You've got to keep fighting; you've got to risk your life every six months to stay alive.
Elia KazanRead
Acting, I found, was the biggest charge I ever had. What other artist has it so good? Approval so quick?
Interpretation
The quote expresses the joy and excitement that an actor feels in their craft due to the immediate feedback received from the audience.
Elia Kazan reflects on the exhilaration of acting, suggesting that no other art form provides such immediate and palpable approval from an audience. He appreciates the unique thrill of performing, where the artist can receive instant validation, making it a deeply fulfilling experience.
In practice
In a speech at an acting workshop, one might say, 'As Elia Kazan once said, acting is the biggest charge I ever had, reminding us of the joy we find in our performances.'
You've got to keep fighting; you've got to risk your life every six months to stay alive.
Acting... was the biggest charge I ever had. What other artist has it so good? Approval so quick?
I'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.
A good director's not sure when he gets on the set what he's going to do.
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.
I've lost many of my best friends... I'm going to satisfy myself now, not the critics, not even my friends.
My introduction to art history was like everybody else's. You see an art history book that has works by Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Yes, these things are great. But I don't see a reflection of myself in any of these things I'm looking at.
I'd rather make a show 100 people need to see, than a show that 1000 people want to see.
I feel that if I can show my demise artistically to the public, I can somehow cure my own legend.
An artist observes, selects, guesses, and synthesizes.
Architecture begins to matter when it brings delight and sadness and perplexity and awe along with a roof over our heads.
Have you ever heard a good joke? If you've ever heard someone just right, with the right pacing, then you're already on the way to poetry. It's about using words in very precise ways and using gesture.
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