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.

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stage direction British  

noun

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

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of stage direction

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stage direction

“Exit the King,” a common enough stage direction, has the advantage, however, of foregrounding the play’s brazen theatricality.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

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

And then there’s this beautiful stage direction that Jesse wrote in the script of Tom and Shiv in the car.

From New York Times ● May 29, 2023

They were in Julius Caesar now and the stage direction “Alarum” confused Katie.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith