THE MANAGER. It doesn't matter. Use the one we've got. THE STEP-DAUGHTER. Doesn't matter? It's most important! THE MANAGER. We're only trying it now. Please don't interfere. (_To Property Man_): See if we've got a shop window--long and narrowish. THE STEP-DAUGHTER. And the little table! The little mahogany table for the pale blue envelope! PROPERTY MAN (_To Manager_). There's that little gilt one. THE MANAGER. That'll do fine. THE FATHER. A mirror. THE STEP-DAUGHTER. And the screen! We must have a screen. Otherwise how can I manage? PROPERTY MAN. That's all right, Miss. We've got any amount of them. THE MANAGER (_to the Step-Daughter_). We want some clothes pegs too, don't we? THE STEP-DAUGHTER. Yes, several, several! THE MANAGER. See how many we've got and bring them all. PROPERTY MAN. All right! (THE PROPERTY MAN _hurries off to obey his orders. While he is putting the things in their places, the_ MANAGER _talks to the_ PROMPTER _and then with the Characters and the actors_). THE MANAGER (_to Prompter_). Take your seat. Look here: this is the outline of the scenes, act by act (_hands him some sheets of paper_). And now I'm going to ask you to do something out of the ordinary. PROMPTER. Take it down in shorthand? THE MANAGER (_pleasantly surprised_). Exactly! Can you do shorthand? PROMPTER. Yes, a little. MANAGER. Good! (_Turning to a stage hand_): Go and get some paper from my office, plenty, as much as you can find. (_The stage hand goes off, and soon returns with a handful of paper which he gives to the Prompter_). THE MANAGER (_To Prompter_). You follow the scenes as we play them, and try and get the points down, at any rate the most important ones. (_Then addressing the actors_): Clear the stage, ladies and gentlemen! Come over here (_pointing to the Left_) and listen attentively. LEADING LADY. But, excuse me, we.... THE MANAGER (_guessing her thought_). Don't worry! You won't have to improvise. LEADING MAN. What have we to do then? THE MANAGER. Nothing. For the moment you just watch and listen. Everybody will get his part written out afterwards. At present we're going to try the thing as best we can. They're going to act now. THE FATHER (_as if fallen from the clouds into the confusion of the stage_). We? What do you mean, if you please, by a rehearsal? THE MANAGER. A rehearsal for them (_points to the actors_). THE FATHER. But since we are the characters.... THE MANAGER. All right: "characters" then, if you insist on calling yourselves such. But here, my dear sir, the characters don't act. Here the actors do the acting. The characters are there, in the "book" (_pointing towards Prompter's box_)--when there is a "book"!