THE HOLIDAY PLAY

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 80, 28 December 1929, Page 24

THE HOLIDAY PLAY

Play-acting is good for children. It gives them self-confidence and teaches them how to move and speak correctly. It also trains their memories and when the play is historical teaches a lesson in a delightful manner.

First of all, “the play’s the thing!” Given a -really suitable play, the other difficulties vanish. In families where most of the children are girls, and in girls’ schools, a costume play should be chosen. Most girls look well with their hair powdered and the long brocaded coat and waist coat that go with this style of hairdressing are more suitable for girls than modern men’s dress.

A suitable children’s play should contain some parts for quite small people. Many children of seven or eight make very good actors indeed. Tragedies and plays containing much love-making should be avoided for small children, but bigger ones can manage them sometimes very well. Plays with songs and dances are the best. The stage should be as large as possible, and should have at least two exits. A very good stage can be made on a big, wide landing, especially if several doors open on to it, and there is, as so often happens, another landing opposite to it. The audience can sit on the upper landinc and the stairs. The curtain, which should be all in one piece to avoid a gap in the.middle, should be pulled by means of . strong cord. -It is safer to have two people to draw it, one on each side. The curtain often refuses to “draw,” but if the following method is adopted it will. Let us imagine that the curtain, hanging from the rod by means of rings, is drawn right across the stage. Two lengths of cord, two yards longer than the width of the stage, have their ends tied to the same ring at one end of the curtain. One of these cords should be threaded back through the rings to the opposite side of the stage, where the two extra yards will dangle down ready to pull.' If two people are to pull, tue other cord should be threaded through a small pulley (a good one can be made of a nail thriven through an empty cotton-reel fixed on the wall close to the end of the curtain-rod). Night-lights placed in a row at intervals of four inches make very good footlights. They should have a board fixed up behind them to conceal them from the audience and to throw the light on the actors. One of the best means of ensuring success is to choose one person to be stage manager, and, having chosen him or her, to obey that person absolutely. A stage manager should have complete control over his company, stage; and acting. Be sure to arrange the parts to suit the personalities of the players and have many rehearsals. Avoid out-of-door scenes for homeacting, but they can be managed. Cover the back of the stage with pale blue cotton material to represent the sky. On the lower part of this back- ‘ ground should be sketched, with coloured chalk a range of distant hills of a river winding through fields. Another plan is to sew boughs of ever green on a strip of stuff the width of the stage, and fix it up across the bottom of the background. Boughs stuck into hurdles make a very good hedge. Dresses play a large part in making acting successful. Cretonne in

small patterns makes splendid flowered coats and gowns. Armour can be made out of buckram cut and fitted to shape, then covered with silver paper. It is always best to “make-up the actors a little, especially if they are naturally pale. If powdered hair is required it is best to use ordinary starch, crushed fine. It is perfectly harmless, and is very easy to brush out. Properties should be as realistic as possible, and many; such as swords and silver drinking cups, can always be borrowed. Excellent red wine can be made from fruit juice or cochineal, and water, and weak tea, without milk, makes splendid ale.