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Walk-along Tabs Technique


top-cat

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Hi All

 

I am in a theatre / venue right now where the tab track winch system has stopped working and in the short term, until that fault can be rectified, we are operating the curtains as 'walk along' without the rope system.

 

The crew did it for the first time the other day and it looked rubbish. It was hard to manage speeds, and the bottom half of the curtain, where they pulled from, tended to lead the top where it was suspended.

 

Now, I know that other theatres have managed to use walkalong curtains successfully with it looking reasonably professional, and just wondered if anyone from such establishments could recommend me any tips for doing so which I can pass on to our crew for use until such a time that the winch works again.

 

Thanks up front to anyone who can offer advice on this.

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. It was hard to manage speeds, and the bottom half of the curtain, where they pulled from, tended to lead the top where it was suspended.

rope to the lead runners ,walk on pulling the rope and the top will come with you,or if the track aint too high get a stage brace ,put the hook end through the runner and push the tab on,this way the operater can stay hidden behind the tab

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We do the same as mad hippy with our tab tracks for cloth changes that can be done in the black.

For the couple of gauze reveals we did we tied a sash cord onto the trailing runner and fitted a pulley the fly floor hand rail so we could pull the gauze off from the wings without the crew being seen.

Worked really well in our non flying theatre, it's all tab tracks.

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. It was hard to manage speeds, and the bottom half of the curtain, where they pulled from, tended to lead the top where it was suspended.

rope to the lead runners ,walk on pulling the rope and the top will come with you,or if the track aint too high get a stage brace ,put the hook end through the runner and push the tab on,this way the operater can stay hidden behind the tab

 

I hope I'm not being thick, but how do you pull the top along with a rope, without yourself being on the leading edge of the curtain and thus out for all to see?

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you walk behind the curtain pulling it with one hand , whilst the other hand pulls the sash tied to the runner

yes the bit where you are does lead slightly, but nowhere as bad as if you dont use the sash, also it helps stop the runners snagging

or you walk behing the curtain with the arm pulluing the sash sticking out slightly giving a straight curtain

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Presumably like we do, cloth goes only in black between scenes?

 

Yeah see that won't work for us, curtain has to open and close on a lit stage as part of the performance, hence why have previously used a winch system.

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The only way to do a wipe on a lit stage that looks even vaguely aesthetically pleasing is with winch/rope/pulley. Even if you can't reinstate the proper rope system at least attach a pull rope going off to one wing so it can be wiped on stage by someone in the wing pulling the rope and taken off by the curtain being pulled in by someone in the opposite wing literally pulling and bunching the curtains
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Hire in a triple e track (flints do them, as im sure most drap/rigging companies will) to temporarily replace your tab track?

 

As per my OP it is the winch that is busted, not the tab track itself. I am quite familiar with the concept of hiring to replace busted things but this is one of those scenarios where it clearly wouldn't work!

 

The only way to do a wipe on a lit stage that looks even vaguely aesthetically pleasing is with winch/rope/pulley. Even if you can't reinstate the proper rope system at least attach a pull rope going off to one wing so it can be wiped on stage by someone in the wing pulling the rope and taken off by the curtain being pulled in by someone in the opposite wing literally pulling and bunching the curtains

 

I thought that may be the case Tom. Looks like I will be buying a quantity of rope tomorrow then, and hopefully rig something up which as you say at least closes them remotely so I can have 2 people closing and bunching from the ends out of sight. That's a good idea.

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didn't realise it was a competition or I might have joined in earlier...

 

I couldn't swear to it and can't be bothered to look it up, but I have a vague feeling Flints might keep tab winches in their hire stock.

 

Or why do you need a winch? just install a hand-pull chord. The sort of thing that you would use on a set of half-tabs that are flown in and out as well as wiped...

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Flints may stoxk tab winches in hire stock. What they don't stock in hire stock is the rope (you have to buy it) and the time it takes to run it into the track and winch and set limits and what not.

 

I have for now put a simple hand pull system in it made from cheap bits from some generic hardware store! Works fine. Thanks to those who actually answered my "is there a technique" question rather than simply stating the obvious "hire another one". If it were that simple I'd have been there before posting!

 

It will within a week or two be replaced with a whole new system. Just needed something to get me through a show and this does fine.

 

As for needing a winch, the ecomics on pressing a button come out better than paying people to operate it manually! And I can operate it from FOH...

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