The Stage Floor rests upon boards D, E, and F, and is made of laths laid close together, parallel to the front of the stage. The laths should not be nailed in place, as it is necessary to have the stage floor movable.
When the work has proceeded thus far, set the picture-frame between the uprights of the front frame so that the opening comes on a level with the stage floor, and fasten it to A and B with nails driven through screw-eyes placed in the back of the picture-frame.
The Drop-curtain should be made of white muslin, and measure in width several inches wider than the opening in the picture-frame. Hem the two side edges of the cloth, and sew brass rings on to them two inches apart. Then tack the top and bottom to strips of wood. A scene may be painted upon this curtain, but you will find the result probably more successful if you paste a picture of some sort upon the cloth, as suggested in the illustration of the completed theatre.
Fig. 319.—Crank for Curtain Pole.
In [Fig. 318] we have a view from the stage of the arrangement by which the curtain is raised and lowered. Two heavy wires should be slipped through the rings on the curtain, and their ends fastened to four screw-eyes placed in the uprights at J, K, L, and M. These form the curtain guides. Bore two holes in uprights A and B above the picture-frame, and run a broom-stick through them for a roller, after which make a crank similar to that shown in [Fig. 319] and fasten it to one end. Place two screw-eyes in the crosspiece at N and O ([Fig. 318]) and slip two cords through them, tying one end of each to the top of the curtain and the other end to the roller. By turning the crank the string will now wind around the roller and raise the curtain. It will be necessary to screw a button on to upright A at P, as shown in [Fig. 319], to lock the crank when the curtain is raised. We often had two and three drop-curtains upon our miniature theatres, which made it necessary to have additional rollers and guide-wires.
