--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Actors, painters, dancers, comedians…" description: "\"“Actors, painters, dancers, comedians, even just ordinary people doing ordinary things, what are they without an audience of some sort? See, that's wha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdc/elizabeth-berg-853_audience_actors-painters-dancers-comedians-even-j_410956.jpg" --- # Actors, painters, dancers, comedians, even just ordinary… ![“Actors, painters, dancers, comedians, even just ordinary people doing ordinary things, what are they without an audience of some sort? See, that's what I do. I am the audience. I am the witness, I am the great appreciator that's what I do and that's all I want to do. I worked for a lot of years. I…” quote by Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdc/elizabeth-berg-853_audience_actors-painters-dancers-comedians-even-j_410956.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdc/elizabeth-berg-853_audience_actors-painters-dancers-comedians-even-j_410956.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdc/elizabeth-berg-853_audience_actors-painters-dancers-comedians-even-j_410956.jpg) > ““Actors, painters, dancers, comedians, even just ordinary people doing ordinary things, what are they without an audience of some sort? See, that's what I do. I am the audience. I am the witness, I am the great appreciator that's what I do and that's all I want to do. I worked for a lot of years. I did a lot of things for a lot of years. Now, here I am in the rocking chair, and I don't mind it, Lucille. I don't feel useless. I feel lucky.”” [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker finds purpose in observing and appreciating life, seeing herself as a witness rather than a performer, and feels content in later years. **In simple terms:** Finding meaning by watching and appreciating life. Key Takeaway Embrace observation as purpose. Themes purpose aging self‑acceptance Mood reflective content peaceful Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - retirement - creative pursuits - community involvement - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can observation become active contribution? - What does being a witness mean to you? A Different Perspective May overlook active contribution; passive watching can limit impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appreciator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciator-285983/) [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Audience Witness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience-witness-1449538/) [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Great Appreciator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-appreciator-1449539/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life and living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-living/) [Ordinary things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-things/) [Rocking chair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocking-chair/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Witness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witness/) ## Related quotes > [“See, that’s what I do. I am the audience. I am the witness. I am the great appreciator, that’s what I do and that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/see-that-s-what-i-do-i-am-the-audience-i-am-the-witness-i-am-the/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm an appreciator. I love all kinds of books, and I want others to love them, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-m-an-appreciator-i-love-all-kinds-of-books-and-i-want-others-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I never knew what my role in art was, because I was such a deep appreciator and such a passionate appreciator. But every time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-hirschfeld/i-never-knew-what-my-role-in-art-was-because-i-was-such-a-deep/) [Alexa Hirschfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-hirschfeld/) > [When you're editing, you want to be the perfect appreciator, not another writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kanon/when-you-re-editing-you-want-to-be-the-perfect-appreciator-not/) [Joseph Kanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kanon/) > [“I think it's a real gift to be able to say that what's in your life is enough. It seems most of us re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-it-s-a-real-gift-to-be-able-to-say-that-what-s-in-your-life/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“When you see me sitting quietly, Like a sack left on the shelf, Don't think I need your chattering. I'm listening to myself. Hold!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-see-me-sitting-quietly-like-a-sack-left-on-the-shelf-don-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Apart from such visits, for the first time in her life Eliza was truly alone. In the beginning, unfamiliar sounds, nocturnal sounds, disturbed her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/apart-from-such-visits-for-the-first-time-in-her-life-eliza-was-truly/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [When I sit back in my rocking chair someday, I want to be able to say I've done it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/when-i-sit-back-in-my-rocking-chair-someday-i-want-to-be-able-to-say/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [I shop at thrift stores a lot. I have a lot of silver pitchers and I put my flowers in those. I collect antiques,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/i-shop-at-thrift-stores-a-lot-i-have-a-lot-of-silver-pitchers-and-i/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [I'm not a type of grandmother sitting in a rocking chair. I'm a lot in the theater. I'm a lot at concerts. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-westheimer/i-m-not-a-type-of-grandmother-sitting-in-a-rocking-chair-i-m-a-lot-in/) [Ruth Westheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-westheimer/) > [Worry is like a rocking chair: It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/worry-is-like-a-rocking-chair-it-gives-you-something-to-do-but-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not somethin you use to, the rap boy george is here. Grey slr with the doors in air. Understand when the rock in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stack-bundles/i-m-not-somethin-you-use-to-the-rap-boy-george-is-here-grey-slr-with/) [Stack Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stack-bundles/) > [“Through rain...then through dreaming glass, green with the evening. And herself in chair, old-fashioned, bonneted, looking west over the deck of Earth, inferno red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/through-rain-then-through-dreaming-glass-green-with-the-evening-and/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) ## More by Elizabeth Berg > [Never be afraid of doing the thing you know in your heart is right, even if others don't agree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/never-be-afraid-of-doing-the-thing-you-know-in-your-heart-is-right/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [If there were a category in the Olympics for laundry, my mother would have been a gold-medal winner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/if-there-were-a-category-in-the-olympics-for-laundry-my-mother-would/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“If you say something over and over again, it begins to lose it's meaning... Say anything enough times and it becomes gibberish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/if-you-say-something-over-and-over-again-it-begins-to-lose-it-s/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“You know, sometimes marriage is iron. Sometimes it’s tissue paper. And I think the times it’s tissue paper are when you need to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/you-know-sometimes-marriage-is-iron-sometimes-it-s-tissue-paper-and-i/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“It's not that he doesn't smile; it's that if his smile were something you drew, you'd erase it, thinking, Wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/it-s-not-that-he-doesn-t-smile-it-s-that-if-his-smile-were-something/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [People say you should give until it hurts. I say you should give until it stops hurting. Know what I mean?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/people-say-you-should-give-until-it-hurts-i-say-you-should-give-until/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“I should have said “powder room.” That would evoke the image of me sitting before a beautiful gold mirror, a vase of fresh flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-should-have-said-powder-room-that-would-evoke-the-image-of-me/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [Sometimes the best reading comes just by accident. Someone talks about a book, or you're just wandering the stacks in the library, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/sometimes-the-best-reading-comes-just-by-accident-someone-talks-about/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“I don’t think Martha’s so bad. I think I want her for a friend instead of you. When I look at her magazine, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-don-t-think-martha-s-so-bad-i-think-i-want-her-for-a-friend-instead/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [\*We give so little when it's in us always to give so much more. It's bothering to listen with an open heart to someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/we-give-so-little-when-it-s-in-us-always-to-give-so-much-more-it-s/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [We're not just writers; we're readers probably more than anything else. That's how you learn how to write and how you learn to appreciate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/we-re-not-just-writers-we-re-readers-probably-more-than-anything-else/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I thought of the priest who'd told me that many religions hold that it is easier to be closely connected to people we love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-thought-of-the-priest-who-d-told-me-that-many-religions-hold-that/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“How is it that we dare to honk at others in traffic, when we know nothing about where they have just come from or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/how-is-it-that-we-dare-to-honk-at-others-in-traffic-when-we-know/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [The truth is, we usually only show our unhappiness to another woman. I suppose this is one of our problems. And yet it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/the-truth-is-we-usually-only-show-our-unhappiness-to-another-woman-i/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) [Explore all 350 Elizabeth Berg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't think about who the audience is for my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-about-who-the-audience-is-for-my-books/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I feel I have been playing all primary characters. And if your character forms a connect with the audience, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-feel-i-have-been-playing-all-primary-characters-and-if-your/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Actors, painters, dancers, comedians, even just ordinary people doing ordinary things, what are they without an audience of some sort? See, that's what I do. I am the audience. I am the witness, I am the great appreciator that's what I do and that's all I want to do. I worked for a lot of years. I did a lot of things for a lot of years. Now, here I am in the rocking chair, and I don't mind it, Lucille. I don't feel useless. 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