Playing with Fire

Guild of Scenic Artists: Creating beautiful scenery on a budget often requires Scenics to paint on lightweight soft goods like muslin, silk, lace, and burlap. Unfortunately, these fabrics are also very combustible and have a long record of contributing to some of the worst theatre fires in history. With so many products and tools available to us (and because it is a fire code issue!) there is no reason why we shouldn’t be adding the time and budget to properly flame retard our soft goods – painted or not. In this article, we’ll break down what products are available for treating your fabrics and help you identify which one to use on each substrate.