Thomas Kail Quotes

But theatre is always a difficult experience.

Backstage life is terrific training for an actor, seeing shows from the wings.

I've directed a couple of times in the theater, but I wouldn't make a habit of it because it's too consuming.

I have directed good actors and have gone through the process which is more detailed in theater in a way. You have to get people to stay for two or three hours in a performance. They need more talk and rehearsal than in films.

Well, in the theater, I think you're actually more responsible for what is going on onstage as a director than you are in film.

What looks absolutely fabulous in rehearsal can fall flat in front of an audience. The audience dictates what you do or don't change.

I don't get nervous when I'm directing a play. It's not like acting.

I am sure if you went back to the days of 'My Fair Lady,' they would have had one public dress rehearsal, and that is it. And in a way, I would like to go back to that.

I like the idea of conceiving a show and putting on a show, and especially when I got to the place where I could play theaters.

My first live performance was the lead in 'Peter Pan.'

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

My job is the same if I'm making a new musical or making a play for sixty-five people or doing a live television broadcast. The job is to take care of the actor; the job is to create an environment where they can excel and try to access all their attributes.

A stage actor has to be 10% aware of the audience as he's performing.

I am sure if you went back to the days of 'My Fair Lady,' they would have had one public dress rehearsal, and that is it. And in a way, I would like to go back to that. Now you have people tweeting and blogging immediately, so you may as well regard your first preview as your opening night because you are going to get reviews.

Playing live is such a total visceral experience, and really, as a musician, you're trained from the beginning to be a live performer.

The reason why I hate working in theatre is the tedium of memorisation. But once that is done, then you feast on this never-ending meal. If you play it correctly, every night is fraught with very high stakes that are very difficult to find in everyday life.

I find theatre easier than films, because it gives you an environment of a dark hall, the audience concentrating with you... whereas, film sets are not conducive to long rehearsals, and it is difficult to pick up the emotions amidst all that is going on around you.

Almost all of what I learned about mounting and hosting a dance show I learned from Dick Clark.

Performing is a profound experience, at least for me.

I love the rehearsal process in the theatre, and the visceral sense of contact and communication with a live audience.

There is nothing to compare with the instantaneous feedback a singer gets from the people sitting in front of him. That is where it all comes together - all the rehearsing and working to get everything just exactly right.

In theater, the wellspring of the character comes from the doing of it, like a trial by fire, but in front of an audience.

I have been in the business long enough to know what an intense amount of work it takes to operate a theater company.

Honestly, live is my favorite way of performing. Every show is a completely different energy.

I think a director can make a play happen before your eyes so that you are part of it and it is part of you. If you can get it right, there's no mystery. It's not about mystery. It's not even mysterious. It's about our lives.