Spikemark
Guide

Stage areas and the grid: 9 and 15 areas

The acting area is divided into a grid of named areas, seen from the actor's point of view facing the audience. A 9 area grid has three rows (up, center, down) and three columns (right, center, left); a 15 area grid adds right center and left center. Downstage is nearest the audience, and stage right is the actor's right, which is the left side of a ground plan.

The nine area grid

Three rows by three columns. Reading the plan from the top: UR, UC, UL across the back, then R, C, L across the middle, then DR, DC, DL nearest the audience. The center of the stage is simply C.

The nine area grid, audience at the bottom

Audience at the bottom, so stage right is on the left of the plan.

The fifteen area grid

Five columns instead of three: right, right center, center, left center and left. That gives 15 areas, and codes like DRC (down right center) and ULC (up left center). Use it on a wide stage, or when two pieces of furniture sit close together.

The fifteen area grid, audience at the bottom

Audience at the bottom, so stage right is on the left of the plan.

Every area code on the fifteen area grid, upstage first
CodeSaid asOn the 9 area grid
URup rightyes
URCup right centerno
UCup centeryes
ULCup left centerno
ULup leftyes
Rrightyes
RCright centerno
Ccenteryes
LCleft centerno
Lleftyes
DRdown rightyes
DRCdown right centerno
DCdown centeryes
DLCdown left centerno
DLdown leftyes

Spikemark accepts 46 spellings for these 15 areas, so DSL, D.S.L. and DL all mean down left.

Reading a ground plan

  1. Find the audience. Look for the edge of the stage marked as the audience, the house or the proscenium line. On most ground plans it is the bottom of the page.
  2. Stand on the stage in your head. Imagine standing on the stage facing the audience. Your right hand is stage right; your left hand is stage left.
  3. Mirror the page. With the audience at the bottom, stage right is on the left of the drawing and stage left is on the right. Write it on the plan if it helps.
  4. Find the depth. Downstage is the row nearest the audience, the bottom of the page. Upstage is the row furthest away, at the top.
  5. Read the area code. Say the row first and the side second: down left is DL, up right center is URC, and the middle of the stage is simply C.
Worked example: the stage right and left mirror, computed by the grader.

The note "Nora enters up right center through the hall door and crosses stage right to the small table." ends in R. A student who puts the actor in L reads the plan from the house. The drill answers: "You put her left (L); the note said right (R). Stage right is the actor's right, which is the left side of the plan as you look at it."

Common mistakes

Print a blank grid from the prompt book pages, or practise placing actors in the daily blocking drill.

Sources

Checked on 27 September 2026. Stage management notation and calling have no single governing standard; what is written here is common practice in our own words. Where your teacher, stage manager or company does it differently, follow them.

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Frequently asked questions

Why is stage right on the left of the ground plan?

Stage directions are given from the actor's point of view, facing the audience. A ground plan is usually drawn with the audience at the bottom of the page, so the actor's right hand is on the left of the drawing.

Why is it called upstage?

Many older theatres had raked stages that sloped up away from the audience, so moving away from the audience meant walking uphill. The words stayed after most stages went flat.

Is DSL the same as DL?

Yes. Some stage managers write the S for stage (DSL, USC, SR) and some leave it out (DL, UC, R). Spikemark reads both spellings as the same area.

When would I use 15 areas instead of 9?

On a wide stage, where right center and left center help tell apart two pieces of furniture that would both fall in one of the 9 areas. Small and studio stages usually use 9.