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490
MOVING PICTURE WORLD
December 5, 192
♦^TKe Spirit of Yuletide
These Christmas Suggestions, Intended to Make Holiday Business More Interesting to Patrons, Are Offered Herewith for the Consideration of Showmen Who Stage Prologues
Moving Picture World Presentations — Devised By Colby Harriman
THERE are a number of suggestions which are applicable to Christmas. These run the gamunt from scenes of toyland to a modern Christmas tree celebration. Usually the Christmas novelties entail a great amount of scenic investure and this expense proves the barrier to certain production activities. To meet the requirements of the theatres desiring to exemplify the Christmas spirit we are offering three silhouette treatments which are varied in their application, and yet all symbolize certain motifs of the Christmas spirit. There is scarcely a theatre but that can present either of the suggestions, as the settings are small and may be worked in comparatively limited areas. A silhouette may be worked either from front or back of the drop. The following describes these suggestions :
1. Holy Night — A cut arch drop should be hung at the curtain line. Two ground rows placed back of it. A platform or box placed at right, upon which the singer stands dressed in the biblical costume. A bright star is hung over the deep blue sky drop. This may also be cut out and placed back of the drop, the lights toning the drop placed back of same. No light should be in the foreground, so that the singer is silhouetted against the back drop as he stands on the hillside.
2. Yuletide — A drop hung at the curtain line in which is a circular opening. The edge of a pine tree cut out and placed back of the opening is in dark green. About six feet back of this opening a sky drop should be hung toned a green blue. A set piece which can be made of compo-board cut out to represent forms of distant pine trees against the drop. A singer may be used appearing between the two drops. By masking down a spot the singer may be highlighted and in contrast to the silhouetted scene. Suggest using orange amber from right and a green from left on the singer.
3. Christmas Eve — This is a silhouette novelty which may be used to inject some comedy and form an ideal setting for a dance team. A cut arch drop hung at the curtain line, back of it a plain drop, preferably an orange silhouette drop, which should be highlighted blue at the top. A set piece placed back of the drop cut out to represent a section of a roof of a house with a chimney. At right another set piece cut out to represent tree tops. Back of this set piece a platform raked and set on angles to permite dancers to work on it, giving the effect that they are dancing on the housetops. The dancers may be dressed as Santa Claus and one of the comedy cartoon characters such as a cat, dog, or a brownie, or whatever character is desired by the producer. The action should be to give the effect of dancing up and down the housetop and finally disappearing down the chimney.
The producer will find that these suggestions may be easily adapted and prove popular, as they are very colorful in their treatment and are usually sure-fire numbers.