Judith Jamison Quotes

Growing up, I was a dancer. I wanted to be a choreographer.

A good director is like a good coach. You want to play for him. You want to really show him your good stuff. You don't want to let that person down. Ridley Scott is one of those guys.

Trust gives you the permission to give people direction, get everyone aligned, and give them the energy to go get the job done. Trust enables you to execute with excellence and produce extraordinary results. As you execute with excellence and deliver on your commitments, trust becomes easier to inspire, creating a flywheel of performance.

That's how you get a performance - they put trust in you.

I wouldn't ask any of my employees to do anything I wouldn't do. And I work as hard, if not harder than the rest of the staff, to set an example. I also believe in giving my employees a lot of room to be creative and to express themselves.

When you're playing the same dirty dozen night after night, the moments that keep it fresh are those when you just let go and trust everyone.

You have to give guys tools to win with, and if they have success with them then they believe in you. If you don't have anything in your bag to work with, then they won't believe.

I find directing more satisfying.

I love working with Alicia Keys, because it's not just the ability to do the dance to me; I think it's the ability to interpret it that excites me the most.

I always had to genuinely like the actors I worked with and use my enthusiasm and vision to give them confidence to push their creativity and their humor.

What's great about collaborating is getting to work with wonderful people. That's what theatre is about: other people getting you to give your best, and getting everyone else's best out of them.

I think good actors - good, collaborative actors who see themselves as leaders in a given production - can and should offer ideas that have nothing to do with wanting to direct themselves.

I direct with energy. I believe in energy. I think energy is an electric thing in actors. I try to inspire, encourage, and make choices with lots of energy. And truth. I'm big fan of truth and being funny. I like leading 50 people into battle every day.

I wanted to trust in my partners and the directors and producers and do the best I can to deliver what I could deliver.

It really comes down to Mick. He's the one who was constantly trying to get these five people in one room together. This is his love, his baby. It's his band, and there's nothing more he loves to do than get up on stage and play with us.

I totally love to act. I don't care if it's a musical, a comedy. I just like to work and interact with other people.

I'm definitely one of those actresses who comes to a set knowing how I want to do a scene, and I definitely love input from my directors and my writers. I know that there's some actors who like to be left alone, they like to be very independent, but I actually really enjoy the teamwork.

Playwrights are the most gregarious writers - to get our work done, we need actors, directors, set designers.

How do you make people do the best work? You make them feel comfortable, so you can feel comfortable - and then you can have a really good ballgame!

The great leaders are like the best conductors - they reach beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players.

The terrible thing about being an actor is that it's not a solo occupation.

I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way.

I believe that no matter what you do in life, if you learn the basics through theater, it will help you in everything else - problem solving, communication, discipline, all of that stuff.

In any team sport, the best teams have consistency and chemistry.

Directing, I get all kinds of inspiration. It's working with people. It's a lot more fun.