downstage

1 of 2

adverb or adjective

down·​stage ˈdau̇n-ˈstāj 

1

: toward or at the front of a theatrical stage

2

: toward a movie or television camera

downstage

2 of 2

noun

down·​stage ˈdau̇n-ˌstāj 

: the part of a stage that is nearest the audience or camera

Examples of downstage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Unable to visit recording studios during the pandemic, Zinn, who has been attached to the play since 2017, used the documentary as one of his primary sources — technical manuals were another — in designing the sound board that dominates the downstage half of his naturalistic set. —Erik Piepenburg, New York Times, 12 June 2024

Ingeniously designed by David Zinn — with the engineers at a massive mixing console in the downstage control room, bordered by hippie-chic décor, and the band fitfully laying down tracks in the glass-walled, soundproofed live room at the rear — the setting becomes a cauldron of clashing egos. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Can anyone ever shake us to the core the way Brando did simply by walking downstage eating an apple? —Ty Burr, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024

The same is true of the physical production, which glistens in the reflection of a downstage water’s edge, below a canopy of A-frames and vertical fluorescent bulbs glowing like stationary falling stars (the set is by David Zinn and Brett J. Banakis, the lighting by Ben Stanton). —Naveen Kumar, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb Or Adjective

1793, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1931, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

downstage

adverb or adjective

down·​stage

ˈdau̇n-ˈstāj

: toward or at the part of a theatrical stage or set closest to the audience or the motion-picture or television camera