I don't believe in astrology. The only stars I can blame for my failures are those that walk about the stage.
Noel CowardRead
Acting is not a state of being ... but a state of appearing to be. You can't be eight times a week without going stark staring mad. You've got to be in control.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Acting is about creating an illusion rather than embodying a character, and it requires control to maintain that illusion.
Noel Coward emphasizes that acting is fundamentally about the appearance of being someone else rather than actually becoming that character in a literal sense. This underscores the importance of maintaining control over oneself while performing, as becoming too engrossed in the role can lead to confusion and madness, especially for someone who plays multiple roles frequently.
Themes
ActingIllusionControlPerformanceRoles
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a theater workshop to inspire actors to maintain their focus.
More from Noel Coward
All quotes →Goodnight, my darlings, I'll see you tomorrow.
Noel CowardRead
It's no use to go and take courses in playwriting any more than it's much use taking courses in acting. Better play to a bad matinée in Hull, it will teach you much more than a year of careful instruction.
Noel CowardRead
But why, oh why, do the wrong people travel, when the right people stay at home?
Noel CowardRead
Never mind, dear, we're all made the same, though some more than others.
Noel CowardRead
Wit ought to be a glorious treat like caviar; never spread it about like marmalade.
Noel CowardRead
Similar quotes
I really admire stand-up, and I think I would have loved to learn how to do it. I think it's terrifying and thrilling. A really cool thing to do. It's a dying art, in a way.
Tina FeyRead
For the slow labor of realizing a potential gift the artist must retreat to those Bohemias, halfway between the slums and the library, where life is not counted by the clock and where the talented may be sure they will be ignored until that time, if it ever comes, when their gifts are viable enough to be set free and survive in the world.
Lewis HydeRead
A poet is a bird of unearthly excellence, who escapes from his celestial realm arrives in this world warbling. If we do not cherish him, he spreads his wings and flies back into his homeland.
Khalil GibranRead
My art flatters nobody by imitation; it courts nobody by smoothness, tickles nobody by petiteness... there is no finish in nature.
John ConstableRead
The writing life requires courage, patience, persistence, empathy, openness, and the ability to deal with rejection. It requires the willingness to be alone with oneself. To be gentle with oneself. To look at the world without blinders on. To observe and withstand what one sees. To be disciplined, and at the same time, take risks. To be willing to fail - not just once, but again and again, over the course of a lifetime.
Dani ShapiroRead
People still love a good story, and I don't think that will change.
Bob IgerRead