stage direction

American  

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 British  

noun

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

---

stage direction Cultural  

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 exeunt are stage directions.

---

Etymology

Origin of stage direction

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

The use of stage direction as couples therapy is one of the more poignant sequences in a film that tends to dance along the line separating the farcical from the bittersweet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

But the prop had long since slipped coach Steve Borthwick a stage direction to fill the vacancy he left behind.

From BBC • Nov. 8, 2024

Mirren: And that was in the stage direction?

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2023

It’s a stage direction that the director Philipp Stölzl has taken to heart in his gently surreal production at the Residenztheater.

From New York Times • Mar. 27, 2023

When Bobby looks at the script, he notes a scene in which the stage direction says, Justin is electric in this scene.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove