Offstage lead makes progress (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
gets ahead
'offstage lead makes progress' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'lead makes progress' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'lead' could be 'ahead' (I've seen this before) and 'ahead' is found in the answer.
'makes' could be 'gets' ('get' can be a synonym of 'make') and 'gets' is located in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for gets ahead that I've seen is " Takes the lead".)