any director of amateurs should insist on being himself the stage director, property man, prompter, stage manager, make-up man, etc. The performance should be so organized that it could easily succeed in the absence of the director. Importance of the Prompter In the back stage organization, the prompter is an important cog. The prompter needs to be a faithful and intelligent person. He must be present at all the rehearsals, and he should know the lines and the movement of the play better than any actor in the cast. To have a prompter come in at the last moment, or to ask some one who has been at few or no rehearsals, to act as prompter, is the height of absurdity. A quickwitted prompter, by a judicial skipping of a line or two, or by the creating of a line to bring the actors back to the text, may often save the play in case of slipswhich should never occur, but sometimes do. The Call Boy An assistant prompter, or a call boy, should be appointed to see that actors in the greenroom are warned of their approaching entrances, and to see that they are in the proper places in time. This device will make it possible to keep actors off the stage except when they are needed. The Prompt-Book The creation of a prompt-book is not the least among the many duties of the prompter. A prompt-book should be a complete record of the performance. It should contain all the action of the play, the noises, warnings for the entrances, the curtain, etc. By pasting the text in a large scrapbook, and leaving a blank page facing each page of text, a complete promptbook can be worked out. Some prompters like to divide the blank page into columns-one for entrances and warnings, one for noises, one for lights, etc. Unless there is a real prompter who has faithfully done his work, it is best to dispense with the office all together. No prompter at all is better than a poor one. But no official is more important for a smooth performance than the prompter. Atmosphere The atmosphere behind the scenes is another thing that requires consideration. The hectic scramble that some amateurs connect with the performance is entirely unnecessary and undesirable. Proper planning and rehearsing of actors and the entire producing staff should make the performance a pleasant experience both to those who are behind the curtain and to those who are in front. INDEX Acoustics in theater, 60-61, 62 Acting, 16 Acting aids, 50-52 Actors, 25, 243-244. See Re- hearsals, Art of Acting. Aesthetic appeal of theater, Analogous colors, 100 Art of acting, 48-58 Atmosphere in performance, 56 Audience, 26, 242 Batten, 122 Bibliography of plays, 24 Borders, 112 Box-office man, 20 Brace cleat, 148 Bridging, 47 Broken color, 111-112 Building a theater, 63-78 Call boy, 245 Castings, 29-30, 31-33 costuming, 154 Choosing play, 23-28 Choosing players, 29-33 Clinching nails, 126 Cloth rolling, 131 Clout nails, 125-126 Color, in costume design, 155- ΙΟΙ Color wheel, 97-101, 236 Competition in costume de- 100 Considerations in choosing Controlling the audience, 242 Costuming 153-177; aim, Costuming, Continued Crêpe hair, 182, 190-193 Cutting costumes, 169-175 Decor, 94 Design in stage movement, 41 Devices for stage lighting, 213-223 Dimmer, 230-232 Directing, ideas of, 37-38 244-245 |