Show dictionary · Audio
Stage Plot
Also: plot · stage diagram
A stage plot is the overhead diagram of a performance setup: where each musician stands, where backline, risers, monitors, and mics go, and what power or inputs each position needs. It travels with the input list in the technical rider so a venue can pre-build the stage.
In practice
A usable plot answers the questions a stranger would ask on load-in day: who is where relative to downstage center, what does each position need at its feet (wedge, power drop, DI), and what moves between the opener and the headliner. Symbols vary; clarity wins over drafting-software beauty every time.
On corporate shows the same drawing generalizes into the room diagram: stage, screens, FOH position, camera platforms, and audience layout. Either way it is the document the advance argues over, since the plot decides monitor counts, snake positions, and how much stage actually remains for performers. The soundtools platform on eventools.io includes a stage plot builder, which is the productized version of this exact document.
How you’ll hear it
"Per the plot: drums upstage center on an 8 by 8 riser, keys stage left with two DIs and a wedge."
Related resources
Part of the eventools.io Show Dictionary, a free glossary of live event production terminology.