--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like to ground plays in reality so they…" description: "\"I like to ground plays in reality so they can jump higher. So we can account for the trampoline, so we can account for the leap.\" — John Guare" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/john-guare-10082_ground_i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-the_828041.jpg" --- # I like to ground plays in reality so they can jump higher… ![“I like to ground plays in reality so they can jump higher. So we can account for the trampoline, so we can account for the leap.” quote by John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/john-guare-10082_ground_i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-the_828041.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/john-guare-10082_ground_i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-the_828041.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/john-guare-10082_ground_i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-the_828041.jpg) > “I like to ground plays in reality so they can jump higher. So we can account for the trampoline, so we can account for the leap.” [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He emphasizes grounding drama in realistic details to enable more daring, imaginative storytelling. **In simple terms:** Realism lets stories soar higher. Key Takeaway Use concrete truth to lift creative ideas. Themes theatre creativity realism imagination Mood thoughtful inspired Type theatrical creative When to use this quote - writing workshops - directed productions - script revisions - actor rehearsals Key Concepts dramatic structure symbolic metaphor audience engagement Questions to Reflect On - How does realism enhance or constrain artistic leaps? - What concrete details can you anchor to amplify imagination? A Different Perspective Overreliance on realism may limit fantastical elements. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Leap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leap/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Trampoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trampoline/) ## Related quotes > [If obstacles are large, jump higher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-backley/if-obstacles-are-large-jump-higher/) [Steve Backley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-backley/) > [If you're doing Plyometrics you can jump higher and run faster and your heart and lungs are going to kick the panties off of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-horton/if-you-re-doing-plyometrics-you-can-jump-higher-and-run-faster-and/) [Tony Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-horton/) > [When I dive for a ball I'm not diving because it looks spectacular - I'm trying win the point. When I jump it's because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gael-monfils/when-i-dive-for-a-ball-i-m-not-diving-because-it-looks-spectacular-i/) [Gael Monfils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gael-monfils/) > [We're going to work hard on my body, put on some muscles. That's going to help me a lot to run faster, to move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivica-zubac/we-re-going-to-work-hard-on-my-body-put-on-some-muscles-that-s-going/) [Ivica Zubac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivica-zubac/) > [If everything had already been done, there would be nothing left for young people to accomplish. There are always going to be people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrell-royal/if-everything-had-already-been-done-there-would-be-nothing-left-for/) [Darrell Royal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrell-royal/) > [Run faster, jump higher, reach farther, and you'll always win! live life expecting the worst, hoping for the best, and living for the future!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/run-faster-jump-higher-reach-farther-and-you-ll-always-win-live-life/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [Goals are like apples in a tree. Some are a little higher than others, so you just have to jump higher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morten-andersen/goals-are-like-apples-in-a-tree-some-are-a-little-higher-than-others/) [Morten Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morten-andersen/) > [Run faster, jump higher, reach farther, and you'll always win!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/run-faster-jump-higher-reach-farther-and-you-ll-always-win/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [If you jump,i'll jump higher.If you fall I'll fall harder.If you cry,i'll cry more.If you love me I'll love you always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taia-thomas/if-you-jump-i-ll-jump-higher-if-you-fall-i-ll-fall-harder-if-you-cry/) Taia Thomas > [There are always going to be people who run faster, jump higher, dive deeper, and come up drier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrell-royal/there-are-always-going-to-be-people-who-run-faster-jump-higher-dive/) [Darrell Royal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrell-royal/) > [Golfers who play a lot of courses often encounter short ledges or retaining walls, and I always had fun hopping down from them. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-watson/golfers-who-play-a-lot-of-courses-often-encounter-short-ledges-or/) [Tom Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-watson/) > [I can jump high; I can dunk - nobody really believes that I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-pulisic/i-can-jump-high-i-can-dunk-nobody-really-believes-that-i-can/) [Christian Pulisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-pulisic/) > [Ambition and fleas both jump high](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/german-proverb/ambition-and-fleas-both-jump-high/) German Proverb > [When Shane McMahon competes, you know he's going to jump off something high!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalya-neidhart/when-shane-mcmahon-competes-you-know-he-s-going-to-jump-off-something/) [Natalya Neidhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalya-neidhart/) > [My leap is something that I've always had. I've always been able to jump high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-calvert-lewin/my-leap-is-something-that-i-ve-always-had-i-ve-always-been-able-to/) [Dominic Calvert-Lewin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-calvert-lewin/) ## More by John Guare > [You can't kind of take away, you either do or you don't. If you kind of take away something you're a failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/you-can-t-kind-of-take-away-you-either-do-or-you-don-t-if-you-kind-of/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [The Atlantic Ocean was something then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-atlantic-ocean-was-something-then/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [The New York City Ballet is always about the realm of possibilities, the realm of what the human body can do, what the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-new-york-city-ballet-is-always-about-the-realm-of-possibilities/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [The imagination says listen to me. I am your darkest voice. I am your 4 a.m. voice. I am the voice that wakes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-imagination-says-listen-to-me-i-am-your-darkest-voice-i-am-your-4/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [How much of your life can you account for? My life is a collage of unaccounted for brush strokes; I am all random”.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/how-much-of-your-life-can-you-account-for-my-life-is-a-collage-of/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [To stay around any place you love, you have to have a job. In college at Georgetown in the fifties, I got my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/to-stay-around-any-place-you-love-you-have-to-have-a-job-in-college/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [You can read ten books and finally come across one detail, and it's like, "now everything else makes sense. Now I know where I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/you-can-read-ten-books-and-finally-come-across-one-detail-and-it-s/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [The only riots were the people trying to get tickets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-only-riots-were-the-people-trying-to-get-tickets/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [I think of the New York City Ballet as the Yankees without George Steinbrenner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/i-think-of-the-new-york-city-ballet-as-the-yankees-without-george/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [There's no such thing as a perfect play. Sometimes you have to protect the life of the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-perfect-play-sometimes-you-have-to-protect/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [Feydeau's one rule of playwriting: Character A: My life is perfect as long as I don't see Character B. Knock Knock. Enter Character B.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/feydeau-s-one-rule-of-playwriting-character-a-my-life-is-perfect-as/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [I wanted to be a Bride of Christ but I guess now I'm a young divorcee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/i-wanted-to-be-a-bride-of-christ-but-i-guess-now-i-m-a-young-divorcee/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [People go to see beautiful paintings to see how much they cost. Wow. The practical value is that it shows you what the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/people-go-to-see-beautiful-paintings-to-see-how-much-they-cost-wow/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [And it is always Easter Sunday at the New York City Ballet. It is always coming back to life. Not even coming back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/and-it-is-always-easter-sunday-at-the-new-york-city-ballet-it-is/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [I think that some of these plays are lost in this new horror called development, which is a place for dramaturgs to say "let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/i-think-that-some-of-these-plays-are-lost-in-this-new-horror-called/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) [Explore all 68 John Guare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) ## More Ground quotes > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [“nor ground control was something of a step back for them. Furthermore, having reached France,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-holland/nor-ground-control-was-something-of-a-step-back-for-them-furthermore/) [James Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-holland/) > [If you take away the predators in the prairies and the national parks, you suddenly have an explosion of elk, and then you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/if-you-take-away-the-predators-in-the-prairies-and-the-national-parks/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [Griezmann is an exceptional player. He's brimming with talent, and he knows how to keep his feet on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-matuidi/griezmann-is-an-exceptional-player-he-s-brimming-with-talent-and-he/) [Blaise Matuidi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-matuidi/) > [I have tried to treat people on the other side civilly and look for common ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-klobuchar/i-have-tried-to-treat-people-on-the-other-side-civilly-and-look-for/) [Amy Klobuchar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-klobuchar/) > [When you cook a sausage, the skin sometimes breaks and the ground meat comes apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-cook-a-sausage-the-skin-sometimes-breaks-and-the-ground-meat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What I look for in a script is something that challenges me, something that breaks new ground, something that allows me to flex my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bay/what-i-look-for-in-a-script-is-something-that-challenges-me-something/) [Michael Bay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bay/) > [In Bellator, one guy that I would love to fight is Kimbo. And I'm not going to the ground. I want to fight in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanderlei-silva/in-bellator-one-guy-that-i-would-love-to-fight-is-kimbo-and-i-m-not/) [Wanderlei Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanderlei-silva/) > [“Any day above ground is a good day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gerus/any-day-above-ground-is-a-good-day/) Robert Gerus > [Ground and pound is my thing, everyone knows that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-volkanovski/ground-and-pound-is-my-thing-everyone-knows-that/) [Alexander Volkanovski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-volkanovski/) > [I'm a legend now. But I'll keep my feet on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-oliveira/i-m-a-legend-now-but-i-ll-keep-my-feet-on-the-ground/) [Charles Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-oliveira/) > [You can have information and ease of use and have artistic integrity at the same time. The art of being a good Web designer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-davidson/you-can-have-information-and-ease-of-use-and-have-artistic-integrity/) [Mike Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davidson/) > [I had opposed the Jet-Etihad FDI arrangement on the ground of the disproportionate share of airspace given to Etihad, which is against the interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subramanian-swamy/i-had-opposed-the-jet-etihad-fdi-arrangement-on-the-ground-of-the/) [Subramanian Swamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subramanian-swamy/) > [But when we're helping children understand how people from different walks of life can coexist, prioritizing common ground too often obscures or erases uncommon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meena-harris/but-when-we-re-helping-children-understand-how-people-from-different/) [Meena Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meena-harris/) > [With post offices and postal workers already on the ground, USPS could partner with banks to make a critical difference for millions of Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/with-post-offices-and-postal-workers-already-on-the-ground-usps-could/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) Browse all 1,200 Ground quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I like to ground plays in reality so they can jump higher. So we can account for the trampoline, so we can account for the leap.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Guare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-they-can-jump-higher-so-we-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ground" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-they-can-jump-higher-so-we-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/john-guare-10082_ground_i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-the_828041.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/john-guare-10082_ground_i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-the_828041.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b0/john-guare-10082_ground_i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-the_828041.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I like to ground plays in reality so they can jump higher. So we can account for the trampoline, so we can…” — John Guare", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Guare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I like to ground plays in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-they-can-jump-higher-so-we-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-they-can-jump-higher-so-we-can/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```