Meanings
- not comparableOpen, occurring in full view of the public or in a public role.
Goffman is alert to the situational variability of the roles we play, distinguishing "frontstage" from "backstage" performances.
2001, Daniel Rigney, The Metaphorical Society: An Invitation to Social Theory, →ISBN, page 1531 more example
In the light of the 'new work order' requiring explicit accounting of knowledge and responsibility as in case talks, evaluation of professional practice may be a matter of how and where boundaries are drawn between frontstage and backstage activities.
1999, Srikant Sarangi, Celia Roberts, Talk, Work and Institutional Order: Discourse in Medical, Mediation, and Management Settings, →ISBN, page 68
- not comparableIn full view of the public or in a public role.
There are many possible examples which you could use to answer this question: e.g. doctor–patient interactions where the doctor discusses the patient's problems backstage with a colleague or a nurse before meeting the patient frontstage.
2013, Janet Holmes, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, →ISBN, page 403
plural frontstages
- The public area of a business or enterprise.
Another broad issue regarding the physical setting involves decisions about the setting's frontstage and backstage.
2013, Raymond Fisk, Stephen Grove, Joby John, Services Marketing Interactive Approach, →ISBN, page 731 more example
In the 1970s, MacCannell (1973) developed a six-stage frontstage/backstage model of authenticity that can be applied to theme parks as well as to other tourist sites.
2005, Sue Beeton, Film-induced Tourism, →ISBN, page 188
Origin
From front + stage, by analogy to backstage.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
frontstage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frontstage
“frontstage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frontstage. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “frontstage,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/frontstage.
Source: frontstage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.