Transcript No Slide Title

Stagecraftstage directions and
sight lines
In European theatres several hundred
years ago the stages were raked
(sloped) so the audience could see the
actors. This is where the term
‘upstage’ and ‘downstage’ comes
from. Upstage is higher up the slope,
further from the audience and
downstage is closer to the audience
and down the rake.
Downstage
Upstage
This is a ground plan
(view from above) of a
proscenium theatre.
The audience is at the
bottom of the screen.
In a proscenium theatre
there are some specific
terms for parts of the
stage.
The Center line in a
theatre divides the stage in
half. The line runs upstage and
downstage. For specific
positions on stage this line
forms the Y axis.
The Plaster line is the line across the stage at the
upstage side of the proscenium. This is the line
where the fire curtain comes in. This line forms the X
axis for positions on stage.
The Apron is the area
downstage of the plaster line.
Orchestra Pit
These two lines, center line and plaster line,
are very important in the theatre. Many
things are located on stage in relation to
these lines.
We’ve talked about upstage and downstage. The left and
right are determined as if you were an actor looking at the
audience. The actors left is stage left and the actors rite is
stage rite.
Stage rite Stage left
Stage directions are usually reduced to two
letters. C is for center.
Off stage
On stage
On stage
UR
UC
UL
CR
CC
CL
DR
DC
DL
Off stage
Can you locate the center line,
plaster line, and audience in
this extended apron theatre?
Now lets talk about Sight Lines.
Every seat in the house has a
different view of the stage.
This seat can see all the smiley
faces but not the stars.
Now this seat can see a
different set of places on
stage.
So when we talk about the “sightlines”
collectively we are talking about the area
on the stage that can be seen by the
whole audience. We don’t want to stage
something where some people can’t see
it .
This is a section (side view of
the theatre). There are also
vertical sightlines we have to
consider.
This is a Black Box Theatre. In
this kind of performing space the
audience can be located
anywhere. Where would the
center line and plaster line be
located? Where is Up stage?
Black Box theatres usually have
two center lines. There is no
proscenium so there is no plaster
line. Up, down, left and right are
going to be established based on
where we locate the performing
area and the audience.