Quotes About Performance

Why doesn't the fellow who says, "I'm no speechmaker," let it go at that instead of giving a demonstration?

It's a letdown if the comedian doesn't finally actually really sit on his hat.

I have found that in this business, one of the most important things is sincerity. If you can fake that, you can do just about anything.

The real maddening thing I learned later was that when Dad was supposedly punishing Candace, he'd go in there, snapping his belt. But when the door closed behind him, he'd slap the belt on the bed while Candace yelped like she'd gotten spanked. You never saw a performance like that from her on Full House.

All this only proves that you don't have to be a nice person to be extremely talented. You can be a shit and be talented and, conversely, you can be the nicest guy in the world and not have any talent. Stanley Kubrick is a talented shit.

never brag about your expertise. Instead, wait for the opportunity to showcase your skills and watch all the jaws drop.

A player whose technical skill is not of the first rank will make gracenotes longer than they should be. As a result he has to shorten the theme notes (unless he is to drag the variation badly.) Short theme notes means less emphasis on the melody.

I know exactly what Einstein meant when he said, "Dancers are the athletes of God." You three look like angels. I can't wait to see you dancing in the Christmas concert.

An artist, in giving a concert, should not demand an entrance fee but should ask the public to pay, just before leaving as much as they like. From the sum he would be able to judge what the world thinks of him — and we would have fewer mediocre concerts.

Reagan suggested ending the nightclub act by reciting a poem

Play like you're positive on the victory, even though they're leading big now.

The motivation for me is just the game itself, just playing the game the right way and trying to win, compete every time I step out there on the floor. That's motivation enough for me to go out there and play well.

If the man who plays the [...] has talent, he will prove to you by his acting that he is unconscious of any guilt.

Whereas mechanical acting makes use of worked-out stencils to replace real feelings, over-acting takes the first general human conventions that come along and uses them without even sharpening or preparing them for the stage. What happened to you is understandable and excusable in a beginner. But be careful in the future, because amateurish over-acting grows into the worst kind of mechanical acting.

People were suddenly subject to the curse, which caused them to perform for identity instead of operating out of their identity. This has led to all sorts of perversions - people working for love instead of from love, for instance, and men and women measuring their relationship with God by their disciplines instead of by their passion.

It looks like he's seducing the music out of the piano, and though I know nothing about piano performance, I can see that to be great, a pianist has to do just that… seduce the instrument, win it over, become part of the great, beautiful piano and the music itself.

the reality that she had to be better, smarter and faster than any man in the same position.

Each evening, students performed in the common room. The inn provided an opportunity for aspiring minstrels to practice their craft in a real situation, and to earn coppers and silvers for tuition at the same time.

It's not like I sit around watching my movies again and again, but I've never quite believed actors when they say they don't watch themselves.

With improv, it's a combination of listening and not trying to be funny.

I don't rehearse a lot. I try to keep it organic. Even in movies, the less I rehearse, the better I am.

I auditioned for a solo in church and got it. I was about seven and I sang a song called, 'Jesus, I Heard You Had a Big House' and I remember people standing up at the end and me thinking, 'Oh, I think I'm going to like this.' That's how it all began. Sounds funny to say you got your start in church, but I did.

I tell you, it was kind of two-fold. I fortunately had a lot of support. My coach was amazing - he told me to focus on being prepared and that is what I did. Every athlete is nervous - any athlete who tells you they're not nervous isn't telling you the truth. I was as prepared as I could be.

It was dramatic, as it should be. Without drama, what is ritual?