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HOW A PLAY IS PRODUCED

these lamps are getting gradually hotter and hotter, indeed, until they are almost red-hot, and the poor electricians have to hold them in their bare hands in an atmosphere that resembles that of a furnace. Perhaps it is impossible for the light to reach a certain corner, or shadows are thrown in the wrong place, or the lighting is as dull as in a school-room, or the producer would really like to conjure up something wonderful with the lighting: but the electrician has no more cable to spare; alas! Perhaps the ten-thousand candle-power lamps are burning without producing the desired beautiful effect and the electrician would like to illuminate the scene with his own eyes and fingers to satisfy the difficult demands of the producer. He mixes all the colours, drags cables about the stage, turns all the switches on and off, drives his men hither and thither, until all of a sudden the producer cries “Stop! Now it’s quite all right. Make a note of it quick.” And with trembling fingers the electrician scribbles cryptic notes on his piece

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