Shirley MacLaine Quotes

For me, being onstage for an hour and a half, my confidence was really huge for me. Doing eight shows a week for a run, I was like: "I'm actually doing this." And now I feel more confident going into something.

Performing to me is the most vital, most important. It's my favorite part of all of it. I just want to be on stage.

I've always been obsessed with being on stage and putting shows together.

I like entertaining people. I like being on stage. I like being in the life. This is what I do. This is the only thing I know how to do besides rob people and fight. Even when I was robbing people, I was entertaining them. But that's just what I love doing.

I love being in a show. I love the community aspect of it. I like the discipline of it, too.

I'm not naturally a person that wants to exercise, but I find running is something I can do wherever I am in the world.

I first wanted to be an actress after seeing a play - not a movie.

I'll eventually go back to theater because the feeling of being on stage where you have the audience right there, you can't replace that with anything.

I'd love to go back and do theater. There's nothing like that instant response and the connection to a live audience.

I always love performing live, and that's what I was doing that started getting me acting parts, so I still find time do it.

There's no better feeling than being on a Broadway stage for me.

You look at Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Bob Seger. All they ever wanted to do was go out there and entertain, and I'm the same way.

I never thought about movies. I never thought about Hollywood. It was just being on the stage and being in New York.

I was convinced that I was going to be onstage for the rest of my life.

If I wasn't performing, I wasn't alive. That's the truth. My parents had absolutely no interest in the business, but they knew it made me happy, so they said 'Go for it, girl!'

So long as there is one pretty girl left on the stage, the professional undertakers may hold up their burial of the theater.

I've been on stage since I was eight.

I love being on stage. There's nothing better than that feeling; ever since the first time I was on stage, I was like, 'Oh, this is what it means to be fully alive and satisfied.' I don't think anything's as satisfying as a play.

Being on the stage in New York is always exciting because you feel like you're part of the life of the city.

If I live to be 90, and I'm planning to, I'll always love performing for a live audience.

I love the power of theater. I think it's an experience you never forget.

An old ham like me needs to be on stage.

Performing on Broadway is an honor and a challenge for any artist.

I remember when I was in 'Hairspray' - my first Broadway show - I truly was in awe of the voices I got to hear on a nightly basis around me. I'm thinking, 'Wow! Why aren't these people selling millions of records?' They're the ones that are out there, you know, belting their faces off!

There are no taking days off. There are no distractions. If I had that, I physically wouldn't be capable of going onstage and performing live theater. It's extremely demanding. I have to be in ballet class every day.