noun / adjective / adverb

backstage

bak-STAYJ/ˌbækˈsteɪdʒ/

Behind the visible performance area of a stage.

The stagehand waits backstage behind the curtain while an actor performs.

View from behind a theater's side curtain: an older stagehand waits among the exposed backs of scenery flats while a young actor performs on the illuminated stage beyond.

Etymology

+stageOld Frenchfloor; performance platform

Stage developed from a floor or structural level into a raised platform for public display. Backstage locates someone behind that performance space, out of the audience's view, including in the wings or dressing rooms.

In context

ThinkTech Hawaii7:24

while we're on stage we get to interact with each other we get to share the experience of telling the story to new audiences but then backstage and after the show we're all hanging out

Hawaii Five-0 Actor Kimee Balmilero (Beyond The Lines)

More examples

The dancers hurried through the backstage passage.
Much of the negotiation happened backstage before the announcement.
She explored the theater's cramped backstage after rehearsal.

Similar words

behind the scenes: Can describe hidden work in any organization or activity.
offstage: Means outside the performance area without necessarily being behind it.