stage direction

noun

1. an instruction written into the script of a play, indicating stage actions, movements of performers, or production requirements.
2. the art or technique of a stage director.

stage direction

noun

1. an instruction to an actor or director, written into the script of a play

stage direction

1. Part of the script of a play that tells the actors how they are to move or to speak their lines. Enter , exit , and exeuntare stage directions.

Word History and Origins

Origin of stage direction¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

So I’m working off of production drafts and working with three different estates, and the originators aren’t around to explain, “That’s what this very shorthand stage direction meant.”

From Los Angeles Times

Jelinek’s signature dramatic form is the theatrical monologue: lengthy paragraphs of discursive text without clearly indicated characters, stage directions or conventional plot.

From New York Times

The vast majority of scripts are written in third person, but Nolan tried something radical, putting the stage direction in the Oppenheimer sequences in first person.

From Los Angeles Times

Thornton Wilder, whose “Our Town” is the most famous dramatic inheritor of Winesburg’s legacy, cautioned in his stage directions that the play “should be performed without sentimentality or ponderousness — simply, dryly and sincerely.”

From Los Angeles Times

Can I ask about the stage directions in the script?

From New York Times