Meaning & use
stage business theatre
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
Small movements or actions an actor performs on stage, such as handling an object or lighting a pipe, to make a scene look real.
Grammar: Uncountable here: say 'a piece of stage business' rather than 'a stage business'.
Patterns
- do stage business
- a piece of stage business
- stage business with something
The director added some stage business with a teacup so the long speech would not feel static.
Her stage business — folding a letter, then unfolding it — told the audience she was nervous.
Good stage business should grow out of the character, not just fill an awkward pause.
noununcountabletechnical
The branch of theatre that studies how such small actions are planned and performed in a production.
Grammar: Used as a subject name, so it takes a singular verb: 'Stage business theatre is taught in the second year.'
Patterns
- study stage business theatre
- a course in stage business theatre
He teaches stage business theatre at a drama school in Manchester.
The course in stage business theatre covers props, timing, and silent storytelling.
Common combinations
- do stage business
- The two actors do stage business while the narrator speaks.
- a piece of stage business
- She invented a clever piece of stage business with a walking stick.
- add stage business
- The director decided to add stage business to the opening scene.
- stage business with a prop
- His stage business with a prop kept the audience watching him.
- natural stage business
- The play needs natural stage business, not fussy gestures.
Synonyms and how they differ
- business
- In theatre talk, 'business' alone means the same thing; the full phrase is used mainly in writing or teaching.
- byplay
- Byplay is silent reaction between characters, while stage business is any small physical action an actor performs.
- stagecraft
- Stagecraft is the wider skill of staging a play; stage business is only one small part of it.
Word family
- stage noun
- the raised area where actors perform
- stagey adjective
- behaving in an exaggerated way, as if acting
- businesslike adjective
- practical and efficient — unrelated to theatre, but built from the same word 'business'
Commonly confused: stage business theatre or show business?
stage business theatre vs show business
Show business means the entertainment industry as a whole, not small actions performed by an actor.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Stage business' is uncountable, so it takes 'some' and no article. 'A stage business' and 'stage businesses' treat it as countable, and 'stage business theatre' is the name of the subject, not the action itself.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stage business theatre”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.