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for his stage, and insist on all cleats being put on according to this arrangement. The lash line should always be at the right of the flat, and then any two flats may be put together and lashed, as there will always be one batten with the line and one with the cleats in the proper places to take the line. If scenery is short, say ten feet or so in height, it is often worth while to use brace cleats instead of lash cleats at the top. They will not be so high but that a brace can be slipped in whenever useful. For the convenience in fastening scenery to the floor, especially for putting in hand screws, the floor of a stage should always be made of soft wood. If this is not the case, sometimes a beam of soft wood can be fastened to the floor along the back of the stage, by one or two lag screws. Braces can then all be carried back to this beam, instead of to the floor, or the lower ends of the braces may be fastened to short lengths of planks, which may be placed wherever necessary, and held to the floor by weights-for instance, by several bricks or stones.

Stage Crew

The handling of the scenery and the changing of the sets is one of the tasks of the stage manager. The stage crew needs rehearsals with the scenery 'just as much as the actors do with their part of the play. Each member of the crew should have his own duties.

General Principles

There are certain definite methods of procedure which the nonprofessional stage hand should bear in mind. Rugs, furniture, and properties should, as a

rule, be placed on the stage first, and then the set built around them. In the same way, the set should be taken off, then the furniture and properties. It is awkward and time-taking to try to carry heavy pieces through the doorways into sets that are already in place. Each set should be piled in some convenient order ready for putting up, and there should be a definite place for each piece after it is "stacked." It is wasteful to rehandle or to move the pieces to get something accidentally left behind them.

Making Measurements

Measurements for the placing of a set should be made from a spot under the exact center of the proscenium arch. This is called the "pivot point," and in some stages it is marked by a brass plate. Walls are set so many feet back, or so many feet to one side or the other, of the pivot point.

Where several sets are to be used, or where a set is to be rearranged, it is helpful to have certain important corners or points marked on the floor cloth or on the floor itself. Chalk will sometimes do, or better still, colored tapes may be tacked on to indicate the corners. A different color may be used for each set.

The making and the handling of scenery furnishes a never-ending series of interesting problems, involving at times nearly all the arts and nearly all the crafts. Any amateur group which does not plan and make its own scenery is missing some of the pleasure that may be secured from amateur dramatics.

CHAPTER X

COSTUMING

Definition

Many of the things that have been said in the previous chapter about scenery are equally applicable to costuming. In fact, one modern stage designer and producer defines costumes as "scenery worn by the actors." While this definition may mean little to the uninitiated, it should be helpful to those who have read and thought about the theory of stage design. It suggests the need for finding the costume that fits the mood of the play and the character, just as we attempt to find the setting that is fitting. Costuming is only another one of the visual elements that may help act the play. The making of theatrical costumes is a very different problem from that of making costumes for ordinary everyday wear. Again, as we shall see, line and color are the important elements. Fabric, except in so far as it affects line and color, is quite a secondary affair, as is the finish of the costume. It is only the sum total of the effect that counts.1

1 Useful books for the amateur costume designer:

Constance D'Arcy Mackay, Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs, (Henry Holt & Co., New York, 1915).

Elizabeth R. Grimball and Rhea Wells, Costuming a Play, (The Century Co., New York, 1925).

Aim in Costuming

Every costume should do two things: (1) it should aid the audience to characterize the wearer; and (2) it should help to distinguish him from the other char

acters.

1. To Characterize the Person.-It will succeed in doing the first to the degree that the artist understands and grasps the idea of the character whose costume he is designing. The problem is similar to that of designing a set for a scene. The one main aim is appropriateness. The costume, to be successful, must suggest just the kind of person that the action of the play is going to unfold. Hamlet's "inky suit” should show at a glance the despair of the man, while the bright costumes of the gay court by which he is surrounded help to characterize the other persons in the play. In "The Show-Off," Aubrey Piper is as instantly disclosed by the checked suit in extreme fashion, the bright tie, the flash-imitation stick-pin, the yellow shoes, as he is by the empty laugh and the too facile tongue. As in the case of scenery, this question of appropriateness of costume to character is almost entirely subjective, and no absolute standards can be established. But the nonprofessional designer should constantly keep the idea in mind. He should have the courage to make the costumes he designs seem to him to be the most suitable ones for the characters as he understands them, even though he may be unable to explain in words his reasons for choosing the colors and the lines he decides to use.

2. To Distinguish the Characters from One Another. The second important aim in costume design is to make the costumes aid in distinguishing the characters one from another. It is not enough that the costume be merely suitable to the character; it must make him stand out of his surroundings. In "Hamlet," for instance, Horatio, as the friend of Hamlet, may have a costume which is in some ways similar to that worn by Hamlet himself. This will help indicate his relationship to Hamlet, and will set him off from the courtiers who are the friends of the king. But his costume must also be sufficiently unlike Hamlet's so that the most casual glance will distinguish the two men from each other. In "The Romancers" there are two old men, Bergamin and Pasquinot, who are constantly on the stage together. They must be kept distinct from one another. There must be a variation of the color and of the lines of their costumes. The coat of one may be longer and fuller than that of the other. One may wear huge cuffs and a striking feather in his hat. One may always carry a stick of some sort. The designer has the same problem that the director has of keeping the characters distinct from one another.

Color in Costume Design

The two elements upon which the artist must mainly depend in his attempts to attain both of these objects are color and line, which have already been discussed (in Chapter IX). Remember that, in general, red, orange, and yellow are considered warm colors: they are more appropriate for the vigorous, passionate char

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