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 f
all the world were a stage, that would be just about
perfect for Cal-Tran, Inc. This New York City woman-owned
enterprise is a different kind of drapery workroom.
It's a theatrical softgoods, custom drapery and
design consulting business.
"We
do everything from Broadway theaters to industrial
venues for large corporations, puppet theaters,
movies, special events, schools, churches, conventions,
television sets, nude mud wrestling…We're not embarrassed
to take on most any project," says Susan Huck, who,
along with Melinda Geter, runs Cal-Tran in Manhattan's
Chelsea neighborhood.
Cal-Tran's
work on stage may best be described as a lead supporting
role - so necessary, but often overlooked.
There are, of course, the grand act curtains, which
are raised and lowered at the beginning and end
of every production and between acts. These curtains
often are made of 25-ounce velour with two-foot
long fringe and can be 60 feet wide and 40 feet
tall. But there are a myriad of other things to
do around the theater and on stage.
"A
theater is just a big empty box. They'll use curtains
that you don't see to mask off entrances and exits,
and also the lighting positions," Huck says. "So
all of the architectural elements outside the range
of view, but within the theater are done up with
draperies and are different for each show."
In
a set design, there is a drawing for every item
on the stage - every wall and every backdrop.
Cal-Tran will fabricate the large muslin, which
is almost like a large canvas, for the scenic artists
to paint the backdrops. They also may be asked to
create prop pieces. For example, if there is a living
room set, they will create treatments for the windows.
Over
the past 20-plus years, Huck and Geter have worked
with most of the prominent stage designers on Broadway
- many of whom have been at the top of
their profession - as well as the new crop
coming up. Admittedly, some are more conversant
with fabric as a medium than others. "Designers
are artists," Huck says, "and they may have a lot
of set construction design, or costume construction
experience, but what fabric will do as a breathing
fiber in a large scale is a constant surprise to
everyone."
Backstage
Pass
Cal-Tran first went into production in 1977,
while Huck and an earlier partner were working in
a costume shop and doing stage curtains on the side.
"That's where I met Melinda, who had the good sense
to tell us, "What are you doing? You're making more
money on the side than you are here. Go start a
business!" Huck recalls. Geter joined the cast full
time in 1986.
Both
women came to theatrical softgoods through similar
ways. Huck caught the bug in high school drama,
but was more interested in costumes and the technical
end of things than in being on stage. She went on
to major in Theater Technology at Virginia's Mary
Washington College. But theater was something to
do for fun.
Huck
came to New York as an accounts payable clerk (and
hated it). She got involved in a Gilbert & Sullivan
repertory company and began working on costumes.
Her first try-out with theater curtains came when
she was asked to sew up a drapery using scrim for
a stage set.
Geter
also was introduced to theater in high school, but
wanted to be a costume designer even though one
of her art teachers tried talking her out of it.
She enrolled in New York's Fashion Institute of
Technology to become a fashion designer, deciding
to specialize in men's wear because she thought
there would be less competition.
"During
my first job in the fashion industry, the receptionist
had a friend who had a costume shop, and he was
making an onion and a pea for a Bird's Eye commercial.
I was so excited I told her she had to take me down
there. I wanted to see this human-size onion and
pea. I had the bug. I wanted to see my name roll
across on a movie's credits as a costume designer,"
she says.
Today,
Cal-Tran employs 38 workers in a 25,000-square-foot
workspace, which includes two 60-foot long worktables.
The equipment includes walking feet industrial sewing
machines; there are a few dress heads and a couple
of straight stitch machines.
As
with many businesses these days, finding qualified
employees is a significant challenge. Most of Cal-Tran's
employees come from countries where textile craft
is still practiced, and English is a second language
for them.
Huck
and Geter look for people who have the right skills
and are trainable, and sometimes a hidden talent
is discovered. A project for a Las Vegas casino
required heavy hemp rope trim. Huck and Geter called
the staff together and asked if anyone knew how
to do it. A woman answered saying she had worked
with it in the past in her native country, and she
was given that part of the project.
The
Yacht in the Basement
Huck and Geter have worked on many large-scale projects
- for some of them, their most important
consideration was how to get it out the door, onto
a truck and into a theater.
Geter
tells about working on one of her first projects
after joining Cal-Tran full-time. The company was
awarded the contract to replace the main drapery
at Radio City Music Hall. "I thought I was asking
a stupid question. This curtain was 80 feet tall
by 112 feet wide…plus 100 percent fullness…and lined…and
it was contoured, draped like an Austrian. From
my costume days, I've realized that sometimes the
question that you think is dumb is the brilliant
question of the day. I looked at all the fabric,
and I looked at the 37-inch door, and I looked at
the fabric again, and I thought, 'I don't think
this is going through the door.'"
"We
had to send it out in three pieces," Huck adds,
"and we got to perform live on stage at Radio City
joining it together."
Sometimes
the job requires telling designers when something
won't work. "Like for a home theater," Geter says.
"Someone has built a house, they're making a theater
and they want the same curtains they've seen in
a Broadway house. We have to tell them, "No, you
don't want that. That fabric weighs a pound every
square foot. It's going to rip down your ceiling
and tear up your room. Please pick a different fabric.'"
"One
of the most fun projects we never did was for the
Statue of Liberty," Huck says. "When the centenary
celebration was happening, they had this wonderful
idea that they wanted to make a shroud for the Statue
of Liberty in silk and lift it off with a helicopter.
They thought that would be a wonderful idea.
"All
I could think of was Marilyn Monroe over the subway
grating. I said, 'Excuse me, but has anybody checked
with the pilot or somebody about what's going to
keep this from doing an inverted buttercup and just
sort of taking out the helicopter?' It was the helicopter
pilot who assured us that was exactly what would
happen, so we declined that project."
Final
Bow
"Melinda
and I both really love the challenge of taking a
designer's vision and bringing it into the real
world," Huck says. "We love that someone has this
concept and they need our help to bring it into
focus."
"Through
our experience in costumes, we've learned that anything
can be accomplished," says Geter.
Huck
adds, "Both of us hate the idea that something can't
be done. Sometimes we have to bow to the law of
physics, but we're going to go down swinging."
Editor's
note: This article was excerpted with permission
from a cover feature that originally ran in Draperies
& Window Coverings, L.C. Clark Publishing Co.
Photography by Mike Kentz.
(This
article is reprinted from the Fall 2003 edition
of Enterprising Women magazine. Copyright
2003, Enterprising Women Inc. Reproduction in whole
or part is prohibited, except by permission of the
publisher.)
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