page_title: Front curtain
section_title: Tableau
hierarchical_section_title: Front curtain / Types / Tableau
caption_attribution_description: English&#58; Front Tableau curtain from inside of the scene. Grand théâtre d'Angers, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France.Français&#58; rideau de théâtre d'avant scène à l'Italienne, vu fermé depuis la scène. Grand théâtre d'Angers, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France.
context_page_description: A front curtain, also known as a house curtain, act curtain, grand drape, main curtain or drape, proscenium curtain, or main rag is the stage curtain or curtains at the very front of a theatrical stage, separating the house
  The front curtain is usually opened at the beginning of a performance to reveal the stage set and closed for intermissions as well as the end of a performance. The most common material for the front curtain is a heavy velour material, often with pleated fullness sewn into the fabric to create a more opulent appearance.
context_section_description: The tableau, tab, or tabbed curtain, also called opera drapes, though iconic of the theater setting, is the rarest of curtains to actually be employed on the stage.  It consists of two overlapping panels (often but not always pleated) firmly secured at the top to a batten, each sewn with a diagonal series of rings from the upper offstage corner to either the centre-point of or the onstage-most corner of its lower edge. A line or cable attaches to the lowest ring, runs diagonally offstage through the other rings, through a pulleys on the batten, then down to the floor.  When the lines are pulled, each curtain is lifted diagonally out and off.  In its open position it creates a frilled, tent-like viewing frame for the performance: a top "scallop" with the rest of the curtain gathered at the sides. As it does not fully clear the stage, tabs tend to limit the audience's view, and thus it is rarely used except in very small venues; however, it requires no overhead space (like a traveler), nor does it require a track or any sandbag counterweights (like an oleo or an Austrian).
caption: Back side of a tableau curtain - Grand théâtre d'Angers
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