Harry Shearer Quotes

The thing about the four-camera shows is that it's kind of a great combo of theater and film. You have an audience, but you have a camera to capture things, so that's a great thing, too.

You'd go in, read the script once for timing and then you would sit around and play games. The sound effects people would come in and we would do a dress rehearsal so they could get the effects and the music cues in place. Then you would wait until you went on the air.

I love TV now, and 'Modern Family,' but what draws me back to theater is that initial instinct of wanting to be a theater actor. I love the challenge of starting a play and not stopping until you finish. I love the immediacy of trusting your instincts.

I'd love to go back and do theater. There's nothing like that instant response and the connection to a live audience.

The great thing about the stage is that you have a structured month-long rehearsal period where you're going in every day. You have to have lots of run-throughs with theater because there are no second takes in front of a live audience.

I'd like to do more TV stuff that is live action, but I am so totally happy doing as much voice work as I possibly can. Because it really is the best work. It's so amazing. You just show up. You don't have to look good. You don't even have to brush your hair. You work for a couple of hours, and you go home.

I'm always happy and most at home on the stage. I love film and television, but I love live performance... your immediacy with the audience, it makes all the difference in the world.

The great thing about stage is that you have a live audience.

The luxury of radio is that you don't spend hours in make-up, and you can wear whatever you want. It's bizarre. You'll be saying lines, with various people around making sound effect noises.

I've always wanted to do, oddly enough, a live variety show, but only with a live audience.

There's nothing like performing for a live audience.

In the studio is one thing, but playing live is the important part, I think.

Theatre is a living organism. You only know if your show is working when you see it with an audience. You can also tell when it isn't working - it's horrible, and you desperately try to figure out how to make it connect.

I like the adrenaline of live performance, whatever that is, appearing in front of an audience of any kind, whether it's one or a hundred or a thousand. It gives you a buzz of adrenaline, its exciting. The thing about that is that you want to make those nerves work for you in terms of an energy that's appropriate for the part and the performance, and not to distract the people who are watching so that they become nervous for you.

Every time we get days off, we try to go home and record five or six songs.

Unlike movies, on stage there are no second chances. Everything is live. If someone messes up, forgets a line, gives the wrong cue, you need to have the presence of mind to move the play along.

I have always felt that acting in a film is very challenging in itself. But when it comes to performing live, I think that is more challenging.

With WWE, you're live every single week. You're in an arena, and there can be anywhere from 12,000 to 20,000 people watching you perform.

You do some acting in a room for a few minutes, hopefully get something out of it that makes you a bit better at acting, and go home. Maybe the people in the room with you liked the acting you did. Maybe they didn't! Either way, it's not the end of the world; you'll be doing this again soon.

The script looks huge when you first get it, but you just have to go home and drill the lines out. The more you read it, the shorter it gets. I usually read it at least four times.

The stage is bigger than life. There you are projecting to an audience. In television, you're drawing the camera in to you. And with TV, there isn't that immediate feedback from an audience. You do hours and hours of taping and never get that response.

I definitely enjoy performing on stage with The Roots.

I'm confident when I perform but going into a horrible, boring studio and playing the same thing over and over again is really different to being on stage!

There's nothing like getting out there playing a great show with Skynyrd and seeing people love this music.

Studio work is very methodical, while live concerts must be very spontaneous.