Use a scrim to hide a scene that you want to reveal slowly. With the stage lights up in front of the scrim and no lights behind the scrim, only the action and scenery in front of the scrim can be seen. When the lights are brought up behind the scrim, the scene behind the scrim will be revealed.
Reveal individual actors or small parts of a scene by spotlighting particular areas behind the scrim. Other areas of the stage will remain dark and invisible to the audience while the lit areas are revealed.
Construct stage windows using scrim material where the glass would be. In this way, the actors or action taking place inside will be hidden from the audience until the window is lit from behind.
Shine a gobo light onto the front of a scrim to project a pattern onto a scrim. A gobo is a lens that is fit onto the front of a spotlight to project shapes such as stars or snowflakes onto the area that is lit by the light.
Paint a scene on a scrim to use as a backdrop. There are two fabrics used in making scrims--sharkstooth scrims are made of cotton and will absorb paint while chameleon scrims are made of synthetic fiber and do not absorb paint well. To paint a chameleon scrim, mix white glue into the paint at the ratio of one quart of glue to one gallon of either latex house paint or artist's acrylic paint. The scrim will show the image painted on it when the front of is illuminated but will reveal images behind the scrim when they are lit.