PROGRAMMEPREMIÈRE PARTIETREWEYDans ses créations.Ouverture. — Equilbres et Jongleries.DEUXIÈME PARTIEFantaisies. — La Valse des Assiettes. — Les Cuvettes tapageuses. — Le Papier multiforme. — La Harpe éolienne. — Le Tabarin moderne.ENTR’ACTETROISIÈME PARTIELES OMBRES DES MAINSPARTREWEYOuverture.1reSérie.— Le Lapin — Les deux Oies. — Le Perroquet. — Le Poisson. — L’Eléphant. — Le Taureau. — Le Cygne. — Le Prédicateur. — Le Chat. — Le Chien.2eSérie.— Le batelier. — Le Pècheur. — Le Jockey. — La Danseuse de corde.3eSérie.— Les Amours du Policeman, pantomime.4eSérie.— Silhouettes et Protils illustrés.5eSérie.— Le Clown et l’Ane savant.6eSérie.— Le Buveur normand et le Rigolo. — Au Revoir..., galop final.Le piano sera tenu par M. Henri DEVIENNE.Tous les dimanches et jeudis, à 2 heures.TREWEYMATINÉE DE FAMILLEMy interest was at once aroused. Here was no ordinary artist, but a man of versatility. I bought a ticket, and was soon seated in the theatre. After the usual infliction of skirt-dancers, acrobats and eccentric singers with raspy voices, the curtain rose on M. Trewey’s act. I sighed with relief. Ah, here was an oasis in the vast Sahara of vaudeville claptrap and mediocrity.{333}I was not disappointed. The stage was elegantly set with gilt tables. The scene was boxed in with rich silk curtainsà laPinetti. A burst of applause (not confined to theclaqueeither), and the great Trewey appeared. A long black cloak enveloped him.Throwing this off, he appeared in full court costume—a gentleman of the reign of Louis XVI. I felt like asking him, “When did you see last the Chevalier Pinetti?” After a very superior exhibition of juggling and sleight of hand with cards and coins,{334}he passed on to ombromanie, or hand-made shadows, among them being portraits of Thiers, Gladstone, Czar Alexander III, Emile Zola, Gambetta, Bismarck, Crispi and Lord Salisbury. The art of casting silhouettes of animals, such as the dog, the cat, and the rabbit, upon an illuminated wall is very ancient. The Italian painter, Campi, was one of the first to add new types to the collection of figures. Trewey raised the art to the dignity of a stage performance, and endowed it with movement and life. I shall quote as follows from an article on Trewey, contributed by me to the “Cosmopolitan Magazine” some years ago:TREWEYEXHIBITINGUPONASTAGE.TREWEY’SSILHOUETTESOFEMINENTMEN.THEPULPITPANTOMIME.TREWEY’SHANDS.“He stands behind a screen, which is brilliantly illuminated by an oxyhydrogen light, and with his hands projects the silhouettes—pictures of soldiers, peasants, abbés, etc., to say nothing of animals. To form the headgear of his men and women, such as the grotesque bonnets of Norman bonnes, the képis of the little piou-pious, and the mortar-boards of the English scholastics, he has recourse to small pieces of cardboard cut to resemble the respective cranial coverings. Trewey is not content with the ‘cold profiles,’ as he calls them, of living creatures,{336}but endows his shadows with animation. His old peasants, for example, smoke, imbibe liquor from large jugs, inhale snuff, roll their eyes, open their mouths, gesticulate; his animals are exceedingly mobile. Besides this, he makes his characters enact charming little pantomimic scenes. One he calls the ‘serenade.’ A piece of cardboard, fashioned to represent the side of a house, constitutes the scenery. A gendarme (supposed to be violently{337}in love with the servant girl) knocks at the door of the mansion, whereupon his fairinamorataappears at the upstairs window. After an exchange of compliments, she withdraws from the window and reappears at the door. She gives to her lover a drink from a suspicious bottle, and he, after wiping his beard, kisses her and retires. Then comes the strolling musician, playing a lugubrious melody on the clarinet. The owner of the house rushes to the bedroom window and motions the player away, but the musician derisively strikes up a lively tune. The irate proprietor now makes his appearance armed with a long broom, with which he thrashes the clarinettist. The musician still persisting, paterfamilias next produces the water jug, and from the upstairs window pours the contents upon the head of the luckless serenader, who quickly makes his exit.EXERCISESFORTHEFINGERSBYTREWEY.“The little accessories used in this act, such as the helmet for the policeman, the broom, bottle, etc., are cut from pasteboard and, where necessary, attached to the fingers of the performer by means of india-rubber rings. The water jug, however, is an actual little vessel, which is filled with sand. When this is poured out it simulates a flow of water in the most natural manner.“ ‘The pulpit orator’ is a clever silhouette. About the left arm of the performer is tied a small box, which represents the pulpit; the bent fingers make a canopy. Between the fingers of{338}the right hand is held a bit of pasteboard, cut in the shape of a mortar-board cap. The paraphernalia is very simple. You see the learned divine ascend the pulpit, bend forward in prayer, then begin to exhort an imaginary congregation. He thumps the pulpit rail vehemently, twists himself into all sorts of grotesque positions, and wipes his perspiring brow. After having blessed the people, he descends from his elevated perch.”I learned from him many interesting things about shadowgraphy and sleight of hand generally. To excel in the art of ombromanie requires long practice. The fingers have to be exercised continuously in certain peculiar movements, such as are depicted in the accompanying illustration. Dexterity is largely dependent upon the formation of the hand, one of the particular characteristics of skillfulness being “the faculty of reversing the metacarpal phalanges of the fingers, so that when the hand is extended it is convex.” Trewey possesses this faculty. Another peculiarity of his hands is the formation of the fingers: they differ very much in length. The middle finger exceeds the ring finger by nearly an inch.
PROGRAMMEPREMIÈRE PARTIETREWEYDans ses créations.Ouverture. — Equilbres et Jongleries.DEUXIÈME PARTIEFantaisies. — La Valse des Assiettes. — Les Cuvettes tapageuses. — Le Papier multiforme. — La Harpe éolienne. — Le Tabarin moderne.ENTR’ACTETROISIÈME PARTIELES OMBRES DES MAINSPARTREWEYOuverture.1reSérie.— Le Lapin — Les deux Oies. — Le Perroquet. — Le Poisson. — L’Eléphant. — Le Taureau. — Le Cygne. — Le Prédicateur. — Le Chat. — Le Chien.2eSérie.— Le batelier. — Le Pècheur. — Le Jockey. — La Danseuse de corde.3eSérie.— Les Amours du Policeman, pantomime.4eSérie.— Silhouettes et Protils illustrés.5eSérie.— Le Clown et l’Ane savant.6eSérie.— Le Buveur normand et le Rigolo. — Au Revoir..., galop final.Le piano sera tenu par M. Henri DEVIENNE.Tous les dimanches et jeudis, à 2 heures.TREWEYMATINÉE DE FAMILLE
PROGRAMME
PREMIÈRE PARTIE
TREWEY
Dans ses créations.
Ouverture. — Equilbres et Jongleries.
DEUXIÈME PARTIE
Fantaisies. — La Valse des Assiettes. — Les Cuvettes tapageuses. — Le Papier multiforme. — La Harpe éolienne. — Le Tabarin moderne.
ENTR’ACTE
TROISIÈME PARTIE
LES OMBRES DES MAINS
PAR
TREWEY
Ouverture.
Le piano sera tenu par M. Henri DEVIENNE.
Tous les dimanches et jeudis, à 2 heures.
TREWEY
MATINÉE DE FAMILLE
My interest was at once aroused. Here was no ordinary artist, but a man of versatility. I bought a ticket, and was soon seated in the theatre. After the usual infliction of skirt-dancers, acrobats and eccentric singers with raspy voices, the curtain rose on M. Trewey’s act. I sighed with relief. Ah, here was an oasis in the vast Sahara of vaudeville claptrap and mediocrity.{333}I was not disappointed. The stage was elegantly set with gilt tables. The scene was boxed in with rich silk curtainsà laPinetti. A burst of applause (not confined to theclaqueeither), and the great Trewey appeared. A long black cloak enveloped him.
Throwing this off, he appeared in full court costume—a gentleman of the reign of Louis XVI. I felt like asking him, “When did you see last the Chevalier Pinetti?” After a very superior exhibition of juggling and sleight of hand with cards and coins,{334}he passed on to ombromanie, or hand-made shadows, among them being portraits of Thiers, Gladstone, Czar Alexander III, Emile Zola, Gambetta, Bismarck, Crispi and Lord Salisbury. The art of casting silhouettes of animals, such as the dog, the cat, and the rabbit, upon an illuminated wall is very ancient. The Italian painter, Campi, was one of the first to add new types to the collection of figures. Trewey raised the art to the dignity of a stage performance, and endowed it with movement and life. I shall quote as follows from an article on Trewey, contributed by me to the “Cosmopolitan Magazine” some years ago:
TREWEYEXHIBITINGUPONASTAGE.
TREWEYEXHIBITINGUPONASTAGE.
TREWEY’SSILHOUETTESOFEMINENTMEN.
TREWEY’SSILHOUETTESOFEMINENTMEN.
THEPULPITPANTOMIME.
THEPULPITPANTOMIME.
TREWEY’SHANDS.
TREWEY’SHANDS.
“He stands behind a screen, which is brilliantly illuminated by an oxyhydrogen light, and with his hands projects the silhouettes—pictures of soldiers, peasants, abbés, etc., to say nothing of animals. To form the headgear of his men and women, such as the grotesque bonnets of Norman bonnes, the képis of the little piou-pious, and the mortar-boards of the English scholastics, he has recourse to small pieces of cardboard cut to resemble the respective cranial coverings. Trewey is not content with the ‘cold profiles,’ as he calls them, of living creatures,{336}but endows his shadows with animation. His old peasants, for example, smoke, imbibe liquor from large jugs, inhale snuff, roll their eyes, open their mouths, gesticulate; his animals are exceedingly mobile. Besides this, he makes his characters enact charming little pantomimic scenes. One he calls the ‘serenade.’ A piece of cardboard, fashioned to represent the side of a house, constitutes the scenery. A gendarme (supposed to be violently{337}in love with the servant girl) knocks at the door of the mansion, whereupon his fairinamorataappears at the upstairs window. After an exchange of compliments, she withdraws from the window and reappears at the door. She gives to her lover a drink from a suspicious bottle, and he, after wiping his beard, kisses her and retires. Then comes the strolling musician, playing a lugubrious melody on the clarinet. The owner of the house rushes to the bedroom window and motions the player away, but the musician derisively strikes up a lively tune. The irate proprietor now makes his appearance armed with a long broom, with which he thrashes the clarinettist. The musician still persisting, paterfamilias next produces the water jug, and from the upstairs window pours the contents upon the head of the luckless serenader, who quickly makes his exit.
EXERCISESFORTHEFINGERSBYTREWEY.
EXERCISESFORTHEFINGERSBYTREWEY.
“The little accessories used in this act, such as the helmet for the policeman, the broom, bottle, etc., are cut from pasteboard and, where necessary, attached to the fingers of the performer by means of india-rubber rings. The water jug, however, is an actual little vessel, which is filled with sand. When this is poured out it simulates a flow of water in the most natural manner.
“ ‘The pulpit orator’ is a clever silhouette. About the left arm of the performer is tied a small box, which represents the pulpit; the bent fingers make a canopy. Between the fingers of{338}the right hand is held a bit of pasteboard, cut in the shape of a mortar-board cap. The paraphernalia is very simple. You see the learned divine ascend the pulpit, bend forward in prayer, then begin to exhort an imaginary congregation. He thumps the pulpit rail vehemently, twists himself into all sorts of grotesque positions, and wipes his perspiring brow. After having blessed the people, he descends from his elevated perch.”
I learned from him many interesting things about shadowgraphy and sleight of hand generally. To excel in the art of ombromanie requires long practice. The fingers have to be exercised continuously in certain peculiar movements, such as are depicted in the accompanying illustration. Dexterity is largely dependent upon the formation of the hand, one of the particular characteristics of skillfulness being “the faculty of reversing the metacarpal phalanges of the fingers, so that when the hand is extended it is convex.” Trewey possesses this faculty. Another peculiarity of his hands is the formation of the fingers: they differ very much in length. The middle finger exceeds the ring finger by nearly an inch.