Norm Crosby Quotes

I don't do the same show on any two nights.

You can't plan everything - if I did a performance exactly how I rehearsed it, it would be so boring.

I always feel in improv that nothing is ever as good once it's repeated.

A lot of guys come out, and they do the exact same thing, are in the exact same mood, and have the exact same entrance every night, I really just make up a lot of crap as I go along.

I have a hatred of familiarity. If I feel like I am doing something I've done before, it feels old and done. I feel I have no choice but to strike out in directions that feel new - anything less just doesn't seem worth it.

I just have fun on stage. There's nothing premolded out there. I try to always do something different.

I never sing a song the same way twice.

I've always believed acting is an improvisational art form, even when not a single line is changed. I mean, the behavior should always be improvised. My favorite moments in any performance are when I'm just along for the ride; when I'm surprising myself. I know when I'm done and I think to myself, 'Gee, I didn't see that coming,' I've done well.

That is a big danger, losing your inspiration. When I work in film and television I try to do each take a little differently. I never want to do the same thing twice, because then you're not being spontaneous, you're just recreating something.

Usually I like to improvise. Sometimes, depending on the nature of the piece, I like to improvise because I think it brings certain freshness and a reality to it, as long as it doesn't go too far out of the box.

I'm not able to go in with an act that I use month to month year to year all the time. It's constantly evolving and changing and that keeps me on my toes but certainly adds to the challenge.

Every performance is different. That's the beauty of it.

I never publicise in advance what I'm going to be singing because I never quite know until I start. I often change my mind halfway through. I sometimes throw in stuff about politics or Shakespeare or do songs in Yiddish.

You have to keep surprising your audience.

The beginning of the shows are different. One time we'll say 'Hello, Denver'. Another time we'll say 'Hello, Memphis'. It's always different.

One thing I like about jazz is that it emphasized doing things differently from what other people were doing.

Some people only work to recorded music because it's so reliable and exactly the same every time, which is exactly why I don't.

I may play the same songs night to night, but I never play them the same way.

I think probably with any performer, but maybe with rock music especially, the audience wants to see the singer being real, and exploring, and not doing a rehearsed routine, so I'm just constantly looking for new things to try. I'm really curious out there, and my curiosity has led me into all kinds of bizarre situations.

I prefer doing TV, where it can be different every time.

I always try to incorporate something in every book that I've never used before. Hopefully, spontaneity will keep readers reading.

I never know what I'm going to talk about until I get on stage. I never give the same lecture twice, which is why I'll have people follow me from place to place like Deadheads.

You know what the material is so that you never play it the same way twice.

I've had some shows where I really plan out what I'm going to say. Then I've had other shows where I'm like, 'Take a sip of the Ole Smoky Moonshine and just let it be natural and cross your fingers that you say the right things.'

My mandate to myself since I've been involved in these movies was 'make every single movie different, so there's never 'X-Men' fatigue.'