But why Upstage and Downstage? The terminology comes from the days in which the audience seats were on a flat floor and the stage was tilted (razed) toward the audience, so that everyone on the audience floor could see the performance.

What does the term upstaging mean?

transitive verb. 1 : to draw attention away from upstaging the competition. 2 : to force (an actor) to face away from the audience by staying upstage. 3 : to treat snobbishly.

Why do we call it upstage and downstage?

On a raked stage an actor who is farther from the audience is higher than an actor who is closer to the audience. This led to the theatre positions "upstage" and "downstage", meaning, respectively, farther from or closer to the audience.