Every night Quote by Gena Rowlands
“John Cassavetes wrote A Woman Under the Influence as a play. He said, "Hey, I wrote you a play." And I said, "Great, let's read it." I read it and I said, "John, I couldn't do this every night and twice on Wednesday and Saturday".”
About This Quote
Source Interview: The Making of A Woman Under the Influence, 1974
Rowlands describes a candid exchange with Cassavetes about the demanding schedule of rehearsing and performing the play.
In simple terms: She highlights the difficulty of constant, intensive work.
Key Takeaway
Recognize personal limits and negotiate realistic expectations.
Themes
workload
collaboration
artistic integrity
Mood
reflective
determined
Type
dialogue
personal anecdote
When to use this quote
- theatre rehearsals
- film shoots
- daily creative tasks
Key Concepts
method acting
creative process
time management
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you balance artistic passion with personal well‑being?
- What boundaries are essential for long‑term creativity?
A Different Perspective
Sustaining such intensity may lead to burnout without proper rest.
![“It was a very hard play [Woman Under the Influence] to do every night. And John Cassavetes said, "Don't worry. Don't even think about it, you're right. I hadn't thought of that." He said, "Just forget it."” quote by Gena Rowlands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d9a/gena-rowlands-15239_every-night_it-was-a-very-hard-play-woman-under-the_196187.jpg)
![“I read the script of [Woman Under the Influence ] 50 times. And I thought about it. And then I did it.” quote by Gena Rowlands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d2c/gena-rowlands-15239_books_i-read-the-script-of-woman-under-the-inf_1224929.jpg)
![“He[John Cassavetes] was just being an actor. A very successful actor, especially in live TV. He did many wonderful performances.” quote by Gena Rowlands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d83/gena-rowlands-15239_actors_he-john-cassavetes-was-just-being-an-act_2407874.jpg)
![“John [Cassavetes] had shot a great deal of Shadows and I had to go fulfill my contract in California, so he and all the rest of the Shadows cast came out to California and they finished it off and he cut it. He turned the garage into an editing room and he was by then a director of Shadows. That's…” quote by Gena Rowlands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ac3/gena-rowlands-15239_california_john-cassavetes-had-shot-a-great-deal-of_2280824.jpg)
![“It was more freedom than I think most people get when they're starting out - or even when they're not starting out. He [John Cassavetes] did his thing and I did whatever I thought.” quote by Gena Rowlands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fb7/gena-rowlands-15239_freedom_it-was-more-freedom-than-i-think-most-pe_2110721.jpg)
![“John [Cassavetes] loved actors. He gave them a lot of freedom. So if something came up that a certain actor just felt at the moment and said - that kind of improvisation he would accept. He gave very little direction.” quote by Gena Rowlands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dd6/gena-rowlands-15239_accepting_john-cassavetes-loved-actors-he-gave-the_1891504.jpg)
![“So many people mistakenly think that the rest of his [John Cassavetes] pictures and the ones we did were improvised, which isn't true. He wrote all the rest of them.” quote by Gena Rowlands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/78b/gena-rowlands-15239_people_so-many-people-mistakenly-think-that-the_896716.jpg)
![“I'd wanted to be [an actress] all my life.” quote by Gena Rowlands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/82a/gena-rowlands-15239_actor_i-d-wanted-to-be-an-actress-all-my-life_375002.jpg)
![“John Cassavetes was there at night while I was working. After they [with his friends] discussed as much live TV as they felt they needed to, they started improvising scenes just for the fun of it and one of those scenes everybody got very interested in and it turned into Shadows [1959]. That movie…” quote by Gena Rowlands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8fc/gena-rowlands-15239_felt_john-cassavetes-was-there-at-night-while_425534.jpg)
