Prunella Scales

Everyone said how brilliant of Tom Conti to be in bed in 'Whose Life Is it Anyway?' and only have his head to act with. He should be so bloody lucky. I'm not for a moment disputing that Tom Conti is an absolutely brilliant actor. But he should be so lucky to be stuck upstage in the spotlight, with everyone focused on him.

English Actress

Adam Rapp

Film directing has perfected my theater directing. I think when I first started directing, a lot of my stuff was very lateral; I was afraid to have the actors' backs turned away, afraid to put them too far upstage, and I think once I did more things with film, I got more interested in composition.

American Novelist

Padma Lakshmi

Jewelry should not upstage you. I pick one hot point on my body that I'm going to highlight. Let one area do the singing - you don't want to hear three songs at once.

Indian Chef

Eva Marie

I am the youngest of three brothers so was constantly trying to upstage them all the time growing up, so that's why being a WWE Diva is so fitting for me.

American Actress

Robin Wright

I tell you, being on a soap is the hardest work, and it gets so old. Get on your mark, get in the light, don't turn too far upstage - that's all it is.

Sharmila Tagore

Obviously you do not want to upstage. Some people work like that. But I have never been that upstaging kind. I wouldn't want to upset anyone.

Indian Actress

Ed Rendell

You know rule one for the vice president is make sure you never upstage the president, right? It's rule one.

American Politician

Tom Wopat

I'm facing upstage, with my back to the audience, and the spotlight comes up on my back as I start singing.

American Actor

Georgina Chapman

Bridesmaids are never going to upstage the bride.

English Designer

Ian Mckellen

English Actor

Refers to walking towards the background of a stage scene, often for dramatic effect.

Theatrical Movement

Moving upstage may make an actor less visible to the audience, used for specific scenes.

Less Visible

Used in stage directions to guide actors during rehearsals and performances.

Directional Cue

Describes a specific location on stage that is further from the audience's view.

Scene Setting

Used to indicate background activity while the main action happens downstage.

Background Action

Intentionally or unintentionally drawing the audience's attention from the main focus.

Stealing Spotlight

Suggests outperforming others in a way that can be seen as competitive or show-stealing.

Competitive Edge

Occasionally used when an event or person unexpectedly becomes the center of attention.

Unexpected Twist

 in downtown, in a neighborhood that was difficult to fit into. And it was my theory, or my point of view, that one didn't upstage the neighborhood --

Upstage