How to Make a Stage Plot: A Stage Plot Designer’s Guide
A stage plot is the one page the crew uses to pre-patch your show. Here are the eight steps, the symbols and the scale venues expect — then open the stage plot maker and draw yours to scale.
Annotated example
What a readable plot shows
The 5-piece rock preset, drawn by the studio exactly as it exports. The callouts point at the seven things an engineer looks for first.
Eight steps
Draw it in this order
Working from the back line forward keeps the riser and amps from eating the space the front line needs.
- Put the audience at the bottomDraw the downstage edge as a thick line at the bottom and label it. Stage Right is on the left of the page, Stage Left on the right.
- Draw the stage to scaleUse the real width and depth — 24 × 16 ft for a typical livehouse — with rulers or a scale bar, so gear that does not fit shows up on paper.
- Place the drum riser firstRiser upstage centre (8 × 6 or 8 × 8 ft), then the bass rig and guitar amps along the back line, facing the audience.
- Add keys, horns and front-line positionsKeyboards to one side, horns grouped, vocal mics where people actually stand. Label each with the musician’s name.
- Number every inputWrite channel numbers next to every source — “Ch 1–7” at the kit, “Ch 13” at the lead vocal — matching the input list.
- Place wedges and IEMs with mix numbersEach wedge shows its mix (M1, M2 …); in-ear musicians get a body-pack mark with their mix.
- Mark every power needOne drop per backline position, with voltage: 110V in North America, 230V in most other places. Orange lightning marks are the convention.
- Add stageboxes, then checkPut stagebox A near the riser and B downstage. Then compare the plot with the input list and send both together.
Symbols
Symbol legend and signal colours
Use footprints, not clip art, and colour by signal group so the plot matches the input list and the console.
| Symbol | Category | Colour | What the engineer reads from it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drums & percussion | Red | Kit footprint and riser: how much depth is gone, where the drum fill goes | |
| Bass | Yellow | Amp or DI only; whether a cab mic is needed | |
| Guitar amps & modelers | Green | Amp facing the audience, or a modeler with XLR outs | |
| Keys | Blue | Stereo DI pair, stand width, player side | |
| Horns & strings | Magenta | Mic per player or clip-ons, wedge for the section | |
| Vocal mics | Cyan | Who sings where, boom or round base | |
| Monitor wedges | Grey + mix number | Which mix feeds which position | |
| AC power | Orange lightning | How many drops, which voltage, where | |
| Stagebox | Grey + box letter | Which inputs patch to box A or B |
Scale
Stage size and drawing scale on the page
Computed with the same fitting the rider PDF uses: landscape page, legend column on the right, scale bar under the plot.
| Stage | Feet | Metres | US Letter | A4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | 16 × 12 | 4.88 × 3.66 m | 1:28 · 1 ft = 0.43 in | 1:27 · 1 m = 37.1 mm |
| Livehouse | 24 × 16 | 7.32 × 4.88 m | 1:42 · 1 ft = 0.29 in | 1:38 · 1 m = 26.3 mm |
| Worship platform | 32 × 20 | 9.75 × 6.10 m | 1:55 · 1 ft = 0.22 in | 1:51 · 1 m = 19.7 mm |
| Festival | 40 × 24 | 12.19 × 7.32 m | 1:69 · 1 ft = 0.17 in | 1:63 · 1 m = 15.8 mm |
| Largest supported | 60 × 40 | 18.29 × 12.19 m | 1:104 · 1 ft = 0.12 in | 1:95 · 1 m = 10.5 mm |
A 24 × 16 ft stage lands at about 1:42 on Letter: a 2 ft wedge is still more than half an inch wide, big enough to label. On a 60 × 40 ft stage the scale drops past 1:100, so keep labels short.
Venue rules
Rules that keep a plot useful
- One plot per line-up — a trio set is a different plot.
- Number every input, and use the same numbers on the list.
- Mark every power need, including pedalboards and laptops.
- Draw true sizes; a 4×12 cab is 2.5 ft wide, not a square.
- Show who stands where, with names, not only instruments.
- Put the band name, date and a phone number on the page.
Most problems on the day trace back to a missing number or a missing drop. A plot that answers “what goes where, on which channel, powered from where” saves the soundcheck for the music.
Tools
Draw yours in the studio
Every page opens the same project; pick the first view that suits you.
- Stage Plot Maker — Draw the band to scale; the input list, mixes and X32 strips follow.
- Audio Input Patch List Generator — Type sources, get FOH order, mic/DI, +48V, stands and Subsnake ports.
- Behringer X32 Scene Generator — Names, scribble colours, icons, +48V and bus names for X32 / M32.
- Stage Monitor Mix Chart Maker — Up to 8 wedge or IEM mixes with Low / Med / High per channel.
- Tech Rider Template Maker — Band header, contacts, backline and hospitality in a 3-page rider.
- Stage Layout Planner — Club, livehouse or festival sizes, risers, 110V/230V drops, line-ups.
For the paperwork around the plot, see what goes in a live band technical rider PDF, or start from the four example plots.
FAQ
Stage plot questions
Which way should the audience face on a stage plot?
Put the audience at the bottom of the page. Stage Right is then on the left of the drawing and Stage Left on the right, which matches how a performer facing the audience describes the stage.
Do I need a computer drawing or is a sketch fine?
A clear sketch beats nothing, but a scaled drawing prevents the classic problems: a keyboard rig that does not fit next to the riser, a vocal mic in front of a guitar amp, or one power drop for three positions.
How detailed should the symbols be?
Detailed enough to show footprint and direction: amps face the audience, wedges face the performer, and mic stands sit where the singer stands. Colour by signal group so the engineer can match the plot to the input list at a glance.
Should I number every input on the plot?
Yes. Put the channel numbers next to each source so the patch can be checked against the input list. A kit marked “Ch 1–7” and a vocal mic marked “Ch 13” saves the stage crew from guessing.