rehearsals, where the director is constantly interrupting, are very loud in the silence of an attentive audi

ence.

And lastly, and above all else, don't stop these final rehearsals to work on details that have been left unlearned from all the previous rehear als. Work for a continuous and confident performance.

The Dress Rehearsal

The final rehearsal should be a dress rehearsal, complete in every possible detail. Some directors like to have an invited audience, in order to give the actors the "feel" of playing before people. In any case, actors must be made to understand that they are playing to an audience, in spite of the fact that they must not appear to be. To teach actors to "ignore the audience" is doubtful wisdom. They must rather be taught how to hold their positions and lines through any interruptions of laughter and applause, although they must appear to conduct themselves as though they were alone. The dress rehearsal should be a rehearsal for the scene shifters, electricians, and the other members of the producing force, as well as for the actors.

There is an old tradition that "a bad dress rehearsal makes a good performance." This is a most untrue and dangerous doctrine. It is probably true that amateurs often rise to the occasion of a performance, so that the performance is usually not as bad as a poor dress rehearsal. But nothing is more helpful for a good performance than a successful dress rehearsal.

CHAPTER VI

PRODUCING

ON PRODUCING WITH A THEATER

Definition of Theater

The word "theater" comes from an old Greek word meaning "to see" or "to view," so that originally a theater was merely a place for the display of a spectacle. In modern usage, however, theater has come to mean a building that has two main parts: (1) an auditorium for the accommodation of an audience, and (2) a stage on which the play may be performed. These two parts of the building are separated by a wall, in which there is an opening through which the audience hear and see the performance. This opening is called the "proscenium" opening, and it may be closed at will by a curtain.

A. ON HAVING A THEATER

Test for a Theater

When a theater is available, the giving of plays in the traditional way is a much simpler matter. Sometimes, however, the theater is not a very good theater. The question arises then as to what constitutes a good theater. The following questions may aid in arriving at

an answer:

1. Are its acoustic properties good? Can the actors make themselves heard in all parts of the auditorium

without undue efforts? Or must they strain and bellow to no effect?

2. How about the "sight lines"? Sight lines are the lines of vision, and they may be represented on the floor plan of a theater by two lines from each seat, one to each side of the proscenium arch. In the perfect

Poor

A sees but 1/2 of stage

Good

FIG. 3.-SIGHT Lines.

theater, the sight lines from each and every seat should cover the entire stage. That is, every person in the audience should be able to see all the action, regardless of the part of the stage in which it is taking place.

3. What are the mechanical possibilities of the stage? Is the stage sufficiently large so that there will be room on all sides of the scenery? Is it high enough to allow the scenery to be pulled up out of the way? Has it storage room for properties and scenery? Has it modern appliances?

4. Does it make a pleasing asthetic appeal? Is it painted and decorated so as to be attractive? Is the

auditorium the sort of room in which the audience will be in a frame of mind to enjoy a play? Is the lighting soft and pleasing, or harsh and glaring? Are the seats comfortable?

5. Are the hygienic conditions proper? Are there washrooms and sanitary facilities? Is the room successfully ventilated? Is it correctly heated?

Improving a theater

It is a fortunate-and a rare-Little Theater, or school and college group, that has a theater about which all these questions can be answered in the affirmative. Where some detail is unsatisfactory, plans should be studied to correct it. The acoustic properties of an auditorium can sometimes be improved. Where expert advice cannot be secured, experimentation must be resorted to. The cause of the difficulty is usually that the sound waves do not die out quickly enough, because they are reflected back and forth by blank walls. The breaking up of any large expanses of blank wall, especially if they are opposite one another, usually corrects the difficulty. Curtains may be hung or the walls may be covered with some material that will deaden reflection. "Hair felt" is the material that has the greatest effect.1

In theaters where the acoustics are bad, the actors must pay greater attention to their enunciation and the placing of their voices, to make this defect less serious. Proper direction of a play may help to overcome the

1 See W. C. Sabine, Collected Papers on Acoustics (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1922).

defect of bad sight lines, too. The action can usually be brought forward and to the center of the stage, so that it will be visible from all parts of the house. The stage designers can make scenery that will aid the bringing of the action into general vision. And sometimes it is worth while to remove a few bad seats, or to replace them so that the sight lines are improved. To build up the best possible mechanical equipment should be the aim of every group. Much can be done, even where the back stage space is not all that could be desired. The aesthetic appeal can be made satisfactory by redecorating; and care and foresight will do much to improve hygienic conditions. No group of progressive amateurs who are fortunate enough to have a theater at their command should ever be satisfied until they have done everything in their power to make it as near perfect as possible. True play production demands the best equipment that can be devised.

B. ON BUILDING A THEATER

Any large room, whether it has a platform or not, may be turned into a theater. If it has a platform of proper size the process is much easier, but a platform can be built if necessary. To try to turn a room into a theater by building merely a proscenium arch and curtain, without any device to raise the action from the floor, is usually very unsatisfactory. If there is no platform, and if one cannot be built, it is wiser to use central staging, or some similar device. (See pages 86 ff.)