stage-manage

American  

[steyj-man-ij] / ˈsteɪdʒˌmæn ɪdʒ /

verb (used with object)

stage-managed, stage-managing

1. to work as a stage manager for.

   When he wasn't acting, he stage-managed a repertory theater.

2. to arrange or stage in order to produce a theatrical or spectacular effect.

   The clients were most impressed with the way she stage-managed the whole presentation.

3. to arrange or direct unobtrusively or in secret.

   He stage-managed Mediterranean black-market operations from his secluded villa on the Riviera.

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verb (used without object)

stage-managed, stage-managing

1. to work as a stage manager.

stage-manage British  

verb

1. to work as stage manager for (a play, etc)

2. (tr) to arrange, present, or supervise from behind the scenes

   to stage-manage a campaign

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Etymology

Origin of stage-manage

First recorded in 1875–80; back formation from stage manager

Example Sentences

Paul Hourican denies that spontaneity has been replaced with major labels using the platform to stage-manage certain songs and trends.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2022

Thelma’s fakery has a modern-day echo in Lori Loughlin’s efforts to stage-manage her influencer daughter’s passage into USC; no matter how high up the class ladder you are, there’s always another rung.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2020

“Belgravia” is often more basic than captivating, even with all its 19th-century grandeur and two shipshape performances from Walter and Greig, whose characters ally themselves to stage-manage a standard-issue conclusion.

From Washington Post • Apr. 9, 2020

They speak to the living and stage-manage events from the grave.

From Fox News • Mar. 23, 2019

An original play, and act it ourselves, and we want you to write it, and act in it, and stage-manage it, and all.

From Patty's Summer Days by Wells, Carolyn