Jessamyn West Quotes

The art of acting is to pitch good. You do the pitching and hope that the other person catches the ball and does some good pitching back to you.

Obviously there are times with acting when exactly what is required is just going through the motions, and when doing nothing is the best thing. But at other times, you have to make that leap beyond the immediate environment of people putting up lights on the set.

Sincerity and the correct use of the voice are the greatest things in the art of acting.

I now realise I'm a great actor.

Basically, I love to act. The medium is not important.

Theatre demands different muscles and different aspects of one's personality.

Theatre is the principal job of an actor. An actor's job is to tell a story to someone in a room. TV and film can be great and I really love doing it, but it is a different way of telling a story.

I love acting and don't find it to be very hard. I recognize when I've nailed it, and I can be very proud of myself.

In theater, there's a lot of work to do to build the characters. It's a great experience.

Acting isn't that hard, really. I mean, I think that people make a big deal about it, but you just kind of try to say your lines naturally.

For the actors, the talent is to serve the demands that I ask of them, to do it with naturality and truth, and to be honest when we were terrified.

There are two main jobs in acting - the first one is to be a good actor, and the second one is to convince everyone that you're a good actor.

Acting has to do with saying it as if you meant it, so for me the words are always very important. It's very important for me to know my lines, know them so well that I don't have to think about them.

Why do you act? You act for an audience. In the theatre, you're in their presence. Film stars don't know what it is to have an audience.

People prefer doing films. That is not the case with me. I don't do theatre because I have to but because it makes me feel alive. I enjoy the whole process of rehearsing, though repetition can make it tedious.

You have to do real acting, not just do a voice.

Acting is a mysterious process.

Actors are always looking for the eyes of the other actors because you need help and you need connection.

So what's so enticing about doing a play is that you get to do that thing that got you into acting in the first place... There's a real attraction to being able to play, to just play. And that's something that theater affords you.

If it seems like you're doing work when you're acting, then you're doing something wrong.

Even great actors shine brighter in the right atmosphere.

I know people who prepare their roles in such a way that they technically look ahead and memorize their gestures, and then they stick to it. Those that are technically proficient enough can make it seem natural, but they do that and don't really take in what other people are doing.

There's no mystique to acting. It's only common sense - and a bit of courage.

One of the exciting and enjoyable aspects of acting is being in the environment with another actor.

The best actors do not let the wheels show.