Some Of The Options For Theatre Curtain Cleaning

It is a fact that theatre curtains do get dirty, especially if they are closed manually by a walkalong. However, even if they are closed electrically, they are still subject to dust and dirt from the auditorium, from scene-shifting, and from all the other activities that take place on a stage.

Both natural fabrics and synthetics will attract dust, but synthetics the more so because synthetics carry a sight electromagnetic charge – static – which is a dust magnet. Dust is not flame retardant.

The best option for curtain cleaning for curtains, cycs, legs, and so on, that are made of natural fibres – cotton, polycotton, linen, silk, jute – is dry cleaning. Natural fabric curtains have been treated with a fire retardant which is water soluble, so if you wash them, they will need to be retreated with flame retardant chemical spray again. Even dry cleaning will somewhat reduce the flame retardancy and some fabrics will need to be retreated after as little as three dry cleanings, while others may last for a dozen or more. It is necessary to test the fabric for flame retardancy after each cleaning.

Since flame retardant chemicals are affected by water, high changes in the humidity of the venue can also affect the flame resistance. For this reason, it is necessary to check the flame retardance periodically.

Synthetic drapery cleaning should be carried out at least once a year, and the best method is vacuuming. If you don’t want to clean curtains yourself, you can find a curtain cleaning service who will come and do it for you.

The Uses Of Stage Lighting

One of the most important things that comes under the heading of stage equipment or theatre equipment is the lighting. Lights allow us to see, and they can be used to create a mood. There are no particular rules about creating a mood: it is an artistic process that is supposed to support the story of what is happening on the stage.

Lighting is required to enhance all of the parts of the stage performance. Lighting can bring focus to a particular point, highlighting what is important and equally perhaps de-emphasising another area that is not so important, so that the focus of the audience is on the important part of the story.

Lighting can be used to take an audience away from the auditorium and into another time and place. For instance, if a scene is set in the past – perhaps the 19th century or earlier - then dim lighting can recreate the effect of candle-light or oil lamps which were used before the advent of electricity. Lights can also underscore the mood or action of the performance and can bring it to life with a combination of colours, intensity, angles, and effects.

Different stage lights can be used for different purposes. An ellipsoidal reflector spotlight can highlight a point with a fairly narrow beam while parabolic reflectors create a wash effect and can cover the whole stage. A Fresnel is something of a combination between a parabolic reflector and an ellipsoidal reflector spotlight and has a zoom function, while a moving head can be a spot, wash, or beam light which all have different beam angle ranges.

Some of the Types of Theatre Curtains We Supply at Cameo Curtains

Theatre curtains are used for a number of different purposes, many types being used to block light or sound, or to help sound move the way it is desired – normally towards the audience – improving the sound quality.

Front of house curtains are the visual barrier between the stage and the audience and are usually closed before the performance begins and during intervals. Intervals allow the stagehands to change the scenery if required without the audience seeing what is going on. Front of house curtains, or main curtains, are always made of inherently flame-retardant material.

Blackout curtains can be used in a number of different ways in order to dim or completely block light. They can be used at the sides of the stage performance area in order to hide off-stage areas and equipment from the view of the audience. These legs, as they are sometimes called, are made from light masking fabrics that totally or partially block the light from reaching the stage. They also minimise any light reflection from the stage itself.

Read more information: Blackout curtains

Theatre Curtains Don’t Last Forever

When you own a theatre, whether it is a provincial one or in one of the big cities, there will be times when you need to replace some of the curtains. Like anything else, they will wear out over time, and won’t last forever. Certainly, provided you choose a reputable manufacturer, your curtains should last for many years.

They may not all need replacement at the same time, of course, since some get more wear and tear than others. The front of house auditorium curtains are moved about all the time, whereas backdrops and legs aren’t.

Then there is also the question of the material from which they are made. Some fabrics are quite light, whereas others such as the different velvets used for auditorium curtains can be extremely heavy indeed. One would imagine that the heavier materials would last longer, but that is not always the case. Velvet stage curtains used for the front of house can take quite a lot of punishment, heavy though they may be. This seems to be especially true if they are opened and closed using ropes, because different stagehands will put different strains on them.

Of course, it is not only theatres which need very large curtains. You may have a village hall, a church hall, a school hall, a conference centre – and they will all need very large curtains, which won’t last forever. Certainly, if you have a village hall, the curtains won’t get as much use as in a theatre, but you have to allow for replacement at some point.

Manufacturing Theatre Curtains Is A Specialist Skill

When you are putting on a play, you need above all to be able to get the full attention of the audience and let them hear your actors and actresses perfectly, without any interruptions of noise from stage hands moving about behind the scenery or light coming in when it should not.

This is the reason that there are so many types of theatre curtains, in addition to the main auditorium curtains. There are backdrops, legs, tormentors, flybars, cycloramas, and more, and they are all very large compared with the curtains you have at your bedroom or bathroom windows.

This means that, if you need any sort of theatrical curtains made for your theatre, cinema, church hall, village hall, and more, you need the services of a company that can handle the manufacture of extremely large pieces of fabric. You can’t just pop down to your local fabric store and ask them to make them, because they simply won’t have the skills or the equipment. Producing huge theatre drapes is very different.

Apart from any other consideration, depending on the type of material that you choose, and the size of the curtains, they can be extremely heavy, and will need special handling. Theatre curtains can be made in any colour of course, although red theatre curtains are always a favourite because it is such an eye-catching colour. 

Of course, a specialist manufacturer will be able to supply any type of material and in any colour that you need, including fire resistant curtains.

Cameo Make Curtains For Big Windows.

At Cameo Curtains, we are known the length and breadth of the country for our theatre and stage curtains. We manufacture and supply every type of theatre curtain including front of house curtains, tormentors, legs, backdrops, cycloramas (or cycs), borders, – in fact everything you could need. In addition to that, we supply all the theatre equipment that you need such as curtain tracks, theatre ropes, motors for motorised curtains, and we also have a full installation service for any venue in the UK. In fact, if you are buying curtains and/or equipment from us you should always let us install it because it is a job for professionals using the right equipment and tools.

However, we don’t just manufacture theatre curtains. Because we have the equipment and a skilled workforce, we can make any type of curtains for big windows. Very many buildings have large windows, some of them very large indeed.

Read more information : Curtains for big windows

Some Things To Consider When Buying Curtains For Large Windows

The curtains that you choose can make or break your room, so it is important to spend some time choosing the type of material that you want, especially when considering curtains for big windows. There are a number of things to take into consideration.

The first of these is the type of fabric. If it is too light, they may not hang well, and if too heavy they may not fold crisply when they are drawn, especially when choosing curtains for wide windows. It is worthwhile holding a piece of the fabric up to a window – even in the fabric shop – by pleating a piece at the top like an accordion and holding it up to see how well it drapes. If it flares outwards, it probably won’t hang very well.

 It is also worth noting that, if your room gets a lot of sunlight, it is probably a good idea to avoid very bright colours for the simple reason that they tend to fade faster than neutral colours. If you choose neutral colours you will find that they tend to blend in better with the room.

Another consideration when choosing curtains for large windows is how high above the window you want them to start. If you hang them six inches above the window it adds a sense of height to the room, and you could go even more if there is space. When measuring the width, add up to eight inches on each side and double the total figure. This will give fullness to the curtains and when open they won’t block the glass in the window.