The Pot Boiler

The Pot Boiler

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Pot Boiler, by Upton Sinclair (#14 in our series by Upton Sinclair)
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Title: The Pot Boiler
Author: Upton Sinclair
Release Date: June, 2004 [EBook #5806] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on September 4, 2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE POT BOILER ***

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Edited by E. Haldeman Julius
The Pot Boiler
A Comedy in Four Acts
Upton Sinclair

CHARACTERS IN THE "REAL-PLAY"
Will ............................. The author ?Peggy ................Joint author and critic ?Bill ..................... Their son (aged 8) ?Dad ............................ Will's father ?Schmidt......................... The grocer ?The Policeman. ?The Landlady.
CHARACTERS IN THE "PLAY-PLAY"
Jack ........................ The adventurer ?Bob ............................. His cousin ?Dad .............................. His father?Jessie.............................. His sister ?Gladys .......................... His fiancee ?Belle ............................. A waitress ?Dolly ............................. Her sister ?Bill .........................A street gamin ?Schmidt ................ A restaurant keeper ?The Policeman. ?The Landlady. ?A snow shoveller. ?A butler.
Note: The characters of Dad, Bill, Schmidt, the Landlady and the Policeman are the same in the Real and the Play-play. The character of Jack is played by Will, and that of Belle by Peggy.

THE POT BOILER
ACT I.

SCENE.--_A transparent curtain of net extends across the stage from right to left, about six feet back of the foot-lights. Throughout the text, what goes on in front of this curtain is referred to as the Real-play; what goes on behind the curtain is the Play-play. Upon the sides of the curtain, Right and Left, is painted a representation of an attic room in a tenement house. The curtain becomes thin, practically nothing at center, so the audience sees the main action of the Play-play clearly. At Right in the Real-play is a window opening on a fire-escape, and in front of the window a cot where the child sleeps. At Left in the Real-play is a window, an entrance door, a flat-topped desk and two chairs. This setting of the Real-play remains unchanged throughout the four acts._
_The scenes of the Play-play change with each act. For Act I the set is a drawing-room in a wealthy old New York home, entrances Right-center and Left. Both front and rear scenes are lighted by many small lights, which can be turned off a few at a time, so that one scene or the other fades slowly. When the Real-play is in full light, the Play-play is dark and invisible. When the front scene is entirely dark, we see the Play-play, slightly veiled at the sides. In case of some rude interruption, the dream is gone in a flash, and the reality of the garret surrounds us. The text calls for numerous quick changes of three of the characters from the Real-play to the Play-play and back. Dialogue and business have been provided at these places to permit the changes._
AT RISE.--The Real-play, showing PEGGY putting BILL _to bed; she is young and pretty, he is a bright but frail child._
Bill. Say, Peggy!
Peggy. Well, Bill?
Bill. Can you guess.
Peggy. How many guesses?
Bill. Three.
Peggy. All right. I guess my little son doesn't want to go to bed!
Bill. Say! You guessed it!
Peggy. Oh, mother's great at guessing!
Bill. But honest, it's still light.
Peggy. I know--but that's because it's summertime. Don't you remember the little song? (sings)
In winter I get up at night And dress by yellow candle-light; In summer, quite the other way, I have to go to bed by day!
Bill. Say, Peggy--when's Will coming in?
Peggy. I don't know, dear. Your father's working.
Bill. Ain't he goin' to have any dinner?
Peggy. I don't know--he didn't tell me.
Bill. Is he writin'?
Peggy. Yes--or else thinking about things to write.
Bill. Say! He's great on writin', ain't he?
Peggy. You bet!
Bill. Do you think it's good stuff?
Peggy. Indeed I do, Bill!
Bill. You don't often tell him so.
Peggy. Don't I?
Bill. No--generally you rip him up the back.
PEGGY (laughs). Well, mother has to keep him trying, you know.
Bill. Say, Peggy, do you suppose I'll be an author when I grow up?
Peggy.