Juanita Helm Floyd - "Women in the Life of Balzac"

L. Frank Baum - "Glinda of Oz"

Huang Shi Gong - "San Lve (three tactics Of Huang Shi Gong)"

F. Hopkinson Smith - "The Veiled Lady"

Writing for Vaudeville

B >> Brett Page >> Writing for Vaudeville




VIOLA: I have an idea.

CHARLIE: (Appearing suddenly from Right.) Well, pickle it, because
it's going to be a hard Winter.

(MAYNARD starts to chase CHARLIE, who quickly exits.)

MAYNARD: (To VIOLA.) What is your idea, daughter?

VIOLA: I propose that all the girls dress themselves as pickaninnies
and indulge in the sports and pastimes of the South before the
War, so that Old Black Joe will think he is once more among the
scenes of his boyhood days.

MAYNARD: A great idea--and we'll put it into execution at once.

(A PICKANINNY NUMBER BY THE GIRLS LED BY VIOLA. When the pickaninny
number is over, "Old Black Joe." ENTIRE COMPANY DRESSES THE STAGE
and forms itself into picturesque groupings. Selections by a
colored quartette can also be appropriately introduced.)

(Song, "Old Black Joe," by OLD BLACK JOE, company joining in the
chorus.)

JOE: Bless me, am I dreaming, or do I see once more de old plantation?

MAYNARD: (Cordially.) The very same, Joe, the very same.

JOE: Why, it seems, Massa, as if a heavy load is lifting from mah
mind and de memory of things dat I'se forgotten dese fifty years
am coming back to me.

VIOLA: Three cheers for Old Black Joe! (Entire company gives
cheers.)

MAYNARD: And now, ladies and gentlemen, on the occasion of my
birthday, I also have the honor to announce that Mrs. Wilson has
this day consented to become my wife.

(MRS. WILSON steps forward from house and bows to assembled guests
in a triumphant way, the guests coldly return her bow.)

(EDGAR TREMBLE enters from Centre.)

MAYNARD: What can I do for you, Mr. Tremble?

TREMBLE: Just one thing, and that is to give me the money you owe
me. The mortgage I hold on your plantation for $50,000 is due
today and, unless you hand over the money right away, I'll turn
you out bag and baggage.

MAYNARD: (Pleadingly.) Won't you give me a few days longer to try
and raise the money?

TREMBLE: Not a day, not an hour. I must have the money at once
or out you go.

MAYNARD: (Wringing his hands.) I am a ruined man! (Turning to MRS.
WILSON.) But at least I will have the consolation of a true and
loving companion. (MAYNARD reaches out for her hand, but she draws
it away.) Why, what does this mean, Alice?

MRS. WILSON: I fear, Mr. Maynard, that I was never cut out to be
a poor man's wife, so I ask you to release me from my engagement.
(Walks off stage at Right accompanied by the hisses of the guests.)

TREMBLE: (To MAYNARD.) As you evidently haven't got the $50,000
to pay the mortgage, the plantation becomes mine and I now order
you all off the premises.

OLD BLACK JOE: Not so fast.

TREMBLE: (To Joe.) What do you mean by butting in, you black devil?
(Sarcastically.) Perhaps you've got the $50,000 to pay the mortgage?

OLD BLACK JOE: No, sah, ain't got no money, but somethin' in mah
memory tells me dat I know where some money is hidden.

MAYNARD: (In surprise.) Why, what do you mean, Old Black Joe?

VIOLA: Yes, explain yourself.

OLD BLACK JOE: Well, sah, jes' after de War broke out your father
went and hid $50,000 where de Union soldiers couldn't find it.

MAYNARD: (Imploringly.) Can't you remember where the money was
hid, Joe?

OLD BLACK JOE: Let me think, Massa, let me think.

VIOLA: Yes, Joe, try and remember.

OLD BLACK JOE: (With a sudden burst of light in his eyes.) I
remembers now. He hid the money in dat old tree over dere.

(VIOLA rushes over to tree accompanied by several of the guests.)

TREMBLE: I hope you don't place any faith in the silly fairy stories
of this doddering old nigger.

VIOLA: (Pulling an old and worn pocketbook from behind the trunk
of the tree.) Here it is! Father, here it is! (She runs to her
father and hands him the pocketbook. He eagerly takes out
the contents, a big roll of bank bills, and hastily counts them.)

MAYNARD: It's fifty thousand dollars and the old plantation is
saved, thanks to Old Black Joe! (To JOE.) Let me grasp your hand.
(Shakes OLD BLACK JOE by the hand.)

CHARLIE: (Who has sneaked on the scene from R. 2. To JOE.) Yes,
give us your flipper, Joe.

HARVEY: (Who suddenly appears on the scene and shakes JOE'S hand.)
It's all right, Joe; you wait for me after the show and I'll buy
you some horseradish ice cream and a fried cigarette sandwich.

MAYNARD: Now that the plantation remains, I invite you one and all
to join me in a Fried 'Possum and Sweet Potato Dinner.

FELIX: (Who also appears on the scene, carrying his dog's head in
his hand.) Thank heavens, I'll get something to eat at last.

CHORUS OF VOICES: Three cheers for Mr. Maynard!

MAYNARD: And don't forget Old Black Joe, for it was through him
that I have been able to save

"My OLD KENTUCKY HOME."

(Final Chorus by entire company.)

CURTAIN



GLOSSARY


ACT IN ONE.--An act playing in One (which see).
AD LIB.--Ad libitum--To talk extemporaneously so as to
pad a scene or heighten laughter.
AGENT, VAUDEVILLE.--The business agent for an act.
APRON.--That part of the stage lying between the footlights and
the curtain line.
ARGOT.--Slang; particularly, stage terms.
ASIDE.--A speech spoken within the sight and hearing of other
actors, but which they, as characters in the act, do not "hear."
AUDIENCE-LEFT.--Reverse of stage-left (which see).
AUDIENCE-RIGHT.--Reverse of stage-right (which see).
BACK OF THE HOUSE.--Back stage; the stage back of the curtain.
BACKING.--A drop, wing, or flat used to mask the working stage
when a scenery-door or window is opened.
BACKING, INTERIOR.--Backing that represents an interior.
BACKING, EXTERIOR.--Backing that represents an exterior.
BARE STAGE.--Stage unset with scenery.
BIG-TIME.--Circuits playing two shows a day.
BIT, A.--A successful little stage scene complete in itself.
A small part in an act.
BOOK OF A MUSICAL COMEDY.--The plot, dialogue, etc., to
differentiate these from lyrics and music.
BOOK AN ACT, TO.--To place on a manager's books for playing
contracts; to secure a route.
BOOKING MANAGER.--One who books acts for theatres.
BOOSTER.--See "PLUGGER."
BORDER.--A strip of painted canvas hung above the stage in
front of the border-lights to mask the stage-rigging.
BORDER-LIGHT.--Different colored electric bulbs set in a tin
trough and suspended over the stage to light the stage and scenery.
BOX SET.--A set of scenery made of "flats" (which see) lashed
together to form a room whose fourth wall has been removed.
BREAKING-IN AN ACT.--Playing an act until it runs smoothly.
BUNCH-LIGHT.--Electric bulbs set in a tin box mounted on a
movable standard to cast any light--moonlight, for instance--
through windows or on drops or backings.
BUSINESS, or BUS., or BIZ.--Any movement an actor makes on
the stage, when done to drive the spoken words home, or "get over"
a meaning without words.
CENTRE-DOOR FANCY.--An interior set containing an ornamental
arch and fitted with fine draperies.
CHOOSER.--One who steals some part of another performer's
act for his own use.
CLIMAX.--The highest point of interest in a series of words or
events--the "culmination, height, acme, apex." (Murray.)
CLOSE-IN, TO.--To drop curtain.
COMEDY.--A light and more or less humorous play which ends
happily; laughable and pleasing incidents.
COMPLICATION.--The definite clash of interests which produces
the struggle on the outcome of which the plot hinges.
CRISIS.--The decisive, or turning, point in a play when things
must come to a change, for better or worse.
CUE.--A word or an action regarded as the signal for some other
speech or action by another actor, or for lights to change, or
something to happen during the course of an act.
CURTAIN.--Because the curtain is dropped at the end of an
act--the finish.
DIE.--When a performer or his act fails to win applause, he or
the act is said to "die."
DIMMER.--An electrical apparatus to regulate the degree of light
given by the footlights and the border-lights.
DRAPERY, GRAND.--An unmovable Border just in front of the
Olio and above Working Drapery.
DRAPERY, WORKING.--The first Border; see "BORDER."
DROP.--A curtain of canvas painted with some scene and running
full across the stage opening.
DUMB ACT, or SIGHT ACT.--Acts that do not use words; acrobats
and the like.
EXPOSITION.--That part of the play which conveys the information
necessary for the audience to possess so that they may understand
the foundations of the plot or action.
EXTERIOR BACKING.--See "BACKING, EXTERIOR."
EXTRA MAN, or WOMAN.--A person used for parts that do not
require speech; not a regular member of the company.
FANCY INTERIOR.--The same as "Centre-door Fancy" (which see).
FARCE.--A play full of extravagantly ludicrous situations.
FIRST ENTRANCE.--Entrance to One (which see).
FLASH-BACK.--When a straight-man turns a laugh which a
comedian has won, into a laugh for himself (see chapter on "The
Two-Act").
FLAT.--A wooden frame covered with a canvas painted to match
other flats in a box set.
FLIPPER.--Scenery extension--particularly used to contain curtained
entrance to One, and generally set at right angles to the
proscenium arch (which see).
FLIRTATION ACT.--An act presented by a man and a woman
playing lover-like scenes.
FLY-GALLERY.--The balcony between the stage and the grid
iron, from where the scenery is worked.
FLYMEN.--The men assigned to the fly-gallery.
FOUR.--The stage space six or more feet behind the rear boundaries
of Three.
FRONT OF THE HOUSE.--The auditorium in front of the curtain.
FULL STAGE.--Same as Four.
GAG.--Any joke or pun. See "POINT."
GENRE.--Kind, style, type.
GET OVER, TO.--To make a speech or entire act a success.
GLASS-CRASH.--A basket filled with broken glass, used to imitate
the noise of breaking a window and the like.
GO BIG.--When a performer, act, song, gag, etc., wins much
applause it is said to "go big."
GRAND DRAPERY.--See "DRAPERY, GRAND."
GRIDIRON.--An iron network above the stage on which is hung
the rigging by which the scenery is worked.
GRIP.--The man who sets scenery or grips it.
HAND, TO GET A.--To receive applause.
HOUSE CURTAIN.--The curtain running flat against the proscenium
arch; it is raised at the beginning and lowered at the end of the
performance; sometimes use to "close-in" on an act.
INTERIOR BACKING.--See "BACKING, INTERIOR."
JOG.--A short flat used to vary a set by being placed between
regulation flats to form angles or corners in a room.
LASH-LINE.--Used on flats to join them tightly together.
LEAD-SHEET.--A musical notation giving a melody of a popular
song; a skeleton of a song.
LEGITIMATE.--Used to designate the stage, actors, theatres, etc.,
that present the full-evening play.
MELODRAMA.--A sensational drama, full of incident and making
a violent appeal to the emotions.
MUGGING.--A contortion of the features to win laughter,
irrespective of its consistency with the lines or actions.
OLIO.--A drop curtain full across the stage, working flat against
the tormentors (which see). It is used as a background for acts in
One, and often to close-in on acts playing in Two, Three and Four.
ONE.--That part of the stage lying between the tormentors and
the line drawn between the bases of the proscenium arch.
OPEN SET.--A scene composed of a rear drop and matching wings,
and not "boxed"--that is, not completely enclosed. See "BOX SET."
PALACE SET.--Palace scene.
PART.--Noun: the manuscript of one character's speeches and
business; the character taken by an actor. Verb: to take, or play,
a character.
PLAY UP, TO.--To pitch the key of a scene high; to play with
rush and emphasis.
PLUGGER.--A booster, a singer who sings new songs to make
them popular.
POINT.--The laugh-line of a gag (see "GAG"), or the funny
observation of a monologue.
PRODUCE, TO.--To mount a manuscript on the stage.
PRODUCER.--One who produces plays, playlets, and other acts.
PROPERTIES.--Furniture, dishes, telephones, the what-not employed
to lend reality--scenery excepted. Stage accessories.
PROPERTY-MAN.--The man who takes care of the properties.
PROPS.--Property-man; also short for properties.
PROSCENIUM ARCH.--The arch through which the audience
views the stage.
RIGGING, STAGE.--The ropes, pulleys, etc., by which the scenery
is worked.
RIPPLE-LAMP.--A clock-actuated mechanism fitted with ripple-glass
and attached to the spot-light to cast wave-effects, etc., on or
through the drops.
ROUTE.--A series of playing dates. To "route" is to "book"
acts.
ROUTINE.--Arrangement. A specific arrangement of the parts of
a state offering, as a "monologue routine," or a "dance routine."
SCENARIO.--The story of the play in outline.
SET.--Noun: a room or other scene set on the stage. Verb: to
erect the wings, drops, and flats to form a scene.
SET OF LINES.--Rigging to be tied to drops and other scenery to
lift them up into the flies.
SIGHT ACT.--See "DUMB ACT."
SINGLE MAN--SINGLE WOMAN.--A man or woman playing
alone; a monologist, solo singer, etc.
SLAP-STICK BUSINESS.--Business that wins laughs by use of
physical methods.
SMALL-TIME, THE.--The circuits playing three or more shows a day.
SOUND-EFFECTS.--The noise of cocoanut shells imitating horses'
hoof-beats, the sound of waves mechanically made, and the like.
SPOT-LIGHT.--An arc-light with lenses to concentrate the light
into a spot to follow the characters around the stage.
STAGE-DRACE.--An implement used with stage-screws to clamp
flats firmly to the floor.
STAGE-CENTRE.--The centre of the stage.
STAGE-LEFT.--The audience's right.
STAGE-MANAGER.--One who manages the "working" of a
show behind the scenes; usually the stage-carpenter.
STAGE-RIGGING.--See "RIGGING, STAGE."
STAGE-RIGHT.--The audience's left.
STRIKE, TO.--To clear the stage of scenery.
STRIP-LIGHT.--Electric bulbs contained in short tin troughs, hung
behind doors, etc., to illuminate the backings.
TAB.--The contraction of "tabloid," as burlesque tab, musical
comedy tab.
TALKING SINGLE.--A one-person act using stories, gags, etc.
THREE.--The stage space six or more feet behind the rear
boundaries of Two.
TIME.--Playing engagements. See "BIG-TIME," "SMALL-TIME."
TORMENTORS.--Movable first wings behind which the Olio runs,
fronting the audience.
TRAP.--A section of the stage floor cut for an entrance to the scene
from below.
TRY-OUT.--The first presentation of an act for trial before an
audience with a view to booking.
TWO.--The stage space between the Olio and the set of wings
six or more feet behind the Olio.
TWO-A-DAY.--Stage argot for vaudeville.
WING.--A double frame of wood covered with painted canvas
and used in open sets as a flat is used in box sets; so
constructed that it stands alone as a book will when its covers are
opened at right angles.
WOOD-CRASH.--An appliance so constructed that when the handle
is turned a noise like a man falling downstairs, or the crash of a
fight, is produced.
WOOD-SET.--The scenery used to form a forest or woods.
WORKING DRAPERY.--See "DRAPERY, WORKING."
WORK OPPOSITE ANOTHER, TO.--To play a character whose
speeches are nearly all with the other.

Copyright (c) 2007. topbookz.net. All rights reserved.