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A practical manual provides clear, economical instructions for mounting private theatrical productions, covering staging and scenery construction, lighting and sound effects, costume and facial make-up techniques, actor expression and falls, and the duties of stage personnel such as stage manager, prompter, and property man. It explains how to rig a proscenium, create drops and wings, simulate storms and colored fires, plan scene and property plots, and dress and make up characters for age, facial features, or stock roles. The appendix supplies short sketches and one-act pieces suitable for amateur performance, with practical tips for casting, calling, and running home theatricals.
In choosing plays, do not at first take those which call for extensive stage setting and strong acting; rather let your first efforts be confined to those of a lighter character; say, for instance, farces, commediettas and one-act dramas. A pretty little play for home performances, and one that can be done without scenery, is Simpson’s “Dreams of Delusion.” I might also suggest such farces as “Turn Him Out,” “My Turn Next,” and “Should This Meet the Eye.”