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mise en scène

American  
[mee zahn sen] / mi zɑ̃ ˈsɛn /
Or mise-en-scène

noun

French.

plural

mise en scènes, mise-en-scènes
  1. the process of setting a stage, with regard to placement of actors, scenery, properties, etc.

  2. the stage setting or scenery of a play.

  3. surroundings; environment.


mise en scène British  
/ miz ɑ̃ sɛn /

noun

    1. the arrangement of properties, scenery, etc, in a play

    2. the objects so arranged; stage setting

  1. the environment of an event

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mise en scène

First recorded in 1830–1835; French: literally, “a placing on stage”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I was looking for something complex — a woman's story, a thriller, a genre movie — something powerful, with space to direct and work on the mise en scène.

From Salon • Sep. 17, 2021

Dress up as a detective, create a crime scene on your stoop, tape it off with caution tape, and then toss candy out from within your mise en scène.

From Slate • Sep. 29, 2020

Abbott and Vicary coached the development team to be “brand ambassadors,” who insure that each element of a production has a distinctive Hallmark feel, down to the decorative mise en scène.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 16, 2019

Peter Farrelly, if we ignore the harassment issues, knows what he’s doing, picking great line readings and barely putting a foot wrong with an elegant mise en scène.

From The Guardian • Feb. 22, 2019

If the term mise en scène were as applicable to books as to dramas, it might be truely said of Mr. Putnam's that they appear as well between boards as other works do upon them.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2, No. 1, July, 1862 by Various