That seems crazy to me.  Actors cross behind furniture all the time. There are many circumstances where this would be preferred, your example included.  I'm not sure where she is finding this 'rule'.  It would be much worse to have an actor who is not speaking cross in front of the actors that are, unless the point is to draw focus from the ones that are speaking.

There is absolutely no rule at all about crossing upstage or downstage of furniture. You block what makes sense or what is visually interesting. Your description of the situation sounds perfectly fine to me and falls into the visually interesting category. If the stage world were run according to the dictates of this actor of yours, all furniture in all sets would be up against all three walls, and all the actors could do is gather center stage. What a horror that would be. Thudster has it right. Remind her who the director is.

Edited by edh915 - 3/21/12 at 2:13pm

As a LONG LONG time director I think I've broken ALL the rules there are with stage direction and blocking including (but not limited to) actors literally turning their backs on the audience...now not for any extended length of time, but that old routine of moving upstage, downstage, sidestage or whatever of another actor or not crossing BEHIND anything....well shoot me...I've always thrown that out the window for what is logical, sensible, what feels NATURAL that you would do if it were you doing it in reality and not on stage.  And so far, no-one has ever called me on it.  Granted, I've ALWAYS instructed actors to be aware of moving on dialogue (which I also allow if sensible, logical and as long as the actor compensates for not facing the audience for best sound production) and have turned my back on the audience, done shows where actors are seated with backs to the audience, where actors HAD no other choice but to cross upstage of furniture.  Basic - I do ANYTHING that appears, feels and IS natural, real and what you'd do if you were actually doing it devoid of an audience.  So far, most of the responses I've ever gotten have favored how "natural" the actors seemed on stage.  Whether that's to be translated "hey stupid, why did you block your actors so they were moving on dialogue, turning their backs on us...etc.," or what I don't really know and can't say.  Just that nobody ever said anything about it. I HAVE had actors question my motives but no-one has ever refuted my reasoning to create as close to reality as I could possibly get in dialogue delivery, movement or motivation.  So far it's worked. Beyond that don't let someone who really doesn't know or only think they know about stage blocking to dictate because they don't understand the logic of your direction.  And understand this - THERE ARE NO LAWS governing how you move your actors on stage. RULES??  Different story - but rules - I must point out - are made to be broken when it satisfies and suits the need to do things naturally, logically and sensibly.  I know....I think I've broken most if not all of the rules.  And again I've either not been called on it, caught and reamed for it, or nobody has had the guts to criticize me to my face for it.  They might talk behind my back but when THEY got good reviews and critique from so many people including critics, they take it pretty well. 

Edited by TonyDi - 3/22/12 at 7:02am

I just saw a production of "12 Angry Men" and can't imagine trying to block that show without walking behind the table.  In fact, they only walked in front of the table for specifically critical scenes.  All of the "filler" movement was done behind the table so as not to draw attention away from the dialogue.

About eighteen years ago, I was in a Passion Play, and I don't recall anyone moving in front of the table.  Sometimes you have to be aware of other factors and expectations that the audience might be bringing into the performance.  In any show that's been a movie, for example, you have to be aware of some of those images from the film (depending, of course, on the popularity of the film).  In the case of your scene, your audience is going to expect to see Da Vinci's "The Last Supper"... which means movement would be BEHIND the table.  Otherwise, is there any reason to stage twelve guys behind one long table?

As several others have said, bottom line is YOU are the director. I have a saying in my theatre company for those that don't want to do what I tell them (I add that I nicely instruct them the first time...) - "As the director, I am the puppet master. As an actor in my show, you are my puppets and I pull your strings. That is your job as an actor. If you have a problem being a puppet, find another hobby." Depending on how stubborn or rude the actor is being in questioning my directions depends on how nicely I put this statement ;-)