# Kabuki Curtain Drops



## mr28loun (Sep 12, 2010)

I've searched the forum and read every Kabuki related thread from top to bottom... We have a small black backdrop about 20 ft wide and 10 ft tall behind our band... We wanna find a way to drop the black backdrop to reveal an American Flag Behind it mid set... It sits a few feet behind the last member in the band... We plan on hanging both the back drop and the flag in the beginning and just dropping the backdrop to show the flag behind it... We wanna purchase because its permanent year round... Any Help would be great!


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## Footer (Sep 12, 2010)

What specifically do you want to know? What questions do you have about the operation that was not covered in other threads? Whats your budget?


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## coldnorth57 (Sep 12, 2010)

Check this out I think this is what you are looking for...
Drop Systems - KABUKI DROP Curtain - Gerriets International


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## jstroming (Sep 12, 2010)

I have a show out now that uses these hand winches, one stage left and one stage right. You crank them up by hand (wire rope attaches to top of drop, gets coiled into a drum on the winch). The winch has a quick release on it. The weight of the curtain will pull it down, unspooling the wire rope in the drum.

There is some slight sag in the curtain in the center (the wire rope is attached to grommets about 25% into the drop on each side....but this can be corrected with a third winch in the center if your back drop is hung from a pipe or truss that spans the length of it). My show doesnt have the luxury of a third point....we hang from only 2 points that are off stage left and right (our drop is also downstage of playing area, not upstage). As long as you sync the quick release, you'll have a kabuki drop.

Obviously I dont know your exact setup but if your creative you can figure out a way to guide the wire rope with pulleys or something and make this system work. I think I spent $500 on the winches and wire rope.

Look at the first picture:
McMaster-Carr


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## Studio (Sep 12, 2010)

I'm thinking two pulleys with rope from each one tied to a weight or anchor with a quick release of some-sort.


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## mr28loun (Sep 13, 2010)

Around 1000 dollars probably for the budget... I dont directly manage the funds... The setup is quite simple its two trees with a piece of trussing spanning the back of the stage lifted about 10 feet off the ground... some way to relase the black backdrop to reveal the flag...


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## dramatech (Sep 13, 2010)

A few years ago, I worked on a show that had three Kabuki drops. One was china silk and the other two were 22 ounce velour. They were all 24' x 54'. The mechanisms were long pieces of 1by. One piece was fastened to the bottom of the pipe batten, and the other piece was attached to the first piece with hinges on the bottom. There were steele pegs running out at a slight angle up from the front board. The Kabuki had grommets in the top, that were placed over the pegs. There was a 120vac solenoid mounted in such a way that it released the front board allowing it to fall forward and the kabuki would then slide off the pegs and fall to the floor. Because the curtains were quite heavy, the front board was divided into 3 sections with each having a release mechanism. The solenoids were powered by a dimmer circuit and the board was activated by SEMPTE from the audio track. It was pretty cool, and did 4 to 5 shows a day for a year, that I was there.

It wouldn't be difficult to make a much smaller version using a 12 or 24 dc solenoid to release it. I just recently purchased that type of solenoid from either mpja.com or electronic gold mine. I don't remember which one at the moment.


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## kicknargel (Sep 14, 2010)

Yet another way I've done it was to hang a pipe batten in such a way as it can spin (i.e. hung from trim chain). I welded little posts sticking out of it over which the grommets of the curtain went. I welded a lever arm on the end of the pipe with a rope hanging off each end. That way, by pulling one rope or the other I could rotate the pipe enough to change the pegs from angling up to angling down and the curtain would slip off. I tied off the ropes to a cleat so it wouldn't trip accidentally.


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