Top quotes by Diane Paulus

We're a depraved civilization. All this technology, all the computer games and the iPhones... nobody will sit for art anymore. What a dismaying state of humanity. Votes: 19

Opera is the ultimate art form. It has singing and music and drama and dance and emotion and story. Votes: 16

In Elizabethan England or classical Athens... theater was at the center of, not culture, but society and politics and religion and civic engagement. Those things have a different audience. Votes: 12

For me, the reason why people go to a mountaintop or go to the edge of the ocean is to look at something larger than themselves. That feeling of awe, of going to a cathedral, it's all about feeling lost in something bigger than oneself. To me, that's the definition of spectacle. Votes: 11

Music is rhythm, and all theater is rhythm. It's about tempo and change and pulse, whether you're doing a verse play by Shakespeare or a musical. Votes: 10

I'm always interested in working with people who are good team players - that are selfless that way in their interests and dedication to the project. Votes: 9

I had to drop a boulder to wake people up about the A.R.T. We've done that, and now we have audiences again who want cutting-edge work, who want to be challenged, but who also won't be falling asleep at the theater. Votes: 8

I listen to music, I read scripts, and I know pretty intuitively if I can unlock it in a way. It's actually very liberating when you understand that not everything is for you. Votes: 7

Theatre and opera were always the twin kingdoms that I felt I had to conquer, because they were my parents' favorites. Votes: 6

At the core of what I'm doing is a belief in the audience, a belief that populism doesn't mean dumbing down theater, but rather giving the audience a voice and a role in experiencing theater. Votes: 6

As a director, I never feel that I have the answers. Votes: 6

Being a director, whether you're in rehearsal or you're in auditions or you're in a creative meeting, is so much to me about being present in the moment. There's a sense of time stopping. Votes: 5

When you're a freelance director, you are hired to create the art, and it kind of stops there. Votes: 5

I had this epiphany that I like the interaction with people. I wanted to make things happen at a grassroots level. Votes: 5

I'm sorry, but to ask an audience these days to invest three hours in a show requires your heroine be an understandable and fully rounded character. Votes: 5

I think in our culture there's been a tendency for people to blame the audience. There is a tendency in our industry to say, 'The audience has left the building. People don't want culture anymore.' Votes: 4

I grew up with a beautiful gold harp sitting in our living room. My older sister played it. Votes: 3

I'm always interested in looking - historically - at how theater can animate history and how all of that can make us engage with our lives in an enriching way. Votes: 3

Creativity and the world of the imagination - the beauty of what we see as a child and the kind of play that we experience as a child - can be a way for us to survive tough times. Votes: 3

Im always interested in working with people who are good team players - that are selfless that way in their interests and dedication to the project. Votes: 3

My generation of director has no illusions that we are going to be fed and cared for by subsidized theater in America. Votes: 2

I think actually what keeps the intensity manageable - it's a little counterintuitive - is that it's changing all the time. Every week is different for me. Votes: 2

It's freeing to not be caught up in your own personal baggage. Votes: 2

I really challenge every actor at the beginning of a process, and I always say, 'I have an idea that I'm going to bring to the table. I hope and expect that you will have an idea and bring it to the table. But the way I really want to work is that together we're going to have a third idea that is better than either of our ideas.' Votes: 1

Im always interested in looking - historically - at how theater can animate history and how all of that can make us engage with our lives in an enriching way. Votes: 0

The musical theater is a glorious and distinctly American innovation in the history of theater. Votes: 0

I don't want to be in an art bubble. Votes: 0

Art cannot be looked at as an elite, sacred event anymore. It has to be embraced as an accessible, popular form, which is what I believe theater is at its roots. Votes: 0

I've gotten to the point that I don't even know what tomorrow brings. When I'm teaching, obviously I'm in town for the class every week. Votes: 0

The idea of making audiences feel like they matter, that the theatre matters, and that they're a partner in the event—that's what fuels me as a director . . . I believe it's actually radical to think about the audience. Votes: 0

Creativity is a form of knowledge. Votes: 0