--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every play is rhythmic control. If you…" description: "\"Every play is rhythmic control. If you want an audience to go on a journey, it's rhythmic control. You're crafting when they lean in, when they push ba..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b40/george-c-wolfe-4405_audience_every-play-is-rhythmic-control-if-you-wa_2716334.png" --- # Every play is rhythmic control. If you want an audience to… ![“Every play is rhythmic control. If you want an audience to go on a journey, it's rhythmic control. You're crafting when they lean in, when they push back, when they breathe, when they surrender. It takes you probably five to six minutes to build trust with an audience. A musical you can build…” quote by George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b40/george-c-wolfe-4405_audience_every-play-is-rhythmic-control-if-you-wa_2716334.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b40/george-c-wolfe-4405_audience_every-play-is-rhythmic-control-if-you-wa_2716334.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b40/george-c-wolfe-4405_audience_every-play-is-rhythmic-control-if-you-wa_2716334.png) > “Every play is rhythmic control. If you want an audience to go on a journey, it's rhythmic control. You're crafting when they lean in, when they push back, when they breathe, when they surrender. It takes you probably five to six minutes to build trust with an audience. A musical you can build trust in three notes. Boom, boom, boom, you're instantly seduced. So musicals have this easy potency, but generally, in my opinion, they waste them, because a musical is incredibly hard to do.” [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Control of rhythm guides audience emotion and trust; music achieves this instantly. **In simple terms:** Rhythm shapes audience response. Key Takeaway Use rhythmic pacing to engage listeners. Themes theatre rhythm trust musical theatre Mood inspirational analytical Type instructional philosophical When to use this quote - stage productions - live concerts - presentations - film scoring Key Concepts narrative structure emotional pacing Questions to Reflect On - How does rhythmic control affect storytelling? - What other tools complement rhythm in performance? A Different Perspective Relying solely on rhythm may ignore story depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Audience Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience-journey-235073/) [Audience Musical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience-musical-2265649/) [Breathe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathe/) [Build Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/build-trust/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musical/) [Musicals Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musicals-easy-2848121/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Rhythmic Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythmic-control-2848122/) [Surrender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) [Trust Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust-audience-417465/) ## Related quotes > [Every play is rhythmic control. If you want an audience to go on a journey, it's rhythmic control. You're crafting when they lean in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/every-play-is-rhythmic-control-if-you-want-an-audience-to-go-on-a/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [With music, you can create instant trust with an audience. You can hear three notes, and you surrender to it, whereas it takes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/with-music-you-can-create-instant-trust-with-an-audience-you-can-hear/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [People listen to music with cavemen ears: Is it a bird song or the call of a lion? The audience at a musical is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-norman/people-listen-to-music-with-cavemen-ears-is-it-a-bird-song-or-the/) [Marsha Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-norman/) > [I like to bring my audience on a journey during my 90 minute concert. I will tell stories every few songs about the creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/i-like-to-bring-my-audience-on-a-journey-during-my-90-minute-concert/) [Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/) > [I think sometimes maybe you're going to connect with the audience more than others, but the journey is about getting all there is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/i-think-sometimes-maybe-you-re-going-to-connect-with-the-audience/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [You've got to trust the audience, and hopefully if you do interesting work you'll get an audience that are interested and engaged. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/you-ve-got-to-trust-the-audience-and-hopefully-if-you-do-interesting/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [To me, the real thrill is in making the music, and then I just trust it to find its own audience, and at times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-grant/to-me-the-real-thrill-is-in-making-the-music-and-then-i-just-trust-it/) [Amy Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-grant/) > [Nobody has communicated with the public more than Lady Gaga. Ever. I trust the audience, and I'm very impressed. As far as they're concerned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bennett/nobody-has-communicated-with-the-public-more-than-lady-gaga-ever-i/) [Tony Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bennett/) > [You can always trust that an audience is smarter than a studio thinks it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-goddard/you-can-always-trust-that-an-audience-is-smarter-than-a-studio-thinks/) [Drew Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-goddard/) > [Direct talks is the only possible way to build trust and to resolve the conditions for a peace perspective between Palestinians and Israelis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reuven-rivlin/direct-talks-is-the-only-possible-way-to-build-trust-and-to-resolve/) [Reuven Rivlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reuven-rivlin/) > [Various channels of dialogue must be kept open to build trust. I will meet North Korea's leader if it is needed to develop relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-geun-hye/various-channels-of-dialogue-must-be-kept-open-to-build-trust-i-will/) [Park Geun-hye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-geun-hye/) > [“First, we go figure out how to recognize a real team player, the kind of person who can easily build trust, engage in healthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/first-we-go-figure-out-how-to-recognize-a-real-team-player-the-kind/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [“Work hard to build or rebuild trust. With it, you can fulfill the greatest dreams. Without it, you’ll crush people’s spirits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-chand/work-hard-to-build-or-rebuild-trust-with-it-you-can-fulfill-the/) [Samuel Chand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-chand/) > [If you're not open, you're not transparent, you're still holding on to vaults of information, you're not going to build that trust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-newsom/if-you-re-not-open-you-re-not-transparent-you-re-still-holding-on-to/) [Gavin Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-newsom/) > [It takes time to build trust, but it only takes one mistake to mess it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-time-to-build-trust-but-it-only-takes-one-mistake-to-mess-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by George C. Wolfe > [I could program a 'fabulous, I love it' kind of hit season right now. I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [The world doesn't see a lot of gray. The world sees black and white, and then it understands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/the-world-doesn-t-see-a-lot-of-gray-the-world-sees-black-and-white/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [You adjust what you do depending on the actor. You evolve a vocabulary and a way of language and talking with each actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/you-adjust-what-you-do-depending-on-the-actor-you-evolve-a-vocabulary/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [A lot of '20s musicals were a hodgepodge of melodrama, mixed with operetta and romance, and then some sense of modernism and some sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/a-lot-of-20s-musicals-were-a-hodgepodge-of-melodrama-mixed-with/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [There is a real affection for these human beings on these stage that O'Neill really had. Out of that affection comes a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/there-is-a-real-affection-for-these-human-beings-on-these-stage-that/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [Our lives are connected in ways we can't imagine. They're connected even before we know they're connected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/our-lives-are-connected-in-ways-we-can-t-imagine-they-re-connected/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [There's no place more theatrical than history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/there-s-no-place-more-theatrical-than-history/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [If you have the talent and passion and commitment, you shouldn't be locked out of the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/if-you-have-the-talent-and-passion-and-commitment-you-shouldn-t-be/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [When you're writing, in theory, everybody is serving you. When you're directing, you're serving everybody - in the guise of acting like everybody's serving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/when-you-re-writing-in-theory-everybody-is-serving-you-when-you-re/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [Commercial theater, in its agenda to appeal to everybody, is often at the expense of the unique vision of the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/commercial-theater-in-its-agenda-to-appeal-to-everybody-is-often-at/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [Doing any kind of culture in America in which you are not trying to affirm a European aesthetic is war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/doing-any-kind-of-culture-in-america-in-which-you-are-not-trying-to/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [I was raised to believe that other people's suffering was my responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-was-raised-to-believe-that-other-people-s-suffering-was-my/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [I think we all have a primal desire to know as much as we can to find out about where we come from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-think-we-all-have-a-primal-desire-to-know-as-much-as-we-can-to-find/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [I think I am the first person of color to direct a major white play on Broadway. In 1993? That's astounding to me. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-think-i-am-the-first-person-of-color-to-direct-a-major-white-play/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [The hardest thing about a musical is making sure everybody is working on the same damn show. That is the monster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/the-hardest-thing-about-a-musical-is-making-sure-everybody-is-working/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) [Explore all 111 George C. Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) ## 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. 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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. 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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": "Every play is rhythmic control. If you want an audience to go on a journey, it's rhythmic control. You're crafting when they lean in, when they push back, when they breathe, when they surrender. It takes you probably five to six minutes to build trust with an audience. A musical you can build trust in three notes. Boom, boom, boom, you're instantly seduced. So musicals have this easy potency, but generally, in my opinion, they waste them, because a musical is incredibly hard to do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George C. 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