Staging directions

Stage directions are always given from the perspective of the actor. SL (stage left) is to the actors left and the audiences right, SR (stage right ) is to the actors right and the audiences left, US (upstage) is towards the back of the stage and DS (downstage) is towards the front of the stage. Anything in front of the stage is called FOH (front of house), the area where the audience are seated is called the auditorium or thrust The line running down the centre of the stage is called the Centre line (CL) and the line that runs between the proscenium arch is called the Plaster line (PL), the point where these lines intersect is refered to as "zero-zero", everything onstage is measured from this point.

The theatre in the example above is a proscenium theatre (see types of theatre)