FoH Tabs Overlap

[T*ny]

This may seem like a silly question but is there a "correct" way for FoH tabs to overlap - either on a track or dead hung on a bar?

I have come up with a logical reason for doing it one way but wondered whether anyone else always did it one way or the other.

In our little theatre we have the stage left curtain hung downstage of the stage right curtain - my reasoning being that anyone entering through the curtains to make an announcement for example will most likely be entering from the direction of the SM desk having liaised with the SM before barging through. The upstage curtain gets paged upstage leaving a straight run from prompt side - it makes for a nice clean entrance through the gap rather than doubling back to get through. I realise this may not work for all set ups but feel free to change my mind.

[sunray]

My limited experience seems to be hung the opposite, ie stage right down stage but I can't think there is a standard for it. In the case of two of my local village/church halls there is no access SL which would seem to agree with your reasoning.

[dje]

SL on the Downstage. The reason being the hand line.

 

If you have a hand line on the tabs, pulling the hand line in an anti-clockwise direction means you're pulling the thing on the left hand side.

So if you're stood in the SL wing and you're looking towards the centre of the track, pulling on the left hand side of a hand line pulls the curtain hung on the downstage track towards you, and pushes the curtain hung on the upstage track away from you.

And the opposite from stage right. Therefore an anticlockwise motion opens (as is generally conventional) and clockwise motion closes it.

 

If you had the SR curtain hung on the downstage track, an anti-clockwise motion on the handline would close the tabs which is counter-intuitive.

Edited March 9, 2021 by dje

[sunray]

SL on the Downstage. The reason being the hand line.

 

If you have a hand line on the tabs, pulling the hand line in an anti-clockwise direction means you're pulling the thing on the left hand side.

So if you're stood in the SL wing and you're looking towards the centre of the track, pulling on the left hand side of a hand line pulls the curtain hung on the downstage track towards you, and pushes the curtain hung on the upstage track away from you.

And the opposite from stage right. Therefore an anticlockwise motion opens (as is generally conventional) and clockwise motion closes it.

 

If you had the SR curtain hung on the downstage track, an anti-clockwise motion on the handline would close the tabs which is counter-intuitive.

This makes some sense but I got to thinking about Morcambe and Wise, thier 'curtain action' always seemed to be with SR DS and a quick search on youtube has found that to be correct, it also led to London Paladium which seems to have used both arrangements.

[Just Some Bloke]

SL on the Downstage. The reason being the hand line.

 

If you have a hand line on the tabs, pulling the hand line in an anti-clockwise direction means you're pulling the thing on the left hand side.

 

 

I used to work with a Stage Manager whose way of remembering which line to pull was to quote: "He likes it LEFT IN, she likes it RIGHT OUT".

[T*ny]

Our tabs fly in and out so the handline is not an issue for them. But when I do rig tracks with a handline I tend to put a quarter twist in the lines to the floor pulley so that the offstage cord opens the curtain and the onstage cord closes it.

[sunray]

This one seems to make the most sense so far.

Our tabs fly in and out so the handline is not an issue for them. But when I do rig tracks with a handline I tend to put a quarter twist in the lines to the floor pulley so that the offstage cord opens the curtain and the onstage cord closes it.

C&S always installed the winding drum in schools and I believe standardised on clockwise for close however I always felt that was confusing when mounted SR as the nearest tab moved in the opposite direction to the top travel of the handle, even more confusing when drums were mounted both sides of the stage.

 

[DrV]

This one seems to make the most sense so far.

Our tabs fly in and out so the handline is not an issue for them. But when I do rig tracks with a handline I tend to put a quarter twist in the lines to the floor pulley so that the offstage cord opens the curtain and the onstage cord closes it.

C&S always installed the winding drum in schools and I believe standardised on clockwise for close however I always felt that was confusing when mounted SR as the nearest tab moved in the opposite direction to the top travel of the handle, even more confusing when drums were mounted both sides of the stage.

Our AmDram venue has such a drum SR but wound so that clockwise opens, which is totally intuitive.

[Whiskers]

Stage Right upstage gives a right handed page through the tabs, which must be easier hence cleaner Edited March 12, 2021 by Whiskers

[sunray]

This one seems to make the most sense so far.

Our tabs fly in and out so the handline is not an issue for them. But when I do rig tracks with a handline I tend to put a quarter twist in the lines to the floor pulley so that the offstage cord opens the curtain and the onstage cord closes it.

C&S always installed the winding drum in schools and I believe standardised on clockwise for close however I always felt that was confusing when mounted SR as the nearest tab moved in the opposite direction to the top travel of the handle, even more confusing when drums were mounted both sides of the stage.

Our AmDram venue has such a drum SR but wound so that clockwise opens, which is totally intuitive.

Yes I agree it is.

I've done some work in a small theatre which had a drum both sides with a single removable handle and they both turned clockwise to close. SL was totally predictable but SR had open and close scrawled on the wall with blue chalk as all and sundry got it wrong. When the wire frayed I replaced it and wound it the other way, then placed gaffa over the writing. Not a single person complained but most said it was better, the gaffa was removed when the wall was painted.