Aria da Capo | Page 8

broken by Corydon when strangling Thyrsis
Two tall white wooden goblets
One artichoke nailed to a standard
One flower in paper or wooden pot, the root wrapped with black crepe
paper (or use confetti)
Black and white tablecloth
Macaroons
Boots and prompt-book for Cothurnus (large flat black book)
Also, if desired, mask of Tragedy for Cothurnus
Crepe or tissue streamers of different colors, including no red or blue,
for wall.
COSTUMES:
PIERROT: Lavender or lilac satin, preferably a blue-lavender. Care
should be taken that the lavender does not turn pink under the stage
lights. Pierrot's costume is the conventional smock with wide trousers,
with black crepe paper rosettes on the smock, wide white tarleton ruff.

Black evening pumps with black rosettes may be worn. Black silk
skull-cap.
COLUMBINE: Tight black satin bodice cut very low, with straps over
the shoulders, quite like the modern evening gown; very full tarleton
skirts of different shades of pink and cerise, reaching to the knees;
ruffled bloomers of apple-green tarleton, the ruffles showing below the
skirts; black silk stockings and black ballet slippers, laced with green.
Hat of lavender crepe paper, with streamers of gay colors--including,
however, no clear red or blue. Hat should be small and very smart--not
a shepherdess hat. Columbine should be made up to suggest a doll. As
originally interpreted she had short light hair, standing out bushily all
over her head. Long hair should be rolled under to give a bobbed effect,
or could be arranged in obvious caricature of some extreme modern
style, but must look attractive, and must be blonde.
COTHURNUS: Plain toga of dull purple in some heavy, unreflecting
material which will fall into large folds, lined with sombre flame-color;
a garment with large purple sleeves, of which only the sleeves were
visible, was worn under the toga,--but the effect should be classical;
heavy boots should be worn, as nearly as possible like the tragic
Roman buskin; one end of the great toga is tied into a rough hood
which covers the actor's head; a mask may be worn, but it is often
difficult to speak through, and, if desired, the actor's face may be made
up to represent a mask of Tragedy.
THYRSIS and CORYDON: These costumes, in striking contrast to the
elegance of those of Pierrot and Columbine, should be very simple, and
very roughly made; short tunics of outing-flannel or some such
material-- fastened loosely over one shoulder,--one shoulder, as well as
most of the back and breast, exposed. Legs bare, or swathed from the
knee to the ankle in rough strips of the same material. Sandals. Cloaks
of heavier, cheap material fastened to the tunics in such a way that they
will appear to be simply flung over the shoulder, but actually fastened
very cleverly in order to avoid tripping the shepherds, who are
continually sitting down on the floor and getting up again.
Thyrsis wears a dark grey tunic and cloak of raw bright red,--but not a
turkey-red, as this color will kill the blue of Corydon's cloak. Corydon
wears tunic of light grey and cloak of brilliant blue. There must be no
red or blue used anywhere in the entire play excepting in the blue and

red of these two cloaks. The two shepherds must be so strong and vivid
in every way that when Columbine comes in and says, "Is this my
scene or not?" it will seem to the audience that it is she, not the
shepherds, who is hopelessly out of the scene.
CHARACTERS:
PIERROT: Pierrot sees clearly into existing evils and is rendered gaily
cynical by them; he is both too indolent and too indifferent to do
anything about it. Yet in several lines of the play his actual unhappiness
is seen, --for instance, "Moon's just a word to swear by," in which he
expresses his conviction that all beauty and romance are fled from the
world. At the end of the play the line, "Yes, and yet I dare say he is just
as dead," must not be said flippantly or cynically, but slowly and with
much philosophic concentration on the thought. From the moment
when Columbine cries, "What's that there under the table?" until Pierrot
calls, "Cothurnus, come drag these bodies out of here!" they both stand
staring at the two bodies, without moving in any way, or even lifting
their eyes. (This same holding of the play is used several times also by
the shepherds,--for instance, always during the off- stage interpolations,
they stand either staring at each other across the wall, or maintaining
whatever other position they may have had when the off-stage voice
begins speaking, until the interruption is over, when they resume their
drama quite as if nobody had spoken.) Columbine's "How curious to
strangle him like that" is spoken extremely slowly,