Imagine you are standing on the face of a clock, which is lying flat on the ground, with the 6 o'clock position closest to the audience. If you are standing in the middle of the clock, facing 6 o'clock, you are standing full front. If you are standing in the same spot, with your back fully to the audience (and are, therefore, facing 12 o'clock), your body position is described as full back.
If you are facing toward 3 o'clock (toward off left), your position is left profile. If you are facing toward 9 o'clock (toward off right), you are facing right profile.
Though it is a bit unnatural to do so in 'real life', it is important for actors on stage to "share" the space with one another. The way they do that is to stay open to the audience (facing the audience). Of course, when two people speak with one another on stage, they need to face both each other and the audience. The way they accomplish this feat is to cheat out, halfway between profile and full front. This position, depending on which side the actor is standing, is called one-quarter left or right.
Occassionally, an actor may also need to stand mostly closed (facing away from the audience), but not full back. The position between profile and full back is called three-quartersleft or right.
Vocabulary
Words To Know: full front full back left profile right profile one-quarter (1/4) right one-quarter (1/4) left three-quarters (3/4) right three-quarters (3/4) left sharing open closed cheat