--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I started in the theater, I'd do…" description: "\"When I started in the theater, I'd do plays by Shakespeare or Ibsen or Chekhov, and they all created great women's roles.\" — Annette Bening" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/annette-bening-3058_chekhov_when-i-started-in-the-theater-i-d-do-pla_941736.jpg" --- # When I started in the theater, I'd do plays by Shakespeare… ![“When I started in the theater, I'd do plays by Shakespeare or Ibsen or Chekhov, and they all created great women's roles.” quote by Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/annette-bening-3058_chekhov_when-i-started-in-the-theater-i-d-do-pla_941736.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/annette-bening-3058_chekhov_when-i-started-in-the-theater-i-d-do-pla_941736.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/annette-bening-3058_chekhov_when-i-started-in-the-theater-i-d-do-pla_941736.jpg) > “When I started in the theater, I'd do plays by Shakespeare or Ibsen or Chekhov, and they all created great women's roles.” [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She reflects on early career experiences, noting that classic playwrights offered rich, complex roles for women, highlighting the value of strong female characters. **In simple terms:** Classic plays gave women powerful roles. Key Takeaway Seek roles that challenge and empower. Themes theatre gender artistic growth representation Mood contemplative inspired Type artistic educational When to use this quote - acting auditions - script selection - career planning - educational curricula Key Concepts character depth female empowerment literary tradition Questions to Reflect On - Why are strong female roles important? - How can contemporary theatre create more nuanced women characters? A Different Perspective Modern scripts may lack comparable depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Theater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theater/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) [Women'S Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-s-roles-2/) ## Related quotes > [“Yes, there are passages in Scripture—especially in Paul’s epistles—about women’s roles. But it is biblically untenable and soul crushing to tell a woman that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elyse-m-fitzpatrick/yes-there-are-passages-in-scripture-especially-in-paul-s-epistles/) [Elyse M. Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elyse-m-fitzpatrick/) > [Women's roles in the movies remain, for the most part, girlfriends, mothers, wives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-traister/women-s-roles-in-the-movies-remain-for-the-most-part-girlfriends/) [Rebecca Traister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-traister/) > [The good news is that women's roles have changed so dramatically over the past three decades that women now expect to have careers, balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmel/the-good-news-is-that-women-s-roles-have-changed-so-dramatically-over/) [Michael Kimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmel/) > [For a long time, way back in the ’30s and ’40s, there were fabulous female roles. Bette Davis and all those people had incredible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/for-a-long-time-way-back-in-the-30s-and-40s-there-were-fabulous/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [There are some great women's roles in television... so much more interesting than what I was reading in film scripts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-otto/there-are-some-great-women-s-roles-in-television-so-much-more/) [Miranda Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-otto/) > [Why, in the Peking Opera, are women's roles played by men?...Because only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/why-in-the-peking-opera-are-women-s-roles-played-by-men-because-only/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [I think, certainly in the more civilized societies, women's roles are growing in power all of the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-quinn/i-think-certainly-in-the-more-civilized-societies-women-s-roles-are/) [Sally Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-quinn/) > [What I really want to do is create great roles for women. And I'm not talking Nicholas Sparks romance. I think women's roles have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-rosenberg/what-i-really-want-to-do-is-create-great-roles-for-women-and-i-m-not/) [Melissa Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-rosenberg/) > [I feel there is no shortage of real interesting women's roles. But I found them and did all of them just now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-gyllenhaal/i-feel-there-is-no-shortage-of-real-interesting-women-s-roles-but-i/) [Maggie Gyllenhaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-gyllenhaal/) > [Real equality in films is going to take time and will directly reflect our society. So ladies, please speak up at home, at work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-crampton/real-equality-in-films-is-going-to-take-time-and-will-directly/) [Barbara Crampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-crampton/) > [ That's the really frustrating thing, but also the fixable thing. My theory why no one notices is that that's the \[women's roles\] ratio thing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/that-s-the-really-frustrating-thing-but-also-the-fixable-thing-my/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [Women's roles are diminished for obvious reasons. It's the men whose names are on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cokie-roberts/women-s-roles-are-diminished-for-obvious-reasons-it-s-the-men-whose/) [Cokie Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cokie-roberts/) > [When I started, I was a theater actress, and there were roles that I couldn't imagine not playing, like Rosalind in 'As You Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/when-i-started-i-was-a-theater-actress-and-there-were-roles-that-i/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [It is true that there are few plays of Shakespeare that I haven't done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/it-is-true-that-there-are-few-plays-of-shakespeare-that-i-haven-t-done/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) > [“Cats do not go to heaven. Women cannot write the plays of Shakespeare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/cats-do-not-go-to-heaven-women-cannot-write-the-plays-of-shakespeare/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## More by Annette Bening > [I never thought my private life would be newsworthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/i-never-thought-my-private-life-would-be-newsworthy/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [I do have to take care of myself, not only because I'm in the movies, just for mental health reasons. I exercise for me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/i-do-have-to-take-care-of-myself-not-only-because-i-m-in-the-movies/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [We all get lost along the way, but hopefully we figure out some sort of path. It helps if you can imagine the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/we-all-get-lost-along-the-way-but-hopefully-we-figure-out-some-sort/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [One of the things on a very practical level as an actor or actress is that when you do a play, you do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/one-of-the-things-on-a-very-practical-level-as-an-actor-or-actress-is/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [We want to be seen for who we really are, and each person has his own complex story and reasons for doing what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/we-want-to-be-seen-for-who-we-really-are-and-each-person-has-his-own/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [I don't see myself as competing with other actresses. I mean, I went through a time when I was in New York, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/i-don-t-see-myself-as-competing-with-other-actresses-i-mean-i-went/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [I'm lucky: almost all my family has lived to be very old. I have one grandfather who lived to be 100.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/i-m-lucky-almost-all-my-family-has-lived-to-be-very-old-i-have-one/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [It's always tricky to watch yourself, always. When I first had to watch myself, it was really hard because I'd done quite a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/it-s-always-tricky-to-watch-yourself-always-when-i-first-had-to-watch/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [To me, I didn't think of acting as being a young thing only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/to-me-i-didn-t-think-of-acting-as-being-a-young-thing-only/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [I act, but I am a mother first and wife second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/i-act-but-i-am-a-mother-first-and-wife-second/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [Why I love acting is that it's totally subjective and I like that. I like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/why-i-love-acting-is-that-it-s-totally-subjective-and-i-like-that-i/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [Somebody said something really smart: It's like you end up being the defense attorney for your role. Your job is to defend their point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/somebody-said-something-really-smart-it-s-like-you-end-up-being-the/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [Anybody who has children and children who are well feels a sense of responsibility towards parents and kids and families that are struggling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/anybody-who-has-children-and-children-who-are-well-feels-a-sense-of/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [I just want to be educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/i-just-want-to-be-educated/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [I remember hearing someone say that good acting is more about taking off a mask than putting one on, and in movie acting, certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/i-remember-hearing-someone-say-that-good-acting-is-more-about-taking/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) [Explore all 141 Annette Bening quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) ## More Chekhov quotes > [“Art, science, love, inspiration, ideals—choose out all the words with which humanity is wont, or has been in the past, to be consoled or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/art-science-love-inspiration-ideals-choose-out-all-the-words-with/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [There are no whys in a person's life, and very few hows. In the end, in search of useful wisdom, you could only come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/there-are-no-whys-in-a-person-s-life-and-very-few-hows-in-the-end-in/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“He did not want to be original; he made superhuman efforts to be like everybody else: but there is no escaping one's destiny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/he-did-not-want-to-be-original-he-made-superhuman-efforts-to-be-like/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [Chekhov is this poet of melancholy and isolation and of wishing you were somewhere else than where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/chekhov-is-this-poet-of-melancholy-and-isolation-and-of-wishing-you/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“He keeps going, going, going on; his people groan and fall one after the other, but he keeps on going, going and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/he-keeps-going-going-going-on-his-people-groan-and-fall-one-after-the/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [I don't think my looks are modern. I always imagined I'd end up doing Chekhov, Ibsen and Shakespeare all my life and never play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kingston/i-don-t-think-my-looks-are-modern-i-always-imagined-i-d-end-up-doing/) [Alex Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kingston/) > [“Any idiot can face a crisis, it is day to day living that wears you out. —Anton Chekhov”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-idiot-can-face-a-crisis-it-is-day-to-day-living-that-wears-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Chekhov will seek out the key situation in the life of a cabman or a charwoman, and make them glow for a brief moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson-lynd/chekhov-will-seek-out-the-key-situation-in-the-life-of-a-cabman-or-a/) [Robert Wilson Lynd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson-lynd/) > [As Michael (Chekhov)'s pupil, I learned more about acting. I learned psychology, history, and the good manners of art - taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/as-michael-chekhov-s-pupil-i-learned-more-about-acting-i-learned/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [If we're lucky, writer and reader alike, we'll finish the last line or two of a short story and then just sit for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/if-we-re-lucky-writer-and-reader-alike-we-ll-finish-the-last-line-or/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [Chekhov said: let's put God - and all these grand progressive ideas - to one side. Let's begin with man; let's be kind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/chekhov-said-let-s-put-god-and-all-these-grand-progressive-ideas-to/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [Reading Chekhov was just like the angels singing to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/reading-chekhov-was-just-like-the-angels-singing-to-me/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [When we remove the snowdrift piled up over Chekhov in recent years, we uncover a man profoundly agitated by social problems; a writer whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/when-we-remove-the-snowdrift-piled-up-over-chekhov-in-recent-years-we/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Read the great stuff, but read the stuff that isn't so great, too. Great stuff is very discouraging. If you read only Beckett and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/read-the-great-stuff-but-read-the-stuff-that-isn-t-so-great-too-great/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I'll never forget reading Chekhov's "A Doctor's Visit" on a train to Hawthorne, New York, and I got to the end - the scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/i-ll-never-forget-reading-chekhov-s-a-doctor-s-visit-on-a-train-to/) [Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/) Browse all 132 Chekhov quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I started in the theater, I'd do plays by Shakespeare or Ibsen or Chekhov, and they all created great women's roles.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annette Bening" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/when-i-started-in-the-theater-i-d-do-plays-by-shakespeare-or-ibsen-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chekhov" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/when-i-started-in-the-theater-i-d-do-plays-by-shakespeare-or-ibsen-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/annette-bening-3058_chekhov_when-i-started-in-the-theater-i-d-do-pla_941736.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/annette-bening-3058_chekhov_when-i-started-in-the-theater-i-d-do-pla_941736.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/annette-bening-3058_chekhov_when-i-started-in-the-theater-i-d-do-pla_941736.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I started in the theater, I'd do plays by Shakespeare or Ibsen or Chekhov, and they all created great…” — Annette Bening", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Annette Bening", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I started in the theater,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/when-i-started-in-the-theater-i-d-do-plays-by-shakespeare-or-ibsen-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/when-i-started-in-the-theater-i-d-do-plays-by-shakespeare-or-ibsen-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```