and two on each 
 side of the stage. Only two of the three fold- 
 ing sections of each are used. 
 
 fladodcop or curtain 
 
 Curtain 
 
 The fireplace must be " practical " that 
 is, it must have a wooden framework. In 
 case a mirror is desired, it can be lower than a 
 mirror usually is, and made of mosquito netting, 
 to avoid reflections. A very few pictures may 
 be hung on the screens. The hangings at the 
 back of the stage masking the bare walls 
 are of the same sort as have been described 
 before, but the color of the screens must har- 
 monize with them. 
 
 With such a background, and by means of 
 
106 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 screens, shrubs, and a few necessary set pieces, 
 like the wall in the Rostand play, the author 
 has seen a dozen widely different plays pro- 
 duced by amateurs, in not one of which was 
 the slightest noticeable discrepancy or anything 
 that would shock even the theatergoer who is 
 accustomed to the elaborate and often un- 
 necessary settings of David Belasco. 
 
 As may be easily imagined, the possibilities 
 of variation upon these simple settings are 
 infinite. Experimentation, as always, will re- 
 veal new fields. 
 
 Before closing the chapter, a word may be 
 said of the flat background near the curtain 
 line. About four or five feet behind the curtain 
 line i.e. the place where the curtain falls to 
 the stage hang a drop, either of burlap, or 
 else a white drop like that used in stereopticon 
 lectures. This, either played upon by lights 
 in " the house ", or from behind the stage, 
 forms a striking background for scenes of 
 pantomime, a street as in " Twelfth Night " 
 a wall, a forest, almost anything. Such a 
 screen was most effectively used in one scene 
 of Reinhardt's production of " Sumurtin." A 
 still more striking effect was achieved in a per- 
 
Two VIEWS OF THE STAGE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 NORTH DAKOTA. 
 
 (Courtesy of Frederick H. Koch). 
 
SCENERY AND COSTUMES 107 
 
 formance of " Peer Gynt " at the Lessing 
 Theater in Berlin. The scene was the one in 
 which Peer Gynt is before the pyramid in 
 Egypt. About five feet behind the curtain line 
 a white screen was dropped. Diagonally across 
 this screen was thrown a dark purple light, 
 while over the remaining space a saffron yellow 
 played. That was all, but the suggestion of 
 the vast shadow of the pyramid and the yellow 
 sunlight and the yellow sands of Egypt was 
 far more impressive than any representation 
 of the pyramid and desert could be. 
 
 In case the effect of a distant city is desired, 
 then another (darker and thicker) cloth, cut to 
 represent the outlines of buildings and the 
 like, can be sewed against the drop, thus produc- 
 ing the effect of a silhouette. 
 
 In fine, the whole problem of staging resolves 
 itself into this : achieve your effects in as 
 simple a way as possible; suggest, do not try 
 to represent; scenery, which ought indeed to 
 be a delight to the eye, is after all only back- 
 ground. Experiment, but never hesitate to 
 ask the advice of those who know the basic 
 principles of color, line, and form, as well as 
 those who have technical knowledge of every 
 branch of the art and craft of the theater. 
 
108 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 Costumes. In his introductory remarks to 
 " The Romancers ", Rostand says that the 
 action may take place anywhere, " provided 
 the costumes are pretty." This is the basis 
 of the few brief remarks to be made here on 
 the subject of costumes. It must not be con- 
 cluded, however, that any costumes may be 
 used on any occasion. A modern play must 
 have modern costumes except in such plays 
 as "The Blue Bird" and " Chantecler " 
 and a " period play " must at least approxi- 
 mate in spirit the age in which the action 
 transpires. But it makes little difference 
 whether Hamlet wears a tenth or eleventh 
 century Danish costume, or one of the age of 
 Elizabeth. It is a well-known fact that in 
 Shakespeare's days there was little or no 
 regard for historical accuracy in costumes, 
 and that even in the historical plays the actors 
 wore contemporary clothes. The point to be 
 impressed is not that we should play " Julius 
 Csesar " in dress clothes, but that such dis- 
 crepancies as were allowed in Elizabethan days 
 could not have made very much difference, 
 and that nowadays it is not worth while to 
 spend too much time over details. In Greek 
 plays it is well to use Greek costumes, because 
 
SCENERY AND COSTUMES 109 
 
 we have long been accustomed to associate 
 some sort of archeological detail with plays 
 of a certain age ; and besides, Greek costumes 
 are beautiful. But, and this is of great im- 
 portance, do not strive to be historically exact : 
 so long as costumes are beautiful and har- 
 monize with the setting, and so long as they 
 are not absurd or too much out of harmony 
 with the play, they are good. There are 
 numerous exceptions. Where a play definitely 
 calls for a distinct atmospheric setting like 
 Bennett and Knoblauch's " Milestones " 
 then the utmost effort must be made to obtain 
 correct costumes and setting. But the reason 
 why the first act of this play requires historical 
 accuracy is that the audience knows very well 
 what mid-Victorian clothes are like. If the 
 play were given in the year 2500 A.D., it is 
 safe to say that Elizabethan or Queen Anne 
 costumes might do just as well. 
 
 However, historical accuracy, when it can 
 be obtained as easily as not, is never superfluous. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 THE following lists, which do not pretend to 
 completeness, will at least be found helpful in 
 assisting amateur organizations to choose 
 " worth-while " plays. The general headings 
 " Classic ", etc., are clear, but the following 
 explanations must be made regarding the other 
 markings : 
 
 An asterisk (*) indicates that the play is in 
 one act. Those not so marked are in more 
 than one act, and are in most cases " full 
 length." 
 
 The letter " s " denotes serious or tragic 
 plays, intended in nearly every case for ad- 
 vanced amateurs. 
 
 The letter " R " denotes plays of a romantic 
 and poetic nature. 
 
 The letter " c " denotes comedies, farces, 
 and plays in lighter vein, 
 no 
 
SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS 111 
 
 The letter " F " in parenthesis after the title 
 indicates that a fee is charged for production 
 by amateurs. The publisher or agent (see foot- 
 notes), must be consulted for particulars. 
 
 The letter " D " denotes modern dialect 
 plays, like those of Lady Gregory. Most of 
 these plays are included under the general 
 heading of " Classic " because the costumes 
 and setting, though they may be modern, 
 are not the familiar modern costumes and 
 settings. 
 
 All plays not included in the first division 
 " Classics, including modern costume and his- 
 torical plays," are to be found in the second 
 division : " Modern plays." 
 
 It is nearly always unwise for an amateur 
 organization to take a play on faith; it is 
 therefore advisable for it to collect a library 
 of amateur plays, from which successive genera- 
 tions of members can at least form some judg- 
 ment of the field from which they are to select 
 their plays. 
 
 This list makes no pretence to complete- 
 ness. It has been the writer's purpose merely 
 to mention a number of classic and standard 
 plays which amateurs can produce without 
 too great difficulty. 
 
HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 CLASSICS, INCLUDING MODERN COSTUME AND HIS- 
 TORICAL PLAYS 
 
 Greek 
 
 RS Euripides, Alcestis (Samuel French ; Walter 
 
 H. Baker) 
 RS Sophocles, Antigone (Samuel French ; E. P. 
 
 Dutton, in Everyman's Library) 
 RC Aristophanes, The Clouds (Macmillan ; 
 
 " The Drama ", Victorian edition) 
 c Lysistrata (Samuel French. Another 
 
 version, by Laurence Housman, pub- 
 lished by The Woman's Press, London) 
 Latin 
 
 c Plautus, The Twins (Samuel French) 
 c Terence, Phormio (Samuel French) 
 Spanish 
 
 RC Lope de Vega, The Dog in the Manger 
 
 (" The Drama ", Victorian edition) 
 RC Calderon, Keep Your Own Secret (Mac- 
 millan) 
 RC Benavente, The Bonds of Interest (in " The 
 
 Drama ", No. 20) 
 Italian 
 
 RC Goldoni, The Fan (Yale Dramatic Associa- 
 tion) 
 
 RC The Beneficent Bear (Samuel French) 
 
 RC A Curious Mishap (McClurg) 
 
 RCD The Squabbles of Chioggia (" The 
 
 Drama ", August, 1914) 
 R* Giacosa, The Wager (Samuel French) 
 
SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS 113 
 
 French 
 
 c Brueys (adaptor of 15th century anony- 
 mous), Master Patelin, Solicitor (Samuel 
 French) 
 
 c Moliere, The Merchant Gentleman [Le 
 Bourgeois Gentilhomme] (Samuel French ; 
 Little, Brown ; Bohn Library, etc.) 
 
 c* The Affected Young Ladies [Les Pre- 
 
 cieuses ridicules] 
 
 c The Sicilian 
 
 c* Doctor Love [L' Amour Medecin] 
 
 c* The Doctor in Spite of Himself [Le 
 
 Medecin malgre lui] 
 
 c The Imaginary Invalid [Le Malade 
 
 imaginaire] (Samuel French ; Little, 
 Brown ; Bohn Library ; Putnam, etc., 
 publish the above five titles) 
 
 c* Dancourt, Woman's Craze for Titles (in 
 " The Drama " ; Historical Publishing 
 Company, 1903, vol. viii.) 
 
 c* Le Sage, Crispin, His Master's Rival 
 
 (Samuel French) 
 
 CR* Marivaux, The Legacy (Samuel French) 
 CB De Musset, Fantasio (Dramatic Publishing 
 
 Company) 
 CR* The Green Coat (Samuel French) 
 
 c Augier, M. Poirier 9 s Son-in-law [Le Gendre 
 de M. Poirier] (in " Four Plays by Emile 
 Augier ", published by Alfred A. Knopf, 
 
114 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 and in " Chief European Dramatists ", 
 published by Houghton Mifflin) 
 CR* Banville, Gringoire (Dramatic Publishing 
 
 Company ; Samuel French) 
 CR* Charming Leandre (Samuel French) 
 
 c Sardou, A Scrap of Paper [Les Pattes de 
 
 mouche] (Samuel French) 
 CR The Black Pearl (Samuel French) 
 
 CR* Feuillet, The Fairy (Samuel French) 
 CR* Rivoire, The Little Shepherdess (Samuel 
 
 French) 
 CR Rostand, The Romancers (Samuel French ; 
 
 Walter H. Baker ; Heinemann) 
 c* France, The Man Who Married a Dumb 
 
 Wife (Lane) (F) 
 
 c* Picard, The Rebound (Samuel French) 
 CR Zamacoi's, The Jesters (Brentano) (F) 
 SR* Bouchor, A Christmas Tale (Samuel French) 
 CR* Coppee, The Violin-Maker of Cremona 
 
 (Samuel French) 
 
 SR* Pater Noster (Samuel French) 
 
 SR* Theuriet, Jean-Marie (Samuel French) 
 Danish 
 
 c Holberg, The Loquacious Barber ("The 
 
 Drama ", Victorian edition) 
 c Captain Bombastes Thunderton (in 
 
 " Three Comedies by Ludvig Holberg ", 
 published by Longmans) (Requires 
 cutting) 
 
SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS 115 
 
 CR Hertz, King Renews Daughter (Samuel 
 
 French) 
 German 
 
 CR Lessing, Minna Von Barnhelm (in Bohn 
 
 Library, Macmillan) 
 c The Scholar (in Bohn Library) 
 
 c Schiller, Nephew or Uncle (Walter H. Baker) 
 English 
 
 s Anonymous, Everyman (Everyman's 
 
 Library ; Dutton) 
 
 R Lyly, Alexander and Campaspe (Scribner, 
 and in Everyman's Library) (Requires 
 cutting) 
 R Greene, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay 
 
 (Dutton) (Requires cutting) 
 CR Beaumont and Fletcher, The Knight of the 
 Burning Pestle (Scribner ; Everyman's 
 Library ; etc.) (Requires cutting) 
 CR Dekker, Old Fortunatus (Scribner) (Re- 
 quires cutting) 
 CR The Shoemaker's Holiday (Scribner ; 
 
 Dutton) (Requires cutting) 
 CR Heywood The Fair Maid of the West 
 
 (Scribner) (Requires cutting) 
 SR Jonson, The Sad Shepherd (Dutton) (Re- 
 quires cutting) 
 
 CR The Case is Altered (in any com- 
 
 plete set of Ben Jonson) (Requires 
 cutting) 
 
116 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 Shakespeare (no plays need be mentioned. 
 The " Ben Greet Shakespeare for Ama- 
 teurs " contains good directions for stag- 
 ing and acting) 
 c Udall, Ralph Roister Doister (Macmillan ; 
 
 Dent) (Requires cutting) 
 CB Goldsmith, The Good-natured Man (in any 
 
 edition of Goldsmith's plays) 
 CR She Stoops to Conquer (in any edition of 
 
 Goldsmith's plays) 
 CB Sheridan, The Rivals (in any edition of 
 
 Sheridan's plays) 
 c The School for Scandal (in any edition 
 
 of Sheridan's plays) 
 C The Critic (in any edition of Sheridan's 
 
 plays) 
 CB Pinero, Trelawney of the ' Wells ' (Dramatic 
 
 Publishing Company) (F) l 
 CB Housman, A Chinese Lantern (Dramatic 
 
 Publishing Company) (F) 
 CR* Bird in Hand (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 SRD* A Likely Story (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 CR* As Good as Gold (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 SRD* The Snow Man (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 SR* Nazareth (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 SR* The Lord of the Harvest (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 
 
 1 Apply to Sanger & Jordan, 1432 Broadway, New York, for 
 acting rights. 
 
SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS 117 
 
 SB* The Return of Alcestis (Samuel French) 
 
 (F) 
 CB (and Barker), Prunella (Little, Brown) 
 
 (F) 
 
 CB Shaw, The Devil's Disciple (Brentano) (F) * 
 CB Parker, Pomander Walk (Samuel French) (F) 
 CB* Barrie, Pantaloon (Scribner) (F) 1 
 CB Bennett and Knoblauch, Milestones (Doran) 
 
 (F) 
 
 CB Noyes, Sherwood (Stokes) (F) 
 CB Tennyson, The Princess (in any complete 
 
 edition of Tennyson) 
 CB The Foresters (in any complete edition 
 
 of Tennyson) 
 SB* The Falcon (in any complete edition of 
 
 Tennyson) 
 B* Lord Dunsany, The Gods of the Mountain 
 
 (Little, Brown) (F) 
 
 CB* The Lost Silk Hat (Little, Brown) (F) 
 
 CBD* The Glittering Gate (Little, Brown) (F) 
 
 B King Argimenes and the Unknown 
 
 Warrior (Little, Brown) (F) 
 BS* Yeats, The Land of Heart's Desire (Mac- 
 
 millan ; Samuel French) 
 CD* The Pot of Broth (Macmillan) (F) 2 
 
 BS* Deirdre (Macmillan) (F) 2 
 BS* The King's Threshold (Macmillan) (F) 2 
 
 1 Apply to American Play Company, 33 West 42nd St., New York. 
 
 2 Apply to Samuel French, 28 West 38th St., New York. 
 
118 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 CRD* Lady Gregory, The Rising of the Moon 
 
 (Putnam) (F) l 
 
 CD* The Workhouse Ward (Putnam) (F) l 
 
 SRD* The Travelling Man (Putnam) (F) 1 
 
 CD* Spreading the News (Putnam) (F) 1 
 
 CD* The Jackdaw (Putnam) (F) l 
 
 CD* Hyacinth Halvey (Putnam) (F) 1 
 
 so* Hyde, The Lost Saint (Scribner) 
 so* The Twisting of the Rope (Poet Lore) 
 
 CD* Mayne, The Turn of the Road (Luce) (F) 
 CD The Drone (Luce) (F) 
 
 so* Synge, The Shadow of the Glen (Luce) (F) * 
 CD Boyle, The Building Fund (Gill, Dublin) (F) 
 RC* Downs, The Maker of Dreams (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 1 
 Sanskrit 
 
 SR Kalidasa, Sakountala (Walter Scott, Lon- 
 don ; and Everyman's Library) 
 Bengali 
 
 RS Tagore, The Post-Office (Macmillan) (F) l 
 
 MODERN PLAYS (NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CEN- 
 TURIES, IN WHICH THE COSTUMES AND SETTINGS 
 ARE MODERN) 
 
 Italian 
 
 s Giacosa, As the Leaves (in " The Drama ", 
 No. 1, and by Little, Brown) 
 
 1 Apply to Samuel French, 28 West 38th St., New York. 
 
SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS 119 
 
 s The Stronger (in " The Drama ", May, 
 
 1913, and by Little, Brown) 
 French 
 
 c* Augier, The Post-Script (Samuel French, and 
 
 in " Four Plays by Emile Augier ", 
 
 Alfred A. Knopf) 
 sc The House of Fourchambault (Samuel 
 
 French, and in " Four Plays by Emile 
 
 Augier ", Alfred A. Knopf) 
 s Dumas fils, The Money Question (Poet 
 
 Lore, 1915) 
 
 CR* Meilhac and Halevy, Indian Summer (Sam- 
 uel French) 
 
 CR* Panurge's Sheep (Samuel French) 
 
 CR* Feuillet, The Village (Samuel French) 
 c* Labiche, The Two Cowards (Samuel French) 
 c* Grammar (Samuel French) 
 c Pailleron, The Art of Being Bored (Samuel 
 
 French) 
 c* Bernard, French Without a Master (Samuel 
 
 French) 
 
 c* I'm Going ! (Samuel French) 
 c* Donnay, They I (In "Lovers, The Free 
 
 Woman, and They ! " (Little, Brown) 
 s France, Crainquebille (Samuel French) 
 c* Maurey, Rosalie (Samuel French) 
 c* Hervieu, Modesty (Samuel French) 
 s Capus, The Adventurer (" The Drama ", 
 
 November, 1914) 
 
120 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 c Brignol and his Daughter (Samuel 
 
 French) 
 c* Caillavet, Choosing a Career (Samuel 
 
 French) 
 German 
 
 so Freytag, The Journalists (" The Drama ", 
 
 February, 1913) 
 
 BC* Sudermann, The Far-Away Princess (in 
 " Roses ", Scribner, and separately, by 
 Samuel French) (F) 
 
 s* Fritzchen (in " Morituri ", Scribner) 
 c* Benedix, The Law-Suit (Samuel French) 
 c* The Third Man (Samuel French) 
 
 c* Gyalui, After the Honeymoon (Samuel 
 
 French) 
 Scandinavian 
 
 s* Strindberg, The Stronger (Scribner) (F) 
 SR Lucky Pehr (Stewart and Kidd) (F) 
 
 sc Bjornson, The Newly-Married Couple 
 
 (Everyman's Library ; Button) 
 c Love and Geography (Scribner) 
 
 s Ibsen, An Enemy of the People (Scribner) 
 Russian 
 
 c* Tchekoff , The Boor (Samuel French ; Scrib- 
 ner) 
 c* A Marriage Proposal (Samuel French ; 
 
 Scribner) 
 
 c* The Tragedian in Spite of Himself 
 
 (Scribner) 
 
SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 c* Andreyev, The Dear Departing (Henderson, 
 
 London), and [same play] Love of One's 
 
 Neighbor (Boni, New York) 
 English 
 
 c Pinero, The Schoolmistress (Walter H. Baker) 
 
 (F) 
 
 c The Magistrate (Walter H. Baker) (F) 
 
 cs The Benefit of the Doubt (Dramatic 
 
 Publishing Company) (F) 
 c The Amazons (Walter H. Baker) (F) 
 
 c Dandy Dick (Walter H. Baker) (F) 
 
 c Jones, The Manoeuvres of Jane (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 
 
 cs The Liars (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 c Dolly Reforming Herself (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 
 c Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest 
 
 (Walter H. Baker ; Nichols; Luce; Put- 
 nam ; and French) 1 
 c* Sutro, The Bracelet (Samuel French ; Bren- 
 
 tano) (F Samuel French) 
 c* Sutro, The Man on the Kerb (Samuel 
 
 French ; Brentano) (F Samuel French) 
 c* A Marriage Has Been Arranged (Samuel 
 
 French ; Brentano) (F Samuel French) 
 CR* Barrie, The Will (Scribner) (F) 1 
 CB* The Twelve- Pound Look (Brentano) 
 
 (F) 1 
 
 1 Apply to Sanger & Jordan. 
 
HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 CB The Admirable Crichton (Doran) (F) * 
 
 CR Quality Street (Doran) (F) 1 
 
 c Shaw, You Never Can Tell (Brentano) (F) 2 
 CR Candida (Brentano) (F) 2 
 
 c* Press Cuttings (Brentano) (F) 2 
 
 c* How He Lied to Her Husband (Bren- 
 tano) (F) 2 
 
 CR Arms and the Man (Brentano) (F) 2 
 
 s Barker, The Voysey Inheritance (Little, 
 
 Brown) (F) 
 sc Bennett, What the Public Wants (Doran) 
 
 (F) 
 
 RC Milestones (Doran) (F) 
 
 s Cupid and Commonsense (Doran) (F) 
 
 c The Great Adventure (Doran) (F) 
 
 c* Polite Farces (Doran) (F) 
 
 s Baker, Chains (Luce) (F) 
 s* Gibson, Mates (Macmillan) (F) 
 s* On the Road (Macmillan) (F) 
 c Hankin, The Cassilis Engagement (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 
 c The Return of the Prodigal (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 
 c The Charity that Began at Home 
 
 (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 c* Houghton, The Dear Departed (Samuel 
 French) (F) 
 
 1 Apply to Sanger & Jordan. 
 
 2 Apply to American Play Co. 
 
SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 c* The Fifth Commandment (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 
 
 c* Phipps (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 sc Houghton, Independent Means (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 
 
 s Galsworthy, The Silver Box (Scribner) (F) 1 
 c Joy (Scribner) (F) l 
 
 sc Hamilton, Just to Get Married (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 
 sc* Chapin, Augustus in Search of a Father 
 
 (Gowans and Grey, London) (F) 
 DCR* Brighouse, Lonesome Like (Samuel French) 
 
 (F) 
 
 SD* The Price of Coal (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 c Monkhouse, The Education of Mr. Surrage 
 
 (Sidgwick and Jackson, London) (F) 
 c Mason, Green Stockings (Samuel French) (F) 
 SD Ervine, Jane Clegg (Holt) (F) 
 DCK* Fenn and Pryce, 'Op o 9 me Thumb (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 
 American 
 
 s Gillette, Secret Service (Samuel French) (F) 
 s Held by the Enemy (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 c Too Much Johnson (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 c MacKaye, Anti-Matrimony (Stokes) (F) 
 c Thomas (A. E.), Her Husband's Wife 
 (Doubleday, Page) (F) l 
 
 1 Apply to Samuel French for producing rights. 
 
124 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 s* Middleton, The Failures (Holt) (F) l 
 
 s* The Groove (Holt) (F) l 
 
 s* Tradition (Holt) (F) 1 
 
 c* Macmillan, Short Plays (Stewart and Kidd) 
 
 (F) 
 c Forbes, The Commuters (Samuel French) 
 
 (F) 
 c The Traveling Salesman (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 
 s Klein, The Lion and the Mouse (Samuel 
 
 French) (F) 
 R Thomas, Arizona (Dramatic Publishing 
 
 Company) (F) 
 
 RD Alabama (Dramatic Publishing Com- 
 
 pany) (F) 
 c Mr s .Leffing well 9 s Boots (Samuel French) 
 
 (F) 
 
 c The Other Girl (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 c Oliver Goldsmith (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 c The Earl of Pawtucket (Samuel French) 
 
 (F) 
 c The Capitol (Samuel French) (F) 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY ON PRODUCING, COSTUMES, SCENERY, 
 ETC. 
 
 1. Books on the history and science of the con- 
 temporary stage: 
 
 1 Apply to Samuel French for producing rights. 
 
SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS 125 
 
 Hiram Kelly Moderwell, The Theatre of To-day 
 
 (Lane) 
 Sheldon Cheney, The Modern Movement in the 
 
 Theatre (Kennerley) 
 
 2. Books on the theory, and educational and 
 psychological aspects of amateur producing: 
 
 Elnora Whitman Curtis, The Dramatic Instinct in 
 
 Education (Houghton Mifflin) 
 Emma Sheridan Fry, Educational Dramatics (Moffat, 
 
 Yard) 
 
 Anne T. Craig, The Dramatic Festival (Putnam) 
 Percy MacKaye, The Civic Theater (Kennerley) 
 The Playhouse and the Play (Kennerley) 
 Jane Addams, The Spirit of Youth in the City 
 
 Streets (Macmillan) 
 Alice Minnie Herts, The Children's Educational 
 
 Theatre (Harper) 
 
 Mary Master Needham, Folk Festivals (Huebsch) 
 Harriet Finley-Johnson, The Dramatic Method of 
 
 Teaching (Ginn) 
 Percival Chubb and associates, Festivals and Plays 
 
 (Harper) 
 
 3. Practical hand-books on producing, scenery, 
 costumes, etc.: 
 
 Constance D'Arcy MacKay, How to Produce Chil- 
 dren's Plays (Holt) 
 
126 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 Constance D'Arcy MacKay, Costumes and Scenery 
 
 for Amateurs (Holt) 
 Van Dyke Browne, Secrets of Scene Painting and 
 
 Stage Eflects (Dutton) 
 C. Wolliscroft, Chats on Costumes (Stokes) 
 F. W. Fairholt, Costumes in England (Macmillan) 
 (See Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs for bibliog- 
 raphy on costume) 
 
 Arthur Edwin Krows, Play Production in America 
 (Holt) 
 
APPENDICES 
 APPENDIX I 
 
 COPYRIGHT AND ROYALTY 
 
 THE following statement regarding royalties on 
 amateur plays was prepared by Mr. Allen J. Carter, 
 an attorney of Chicago, for one of the Drama League 
 pamphlets listing amateur plays : 
 
 " The copyright law of the United States requires 
 that every play, whether published or unpublished, 
 for which copyright protection is claimed, must be 
 registered in the copyright office at Washington, 
 D.C. Until such registration, no action for in- 
 fringement of copyright can be maintained. The 
 register of copyrights keeps a complete record and 
 index of all copyright entries and publishes a cata- 
 logue of such entries at regular intervals. Dra- 
 matic works are entered under Class D and are 
 found indexed under that heading in Part I, Group 
 II of the catalogues. Copies of these catalogues 
 are on file in most of the larger public libraries, and 
 127 
 
128 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 sets or parts of sets may be purchased from the 
 Superintendent of Public Documents at Washing- 
 ton, D.C. Anyone wishing to learn whether a 
 particular play has been properly entered for copy- 
 right need only consult a set of these catalogues. 
 If such a set is not available, the information will 
 be promptly furnished by the register of copyrights, 
 Washington, D.C., upon request. 
 
 " Whenever a play has been published, examina- 
 tion of a copy of an authorized printed edition will 
 disclose whether such play has been properly copy- 
 righted. The law requires that a notice of copy- 
 right must be placed either upon the title page, or 
 upon the page immediately following, of each copy 
 published or offered for sale in the United States. 
 Such notice must consist either of the word * Copy- 
 right ' or the abbreviation ' Copr.', accompanied 
 by the name of the copyright proprietor and the 
 year in which copyright was secured by publication. 
 If published prior to March 4, 1909, the notice may 
 also be in the following form : ' Entered according 
 
 to Act of Congress in the year , by A. B. in 
 
 the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washing- 
 ton.' Whenever the author of a play or anyone to 
 whom he has assigned his rights publishes such 
 play without proper notice of copyright in some 
 one of the three authorized forms above mentioned, 
 the play then and forever after becomes the property 
 of the public and may be performed and printed at 
 
APPENDIX I 129 
 
 will by anyone. No subsequent attempt to copy- 
 right such play would be valid, and any valid copy- 
 right previously secured would be vitiated. 
 
 "A play which has never been published nor 
 offered for sale, and which exists only in manuscript 
 form, may be copyrighted upon proper entry being 
 made at the copyright office in Washington, D.C. 
 Should such play be later published, however, the 
 publication must comply with all the requirements 
 of the law as to notice of copyright. 
 
 " Any person who infringes the copyright in any 
 play shall be liable : (a) To an injunction restrain- 
 ing said infringement ; (b) to pay actual damages to 
 the copyright proprietor, or in place of actual dam- 
 ages $100.00 for the first infringing performance 
 and $50.00 for each succeeding one ; (c) to im- 
 prisonment not to exceed one year, or to a fine not 
 to exceed $1,000.00, or both, wherever such person 
 has infringed such copyright wilfully and for profit. 
 
 " It follows, therefore, that if any group of ama- 
 teurs perform a copyrighted play without having 
 obtained the consent of the author or copyright 
 proprietor, they are collectively liable to damages 
 of at least $100.00 under whatever conditions the 
 performance is given. If they do it wilfully and 
 for profit, they are in addition each individually 
 liable to fine and imprisonment under the criminal 
 provision of the act.'* 
 
APPENDIX II 
 
 A NOTE ON MAKE-UP 
 
 MAKE-UP as an art and a science does not properly 
 fall within the scope of the present volume. How- 
 ever, it has been thought advisable to insert at this 
 place sections from an interesting paper on make-up 
 by one who has made a thorough study of the 
 subject. The author acknowledges his obligation 
 to Miss Grace Griswold, who wrote the article, for 
 permission to make this use of it. 
 
 How and Where Lines Come 
 
 into the Face 
 A Study in Make-up 
 
 by 
 Grace Griswold 
 
 Nearly all great actors are masters of make-up. 
 They must be, for the illusions of the stage are no 
 less pictorial than those of painting and sculpture, 
 with the added elements of movement and voice, 
 all of which must be brought into working har- 
 mony with the thought and feeling of the part, 
 
 130 
 
APPENDIX H 131 
 
 in a perfect portrayal. Any serious incongruity 
 in externals is felt at once, and destroys the illusion. 
 
 Women have not done as much as men in facial 
 transformation, except in the way of burlesque and 
 grotesquerie. Women's make-ups, on the whole, 
 are far more conventional. The female face is more 
 difficult to change without revealing the tricks. 
 Heavy furrows and deep coloring are possible only 
 for low types. Men can effect great changes by 
 the use of beards and moustaches. A woman's art 
 must be far subtler. 
 
 Look at the men across the way. 1 Notice their 
 eyes. We always see the eyes first, although the 
 mouth is a more unerring key to character. The 
 mouth for emotions and impulses, and the eyes for 
 thoughts. As the mouth is the gateway of the 
 soul, so the eyes are its windows, but, like all win- 
 dows, their function is rather to give light and view 
 to the interior than to expose it to the impertinence 
 of passers-by. . . . His level brows, which show 
 him to be of a practical or scientific turn of mind, 
 are deeply contracted. So much so, that not only 
 are there two perpendicular lines between them, 
 but one across the top of the nose as well. The 
 heavy bone formation which the brows outline, 
 
 1 It was imperative that the long article be abridged. The 
 reference here is to Miss Griswold's first sentence : " . . . take a 
 ride with me in the subway, where we may perhaps glean some 
 impressions for character portrayal upon the stage.'* 
 
132 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 indicates rare powers of observation. But this 
 man has come a cropper. See how restless and 
 unseeing are his eyes ! He is searching for a solu- 
 tion to the problem which is troubling him. It is a 
 purely intellectual problem, for the mouth, which 
 is the indication of the emotions and passions, is 
 unaffected by what is going on above. There is 
 nothing sinister about the problem: you see that 
 the eyes are wide open. Now it is settled, because 
 he appears focussed : he is following a single line of 
 thought. 
 
 Now observe the man on the right. He too is 
 thinking hard, but his mouth is drawn, jaws set, 
 eyelids puckered to a mere slit. He has been 
 wronged, or believes he has, and is planning retalia- 
 tion. His nostrils are dilated, his breathing heavy. 
 Both these men are laboring under excitement, 
 but we cannot read their natures, because their 
 habitual expression is distorted. 
 
 Do you see that dear soul opposite? There is 
 work behind that face, work that has brought with 
 it health. There has been good living, but no in- 
 temperance. See the strong muscles and the glow 
 in the cheeks, with their Santa Glaus rotundity. 
 There is passion, too, but it is restrained : the 
 lips are full, but the center line is straight. With 
 less control, that line would tend to sag. Melan- 
 cholia is also indicated in downward lines. In the 
 case of this woman, the lip is perhaps too heavy to 
 
APPENDIX H 133 
 
 show delicacy of character, but it shows broad 
 sympathy, and is redeemed by its upper consort, 
 which reveals, except at the corners, a cupid's bow, 
 full of tenderness. The Venus de Milo hardly 
 escapes censure even with the lateral shortness of 
 the lower lip and the softened outlines of the upper. 
 This woman's mouth is larger, denoting generosity. 
 Now look at the eyes open just to the degree of 
 frankness, but not of insincerity, like those of the 
 vapid young person across the way. There are 
 radiations from the corners, too : the footprints 
 of many a pleasant smile. The eyebrows have the 
 sympathetic upward sweep toward the nose, and 
 there is a whimsical twist of the left eyebrow. 
 Altogether, a pleasant countenance. 
 
 A perfectly straight compressed mouth always 
 implies strength of will. 
 
 Now notice the woman just beyond with her 
 high-bred aristocratic face. The " executive " nose, 
 with its delicate arch, are especially indicative of 
 her character. The eyebrows likewise are arched, 
 over a full forehead ; very imaginative. The eyes, 
 slightly veiled in their expression, show her to be 
 plunged in deep and somewhat troubled thought. 
 Her eyes are veiled because she does not see clearly 
 a way out of her problem, but that way out will 
 be, we are sure, something noble. Her problem is 
 not so exclusively an intellectual one as that of the 
 man we mentioned : it must be some economic or 
 
134 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 philanthropieal question her chin is finely chiselled 
 and held with exquisite poise, strong and at the 
 same time delicate. Her complexion has the " pale 
 cast of thought ", but is not unhealthy however. 
 The flesh lies easily upon its firm base. It will never 
 warp into deep furrows. See, now she has solved 
 or put aside her problem, for a moment, and her 
 eyes are open and clear, and her smile, as she rec- 
 ognizes a friend, is engaging and unaffected. Her 
 sympathies are less personal, more detached, but 
 none the less real, than other women's. 
 
 And now see this man who has just entered. He, 
 too, is an aristocrat, but as he turns, we can observe 
 that there is a one-sided twist to his face. The 
 bone formation in his face is similar to that of the 
 woman's, but his expression is exaggerated by a 
 muscular habit of the mouth, possibly occasioned 
 by the loss of teeth. His eyes are open, but they 
 express impassive coldness. He has taken life with 
 a sneer. His brows are not arched, although one 
 of them is artificially raised: the result, undoubt- 
 edly, of boredom. 
 
 Habitual good-humor ages the face in a pleasant 
 manner. It is the only thing that never grows 
 old: do you remember what genial sparkling eyes 
 Joseph Jefferson and Mark Twain had ? 
 
 Bearing in mind these summary character studies, 
 let us turn to the more practical side of make-up: 
 
 Regarding straight make-up i.e. make-up which 
 
APPENDIX H 135 
 
 is designed to offset the glare of the lights it 
 can safely be asserted that most professionals 
 make-up too heavily. This is partially due to the 
 fact that the lights in the dressing-room are seldom 
 of like intensity or kind as those on the stage. 
 Billie Burke and Blanche Ring occur to us as having 
 achieved happy results in making-up, the former 
 with a rose-bud prettiness of white and pink, the 
 latter by using so little color and blending that 
 little so well that it is scarcely perceivable. Both 
 these actresses use very little rouge on the upper 
 eyelids, an excess of which is one of the commonest 
 faults. The only purpose it can serve is to soften 
 the upward and whitening glare of the footlights. 
 The skilful use of rouge is the most important and 
 least understood of all the numerous elements of 
 this art. First as to shade, most of the rouge used 
 is blue. It does not blend with most powders, but 
 produces a hard contrast, and appears unnatural. 
 The placing of the rouge, too, is very important in 
 obviating natural defects of proportion in the fea- 
 tures, which distances always intensify. Any spot 
 left white is projected as if with a high-light. If 
 the nose is too wide, it can be narrowed by shading 
 the rouge up to its center line. If it is too prominent, 
 it will be less apparent if shaded slightly all over. 
 The same rule applies to the chin, the jaw, the 
 ears, and the forehead. Some people lay in a 
 general foundation of grease rouge before putting 
 
136 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 anything else on, but this is likely to give a muddy 
 effect. If used only on the cheeks, with the dry 
 rouge over all for shading, the effect is far more 
 natural. Some also lay in a foundation of pink 
 paste called " Exora " but the result is nearly 
 always pasty, and should never be used except to 
 cover some blotchiness. The lighter the make-up, 
 the greater opportunity will there be for mobility 
 of expression. 
 
 The same moderation should be exercised in 
 making up the eyes and mouth. Brown on the 
 lashes and eyebrows is softer than black, especially 
 for blondes. Heavy black leading above and below, 
 accentuated by broad shadows on the lids of dark 
 blue, make them look like burnt holes a short dis- 
 tance away. Few eyes are large enough to stand 
 it, and those that are, do not require it. A little 
 light or dark blue close to the lashes of the upper 
 lid is necessary, but very few eyes need any make-up 
 at all on the lower lid, except a faint shadow, per- 
 haps, of light blue. A little dab of lip rouge in 
 the inner corners of the eye adds an effect of bril- 
 liancy. If the eye itself slants, it can be straightened 
 by a line of brown or black, drawn in the opposite 
 direction, and beginning just inside the outer 
 corners. The line of the upper lids and the eye- 
 brows should be extended in almost every case, 
 to give an effect of breadth to the eyes. 
 
 If the face needs lengthening and the eyebrows 
 
APPENDIX H 137 
 
 are not too heavy, they can be covered with flesh- 
 colored grease paint, and another pair painted 
 above them. There is danger in this, however, of 
 opening the frame of the eyes too much and giving 
 them a foolish expression. The arched brow tends 
 to elongate, the level, broad effect to shorten, the 
 face. 
 
 The mouth also needs careful treatment. As to 
 color: the dark red rouge so often used gives the 
 appearance of a bloody gash. The English hunting 
 red, a sort of bluish vermilion, is best, because 
 most natural. Only the very smallest mouths can 
 stand being made up to the corners, because in 
 smiling, the mouth stretches, and willjook too 
 large if deeply colored all the way across. 
 
 A line of white grease paint drawn down the 
 bridge of the nose will straighten it ; or, if it be 
 too small, lengthen it. The nose may also be com- 
 pletely transformed by putty. 
 
 This brings us to what is known as the " char- 
 acter " make-up. Here again one is confronted 
 by numberless problems regarding the use of colors. 
 At best, character make-up is only the adjustment 
 of one physiognomy to the habitual expression of 
 another : complete transformation is out of the 
 question. Nevertheless, the human face, being 
 mobile, may assume expressions which are not 
 habitual to it. However, it must be borne in mind 
 that to superimpose a purely imaginary countenance 
 
138 HOW TO PRODUCE AMATEUR PLAYS 
 
 over a natural one, regardless of what that natural 
 one is, is a fatal mistake, because when the natural 
 face attempts to express itself under the other, the 
 effect will be lost. 
 
 To return a moment to the problem of color : 
 illusion is frequently lost through a failure to adjust 
 the shade of the high-light and shadow to the tone 
 of the foundation grease paint, or natural com- 
 plexion. The commonest offence is the use of an 
 unmixed, unblended slate for shadows, and white, 
 and high-lights, whether the underlying color be 
 florid, sallow, pink, or pale flesh. The result of 
 such treatment is merely paint. 
 
 The whole art of making-up is still hide-bound 
 by tradition, because of stupid ideals which persist 
 in the minds of those whose business it is to direct, 
 as well as many in the acting profession itself. 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX 
 
 "ALCESTIS", 4 
 
 Aristophanes, 5 
 
 Art adviser, 17 
 
 "Art of Being Bored, The ", 48 
 Quoted, 53, 54-57 
 Stage grouping of, 54-57 
 
 "As You Like It", 2 
 
 BACKGROUNDS, 106-107 
 Barker, Granville, 6 
 Belasco, David, 89, 106 
 "Blocking out", 24, 61 
 
 Example of, 24-33 
 "Blue Bird, The", 108 
 "Box sets ",82, 89,91, 100 
 "Brignol and His Daughter", 
 
 Setting for, 102, 103 
 Business manager, Duties of, 
 
 11-12, 14 
 
 "CALL BOY", DUTY OF, 16 
 Capus, Alfred, 102 
 Cast, Ability of, 2 
 
 Selection of, 19, 20 
 
 Size of, 2 
 
 "Chantecler", 108 
 Characterization by amateurs, 
 
 2,3,4 
 
 Cheney, Seldon, 76 (Note), 77 
 Classics, 2, 3, 4 
 "Clouds, The", 5 
 Coach, Selection of, 20, 21 
 Comedies, 4 
 " Comedy of Errors, The", 2, 3, 5 
 
 Setting for, 93-94 
 
 Costume man, Duties of, 10, 14, 
 
 15, 17 
 Costumes, 14-15 
 
 Accuracy of, 108-109 
 "Costumes and Scenery for 
 
 Amateurs", 81 
 Craig, Gordon, 102 
 Crowds or large groups, 
 Rehearsing of, 15, 58, 59 
 Curtain man, Duties of, 10 
 Cyclorama, 78-81, 84, 88 
 
 Construction of, 78, 79-80, 81 
 
 Description of, 78 
 
 Value of, 78 
 
 DE VEGA, LOPE, 4 
 Deutsches Theater (Berlin), 95 
 Diagram, Making of, 40-46, 60 
 Director, Duties of, 8-10, 14, 
 
 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 28, 34, 
 52, 58, 59, 64, 67, 73 
 
 "Doctor in Spite of Himself", 5 
 "Doll's House, A", 2 
 Draperies, 80, 83, 92, 98 
 
 "ELECTRA", 4 
 Electrician, 13 
 Euripides, 4 
 
 "FAN, THE", 5 
 
 "Far-away Princess, The", 
 
 Setting for, 100-101 
 Farces, 4 
 
 Footlights, 86, 87, 89 
 Boxed, 84 
 
 141 
 
142 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Fortuny lighting system, 86, 88 
 Furniture, Handling and setting 
 of, 15 
 
 GOLDONI, 4, 5 
 Gregory, Lady, 90 
 Grouping actors, 48, 58, 59, 61 
 Examples of, 50-52, 53-57, 
 58-59, 63 
 
 "HAMLET", 4 
 
 Handling and setting of scenery 
 and furniture, 15, 17 
 
 IMITATION OF PROFESSIONALS, 
 
 68, 69 
 "Importance of Being Earnest, 
 
 The", 3 
 
 "Blocked out", 28-34 
 Quoted, 24-28 
 "Indian Summer", Quoted, 71- 
 
 72 
 Interpretation by amateurs, 69- 
 
 70 
 
 JONES, HENRY ARTHUR, 3, 46, 
 
 47,48 
 "Julius Csesar", Costumes of, 
 
 108 
 Grouping in, 58-59 
 
 KLEIN, CHARLES, 89 
 Kotzebue, 4 
 
 "LE BOURGEOIS GENTIL- 
 
 HOMME," 3, 5 
 Lessing, 4, 5 
 
 Lessing Theater, Berlin, 107 
 "Liars, The", 3, 46, 47 
 
 Quoted, 46, 50 
 
 Stage grouping of, 49-52 
 
 Lighting, Stage, 76, 78-79, 85, 89 
 Examples of, 89, 90 
 Fortuny system of, 86, 88 
 Kinds of : Arc, 88 
 Border, 86 
 Calcium, 88 
 
 Footlights, 84, 86, 87, 89 
 Lightman, Duties of, 10, 13-14, 
 
 15 
 "Lysistrata", 5 
 
 MACKAY, CONSTANCE D'ARCY, 
 82 
 
 "Magistrate, The", 4 
 
 "Man and Superman", 4 
 
 "Marrying of Ann Leete, The", 
 6 
 
 "Merchant of Venice, The", 85 
 
 "Milestones", 109 
 
 "Minna von Barnhelm ", 5 
 
 "Modern Movement in the 
 Theatre, The ", 76 (Note) 
 
 Modern plays, 4, 6 
 
 Moderwell, Hiram Kelly, 76 
 
 (Note), 77 
 Quoted, 86-87 
 
 Modulation, Example of, 71-72 
 
 Moliere, 3, 4, 5 
 
 Music, 15, 17 
 
 "Music Master, The", Light- 
 ing of, 89 
 
 ORIGINAL PLAYS, 6 
 
 PAILLERON, EDOUARD, 48 
 "Peer Gynt", Setting for, 107 
 Performance, Essentials of, 74, 
 
 75 
 
 "Phormio", 5 
 Plautus, 5 
 Plays, "Cutting", 23 
 
INDEX 
 
 143 
 
 Plays, Kind of, 3-7 
 
 Classic, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 14 
 
 Comedies, 4 
 
 Farces, 4 
 
 Modern, 4, 6 
 
 Original, 6 
 
 Problem, 4 
 
 Sex, 4 
 
 Thesis, 4 
 
 Translated, 6 
 
 Reading of, 23-24 
 Plotting the stage, Examples of, 
 
 41-45, 49-52 
 Problem plays, 4 
 Prompt-copy, Making of, 34 
 Prompter, Duty of, 75 
 Property man, Duties of, 10, 12, 
 
 13, 15, 75 
 Proscenium, 81 
 
 Alteration of, 81, 82, 83, 84, 
 103-104 
 
 Diagrams of, 82, 83 
 
 REHEARSALS, 15, 22, 58, 59, 61, 
 66, 67, 68, 70 
 
 First, 22-24, 61 
 
 Second, 24, 61, 66 
 
 Dress, 73, 74 
 
 Scene and light, 74 
 Reinhardt, Max, 95, 106 
 Revolving stage, 85 
 "Rising of the Moon, The", 
 
 Lighting of, 90 
 "Rivals, The", 3, 5 
 "Romancers, The", 15, 106, 
 108 
 
 Setting for, 97-99 
 Rostand, 13, 97, 108 
 
 SCENERY, HANDLING AND SET- 
 TING OF, 15, 17 
 
 "Scrap of Paper, A", Setting 
 
 for, 104-105 
 
 Screens, 83, 92, 102-103, 104 
 Settings, Stage, 77, 81, 82, 83, 
 
 85, 89, 91 
 
 "Box sets", 82, 89, 91 
 Examples of, 93-94, 95-97, 
 
 97-99, 100-101, 102-106 
 Sex plays, 4 
 
 Shakespeare's plays, Settings 
 for, 92, 93-94, 94-97, 97- 
 99, 106 
 
 Stage business of, 52 
 Shaw, G. Bernard, 3, 13, 34, 47 
 Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 3, 5 
 "She Stoops to Conquer", 5 
 Simpson, J. Palgrave, 104 
 Sophocles, 4 
 Staff, Duties of members of, 
 
 9-17, 73-75 
 
 Head of (Director) 8-10 
 Organization of, 8-16 
 Stage, Physical requirements 
 
 of, 76 
 
 Revolving, 85 
 Wagon, 85 
 Stage "business", 52, 61, 62, 
 
 64, 66, 69-70, 
 Examples of, 62, 63-64, 65 
 How to remember, 60 
 Stage directions, 28 (Note) 
 For "You Never Can Tell", 
 
 35-40 
 
 Stage grouping, see GROUPING 
 Lighting, see LIGHTING 
 Manager, Duties of, 10-11, 
 13, 14, 15, 16, 22, 23, 28, 74 
 Settings, see SETTINGS 
 Sudermann, Hermann, 100 
 "Sumurun", Background for, 
 106 
 
144 
 
 INDEX 
 
 TERENCE, 5 
 
 "Theatre of To-day, The*', 
 
 76 (Nate), 79 
 Thesis plays, 4 
 Translations, 6 
 "Twelfth Night", Settings for, 
 
 94-99, 106 
 "Twins, The", 5 
 
 UNDERSTUDIES, 16, 21 
 
 WAGON STAGE, 85 
 Wardrobe mistress, see COS- 
 TUME MAN 
 Warfield, David, 89 
 Wilde, Oscar, 3, 24, 47 
 
 "You NEVER CAN TELL", 3, 13 
 Diagram of, 40-45 
 Quoted, 35-40 
 Stage directions of, 40 
 
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