Illustrated Theatre Production Guide, 2nd Edition

Ropes and Knot Tying 43

Sash cord has become increasingly hard to find in

recent years, as the windows it was designed to rig have

been mostly replaced by more energy-efficient ones. It

is still available from some theatrical suppliers. Newer

versions of this same basic type of line, but made from

synthetic materials, are readily available from local hard-

ware stores. They come in various sizes, but 3/8″ is

frequently the most useful, and can be used to rig a

traveler track. Twisted lines don’t work at all well on a

traveler, because the twist tends to kink up at the pulleys.

More information about ropes, aircraft cable, and

chains can be found in Chapter 14.

KNOTS

You should learn some basic terms used in tying knots

in order to better understand the descriptions in this

chapter. The free end of a line is called the tail. It is the

part that you actually manipulate to tie the knot. The

standing part is the long length of a rope that may be

formed into a coil, or be tied to the grid, or laid out in

some other fashion. It is important to visualize which is

which, especially if you are using a short length of cord

to learn how to tie the knots in this chapter.

Most knots begin with a loop of some sort, which

is a rounded turn of the line. To double-over means to

bend the line over itself so that it runs back, thus creat-

ing an artificial tail in the middle of the line.

The bow knot

You probably already know how to tie your shoe. But

if you start off with an easy knot, it will build confidence

for the harder ones ahead. The same actions are used to

tie all knots, so working with the bow first will give you

an understanding of the terminology. The bow is actu-

ally the most-often-used knot in theatre, because it is

used to hang drops and curtains. Drapes are tradition-

ally manufactured with a tie every 12 inches, so a

40-foot-long border has 41 knots to tie. Multiply this

number by however many curtains are in a show, and

the importance of the bow knot becomes clear. The bow

contains the same basic building blocks that are used in

all knots. It is essentially a square knot in which the two

tails are doubled over before making the final half hitch.

Pulling on the very end of the tails slides the two loops

back through the knot and the bow is untied. If you

can visualize that process, it will make it much easier for

you to understand more complex knots.

The bow knot requires two tails, or ends. The first

part of the knot involves tying a half hitch, which is

simply wrapping the two tails around one another, and

tightening. The friction of the two lines rubbing against

one another tends to make them stay tightly together.

But a half hitch will not stay tied on its own; the friction

is not great enough.

Double over the two tails so that they are about half

of their original length. Now tie a second half hitch

using the doubled-over tails. This completes the knot.

It is easy to tie, and it is very easy to untie, by pulling

on one of the tails. The bow is an excellent example of

how a good knot is easy to tie, and easy to untie. When

you are untying curtains from a batten, pull one tail all

the way straight up, and then down to the side; this

action will loosen the entire knot in one easy motion.