Fig. 547
[CHAPTER XXVIII]
A THEATRE
This is a toy that will provide hours of happy play.
There are many effective ways of making a toy theatre, and the planning and designing of one is a pleasant piece of work. This chapter gives a few suggestions to future theatre builders, who must adopt those that appeal most to them. A large stage is the most necessary part, so that there is plenty of room to set up the scenes and room for the actors. A small stage limits the choice of plays considerably.
A pretty and useful theatre can be made thus. Get a wooden box 8¾ inches wide, about 1 foot long and 2¼ inches deep. (The theatre described in this chapter was made from a wooden box containing Fry's Nut Milk Chocolate—this box is exactly the right size.) This box forms the basis of the platform; stand it bottom upward, nail to the back of it a piece of wood, G H C D, which is 1 foot square (see Fig. 548). The platform, A B L M, is a piece of stiff cardboard or wood, A B is length of box, L M is 2 feet. This makes a fine large platform for arranging scenes.
Pieces of stripwood ¼ inch by ½ inch are glued across the platform, A L B M, each strip a little over a ¼ inch from the other (the ¼ inch side is glued to platform). About eleven strips can be thus glued across; their ends should project about ¼ inch beyond the platform.
The grooves thus formed are for running the actors up and down in.
A piece of wood, a b c d, is now cut 2 feet by 3¼ inches.