The Disappearing Man
A surprising effect to be obtained in these figure shadows is the total disappearance through the ceiling of one of the actors. This is very simply done by stepping upon the lowest box (C), striding over (B) which bears the candle, and on to (A) which makes the shadow appear to leap into the ceiling. Let a figure dressed as a policeman rush upon the scene, hotly pursued by a sailor brandishing a stout stick. The two chase each other about the stage for a time, and presently the sailor shouts very fiercely, “Get off the earth with you—get off!” and makes a savage rush at the policeman, who, casting one terrified glance over his shoulder, steps over the candle, and literally “gets off the earth.” The sailor then bursts into a roar of laughter, dances a hornpipe, and retires.
During all these tableaux a running patter should be kept up, which, combined with the fantastic doings upon the screen, cannot fail to keep the spectators in fits of laughter. Figure shadows are certainly the most amusing of any Shadow Shows, and are so easily done that fear of failure need deter no one from undertaking them.
Almost any play can be adapted to Shadow Shows; nursery rhymes, burlesques of well-known tragedies, purely farcical buffoonery—none will come amiss so long as there is plenty of action, whilst success is assured if all the actors concerned keep the ball rolling.
At the close of the entertainment, when the last piece has been finished, let one of the figures appear upon the screen and repeat—
“For in and out, above, about, below,
’Tis nothing but a magic Shadow Show,
Played in a box whose candle is the sun,
Round which we phantom figures come and go.”
This will please the grown-up members of your audience who have read Omar Khayyám, and will also serve as a suitable finale to the evening’s entertainment. Having said his little verse, the poet can then disappear into the ceiling.