Take it to Warp Speed
Wooden battens warp over time and people often want to replace the “old” pieces of pine with new lumber. I have only attempted this with one drop and it failed miserably, warping far worse than the original battens as it was young lumber. You have to understand that historic battens were first-cut and old-growth timber, meaning the graining is tighter than modern pine and contains very few flaws and knots. The wood that was used for the stage scenery is a far better quality than what I can find today. It is easy to un-warp old boards by swapping the battens and reshaping each piece.
Unfortunately, there are many individuals who do not fully understand the critical purpose of the battens in historical scenery collections. Again, these are the battens placed at the top and bottoms of each painted drop. Wooden battens stretch the top and bottom of the painted scene perfectly.
Some people even recommend that all of the wood must be removed and replaced with pipe pockets and jute webbing. What is their reasoning? Pipes will stay straight and jute won’t warp like wooden battens. Pipes can remain straight, but only if they have a big enough diameter and it is thick enough not to bend. The large size also means that there is a great strain on the pipe pocket seams due to the increased weight. If the pipes are light enough to not stress the seam, they also are subject to bending.
Furthermore, jute webbing and pipe pockets often create massive wrinkles throughout a historic composition once the drop is hanging. When using battens, the fabric is stretched and tacked to prevent the “bunching up” of fabric along the bottom. The only reason that causes massive wrinkles with wooden battens is if the pick points that support the drop fall out of level. This simply necessitates trimming each line to make sure that it remains parallel to the floor. With pipe pockets, entire sections of fabric at the bottom of each drop can “bunch up,” forming entire sections of wrinkles that appear like ripples across a water’s surface. Trying to pull out these wrinkles once it is hanging will often cause the aged fabric to rip. Similarly, jute webbing can also cause some wrinkles as the tie lines do not always keep the fabric taut, allowing some sections to sag.
Attaching pipe pockets and jute webbing to a historical painted scene is a very different beast than sewing on jute and pipe pockets to new drops. There are numerous factors that must be taken into consideration prior to making this decision, especially the condition of the fabric.
The biggest problem is that sewing ANYTHING onto an historical drop necessitates perforating the old fabric, thus causing a weakness in the structural integrity – even with double seaming. Over time, the old fabric WILL fail and the pipe pocket will detach from the original fabric, allowing the pipe to plummet to the stage.
Similarly at the top, sewing on jute webbing with grommets also causes a weakness in the structural integrity of the fabric. The weight of the pipe will target the weakness along the stitched edge and rip. ANY trained theatre professional will immediately understand why pipe pockets and jute webbing should not be sewn onto historic fabric and weighted. It may hold for a while, but it will eventually fail.
I just viewed a perfect example of the problems that result from replacing wooden battens with pipe pockets and jute webbing at the Scottish Rite in Saint Louis, Missouri. All of the wooden battens were removed on each painted scene. On the top, jute webbing with grommets and tie lines were sewn along the top edge of the thin and old fabric. On the bottom, the fabric was initially folded to create a pipe pocket. Many of the pipe pockets from the first alteration failed, so a second pre-constructed pipe pocket was sewn above the damage. Unfortunately, that failed too. Why? Because the fabric was perforated, created a weak area and caused the fabric to rip.
With pipes, there is the potential for damage at multiple points across the bottom of a drop, but especially at the ends and the connections. The sharp edges, or threaded areas will rip the fabric. Also, the connections will come apart as the pipe shifts over time – unless they are soldered. Now, pipe pockets began to appear in the 1920s as the price of steel was affordable and this was a cost-effective alternative to wood. Unfortunately, over time the seams are more at risk than the wooden battens as the wooden battens compress the fabric. If not the fabric ripping, the thread will fail as it the cause at the Scottish Rite in Moline, Illinois (ca. 1929). Battens just work better if you are attempting to hang historic drops for several decades.
For years, I have warned against simply sewing pipe pockets onto historic drops, yet individuals have continued to sew pipe pockets onto historical scenery. I receive calls from those who did not head my advice.
If the pipe is too light, it will not pull out the wrinkles. Furthermore, if the pipe has too narrow of a diameter, it will bend. For example, if a skinny pipe on a cut drop is used and the cut open gets damaged – the pipe will bend and the bottom of the drop will look like it is smiling at the audience.
At some point, the collection is dangerous for all those below it and each production is a game of Russian roulette. Who will be standing below the pipe when it lets go and will they die? Is the theatre owner willing to take that particular risk?
To be continued…
