Some things one no longer see in tiatrs today.
Prompters:
I recall the staccato voice of the prompters that would be clearly picked
up by the mikes resulting in a strange echo effect when the actor actually
said the words. Overenthusiastic prompters would form a huge human-size
bulge in the curtain that was hard to ignore as it moved shadowing the
actor. Amateur productions had cheap 'scenery' curtains and often the
silhouette of the prompter would be seen on the curtain highlighted by the
backstage bulb. The elderly actors were always standing close to the back
curtain and it was obvious from their body leaning, and the angle of their
head, that they were straining to hear the prompter.
Whistle (pilluck):
A whistle would be blown to signal the change of scene (poddo). I wonder
what was its significance. If it was to warn all the actors and stagehands,
then how do they manage without a whistle now?
Beggars' song
Until the mid-eighties this was a staple item in amateur dramas, and some
professional dramas too. Two or three singers attired as beggars, with
coconut shells (kottio) in their hands would sing a 'begging' song and
during the chorus people from the audience would throw money at them which
the singers would collect from the stage and put in their kottios. A
currency note wrapped round a stone was rare as mostly it was coins that
were flung. Sometimes a rich man from the audience would walk grandiosely
upto the stage and hand over a large currency note (Rs. 10/- or 20/- at
that time) and there would be gasps of admiration from the rest of the
audience. People in the front rows of the audience, and the
singers themselves, used to be sometimes injured by these monetary missiles.
These are three unique aspects of tiatrs I remember that are no longer
present. I wonder if there are any more such tiatr oddities that have been
discarded over the years. And does anyone know why exactly they were discarded?
Cecil
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