Inspiring Quotes on Acting

I thought today I’d find out some great advice from some different sources; look at some sterling quotes and advice from some top actors and then reproduce it here for you. As it happened, only one turned to be from an actor as such, but much of this has inspired me for years. Many of my students will recognise some of these. Some of them were on the walls of my acting studio at GAMTA whilst I taught there. Of course, they took them down afterwards, cos Practical Aesthetics was really messing with their pretending mojo.

One of my favourites is from Denzel Washington, this is what the man has to say: “Do theatre,” he said. “Theatre, theatre, theatre. Especially for the actors. And for the directors, take acting classes. It’ll help you understand what the actors are trying to achieve.”

“The lessons of the stage: are often devastating and almost beyond bearing” David Mamet

“Where you stumble, there you shall find your treasure.” Joseph Campbell

(This one is for Carly Jane McGrath) – “Fail. Fail again. Fail Better.” Samuel Beckett

“People may or may not say what they mean… but they always say something designed to get what they want.” David Mamet

“Silence is an absence of words, not an absence of meaning” Sanford Meisner