How to make a stage plot

A stage plot is a one-page drawing of where everyone and everything sits on stage, sent to the venue before the show. With the input list beside it, the engineer can set up mics, monitors and power before you arrive, and line check (when the engineer tests each channel) goes faster. Here is how to make one, from what working engineers ask for.

1. 1.Draw the stage from the audience's side

   Put the audience at the bottom of the page and the back wall at the top. That is how engineers read a plot, standing at the desk looking at the stage.

   Stage left and stage right are the performer's, facing the audience. So stage right is on the left of your page. Label both sides; it is the most common mix-up on a plot.

2. 2.Put everyone where they stand

   Draw each person with their name and what they play. Then add the gear that sits with them: amps, keyboards, pedalboards, the drum kit, a laptop.

   Use plain shapes with labels, not pictures. Plots get printed in black and white and read from across a dark room, so a box marked BASS AMP beats a drawing of one.

3. 3.Add every mic, DI and power drop

   Anything that needs a channel at the sound desk goes on the plot: vocal mics, a mic on each amp, and a DI (a small box that plugs an instrument straight into the desk) for bass, keys, acoustic guitars and tracks. Each one becomes a line in the input list.

   Then mark where you need power. Amps, pedalboards, keyboards and in-ear packs all need an outlet, and the venue can run cables before you arrive if it knows where.

4. 4.Say who has a wedge and who is on in-ears

   Draw a wedge in front of each person who uses one, and note anyone on in-ears. Each person who needs their own mix is a separate monitor mix, so count them.

   If people can share a mix, say so. A small room may only have three or four mixes for the whole night.

5. 5.Mark what's yours and what you need

   Small bands often play through the venue's gear, share a drum kit when several bands are on the bill, or rent amps and drums when they fly to a show. Mark each piece as yours, the house's, shared or rented, so nobody is surprised when the bands swap over.

6. 6.Write the input list, drums first and vocals last

   List every channel in the order engineers lay out the desk: kick, snare, hi-hat, toms and overheads, then bass, guitars, keys, horns, tracks, and vocals last. Give each line the mic or DI, the stand, and whether it needs 48V phantom power.

   Keep the plot and the input list on the same page. The engineer Mark Frink, writing for ProSoundWeb, asks for exactly that, so the two never get separated.

   Source: ProSoundWeb

7. 7.Put a date, a version and two contacts on it

   Engineers match plots and input lists by date. A This Tour Life guide by a front of house engineer (the one running the main sound desk) asks for at least two crew contacts and a date and version number on every input list.

   Use someone who can actually answer a question about the gear, with a phone number that works on show day.

   Source: This Tour Life

8. 8.Ask for what the room needs, not more

   Engineers warn bands not to ask for mics or a mixing desk the room doesn't need. Ask for what you need to play, and say what you can do without.

   Source: Sonicbids

9. 9.Send it with the advance, and keep it current

   The most common problem engineers report is a plot that's out of date or doesn't match the input list. Send a new one, with a new date, whenever the lineup or gear changes, and bring a printed copy to load-in.