APPENDICES
I. THE SCENERY
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THE stage on which the play was acted was about four feet in height, twenty-four in width, and twenty-four in depth. It was furnished temporarily with footlights consisting of gas-tubing pierced by seven burners shaded with tin head-lights permanently fixed, two side-lights also permanent, and two incandescent burners behind the back-scene.
As substitutes for all these except the last, oil lamps are suggested, hung or standing and guarded with wire; for the last, a strong acetylene light.
The scenery throughout consisted of these things only—a permanent back scene, hung from a roller, constructed of opaque, dark, grey-blue paper pierced irregularly with very small holes; six wings, three on a side; two dark curtains hung on a wire to slide backwards or forwards across the back-scene, about a dozen dust-sheets and a quantity of brown paper and cotton-wool. (It must be remembered that the object was not to produce startling stage effects, but rather a soothing and suggestive background.)
These extremely simple accessories were employed as follows:
First Scene.—The curtains were drawn back out of sight altogether behind the backmost wings. The floor was entirely and irregularly covered with dust-sheets, and, to aid the appearance of irregularity, various objects, such as footstools and blocks of wood were placed beneath them. The wings were managed in this manner. Each of them was a light framework of about three feet in width and ten in height. One side of them (that presented to the audience in this scene) was covered with large sheets of brown paper of all shades, deliberately crumpled and bulging, and, here and there stained with paint. Upon the upper side of each irregularity was gummed a flat thick piece of wide wadding, following the curve of the paper, to represent fallen snow. These six wings, placed of course not parallel with the back-scene but slightly towards it, provided three exits on each side, two of which only were used.
Finally, the back-scene, painted with whitewash at its bottom to represent a distant line of snow-covered hills, hung full in view. All lights except the incandescent burners behind were turned extremely low; and the result of this elementary composition was a really astonishing effect of a snowy defile between rocks, seen at night time, with a sky blazing with stars. The light necessary for the seeing of the actors’ faces was supplied by the lanterns they carried.
Second Scene.—The curtains were drawn forward so as nearly to meet in the centre, giving a glimpse only of the back-scene which throughoutthe entire play remained in its place. The wings were reversed, showing their other sides to the audience. These reverse sides were covered with smooth yellowish paper, painted to represent large blocks of pale stone. The wings, it must be said, had no attachment at the foot, but the heads of them turned in iron forks, like the rowlocks of a boat, reversed and fixed to beams above at the proper intervals. One of the wings, that nearest the back-scene (R.), was painted to represent a tall door with iron scrollwork across it. Lights up.
Third Scene.—This was the same as the first, but the large properties used in this prevented a sense of monotony. Lights down.
Fourth Scene.—This was the same again, with other large properties. Lights half down.
Fifth Scene.—This was the same again with further properties. Lights up.
Finally, overhead throughout were hung ordinary “flies,” or long strips of cotton, as broad as the stage and about two feet deep.