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" There's no place more theatrical than history. "
George C. Wolfe
Than
Theatrical
History
Related Quotes:
" My absolutely favorite time of working on a project is the time I spend not knowing what it is. Because the longer you live inside that period, the likelier you are to discover something new. "
George C. Wolfe
Time
Knowing
Live
" It may take a while, but I think 'On the Town' has the potential for us to break down the boundaries between the traditional theatergoer who may have fond memories of the musical and those with a 'Broadway-is-not-for-me' agenda. "
George C. Wolfe
Memories
Down
Us
" Growing up in the South, I was raised to be a Negro boy. I was acutely aware how other people perceived me, and that informed my behavior. That worked for a period of time, but it could also be suffocating. "
George C. Wolfe
Time
People
Me
" I think there's an aspect of my soul, of my personality, that's very suited to directing. I like being in the room with actors; I love creating a safe space and a chaotic space for the discovery to take place. I love creating a sense of community. "
George C. Wolfe
Personality
Community
Love
" My first play, 'The Colored Museum,' was done in '86 at the Public Theater. "
George C. Wolfe
First
Museum
Play
" If I hadn't told stories, I would've been a historian. "
George C. Wolfe
Been
Stories
Historian
" Theater, at the end of the day, is about ideas. It's about very large ideas. And if the play is beautifully written or smartly written and has incredible characters you follow on the journey, you take home these larger ideas. Whether it's 'Angels in America' or 'Lucky Guy' or 'Normal Heart,' you follow this moment-to-moment journey as an audience. "
George C. Wolfe
America
Journey
End
" 'Jelly,' more than any black musical before it, celebrated the majesty, the purity, the joy of so many artists who are unable to fully embody these same qualities in their own lives. "
George C. Wolfe
Own
Same
Black
" Every single wave, when I was overwhelmed and poor and struggling in New York, there were these extraordinary people in New York who said, 'Come this way.' "
George C. Wolfe
Way
New York
Said
" Surviving failure is one thing. Surviving success is... is challenging, with the consequences and what you lose along the way. "
George C. Wolfe
You
Way
Success
" Each actor, every single time you work with an actor, you have to come up with the language that's going to serve them. And that's what allows them to give the performance that you want to nurture inside of them and what you think they're capable of giving. "
George C. Wolfe
Time
Language
Performance
" In the early '90s or so, I drove my father to Providence, Ky., his hometown, and he was pointing out, 'That's where the doctor's office was,' and 'That's where we bought ice cream.' And he was pointing to empty lots. When you lose communities, what do you have? We often survive by remembering the stories. "
George C. Wolfe
Early
Father
You
" You've got to make the rehearsal room very safe. You can't bully people, because if you bully people, they're going to freeze and lock up. "
George C. Wolfe
Safe
Going
People
" I'm convinced whenever something opens on Broadway, it's a miracle. It's a miracle that people survived. "
George C. Wolfe
Broadway
People
Something
" When I was little, I remember rehearsing starving so that when I got to New York I would know how to do it. "
George C. Wolfe
Remember
Got
How
" Something that can be so vital at one point can be inconsequential at another. I'm just intrigued by that phenomenon. "
George C. Wolfe
Point
Something
Another
" The best of any artist is in their art. "
George C. Wolfe
Any
Artist
Best
" I love working with actors who will just go, 'Oh O.K., let's try it and see where it goes,' and 'Let's see what we can discover.' "
George C. Wolfe
See
Working
Will
" In Los Angeles, wealth and poverty are separated by the freeways. In New York, they're next to each other. "
George C. Wolfe
Los Angeles
Wealth
Poverty
" It's easier to be cynical and edgy and tough rather than overly emotional. "
George C. Wolfe
Tough
Edgy
Emotional
" There are a lot of people who will tell you I'm very ruthless. I'm very fierce. If I feel I'm right, if I feel I've been violated, then I am like a warrior from hell! "
George C. Wolfe
I Am
People
You
" Broadway was very vital back in the '20s. There were probably close to hundreds of productions that opened up through the course of the year and through the course of a Broadway season. "
George C. Wolfe
Through
Year
Season
" 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. Wolfe
White
Color
I Am
" When you're writing, in theory, everybody is serving you. When you're directing, you're serving everybody - in the guise of acting like everybody's serving you. But you're really serving the materials. You're serving the actors. You're in charge, but it's not free. "
George C. Wolfe
You
Free
Serving
" 'You Gotta Have Heart' is one of the most ridiculously perfect, amazing musical comedy songs ever. "
George C. Wolfe
Heart
You
Comedy
" Theater should address the stories of its communities, or I don't know why it's here. "
George C. Wolfe
Theater
Why
Stories
" I think we all have a primal desire to know as much as we can to find out about where we come from. "
George C. Wolfe
Out
Come
Desire
" I'm perpetually interested by living in places as an artist confronting challenges I've never confronted before and approaching them with as much craft and humanity as I can. "
George C. Wolfe
Challenges
Living
Humanity
" The hardest thing about a musical is making sure everybody is working on the same damn show. That is the monster. "
George C. Wolfe
Working
Same
Show
" There is a strange kind of parental pride when 'Topdog' ends up on Broadway, or 'Elaine Stritch.' "
George C. Wolfe
Pride
Broadway
Ends