Quotes About Theater

Years ago - I used to be an actor - I was in a production of Vaclav Havel's 'Temptation,' and when we started rehearsals, he was in prison. When we closed the show, he was running for president. And it felt incredibly timely and important and also this lucky thing.

I live halfway between reality and theater at all times. And I was born this way.

When I was on Broadway when I was little, I remember always driving through Times Square with my dad to the theater. Now when I go back, you can't even drive on Broadway in the 40s. New Times Square is too touristy to me.

My first acting lessons were Shakespeare. The first time I ever started working with a coach was doing scenes from 'Measure for Measure,' which were tough dramatic scenes. And then 'Taming of the Shrew,' which required comedic timing. And that's the kind of stuff I love.

I am first, and foremost, an actor. That's what I am. To me, a song is a mini-drama. My musical ability informs the actor as well because it gives me a sense of timing that non-musicians don't have. So, one hand washes the other.

Comedy can be more difficult than drama. It requires more attention to timing. In the theater, you're always dependent on the audience for the energy, but in comedy the feedback you get is more important. You can judge by the quickness and the length of the laugh just where you stand with the audience.

Rhythm and timing are so important in comedic acting.

Playing King George, for me, was a lesson in stillness and timing.

In 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,' I couldn't take my eyes off Judith Anderson as Big Mama.

When I heard that they were making 'Mean Girls' into a musical, I immediately said, 'That's my part. I want to play Janis so badly.' And I wanted to hang out with Tina Fey! What's cooler than that?

There's something about the theater which makes my fingertips tingle.

I work just as hard and have just as much fun whether in a 50-seat house or in a 1000-seat house. It's a luxury to be in a tiny space every once in a while and a rush to be on a giant stage every once in a while.

I've been lucky enough to do a tiny bit of Shakespeare onstage over the years.

I got a tiny part in a play, auditioned for another one and got that as well. Not only that, the first finished on the Saturday and the other started on the Monday which is like an actor's dream!

When I was five years old, I auditioned for the role of 'Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol.'

When I got out of school, I just started doing plays of the off-off-Broadway route, and for many years, that's what I did, slowly doing work in tiny theaters, building relationships with people in the business. It's not a showy story.

I'm, like, a tiny musical theater fairy.

When I did Taming of the Shrew, I was very tired, and I decided to have a holiday and make a documentary.

It's not that I'm sick of the theater, don't get me wrong. I'm just tired of the commitment.

My schedule is completely different doing a play than it is doing a movie, and I actually think it's a much harder schedule because you've got to do it eight times a week and you've got to do it good eight times a week and with different kinds of audiences who are cold or drunk or tired, whatever it is.

I find acting so tiring!

I think I've definitely found a niche working in comedy, but dramatic films are what brought me here. After I saw 'Titanic' in the theater, I got the bug.

I'll fully admit that when I went to the movie theater and saw 'Titanic,' I cried afterwards.

I did a play in high school, then one in college. My first professional experience was off-off-Broadway. I'm conveniently blocking the title. I'm sure I was terrible.