Tale 93 Moving Pictures
One of the best developers of imagination is the Moving Picture. Sometimes called Pantomime, or Dumb-show which means all signs without sounds.
The one who is to put on the “movie” is given a subject and must then stand out on the stage or Council Ring, and carry all the story to the spectators, without using any sound and with as few accessories as possible.
The “print between the reels” is supplied by the Guide who simply announces what is needed to explain.
The following subjects have been used successfully (unless otherwise stated they are for one actor each):
Miss Muffet and the Spider—the well-known Nursery Rhyme
Old Mother Hubbard
Little Jack Horner
Mary and her Little Lamb
Red Ridinghood—walk through the woods, meeting the wolf, etc.
Robinson Crusoe—finding the track of a man in the sand
A Barber Shop—shaving a customer (two actors)
The Man’s First Speech at a Dinner
The Politician who was rotten-egged after vainly trying to control a meeting
Joyride in a Ford Car—ending in a bad upset (two actors)
The Operation—a scene in a hospital following the accident (two or more)
The Professor of Hypnotism and His Subject (two actors)
The Man who Found a Hair in His Soup
The Young Lady Finds a Purse, on opening it a mouse jumps out and she remembers that it is 1st of April
A Young Man Telephoning to His Best Girl
A Man Meeting and Killing a Rattlesnake
Lighting a Lamp
Drawing a Cork
Looking for a Lost Coin—finding it in one pocket or shoe
A Musician Playing His Own Composition
The Sleeping Beauty and the Prince (two actors)
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
William Tell and the Apple (best rendered in caricature with a pumpkin and two actors)
Eliza Crossing the Ice
The Kaiser Signing His Abdication
The Judgment of Solomon (three actors)
Brutus Condemning His Two Sons to Death.