Document and visualize character positions and movements throughout a scene. The Stage Blocking section appears on each scene's detail page.

Creating Blocking Entries

Add Entry: Click "Add Entry" to create a new blocking position
Name: Give the entry a descriptive name (e.g., "Opening positions", "After the song")
Line/Cue Reference: Reference the script line or cue (e.g., "Page 42, Line: Exit stage left")
Timestamp: For musical numbers, add timing (e.g., "0:45" or "m.32")
Description: Describe the blocking using stage notation (USL, DSR, X for cross, etc.)
Characters: Tag which characters are involved in this blocking

Visual Editor

View Modes: Toggle between List view and Visual view using the buttons
Stage Canvas: In visual mode, see character positions on a stage diagram
Place Characters: Select a character from the dropdown, then click on the stage to place them
Move Characters: Drag character markers to reposition them
Character Markers: Colored circles with character abbreviations

Freehand Drawing

Sketch directly on the stage to mark anything the markers cannot say on their own - a traffic pattern, a spacing note, a circle around the group that moves together. Each blocking entry keeps its own drawing.

Draw: In Visual view, click "Draw" below the stage and drag to draw. A single tap leaves a dot
Colour & Weight: Pick from the colour swatches and the Fine/Medium/Bold buttons that appear while the pen is in hand
Erase: Click "Erase" and drag over any stroke to rub it out
Undo & Clear: The undo arrow removes the last stroke; "Clear" removes every stroke on the entry
Markers Are Locked: While a drawing tool is active, characters and set pieces stay put - so a stroke across a crowded stage cannot drag someone's blocking with it. The character placement controls are hidden for the same reason, since clicking the stage draws rather than places. Click the active tool again to put the pen down and bring them back
Show/Hide: The "Drawing" button with the eye icon hides the strokes without deleting them, so you can check the markers underneath and bring the annotation straight back. Anyone who can see the stage can hide it, including roles that cannot draw. Hiding puts the pen down, and the count next to the button tells you how many strokes are waiting out of sight
Per Entry: Drawings belong to the entry you made them on, and follow it when you duplicate the entry or export the show
Scales With the Stage: Strokes are stored relative to the stage, so they stay lined up with the blocking on any screen size and over any ground plan

Cross Arrows

A blocking entry is a snapshot, so the crosses between entries are drawn for you as arrows on the stage - no extra typing, and they always match the positions you have set.

Choose What to Show: The dropdown above the stage switches between "Cross to next" (the default - where everyone goes in the following entry), "Cross from previous" (where they came from), "Both", and "No crosses"
Reading the Arrows: A solid arrow leaves the marker and points at where the character crosses to; a faint dashed arrow arrives at the marker from a small circle marking where they stood before
Character Colours: Each arrow uses that character's marker colour, so you can follow one person's traffic across a busy stage
Only Real Crosses: A character who holds their position, or shifts only a fraction, gets no arrow - so a scene of tableau entries stays clean
Crosses List: The panel beside the stage lists the same crosses in prompt-book notation (for example "X DSL" or "X from USR"), which is easier to read than overlapping markers
During Playback: Arrows are hidden while a song is playing, since the markers are already moving

Knowing Who Is Who

Character Key: The panel beside the stage lists every character in the entry with their marker colour, the abbreviation shown inside the marker, the character name and the cast member playing them
Collapsed by Default: The key starts closed so the crosses, movements and song timing controls below it are in reach without scrolling. Click the "Characters" heading to open it - CueCall remembers your choice, so leave it open if you are reading a plot someone else wrote
Counts While Closed: The heading always shows how many characters are in the entry and how many of them are on stage, so you can spot a missing marker without opening the list
Select from the Key: Click any character in the key to select them on stage - useful when markers overlap or the character is not placed yet
Not Placed: Characters involved in the entry but not yet positioned carry a "Not placed" badge, so you can see at a glance who is missing from the stage
Cast Names on Stage: The "Cast names" button above the stage adds the actor's name under each marker. It is off by default to keep the canvas readable, and hovering any marker always shows both names
Search by Actor: The character dropdown matches on cast names too, so you can find a marker by who plays it

Character Marker Colours

Automatic: Each new character is given a colour no one else in the show is using, so markers stay tellable apart without you doing anything
Change It in Blocking: In Visual view, select a character and click the "Marker colour" button below the stage to pick a new one from the palette
Change It in Characters: The same colour can be set on the show's Characters tab when adding or editing a character
Applies Everywhere: A character's colour belongs to the character, not the scene - recolouring updates their marker in every scene and blocking entry, plus the legend and entry cards

Set Pieces (Furniture)

Sketch furniture, boxes and rostra as geometric shapes on the stage canvas. Each blocking entry remembers where you moved them, so a bare stage re-formed from a handful of boxes can be notated cue by cue.

Add a Piece: In Visual view, use the "Set Pieces" panel to add a Box, Round, Oval, Wedge or Flat shape - it lands centre stage
Move: Drag the shape anywhere on the canvas
Resize & Rotate: Select a piece to reveal its handles - the square corner handle resizes, the circle above it rotates (hold Shift to snap to 15°)
Exact Values: The panel's Width, Depth and Rotation sliders do the same thing without dragging - handy on a phone or tablet
Name & Colour: Rename a piece or recolour it in the panel; these apply to the whole scene
Per-Entry Positions: Moving a piece only changes the entry you are on - it is labelled "Placed", while untouched pieces show "Default"
Set Default: Save the current placement as the piece's default so every entry that has not moved it picks it up
Reset: Clear this entry's placement and fall back to the piece's default position
Strike: Mark a piece offstage for a single entry - it disappears from the canvas for that cue only
Delete: Removes the piece from the scene and from every entry that placed it
Duplicate an Entry: The copy keeps the set-piece layout, so you can shift one box and leave the rest
Playback: Set pieces animate alongside characters during song playback, so scene changes can be watched in time with the music

Navigation

Prev/Next: Use arrow buttons or keyboard arrows (←/→) to navigate between entries. The buttons stay in a fixed spot above the stage, so you can click through a sequence without re-aiming
Entry List: Click any entry in the sidebar to jump to it
Duplicate: Copy an entry to make small adjustments for the next position

Apply a Move to Other Entries

Decided mid-scene that a chair (or an actor) should have been somewhere else all along? Move it once and let CueCall fix the run of entries around it.

The Offer: After you drag a character or set piece, a bar under the stage offers "Apply to N earlier" / "Apply to N later" when neighbouring entries still show the element at the old spot
Where It Stops: The update runs through consecutive entries that shared the old position and stops at the first entry where the element was deliberately moved (or is off the stage) - your later staging is never overwritten
Both Directions: Earlier and later entries are offered separately, so you can fix history without touching what comes next (or the reverse)
Dismiss: The offer is just an offer - dismiss it, navigate away, or keep dragging and nothing else changes

Copy an Entry to Another Scene

When the action runs straight on, the next scene opens from the previous scene's final positions - copy the state across instead of rebuilding it.

Copy to Scene: Use "Copy to scene…" in the entry's menu (list view) or beside Duplicate (visual view), then pick the destination scene
What Comes Along: Character positions, drawings, notes and descriptions; set pieces are matched by name in the destination scene and created there if missing
What Doesn't: Song timing stays behind (songs belong to their scene); the copy lands at the end of the destination scene's entries

Ground Plans (Step-by-Step)

Ground plans are stage layout images that appear as backdrops when positioning characters in blocking entries. They are managed per-show and shared across all scenes.

Uploading a Ground Plan:

Navigate to a Scene Detail page by clicking on any scene in your show
Click the "Blocking" tab
In the Ground Plans section at the top, click "Add Ground Plan"
Enter a Name for your ground plan (e.g., "Main Stage Layout")
Optionally add a Description (e.g., "Full stage with wing markings")
Choose a Stage Type (Proscenium, Thrust, Arena, or Custom)
Click "Upload Image" and select your stage layout image file
Once the image uploads and you see the preview, click "Add Ground Plan"

Managing Ground Plans:

Set Default: Click the star icon on any ground plan to make it the default backdrop for all blocking entries
Delete: Click the trash icon to remove a ground plan (entries using it will revert to the default)
Per-Entry Override: When creating or editing a blocking entry, use the "Ground Plan" dropdown to select a different ground plan for that specific entry
Shared Across Scenes: Ground plans belong to the show, so they are available in every scene's blocking tab

Music & Blocking Playback

Link to Songs: First, add songs to your show in the Sound & Music tab and assign them to scenes
Song Selection: When creating or editing a blocking entry, select a song from the dropdown
Start Time: Enter when this blocking position begins in mm:ss.ms format (e.g., "1:32.5")
End Time (Optional): Enter when movement completes - if left empty, characters snap instantly
Song Groups: Song-linked entries appear in collapsible groups by song title
Play Music: Click the play button to start synchronized music playback
Visual Animation: Switch to Visual Mode (grid icon) to see characters animate on the stage canvas as the song plays
Watch Animation: Characters smoothly move between positions when End Time is set, or snap instantly when left empty
Scrub Timeline: Use the scrub bar to jump to specific moments in the song
Entry Markers: Click markers on the timeline to jump to that blocking position
Set Timestamp: While playing, click the clock button in the audio player to set the active entry's start time to the current playback position
Automatic Sorting: Entries within a song are automatically sorted by timestamp
Mix Entry Types: You can combine regular blocking entries (for dialogue) with song-timed entries in the same scene
Movement Animation: Use End Time to create smooth character movements; leave empty for instant position changes (like tableau poses)

Stage Notation: Common abbreviations include USL (Upstage Left), DSR (Downstage Right), CS (Center Stage), X (Cross), Ent (Enter), Ex (Exit).

More in Managing Scenes

Managing Scenes: Creating Scenes — In a show's Scenes tab, click "Add Scene" to create a new scene.
Managing Scenes: Scene Detail Page — Click on any scene to open its detail page. Here you can see everything related to that scene in one place.
Managing Scenes: Deleting a Scene — You can delete a scene from the show's Scenes tab (trash icon on each row) or from the scene detail page (Delete button next to Edit Scene).
Managing Scenes: Scene Backdrops — Add backdrop images for your scenes using AI generation or by uploading your own. These can be used for projections, set design inspiration, or visual references.
Managing Scenes: Scene Videos — Generate AI video clips for your scenes using Veo 3.1, or upload your own videos. Videos can be used for projections, rehearsal references, or pre-visualization.
Managing Scenes: Scene Readiness Tracking — Track how ready each scene is across different departments with integrated detail views.
Managing Scenes: Songs Tab in Scene Detail — The Sound & Music tab on each scene's detail page shows all songs assigned to that scene, with full practice features:
Managing Scenes: Searching Scenes — Use the search bar to find scenes by title, character name, or song title.
Managing Scenes: Assigning Inventory to Scenes — Assign costumes, props, and sets to specific scenes to track what's needed where.
Managing Scenes: Tech Cues Tab — Document technical cues (lighting, sound, mics) for each scene. Use the Tech Cues tab on the scene detail page.

Related features

Scene Breakdown & Readiness — Scenes are the hub that links people, inventory, notes and files, with a readiness status tracked per discipline.
Stage Blocking & Scene Visuals — Blocking recorded against a scene alongside backdrop images and reference videos.

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