Understanding Stage Directions

Imagine you are an actor on stage. The director sits in the audience and instructs, "Move downstage left." Do you know where to go?

Now imagine you are a first-time theater director reading through a script with stage directions that read: "He quickly moves UC." Do you have any idea what that means?

If you've never been clear about stage right versus stage left, upstage versus downstage -- you are not alone! Here is a handy diagram that clearly details the different stage directions.