The body says what words cannot.
Martha GrahamRead
Theater is a verb before it is a noun, an act before it is a place.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Theater is an action that embodies artistic expression before it is recognized as a physical space.
Martha Graham emphasizes that theater should be understood as a dynamic and active process rather than just a static institution. This perspective highlights the importance of performance, creativity, and the transformative power of the theatrical experience, underscoring that the essence of theater lies in the acts of creation and expression that precede any physical manifestation of it.
Themes
TheaterArtPerformanceExpressionCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the importance of the performing arts in education.
More from Martha Graham
All quotes βNobody cares if you can't dance well.
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Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul's weather to all who can read it.
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What people in the world think of you is really none of your business.
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No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a strange, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.
Martha GrahamRead
The body is your instrument in dance, but your art is outside that creature, the body.
Martha GrahamRead
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