--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The idea for Anthem the play began over…" description: "\"The idea for Anthem the play began over twenty years ago. I was assisting in the production of another Ayn Rand work, Ideal. I moved to New York and be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7eb/jeff-britting-26409_anthem_the-idea-for-anthem-the-play-began-over_1275476.jpg" --- # The idea for Anthem the play began over twenty years ago… ![“The idea for Anthem the play began over twenty years ago. I was assisting in the production of another Ayn Rand work, Ideal. I moved to New York and began working on producing the play with my partners. And as a way to raise money to cover some venture debt, we decided to stage Anthem for a…” quote by Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7eb/jeff-britting-26409_anthem_the-idea-for-anthem-the-play-began-over_1275476.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7eb/jeff-britting-26409_anthem_the-idea-for-anthem-the-play-began-over_1275476.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7eb/jeff-britting-26409_anthem_the-idea-for-anthem-the-play-began-over_1275476.jpg) > “The idea for Anthem the play began over twenty years ago. I was assisting in the production of another Ayn Rand work, Ideal. I moved to New York and began working on producing the play with my partners. And as a way to raise money to cover some venture debt, we decided to stage Anthem for a limited run at the Lex Theatre in Hollywood.” [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The play Anthem was conceived after working on another Ayn Rand project, financed by a limited run to cover debt. **In simple terms:** Anthem was created as a low‑budget, debt‑covering production. Key Takeaway Leverage small projects to fund larger ambitions. Themes theatre finance adaptation collaboration Mood pragmatic entrepreneurial Type strategic reflective When to use this quote - producing plays - crowdfunding - debt management - artistic partnership Key Concepts budgeting creative risk entrepreneurship Questions to Reflect On - What creative compromises were made for budget? - How did the limited run affect audience reception? A Different Perspective Funding constraints can limit artistic vision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthem/) [Hollywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hollywood/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) ## Related quotes > [Ayn Rand called her novella Anthem a "hymn to man's ego." My approach to Anthem the play was to provide the story a further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/ayn-rand-called-her-novella-anthem-a-hymn-to-man-s-ego-my-approach-to/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [ I got the idea \[for Anthem's theme\] in my school days, in Soviet Russia, when I heard all the vicious attacks on individualism, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/i-got-the-idea-for-anthem-s-theme-in-my-school-days-in-soviet-russia/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [ In the original novel \[ Anthem\], the story unfolds in the mind of a single character. Maybe that's why Ayn Rand called the work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/in-the-original-novel-anthem-the-story-unfolds-in-the-mind-of-a/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Jumping twenty or so years later, Ann Ciccolella, artistic director of Austin Shakespeare, approached me with the idea of staging Anthem. She had heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/jumping-twenty-or-so-years-later-ann-ciccolella-artistic-director-of/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [I am nervous all the way through the national anthem and the first play. Once I get up and down the court a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bledsoe/i-am-nervous-all-the-way-through-the-national-anthem-and-the-first/) [Eric Bledsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bledsoe/) > [I know these are going to sound like school reading-list suggestions, but if you like dystopian fiction, you should check out some of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-shepard/i-know-these-are-going-to-sound-like-school-reading-list-suggestions/) [Sara Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-shepard/) > [Most of Ayn Rand's major characters are already formed at the start of the stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/most-of-ayn-rand-s-major-characters-are-already-formed-at-the-start/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Typically, among the audience members joining the actors, the director, Ann Ciccolella and myself, about half of these theater goers have read the novel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/typically-among-the-audience-members-joining-the-actors-the-director/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Actually, one Anthem cue is a good example of the process. There is a four-minute sequence of music in Anthem, which underscores a prison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/actually-one-anthem-cue-is-a-good-example-of-the-process-there-is-a/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Each day, I read the New York Times before leaving for the theater. And I have this standing assignment: connect the world of Anthem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/each-day-i-read-the-new-york-times-before-leaving-for-the-theater-and/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [If Anthem finds an audience in New York City, my hope would be to see the play transferred to a commercial theatre for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/if-anthem-finds-an-audience-in-new-york-city-my-hope-would-be-to-see/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Who can I marry? Where can I live? What kind of career can I achieve? These are just some of the stories breaking with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/who-can-i-marry-where-can-i-live-what-kind-of-career-can-i-achieve/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [ I certainly did my best to bring the story \[Anthem\] to life in another medium. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/i-certainly-did-my-best-to-bring-the-story-anthem-to-life-in-another/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Sometimes, I stood at the front of the E train, watching the tunnel ahead, imagining what Anthem would look like on stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/sometimes-i-stood-at-the-front-of-the-e-train-watching-the-tunnel/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [ I always thought the story \[Anthem\] would work in three dimensions - and studying that cut material was very useful. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/i-always-thought-the-story-anthem-would-work-in-three-dimensions-and/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) ## More by Jeff Britting > [Who can I marry? Where can I live? What kind of career can I achieve? These are just some of the stories breaking with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/who-can-i-marry-where-can-i-live-what-kind-of-career-can-i-achieve/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [ In the original novel \[ Anthem\], the story unfolds in the mind of a single character. Maybe that's why Ayn Rand called the work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/in-the-original-novel-anthem-the-story-unfolds-in-the-mind-of-a/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [I really enjoy fusing text and music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/i-really-enjoy-fusing-text-and-music/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Most of Ayn Rand's major characters are already formed at the start of the stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/most-of-ayn-rand-s-major-characters-are-already-formed-at-the-start/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [After I write a sequence, I just open the script and then sit at the piano keyboard and "play" the script. (And because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/after-i-write-a-sequence-i-just-open-the-script-and-then-sit-at-the/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Sometimes, I stood at the front of the E train, watching the tunnel ahead, imagining what Anthem would look like on stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/sometimes-i-stood-at-the-front-of-the-e-train-watching-the-tunnel/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [ I certainly did my best to bring the story \[Anthem\] to life in another medium. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/i-certainly-did-my-best-to-bring-the-story-anthem-to-life-in-another/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Ayn Rand called her novella Anthem a "hymn to man's ego." My approach to Anthem the play was to provide the story a further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/ayn-rand-called-her-novella-anthem-a-hymn-to-man-s-ego-my-approach-to/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Music and text have several commonalities, and one is meter and rhythm. Both spoken word and music have certain regularities, and they can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/music-and-text-have-several-commonalities-and-one-is-meter-and-rhythm/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [I think a successful adaptation rises or falls on the work presented. If people need to read the book to understand the play, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/i-think-a-successful-adaptation-rises-or-falls-on-the-work-presented/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [If Anthem finds an audience in New York City, my hope would be to see the play transferred to a commercial theatre for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/if-anthem-finds-an-audience-in-new-york-city-my-hope-would-be-to-see/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [After each performance of an Austin Shakespeare production, audiences are invited to stay for a ten-minute discussion of the work. And this tradition continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/after-each-performance-of-an-austin-shakespeare-production-audiences/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Each day, I read the New York Times before leaving for the theater. And I have this standing assignment: connect the world of Anthem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/each-day-i-read-the-new-york-times-before-leaving-for-the-theater-and/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [I love film scores and opera, and I wanted to work in those forms. But theater was more accessible. And no one was doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/i-love-film-scores-and-opera-and-i-wanted-to-work-in-those-forms-but/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [Basically, I composed the musical structure in one pass. The rest was editing and small adjustments. And when the play was read by actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/basically-i-composed-the-musical-structure-in-one-pass-the-rest-was/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) [Explore all 21 Jeff Britting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) ## More Anthem quotes > [I sang the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium - at a baseball game - which was crazy; there was, like, 60,000 people there, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/i-sang-the-national-anthem-at-dodger-stadium-at-a-baseball-game-which/) [Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/) > [No matter what. Wherever your mind wanders, it seems to turn up at the same Field of Dreams. It's the vision you wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/no-matter-what-wherever-your-mind-wanders-it-seems-to-turn-up-at-the/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [I was in the recording studio when Pink was recording for a part of the gay rights anthem. It was just amazing to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-apatow/i-was-in-the-recording-studio-when-pink-was-recording-for-a-part-of/) [Judd Apatow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-apatow/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“The shortest national anthem in the world is the Japanese one, which only consists of four lines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/the-shortest-national-anthem-in-the-world-is-the-japanese-one-which/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [People who tend to listen to my music have come back and said, 'Yo, this is my anthem. This is what I live by.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/people-who-tend-to-listen-to-my-music-have-come-back-and-said-yo-this/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [Colin Kaepernick is the latest professional athlete to spark a national debate about the meaning behind the American flag and the national anthem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abdul-rauf/colin-kaepernick-is-the-latest-professional-athlete-to-spark-a/) Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf > [All of us ... should remember that no amount of flag-waving, pledging allegiance, or fervent singing of the national anthem is evidence that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/all-of-us-should-remember-that-no-amount-of-flag-waving-pledging/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [I had a gig in Sweden. There were thousands of people there, and when I launched into 'I'm Yours,' they were all singing along.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/i-had-a-gig-in-sweden-there-were-thousands-of-people-there-and-when-i/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [When you hear the Champions League anthem, it gives you goosebumps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casemiro/when-you-hear-the-champions-league-anthem-it-gives-you-goosebumps/) [Casemiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casemiro/) > [GIRLS NATIONAL ANTHEM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-nelson/girls-national-anthem/) Jerome Nelson > [Written in support of abolishing the Corn Laws, it became Elliott's most famous poem. The Peoples Anthem When wilt thou save the people Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebenezer-elliott/written-in-support-of-abolishing-the-corn-laws-it-became-elliott-s/) [Ebenezer Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ebenezer-elliott/) > [I sing the National Anthem, while I'm standing, over your body, hold you like a python.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/i-sing-the-national-anthem-while-i-m-standing-over-your-body-hold-you/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [I came from a military family, so there are a lot of things I think about when the anthem is playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-doolittle/i-came-from-a-military-family-so-there-are-a-lot-of-things-i-think/) [Sean Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-doolittle/) > [Who can I marry? Where can I live? What kind of career can I achieve? These are just some of the stories breaking with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/who-can-i-marry-where-can-i-live-what-kind-of-career-can-i-achieve/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) [Browse all 219 Anthem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthem/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The idea for Anthem the play began over twenty years ago. I was assisting in the production of another Ayn Rand work, Ideal. I moved to New York and began working on producing the play with my partners. 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