Grades 2–4
Stage Left or Stage Right?
Read where each actor is and which way they face. Circle stage left or stage right.
Drama worksheet · The stage and stage directions
Label the Stage Areas
Write the short name of each of the nine stage areas in its box, from USR to DSL.
- Grade level
- Grades 2–5
- Time
- About 15 minutes
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Naming the nine stage areas, Telling stage left from stage right, Following stage directions, Reading a stage plan
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- Short names: U = up, D = down, S = stage, R = right, L = left, C = center. So USR is upstage right and CS is center stage. Remember: stage right is the actor’s right, on the audience’s left.
- Write the short name of each area in its box.
Words on this sheet
Short namesusruscuslSRCSSLdsrdscdsl
Teacher tip
Teach the short-name code first: U, D, S, R, L and C. Once kids can build USR from its letters, the nine boxes fill in fast.
How to use it
- Stand at the front of the room facing the class to show stage left and stage right with your own body.
- Tape a grid of nine areas on the floor and let kids walk to each one as you call it.
- Read the box at the top of the sheet together, then try the first item out loud as a class.
Watch for
Using the audience’s left for stage left. Stage left is always the actor’s left.
Talk about it
- Why do you think directions are named from the actor’s side?
- What did you change in your voice or body to show that?
Take it further
Play “director says”: call a stage area and kids walk there.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More the stage and stage directions worksheets
Grades 3–5
Follow the Stage Directions
Start where each direction says, follow it and circle the stage area where you end up.
Grades 3–5
Place the Actors
Read where each actor stands and write their letter in the right stage area. Then plan your own scene.
Grades 2–5
Stage Directions Chart
The nine areas of the stage on one page, with a note on why the back of the stage is called upstage.
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