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I'm never certain of a performance - my own or the other actors' - or the script or anything... But to me it seems there's only one place in the world the camera can be, and the decision usually comes immediately.
Orson Welles
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Uncertainty is an inherent part of performance, yet clarity can emerge in the moment of creation.

Orson Welles reflects on the unpredictable nature of performance and filmmaking, emphasizing that while uncertainty permeates every aspect—from the script to the actors—the most crucial decisions often emerge spontaneously. This insight highlights the artistic process as one that embraces chaos while recognizing the significance of instinctive choices in capturing the essence of a performance.

Themes

PerformanceUncertaintyArtInstinctCreativity

In practice

Example use cases

A theater director might quote this to inspire their cast during a rehearsal.

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