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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
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