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How to Make a Backdrop for a Skit

A skit is a story sketch -- like a humorous play, only a skit is much shorter in length than the average play. If you are putting on a skit for a party or other convention, you will need a backdrop that is easy to put up and take down. Since a skit is short, make a background scene on a large sheet that you can hang up. Use a shading and highlighting technique to give your backdrop depth.

Things You'll Need

Cotton sheet
Clothing iron
Ironing board
Plastic sheet
Heavy books
Black permanent marker
Acrylic paints
Paintbrushes

Instructions

- 1
  Iron a king-sized or queen-sized white or other light-colored cotton sheet with a clothing iron set to its highest setting. The sheet needs to be completely free of wrinkles or creases.
- 2
  Spread a large plastic sheet out on the floor and smooth the sheet out on top of it so you won't make a mess on the floor beneath it. Place weights, such as heavy books, on the edges of the corners of the sheet and along the sides to keep it still as you work.
- 3
  Draw the outline of the features you want on the backdrop directly on the sheet. Use a thick black permanent marker to draw in trees, clouds in the sky or an indoor scene -- whatever the skit calls for.
- 4
  Color in the features of the backdrop with acrylic paints. Mix the colors of the areas with black to darken them a little and paint the bottom edges of objects in your backdrop to give them a shadow. Keep in mind where any stage lights will be and paint the shadows along the opposite sides. Wait five hours for the paint to dry.
- 5
  Mix a little of the color of the objects with white and place highlights on the surface where the light is being cast on your backdrop. This helps illustrate any objects that are reflective, such as water or something smooth like glass, within your skit. Wait five hours before hanging the backdrop behind your stage area.

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