FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), 22 February 1883, Page 4

FOOTLIGHT FLASHES.

"Mind you," said the sad-eyed super, "1 ain't complaiuin'. I git my 7 dols a Avcok, an' I'm happy. 1 ain't got nothin' partickler to do, an' I can go a glass o' beer once in a while, an' don't need to hang up more than twice a week. I've got my department, an' there I guess I'm the boss." "What is your department on the stage r'' " I'm the captain of the supers and leader of the shouts." " Leader of the shouts? " "Yes. Don't you understand r I leads the supers as does the shouting. The stage manager, he gives me a list of cues, an' when them cues comes I waves my hand and they all calls out. '' I should say that was a difficult position to hold." " You bet your life it is. You ain't got no idea what duffers supers is. They ain't got no sense. Sometimes it's as much as a week afore I gets 'em in order. You see, it ain't often as supers knows what's a bcin' done, or what the play's about. All they know is that when a man rushes on they rushes arter him, or when he rushes oil' they've got to toiler him. Just as likely . not when you ain't lookin' they'll do just the wrong thing and raise Cain with the piece. Why, sir, one night we was playin' "The Octoroon' an' I'm blowcd if one of them supers didn't grab 'Jacob M'Closkey' an' hold him tight, just as he was to escape, and the piece came near bcin' ended. AVot did Ido ? I rushes on, makin' believe to help him, and drags him off M'Closkey, so as the Injun'd have a chance in the next act." "That was a very serious situation, wasn't it ? " " Serious ; you can bet it was. Another time, when the auction scene was a-goin' on, an' Jacob M'Closkey' bid 12,Uu0dols for the ' Octoroon,' where they was to groan, they all yelled out 'Bravo! Hear, hear!' They had forgot to bravo in the right place, and so they had one bravo left over. They're always obstropeloits. When they warn't paid they was alius a-puttin' up some job or other. There was a poor devil of an actor as they didn't like, an' when they was playin' a piece where they had to mob this fellow one night they got stuffed clubs and nearly clubbed the life out of him on the stage. When he was a-playin' 'King Lear ' they struck every night or so, and they enjoyed it. One night 1 tells the manager. ' Look 'etc, they're goin' to strike to-night.' 'Are they'r' says the manager, 'Yes,' says I. ' We'l sec,' says the manager. So down he goes after the first act, and tells 'em all to get out of the theatre. So they got out, but they was all back after the second act hoggin' to be let goon. But the manager wouldn't have it, and me and three boy's we was ' King Lear's' army. The audience didn't knowno different. What does an audience know, any wayr Why, we nearly alius shouts in the wrong place. Quite often avc comes on the wrong side and goes off on the wrong side and at the wrong time. The audience don't know it." " I suppose you hope to be an actor someday, don't you "r" "An actor! Oh, I can act all right. You think, I s'pose, that all them fellows as is on the bill is actors an' we ain't. I've seen fifty times better actin' among the supers than you ever seed among them fellows. Look 'ere. You think a man ain't got to be able to act to be a super. That's where you're wrong. Did you ever sec a mob on the stage : Wasn't they alius the most naterel thing iv the play 't 1 tell you, boy, you jist put John M'Cuilough on to be a mob, and sco where he'd be. Do you mean to tell me Charlie Thornc could cany a spear on the stage '! No, sir, ho can't do it. Neither can Billy Crane, nor Stuart Robson, nor any of 'em. When Jim O'Ncil ain't got any actin' to do, he ain't as good as a super, an' a super ain't got anything to say ever. I'd just like to see Rossi in a liver}- bringin' in a letter iv a drawing-room scene. He'd ruin his reputation if he ever tried it. You can't tell me anythin' about them fellows. You fellows is alius chaffin' the supers, an' writin' up them stars an' leadin' men. They may play their "'Hamlets,' and their ' Otiiellos,"' but if .you find any one on 'cm as can play servants or lead shouts, I'll give in to you." '' So yon have no ambition to play ' Hamlet' :-"

" I'm all right. I'll show them a ' Hamlet ' some day, but 1 ain't got no show now. Sometimes I get a line to say, but a man can't do nothin' like justice to his talent as leader of the shouts. There ain't no scope. Oh, yes! them fellows has the stage, an' they'make all the mashes, an' they gets notes an' bouquets, vrhen we're a, earryi_ the piece. I ain't complaiuin' o' that, but I do think as actors as has their names on the bill is tho most conceited fellows I ever see. They thinks they gets all the attention, but they don't know overythin'. One tune

there was a girl as got kind o' gone on me, and she began writin' me notes. She thought I was kept back a good deal, so she sent me word that she would have a bouquet handed over the footlights for me, an' mc to look out for it. I wasplayin' a servant, an' an actor as yon know very well was mjmaster in the play. As luck would have it we came on together, and as this night tho bouquet was to come, I was lookin' out for it. As soon as we came on Homer rises up an' hands the flowers on to the stage, an' what does my actor do but he takes the bouquet, kisses it, an' bows to the audience an' gets a round of applause ! There wasn't no card on it so I couldn't say nothin'. That girl sent me four basket of flowers, an' every one of 'em was grabbed by the actor, who's wonderin' to this day what girl was gone on him. I ain't told anybody, because they'd only have laughed at me. But I ain't complaiuin'. I'll get even on them actors yet. You talk about art! What do they know about art r I sec Clara Morris one'night when she wasplayin' ' Camille,' and the audience was cryin' over her death scene, ticklin' Annand in the ribs, and laiig-hin' herself into a fit. I see Edwin Booth just for fun, a jmlliii' the rope 'round ' Cordelia's' nock until she screamed. I heard a big star in 'Hamlet' one night ask ' Horatio ' for a chew of tobacco when they were standing b.v ' Ophelia's ' grave. No super as respects himself would do such a thing. But I tell you what it is, boy, if an}' great actors are to be discovered, they're supers now, aud don't you forget it!"