Animating Stage Curtains

For awhile I have been trying to figure out how to animate the opening and closing of a stage theater curtain, both up-and-down and sideways. Surprisingly, there seems to be little out there about how to do this. I have researched and experimented, but can’t get it to work. It’s been driving me crazy! Does anyone know of tutorials, or at least can point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance!