Quotes About Artistry

I think of myself as a theater animal instead of an intellectual animal.

Because I was a dancer, I started going to auditions for musical theater, which forced me to sing.

I've been doing my big theater projects, which take years, and writing a song here and there.

That period, doing 'Angels in America' in '94 and then filming with 'Basquiat' in '95, those were gateway years for me as an artist. Two gateways, one into the film industry and one into the world of theater, each formative to me in different, equally essential ways.

You come in off the street, through the doors of the theater. You sit down. The lights go down and the curtain goes up. And you're in another world.

I made theater very important in the beginning of my career.

What I don't have in theater is editing.

Theater is just so much more satisfying than film or television just because you deliver the whole thing from start to finish in one evening, and you can tell if people have enjoyed it or not. That's great to do every night to go in front of a full room of people and tell the story. There's nothing like that really.

I'm terrified of being too famous. What I'm really afraid of is that the audiences will go into the theater and not be able to forget that it's me, that fame will stand in the way of my acting. I want to keep being able to change into different shapes and different personalities.

Not to toot our own horn, but when 'The Sopranos' was on, it was as good as any movie that was coming out in the theater. I think that goes for a lot of shows today.

I'd rather do smaller theaters, because it's more fun for the audience and more fun for me. I like to build up demand.

I like the idea of conceiving a show and putting on a show, and especially when I got to the place where I could play theaters.

I really look up to actors like Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett who have a strong background in theatre.

The man who raised me is black. Culturally, he made me who I am. He was a theatre director, so he also guided me artistically.

I decided to do theatre intensely. I joined Makarand Deshpande's group Ansh. He became my guru. That's where I met Anurag Kashyap and Kay Kay Menon. These were the people who supported and inspired me.

I began with dance, doing ballet at 3, then tap, jazz, modern. Then I sang in church choirs, learned how to play clarinet and drums, sang with rock bands and only then did I get into musical theatre.

To maintain one's individuality, integrity, and true personality in the theatre is a big task.

Having started out in theatre, I feel an impulse to do it as much as I can.

I just loved being in the theatre with all those crazy, creative people.

Playing live is closer to theatre, although when you're up there on your own, it's quite scary and revealing because you're playing your own songs. It's like a one man show that you've written yourself.

Between parts I was too old for and roles that were too overwhelming, out of reach then for my voice. I carved out a niche with the Wagnerian repertoire since I am attracted by its theatrical intensity.

I was always a pretty theatrical kid, a draggy kid... a little sissy. I dressed up in my grandma's heels and clothes... It's always been in me.

My mum is a theatrical person. I saw a tape of a theatre project she did when I was a kid. I was really affected by the idea that my mum could turn herself into someone else for the purpose of telling a story.

I liked being on stage; I just didn't like the theatrical aspect of being in front of people.