I am back to planning another presentation and have accomplished a lot but have to 'ask the experts".  I want to make a large UV reactive backdrop.  My inspiration is the Jesus Fan in the John Coen Neato DVD's.  He has one that collapses like a fan into a wooden box for easy storage.  I need the same thing but need to be able to lift it above the tallest curtain in Blacklight. 
I am thinking of working like a Roman Shade???  AND is foam board really the best?  It will be a lot of work so I don't want to re-do it.  Gotta get it right the first time. Thanks

Foam core covered in fabric should hold up pretty well for you and it should be durable if  you treat it with care. Another options would be wooden dowels used as the spines of your fan. Again you need to treat with some care since they could snap. The wooden dowels may end up being a bit heavier though. My suggest would be to rig it to the top play bar of your tall curtian instead of trying to lift it up and hold it in place. Then simply rig it so you can open it up. A rod on the back spine that has a swivel connection at the end should work to open it up from behind or in front.

Good ideas!  Thanks

When you say foam core, you do mean the black poster boards you can buy at office supply places with foam between paper, right?  I have bought some from Dollar Tree (not truly black but will do when detail is not as important) and Staples which is larger sheets and really black.  That is what I had intended to use but still not sure. Some mention using the kind of insulation board from building supply places like Lowes and Home Depot.  I have not really "inspected" that for puppet use, but should I? Does paint adhere well? For UV reactive paint I use the Wildfire paint (regular, plain, flat white for a base if needed).
Part of the reason for holding it above the tallest curtain is that the Hand Mime Team will be assembling on stage in front of it and we don't want to "see" them so we thought we would try to get it above their heads.  Just a thought!

Yes that is what foam core is. The insulation board is great for some things and have used it quite a bit for set pieces and props. Does not paint very well though unless you cover it first with fabric (glue on with a mixture of white glue and water) or you can paint direct on it if you first spray a thin layer of spray glue on it. Covering in fabric is better though.

Someone told me to go to a Plastics supplier for higher quality foam core and corregated plastic, in all different colors. I got a thinner black that was harder. Downside is you usually have to get a larger quantity  but then it also came in large sizes and they had big machines to cut it for you if you want too.  What I liked best was that they had samples at the front desk of each product and you could touch it and see how durrable it was.  They also had a scraps bin of cut off pieces that might fit a smaller project at lower cost.  They are professionals and they had some good suggestions of better products that I did not know even existed.  Cheap foam core is good for a short time, but if you intend to use it again or if is very large it might be worth a better quality. The large size might make foam core bend if not supported enough, maybe a thin strip of support wood down the middle would help to keep it from bending.

There are also companies out there that sell supplies to sign makers. They sell the better foam core and corrugated plastics also. Can be a bit hard to find in your area though. See if you can find a sign shop and call them up and ask them where they get it or better yet drop in an talk to them. If you let them know what you want it for they may even be willing to give you some of their scraps or sell some smaller pieces to you.

Thanks.  I guess I am on a "Plastic Adventure".  Will let you know!

We decided to wait a bit.  Thanks for your input!!!