drop curtain

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun An unframed curtain that is lowered to a stage from the flies, often serving as background scenery.
• noun A theater curtain that is lowered or raised vertically rather than drawn to the side.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun Same as drop, 9 .

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a curtain that can be lowered and raised onto a stage from the flies; often used as background scenery