---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One-act [plays] are not strikingly…"
description: "\"“One-act [plays] are not strikingly remunerative, but, on the other hand, the veriest dullard could not spend more than a week in writing one.”\" — Arno..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/arnold-bennett-3325_act-plays_one-act-plays-are-not-strikingly-remuner_1124013.png"
---

#  One-act \[plays\] are not strikingly remunerative, but, on…

![“One-act &#91;plays&#93; are not strikingly remunerative, but, on the other hand, the veriest dullard could not spend more than a week in writing one.” quote by Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/arnold-bennett-3325_act-plays_one-act-plays-are-not-strikingly-remuner_1124013.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/arnold-bennett-3325_act-plays_one-act-plays-are-not-strikingly-remuner_1124013.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/arnold-bennett-3325_act-plays_one-act-plays-are-not-strikingly-remuner_1124013.png)

> ““One-act \[plays\] are not strikingly remunerative, but, on the other hand, the veriest dullard could not spend more than a week in writing one.””

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Short plays are financially unrewarding, yet even the dullest writer can spend a week crafting one, highlighting both the challenge and accessibility of the form.

**In simple terms:** One‑act plays are low‑pay but doable.

Key Takeaway

Try writing a short play.

Themes

theatre creativity economics craftsmanship

Mood

pragmatic encouraging

Type

creative practical

When to use this quote

- amateur theatre
- writing workshops
- budget productions

Key Concepts

dramatic structure artistic labor

Questions to Reflect On

- What motivates you to write despite low pay?
- Is brevity a creative constraint?

A Different Perspective

Limited earnings may deter writers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [“Day after day, week after week; writing great fiction takes time, emotion, skill and effort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amaya-ellman/day-after-day-week-after-week-writing-great-fiction-takes-time/)

[Amaya Ellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amaya-ellman/)

> [Writing keeps my mind occupied during the down time in my acting career. Even when I am working, there are times when I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-stevens/writing-keeps-my-mind-occupied-during-the-down-time-in-my-acting/)

[Conan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-stevens/)

> [I work in a business environment forty hours a week, and writing is what I do to unwind. It allows me to transport myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/i-work-in-a-business-environment-forty-hours-a-week-and-writing-is/)

[Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/)

> [I'm not a believer that you have to write every day. If I felt industrious, I'd spend ten hours a week writing. The writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/i-m-not-a-believer-that-you-have-to-write-every-day-if-i-felt/)

[Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/)

> [“When you sleep, your dreams are those of a dullard”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/when-you-sleep-your-dreams-are-those-of-a-dullard/)

[Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/)

> [the dullard sees no eros in fine champagne; the sorcerer can fall intoxicated on a glass of water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/the-dullard-sees-no-eros-in-fine-champagne-the-sorcerer-can-fall/)

[Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/)

> [Dullard: Someone who looks up a thing in the encyclopedia, turns directly to the entry, reads it, and then closes the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jose-farmer/dullard-someone-who-looks-up-a-thing-in-the-encyclopedia-turns/)

[Philip Jose Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jose-farmer/)

> [You show me someone who's led a perfect life and I'll show you a dullard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/you-show-me-someone-who-s-led-a-perfect-life-and-i-ll-show-you-a/)

[Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/)

> [DULLARD, n. A member of the reigning dynasty in letters and life. The Dullards came in with Adam, and being both numerous and sturdy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/dullard-n-a-member-of-the-reigning-dynasty-in-letters-and-life-the/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [“Most of us, most of the time, act within plays the lines of which were written long ago, the images of which require recognition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-w-mintz/most-of-us-most-of-the-time-act-within-plays-the-lines-of-which-were/)

Sidney W. Mintz

> [I think a part of the reason that those early plays were short was that I just kept having these ideas, and I'd just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-think-a-part-of-the-reason-that-those-early-plays-were-short-was/)

[Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/)

> [I used to act in plays when I was in school and college, but you cannot say that I was passionate about acting. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohanlal/i-used-to-act-in-plays-when-i-was-in-school-and-college-but-you/)

[Mohanlal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohanlal/)

> [I liked to act in plays when I was a kid, and then in college. But that's the last time I really acted. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/i-liked-to-act-in-plays-when-i-was-a-kid-and-then-in-college-but-that/)

[Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/)

> [A cat is, by and large, sophisticated and complex, and capable of creating three-act plays around any single piece of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-taber/a-cat-is-by-and-large-sophisticated-and-complex-and-capable-of/)

[Gladys Taber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-taber/)

> [I remember writing monologues and one-act plays and stuff in high school. I had a project in English that was just a short book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-rothwell/i-remember-writing-monologues-and-one-act-plays-and-stuff-in-high/)

[Natasha Rothwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-rothwell/)

## More by Arnold Bennett

> [The chances are that you have already come to believe that happiness is unattainable. But men have attained it. And they have attained it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-chances-are-that-you-have-already-come-to-believe-that-happiness/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [Good taste is better than bad taste, but bad taste is better than no taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/good-taste-is-better-than-bad-taste-but-bad-taste-is-better-than-no/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [To write is to make oneself the echo of what cannot cease speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/to-write-is-to-make-oneself-the-echo-of-what-cannot-cease-speaking/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [The parents exist to teach the child, but also they must learn what the child has to teach them; and the child has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-parents-exist-to-teach-the-child-but-also-they-must-learn-what/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labour is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-gain-in-self-confidence-of-having-accomplished-a-tiresome-labour/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [A man of sixty has spent twenty years in bed and over three years in eating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/a-man-of-sixty-has-spent-twenty-years-in-bed-and-over-three-years-in/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [“What then? Are we only to buy the books that we read? The question has merely to be thus bluntly put, and it answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/what-then-are-we-only-to-buy-the-books-that-we-read-the-question-has/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [The most important preliminary to the task of arranging one's life so that one may live fully and comfortably within one's daily budget of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-most-important-preliminary-to-the-task-of-arranging-one-s-life-so/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [You are not in charge of the universe; you are in charge of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/you-are-not-in-charge-of-the-universe-you-are-in-charge-of-yourself/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [“When one has thoroughly got imbued into one's head the leading truth that nothing happens without a cause, one grows not only large-minded, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/when-one-has-thoroughly-got-imbued-into-one-s-head-the-leading-truth/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/any-change-even-a-change-for-the-better-is-always-accompanied-by/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [“The public is a great actuality, like war. If you are a creative and creating artist, you cannot ignore it, though it can ignore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-public-is-a-great-actuality-like-war-if-you-are-a-creative-and/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [“Good clothes, when put to the test, survive a change in fortune, as a Roman arch survives the luxury of departed empire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/good-clothes-when-put-to-the-test-survive-a-change-in-fortune-as-a/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [Ninety percent of the friction of daily life is caused by tone of voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/ninety-percent-of-the-friction-of-daily-life-is-caused-by-tone-of/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [During a long and varied career as a bachelor, I have noticed that marriage is the death of politeness between a man and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/during-a-long-and-varied-career-as-a-bachelor-i-have-noticed-that/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

[Explore all 133 Arnold Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

## More Act Plays quotes

> [A cat is, by and large, sophisticated and complex, and capable of creating three-act plays around any single piece of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-taber/a-cat-is-by-and-large-sophisticated-and-complex-and-capable-of/)

[Gladys Taber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-taber/)

> [I liked to act in plays when I was a kid, and then in college. But that's the last time I really acted. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/i-liked-to-act-in-plays-when-i-was-a-kid-and-then-in-college-but-that/)

[Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/)

> [I used to act in plays when I was in school and college, but you cannot say that I was passionate about acting. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohanlal/i-used-to-act-in-plays-when-i-was-in-school-and-college-but-you/)

[Mohanlal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohanlal/)

> [I remember writing monologues and one-act plays and stuff in high school. I had a project in English that was just a short book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-rothwell/i-remember-writing-monologues-and-one-act-plays-and-stuff-in-high/)

[Natasha Rothwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-rothwell/)

> [“Most of us, most of the time, act within plays the lines of which were written long ago, the images of which require recognition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-w-mintz/most-of-us-most-of-the-time-act-within-plays-the-lines-of-which-were/)

Sidney W. Mintz

> [I think a part of the reason that those early plays were short was that I just kept having these ideas, and I'd just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-think-a-part-of-the-reason-that-those-early-plays-were-short-was/)

[Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/)

> [And then it was like, wait, you can go to college and study theater? And act in plays? This is almost a racket, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/and-then-it-was-like-wait-you-can-go-to-college-and-study-theater-and/)

[Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/)

> [I would say if you're young, if you're a teenager, act in plays, as many plays as you can. It's an amazing way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-zissis/i-would-say-if-you-re-young-if-you-re-a-teenager-act-in-plays-as-many/)

[Steve Zissis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-zissis/)

> [I am basically a theatre artiste. However, after stepping into cinema, I did not get much opportunity to act in plays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padmapriya-janakiraman/i-am-basically-a-theatre-artiste-however-after-stepping-into-cinema-i/)

[Padmapriya Janakiraman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padmapriya-janakiraman/)

Browse all 10 Act Plays quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“One-act [plays] are not strikingly remunerative, but, on the other hand, the veriest dullard could not spend more than a week in writing one.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Arnold Bennett"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/one-act-plays-are-not-strikingly-remunerative-but-on-the-other-hand/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Act Plays"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/one-act-plays-are-not-strikingly-remunerative-but-on-the-other-hand/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/arnold-bennett-3325_act-plays_one-act-plays-are-not-strikingly-remuner_1124013.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/arnold-bennett-3325_act-plays_one-act-plays-are-not-strikingly-remuner_1124013.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/arnold-bennett-3325_act-plays_one-act-plays-are-not-strikingly-remuner_1124013.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“One-act [plays] are not strikingly remunerative, but, on the other hand, the veriest dullard could not spend…” — Arnold Bennett",
                "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": "Arnold Bennett",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“One-act [plays] are not strikingly remunerative,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/one-act-plays-are-not-strikingly-remunerative-but-on-the-other-hand/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/one-act-plays-are-not-strikingly-remunerative-but-on-the-other-hand/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
