Patti Smith Quotes

Improvisation is just writing in front of an audience.

I love improvising on the spot. I like that pressure.

When someone says to me, do you do stand-up I say absolutely not. I like to think of it as a theatrical performance. With me the show changes maybe five to ten percent every night. Of course, whatever I see in front of me and sometimes I get on a little run about it and it changes the show. And my delivery is such that people who have seen me many times say Gee, I never heard that before. Actually, they have, but I might have changed it around.

You don't always do the same things you've done the night before. That's what makes playing live so interesting as opposed to being in the studio.

I come from the world of improv; I love any show or any vehicle that gives me an opportunity to be in the moment.

I love improvising.

With a play, for me, there's no time to sit back on it. You're living on your instincts. And every night there are subtle changes and adjustments, because what's in front of you is a living, breathing audience.

I don't mind doing scripted material. It's actually kind of a relief, because improvising is a little bit like screenwriting on your feet.

No one set that I ever do is the same. I mean, if I go to a comedy club, and I perform three sets, all three sets are different because anything can happen in between sets.

Classical stuff takes a lot of rehearsal time and preparation, but with stuff that involves improvisation, you can over-rehearse it and it gets stale. You don't want it to be too comfortable. In fact, a good sound check, a good rehearsal usually means a bad performance.

A person improvising is sometimes very fortunate that just at that second things coincide.

Jazz is there and gone. It happens. You have to be present for it. That simple.

The interesting thing about improvisation is you're making something up in front of the audience. Now music helps you out a little bit because you have an instrument that'll separate you from the audience.

I like to be in the now, now. Sometimes musicians have to wait for me to be genuine with it. As an actor, I don't have that luxury. You have to make it legit when they say 'action.'

One thing changes every evening: It's the audience, and I'm working my magic. I'm always learning from it.

Doing a play, you have a little bit more time, obviously. You rehearse for a month before you get up in front of people. It's a totally different energy. With film, TV, you want to try to capture lightning-in-a-bottle moments. I don't try to rehearse as much with that stuff, because you want those sparks of something to come out, if they do.

There is a part of your brain that has to stop when you're acting. You have to be in the moment and dare to fly. Words can't be on your mind.

I can't imagine doing anything without being an improviser. I can't imagine trying to write or act or direct without what improvising offers you.

I've always been into improvisation.

I started in live television and I've done a lot of live TV and that's really the thing that I love best. I love flying by the seat of my pants.

My roots are in stand-up, and stand-up is very freeing. There's no script involved; you just fly.

I'm definitely a writer. I don't even know how to freestyle.

When you're writing, you're putting thought into what you want to express, and then you come up with it - it comes to you. When you're improvising, it's the same thing. You're writing. You just say it out loud right then, instead of saying, 'You think this might work?'

You have to create the show anew, and find it anew, on a nightly basis.

You might only get three takes to do a scene; sometimes it takes longer than that to find those moments.