on the actor's left and right when the actor is facing the audience, while "house left" and "house right" are the reverse, denoting the sides of the stage as viewed by the audience. In Germany, stage right and left are reversed, being the director's view rather than the actor's. Less ambiguous terms used in theatres that follow a British tradition are "Prompt Side" or "P Side" (Stage left) and "Off-Prompt", "Opposite Prompt" or "O.P. Side" (Stage right), relating to the traditional location of the Stage Manager. In French, the terms "côté cour" (square side) for stage left and "côté jardin" (garden side) for stage right are used, in reference to the Théâtre des Tuileries. Likewise, the meaning of "front" and "back" would be unclear because they depend on perspective. Instead, the term "upstage" is used to denote the part of the stage furthest from the audience or to motion away from the audience, while "downstage" denotes the portion of the stage closest to the audience or to motion in that direction. These terms were common in older theatres, which gave the audience a better view of the action by inclining the floor (known as a raked stage), so upstage actually was at a higher elevation than downstage. A raked stage can vary in its incline; ten degrees is considered ideal for the audience and actor comfort. A dancing surface incline is often different from an acting incline and can vary from three degrees to twenty degrees. Scenographic theory In relationship to approaches to scenography, Rachel Hann has proposed that there "are no stages without scenographics". This is based on an argument that "all stages are also scenes", which challenges the "deterministic assumption that stages precede scenography". In this model, stages become manifest through the place orientating traits of scenographics (rather than the other way around). The implications of this are that all theatre is scenographic – even if it has no defined objects or 'setting' – as all theatre is performed on a stage. Hann summarises this position by using the hybrid 'stage-scene' when discussing the tensions between the histories of these practices, particularly with reference to original Greek skene as a physical tent or hut that ultimately shaped current conceptualizations of 'the stage'. See also Noh stage, classical Japanese theater References External links Parts of a theatre Stage terminology Stagecraft