How to Produce Amateur Plays: A Practical Manual

Once more, the little shrubs may be used in order to give an atmosphere of outdoors.

Or, to take an example of a "modern-interior" play in which the same conventionalized scenery may be used to advantage—Alfred Capus' "Brignol and his Daughter" (published by French) is set as follows:

Scene: An office, fitted up with various articles of parlor furniture—rather pretentious in appearance. To the right, a table with letter-files, and a safe; beside the safe, a bookshelf. At the back is the main entrance; there are other doors, right and left, one opening upon a bed-room, the other upon the parlor.

Here the setting is so usual, so conventional, that no actual room is required: merely the table, chairs, safe, etc., as called for. Of course, it is not imperative that such plays should be set in this manner: the arrangement with screens about to be described is usually the best way. The point here to be impressed is that realistic sets are not always required for realistic plays.

3. By the introduction of screens—not to be confused with the large screens mentioned by Gordon Craig, however—practically any realistic play can be produced. The diagram below will afford some idea of the very simple principle:

Three screens, about seven feet high, made in three sections, and covered with burlap or some similar material, are all that will usually be required on a moderately small stage. These can be set in various ways. If an ordinary room is called for, they may be set as in the above diagram.

"Brignol and his Daughter" may be staged by using three screens (as in the diagram above): the opening at the back is the center door; the doors on the right and left are the openings left between the lower ends of the side screens and the inside of the proscenium arch. The furniture is set in this scene as it is required in the stage directions. If the proscenium opening is too large, then the grand drapery can be lowered to within two or three feet of the top of the screens, and the side screens, behind the sides of the proscenium arch, brought closer together. Behind the screens representing the room, burlap or a suitable substitute may be hung. To take concrete examples once more, the setting of the first act of "A Scrap of Paper" (the adaptation by J. Palgrave Simpson) is thus described in the text:

Drawing-room in a French country house. Windows to the floor, R.C. [Right Center] and L.C. [Left Center], at back, looking out on gardens and park. The window L.C. is at first closed in with barred Venetian shutters. The window R.C. opens on the garden. Fireplace, C. [Center] between the windows, surmounted by a mirror. On each side of the mirror is a bracket, within reach of the hand; the one R. supporting a statuette of FLORA, the other, L., empty. Doors, R. 2 E [See diagram] and L. 2 E. Sofas R. and L. up-stage. At C. of stage is a round table, with a lamp, and an embroidery frame, a book and other objects scattered upon it in great disorder. Chairs R. and L. of table. Arm chairs R.C. and L.C., downstage. The furniture is to be rich but old-fashioned, and a little worn. Carpet down.

Five screens are here required: one at the back, behind the fireplace; and two on each side of the stage. Only two of the three folding sections of each are used.

The fireplace must be "practical"—that is, it must have a wooden framework. In case a mirror is desired, it can be lower than a mirror usually is, and made of mosquito netting, to avoid reflections. A very few pictures may be hung on the screens. The hangings at the back of the stage—masking the bare walls—are of the same sort as have been described before, but the color of the screens must harmonize with them.

With such a background, and by means of screens, shrubs, and a few necessary set pieces, like the wall in the Rostand play, the author has seen a dozen widely different plays produced by amateurs, in not one of which was the slightest noticeable discrepancy or anything that would shock even the theatergoer who is accustomed to the elaborate and often unnecessary settings of David Belasco.

As may be easily imagined, the possibilities of variation upon these simple settings are infinite. Experimentation, as always, will reveal new fields.

Before closing the chapter, a word may be said of the flat background near the curtain line. About four or five feet behind the curtain line—i.e. the place where the curtain falls to the stage—hang a drop, either of burlap, or else a white drop like that used in stereopticon lectures. This, either played upon by lights in "the house", or from behind the stage, forms a striking background for scenes of pantomime, a street—as in "Twelfth Night"—a wall, a forest, almost anything. Such a screen was most effectively used in one scene of Reinhardt's production of "Sumurûn." A still more striking effect was achieved in a performance of "Peer Gynt" at the Lessing Theater in Berlin. The scene was the one in which Peer Gynt is before the pyramid in Egypt. About five feet behind the curtain line a white screen was dropped. Diagonally across this screen was thrown a dark purple light, while over the remaining space a saffron yellow played. That was all, but the suggestion of the vast shadow of the pyramid and the yellow sunlight and the yellow sands of Egypt was far more impressive than any representation of the pyramid and desert could be.

In case the effect of a distant city is desired, then another (darker and thicker) cloth, cut to represent the outlines of buildings and the like, can be sewed against the drop, thus producing the effect of a silhouette.

In fine, the whole problem of staging resolves itself into this: achieve your effects in as simple a way as possible; suggest, do not try to represent; scenery, which ought indeed to be a delight to the eye, is after all only background. Experiment, but never hesitate to ask the advice of those who know the basic principles of color, line, and form, as well as those who have technical knowledge of every branch of the art and craft of the theater.

Costumes. In his introductory remarks to "The Romancers", Rostand says that the action may take place anywhere, "provided the costumes are pretty." This is the basis of the few brief remarks to be made here on the subject of costumes. It must not be concluded, however, that any costumes may be used on any occasion. A modern play must have modern costumes—except in such plays as "The Blue Bird" and "Chantecler"—and a "period play" must at least approximate in spirit the age in which the action transpires. But it makes little difference whether Hamlet wears a tenth or eleventh century Danish costume, or one of the age of Elizabeth. It is a well-known fact that in Shakespeare's days there was little or no regard for historical accuracy in costumes, and that even in the historical plays the actors wore contemporary clothes. The point to be impressed is not that we should play "Julius Cæsar" in dress clothes, but that such discrepancies as were allowed in Elizabethan days could not have made very much difference, and that nowadays it is not worth while to spend too much time over details. In Greek plays it is well to use Greek costumes, because we have long been accustomed to associate some sort of archeological detail with plays of a certain age; and besides, Greek costumes are beautiful. But, and this is of great importance, do not strive to be historically exact: so long as costumes are beautiful and harmonize with the setting, and so long as they are not absurd or too much out of harmony with the play, they are good. There are numerous exceptions. Where a play definitely calls for a distinct atmospheric setting—like Bennett and Knoblauch's "Milestones"—then the utmost effort must be made to obtain correct costumes and setting. But the reason why the first act of this play requires historical accuracy is that the audience knows very well what mid-Victorian clothes are like. If the play were given in the year 2500 A.D., it is safe to say that Elizabethan or Queen Anne costumes might do just as well.

However, historical accuracy, when it can be obtained as easily as not, is never superfluous.

CHAPTER X

SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS

The following lists, which do not pretend to completeness, will at least be found helpful in assisting amateur organizations to choose "worth-while" plays. The general headings "Classic", etc, are clear, but the following explanations must be made regarding the other markings:

An asterisk (*) indicates that the play is in one act. Those not so marked are in more than one act, and are in most cases "full length."

The letter "S" denotes serious or tragic plays, intended in nearly every case for advanced amateurs.

The letter "R" denotes plays of a romantic and poetic nature.

The letter "C" denotes comedies, farces, and plays in lighter vein.

The letter "F" in parenthesis after the title indicates that a fee is charged for production by amateurs. The publisher or agent (see footnotes), must be consulted for particulars.

The letter "D" denotes modern dialect plays, like those of Lady Gregory. Most of these plays are included under the general heading of "Classic" because the costumes and setting, though they may be modern, are not the familiar modern costumes and settings.

All plays not included in the first division "Classics, including modern costume and historical plays" are to be found in the second division: "Modern plays."

It is nearly always unwise for an amateur organization to take a play on faith; it is therefore advisable for it to collect a library of amateur plays, from which successive generations of members can at least form some judgment of the field from which they are to select their plays.

This list makes no pretence to completeness. It has been the writer's purpose merely to mention a number of classic and standard plays which amateurs can produce without too great difficulty.

French

C Bruëys (adaptor of 15th century anonymous), Master Patelin, Solicitor (Samuel French)

C Molière, The Merchant Gentleman [Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme] (Samuel French; Little, Brown; Bohn Library, etc.)

C* The Affected Young Ladies [Les Précieuses ridicules]

C The Sicilian

C* Doctor Love [L'Amour Médecin]

C* The Doctor in Spite of Himself [Le Médecin malgré lui]

C The Imaginary Invalid [Le Malade imaginaire] (Samuel French; Little, Brown; Bohn Library; Putnam, etc., publish the above five titles)

C* Dancourt, Woman's Craze for Titles (in "The Drama"; Historical Publishing Company, 1903, vol. viii.)

C* Le Sage, Crispin, His Master's Rival (Samuel French)

CR* Marivaux, The Legacy (Samuel French)

CR De Musset, Fantasio (Dramatic Publishing Company)

CR* The Green Coat (Samuel French)

C Augier, M. Poirier's Son-in-law [Le Gendre de M. Poirier] (in "Four Plays by Emile Augier", published by Alfred A. Knopf, and in "Chief European Dramatists", published by Houghton Mifflin)

CR* Banville, Gringoire (Dramatic Publishing Company; Samuel French)

CR* Charming Léandre (Samuel French)

C Sardou, A Scrap of Paper [Les Pattes de mouche] (Samuel French)

CR The Black Pearl (Samuel French)

CR* Feuillet, The Fairy (Samuel French)

CR* Rivoire, The Little Shepherdess (Samuel French)

CR Rostand, The Romancers (Samuel French; Walter H. Baker; Heinemann)

C* France, The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife (Lane) (F)

C* Picard, The Rebound (Samuel French)

CR Zamacois, The Jesters (Brentano) (F)

SR* Bouchor, A Christmas Tale (Samuel French)

CR* Coppée, The Violin-Maker of Cremona (Samuel French)

SR* Pater Noster (Samuel French)

SR* Theuriet, Jean-Marie (Samuel French)

Danish

C Holberg, The Loquacious Barber ("The Drama", Victorian edition)

C Captain Bombastes Thunderton (in "Three Comedies by Ludvig Holberg", published by Longmans) (Requires cutting)

CR Hertz, King René's Daughter (Samuel French)

German

CR Lessing, Minna von Barnhelm (in Bohn Library, Macmillan)

C The Scholar (in Bohn Library)

C Schiller, Nephew or Uncle (Walter H. Baker)

English

S Anonymous, Everyman (Everyman's Library; Dutton)

R Lyly, Alexander and Campaspe (Scribner, and in Everyman's Library) (Requires cutting)

R Greene, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (Dutton) (Requires cutting)

CR Beaumont and Fletcher, The Knight of the Burning Pestle (Scribner; Everyman's Library; etc.) (Requires cutting)

CR Dekker, Old Fortunatus (Scribner) (Requires cutting)

CR The Shoemaker's Holiday (Scribner; Dutton) (Requires cutting)

CR Heywood The Fair Maid of the West (Scribner) (Requires cutting)

SR Jonson, The Sad Shepherd (Dutton) (Requires cutting)

CR The Case is Altered (in any complete set of Ben Jonson) (Requires cutting)

Shakespeare (no plays need be mentioned. The "Ben Greet Shakespeare for Amateurs" contains good directions for staging and acting)

C Udall, Ralph Roister Doister (Macmillan; Dent) (Requires cutting)

CR Goldsmith, The Good-natured Man (in any edition of Goldsmith's plays)

CR She Stoops to Conquer (in any edition of Goldsmith's plays)

CR Sheridan, The Rivals (in any edition of Sheridan's plays)

C The School for Scandal (in any edition of Sheridan's plays)

C The Critic (in any edition of Sheridan's plays)

CR Pinero, Trelawney of the 'Wells' (Dramatic Publishing Company) (F)[12]

[12] Apply to Sanger & Jordan, 1432 Broadway, New York, for acting rights.

CR Housman, A Chinese Lantern (Dramatic Publishing Company) (F)

CR* Bird in Hand (Samuel French) (F)

SRD* A Likely Story (Samuel French) (F)

CR* As Good as Gold (Samuel French) (F)

SRD* The Snow Man (Samuel French) (F)

SR* Nazareth (Samuel French) (F)

SR* The Lord of the Harvest (Samuel French) (F)

SR* The Return of Alcestis (Samuel French) (F)

CR (and Barker), Prunella (Little, Brown) (F)

CR Shaw, The Devil's Disciple (Brentano) (F)[13]

CR Parker, Pomander Walk (Samuel French) (F)

CR* Barrie, Pantaloon (Scribner) (F)[13]

[13] Apply to American Play Company, 33 West 42nd St., New York.

CR Bennett and Knoblauch, Milestones (Doran) (F)

CR Noyes, Sherwood (Stokes) (F)

CR Tennyson, The Princess (in any complete edition of Tennyson)

CR The Foresters (in any complete edition of Tennyson)

SR* The Falcon (in any complete edition of Tennyson)

R* Lord Dunsany, The Gods of the Mountain (Little, Brown) (F)

CR* The Lost Silk Hat (Little, Brown) (F)

CRD* The Glittering Gate (Little, Brown) (F)

R King Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior (Little, Brown) (F)

RS* Yeats, The Land of Heart's Desire (Macmillan; Samuel French)

CD* The Pot of Broth (Macmillan) (F)[14]

RS* Deirdre (Macmillan) (F)[14]

RS* The King's Threshold (Macmillan) (F)[14]

CRD* Lady Gregory, The Rising of the Moon (Putnam) (F)[15]

CD* The Workhouse Ward (Putnam) (F)[15]

SRD* The Travelling Man (Putnam) (F)[15]

CD* Spreading the News (Putnam) (F)[15]

CD* The Jackdaw (Putnam) (F)[15]

CD* Hyacinth Halvey (Putnam) (F)[15]

SD* Hyde, The Lost Saint (Scribner)

SD* The Twisting of the Rope (Poet Lore)

CD* Mayne, The Turn of the Road (Luce) (F)

CD The Drone (Luce) (F)

SD* Synge, The Shadow of the Glen (Luce) (F)[15]

CD Boyle, The Building Fund (Gill, Dublin) (F)

RC* Downs, The Maker of Dreams (Samuel French) (F)[15]

Sanskrit

SR Kalidasa, Sakountala (Walter Scott, London; and Everyman's Library)

Bengali

RS Tagore, The Post-Office (Macmillan) (F)[15]

S The Stronger (in "The Drama", May, 1913, and by Little, Brown)

French

C* Augier, The Post-Script (Samuel French, and in "Four Plays by Emile Augier", Alfred A. Knopf)

SC The House of Fourchambault (Samuel French, and in "Four Plays by Emile Augier", Alfred A. Knopf)

CR* Meilhac and Halévy, Indian Summer (Samuel French)

CR* Panurge's Sheep (Samuel French)

CR* Feuillet, The Village (Samuel French)

C* Labiche, The Two Cowards (Samuel French)

C* Grammar (Samuel French)

C Pailleron, The Art of Being Bored (Samuel French)

C* Bernard, French Without a Master (Samuel French)

C* I'm Going! (Samuel French)

C* Donnay, They! (In "Lovers, The Free Woman, and They!" (Little, Brown)

S France, Crainquebille (Samuel French)

C* Maurey, Rosalie (Samuel French)

C* Hervieu, Modesty (Samuel French)

S Capus, The Adventurer ("The Drama", November, 1914)

C Brignol and his Daughter (Samuel French)

C* Caillavet, Choosing a Career (Samuel French)

German

SC Freytag, The Journalists ("The Drama", February, 1913)

RC* Sudermann, The Far-Away Princess (in "Roses", Scribner, and separately, by Samuel French) (F)

S* Fritzchen (in "Morituri", Scribner)

C* Benedix, The Law-Suit (Samuel French)

C* The Third Man (Samuel French)

C* Gyalui, After the Honeymoon (Samuel French)

Scandinavian

S* Strindberg, The Stronger (Scribner) (F)

SB Lucky Pehr (Stewart and Kidd) (F)

SC Björnson, The Newly-Married Couple (Everyman's Library; Dutton)

C Love and Geography (Scribner)

S Ibsen, An Enemy of the People (Scribner)

Russian

C* Tchekoff, The Boor (Samuel French; Scribner)

C* A Marriage Proposal (Samuel French; Scribner)

C* The Tragedian in Spite of Himself (Scribner)

C* Andreyev, The Dear Departing (Henderson, London), and [same play] Love of One's Neighbor (Boni, New York)

English

C Pinero, The Schoolmistress (Walter H. Baker) (F)

C The Magistrate (Walter H. Baker) (F)

CS The Benefit of the Doubt (Dramatic Publishing Company) (F)

C The Amazons (Walter H. Baker) (F)

C Dandy Dick (Walter H. Baker) (F)

C Jones, The Manœuvres of Jane (Samuel French) (F)

CS The Liars (Samuel French) (F)

C Dolly Reforming Herself (Samuel French) (F)

C Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest (Walter H. Baker; Nichols; Luce; Putnam; and French)[16]

C* Sutro, The Bracelet (Samuel French; Brentano) (F—Samuel French)

C* Sutro, The Man on the Kerb (Samuel French; Brentano) (F—Samuel French)

C* A Marriage Has Been Arranged (Samuel French; Brentano) (F—Samuel French)

CR* Barrie, The Will (Scribner) (F)[16]

CR* The Twelve-Pound Look (Brentano) (F)[16]

[16] Apply to Sanger & Jordan.

CR The Admirable Crichton (Doran) (F)[17]

CR Quality Street (Doran) (F)[17]

[17] Apply to Sanger & Jordan.

C Shaw, You Never Can Tell (Brentano) (F)[18]

CR Candida (Brentano) (F)[18]

C* Press Cuttings (Brentano) (F)[18]

C* How He Lied to Her Husband (Brentano) (F)[18]

CR Arms and the Man (Brentano) (F)[18]

[18] Apply to American Play Co.

s Barker, The Voysey Inheritance (Little, Brown) (F)

SC Bennett, What the Public Wants (Doran) (F)

RC Milestones (Doran) (F)

S Cupid and Commonsense (Doran) (F)

C The Great Adventure (Doran) (F)

C* Polite Farces (Doran) (F)

S Baker, Chains (Luce) (F)

S* Gibson, Mates (Macmillan) (F)

S* On the Road (Macmillan) (F)

C Hankin, The Cassilis Engagement (Samuel French) (F)

C The Return of the Prodigal (Samuel French) (F)

C The Charity that Began at Home (Samuel French) (F)

C* Houghton, The Dear Departed (Samuel French) (F)

C* The Fifth Commandment (Samuel French) (F)

C* Phipps (Samuel French) (F)

SC Houghton, Independent Means (Samuel French) (F)

S Galsworthy, The Silver Box (Scribner) (F)[19]

C Joy (Scribner) (F)[19]

SC Hamilton, Just to Get Married (Samuel French) (F)

SC* Chapin, Augustus in Search of a Father (Gowans and Grey, London) (F)

DCR* Brighouse, Lonesome Like (Samuel French) (F)

SD* The Price of Coal (Samuel French) (F)

C Monkhouse, The Education of Mr. Surrage (Sidgwick and Jackson, London) (F)

C Mason, Green Stockings (Samuel French) (F)

SD Ervine, Jane Clegg (Holt) (F)

DCR* Fenn and Pryce, 'Op o' me Thumb (Samuel French) (F)

American

S Gillette, Secret Service (Samuel French) (F)

S Held by the Enemy (Samuel French) (F)

C Too Much Johnson (Samuel French) (F)

C MacKaye, Anti-Matrimony (Stokes) (F)

C Thomas (A. E.), Her Husband's Wife (Doubleday, Page) (F)[19]

S* Middleton, The Failures (Holt) (F)[20]

S* The Groove (Holt) (F)[20]

S* Tradition (Holt) (F)[20]

[20] Apply to Samuel French for producing rights.

C* Macmillan, Short Plays (Stewart and Kidd) (F)

C Forbes, The Commuters (Samuel French) (F)

C The Traveling Salesman (Samuel French) (F)

S Klein, The Lion and the Mouse (Samuel French) (F)

R Thomas, Arizona (Dramatic Publishing Company) (F)

RD Alabama (Dramatic Publishing Company) (F)

C Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots (Samuel French) (F)

C The Other Girl (Samuel French) (F)

C Oliver Goldsmith (Samuel French) (F)

C The Earl of Pawtucket (Samuel French) (F)

C The Capitol (Samuel French) (F)

1. Representative One-Act Plays by American Authors, edited by Margaret G. Mayorga (Little, Brown), contains a large number of suitable plays for amateurs. Among these are:

R* Sam Average, by Percy MacKaye (F)

R* Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil, by Stuart Walker (F)

S* In the Zone, by Eugene O'Neill (F)

R* The Wonder Hat, a Harlequinade by Ben Hecht and Kenneth Sawyer Goodman (F)

C* Suppressed Desires, by George Cram Cook and Susan Glaspell (F)

S* The Last Straw, by Bosworth Crocker (F)

2. Representative One-Act Plays by British and Irish Authors, edited by Barrett H. Clark (Little, Brown), contains, among others, the following plays suited to the requirements of amateurs:

R* The Widow of Wasdale Head, by Arthur Pinero (F)

C* Rococo, by Granville Barker (F)

R* The Snow Man, by Lawrence Housman (F)

C* Fancy Free, by Stanley Houghton (F)

3. Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays, edited by Frank Shay and Pierre Loving (Stewart-Kidd), includes the following plays for amateurs:

C* Literature, by Arthur Schnitzler (F)

C* Françoise' Luck, by Georges de Porto-Riche (F)

S* Mary's Wedding, by Gilbert Carman (F)

C* A Sunny Morning, by the Quinteros (F)

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

COPYRIGHT AND ROYALTY

The following statement regarding royalties on amateur plays was prepared by Mr. Allen J. Carter, an attorney of Chicago, for one of the Drama League pamphlets listing amateur plays:

"The copyright law of the United States requires that every play, whether published or unpublished, for which copyright protection is claimed, must be registered in the copyright office at Washington, D.C. Until such registration, no action for infringement of copyright can be maintained. The register of copyrights keeps a complete record and index of all copyright entries and publishes a catalogue of such entries at regular intervals. Dramatic works are entered under Class D and are found indexed under that heading in Part I, Group II of the catalogues. Copies of these catalogues are on file in most of the larger public libraries, and sets or parts of sets may be purchased from the Superintendent of Public Documents at Washington, D.C. Anyone wishing to learn whether a particular play has been properly entered for copyright need only consult a set of these catalogues. If such a set is not available, the information will be promptly furnished by the register of copyrights, Washington, D.C, upon request.

"Whenever a play has been published, examination of a copy of an authorized printed edition will disclose whether such play has been properly copyrighted. The law requires that a notice of copyright must be placed either upon the title page, or upon the page immediately following, of each copy published or offered for sale in the United States. Such notice must consist either of the word 'Copyright' or the abbreviation 'Copr.', accompanied by the name of the copyright proprietor and the year in which copyright was secured by publication. If published prior to March 4, 1909, the notice may also be in the following form: 'Entered according to Act of Congress in the year ——, by A. B. in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.' Whenever the author of a play or anyone to whom he has assigned his rights publishes such play without proper notice of copyright in some one of the three authorized forms above mentioned, the play then and forever after becomes the property of the public and may be performed and printed at will by anyone. No subsequent attempt to copyright such play would be valid, and any valid copyright previously secured would be vitiated.

"A play which has never been published nor offered for sale, and which exists only in manuscript form, may be copyrighted upon proper entry being made at the copyright office in Washington, D.C. Should such play be later published, however, the publication must comply with all the requirements of the law as to notice of copyright.

"Any person who infringes the copyright in any play shall be liable: (a) To an injunction restraining said infringement; (b) to pay actual damages to the copyright proprietor, or in place of actual damages $100.00 for the first infringing performance and $50.00 for each succeeding one; (c) to imprisonment not to exceed one year, or to a fine not to exceed $1,000.00, or both, wherever such person has infringed such copyright wilfully and for profit.

"It follows, therefore, that if any group of amateurs perform a copyrighted play without having obtained the consent of the author or copyright proprietor, they are collectively liable to damages of at least $100.00 under whatever conditions the performance is given. If they do it wilfully and for profit, they are in addition each individually liable to fine and imprisonment under the criminal provision of the act."

APPENDIX II

A NOTE ON MAKE-UP

Make-up as an art and a science does not properly fall within the scope of the present volume. However, it has been thought advisable to insert at this place sections from an interesting paper on make-up by one who has made a thorough study of the subject. The author acknowledges his obligation to Miss Grace Griswold, who wrote the article, for permission to make this use of it.

How and Where Lines Come

into the Face

A Study in Make-up

by

Grace Griswold

Nearly all great actors are masters of make-up. They must be, for the illusions of the stage are no less pictorial than those of painting and sculpture, with the added elements of movement and voice, all of which must be brought into working harmony with the thought and feeling of the part, in a perfect portrayal. Any serious incongruity in externals is felt at once, and destroys the illusion.

Women have not done as much as men in facial transformation, except in the way of burlesque and grotesquerie. Women's make-ups, on the whole, are far more conventional. The female face is more difficult to change without revealing the tricks. Heavy furrows and deep coloring are possible only for low types. Men can effect great changes by the use of beards and moustaches. A woman's art must be far subtler.

Look at the men across the way.[21] Notice their eyes. We always see the eyes first, although the mouth is a more unerring key to character. The mouth for emotions and impulses, and the eyes for thoughts. As the mouth is the gateway of the soul, so the eyes are its windows, but, like all windows, their function is rather to give light and view to the interior than to expose it to the impertinence of passers-by.... His level brows, which show him to be of a practical or scientific turn of mind, are deeply contracted. So much so, that not only are there two perpendicular lines between them, but one across the top of the nose as well. The heavy bone formation which the brows outline, indicates rare powers of observation. But this man has come a cropper. See how restless and unseeing are his eyes! He is searching for a solution to the problem which is troubling him. It is a purely intellectual problem, for the mouth, which is the indication of the emotions and passions, is unaffected by what is going on above. There is nothing sinister about the problem: you see that the eyes are wide open. Now it is settled, because he appears focussed: he is following a single line of thought.