An Interior, as you will probably have occasion to use one in any play you produce in your miniature theatre. [Figure 343] shows a simple interior, the size of which will, of course, depend upon that of the stage. However, it should not be very deep. [Figure 344] shows the pattern by which to cut the five pieces of cardboard, of which the walls are made. The edges of these pieces should be glued together with strips of linen. Cut the door openings at F, G, and H, two window openings at I and J, and slots in the tops of B and D at K, L, M, N, O, and P, as shown in the [drawing]. Make the doors out of pieces of cardboard, hinging them to the openings with linen strips, and draw the window-sash and their divisions upon tissue-paper and paste them over the openings I and J. Oil the paper if it is not very transparent, so the audience can see the villain when he passes by the windows. Make a wainscoting around the walls to the height of the window-sills, ruling the boards with a lead pencil, and draw a line across wall C a little below the bottom of slots M and N in walls B and D, as shown. If you have used white cardboard for the walls, and not injured its calendered surface when cutting the openings, it will have a good plaster appearance. Otherwise, cover the cardboard with white or tinted paper. Paint the wainscoting and the door and window trimmings brown. To set up the room, bend the walls into the shape shown in [Fig. 343]. Then cut three strips of cardboard several inches longer than the width of the room and slip them into the slots you have cut in the tops of the walls B and D (see Q, R, and S, [Fig. 343]). T is a drop like S, but is suspended in front from the gridiron. These strips form the ceiling of the room, and generally have beams or mouldings painted across their bottom edges, but it will simplify matters to leave them plain, as shown in the [illustration]. The line which you have drawn across the rear wall corresponds with these strips. Cut a number of illustrations from a magazine for pictures, and either hang them upon the walls or paste them to the cardboard. Doll furnishings can be used to complete the scene.
There are a great variety of subjects upon which a boy can base his plays, but what probably will make the most interesting programme and one of the simplest to prepare is
A War Drama.—In this you can picture a number of battles after the descriptions you have read in your history, or dramatize one of your favorite war stories, bringing its young heroes before the footlights. This class of plays will give you an opportunity to use
Paper Soldiers for actors. Probably you have a supply of these, but if not, you can get them at any toy store. They come upon printed sheets ready to be cut out, and as they cost only a penny a sheet it pays to buy rather than make them.
Cavalry and infantry of about every nationality, Indians in various positions upon horseback and on foot, and a large assortment of American soldiers in marching order and fighting array are now to be found in these sheets. For
Marching Soldiers across the stage, tack their feet to a lath as shown in [Fig. 345], and then slide the lath across the stage, at the same time pushing out one of the laths forming the floor. The moving of the laths scarcely will be noticeable from the position of your audience.
Fig. 345.—Scheme for Marching Soldiers.
Separate Standards for soldiers you wish to set about the stage should have small strips of cardboard glued to their backs and bent out in the same manner as easel-backs are made. At least four or five of the soldiers should be jointed so they can walk about the stage and appear perhaps a little more graceful in their actions than their stiff-jointed comrades who are fastened to laths. [Figure 346] shows