Laurence Fishburne Quotes

I like working on stage because there's something very immediate about it, that interaction with an audience where you immediately hear their reaction, or feel them, whether they're with you.

When you are in a good theatre show, it is a wonderful and very fulfilling experience, entertaining a large audience and their showing their appreciation for your efforts.

I learn more from the audience than I can from anybody else. Not from what they write on the scorecards, but how they respond to the movie while they're watching it - where they laugh and where they react.

There's nothing more instructive than the immediate response of an audience.

I think that if an audience is truly appreciative of a performance, they will show it. Sometimes though, there are little differences, and there are audiences that are very reserved even though they are enjoying the show.

I love the immediacy of an audience being there and reacting. I'm spoiled, having grown up in theater.

I feed off the audience a lot, their energy.

There's nothing like performing for a live audience.

When you can connect with a live audience and you get that immediate response it's just great.

I take audience reaction very seriously.

Every time I go out on a stage I consider myself very lucky. Because, in a time where people are economically thinking about what to go and see - so, when I am on a stage, and it doesn't matter where I am, that's my favorite show. I come home after and say "That was my favorite show".

You have to channel the interpretation and performance into 100 people. And with the audience, the critics.

I love storytelling and I love just relating directly to an audience. That's why we do theatre, it's because we love contact with the audience. We love the fact that the audience will change us. The way the audience responds makes us change our performance.

When I finished performing 'I Won't Give Up' for the first time, I opened my eyes, and I think there was maybe six people in there when I started, and when I finished there was about 30 people, all standing around with their jaws dropped in complete silence. I said, 'Okay, I think this song has some power to it.' So coffee shops work for me.

I was born to do sitcoms, where you get an immediate response from the audience.

The audience that surprised us the most was definitely Paris, when we played there last. They were just incredibly into us and we weren't expecting it at all.

I like doing theaters. I like being up close and personal with the fans. It's really cool.

That's one of the good things about music. You get to do it live, where you can touch the people and interact with them.

The theatre fulfills, whereas the cinema is empty.

When you put the musical in front of an audience, you get to see how the audience reacts.

There's nothing in the world like live entertainment. With TV, you have to wait for your results; with live entertainment, people let you know right then and there. That relationship is established in 30 seconds. The first 30 seconds, they'll let you know whether they like you or not.

For instance, when I go to the premiere on Tuesday I probably won't watch the film at all - I'll be watching the audience just to see their reaction to different moments, what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong, stuff like that.

I just feed off the energy of the audience.

There's something about being in a house with an audience, and having that immediate feedback. I started acting because of that energy; it's what feeds me on stage and informs my choices.

I love test screenings. Some directors don't, I know. But I love it. I think it's because I come from the theatre and in the theatre, previews are where you really have to listen to the audience and really feel how they're responding. I found our test screenings incredibly useful.