What belongs in a stage plot
A stage plot is one page that tells a sound engineer where everyone stands and what each position needs. Send it ahead and soundcheck gets shorter. Turn up without one and you spend the first twenty minutes explaining your band out loud, usually while someone is trying to ring out a monitor.
The two documents
People use "stage plot" loosely, but there are really two things, and engineers want both:
The plot
A drawing, viewed from above, of the stage. It shows who stands where, which way they face, and where the backline sits. It does not need to be beautiful — a clear hand drawing photographed on a phone beats a vague diagram made in software.
The input list
A numbered list of every channel you need. This is the one engineers actually work from.
What goes on the plot
- Every performer position, labelled by instrument rather than by name — the engineer does not know who is who.
- Backline — amps, drum kit, keyboard stands — drawn roughly to scale so the room can tell whether you fit.
- Monitor positions, numbered, with who is listening to each.
- Where power is needed, which is the thing most often left off.
- Anything unusual — a backing track rig, an in-ear system, an instrument that needs DI rather than a mic.
What goes on the input list
One line per channel, in a sensible order — drums first, then bass, guitars, keys, vocals. For each one: the channel number, the source, and what it needs (mic, DI, or a line from your own mixer). If you bring your own microphones for anything, say so.
Write the list for the room you are least sure about. A plot that only works when everything is provided is a plot that fails on the night it matters.
Keep it current
The most common problem is not a missing stage plot — it is one from two line-up changes ago. Update it whenever the band changes, and put the date on it so the engineer can see it is recent.
Once it is accurate, keep it with your entertainment profile so it is one link rather than an attachment you hunt for — a booker who can find it without asking is a booker you have already made life easier for. If you do not have a page yet, set one up.
