Show R 1 l IV THIS AI r PLEASE 0 0 0 c 0 I 1 4 c 0 0 V 0 0 0 0 oatt 0 C la 17 I 1 HERB are many persons in the show business who T never appear on the stage they alethe unsung heroes of the theater of whom the audience see or hear little attle or nothing at all they endure most of the hardships incident to the business yet they are never permitted to bask in the lim limelight plight who are they they are the stage hands electricians the malda maids and valets of the stars ticket takers box office clerks scene shifters ushers dressers stage staffe loor door keepers and last those individuals whose job it Is to keep before the public the names and faces of the players by whom they are employed keeping themselves the while more or less in obscurity the press agents the thrill of tile the show business affects the life of every person connected with the theater once bitten by the microbe of the stage these individuals are doomed to live in by and for the theater it la Is their bread and butter and try as they may to tear themselves away from its gripping fascination they seldom make the break take for example the stage door man who represents perhaps the theaters saddest story says the new york times while he receives a wage which la Is not out of proportion to the service he renders he lias has long hours and sometimes Is toned forced to work seven days das a week his chief consolation and an important one in the show allow business la 19 that it if he be proves himself capable which Is not difficult he may be assured assured of steady employment in season and out fortunately all stage door keepers are not married or have families to support they tell the story of the door keeper said to be worth who worked his ten hours or more a and never offered the slightest hint of his somewhat comfortable circumstances cum stances the average door man Is either cither old or crippled consequently the task of holding the fort by the stage door where he can read hla his newspaper and smoke all day long without being disturbed too often Is as comfortable an occupation as he be could hope to end anywhere consler consider next the dressing maid she Is taught soon enough to bear the brunt of her mistress temperament while the star by whom she Is employed may be thrillingly happy today the maid has learned from experience peri ence to be always on the lookout for some mishap which however slight blight will alter after tier her employers feelings completely the maid of almost any theatrical celebrity Is to nil all appearances one of the happiest and most punctual persons in existence she Is a quiet and efficient worker and learns quickly enough the necessity of not missing either performances or cues always preparing in advance for the nest change of apparel most balds aind dressers fire are expert with the needle and often inherit lt the discarded but still serviceable gowns which their extravagant eran gant have there Is I 1 a anew s ew york dancer who Is iq far from tile ranks of stardom but still enough to employ two maids and a chauffeur when things go wrong backstage she may be heard to shout and scold them with a thoroughness that halts at no form of express expression loa wa most and yet for all that she la Is ordinarily quite a pleasant being and the two malda maids have been with her for years stage managers too are outside the theater picture and yet like the maids and valets they live in a world which revolves resolves upon every whim 0 of some temperamental star or producer when the sheets are tallied it will be seen that they also contribute largely to the success of the people and productions which they are working for the average stage manager has gone through several years of pre halvary training before he re reaches a ches his station a training that may include in its schedule anything from having been a call callboy boy to a playwright who Is trying to earn his keep between the gaps of his various produced works the stage manager Is of course an important cog in the theatrical machine really a minor factor in the life of a production the stage director a more important person for having produced and staged the play teaches tile the stage manager exactly how the lines hoes are to be delivered and after that the latter must see to it that no alterations are made occasionally the stage manager may be asked by the shows owner for lila his opinion concerning the selection of an understudy buts but all told he will ordinarily be found back stage looking at ills his watch taking note of curtain times seeing to it that every one Is ready for the next cue and everlastingly 13 shu bushing shing loud talking sometimes it happens that the stage a manager has time to play a small part in the production he may li lava vf been an actor once himself and he Is still useful b because cuje he does not suffer from stage fright there are even stage manager 1 who are ex producers having pre previously lost in their own theatrical ga gambles nibles the lot of the understudy Is more often one of cromlie pr than of fulfill ment but the he oddi are usually won 1 taking for there here Is tile hie eternal hope hop that some sole till time slie ili will ile he called upon to assume tier lier super superiors lorF role on one e such chance inny decide il whole career and ili ID this t ishlon many mally a player on today lias has ea earned it tier lier farst cliance chance i the man in III tile hos box office prides himself alim elf upon Js ils lity to human tiuis an iuie fure e he is IT if browl lr eWt dpn helium nn n I 1 ocas lonill v may fell I 1 ni arche oral era e tra ra sent to n person alio aiels I 1 lie ho boulo prefer to in sit u PS tail rs I 1 he I 1 e knows kiu vs or insi a n 0 that aliat ther llnore 1 Is a difference in tile lie ot tickets to lo men inen and women ile he kilo knori ml the he laus las rule and regu regulations lallou i for both ticket takers taker and ushers may fully te IQ combined na perhaps the most detached employees of a or few of of them thern undertake their jobs as their sole means of support it Is thus no great ip eat worry to them when a production shuts down among ushers there are college students and young women married and unmarried their hours of work are short and they have plenty of spare time for themselves ticket takers in the daytime have been known to be letter carriers storekeepers store keepers students nud and even clerks although this list of unsung unrecognized heroes of the stage might ie be continued indefinitely into the outlying 1 I g branches and jots of the theater there Is ili one nion mort person who cannot be neglected here namely the press agent there are nil all sorts of definitions concerning it a press agent at a meeting of the board of directors he may be fraternally called a publicity til if rector lu ili social boylu he may be referred to as a press tive five and the managers too usually have their own quaint descriptions of 0 him even the detached observed ob servet must admit that while his inventive ness Is astounding his work la is not always appreciated for like other human beings the press agents agent some units tims errs and when he does bere it ift I 1 a price to pay it if he pulls a stunt that Is pure lake fake dramatic editors find and city editors learn to classify him film properly and it la Is a long time before tie he enn can come out of his hiding place to face again with another idea for publicity on the whole hla his to Is perhaps the most ost fascinating function of the long list st of persons who attach themselves I 1 I 1 to the show business he interprets to tle me outside world the lure of work ing behind tile lie scenes among and powdered trousers troupers troup era ers beautiful chorus girls and principals of ever rank A successful press agent Is among the worlds most indefatigable and resourceful beings ills statements to I 1 the paper ire are ns as a rule ruie couched in ID 1 1 l I picturesque and sometimes illuminat I 1 ing language and he leaves many an editor gasping tind and guessing aj aa te tc whether or not ile he Is telling the truth lie ile Is not arlly jarliv a pillar of gerac ity fly nor Is lie IP at al nil all if times mer fl A pillar of the lie iaser falsehoods there i fire are those who holleye that lint the press agent Is iq oil one of the alip most important factors in the production of a play lie he can a good ka one with tuell publicity and biml lie he mi fin Il illace lake ni fike a i lid bad one through intelligent P pinn nn ing ng |