I want to do work that means something to me so that when I go to work at the theater eight times a week, I want to be there.
Billy PorterRead
For me, I really feel like if there's not a real, true connection to the material, I don't need to sing it. I don't need to sing songs just because I like them anymore. I've done that.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True emotional connection to art is essential for genuine expression.
Billy Porter's quote emphasizes the importance of authenticity and emotional resonance in artistic expression. He suggests that mere enjoyment of material is insufficient; true artistry demands a deeper connection to the content, indicating that artists should prioritize meaningful engagements over superficial performances.
Themes
ConnectionArtistryAuthenticityExpressionMusic
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech at an art festival, one could use this quote to inspire artists to seek genuine connections with their work.
More from Billy Porter
All quotes →When you grow up in the church, the only translation in that insular world that people understand is preaching. You're supposed to be a minister. So I was going down that path, and then I saw the Tonys.
Billy PorterRead
I took 'Grease' to play my trump card, my voice, and get attention that would lead to auditions for serious work like 'Angels in America.' But I backed myself into a corner with 'Grease,' and it took me 17 years to get out.
Billy PorterRead
I was fine being in the closet at the beginning of my career because that's what you were supposed to be - until I realized that it didn't serve anybody, and I was left feeling utterly empty. This is who I am, so I've gotta be me.
Billy PorterRead
I grew up when one of America's greatest black playwrights, August Wilson, was writing about life in Pittsburgh, but I never saw myself in any of his straight-male plays. And then I see 'Angels,' which was so honest and painful, and it had this black drag queen in it, Belize, with a big heart. I finally had a character to relate to.
Billy PorterRead
There was a time in the '90s where, as an African-American man, you had to be a misogynistic R&B star or a rapper, and I didn't fit into either one of those. I was advised by my label to remain closeted at that time.
Billy PorterRead
Similar quotes
Genius gives birth, talent delivers. What Rembrandt or Van Gogh saw in the night can never be seen again. Born writers of the future are amazed already at what they're seeing now, what we'll all see in time for the first time, and then see imitated many times by made writers.
Jack KerouacRead
I'm tempted to say, 'Writing treatments is like designing a film by hiring six million monkeys to tear out pages of an encyclopedia, then you put the pages through a paper-shredder, randomly grab whatever intact lines are left, sing them in Italian to a Spanish deaf-mute, and then make story decisions with the guy via conference call.' But no... compared to writing treatments, that makes sense, too.
Terry RossioRead
A work of art is never finished. It is merely abandoned.
E. M. ForsterRead
Abstraction is real, probably more real than nature.
Josef AlbersRead
And they three passed over the white sands, between the rocks, silent as the shadows.
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeRead
If you want something from an audience, you give blood to their fantasies. It's the ultimate hustle.
Marlon BrandoRead