Illustrated Theatre Production Guide, 2nd Edition

56 Illustrated Theatre Production Guide 2 ed

HANGING THE GOODS

Hanging drops and curtains on a batten involves tying

hundreds of bow knots. Like any task in the theatre (or

elsewhere, I would imagine), there are a few tricks that

make the job a bit easier. After you have determined

which lineset to use, you will need to know where to

locate the curtain on the batten. If you are hanging legs,

the designer’s ground plan can be consulted to find the

distance of the onstage side of the leg from the centerline

of the stage. In most theatres, the center of the battens is

marked with red tape. If not, there is generally some

architectural feature that will give you a clue. Measure

along the batten from the center to the appropriate point

and mark the pipe. Always measure distances from the

center of the batten, never from the end. Plans are notori-

ously inaccurate about the length of battens. If you are

moving from theatre to theatre, there is no way to draw

a plan that is accurate for all of them, but the center of

the stage is always an easily defined starting point. The

intersection of the centerline and the plaster line is often

considered to be something like the origin of a graph

when it comes to laying out points on the stage.

Tie on the leg beginning at the point you measured,

and then work your way toward the offstage end of the

pipe. It is helpful to begin the first tie with a double

wrap around the pipe and then the regular bow knot so

that the tie line is choked onto the pipe. This keeps the

onstage edge from creeping offstage along the batten as

you stretch the goods out tight. Double only the first

tie, not all of them. The extra tie doesn’t make anything

work better and can be a real time-waster during a load

out. Often, the leg will be too wide for the batten and

will need to be tied back by folding it to the rear and

continuing to tie it to the pipe. The other choice is to

accordion-pleat the goods at the end of the batten. This

approach can sometimes be a better choice when a

bottom pipe is involved.

Most drops are hung with the center of the drop

aligned with the center of the batten, so there is no need

to measure anything. The drop should have a center-

line marked on the webbing and/or have a different

colored tie that marks the center.

When a folded drop comes out of a hamper and is

laid out on the stage, it may not be obvious which way

to turn it before unfolding. Quite often there is a lot of

confusion, with ten stagehands arguing about which way

the thing should go, but I have found that this strategy

always works: lay it out on the floor facing up and with

the webbing pointing upstage. The goods will always be

in the proper position to face toward the audience.

Begin tying the drop by double-wrapping the center

tie, which can often be found by searching for the lone

white tie, or for CL (centerline) marked on the webbing

with a Sharpie. If the drop is heavy, it is often best to

skip along and tie every fifth or sixth tie, stretching the

goods each time. Then come back and fill in the open

spots. This technique prevents having to pick up the full

weight of the drop with every tie. If there is a group

working, be sure to reach over the pipe each time or

your arm will be in the way of the others. It is important

to stretch the drop as you tie it on the batten so that it

doesn’t get wrinkles in it.

Curtains sewn with fullness often have a chain sewn

into the hem, which adds a bit of weight to the bottom

and encourages the goods to hang straight. A better

solution when possible is to use a bottom pipe, but of

course it won’t fit on a drape with fullness. A bottom

pipe works well on any drop or curtain that is sewn flat.

When a pipe is used, the weight in the bottom is greater

and tends to do a better job of straightening out any

horizontal wrinkles. Also, the goods can be stretched

along the length of the pipe, thus removing a great

many of the vertical wrinkles along the bottom. Drops

must be sewn with a pipe pocket installed in order to use

a bottom pipe. The pipe itself is usually 3/8″ black steel

water pipe, cut into lengths about 10 feet long that are

connected together with threaded couplings.

Bottom pipe should be installed after the drop has

been flown out, with the bottom of the drop about