[HPFGU-Movie] TRIVIA: Dan in duel & Dueling Positions

[Beth]

At 09:07 PM 3/5/03 +0000, you wrote:
>UPSTAGING -
>
>If I remember correctly 'upstaging' means to move to the back of the
>stage away from the audience. Yes? No? Maybe?
>
>So if you 'upstage someone, does that mean YOU move toward (down
>stage) the audience or away (up stage) from the audience?
>
>And from movies and TV, I've always gotten the idea that someone
>upstaging you was a bad thing, but I fail to see the 'badness' of it.
>
>Any thoughts?
>
>bboy_mn

If you upstage someone, you're moving to put them in a position upstage of 
you (upstage relative to your position). So, yes, you're moving to be 
downstage of them, closer to the audience.

Upstaging is a bad thing because you're drawing the audience's eyes to you, 
rather than to the person you've just upstaged. (If you're SUPPOSED to be 
the focus of attention at that moment, you're "moving upstage" of the other 
actor. If you're NOT supposed to be the focus of attention, you're 
"upstaging" the other actor, and it's a no-no.)

The closer you are to the audience, the more you have their attention. 
There are ways to use people closer to the audience to direct the 
audience's attention to the rear of the stage, of course, but if you're 
trying to upstage someone and get the audience's attention, you're not 
likely to then turn your back on the audience and face the other actor to 
make sure the audience is looking at them. <grin>

And yes, I had assumed that the differing positions in the duelling scene 
were so that neither actor would have his back to the camera while in the 
"ready" position. (Turning your back to the audience so that their 
attention is no longer as likely to be drawn to you is indeed often called 
"upstaging yourself" -- you're directing the focus to the point you're 
looking at, which is upstage of you.)

There. Did I make that enough more complicated than it needed to be? <grin>

bel