stage business

noun

1. business ( def 10 ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of stage business¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Brown and Barnard don’t meld as seamlessly with their characters as Horne does with his, and once in a while they make bits of stage business look contrived instead of spontaneous.

From Washington Post

The cast also engages in meaning-heightening stage business, as when a grappled-with door becomes a barrier or a table.

From Washington Post

I always knew what actors should say to each other and how they should look, and I always understood stage business.

From The Daily Beast

In 1820 he quit tavern keeping, and confined himself to mail contracting and the stage business.

From Project Gutenberg

The children's acting, in the sense of gesture and stage-business, is very likely to be stiff and artificial.

From Project Gutenberg

We have no record how they managed the stage business at Clieveden, but it must have presented some difficulty.

From Project Gutenberg

I at once set to work and showed him the stage business in the drawing-room, requesting Mdme.

From Project Gutenberg

For purposes of indicating the pantomimic action of the play, the dramatist resorts to stage-business and stage-direction.

From Project Gutenberg