CHAPTER III.
STAGE EFFECTS.
The present chapter deals with the various effects which are liable to be called for in almost any opera or other dramatic production. It should be remembered that the effects of sunrise, moonlight, thunder, lightning, wind, rainbows, fires, etc., may be obtained in a great variety of ways, so that only an outline of some of the methods of producing the illusion can be given. Stage management is a constant study. Stage managers and stage machinists and property masters vie with one another in producing more and more realistic illusions. It is a curious fact that this business is largely a matter of invention, and it is little wonder that it is in the hands of exceptionally clever men.
SCENE PAINTING.
Scene painting is an art by itself. There is no other branch of painting like it, either in the variety of subjects embraced or in the methods employed. The scenic artist must be at home in landscape, marine, or architectural painting. He must be able to produce at any time the mountainous passes of Switzerland, the flat meadows of Holland, the palace of Versailles, or the Windsor Hotel. The method by which he works and many of the materials he employs are altogether different from those used by the ordinary oil or water-color painter. The scene painter works upon canvas. He first makes a pasteboard model of his scene and gives it to the stage carpenter or stage machinist, who builds the framework and secures the canvas to it. It is then ready for the “paint frame.” This is a huge wooden affair hung up with ropes with counterweights attached. It is usually placed against the wall at the back or side of the stage, and has a windlass attached by which it may be raised or lowered. The artist works upon a bridge built in front of this frame, the paint bridge usually giving a passage between the two fly galleries. A [paint bridge] is illustrated in [Chapter I.] of the present division of this work. By hoisting or lowering the paint frame the artist is enabled to reach any part of the scene. He is provided with plenty of brushes, ranging from a heavy two-pound brush, such as is used by house painters, to a small sharp one used for drawing fine lines. In addition to these he has several whitewash brushes for laying in flat washes and skies. The colors are kept in buckets, tin cans, and earthenware vessels. His other requisites are a palette knife, plenty of twine, and sticks of charcoal. He is then ready to go to work. His first duty is to “prime” the scenes. This is done with a plain coat of white. Distemper color is used in scene painting. The colors are mixed with sizing, which is simply a weak solution of glue. The priming coat is laid on with a heavy whitewash brush. After the canvas is primed and dry, the artist is ready to draw. After the rough charcoal sketch is made, it is carefully gone over with an ink specially prepared for the purpose. The architectural work must be done with precision; regularity of outline and accuracy are absolutely essential. The perspective requires to be laid off with the greatest possible care, as the effect of many scenes depends almost entirely upon it. The next step is the laying in of the groundwork. The sky is, of course, the first point. This is done with whitewash brushes. The principal point is to get it on thickly, and here the great advantage of painting in distemper is made plain. The color dries very quickly, thus affording the artist a high rate of speed in working; and, secondly, the color dries precisely the same shade it had before being mixed. Scene painters of different nationalities have various methods of working, some using a great deal of color, others very little. Some idea of the rapidity of working can be obtained when it is stated that a scene painter of the English school has been known to paint a scene of twenty by thirty feet in less than four hours. Some of the colors used cost as much as $2.75 per pound. Indigo is used in very large quantities by scenic artists. Ten pounds of indigo are sometimes used in a single scene. A scenic painter, however, is not confined to colors in producing effects. A number of other materials are of great importance in this kind of painting. Gold and silver leaf are freely used for certain kinds of scenes, as well as foil papers and bronze powders. Jewels in the wall of the Eastern palace cannot be imitated with a sufficient degree of realism to stand the glare of the light, so jewels are made of zinc and set in the canvas; they are made of all colors; they are often covered with colored lacquers, or the painted surface is lacquered. In ice scenes mica powders are used in large quantities to produce the glitter and sparkle. Nearly every scene painter has a large collection of stencils which are very useful for producing architectural decorations. The last thing the scene painter does before the introduction of a new play is to have his scenes set upon the stage at night in order that the lighting of them can be arranged. The artist sits in the center of the auditorium and minutely observes every nook and corner of the scene under the glare of the gas or electric light. Here a light is turned up and there one is lowered until the proper effect is obtained. The gas man or electrician takes careful note of his directions, and the stage manager oversees everything.
SUNRISE EFFECT.
The sunrise effect is obtained in several ways. A semicircular screen is placed across the stage and forms the background, as for mountains. Upon a platform immediately behind the center of the stage is placed an arc projector that is maneuvered by hand, and throws a luminous disk upon the canvas of the screen. Upon the stage are suspended colored incandescent border lights. In other suitable places there are arranged groups of lamps provided with reflectors of special form. These lamps may be introduced successively into the circuit. Colored gelatine plates may be slid over the reflectors so as to give the light the color desired. Our [engravings] show the various systems of lighting employed, showing the cords, pulleys, and other devices for turning the gelatine shades around or raising them so as to give the desired effect. The electrician first puts into the circuit the group of lamps that produce the blue light, and at the same time turns the blue shades over the lamps. At a given signal the operator pulls the rope so as to bring the red colored shades in front of the lamps. When the signal is given to him, the operator in charge of the arc lamp places a red glass in front of the lenses of the projector and switches the current on to the lamp. The resistances in the circuit of the various incandescent lamps are successively withdrawn so as to heighten the red light of the rising sun. In some theaters colored [incandescent lamps] are used, as at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, as described in [Chapter I.] of the present division of this work. This system is, of course, preferable in many ways.
To return to the sun-rising effect: after the sun has risen above the mountains the red light is diminished, the red glass placed before the aperture of the projector is gradually removed, and the color screens are removed from in front of the lamps. Motion is given to the sun by means of an inclined plane up which the arc lamp is carried by means of a winch which is slowly manipulated by the assistant.