WFair
Member
It has come time to replace all our drapery (FINALLY!) and I am starting to put together specs for the project. While I have a variety of questions regarding weight, lining, etc my main question for this thread is about my borders/teasers/valance...whatever you choose to call the 8-ft tall x 50-ft wide strips of fabric that hang across the top of my stage to mask the lights/curtain tracks.
Traditionally everyone seems to (as far as I can tell) specify these with a fairly high "fullness"...meaning that a 50-ft wide curtain might actually contain 100-ft of fabric, sewn with pleats to provide even/consistent fullness. My question is WHY? Space above the stage is always at a premium...and all this added fullness pushes curtains closer to lights/tracks/flown scenery/etc. Also, wouldn't it look cleaner to have nice straight (pipe pocket) lines surrounding the stage rather than the wavy curtain? PLUS...I assume that even though I would have to get them lined probably (to prevent any light spilling through), it is probably still cheaper than all the extra fabric used in the fullness? So win + win + win...no?
So...I plan to keep my grand valence (the one out front) with fullness to match the grand drape...but I feel the pull to go flat on the others but "popular convention" is fighting me. Not seen it done much. There must be a reason? Let's hear your best arguments pro/con. Thanks!
Traditionally everyone seems to (as far as I can tell) specify these with a fairly high "fullness"...meaning that a 50-ft wide curtain might actually contain 100-ft of fabric, sewn with pleats to provide even/consistent fullness. My question is WHY? Space above the stage is always at a premium...and all this added fullness pushes curtains closer to lights/tracks/flown scenery/etc. Also, wouldn't it look cleaner to have nice straight (pipe pocket) lines surrounding the stage rather than the wavy curtain? PLUS...I assume that even though I would have to get them lined probably (to prevent any light spilling through), it is probably still cheaper than all the extra fabric used in the fullness? So win + win + win...no?
So...I plan to keep my grand valence (the one out front) with fullness to match the grand drape...but I feel the pull to go flat on the others but "popular convention" is fighting me. Not seen it done much. There must be a reason? Let's hear your best arguments pro/con. Thanks!
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