--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Acting: An art which consists of keeping…" description: "\"Acting: An art which consists of keeping the audience from coughing.\" — Ralph Richardson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/ralph-richardson-36297_acting_acting-an-art-which-consists-of-keeping_2477538.jpg" --- # Acting: An art which consists of keeping the audience from… ![“Acting: An art which consists of keeping the audience from coughing.” quote by Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/ralph-richardson-36297_acting_acting-an-art-which-consists-of-keeping_2477538.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/ralph-richardson-36297_acting_acting-an-art-which-consists-of-keeping_2477538.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/ralph-richardson-36297_acting_acting-an-art-which-consists-of-keeping_2477538.jpg) > “Acting: An art which consists of keeping the audience from coughing.” [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comedy relies on preventing audience discomfort, keeping performance smooth and engaging **In simple terms:** Good acting avoids audience irritation Key Takeaway Focus on seamless delivery to maintain audience immersion Themes theatre comedy performance audience engagement Mood insightful lighthearted Type theatrical instructional When to use this quote - Live theatre - stand‑up comedy - improv workshops Key Concepts stagecraft timing rehearsal discipline Questions to Reflect On - How does managing audience comfort affect comedic timing? - When is discomfort useful in performance? A Different Perspective May oversimplify the role of tension in drama ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Acting Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting-art-826895/) [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Audience Coughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience-coughing-826896/) [Coughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coughing/) [Entertainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment/) [Keeping Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-audience-826897/) ## Related quotes > [Acting is the ability to keep an audience from coughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-louis-barrault/acting-is-the-ability-to-keep-an-audience-from-coughing/) [Jean-Louis Barrault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-louis-barrault/) > [Television is not an easy medium, as keeping the audience glued to the TV screens day after day is something which requires a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeetendra/television-is-not-an-easy-medium-as-keeping-the-audience-glued-to-the/) [Jeetendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeetendra/) > [A reversal is just anything that's a surprise. It's a way of keeping the audience interested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-gilroy/a-reversal-is-just-anything-that-s-a-surprise-it-s-a-way-of-keeping/) [Tony Gilroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-gilroy/) > [Acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people from coughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/acting-is-merely-the-art-of-keeping-a-large-group-of-people-from/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [Acting is an art that I am learning on the job. The thing that I can do on my part is to follow and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanya-malhotra/acting-is-an-art-that-i-am-learning-on-the-job-the-thing-that-i-can/) [Sanya Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanya-malhotra/) > [I have just gained a deeper and deeper respect for acting and the whole art of it because you're really trying to live a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-magnussen/i-have-just-gained-a-deeper-and-deeper-respect-for-acting-and-the/) [Billy Magnussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-magnussen/) > [If not acting, I could have done art direction, or sound, or camera, or costume for that matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjay-mishra/if-not-acting-i-could-have-done-art-direction-or-sound-or-camera-or/) [Sanjay Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjay-mishra/) > [On some level, acting is the art of pretend, and you have to have a highly cultivated sense of imagination. You have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/on-some-level-acting-is-the-art-of-pretend-and-you-have-to-have-a/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [For me, acting is about the art of it and it's about being on a film set and doing your thing, painting a blank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shailene-woodley/for-me-acting-is-about-the-art-of-it-and-it-s-about-being-on-a-film/) [Shailene Woodley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shailene-woodley/) > [Acting is an art form and you want to take roles that are challenged and it's more of a challenge I think to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/acting-is-an-art-form-and-you-want-to-take-roles-that-are-challenged/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [Jazz music and, more specifically, jazz musicians, are my artistic heroes. I want to be the Thelonious Monk of acting. He had no concern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-st-john/jazz-music-and-more-specifically-jazz-musicians-are-my-artistic/) [Trevor St. John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-st-john/) > [I'm just a middle-class farm boy from Dodge City, Kansas. And I always thought that acting was art, writing was art, music was art,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/i-m-just-a-middle-class-farm-boy-from-dodge-city-kansas-and-i-always/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [Acting is an art and a science and there is more to me then that young blonde kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-welch/acting-is-an-art-and-a-science-and-there-is-more-to-me-then-that/) [Michael Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-welch/) > [I had never really thought about acting as art. You know, growing up in Youngstown, the Rust Belt of the world, it was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-zylka/i-had-never-really-thought-about-acting-as-art-you-know-growing-up-in/) [Chris Zylka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-zylka/) > [Acting is an art form. If you are not creating something that's unusual and informative and at least has the possibility of being illuminating,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-glover/acting-is-an-art-form-if-you-are-not-creating-something-that-s/) [Bruce Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-glover/) ## More by Ralph Richardson > [“I always had the idea that when I was older I'd get frightfully clever. I'd get awfully learned, I'd get jolly sage. People would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/i-always-had-the-idea-that-when-i-was-older-i-d-get-frightfully/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [Dead? No excuse for laying off work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/dead-no-excuse-for-laying-off-work/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [Acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people from coughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/acting-is-merely-the-art-of-keeping-a-large-group-of-people-from/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [Actors are the jockeys of literature. Others supply the horses, the plays, and we simply make them run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/actors-are-the-jockeys-of-literature-others-supply-the-horses-the/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [You've got to perform in a role hundreds of times. In keeping it fresh one can become a large, madly humming, demented refrigerator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/you-ve-got-to-perform-in-a-role-hundreds-of-times-in-keeping-it-fresh/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [If a man without a sense of smell declared that this yellow rose that I hold had no scent, we should know that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/if-a-man-without-a-sense-of-smell-declared-that-this-yellow-rose-that/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [The most precious things in speech are pauses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/the-most-precious-things-in-speech-are-pauses/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [Acting is the ability to dream on cue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/acting-is-the-ability-to-dream-on-cue/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [Acting is a strange business; one day it's there, and the next day nowhere to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/acting-is-a-strange-business-one-day-it-s-there-and-the-next-day/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [I like talking to engineers best. They built bridges, they're very precise, very disciplined, yet I find they have roving minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/i-like-talking-to-engineers-best-they-built-bridges-they-re-very/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [In music, the punctuation is absolutely strict, the bars and rests are absolutely defined. But our punctuation cannot be quite strict, because we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/in-music-the-punctuation-is-absolutely-strict-the-bars-and-rests-are/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) > [The most precious things in speech are the pauses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/the-most-precious-things-in-speech-are-the-pauses/) [Ralph Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) [Explore all 13 Ralph Richardson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/) ## More Acting quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [Acting is a grind, just like music is a grind. Sometimes it takes longer than what you can give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/acting-is-a-grind-just-like-music-is-a-grind-sometimes-it-takes/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [The show was number one in the ratings, Gordon Russell was our head writer, the story lines were magnificent and the acting most exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/the-show-was-number-one-in-the-ratings-gordon-russell-was-our-head/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) [Browse all 12,062 Acting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Acting: An art which consists of keeping the audience from coughing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Richardson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/acting-an-art-which-consists-of-keeping-the-audience-from-coughing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/acting-an-art-which-consists-of-keeping-the-audience-from-coughing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/ralph-richardson-36297_acting_acting-an-art-which-consists-of-keeping_2477538.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/ralph-richardson-36297_acting_acting-an-art-which-consists-of-keeping_2477538.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f73/ralph-richardson-36297_acting_acting-an-art-which-consists-of-keeping_2477538.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Acting: An art which consists of keeping the audience from coughing.” — Ralph Richardson", "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": "Ralph Richardson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-richardson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Acting: An art which consists of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/acting-an-art-which-consists-of-keeping-the-audience-from-coughing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-richardson/acting-an-art-which-consists-of-keeping-the-audience-from-coughing/#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 } } ] } ```