Question

using the stage directions in this script, place the people and objects as they would appear on stage.
the astronauts, sarah and thomas, are seated upstage in a simulation room looking forward at a large screen. sarah is to the left of thomas. the man who controls the machine, drew, looks on from their left and then moves upstage to start the machine.
thomas: well, it looks like its about to begin
sarah (away from thomas to look at drew) yes, here we go!
drew sarah screen thomas controls

Explanation:

1. First, the astronauts (Sarah and Thomas) are upstage looking at the large screen. So the screen should be in the front - center or a position they are looking at.
2. Sarah is to the left of Thomas, so when placing them upstage, Sarah's position is to the left of Thomas.
3. Drew looks on from their (Sarah and Thomas) left and then moves upstage. So initially, Drew is to the left of Sarah and Thomas, and then moves towards upstage (which is the back of the stage from the audience's perspective, but in terms of placement based on the description, we can arrange the elements as follows:

• The screen is in the front - center (since they are looking forward at it).
• Sarah is to the left of Thomas, both upstage (behind the screen's position from the audience's view, but in the stage setup, upstage is the back part of the stage).
• Drew is to the left of Sarah initially and then moves upstage (so we can place Drew to the left of Sarah and then show his movement towards upstage, but for the initial placement based on the "look on from their left" part, he is to the left of Sarah and Thomas.
• The "controls" are associated with Drew as he controls the machine, so the controls should be near Drew.

So the order from left to right (from the audience's perspective, but considering the stage directions) could be: Drew, Sarah, Thomas (upstage area, looking at the screen which is in front of them), and the controls near Drew. The screen is in the front - center of the stage area they are looking at.

Answer:

From left to right (considering the stage and audience perspective for initial placement): Drew, Sarah, Thomas (upstage, looking at the screen which is in the front - center of their view), and controls near Drew. The screen is in the front - center of the stage (the area they are looking towards).