Theatrical Blocking Shorthand Code for Actors and Directors

Click here to download my cheat sheet in PDF format.The first page is the cheat sheet itself and the second page is examples. You can print the examples on the back of the cheat sheet if you like. It's designed to be somewhat intuitive, so reading the explanations in this post is optional. Use and modify the code to your personal taste.

The code itself only uses six letters, which frees up the rest of the alphabet to be used as code letters for specific things or people. You should be familiar with what these letters mean, but here they are just in case: X means cross, C means center stage, D means downstage, U means upstage, L means stage left, and R means stage right.

Fixed crosses:

These are what you should all be familiar with. They're probably the most universal blocking shorthand, and I think for most actors they're the only real code they use at all. They're called fixed crosses because they're for when you're supposed to cross to one of 15 specific spots on the stage, regardless of where you're crossing from.

Relative crosses:

A relative cross is when you indicate which direction you move from your current position. If you just write XDL, that means you cross all the way to downstage left, but if you write XDL, that means you just move downstage left from where you are now. Maybe you won't go all the way to downstage left, or maybe you already are downstage left and you go even further in that direction, perhaps moving off the stage. Relative crosses are useful for when you just move a little rather than making a full cross, or for when you know that even if your blocking changes so that you'll be standing somewhere else, you'll still be moving in the same direction. In the examples, you'll see that you can use a subscript numeral to indicate a specific number of steps, but I didn't end up fitting that onto the cheat sheet.

Relative locations:

"R/object" means "R of object." I found myself writing "of" so often when I was supposed to cross upstage of the table or stand stage left of my scene partner that I shortened it to "o'table" kind of like "o'clock," but that was still too inefficient. So now it's just one stroke. On the cheat sheet, there's a circle in the middle of eight locations that are all defined relative to the circle. I use a circle to mean another actor onstage, but here it's just an example, meaning you can use relative locations with anything and not just actors.

Partial crosses:

The hyphen means in between, so a partial cross is when you cross towards something but don't go all the way there. You cross to a point in between your current location and your destination.

In-between locations:

You can use a hyphen to indicate a spot between any two things, not just between yourself and your destination. For example, suppose you're directed to stand in the window between two other actors. You can write XU/Jack-Jill.

Pathways:

Sometimes there will be more than one possible path to take during a cross. If you're crossing to the other side of a table, you'll want to write that you're supposed to go around the upstage side of the table and not the downstage side. But if you just write XU/table it will look like upstage of the table is your destination rather than the way you're supposed to get to your destination. So you'll need to use special pathway notation to clarify.

Surface positions:

A surface position is a relative location that's on top of something. If you write R/table, that looks like you mean a spot to the right of the table rather than a spot that's actually on the table. If you want to be clear that you're supposed to sit on the right edge of the table itself rather than on a chair next to the table, reverse the notation by writing table/R.

Body:

Each body part is signified by some combination of lines and circles. The body diagram is meant to illustrate how each symbol is intuitive based on its location on the body. You can use the body part symbols to indicate a variety of things, e.g. that you're supposed to put something on someone's shoulder or touch their leg or move your own hips.

Scene Partner:

The plain circle indicates just some other person on stage and should be used either when there's only one other person or when it's obvious which person you mean. When there are multiple other people, you can embellish the circle like an emoticon to indicate which one you're referring to. For example, if they wear a hat then you can put a hat on it, or you can put sunglasses on it if it's a cool character.

I think the rest of the symbols are mostly self-explanatory. Some symbols have abbreviations that you can use as an alternative. There are two types of kneeling because you could be kneeling on one knee or both. If you don't know what I mean by "counter," that's when you move just because someone else is moving and you need to even out the spacing of the actors on stage.

These are all examples of real-life stage directions I have received as an actor:

First column:

Sit in the center chair (there were three possible chairs to sit in, all in a row)

Take 3 steps in the downstage left direction (the subscript 3 indicates a number of steps and isn't on the cheat sheet)

Cross partway to the table

Enter from downstage right

Sit to the left of the table on the right (there were two tables onstage)

Face towards scene partner

Cross to scene partner

Take scene partner's downstage hand (romantic gesture)

Cross to stand upstage right of the chair

Second column:

Exit stage left after scene partner

Stand and cross to the right of scene partner

Cross to a spot upstage left of the table, taking a route above (upstage of) the table rather than below (downstage of) it

Cross to the downstage right portion of the stage, taking a route below (downstage of) the table

Move the chair in the downstage direction

Sit in the chair to the right of scene partner

Wait upstage left of the table

Sit on the stage right portion of the bench

Cross to the downstage left portion of the stage, taking a route below (downstage of) scene partner

The following are the only examples I could find of preexisting blocking codes:

Feel free to use them as you please. I find the movements that are signified by letters modified by arrows to be pretty useful, like jump and put down. I've also used the circle-around symbol. In general I think my code is superior because it's less ambiguous and uses fewer strokes, like in the symbol for "seated."

My main motivation for creating this code is that writing down blocking takes too much time and space, cluttering up your script which often has very small margins, and holding up the flow of rehearsals. Writing your blocking is often such a chore that actors simply refuse to do it in order to respect other people's time. Especially when it's a complicated or unusual direction with specifics like which route to take or which direction you should be looking, actors prefer to try to remember it rather than writing it down, which often results in the director forgetting and the direction being lost forever, or the director having to tell the actor again and again. This concise blocking shorthand eliminates those problems and makes writing down stage directions a joy instead of a burden.

Please do let me know if you get any use out of it! Thank you. :)