Freestanding Pivoting Stage Flat

For the high school production of Peter Pan, the request was to have two large windows on stage that can open, allowing Peter to fly through. With set pieces on either side the amount of framing and bracing allowed is limited. Plus the need for fly wires eliminates the possibility of a lintel brace across the top.

The windows also needed to sit 18" above the stage floor on top of a couple platforms. And finally, the entire window structure needs to be removable from the acting space.

My solution was to use a pipe inside a pipe system. The support pipe is 1 1/4" diameter and the window brace pipe is 1" diameter, fitting perfectly inside the larger bracing pipe.

The larger bracing pipe is two feet long, the same height as the platform. I used a flange to secure it to the floor and two brackets to secure the pipe in two directions to the adjoining platforms.

A 1x3 length of lumber was used to secure the ten foot long piece of 1" pipe with four additional pipe brackets. Then the window was secured to the lumber brace.

All the weight of each window lives in the iron pipe. I tried PVC at first but found it too flexible, allowing the window to sag dramatically. Even with the stiffness of metal pipe, the window does have a slight droop.

To provide additional support at the swing end of the window, I mounted a small roller designed for kitchen drawers. The roller provides just enough freedom to allow the window to move freely and not drag across the platform.

Another tweak I plan to add is a large washer to at the point where the window brace rests on top of the support pipe. This will provide additional support and reduce friction as the window swings.

Overall, the entire apparatus cost a little more than $100 and three trips to Lowe's. If needed, another way to help prevent sag or droop with the window grid would be to use fishing string to create a cross support from high pipe side to the lower corner.