You've got to keep fighting; you've got to risk your life every six months to stay alive.
Elia KazanRead
Acting... was the biggest charge I ever had. What other artist has it so good? Approval so quick?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the exhilaration and gratification experienced by an artist when performing and receiving immediate feedback from their audience.
Elia Kazan highlights the unique thrill that comes with acting, where an artist can experience immediate approval and exhilaration from their craft. This sense of fulfillment and connection with the audience is a rare and special aspect of artistic expression that few other fields can offer.
Themes
ActingArtPerformanceApprovalExhilaration
In practice
Example use cases
During an acting workshop, I shared the quote by Elia Kazan to emphasize the joy found in quick audience feedback.
More from Elia Kazan
All quotes βI've come to believe that everything worth achieving is beyond one's capacity - or seems so at first. The thing is to persist, not back off, fight your fight, pay your dues, and carry on. Effort is all; continue and you may get there despite everything.
Elia KazanRead
A good director's not sure when he gets on the set what he's going to do.
Elia KazanRead
To be a member of the Communist Party is to have a taste of the police state. It is a diluted taste but it is bitter and unforgettable.
Elia KazanRead
I've lost many of my best friends... I'm going to satisfy myself now, not the critics, not even my friends.
Elia KazanRead
I would rather do what I did than crawl in front of a ritualistic Left and lie the way those other comrades did betray my own soul.
Elia KazanRead
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