Every play is rhythmic control. If you want an audience to go on a journey, it's rhythmic control. You're crafting when they lean in, when they push back, when they breathe, when they surrender.
George C. WolfeRead
The hardest thing about a musical is making sure everybody is working on the same damn show. That is the monster.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Creating a successful musical requires collaboration and unity among all participants.
George C. Wolfe highlights the complex challenge of ensuring that every individual involved in a musical production is aligned and contributing towards a cohesive vision. The quote emphasizes that the real struggle in artistic endeavors, particularly in collaborative formats like musicals, lies in synchronizing efforts to create a unified performance, which can be likened to combating a formidable monster.
Themes
CollaborationMusicalTeamworkUnityProduction
In practice
Example use cases
During a theater workshop, one could use the quote to emphasize the importance of teamwork.
More from George C. Wolfe
All quotes βOne of the things I learned very early on was that if you cast the show correctly, and if you've created the right energy in the room, the solution is also in the room. The solution doesn't necessarily come from someone, but if everybody is working in a very steadfast and rigorous way, then everything you're looking for is in the room.
George C. WolfeRead
A musical is what happens when text collides with motion collides with song collides with spectacle. And spectacle can be the human heart; it doesn't necessarily have to be a helicopter crashing.
George C. WolfeRead
The wonderful thing about theater is that it has so many people involved in the creation of it. The worst thing about theater is that it has so many people involved in the creation of it. That dynamic is thrilling and challenging every time you make a show.
George C. WolfeRead
I was raised to believe that other people's suffering was my responsibility.
George C. WolfeRead
I think I am the first person of color to direct a major white play on Broadway. In 1993? That's astounding to me. And horrifying to me.
George C. WolfeRead
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