• 13 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Parts of a Flat (Theater Scenery)

The back of a theater flat: name the stiles, rails, toggle rail, corner blocks, keystones, lash line and stage brace.

Parts of a Flat (Theater Scenery)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Stile
  2. Top rail
  3. Bottom rail
  4. Toggle rail
  5. Corner block
  6. Keystone
  7. Corner brace
  8. Muslin
  9. Lash line
  10. Lash cleat
  11. Brace cleat
  12. Stage brace
  13. Stage screw

Own drawing from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

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All 13 parts on the diagram

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The frame 8

  1. Stile One of the two upright boards of the frame.
  2. Top rail The board across the top, the flat's full width.
  3. Bottom rail The board across the bottom. The flat stands on it.
  4. Toggle rail A cross board between the stiles, partway up the flat.
  5. Corner block A plywood triangle that joins a rail to a stile.
  6. Keystone A small plywood plate that joins the toggle rail to a stile.
  7. Corner brace A diagonal board between a rail and a stile.
  8. Muslin The cloth stretched over the front of the frame and painted.

Lashing and bracing 5

  1. Lash line A cord used to tie this flat to the next one.
  2. Lash cleat A small metal cleat that the lash line passes around.
  3. Brace cleat A metal plate that the stage brace hooks into.
  4. Stage brace A long prop that runs from the flat to the floor.
  5. Stage screw A large screw that fixes the brace to the floor.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two of these use it. (1) Wikipedia, Flat (theatre), text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_(theatre) : rails are the top and bottom framing members and run the full width; stiles are the vertical members; toggles are horizontal cross pieces between the stiles; corner blocks join the corners; keystones join the toggles to the stiles; soft-covered flats are covered with cloth such as muslin; flats are joined with a lash line lashed around cleats on their edges. (2) Stagecraft books, passages read through archive.org's full-text search: Scenery Simplified (1934), https://archive.org/details/scenerysimplifie0000glen (top and bottom rails, toggle rail, stiles, corner braces, corner blocks, keystones, lash cleats, brace cleat, stage brace); Essentials of Stage Scenery (1972), https://archive.org/details/essentialsofstag0000seld (corner blocks, keystones, toggle rail, stiles, lash cleat, lash line, brace cleat, stage brace); Stock Scenery Construction: A Handbook (1998), https://archive.org/details/stockscenerycons0000bill (rails, stiles, toggles, corner brace; the stiles are always inside the rails); Stagecraft for Nonprofessionals (1955), https://archive.org/details/stagecraftfornon0000buer (stiles, lash line, stage brace, brace cleat, stage screw); Stagecraft (1984), https://archive.org/details/stagecraft0000beck (a wooden frame covered with muslin or canvas; rails, stiles); Piecing Together an Interior Set, Theatre Arts Package 310 (1976), https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED128866 (stage brace, stage screw, brace cleat, lash). Licence: own work

The drawing: Own drawing from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

In the theater, a flat is a light wooden frame covered with cloth and painted to look like a wall. The drawing shows one from the back, then edge on with its brace.

Read the full guide

The frame

The top and bottom boards are the rails, and they run the full width. The two stiles stand between them. A toggle rail crosses the middle, and corner braces cross two corners. Plywood corner blocks join each rail to a stile, and keystones join the toggle rail to the stiles. Muslin is stretched over the front.

Lashing and bracing

A lash line hangs from the top corner. To join two flats edge to edge it is passed around the lash cleats on both and tied off. A stage brace holds a flat upright from behind: its top hooks into the brace cleat, and a stage screw fixes its foot to the floor.

  • The quiz takes toggle for toggle rail and canvas for muslin.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a flat in theater?

The frame has two rails (top and bottom), two stiles (the sides) and one or more toggle rails across the middle, joined by plywood corner blocks and keystones. Cloth such as muslin covers the front.

What is the difference between a rail and a stile?

Rails are the level boards at the top and bottom, and they run the full width of the flat. Stiles are the upright boards at the sides, and they fit between the rails.

What is a toggle on a flat?

A toggle, or toggle rail, is a level cross piece that runs between the two stiles partway up the flat. A tall flat may have more than one.

What is the difference between a Broadway flat and a Hollywood flat?

On a Broadway, or stage, flat the boards lie with their wide face toward the front, as in this drawing. On a Hollywood, or studio, flat the boards stand on edge and the front is thin plywood.

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