A Homemade "Grid" Nonprofessional producers should attempt to reproduce as much of this arrangement as they can. Even the smallest theater may have something that serves as a grid, though it be only a heavy beam or two solidly Single Stirrups Double Stirrups FIG. 44.-METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING WEIGHT OF DROP WHEN THERE ARE NOT SUFFICIENT LINES. fastened to the ceiling. If necessary, a framework of wood or of piping can be supported from the floor. Two lines may be made to support a drop of any length by the device of using stirrups to distribute the weight. If there is not sufficient overhead room so that drops may be hauled up out of sight, it is necessary to lower the drop, and unfasten the lines. The drop can be rolled up, and thus disposed of, while the lines may be pulled up. When a set of lines is vacant, it is wise to tie the ends together, and fasten them to a weight, such as a sandbag, so that the weight will lower them when they are wanted again. A cyclorama may be supported by lines in a similar Sandbag or Weight FIG. 45.-METHOD OF DISPOSING OF VACANT Lines. way. Usually a frame of the proper shape and size must be made. (See Fig. 17, page 107). A similar frame may be used at the bottom of the cyclorama to serve as a weight, and to hold the material stretched. Lashing Flats Flats, and most plastic pieces, stand on the floor and support their own weight. The best method of joining flats is to lash them together. A line of cotton rope is fastened by a staple and a knot to the inner edge of the right-hand upright batten. This line should be left just long enough to reach the floor. On the lefthand side, eighteen inches from the top, a “lash cleat” is fastened; and on the right side, about eight feet from the floor, a "brace cleat." "Lash hooks" are fastened to each side, about thirty inches from the floor. The lash line is thrown to the right over the lash cleat on the adjacent flat, brought down over the brace cleat of its own flat, to the lash cleat on the right flat, and back to the lash cleat on its own. It is fastened by being twisted two or three times back and forth between the lash cleats. With experience, this process can be done very quickly. In an emergency, nails may be driven into the batten, parallel to the canvas, to serve as cleats. But the real things are so inexpensive and so much more satisfactory that it pays to secure them from some dealer in theatrical hardware. Bracing Scenery The difference between lash cleats and brace cleats is that the former are merely pieces of metal that may be screwed onto the batten to take the lash line. The brace cleats are larger and heavier, and have a hole in them through which a stage brace may be passed. A stage brace is a prop to hold the scenery rigid. It consists of two pieces of wood so arranged that they may be extended or contracted, and then solidly clamped together. At the top end is a hook that fits into the brace cleat, and at the bottom a piece of metal that can be fastened to the floor by a hand screw. Braces are especially necessary to hold up single flats that may be used as masks for doors or windows. They may be purchased complete in several different sizes, or the hardware may be secured and the braces made. It is not essential, of course, that cleats be placed at the exact dimensions given above. But the nonprofessional designer should adopt an arrangement suitable |