Inexpensive Stage Scenery made from Materials for Paper Manufacture

Leonardo, Vol. 11, pp. 4748. Pergamon Press 1978. Printed in Great Britain INEXPENSIVE STAGE SCENERY MADE FROM MATERIALS FOR PAPER MANUFACTURE Paul Hubbe* and Nancy Hubbe** 1 . Many artists today are seeking new materials and techniques with which to express themselves; stage set designershave an added incentive. Stagescenery tends to be large, sometimes numerous, and expendable in a relatively short time. Expensive scenery, therefore, is often beyond the means of many community theaters and someprofessional ones, too. Sometheater groups learn to use a small amount of scenery that is adequate for their purpose. For large, effective and versatile sets, however, there is another approach: to scrounge for materials. Industry uses many materials during production that are discarded when they are no longer needed. In the paper industry such a material is nylon ‘forming fabric’ on which paper is made. Depending on the sizeand speed of the paper-making machine, the fabric can be up to 8 m wideand 40m long. Most of these fabrics are stiffand are made of approximately 0.25 mm diam. monofilament nylon woven at approximately 20 x 30filamentsper cm. Fig. 1shows a scanning electron micrograph of the weave of a typical fabric of this type. Forming fabrics are discarded after many days or even months of use when they develop a small hole or tear, which seldom would affect their usefulness as a scenery painter’s canvas. This material is very strong; it can be folded; it can be sewn with a standard sewingmachine to make hems or to join pieces;it can be gluedwith epoxy or polyester resins; and, finally, it can be prepared to make an excellent painting surface. There are somedisadvantages, but theycan be guarded against. The fabric is apt to have creases when salvaged from a paper mill, due to rough handling. Since it is a waste product, it isgenerallyrolled and folded intoa tight bundle for easy disposal. Sometimes through prior agreement with a paper mill, one can arrange to have it rolled loosely for transport. To some extent, creases can be ironed out gently, but care must be taken not to introduce puckers with too hot an iron. 2. Pieces of the fabric can, of course, be framed to form a series of ‘flats’ to be set up vertically with back supports that rest on the stage floor. However, if a large unbroken surfaceisdesired, it can be obtained by ‘drops’hung from above the floor. A stiff horizontal pole at the top gives even support over the whole width and a similar pole at the bottom appliesan eventension tothe fabric (Fig. 2). A *Research engineer and artist, Great Northern Paper Co., **Artist, 288 Katahdin Ave., Millinocket, ME 04462, U.S.A. Millinocket, ME 04462, USA. (Received 2 Aug. 1977). convenient way to attach the fabric is to sew hems at the top and bottom and then to slidethe poles through them. Sincethe fabric isporous, it must be sealedbefore itcan be used as a painter’s canvas. Two coats of white latex paint, brushed smooth from both sides, make an opaque and leak-proof surface.Theseinitialcoats of paint shohld be applied with the fabric suspended vertically,sothat the Fig. 1. Scanning electron micrograph of a typical paper-machine forming fabric showing the monofilament nylon mesh. E ? m sf 1E c 0 c 8.¶ c 0 C e Ilb Fig. 2. Diagram of stage drop in lowered and raised positions. 47 paint dries in the fabric. The drop can be painted with scenes on both sides. The scenes then can be changed quickly by lowering the upper edge to the floor and hoisting the lower edge to the upper position (Fig. 2). 3. It was glibly suggested earlier that latex paint be used to prepare the fabric, but no mention was made that many liters of paint are needed. Even if bought in a shop at a reduced price due to age or discontinued production, the cost may be high. A large amount of paint will also be needed for the execution of a scene. Here again a paper mill can be of help if cooperation can be obtained. Some mills make coated grades of papers that require large quantities of clay. titanium...