Traveling/Temporary Cyc

Hello everyone:

We are expanding our education/touring department in my theatre, and have a bit of money. We are looking to do more presentable shows all across our city, in schools. We have touring shows that we produce, and perform. That’s the type of deal where actors and an SM load up the van and trailer and drive to schools, and set up on their own. We also do shows with the kids of the school, sometimes we do the same show at a different school everyday, with different kids in it.

Anyway, we want something to bring in the schools that makes our production look not like it is in an old run down school auditorium/gymatoruim. I”m thinking of a cyc like pipe and drape. We have pipe that is 8ft tall. Looking to get people and cyc 10’ tall. Is this a good idea? Where can I find a nice value white cyc that goes on pipe and drape? Is there something else I can get that will make our tours look more professional?
 
Hello everyone:

We are expanding our education/touring department in my theatre, and have a bit of money. We are looking to do more presentable shows all across our city, in schools. We have touring shows that we produce, and perform. That’s the type of deal where actors and an SM load up the van and trailer and drive to schools, and set up on their own. We also do shows with the kids of the school, sometimes we do the same show at a different school everyday, with different kids in it.

Anyway, we want something to bring in the schools that makes our production look not like it is in an old run down school auditorium/gymatoruim. I”m thinking of a cyc like pipe and drape. We have pipe that is 8ft tall. Looking to get people and cyc 10’ tall. Is this a good idea? Where can I find a nice value white cyc that goes on pipe and drape? Is there something else I can get that will make our tours look more professional?
@SteveMcQueen How would you feel about Rosco's black rear projection screen? It appears to be just another jet black backdrop until you project on it from the rear; you can either fade slowly up or come up in a zero count. Either way you'll surprise your audience when you project brilliant, vibrant, full color images on it. The viewing angle's a little tighter than you might like but I always found it an amazing surface to work with.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
Oooo cool! Is it only used for projection, or more for throwing light on?
@SteveMcQueen I've only ever used it for projection (back in the days of 35 mm slides and 16 mm movies). It's designed to be used taught, either stretched on a frame or possibly pocketed top and bottom. I'll use Control Booth's 'Bat Call' to summon @ruinexplorer for you; Mr. Explorer will be far more knowledgeable and up to date. I doubt it would work well with light shone on it from the front as it's designed to look brightest on the opposite side, not to reflect light back towards a source.
[ I suggested Rosco's black RP screen material for the OP's original application. ]
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
The nice thing about pipe and drape is that it is light and relatively inexpensive. The challenge is the width. Speaking of which, how wide do you want your backdrop? Since you are packing it in a van, there will be some limitations to your support. You likely won't have room for truss, so you might want to consider schedule 40 pipe and bases with an additional pipe cheeseboroughed as a cross member. You won't get much greater width than pipe and drape, but it will support heavier fabric. Just remember that you need to have heavy enough bases to prevent it from tipping.

If you want to stick with pipe and drape, you can easily get uprights and material that will go 10'.
 
Hello everyone:
Anyway, we want something to bring in the schools that makes our production look not like it is in an old run down school auditorium/gymatoruim. I”m thinking of a cyc like pipe and drape. We have pipe that is 8ft tall. Looking to get people and cyc 10’ tall. Is this a good idea? Where can I find a nice value white cyc that goes on pipe and drape? Is there something else I can get that will make our tours look more professional?

Another view to consider: a white cyc is only going to look professional if it's well lit. Otherwise, it might just look like someone strung up a bed sheet. A backdrop of regular pipe and drape using an interesting fabric (shiny and colorful?) might end up looking better under the sort of wide-ranging lighting conditions you're likely to encounter on your tours.
 
Another view to consider: a white cyc is only going to look professional if it's well lit. Otherwise, it might just look like someone strung up a bed sheet. A backdrop of regular pipe and drape using an interesting fabric (shiny and colorful?) might end up looking better under the sort of wide-ranging lighting conditions you're likely to encounter on your tours.
@SteveMcQueen and @Malabaristo Also; a colorfully patterned back drop wouldn't show dirt as easily and may be a little more forgiving of quick "helpful" handling and inevitable damage. . .
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 

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