5 Theater Idioms: Stage Fright, Upstage, and More

The Tony Awards are coming up this Sunday. That’s the annual ceremony that recognizes excellence in live Broadway theater. Last year, the winning play was “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”; the winning musical was “The Band’s Visit.”

With that in mind, today we’re going to talk about a few idioms that have their origin in the theater. Let’s start with one that many of us experience: stage fright.

1. Stage Fright

You all know what that means: it’s that nervous feeling we get when we have to perform in front of an audience. The term was first used by Mark Twain in “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” Tom stands up in front of his schoolmates and their parents to recite Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty of give me death” speech. He starts off strong and then completely breaks down, eventually leaving the stage. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

2. A Hard Act to Follow

You might be especially prone to stage fright if you were presenting after someone who’s “a hard act to follow.” That phrase can be traced back to 1937. It refers to a person or thing that’s so impressive they would be difficult to rival or surpass. 

Imagine coming on the stage after Beyoncé or the Rolling Stones, for example. There’s a reason performers like that have opening acts … not closing acts. It’s because they would be a really hard act to follow. This expression is also seen as “a tough act to follow.” Either is considered correct.

3. To Upstage Someone

A phrase that’s related to this is to “upstage” someone. That means to outshine them, or to make yourself look good at their expense. This expression alludes to an actor moving toward the rear of the stage. This movement would force the other actors to turn their backs to the audience to see him. So the actor who “upstaged” the others would be the only one facing the audience.

This sounds a bit backwards, so let me explain. In theater terms, “upstage” refers to the rear of the stage; the part farthest away from the audience. Downstage is the front of the stage; the part closest to the audience. And of course there’s center stage, smack dab in the middle. 

Each of those three areas is further divided into three chunks: stage left (which is to the left side of the performers, but to the right of the audience), stage center, and stage right. 

4. Exit Stage Left

That’s where the expression “exit stage left” comes from. This is a basic direction that would be given to...

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