Stage Directions

Theatrical Logic

In is down, down is front
Out is up, up is back
And of course,
Left is right and Right is left

A Drop shouldn't and a
Block and fall does neither
A prop doesn't and 
A cove has no water
Tripping is OK


A running crew rarely gets anywhere
A purchase line buys you nothing
A trap will not catch anything
A gridiron has nothing to do with football
A strike is work
(In fact, a lot of work)


And a Green Room, thank God, usually isn't,
Now that you're fully versed in
Theatrical Terms, Break a Leg,
But not actually.


I've seen this poem in a number of shapes and forms in a number of the theatres that I've worked in. It's one of those in-jokes that gets passed around, photocopied, transliterated and so on. It's like a chain-email from a time before the internet.

However, it does highlight one of the most difficult points about working in the theatre; there is a whole other language involved in mounting a show.

I am attempting to relieve this stress with the Glossary, but I wanted to spend a bit of time discussing theatre directions. This is especially relevant to people who may not have had any experience with the theatre.

Stage Directions
There are four main directions on stage; Upstage, Downstage, Stage Left and Stage Right.
To understand Up and Down stage you should think about a stage that is sloped towards the audience.
In days gone by this was the easiest way to ensure that the audience could see the entire stage. Many theatrical sets still incorporate this slope, or "rake" towards the audience for the same reason.
From this, "Up" and "Down" stage follow logically; Upstage is away form the audience, or the rear of the stage, and Downstage is towards the audience, or the front of the Stage.

Image courtesy of StageHand Tees

Stage Left and Right are always given from the perspective of an actor on stage, facing the audience. This was started to get over the "Your left or my left?" confusion. Typically, the Director and other creatives sit in the Auditorium, watching the show, with the actors facing them.
If they were to call out "Move Left" then there is the obvious confusion. "Move to Stage Left" means that the actor would move to their left, or to the Director's Right.

The equivalent term for someone sitting in the auditorium is House Left/Right.  House Left is in the same direction as Stage Right, and vice-versa.

The last term in the Left/Right set is Camera Left/Right. This is used in broadcast for cameramen, and is always related to what the cameraman sees. This could he House Left/Right for a camera in the auditorium, or perhaps Stage Left/Right for a cameraman on stage. I include them here because some people will often use House Left/Right and Camera Left/Right interchangeably.

In order to remove Left and Right from the Stage Directions, many directions are given in terms of Prompt Side and Opposite Prompt. Traditionally, the Prompter and/or Stage Manager would be located on Stage Left. Thus Prompt Side (PS) became synonymous with Stage Left  and Opposite Prompt (OP) with Stage Right. 
As these directions don't change no matter the viewing angle they have become the preferred direction.