III

A GHOST COMES IN

F0R David Belasco's "The Return of Peter Grimm"  I had to create
a form of lighting entirely different from any previous system.
This new system required special apparatus. By that I do not mean
that the contour of something already existing was adapted to fit
a particular condition, for at the time there was nothing that
would even remotely fit the requirements.
 "The Return of Peter Grimm" dealt with the supernatural. It was
not fantastic; but it had to be handled with great care. If any
mechanical display in it had become apparent through poor
manipulation or otherwise, the delicate structure of the play
would have suffered. I say delicate, as it is difficult to be
convincing where possibly three-fourths of the audience does not
believe in the theory on which the play is founded. The
production was an excellent example of good direction, and in it
David Belasco gave the theatre a model of fine visualization. The
first performance was given, January 2, 1911, at the Hollis
Street Theatre in Boston. It was kept on the road for almost ten
months, playing the principal cities, eventually opening in New
York at the Belasco Theatre, October 18, 1911.
 In this play the illumination had to be so devised that any part
of the scene could be kept in light or shadow. 



              LIGHTING "THE RETURN OF PETER GRIMM"
 A diagram of the major scheme. Although this notable arrangement
for spot lighting characters was devised primarily for use at the
Belasco Theatre, New York, where David Warfield appeared for so
long in the character of "Peter," it was readily transported on
tour.

Each character was lighted separately. The lamps were operated
from a bridge hung back of the drapery border; and as the single
set represented an old-fashioned sitting-room with a beamed
ceiling, the light bridge was disguised to look like one of the
beams. A section of the ceiling, that portion between the first
and second beam, was hinged that it might be lifted to an angle,
being made by clever shading to look flat from the auditorium.
Through this opening the lights were trained on the actors,
following their movements to any part of the scene.
 Peter Grimm himself appeared in a spiritual form in the second
act. From this time on he was kept in a light that was cold in
character, its color obtained by the use of two gelatines, a
green and a color we called "mud," a nondescript shade that
looked like dirty chocolate but that in combination with the
green produced a ghostly look. The effect was not
overaccentuated; but there was a distinct change in the light on
Peter in contrast with the warm amber used on the living
characters.
 The lamps I used for this effect were developed especially for
it. The individual lamp contained two filaments, one above the
other, each consisting of a spiral about an eighth of an inch in
diameter. The whole was made with two bases, delivering 120
candle power when burning at full brilliancy. The lens was two
and one-half inches across and five in focus. The lamp stood back
in the housing so that the filaments were five inches behind the
lens. This arrangement projected the bright image of the
filaments on the actor's face, there being no sharp circular
outlines because the edge of the light was of a diffusive quality
that gradually faded off into nothing. There was no shadow
between the filaments, for they were very concentrated, and set
close to each other. Of course, if the spirals had been large,
the image of the filaments could not have been effectively used
this way, as the lens then would have projected a photographic
image of them in concentric rings of light. As it was, in placing
the lamp in the hood I set it so that the edge of the spiral was
toward the lens, in this way losing the dark spot in the center
of the loop.

 Special resistances were used to cut the house current of 120
volts to 7 volts; and another variable resistance was used to
control the individual lamp and vary the intensity of its light.
We had direct current in the theatre. With alternating current
the arrangement could have been simplified, one transformer then
taking care of the entire main load. But as it was, we required a
separate resistance for each lamp.
 Our use of two filaments and a seven-volt bulb was occasioned by
certain limitations that then existed in making tungsten
filaments. This use of tungsten was new at the time and a great
deal of research work was still necessary to condition it. I
personally spent over a year in gathering the materials for these
lamps and perfecting them. Often Mr. Belasco would come into the
shop to talk about the play and to see what progress I was
making. He always gave me his friendly encouragement; and that
did much to inspire new confidence, especially when headway was
slight and things seemed to be standing still. But even after the
apparatus was finally completed, the greater task was still
before us, for the lamp was only a means to an end.
 I can never think of light from the standpoint of apparatus. The
apparatus can create nothing unless it is backed by thought and
intelligently manipulated.
 Two weeks were spent rehearsing the lights of this play. This
seems simple enough in print; but there were plenty of troubles
in reality. To rehearse the lights the scene had to be placed
exactly as for a performance. Another production was playing at
the time in the theatre, meaning that this had first to be taken
down and apart and stored in the scene dock--all after the
performance at eleven o'clock at night when the curtain was rung
down. To strike one production and set the other took from five
to six hours. Then, at about 5 A.M., the men would leave the
theatre, returning at nine for the rehearsal. At five in the
afternoon the rehearsal would end in order to prepare the stage
for the regular evening performance; and this we just about
managed to carry through with no time to spare. I know of no
other business where men could be induced to work over such a
prolonged period, with little or no sleep, getting meals at
irregular hours, and still doing their stint without grumbling.
 Each operator had to be drilled so that he remembered his cues
and the various light gradations. Peter Grimm at times would
stand close to the living characters; but the amber light must
never be permitted to show on him. To accomplish such precision
required time and care. If the lamps had worked jerkily, the
illusion would have been destroyed. But when the illumination was
steady and accurately followed the characters the trailing lights
were not apparent as such to the audience. This was exacting work
and called for perseverance from every one, director, actors and
electricians. But it was only by constant rehearsal, doing the
same thing over and over again, that the men became familiar with
every required move. Nevertheless, this form of lighting was a
success.
 Directions for the lights were given as the action proceeded.
Ordinarily, light cues are written down during the progress of a
rehearsal; but in this case the common procedure could not be
applied. Each man had to remember what he did as he received his
instructions; and these came while action and dialogue were going
on. The electricians paid no attention to the dialogue; they
watched the action only and listened to the given directions
which I shouted to them, as my voice had to be heard above the
actors' conversation. Moreover, every order that I gave had to be
preceded by the man's name so there could be no mistaking for
whom it was intended. In this respect I was fortunate, for the
first names of all the men were short and easy to pronounce. At
the same time, to keep shouting continually for six to eight
hours is a strain on any one's system. And when the day was ended
my jaws actually ached.
 During these rehearsals Mr. Belasco sat in the auditorium. On
occasion he would stop everything to change some item he did not
like, or to add one that came to his mind. When more difficult
parts required working out, these were rehearsed as separate
units. One such part was Peter Grimm's appearance as a spirit.
Mr. Belasco planned the materialization of Peter in a way that
kept his audience keyed with expectancy. No magician ever worked
his audience up to high anticipation more deliberately or with
greater success.
 In the play Peter died at the end of the first act. If he
reappeared it must be as a spirit. When the curtain went up on
the second act it was a rainy afternoon. At times a slight rumble
of thunder was heard. The lights were lowered as a cloud passed
over the sun, and the rain would increase. As the cloud passed
the downpour subsided, and the sunlight reappeared. This was
repeated several times. Whenever the lights were lowered to an
atmosphere of gloom the audience expected Peter to appear. Their
successive disappointments created a nervous tension and stirred
them to such a state that some persons actually thought they saw
Peter even though he had not yet appeared. I sat in the
auditorium at every performance during the entire run of the play
at the Belasco Theatre to watch the lights; and I heard comments
of the spectators and witnessed the effect of the different
situations on them.
 Before Peter appeared the tension was relieved by a comedy
scene. During this action the lights were gradually brought down.
The rain was over, but night was coming on. Finally, the scene
was lighted only by the glow from the fireplace. The audience had
by this time become absorbed with the scene that was being
enacted, the reading of Peter's will over which a lively
discussion was being waged. In the midst of this colloquy one of
the characters (Peter's nephew) imagined he heard some one enter
the room and excitedly asked, "Who came?" At this juncture the
room was quite dark and he lighted a match. It illumined the room
but showed nothing unusual. He did it once more. Again nothing
was seen.
 Finally he called to Marta, the maidservant, to bring a lamp.
The characters in the room were either standing or seated on the
left of the stage at the fireplace.(l) The servant now entered
with the lighted lamp through a door that was set across stage
and downstage right; and as she came in she was "picked up" from
the bridge with a light at the exact moment that the audience saw
her. At the same time Peter came on unnoticed through a door
upstage center.
 Marta walked toward Peter with the lamp; and as she was about on
a line with him, the lights on Peter were brought up and, as far
as the audience was aware, there he stood suddenly in the center
of the stage. Marta placed the lamp on a table near his position;
and baby lenses, fixed ones, fastened to the bridge above, were
brought up to light the area around the table. The servant,
having placed the portable lamp, now handed the fount for the
hanging lamp to one of the characters, who set it in place and
lighted it. This fount was fitted with contacts that rested on
spring contacts in the fixture. All the lamps visible on the
scene were fed by storage batteries. As the hanging

 (1)That is, to the spectator's right. To backstage folk the
audience's right and left are reversed.

lamp was lighted, several baby lenses were brought up to
illuminate this side of the room.
 The appearance of Peter took only a few seconds; but, as may be
seen, many things were happening in this short space of time.
Every light used had to be there on the instant and in its proper
sequence. A wrong move of any kind would have destroyed the spell
and by making the wraith ridiculous, wrecked the idea


A TABLE "OIL" LAMP
 The bottom is opened to receive the three standard dry cells
that provide the current, making the whole device completely
portable. A canopy switch is fitted in a corner of the base.

on which the play was built. I know people in the profession who
attended this play a second time. They told me they came with the
firm intention of finding out how Peter got on the stage; but
they admitted to me that they knew no more about it after the
second time than they did the first. One of the editors of this
series of books tells me that for nearly twenty years, or until
he read these lines, he believed that Peter entered through a
trap. Of course the audience did not see Peter come on. The
servant with the lamp so attracted them that all eyes were
instinctively drawn to her.
 This is but one of many interesting examples that I might cite
about the lighting technique in this play. I mention it
particularly to show that stage illumination consists of more
than just a knowledge of light and color. Here it was, as it
usually is, a matter of relativity. The man with the "theatre
sense" will get more actual results with crude apparatus than a
highly trained technician, who lacks this gift, with elaborate
paraphernalia.
 In making this statement I do not want to be misunderstood. I do
not undervalue the importance of either efficient training or
good apparatus. On the contrary, both are valuable assets-
-especially when conjoined with feeling and imagination. I base
my assumption on comparisons, on observation of actual
occurrences which I have seen or personally experienced during
the years I have spent in the theatre.