Wool Fabric is a Wonderful Stage Drape Material

 

Stage drapes are large pieces of cloths that are designed to mask all the backstage elements of a theatre from the audience. Several types of fabrics are used for the purpose of making drapes and one of them is wool. Wool fabrics are heavy weight, opaque and very durable. Wool Fabric has sound absorption behaviour in addition to thermal insulation, protection for health and availability in large numbers. Wool helps in masking of the sound on the stage as it soaks up reverberated sound and thus is a good acoustic cloud material. Wool also has following properties like insulation against heat and cold, water repulsion, fire resistance, elasticity, long life, versatility, static resistance, noise insulation, dirt resistance, easy to sew, fashionable, dyes beautifully and comfort.

Stage fabrics have many different functions and properties. Main setting stage fabrics are used as decorative closure of the area of stage proper or the dividing line between the spectators and the stage area. ‘Main setting’ fabrics and colours improve the appearance of the auditorium and coordinate with the seating, carpeting and other architectural details. ‘Olio setting’ fabrics are used when acts on stage are performed in front of a curtain. They can be located anywhere from behind the main setting to mid stage area. ‘Cyclorama’ setting provides major masking on stage. Its purpose is to conceal the side walls, rear walls, and overhead areas of the stage house from the audience view. It is used as scenery providing an invisible background for presentations. ‘Backdrop’ or ‘Skydrop’ is placed near the back wall and provides a surface for projecting lighting effects or scenery. It purposes includes representation as a sky. A ‘Scrim’ curtain which is lighted only from the behind is translucent and is used for special and shadow effects. When lighted from front it becomes opaque and is used as a Backdrop.