Determine your background needs based on your performance area. How much room do you have for a background panel? How many panels do you need if each panel is eight feet wide?
Decide on the size of your background panels. They should be taller than your actors but not so tall as to overpower them. A good height is generally 7 feet. A standard panel width is 8 feet.
Assemble the panel frame, using the PVC pipe. The "T" pieces go at the bottom, with a one foot piece of PVC stuck in either end of the crossbars to make feet and a seven foot piece in the remaining joints. The elbow joints go at the top of the long pieces and are connected to the eight foot piece at either end. Make certain that the two sets of feet are perpendicular to the eight-foot piece.
Cut the butcher paper so that it's about three inches wider and taller than your frame.
Draw your background image in pencil on the butcher paper. Use the entire piece of paper, even though the outside three inches will be wrapped around the frame. You want the image to "disappear" around the frame's corners.
Color the image using poster paints, acrylic paints, or markers. If it's a kids' production, you could have them color it with crayons.
Mount the paper to the frame by wrapping the three inch overlap around the PVC pipe and securing it in back with either duct or masking tape. Pull the paper tight and make certain it's secure.
Place a brick on each of the four feet to stabilize the completed background.