--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Talking about my personal life onstage…" description: "\"Talking about my personal life onstage, I've realized I'm not one of those comics who can do that. I can allude to it but I don't want to be a confessi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/david-rees-13338_can-do_talking-about-my-personal-life-onstage-i_2425916.png" --- # Talking about my personal life onstage, I've realized I'm… ![“Talking about my personal life onstage, I've realized I'm not one of those comics who can do that. I can allude to it but I don't want to be a confessional performer.” quote by David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/david-rees-13338_can-do_talking-about-my-personal-life-onstage-i_2425916.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/david-rees-13338_can-do_talking-about-my-personal-life-onstage-i_2425916.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/david-rees-13338_can-do_talking-about-my-personal-life-onstage-i_2425916.png) > “Talking about my personal life onstage, I've realized I'm not one of those comics who can do that. I can allude to it but I don't want to be a confessional performer.” [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He prefers to keep his personal life private on stage, using indirect references rather than confession. **In simple terms:** He avoids personal confession on stage. Key Takeaway Maintain boundaries in performance. Themes privacy authenticity stagecraft Mood reflective reserved Type advice personal When to use this quote - stand-up routine - media interviews - public speaking Key Concepts self-disclosure audience expectations Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance honesty and privacy? - What risks arise from confessional comedy? A Different Perspective Audience may miss deeper connection without personal stories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Confessional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confessional/) [Confessional Performer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confessional-performer-6152943/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Onstage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-onstage-2747719/) [Performers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performers/) [Personal life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-life/) [Realized Comics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realized-comics-6152944/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Talking Personal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking-personal-361802/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Being on stage was all about the palpable energy of a rapt audience hopefully buying into a life onstage. The immediate connection with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walton/being-on-stage-was-all-about-the-palpable-energy-of-a-rapt-audience/) [David Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walton/) > [When I was seven, my mom took my twin sister and me to a play. I remember being fascinated about life onstage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-scanlen/when-i-was-seven-my-mom-took-my-twin-sister-and-me-to-a-play-i/) [Eliza Scanlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-scanlen/) > [Performing would cause me a lot of anxiety. I really didn't want to talk about my private life onstage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-victor/performing-would-cause-me-a-lot-of-anxiety-i-really-didn-t-want-to/) [Eva Victor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-victor/) > [I'm sort of anti-Aristotelian. I want to get an entire life onstage while conveying a sense of how time feels, how unstoppable it is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-m-sort-of-anti-aristotelian-i-want-to-get-an-entire-life-onstage/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [I am a very shy person who is just close to himself. So I would refrain from talking about my personal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-rama-rao-jr/i-am-a-very-shy-person-who-is-just-close-to-himself-so-i-would/) [N. T. Rama Rao, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-rama-rao-jr/) > [Early on I decided that I was going to lie to the press. 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People do it all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/there-s-nothing-risky-in-talking-about-your-personal-life-people-do/) [Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/) > [I'm talking about personal stuff so I think people are on my side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-martin/i-m-talking-about-personal-stuff-so-i-think-people-are-on-my-side/) [Mae Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-martin/) > [I want my personal life to be personal... And I don't care if you're talking about things that are true, you're still talking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/i-want-my-personal-life-to-be-personal-and-i-don-t-care-if-you-re/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [“I think she was in a book club for a while, but she quit when they stopped talking about the books and started talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-davis/i-think-she-was-in-a-book-club-for-a-while-but-she-quit-when-they/) [Kathryn Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-davis/) > [And I don't care if you're talking about things that are true, you're still talking about my personal life. How about I go peek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/and-i-don-t-care-if-you-re-talking-about-things-that-are-true-you-re/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [I've never liked talking about my personal life, ever. Ever since I was 20, I've lived in a kind of public arena; and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-dalton/i-ve-never-liked-talking-about-my-personal-life-ever-ever-since-i-was/) [Timothy Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-dalton/) > [People in this world of superficial communication find themselves isolated and lonely and have difficult in talking about personal things that really matter to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-zeldin/people-in-this-world-of-superficial-communication-find-themselves/) [Theodore Zeldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-zeldin/) ## More by David Rees > [I have a really analytical approach to art. And the whole idea that you can't analyze what makes a joke funny...I do not agree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-have-a-really-analytical-approach-to-art-and-the-whole-idea-that/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [The thing that was interesting to me about Relationshapes - as opposed to most of the other cartoons I've ever made - was I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/the-thing-that-was-interesting-to-me-about-relationshapes-as-opposed/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [I don't even drink Coke. It tastes like robot sweat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-don-t-even-drink-coke-it-tastes-like-robot-sweat/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [I didn't dare to dream of making money. But now of course, I've made many thousands of dollars sharpening pencils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-didn-t-dare-to-dream-of-making-money-but-now-of-course-i-ve-made/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [I just wanted a really simple, dramatic way so that fans, people who were reading my comic, would be like, "This is something different."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-just-wanted-a-really-simple-dramatic-way-so-that-fans-people-who/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [Everyone has pencils in their house, no matter how hip and contemporary they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/everyone-has-pencils-in-their-house-no-matter-how-hip-and/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [I was just worried that someone was gonna think that I had been commissioned by Jamba Juice to make cartoons about Jamba Juice. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-was-just-worried-that-someone-was-gonna-think-that-i-had-been/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [I never thought I would make a living as a pencil-sharpener. The first goal was: I don't want to lose money. And then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-never-thought-i-would-make-a-living-as-a-pencil-sharpener-the-first/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [I don't like when performers rag on their ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend in absentia. If they're not there, it just feels rude... I'm never going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-don-t-like-when-performers-rag-on-their-ex-girlfriend-or-ex/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [People think, "Wow, people in America have so much money, they're sending hundreds of pencils to this guy." I don't think those people realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/people-think-wow-people-in-america-have-so-much-money-they-re-sending/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [I would make a comic for Rolling Stone every two weeks, because they're biweekly. And then I would make weekly comics for my weekly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-would-make-a-comic-for-rolling-stone-every-two-weeks-because-they/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [The way you make money is to do something you don't like to do. And that's how you know you're a virtuous person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/the-way-you-make-money-is-to-do-something-you-don-t-like-to-do-and/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [I started sharpening pencils at the census and how that was a difficult time in my life because my marriage was ending and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-started-sharpening-pencils-at-the-census-and-how-that-was-a/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [I'm interested in the structure of art and how it works. And the content is also interesting, but I don't want to keep the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-m-interested-in-the-structure-of-art-and-how-it-works-and-the/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [“And you know what happened next in my dream? Dick Cheney and I said the same thing at the same time: "Well, we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/and-you-know-what-happened-next-in-my-dream-dick-cheney-and-i-said/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) [Explore all 50 David Rees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) ## More Can do quotes > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. 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I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) [Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Talking about my personal life onstage, I've realized I'm not one of those comics who can do that. 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