performance art
"Magic is such a raw, emotional experience, and it can be used as a storytelling device. Sometimes people scream and run away—what a profound effect! There is no other art form that can do that. You cannot make somebody gasp, scream, and run away by looking at a painting or watching a dance routine."
— Ben Hart
for Creatives | art, reaching your audience, storytelling, painting, Ben Hart, performance art, magic/illusion/mentalism, artist-audience relationship
"Most experienced performers will say that they don't get nervous. I don't get nervous anymore because everything that can be go wrong in my shows has already happened. I've knocked my table over. I've had an audience volunteer start crying. I've had props break. I've injured myself. Literally anything that can go wrong has gone wrong, and now I know what to do when it does."
— Ben Hart
for Creatives | creative fear, reaching your audience, acting, never stop LEARNING, Ben Hart, performance art, magic/illusion/mentalism
"The performers who fall into obscurity are the ones who don't take risks."
— Ben Hart
for Creatives | the successful artist, Ben Hart, performance art, magic/illusion/mentalism, TAKE RISKS
"I had the urge to do things differently, but school convinced me that was a problem. In creative fields, being different is a good thing. But until you can say you're a professional artist or performer, you're told that it's wrong to take a different path than everybody else. You are described as awkward or difficult—so I was an awkward and difficult child."
— Ben Hart
for Creatives | creating isn't easy, artist integrity, artists, break the rules, Ben Hart, performance art, magic/illusion/mentalism
"I knew how powerfully good theatre could affect people. I dragged unwilling friends along, and saw their reaction to good work and to rubbish. I looked at the different audiences, and wondered about how they might change, how more people—people like my parents—could at least be offered the choice of becoming theatre-goers."
— Kenneth Branagh
for Creatives | art, value the art, Kenneth Branagh, theater, performance art
You wouldn't want to immediately start performing in Carnegie Hall before you've practiced your violin for 10 or 20 years. Writing is no different. It's hard—show me that you have respect for that."
— Ayesha Pande
for Creatives | creating isn't easy, music, writing, KEEP CREATING, agents, value the art, Ayesha Pande, performance art
"The fun of most plays is seeing actors react to each other."
— Stephen Gregg
for Creatives | reaching your audience, acting, Stephen Gregg, performance art
"Later on I find out what [a lyric] was really about. Lots of times I'll think it's about one thing and as I get a little distance from it—and by distance I mean like, say, seven or eight years—it suddenly becomes very obvious to me it was about something else entirely. It happens especially onstage. Periodically I do something older and I suddenly realize 'God—listen to what this is about. I can't believe that I said this in public.'"
— Lou Reed
for Creatives | music, writing, artist's message, Lou Reed, performance art
"Something magical happened that night. When I told that story, I felt an enormous listening coming from the audience, an enormous opening up. I noticed that I could look into people's eyes more when I was speaking as myself as opposed to when I was speaking in character. There was relating happening."
— Kevin Allison
for Creatives | create for YOURSELF, magic/mystery of creating/art, artist integrity, reaching your audience, storytelling, comedy writing, Kevin Allison, performance art
"I was used to uniting an audience with humour; this time, I wanted to unite an audience with humanity."
— Steve Coogan
for Creatives | writing, reaching your audience, Steve Coogan, filmmaking, artist's message, comedy writing, performance art