The noise on the stage is produced by what is called the crash machine, which is one of the oldest implements of imitation on the stage. It is similar to the [wind machine] in construction. It consists of a wheel with paddles set at an angle of about forty-five degrees. Upon the top of the wheel one end of a stout piece of wood is placed down by fastening the other end to a portion of the framework. When the wheel is turned, the slats passing under the stationary piece produce a rattling crash. The principle of the machine is illustrated by a boy running along a picket fence with a stick, allowing it to slip from picket to picket. In many theaters a gigantic rattle is used in place of a machine of this kind; it is more portable.
FIRE AND SMOKE EFFECTS.
Conflagrations are produced in a number of ways, and if proper precautions are taken, they are perfectly safe. Usually the buildings which are to be destroyed by fire are constructed of separate pieces of stage carpentry, through which the painted canvas is attached. They are raised and lowered by means of hinges, slides, cords, and pulleys, so as to give the effect of tumbling down. The fire proper consists of chemical red fire and powdered lycopodium used separately, the former to give a red glow and the latter to represent flames. Variously colored electric lights and small pieces of fireworks simulate the leaping of the sparks. In some cases the shutters on the houses appear to burn off and fall down upon the stage; this is accomplished as follows: They are secured to the scene with a preparation called “quick match.” This is made of powder, alcohol, and a lamp wick. The window frames and sashes are made of sheet iron. They are covered with oakum soaked in alcohol or naphtha. These sashes and frames are not fastened to the canvas scene at all, but are placed a short distance behind it upon platforms. The quickest possible touch of flame ignites the oakum, and in a moment the fire runs around the sash, and nothing is apparently left but the blackened and charred wood. Steam is used to represent the smoke, and one method of using it is described below. An occasional crash, followed by the ignition of a little powder, produces a sudden puff of smoke which gives the spectator the idea of a fall of a rafter.
Apparatus for producing the smoke of a conflagration is more complicated than that for producing lightning. Steam is largely used for producing smoke, and is conducted to a place where the smoke is to appear, by means of rubber hose; but this is apt to cause considerable noise when it escapes into the air. This difficulty has been surmounted in at least one stage illusion which we illustrate, this being the “Magian,” the opera of Massenet. It was particularly necessary in the case to have the smoke produced as noiselessly as possible, because the orchestral music at the moment of the fire is relatively soft and low. The difficulty was surmounted as follows: The steam, generated by a boiler in the Paris Opera House, was led to special devices shown in our [engraving], the steam being admitted to triangular boxes at the apex opposite the base of the triangle. The boxes at the point of attachment with the steam pipe have a considerable thickness, which gradually diminishes as the base of the triangle is approached, so that the steam, which is distributed throughout the whole extent of the box, escapes without any noise through a narrow orifice between the two faces of the apparatus. In the interior of the boxes there are pieces of felt, the principal object of which is to absorb the drops of water which are carried along mechanically or which may condense. The advantage of this arrangement is that it permits of the disengagement of the steam everywhere where it is necessary. The boxes are easily manipulated, and hooks fastened to them permit of their being attached to the scenery with ease. After a simple coupling pipe has been connected with a steam pipe, the apparatus is ready to operate. In the opera we have referred to, twenty-nine double boxes are employed; seventeen are distributed over the stage at different points, and nearly up to the pipe of the soffit curtains. The twelve others are beneath the stage, and the orifices through which the steam escapes are flush with the floor.
APPARATUS FOR IMITATING THE SMOKE OF A CONFLAGRATION
ON THE STAGE OF A THEATER
