The Pot Boiler

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.