stagehand

American  

[steyj-hand] / ˈsteɪdʒˌhænd /

noun

1. a person who moves properties, regulates lighting, etc., in a theatrical production.

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stagehand British  

/ ˈsteɪdʒˌhænd /

noun

1. a person who sets the stage, moves props, etc, in a theatrical production

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Etymology

Origin of stagehand

First recorded in 1900–05; stage + hand

Explanation

In the theater, a stagehand is someone who works behind the scenes, building sets, setting up lighting, and organizing props. Stagehands do hard, often physically demanding work to make a play, opera, or movie proceed smoothly. The earliest stagehands worked in the theater, using their hands to pull the heavy backstage rigging that lifts curtains and lighting and sets backdrops in place. Today's stagehands work on all kinds of productions, from circuses to film sets, doing special effects, video projections, carpentry, and more. If you love performance but you've got terrible stage fright, you might want to be a stagehand!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stagehand

Still others — and this may be your cousin — simply want to be near the action, hovering like an enthusiastic stagehand hoping for a cameo.

From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2025

Aiding everyone is Lisa Kwak as The Mute, a sort of onstage stagehand and dogsbody who distributes props as needed, moves set pieces and generally keeps the show moving.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2024

Your mother was an opera singer and your father a stagehand.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2024

In the years before his arrest, Matus made a living installing security systems and working as a stagehand for his brother’s music events.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2023

Tyler Kelch, the stagehand who dropped it, looks like one of those cartoon characters with sweat shooting off his brow.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove