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Secrets of scene painting and stage effects

Chapter 13: BACK CLOTHS
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About This Book

The book surveys the history and principles of theatrical scenery and provides practical instruction for creating stage backgrounds and effects. It explains perspective and painting techniques, paint mixing and application suited to distant audience viewing, and offers designs for typical scenes and appropriate furniture. It addresses stage construction from portable platforms to permanent sets, and details the mechanics of moving scenery, curtains, borders, and the use of power and safety measures. Illustrated, step‑by‑step guidance aims to equip amateurs and professionals with methods for producing convincing, durable scenic effects.

BACK CLOTHS

On some of the great stages these are suspended one behind the other, cables run up through the grid over pulleys, and are lashed round adjoining cross-pieces or cleats (see illustration). Now there is a space above the cloth more than equal to the depth of the cloth itself, so that when it is drawn up (flat) it disappears out of sight and leaves the piece behind completely exposed.

This is not a possible method in a small production, so the various cloths should be attached to rollers and drawn up with ropes, like a simple window-blind, the disadvantage naturally being that, like a blind, the cloth will not always roll up straight.