THEATRE-BUILDING.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1777, 16 June 1913, Page 5

THEATRE-BUILDING.

REQUIREMENTS OF THE STAGE, EXPERTS IN TOWN. SOME TIMELY SUGGESTIONS. How littlo is known, oven by skilled architects, about tho technical side of tho stage, is evidenced in inajiy theatres still, in nightly occupation all over AustrnInsiu. liuring tho past week wo llavo. had in Wellington an expert English producer, whoso knowledge oonoorniug thai portion of the theatre behind tho, footlights is unquestioned, and who, during his stay in Wellington,' has taken the opportunity of inspecting tho Grand Opera llouso now in courso of erection. That gentleman is Mr. Frank Dix, tho producer of tho pantomime, "Puss in Boots," and who is now engaged in writing tho book of tho pautomimo (to be produced in Melbourne in December and hero alwut a year hence) on tho old "Arabian Nights" themo, "Tho Forty Thiovc.t." Mr. Dix did • not wish to jpofio 08 ft critic in any sense of tho term, but was quite willing to ofler suggestions as in what were the wisest things to do in respect of certain structural features oldie stage. Commencing underfoot, h« mid that the old-fnshioncd idea was to give tho stago lloor a considerable "rake'? or slope down inwards the footlights, as it was supposed to improve tho lino oi sight as far as the audience was conconned. That was all past and gone—, tho stages of all modern theatres wero lwiug built perfectly flat, and tho "ralro" was liciug put into tho floor of the auditorium. Some architects uialco a groat mistake in raking the etngo to about two to three feet from the footlights, and then making a sharp declino to tho bottom of tho "footV well, That was a, mistake entirely—all tho 6lopo tliat was needed was the height of tho -me(a I hood shading the "foots." The result of putting tho footlights at the bottom 'of a deep well was to deprivo thom of, a great mcasuro of their usefulness. Great oare should be taken in tho construction' of the stage floor proper. Tho whole of it should be of wood, and it should bt> built in sections, su that any part of it can be taken uj> as occasion demanded. Any other kind- ol stage hampered tho stagemanager at once. To gain the requisite amount of spring the-whole of a.stage should be of wood. Reinforced concreio was a mistake, even when only laid down the sides of the stage, «s all the scenery had to lie screwed io tho floor, and continually now holes had to bo bored' through the stago (off) 1 for various pur-, posss—passing of elcctric wires, lines, bolts, and other uses incidental to stage production. It was perhaps unfortunate but provision could not bo made for these emergencies as no two productions worV aliko in detail as to measurements.

f Wood Versus Concreto. r Mr. Dix pointed out that ho thought a grave error was being made in tho 1 building of the now Grand Opera Eouso • by the provision of reinforced concreto t fly-floors—the high gallery which suri rounds the stage, and from which nil the "cloths" uve raised and lowered. This J is being done, ho understood, undor instructions from tho local authorities. Mr. Dix is sure that such a provision would not bo insisted on if tho authorities know the uso to which « fly-floor was put. Neither ho nor Mr. J. W. Whitfield tstago manager) had ever heard of such a • thing before, and to illustrate their oon- • tention showed tho writer tho floor of tho "flies" ill the Opera House, which ) was punctured with holes all round, - showing that tho wooden floor, has mani- ■ fold uses, which would not lie the case ' with n forro-coucrote floor. Occasionally, I a winch is required to bo placed in tlio r "flies" to assist in tho hoisting of heavy ; cloths or working someeffect Ono was i so,eroded during Mr, Oscar Asohe's sea- , Eon for tho working of tho tableau curi tains. These winches have to bo bolted i tho floor, almost an impossibility with ; ferro-concretc. l'unching holes through > concreto was out of the question. A mis* ; lake was also being mado in making i tho gridiron 100 narrow. Tho rrid • on a stage is 'that 'part of tha stage equipment lrrar tho Toof, usually ' from -60ft. to JOl't. alwvo the door of tho i. stage, and from which tho blocks aro sus- ■ pended through which run the lines atl' tached to tho cloths. With cloths 42ft. 1 '.'ijrip" should bo about i oßit. to 40ft. in width, instead of which ■ it is being, nwwlo 27ft. wide. Tho result of that will be that tho lines come down • from the "grid" to tho "fly" rail \it such • an angle that it will be very difficult for : the ily-men to Work—they will have to ■ reach out so far to get a pull that they 1 will lose a lot of their weight. Tho line's should bo as nearly vertical as possible, ■ and there ik'tiot the-slightest reason why .they should not be, Mr. Harris*, the chief mechanist, of th<\ 1 Pantomime Company, states that if'tlw present measurements are adopted tho now theatre will bo a very awkward one to work as, far an tho fly-work is concerned. Mr. Whitfield, who has just returned from an extended visit to tho Old Ooimtry, is really concerned about certain features proposed to be included in. tho now theatre. JIo statics, very correctly, that people'often complain that they do not get as good a performance as they do in Sydney and Melbourne. Of course they don't. But it was not the fault ;of tho management—it was the inadequacy of tho theatres. The result was. that occasions arose when certnin effects had to bo cut out. Mr. Whitfield stated that nearly all tho modern theatres wero being provided with galleries on tho cantilever principle (no posts at all). Incidentally it is interesting to note thnt tho new His Majesty's Theatre has three stcol pillars supporting the galleries, and the nevr Grand Opera House six. . • -Fires and Panics, Mr. Dix was distinctly interesting on th'o sitbjeqt of fires in theatres. It was not the danger from tire that was to be • feared, but the danger of panic. Ho had boon connected with theatres on several occasions when small fires had occurred, and panics. hiad been chockod. He instanced one which occurred at tho oponing of a. new theatro. in Aberdeen. Tho casa was not fire, but 'tho bursting of a hotwater -ovlinder .(used for heating tha house). It Mado an awful row, and tho people started from their seats, and soma of tho girls rushed from tho stage, but ho signalled tlio conductor to keep going <w* tho chorus of tho song being sung, and a,' nothing appeared to bo happen nig on the stago tiio audience quietened down. Mr, Dix said it was a ca&o of touch and (to, as tho people wero all nervous as' tho result of a previous thoatro firo on the sani# sito. Ho believes that the best panicproof devious aro firstly a proper firo-progf curtain, which eomos d/>wn ami fits exactly into a concreto groove-in the bricir or ooncreto-wall that conies from the ground nearly to tho level of tho staße. nnd plenty of'exits, all round tho thcatrp., ,He was pleased to see that these.woro .both being provided in the now theatre. JSowadajs the authorities at Homo werO insisting on sky-lights in tho roof over the stage, Ih* argument for than being that should n fire break out oil the stagei. and a curtain were to blaze, up, the skylight wou d Iw tho first thing to go (as flames almost alwn.vs leapt: upwards), and thereby ft vent ww) created, and the draught followmc on the cracking of tho skylight tondod M draw the flanWs upwards and awwy from ti'.C auditorium. ' Convention Dies Hard. Mr. Dix fancies that many staljo device* aro very old-fashioned and unnatural. "How often do you eco," said he, "a cottago on olio Kido of a 6ociio, Bhrubbery wings on tho other, and jot borders of hoaw foliago hanging right Across everything. It is absurd, but how few stop to think it is because they aro .ill to used to it? I liko tho French idea of doing nway with boixlors altogether, having high lliej?, and high back-cloths that fill everything neodful in the way of sooner?. It is wonderful the space and extent you got by having nothinif pendant between the proscenium and tho back-cloth. 111 that raso tho 'flies' have to be twice tho height tliey aro now, so as to bo out of Right. One thing that should bo Considered m building a modem theatre, said Mr. IJlx, was to provide ample accommodation for tho plnyers. Theso were not the days when 0110 actor would piny threo or four parts a night, add twenty people would sullico for anything from a farce (0 grand opera. ' The stnge was wry different, and those on it were people who would insist on having decent quarters. So bad is the dressing-room- uocommoda(ion in fcvoral of tho provincial towns that Mr. R. Stewart, the general manager of the "Piis's-in-Boots" Company, hni been obliged to purchaso a largo tent, which will bo ilscd for dressing-room purposes ill at least half a dozon of tlfl big country towns on tho tour to commence t«-da?«