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LIVING PICTURES

Living pictures are very amusing if well carried out, and even with
little preparation may be made very pretty or very comical, whichever
may be desired. It is perhaps better to attempt comical ones if you
have not much time in which to arrange them, as the costumes are
generally easier to manage, and if you are obliged to use garments not
quite in keeping with the characters, it does not matter much; indeed,
it will probably only make the audience laugh a little more.

The great thing in living pictures is to remain perfectly still during
the performance. You should select several well-known scenes either
from history or fiction, and then arrange the actors to represent the
scenes as nearly as possible.

Simple home living pictures are a great source of fun, and many a
wet afternoon will pass like magic while arranging scenes and making
dresses to wear. Newspaper masks, newspaper cocked hats, old shawls,
dressing-gowns, and sticks are quite sufficient for home charades.

Suppose, for instance, you think of "Cinderella" for one tableau. One
girl could be standing decked out with colored tissue paper over her
frock, and with paper flowers in her hair, to represent one of the
proud sisters, while Cinderella in a torn frock is arranging the other
proud sister's train, which may consist of an old shawl. Bouquets of
paper flowers should be in the sister's hands.