singers and
dancers doing their best to please you up on the stage. The more the
machinery of the stage is kept out of sight, the better the management
and the greater the satisfaction, both to the folks behind the curtain
and the audience out front. Your attention should not be distracted
from the play, the opera, the spectacle, by the intrusion of any noise
or the appearance of anything or anyone not concerned with the actual
presentation. The drop curtain or the tableau curtain should move
silently and without revealing the human agents that manipulate them.

Scenes and sets should be made in silence and out of view of the
spectators. No person should ever be in evidence on the stage, not
even momentarily, save only the actors, whose presence you expect and
welcome. Otherwise the illusion is interrupted, perhaps destroyed--and
ours is an art where illusion holds a major place in imparting
pleasure. Such an extraneous element would also break the continuity.
It is not tolerated in the best houses.

So you see there is a definite reason why the "men behind the guns" in
the battery of the stage are out of sight and so, often, out of mind.
The hard work of the producer and his faithful subordinates is shown
only in the superior attainments of his troupe and the ensemble as
presented to your vision. They, themselves, the men who finance,
prepare, rehearse and drill the show into shape, are seldom in
evidence--never on the stage.

[Illustration: NW]

PROFESSIONAL COACHING AND PRODUCING FOR AMATEUR ENTERTAINMENTS

[Illustration]

I am often called upon to "put on" an amateur show, and the call is
not confined to New York alone, but extends to many far distant
cities. These are usually community or social affairs, charity
organizations, college shows, or entertainments by the employees of
some large establishment. Once I have put a show across for these
lovers of theatrical activities, the habit of continuing the plan of
giving a show seems to have become established, for with many cities
and clubs and associations the call continues year after year, an
annual or periodical production under my direction being demanded.
This indicates that I have been successful in directing the
non-professional in a theatrical way, and I am sure it is so, for I
have handled the whole situation and the "company" just as I would if
they were going on the professional stage, taken personal charge of
everything, coached principa