|mēˌzäⁿ|sen, -sān noun
( plural mise-en-scènes )
Etymology: French mise en scène, literally, (action of) putting onto the stage
1.
a. : the process of putting a play or other theatrical production on the stage : the arrangement of the scenery, properties, and actors onstage
the mise-en-scène suggested that nobody had had much rehearsal — Winthrop Sargeant
a mise-en-scène that included eight horses galloping onstage in the last act — John Briggs
b. : stage setting
a shabby, down-at-the-heels mise-en-scène that scarcely could be called decor — Saturday Review
spectacle plays attempted a more realistic, three-dimensional mise-en-scène — A.N.Vardac
2.
a. : the physical setting of an action
gaze on this ordinary house that became the mise-en-scène of an extraordinary drama — E.M.Lustgarten
b. : environment , milieu
the books of chivalry … were part of the Spanish mise-en-scène — New Yorker