Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Three Sided Flats

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imamember
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Topic: Three Sided Flats
Posted: 3/16/09 at 7:57am

First....what are these called? I know they have a name but it escapes me.

Second...are there any online guides that show how to make these? I wanna make about five or six of them for use in children's shows.

I want to paint different scenes on each side. Any help would be appreciated.

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David McCall
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Posted: 3/16/09 at 11:02am

There seems to be 2 spellings on the web

Periactoi and Periaktoi

I didn't find a lot on the web, but with more patience you might do better.

Typically you would henge 3 traditional flats (not Hollywood style flats) together using loose pin henges on the 3rd corner. I'd use at least 3 hinges on each corner. Then build a 3 sided dolly to fit the bottom. There will be ugly seams at the corners where the flats come together. 4" wide Gaffer Tape is one solution that can be used to cover the corners.

http://www.bscl.org/periactoi.htm

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hstech.org/howto/carpentr/flats/periaktoi%2520011.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.hstech.org/howto/carpentr/flats/periak.htm&h=491&w=653&sz=74&tbnid=FHbkCzXhPQj5lM::&tbnh=104&tbnw=138&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dperiaktoi&hl=en&usg=__1YloSJRc95MtIZC3nCdn1rIk930=&ei=b2O-SeClHoyxtwfak7j4Cw&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=8&ct=image&cd=1

David M

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MartyW
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Posted: 3/16/09 at 11:37am

I've always had a hard time with that name too.. thats why I go around ticking off the "real theater" people and call them Pterodactyls

Marty W

"Till next we trod the boards.."

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KEB54
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Posted: 3/16/09 at 2:43pm

We use them a lot. Very fast scene changes. Just finished Grease using them and Gypsy last summer. Music Man before that.

KEB

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David McCall
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Posted: 3/16/09 at 6:55pm

Periacktoi are very cool. I inherited 6 of them in our group. They took up a lot of space and were screwed together and painted over so many times that it was impractical to take them apart. Put them together with loose pin hienges so they are easy to take apart. Build a 3 sided dolly for it to ride on.

I've found that it can be hard to position them accurately with the typical swivel casters. If they only have to rotate in place, set them up with a pivot. At it's simplest, it would be a short piece of pipe going through a hole in the dolly. The piece of pipe has a flange that might be screwed down to the floor. You probably can't do that, so make a 4' circle of plywood. It could be fairly thin. Glue and screw a smaller piece of 3/4" plywood in the center, and mount the flange to that. You might also want to use non-swiveling casters for smoother direction changes.

David M

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KEB54
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Posted: 3/17/09 at 2:09pm

I never though of it till now, but we must be very lucky. We don't anchor our Periacktoi in any way. We just have spike marks on the floor and put them in position. No brakes or stops or anything. They just stay where we put them. They have never rolled or moved when they weren't suppose to.

Now watch! Next production they'll roll all over!

KEB

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David McCall
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Posted: 3/17/09 at 2:18pm

Sorry, I wasn't too clear. I was referring to the repositioning them during scene changes. With a pivot you just spin them and stop them when they get to the new orientation. If you have a stagehand (or actor :-) on each one, you get a 1-2 second scene change and it looks cool

David M

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Gaafa
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Posted: 3/17/09 at 10:25pm

If you having problems with pronouncing the Greek name [periacroi (Rotate)- we just call them 'Medcci' flats.

Joe
Western Gondawandaland
turn right @ Perth.
Hear the light & see the sound.
Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"}
May you always play
to a full house}

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David McCall
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Posted: 3/17/09 at 10:37pm

I call them flats now

When we moved to our new shop I took them all apart because they took up too much room.

They are easy enough to build if it comes up again, and I would build them quite differently.

David M

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techdirector
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Posted: 3/20/09 at 2:42pm

I have plans for building both 4'x10' and 8'x12' sets of periactoi. If you would like to e-mail me at techdirector@comcast.net I would be happy to send a copy to you.

My plans use hard covered "hollywood" style flats with set-back edges and no big seams in the corners. They produce very proffesional quality pieces that can last for years if properly stored.

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Set Design and Construction
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Set Design and Construction

Author	Message
imamember Celebrity Joined: 8/18/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 121	Topic: Three Sided Flats Posted: 3/16/09 at 7:57am
	First....what are these called? I know they have a name but it escapes me. Second...are there any online guides that show how to make these? I wanna make about five or six of them for use in children's shows. I want to paint different scenes on each side. Any help would be appreciated.

	IP Logged

David McCall Celebrity Joined: 1/28/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 299	Posted: 3/16/09 at 11:02am
	There seems to be 2 spellings on the web Periactoi and Periaktoi I didn't find a lot on the web, but with more patience you might do better. Typically you would henge 3 traditional flats (not Hollywood style flats) together using loose pin henges on the 3rd corner. I'd use at least 3 hinges on each corner. Then build a 3 sided dolly to fit the bottom. There will be ugly seams at the corners where the flats come together. 4" wide Gaffer Tape is one solution that can be used to cover the corners. http://www.bscl.org/periactoi.htm http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hstech.org/howto/carpentr/flats/periaktoi%2520011.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.hstech.org/howto/carpentr/flats/periak.htm&h=491&w=653&sz=74&tbnid=FHbkCzXhPQj5lM::&tbnh=104&tbnw=138&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dperiaktoi&hl=en&usg=__1YloSJRc95MtIZC3nCdn1rIk930=&ei=b2O-SeClHoyxtwfak7j4Cw&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=8&ct=image&cd=1
	David M
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MartyW Celebrity Joined: 2/02/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 555	Posted: 3/16/09 at 11:37am
	I've always had a hard time with that name too.. thats why I go around ticking off the "real theater" people and call them Pterodactyls
	Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.."
	IP Logged

KEB54 Celebrity Joined: 7/24/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 227	Posted: 3/16/09 at 2:43pm
	We use them a lot. Very fast scene changes. Just finished Grease using them and Gypsy last summer. Music Man before that.
	KEB
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David McCall Celebrity Joined: 1/28/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 299	Posted: 3/16/09 at 6:55pm
	Periacktoi are very cool. I inherited 6 of them in our group. They took up a lot of space and were screwed together and painted over so many times that it was impractical to take them apart. Put them together with loose pin hienges so they are easy to take apart. Build a 3 sided dolly for it to ride on. I've found that it can be hard to position them accurately with the typical swivel casters. If they only have to rotate in place, set them up with a pivot. At it's simplest, it would be a short piece of pipe going through a hole in the dolly. The piece of pipe has a flange that might be screwed down to the floor. You probably can't do that, so make a 4' circle of plywood. It could be fairly thin. Glue and screw a smaller piece of 3/4" plywood in the center, and mount the flange to that. You might also want to use non-swiveling casters for smoother direction changes.
	David M
	IP Logged

KEB54 Celebrity Joined: 7/24/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 227	Posted: 3/17/09 at 2:09pm
	I never though of it till now, but we must be very lucky. We don't anchor our Periacktoi in any way. We just have spike marks on the floor and put them in position. No brakes or stops or anything. They just stay where we put them. They have never rolled or moved when they weren't suppose to. Now watch! Next production they'll roll all over!
	KEB
	IP Logged

David McCall Celebrity Joined: 1/28/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 299	Posted: 3/17/09 at 2:18pm
	Sorry, I wasn't too clear. I was referring to the repositioning them during scene changes. With a pivot you just spin them and stop them when they get to the new orientation. If you have a stagehand (or actor :-) on each one, you get a 1-2 second scene change and it looks cool .
	David M
	IP Logged

Gaafa Celebrity Joined: 3/21/04 Location: Australia Online Status: Offline Posts: 1181	Posted: 3/17/09 at 10:25pm
	If you having problems with pronouncing the Greek name [periacroi (Rotate)- we just call them 'Medcci' flats.
	Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house}
	IP Logged

David McCall Celebrity Joined: 1/28/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 299	Posted: 3/17/09 at 10:37pm
	I call them flats now When we moved to our new shop I took them all apart because they took up too much room. They are easy enough to build if it comes up again, and I would build them quite differently.
	David M
	IP Logged

techdirector Walk-On Joined: 7/12/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Posted: 3/20/09 at 2:42pm
	I have plans for building both 4'x10' and 8'x12' sets of periactoi. If you would like to e-mail me at techdirector@comcast.net I would be happy to send a copy to you. My plans use hard covered "hollywood" style flats with set-back edges and no big seams in the corners. They produce very proffesional quality pieces that can last for years if properly stored.
	IP Logged

Topic: Three Sided Flats( Topic Closed)
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