Sometimes it is necessary to make the voice seem to come from a distance and yet every word must be distinct. This can be done in a very simple way. Bend your arm and lift it to your face, holding your mouth inside your elbow. Now when you speak, your words seem to come from a distance. As you slowly lift your mouth from your arm, your voice seems to come nearer and nearer. In _Sigurd, the Volsung_, there is a scene where the dragon, who possesses a treasure of gold, comes, at twilight, out of the rocky crevice of a great cliff, to drink at a pool. Before he is seen, his voice is dimly heard calling, “Gold, gold, my gold, my gold.” The boy who spoke these lines used this trick so cleverly that his audience shivered as the dragon appeared. Every person knows that the greatest charm of a voice is its naturalness. This naturalness comes to you when you let your feelings go down the strings into your puppet. Then it is that your puppet comes to life, is gay, sad, prankish, haughty, timid, bold, willful, cunning, sly, or lovable. When your puppet obeys your every feeling, you and your puppet are one. [Illustration: [Marionette]] [Illustration: [Stage]] CHAPTER X Presenting Your Play The successful presenting of a play requires much planning and organization. It will be necessary to choose a property man, two assistants, a stage electrician, an inspector of the strings, one assistant, and a prompter. It is the business of the property man to see that the scenery and properties are in perfect condition before each performance. He, with his assistant, sets the stage long in advance of the performance. He changes the settings for each act. It is necessary for him to have two assistants, one for the right and one for the left of the stage. The property man finds places for all his properties. He places the properties for each scene together. He places the back drops and wings in the order in which they are to be used. Each property, when not in use, should be in its place. Benches should be provided behind the scenes for the puppeteers. If chairs are used, beware of squeaky ones. The stage electrician is responsible for the lights and the making of all changes in lighting between acts. He must be provided with a chart of instructions, giving the lighting plan for every scene. This plan should be securely tacked where it can be easily referred to. The electrician can also take care of the drawing of the curtains, which is an important task. There should also be a sheet of cues for the drawing of the curtains, since a scene can be spoiled by drawing the curtains too soon, too quickly, too slowly, or too jerkily. The last words spoken in the first scene of _Men of Iron_ were: “I will climb the wall and fetch it.” This was the signal or cue for the electrician to close the curtains.