Exhibitors Herald (Dec 1924-Mar 1925)

February 28, 1925 EXHIBITORS HERALD 21 ^‘Back Stage” in the Small Town Theatre (^Continued from page S') Store stuff you want to lock up at night, such as borrowed furniture, rugs, electrical equipment, etc. Have steel lockers for the stage help to keep their clothes. Should have hot and cold water and be ventilated so men can smoke when they wish. Make the actors smoke here. It saves fire risks, as they will smoke anyway, no matter how many signs you put up. It is well to have your house arranged so that the players can enter the stage through the front of the house when necessary. It often develops that your stage manager will have a crowd of loafers and hangerson on about the stage, and it is sometimes necessary to padlock the stage door and make everyone use the front door, so you can see who is going in and out of your stage and stop all this clubroom stuff. Have two picture sheets. One on backwall when you play straight pictures, to make your front seats desirable, and another sheet “in one" for use with vaudeville and shows. * * * Theatres built in big cities are highly specialized. A 4,000 seat picture palace is never designed to play an intimate comedy or an indoor circus for the local lodge of Elks. But in a small town, you must be prepared to handle any kind of a show, and with a stage along the lines described above, you have an ideal combination house for anything from concerts to boxing matches, and from pictures to road shows. Makes Portable Stage and Proscenium for ^^Lost World” Colby Harriman has recently produced an atmospheric prologue for the First National Pictures, Inc., in connection with the world premiere of “The Lost World,” at Tremont Temple, Boston. It was necessary for him to construct a portable stage and proscenium in order to change the entire complexion of Converse Hall to that of a theatre. This was accomplished with sets of draperies arranged to mask the entire front of the hall, giving a shadow box effect. The set was adjusted back of this on portable rigging. * * The title of the presentation “The Spirit of Evolution” fittingly summed up the work displayed, which was a synchronization of lighting and music, using the special scenic base for the interpretation of the theme. No people were used in the prologue. Three motifs comprised the action, representing a deserted cave of primitive type; a jungle wilderness; and the finale with the flaming forest, and ultimate confusion, a riot of colors. All changes were wrought by a manipulation of the lights. * * * The novelty of the prologue has met with favorable reception by the large audiences, said the Boston Globe in paragraphing the presentation with “The effects in the prologue entitled ‘The Spirit of Evolution’ are perfect in their illusion. The thing is a genuine thriller, but perhaps there is too much packed into it for the average brain to grasp. One has the feeling at the end that there isn’t any answer,” and the Boston American says that “The presentation was a brilliantly conceived combination of hangings and lighting effects.” We Invite Comparison Before You Buy MODEL C (PATENTS APPLIED FOR) Try One in Your Own Theatre Upon the request of any responsible exhibitor in the United States we will arrange to have our equipment installed in his theatre on trial for thirty days free of charge. Stereopticon with Automatic Slide Changer is the Last Word in Projection Equipment American Reflecting Arc Corporation 24 MILK STREET BOSTON Made in V. s. A. MASSACHUSETTS A. D. C. AUTOMATIC CURTAIN CONTROL Extensively Used in Theatres Owned by FAMOUS PLAYERS-LASKY CORP. STANLEY CO. OF AMERICA COMMERFORD AMUSEMENT CO. AUTOMATIC DEVICES CO. 17 N. 7th St. Allentown, Pa. Installed Wherever Theatres Are Built SERVICE SERVICE SERVICE P O W E R S P R O J E C T O R S WE HAVE IT — WE WILL GET IT OR IT ISNT MADE EVERYTHING FOR THE MOTION PICTURE THEATRE Carl H. I'ulton President 24 East 8th Street, Chicago, 111. Ralph H. Fulton Gen’l Manager Branch 3403 Olive St. St. Tx>nis, Mo. Branch 111 So. Capitol Ave. Indianapolis, Ind. G. E. A. C. to D. C. G E N E R A T O R S ^ P E R F E C T P R O J E C T I ON PAYS*