Stage directions are written from the perspective of the actor facing the audience. An actor who turns to his or her right is moving stage right, while an actor who turns to his or her left is moving stage left. The front of the stage, called downstage, is the end closest to the aud...
To look at the Elizabethan theatre through Shakespeare’s internal plays is to, as Polonius advises, “by indirections find directions out.” Seldom to be taken straight, these internal plays nonetheless reveal the aspects of presentation that regularly attracted Shakespeare’s attention. His own pro...