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intensified and exaggerated. Fine outlines and minor details are lost in the theater. The roughnesses and the apparent crudities of the painting do not show under lighting; in fact they usually cause the results to be more satisfactory, as they make the surfaces more interesting. The only general rule for scene-painting, therefore, is to proceed boldly, observe results, and learn from experience.

MAKING PLASTIC PIECES

Doors and Window Frames

Probably the most common plastic pieces that the amateur scene-makers will need will be door and window frames. They should be used with every set. Nothing looks more "amateurish," in the worst sense, than scenery in which the doors are mere holes in the flats, and which show that the wall has no thickness. Moreover, the use of doors and windows lends great variety to a set. For example, the set sketched above on page 115, and shown in the model on page 121, can be adapted for any number of interior scenes, by the use of new door and window frames. One set of frames may be cream-white, one a bright green, one a dull brown, and so on. By rearranging the pieces of the set (see the ground plans on page 113), changing the frames, and the furniture and hangings, this one set may give many effects. Some of the door frames may contain portières, and some real doors. The windows, too, may be varied by the use of all sorts of curtains. Tapestries and pictures on the walls are very useful.

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FIG. 37.-DOOR AND WINDOW FRAMES (TO FIT FLATS SHOWN IN

PLANS ON PAGE 115.)

The frames are made so that from the front they appear just like ordinary frames in a house. They may be wide or narrow, plain or ornate. The lighter they are, the easier they are to handle, and the less must they be braced. They should fit snugly into the hole, but they should slip in and out without pounding. A few screws through the batten of the hole and into the frame will hold the frame securely in place against the surface of the flat.

Fireplaces

FIG. 38.-FIREPLACE POSSIBILITIES.

Fireplaces of different sizes, shapes, and colors help very much in properly setting a scene, and they some

times aid greatly in the lighting of the play. They can best be made of a frame of battens, covered with canvas, which is primed and painted in the usual way. The fireplace should be able to stand in front of a plain flat, or in front of one containing a door or window hole. It is unnecessary to have a specially cut flat. If a light is used in a fireplace, an electric wire can be run along the floor under the flat. As a rule, it is well to avoid ornate fireplaces with elaborate designs of stone or brick. Plain solid colors will do, the same as for the set.

Wooden Discs
fastened together
with long slats

Posts

FIG. 39.-FRAME FOR POST OR TREE.

A post, or a tree trunk may be made, in a similar way, of a wooden frame covered with canvas. A num

ber of wooden circles may be fastened together with long wooden slats.

Platforms and Steps

Platforms and stairs are often very useful pieces. The illustration on page 138 shows a common design for a platform, which has the advantage of folding flat, so that it can be stored in a small space. Notice that there are hinges on each inner corner of the supporting frame. When the frame is opened out it may be braced if necessary, although if the top is made carefully enough it ought to hold the frame rigid. Stage stairs usually have a lower lift than ordinary stairs, and a wider tread. This makes them easier for the actors to play on. The standard dimensions are for the lift six inches high, and for the tread one foot wide. If stairs and platforms are made to a similar dimension, interesting combinations may be made. Thus, in the illustration, where the standard size is three feet long, three feet wide, and one and one-half feet high, the platform placed at the end of the stairs raises the unit of stairs so that a continuous flight of steps is made. With two or three units of both stairs and platform all sorts of interesting combinations are possible.

Rocks, etc.

Rocks may be made by covering wooden frames or boxes with canvas, stuffed so as to be irregular in shape, and painted in the usual way. Walls, benches, wells, and many other plastic pieces may be made. In

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