--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Frankly, seeing my plays with an audience…" description: "\"Frankly, seeing my plays with an audience is something I do with gritted teeth; I find the experience very difficult. I love the moment when you have j..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/richard-greenberg-19897_audience_frankly-seeing-my-plays-with-an-audience_1960635.png" --- # Frankly, seeing my plays with an audience is something I… ![“Frankly, seeing my plays with an audience is something I do with gritted teeth; I find the experience very difficult. I love the moment when you have just the dress rehearsal, when no one's there; that's kind of the peak to me. When people start filing in, I like to file out.” quote by Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/richard-greenberg-19897_audience_frankly-seeing-my-plays-with-an-audience_1960635.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/richard-greenberg-19897_audience_frankly-seeing-my-plays-with-an-audience_1960635.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/richard-greenberg-19897_audience_frankly-seeing-my-plays-with-an-audience_1960635.png) > “Frankly, seeing my plays with an audience is something I do with gritted teeth; I find the experience very difficult. I love the moment when you have just the dress rehearsal, when no one's there; that's kind of the peak to me. When people start filing in, I like to file out.” [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels anxiety performing before an audience, preferring private rehearsal over public scrutiny. **In simple terms:** Stage fright makes private practice more comfortable. Key Takeaway Embrace rehearsal to build confidence for live performance. Themes anxiety performance privacy confidence artistry Mood nervous introspective Type theatrical personal. When to use this quote - theater - public speaking - rehearsal - creative work Key Concepts stage fright creative process audience dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What strategies help you manage performance anxiety? - How can you transform nervous energy into focus? A Different Perspective Public performance may still trigger intense fear despite preparation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Audience Gritted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience-gritted-3233836/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Dress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dress/) [Dress Rehearsal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dress-rehearsal-347539/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [File](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/file/) [Filing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filing/) [Find](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find/) [Frankly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frankly/) [I love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-love/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Peak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peak/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/) [Plays Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays-audience-3233835/) [Rehearsal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rehearsal/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) [Seeing Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing-plays-918788/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start/) [Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [“People like to be shown around archives. I don’t know why. I’m in the business, but one row of shelves stuffed with manila files…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-t-davy/people-like-to-be-shown-around-archives-i-don-t-know-why-i-m-in-the/) [V.T. Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-t-davy/) > [The real thing is, you should be seeing these plays in the Theatre. That's what they were written for. That's where the enjoyment is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-randall/the-real-thing-is-you-should-be-seeing-these-plays-in-the-theatre/) [Tony Randall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-randall/) > [I forgot how scary plays are. The audience is so much a part of the night - I know that a lot of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-erbe/i-forgot-how-scary-plays-are-the-audience-is-so-much-a-part-of-the/) [Kathryn Erbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-erbe/) > [I don't like the theatre. I like plays in which the audience is addressed by the actors. I don't like seeing people talking to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-meades/i-don-t-like-the-theatre-i-like-plays-in-which-the-audience-is/) [Jonathan Meades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-meades/) > [My father was into textile painting and ran a small business. He encouraged me a lot and loved seeing my plays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-patekar/my-father-was-into-textile-painting-and-ran-a-small-business-he/) [Nana Patekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-patekar/) > [“But I knew how the play would come out. This was like a dress rehearsal after the show has closed down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/but-i-knew-how-the-play-would-come-out-this-was-like-a-dress/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [People treat life as though it's the dress rehearsal for some big show. It's not. This is it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-seymour/people-treat-life-as-though-it-s-the-dress-rehearsal-for-some-big/) [Jane Seymour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-seymour/) > [“No one knows it yet, but Cape Breton is a dress rehearsal for the Great Depression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/no-one-knows-it-yet-but-cape-breton-is-a-dress-rehearsal-for-the/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) > [This is no dress rehearsal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-no-dress-rehearsal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Enjoy the journey. This is not a dress rehearsal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-savage/enjoy-the-journey-this-is-not-a-dress-rehearsal/) [John Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-savage/) > [Life's not a dress-rehearsal. So if you want to do it; do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-dyche/life-s-not-a-dress-rehearsal-so-if-you-want-to-do-it-do-it/) [Sean Dyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-dyche/) > [Temptation is a dress rehearsal for a karmic experience of negativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/temptation-is-a-dress-rehearsal-for-a-karmic-experience-of-negativity/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [Meditation is a dress rehearsal for death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/meditation-is-a-dress-rehearsal-for-death/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [If Broadway shows charge preview prices while the cast is in dress rehearsal, why should restaurants charge full price when their dining room and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-burros/if-broadway-shows-charge-preview-prices-while-the-cast-is-in-dress/) [Marian Burros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-burros/) > [Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/your-education-is-a-dress-rehearsal-for-a-life-that-is-yours-to-lead/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) ## More by Richard Greenberg > [When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/when-we-watch-a-play-under-the-standard-circumstances-we-ve-lost/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [I want to be a playwright the way people are bank tellers. I want to keep doing it and have it go steadily and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-want-to-be-a-playwright-the-way-people-are-bank-tellers-i-want-to/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [I don't write a play from beginning to end. I don't write an outline. I write scenes and moments as they occur to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-don-t-write-a-play-from-beginning-to-end-i-don-t-write-an-outline-i/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [I came to New York, and it was fascinating and intimidating and yielding, and all the stuff it's supposed to be. But whatever the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-came-to-new-york-and-it-was-fascinating-and-intimidating-and/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [I'm always amazed by those people who get up at 5 and write till 8 and then eat a peach and walk their canary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-m-always-amazed-by-those-people-who-get-up-at-5-and-write-till-8/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [I do think the past changes at a slower rate. It sits a little more still for its portrait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-do-think-the-past-changes-at-a-slower-rate-it-sits-a-little-more/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [I had a plot connection that nobody understood for this fourth character, and decided, Oh, nobody gets it, that's all. I'll write another draft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-had-a-plot-connection-that-nobody-understood-for-this-fourth/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [The idea of a rupture between acts occurs in a number of my plays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/the-idea-of-a-rupture-between-acts-occurs-in-a-number-of-my-plays/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [I'm sort of anti-Aristotelian. I want to get an entire life onstage while conveying a sense of how time feels, how unstoppable it is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-m-sort-of-anti-aristotelian-i-want-to-get-an-entire-life-onstage/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [It seems that the hurdle you have to jump over is everyone's informed opinion. When you're a young playwright, you're probably too precarious in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/it-seems-that-the-hurdle-you-have-to-jump-over-is-everyone-s-informed/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [I think I can be an intimidating energy in the room. I think I come in with an aura of wanting results because as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/i-think-i-can-be-an-intimidating-energy-in-the-room-i-think-i-come-in/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [My mother wanted me to be a writer. But she was a child of the Depression and never understood that she wasn't poor. So,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/my-mother-wanted-me-to-be-a-writer-but-she-was-a-child-of-the/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [But you don't have your druthers in life, do you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/but-you-don-t-have-your-druthers-in-life-do-you/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [A play gets on Broadway by fluke. And you don't even start out with that ambition. When I do a play, the intention is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/a-play-gets-on-broadway-by-fluke-and-you-don-t-even-start-out-with/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [You do think, if you have your druthers, 'I want to sort of be, not anonymous, but unknown'. But you don't have your druthers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/you-do-think-if-you-have-your-druthers-i-want-to-sort-of-be-not/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) [Explore all 32 Richard Greenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) ## 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. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. 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. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't think about who the audience is for my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-about-who-the-audience-is-for-my-books/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I feel I have been playing all primary characters. And if your character forms a connect with the audience, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-feel-i-have-been-playing-all-primary-characters-and-if-your/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' 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": "Frankly, seeing my plays with an audience is something I do with gritted teeth; I find the experience very difficult. I love the moment when you have just the dress rehearsal, when no one's there; that's kind of the peak to me. 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