--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One begins with two people on a stage…" description: "\"One begins with two people on a stage, and one of them had better say something pretty quick.\" — Moss Hart" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/moss-hart-17902_people_one-begins-with-two-people-on-a-stage-an_559429.png" --- # One begins with two people on a stage, and one of them had… ![“One begins with two people on a stage, and one of them had better say something pretty quick.” quote by Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/moss-hart-17902_people_one-begins-with-two-people-on-a-stage-an_559429.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/moss-hart-17902_people_one-begins-with-two-people-on-a-stage-an_559429.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/moss-hart-17902_people_one-begins-with-two-people-on-a-stage-an_559429.png) > “One begins with two people on a stage, and one of them had better say something pretty quick.” [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A performance needs an engaging opening line quickly, otherwise the audience loses interest. **In simple terms:** Start strong to capture attention. Key Takeaway Deliver a compelling opening fast. Themes communication performance audience engagement Mood nervous excited Type motivational practical When to use this quote - presentations - theatre productions - meeting introductions - debates Key Concepts theatre public speaking stagecraft Questions to Reflect On - What opening line will you use? - How can you ensure it resonates? A Different Perspective If the opening fails, the whole piece may falter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Begins People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begins-people-3411893/) [Better Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-say-520493/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-stage-557706/) [Pretty Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretty-quick-2024861/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Stage Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage-better-842310/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [The spiritual quest begins, for most people, as a search for meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/the-spiritual-quest-begins-for-most-people-as-a-search-for-meaning/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [ \[A\]ll change, even very large and powerful change, begins when a few people start talking with one another about something they care about. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-j-wheatley/a-ll-change-even-very-large-and-powerful-change-begins-when-a-few/) [Margaret J. Wheatley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-j-wheatley/) > [All the world's a stage ... and you better have a zoning variance or it's coming down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/all-the-world-s-a-stage-and-you-better-have-a-zoning-variance-or-it-s/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It's easier to direct. If you direct something poorly and re-shoot it the next day, stage it better, make it work better, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/it-s-easier-to-direct-if-you-direct-something-poorly-and-re-shoot-it/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Maybe I'm just a psycho, and the stage is a better place to go than either the loony bin or somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/maybe-i-m-just-a-psycho-and-the-stage-is-a-better-place-to-go-than/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I love being on stage. There's nothing better than that feeling; ever since the first time I was on stage, I was like, 'Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-sumner/i-love-being-on-stage-there-s-nothing-better-than-that-feeling-ever/) [Mickey Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-sumner/) > [I am happy and satisfied at the end of my career, but not much. Yes, I would have loved to leave the stage in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/i-am-happy-and-satisfied-at-the-end-of-my-career-but-not-much-yes-i/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [I see things as they happen pretty quick, and I just go hit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-urlacher/i-see-things-as-they-happen-pretty-quick-and-i-just-go-hit-it/) [Brian Urlacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-urlacher/) > [I've always been that way. I'm not very good at reading music but I'm pretty quick at picking things up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-wood/i-ve-always-been-that-way-i-m-not-very-good-at-reading-music-but-i-m/) [Roy Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-wood/) > [Everyone started out a little insane. But we learn pretty quick how to fake it for the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/icon-for-hire/everyone-started-out-a-little-insane-but-we-learn-pretty-quick-how-to/) [Icon For Hire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/icon-for-hire/) > [You have to grow up pretty quick when you get to the Cup series.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-larson/you-have-to-grow-up-pretty-quick-when-you-get-to-the-cup-series/) [Kyle Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-larson/) > [I don't think Hollywood was trying to do anything with me. In fact, they lost interest pretty quick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/i-don-t-think-hollywood-was-trying-to-do-anything-with-me-in-fact/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [“I thought, Hell, that’s pretty quick for a woman with Lee press-on nails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/i-thought-hell-that-s-pretty-quick-for-a-woman-with-lee-press-on-nails/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [On 'Whose Line,' we had six, seven, eight scenes per show, so everything was pretty quick. And there's a lot of games that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-stiles/on-whose-line-we-had-six-seven-eight-scenes-per-show-so-everything/) [Ryan Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-stiles/) > [“Wow, your mom pulls her act together pretty quick." "Her act is always together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-gray/wow-your-mom-pulls-her-act-together-pretty-quick-her-act-is-always/) [Claudia Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-gray/) ## More by Moss Hart > [How many of us would be willing to settle when we're young for what we eventually get? All those plans we make...what happens to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/how-many-of-us-would-be-willing-to-settle-when-we-re-young-for-what/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [Boredom is the keynote of poverty - of all its indignities, it is perhaps the hardest of all to live with - for where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/boredom-is-the-keynote-of-poverty-of-all-its-indignities-it-is/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [“Can success change the human mechanism so completely between one dawn and another? Can if make one feel taller, more alive, handsomer, uncommonly gifted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/can-success-change-the-human-mechanism-so-completely-between-one-dawn/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [I have had many successes and many failures in my life. My successes have always been for different reasons, but my failures have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/i-have-had-many-successes-and-many-failures-in-my-life-my-successes/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [Boredom is the keynote of poverty — of all its indignities, it is perhaps the hardest of all to live with — for where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/boredom-is-the-keynote-of-poverty-of-all-its-indignities-it-is-2/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [Julie Andrews has a wonderful British strength that makes you wonder why they lost India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/julie-andrews-has-a-wonderful-british-strength-that-makes-you-wonder/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [Without vanity a writer's work is tepid, and he must accept his vanity as part of his stock in trade and live with it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/without-vanity-a-writer-s-work-is-tepid-and-he-must-accept-his-vanity/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [A play for me never really takes on an aspect of reality until it has left the dryair of the study and begins to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/a-play-for-me-never-really-takes-on-an-aspect-of-reality-until-it-has/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [You'd be surprised how many kings are only a queen with a moustache.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/you-d-be-surprised-how-many-kings-are-only-a-queen-with-a-moustache/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [One of the grave dangers inherent in the various stages of any theatrical career-whether it be budding, quiescent or diminishing-is the advice of friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/one-of-the-grave-dangers-inherent-in-the-various-stages-of-any/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [There is nothing that one can say about acting, writing, producing or directing that cannot be revoked in the next breath. Nothing is immutable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/there-is-nothing-that-one-can-say-about-acting-writing-producing-or/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [Far more quickly than reason and logic, irony can penetrate rage and puncture self-pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/far-more-quickly-than-reason-and-logic-irony-can-penetrate-rage-and/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [“It was possible in this wonderful city for that nameless little boy -for any of its millions- to have a decent chance to scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/it-was-possible-in-this-wonderful-city-for-that-nameless-little-boy/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [A sharp sense of the ironic can be the equivalent of the faith that moves mountains. Far more quicky than reason or logic, irony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/a-sharp-sense-of-the-ironic-can-be-the-equivalent-of-the-faith-that/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [Charity in the theater begins and ends with those who have a play opening within a week of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/charity-in-the-theater-begins-and-ends-with-those-who-have-a-play/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) [Explore all 36 Moss Hart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) ## More People quotes > [If I am going to be phased out by whatever powers, then I want people to know that it is not because I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvathy/if-i-am-going-to-be-phased-out-by-whatever-powers-then-i-want-people/) [Parvathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvathy/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. Music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/i-feel-like-i-definitely-have-a-real-sporty-style-more-so-than-a-lot/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/) [John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/by-eating-many-fruits-and-vegetables-in-place-of-fast-food-and-junk/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) [Browse all 211,607 People quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One begins with two people on a stage, and one of them had better say something pretty quick.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Moss Hart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/one-begins-with-two-people-on-a-stage-and-one-of-them-had-better-say/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "People" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/one-begins-with-two-people-on-a-stage-and-one-of-them-had-better-say/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/moss-hart-17902_people_one-begins-with-two-people-on-a-stage-an_559429.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/moss-hart-17902_people_one-begins-with-two-people-on-a-stage-an_559429.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/moss-hart-17902_people_one-begins-with-two-people-on-a-stage-an_559429.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One begins with two people on a stage, and one of them had better say something pretty quick.” — Moss Hart", "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": "Moss Hart", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One begins with two people on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/one-begins-with-two-people-on-a-stage-and-one-of-them-had-better-say/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/one-begins-with-two-people-on-a-stage-and-one-of-them-had-better-say/#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 } } ] } ```