Scenic Flats

Toggle

Internal framing members of a flat that help to brace the stiles from bowing out or in. These fit within the stiles.

Scenic Flats

One of the 3 basic building blocks of scenery and used to define vertical space on a theatrical set. They are usually painted and positioned on stage to give the appearance of rooms, buildings, or other backgrounds.

Softcover Flats

Only Broadway flats can be covered with a soft surface like muslin. Lay your frame on sawhorses, cut your fabric a little larger than it needs to be. Paint the front surface only with a mixture, about 50/50, of glue and water. It should still be gummy enough to hold the fabric in place. Use your hands to judge the texture! Make sure to paint all the way to the edge, so the muslin doesn't curl up.

Stile

The side pieces of the flat, which, when added to the dimensions of the rails, make up the height of the flat. The stiles are always positioned between the rails.

Rail

The top or bottom piece of the flat, which determines the width of the flat. The bottom rail is the solid (full width) piece on the floor so that when the flat is upright it won't tear apart as you slide it into place.

Hollywood or TV Flats

These are laid out in the same way, with the rails above and below the stiles, and the toggle(s) between the stiles. But, the lumber is laid on its side to give thickness. As such, the math is different. The stiles on an 8' tall flat are 7' 10-1/2" because the two rails are 3/4" thick, not 2-3/4".

Corner Blocks

These are the pieces that secure the corners of a traditional Broadway flat, in the back. Use 1/4" plywood cut into 7"x7"x hypotenuse right triangles( cut 7" squares, then cut those in half diagonally). Be aware of the direction of the wood grain of the plywood. It is important that the grain goes across the joint in the two pieces of lumber you are securing (perpendicular to the crack between), otherwise, the joint will be weak and will break if it gets pushed on.

Keystones or Straps

These are the pieces that secure the middle supports of the flat (toggles). They used to actually be keystone-shaped, nobody goes to that much trouble anymore. Keystones must be cut with the grain going lengthwise. This gives strength to the joint.

Broadway Flats

To build a 4'x8' standard flat, the two rails will measure 4', the two stiles will measure 7' 6-3/4" (8' minus 5 1/4" which is the width of the two stiles if your nominal 1' x3' is actually 2 3/4"), and the toggle will measure 3' 6-3/4". Lay the pieces out on a large even surface with the nicest surfaces facing down (that will be the front, you will secure the pieces on the backside with either corner blocks and keystones, or corrugated fasteners). Using a carpenter's square, make sure all the corners are square as you secure the frame.

Sweeps

Used to create a curved profile, most commonly at the top of a window or doorway in a flat. Sweeps are cut from X" plywood so that the thickness of the sweep matches the thickness of the one-by used to frame the flat.

Hardcover Flats

You can use a hard surface on either Broadway or Hollywood/TV flats. As before, lay your frame on saw horses or a large table. Cut the Lauan etc. to the exact dimensions of the outside of the frame. Put glue on the front surface of the frame. Lay the skin on and staple it into place, using an electric or pneumatic stapler. Paint or paper, as desired.

Cut List

You make a cut list the same way for any project, regardless of the sizes of lumber and other materials. Making a cut list involves using feet and inches, as well as fractional parts of inches. For a flat, the rail (r) is the full width, the stile (s) is the height minus the dimension of the top & bottom rail, and the toggle (t) is the width minus the dimension of both stiles. Ex: For a 4' x 8' Hollywood flat r = 4', s = 7' - 10 1/2", & t = 3' - 10 1/2"