Lighting through blinds for a Noir look

The burlesque troupe that I shoot for has a themed show every month. I do pre-show photos, and sometimes try to tailor the look of those photos to the theme of the show. This month's theme is Noir, and I want to try to do the ol' cliche of lighting through blinds.

For lights, I have:
Two Elinchrom heads, two 26" square softboxes (no grids), one 12x56" strip box (no grid), and one Maxilite.
Three Speedlights with (2) 42" reflective and (2) 30" shoot-through umbrellas.
Plenty of stands & sandbags & clamps. no good boom yet though

I have a large set of blinds that I'll be taking to the venue (like 8'x8', with 2-inch-wide slats), maybe some velvet or other fabric for a backdrop. I may take some other props if I have room in the car - maybe the smoke machine for a little haze.

Here's the venue where I have to work. I've had good success in the past making a black background by shooting to the black wall on the right, and making a white background by shooting in the little space on the rear left of the stage (behind the ottoman).

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/kaDX​Yr

It's been a long time since I've done anything like this, but I'm pretty darn sure you're going to want a small focused light source and any bouncing will not give the look you want. Also, the shadow edges will be less defined the further the blinds are from the point where they hit the backdrop.

You might consider putting the blinds behind the backdrop you are lighting and backlighting them.

The images you link most likely use more than one light source and gobos rather than actual blinds. Gobos would have a lens that allows focusing of the light

He's gone is correct. You need direct light, placed close to the blinds in order to create the shadows you are looking for.