--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ive been so spoiled in the theater…" description: "\"Ive been so spoiled in the theater, writing plays where I can just do exactly what I want and nobody messes with me.\" — Sam Shepard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/sam-shepard-2232_i-can_ive-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writi_3228197.jpg" --- # Ive been so spoiled in the theater, writing plays where I… ![“Ive been so spoiled in the theater, writing plays where I can just do exactly what I want and nobody messes with me.” quote by Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/sam-shepard-2232_i-can_ive-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writi_3228197.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/sam-shepard-2232_i-can_ive-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writi_3228197.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/sam-shepard-2232_i-can_ive-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writi_3228197.jpg) > “Ive been so spoiled in the theater, writing plays where I can just do exactly what I want and nobody messes with me.” [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A boast about creative freedom in theater, highlighting a desire for total control without interference. **In simple terms:** He enjoys complete artistic control. Key Takeaway Seek environments that respect your creative vision. Themes creativity control artistic freedom Mood defiant proud Type artistic personal When to use this quote - theater production - playwriting - artistic collaboration Key Concepts authorial autonomy ego creative entitlement Questions to Reflect On - Do you value control over collaboration? - How does ego impact artistic relationships? A Different Perspective Total control can limit collaboration and growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Ive Spoiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ive-spoiled-6096338/) [Mess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mess/) [Mess with me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mess-with-me/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Spoiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spoiled/) [Spoiled Theater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spoiled-theater-4159946/) [Theater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theater/) [Theater Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theater-writing-1608872/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-plays/) ## Related quotes > [I've been so spoiled in the theater, writing plays where I can just do exactly what I want and nobody messes with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-ve-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writing-plays-where-i-can-just-do/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [I was spoiled by theater, where there is no editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-edwards/i-was-spoiled-by-theater-where-there-is-no-editor/) [Anthony Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-edwards/) > [It's really hard to say how long the show will last and will continue. I hope it lasts for a very long time. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-burns/it-s-really-hard-to-say-how-long-the-show-will-last-and-will-continue/) [Steve Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-burns/) > [When I worked in theater, I was always writing things on Post-it Notes and sticking them on screens or desks. Twitter has given me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/when-i-worked-in-theater-i-was-always-writing-things-on-post-it-notes/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [I was not born into the world of the stuntman and the daredevil; I was born into the world of theater and writing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/i-was-not-born-into-the-world-of-the-stuntman-and-the-daredevil-i-was/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [When you find theater writing like in the theater on film but it's realistic, it doesn't matter who the character is, you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-gyllenhaal/when-you-find-theater-writing-like-in-the-theater-on-film-but-it-s/) [Jake Gyllenhaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-gyllenhaal/) > [When you're 19 and writing plays, you think every actor is full of it. They just can't handle your brilliant material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/when-you-re-19-and-writing-plays-you-think-every-actor-is-full-of-it/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [It's hard to explain why exactly, but I think that when I began writing plays, it was from an actor's point of view more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/it-s-hard-to-explain-why-exactly-but-i-think-that-when-i-began/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Menoeceus is a great name. (Astrid) For an old man or a feminine hygiene product. Not for my son. And next time I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/menoeceus-is-a-great-name-astrid-for-an-old-man-or-a-feminine-hygiene/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [If you mess with me, this is who I will become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-reyes/if-you-mess-with-me-this-is-who-i-will-become/) [Maria Reyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-reyes/) > [I fall asleep feeling beautiful. Then, in the morning, before I leave the house, I say five things I love about myself, like 'You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-love-hewitt/i-fall-asleep-feeling-beautiful-then-in-the-morning-before-i-leave/) [Jennifer Love Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-love-hewitt/) > [They changed the press conference, they are trying to change the time of the weigh-in. They are trying to mess with me, but what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/they-changed-the-press-conference-they-are-trying-to-change-the-time/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [Anybody who's ever dealt with me knows not to mess with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/anybody-who-s-ever-dealt-with-me-knows-not-to-mess-with-me/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [So many guys are so conservative with their hair, and I always joke with all my buddies when they mess with me, and I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brady/so-many-guys-are-so-conservative-with-their-hair-and-i-always-joke/) [Tom Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brady/) > [I'm an Ivy League-educated lawyer, so you'd think the world wouldn't mess with me, right? But I've been paid $10,000 less than a less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-park/i-m-an-ivy-league-educated-lawyer-so-you-d-think-the-world-wouldn-t/) [Jane Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-park/) ## More by Sam Shepard > [I guess what I like is mostly country & western or else stuff that has a real blues feel to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-guess-what-i-like-is-mostly-country-western-or-else-stuff-that-has/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [You can write 16 plays and not make as much money as you did doing one movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/you-can-write-16-plays-and-not-make-as-much-money-as-you-did-doing/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [It's funny, in a way the actor is a writer. It's not like the two things are so separate as to be like apples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/it-s-funny-in-a-way-the-actor-is-a-writer-it-s-not-like-the-two/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Character is an essential tendency. It can be covered up, it can be messed with, it can be screwed around with, but it can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/character-is-an-essential-tendency-it-can-be-covered-up-it-can-be/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Why would you want to be be counseled in your grief? It's too private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/why-would-you-want-to-be-be-counseled-in-your-grief-it-s-too-private/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Farm country -- you know, hay, horses, cattle. It's the ideal situation for me. I like the physical endeavors that go with the farm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/farm-country-you-know-hay-horses-cattle-it-s-the-ideal-situation-for/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [I think comedy's harder to pull off on the screen than on the stage, anyway. Tragedy is easier on the screen... oddly enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-think-comedy-s-harder-to-pull-off-on-the-screen-than-on-the-stage/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [“Those are the most monotonous fuckin' crickets I ever heard in my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/those-are-the-most-monotonous-fuckin-crickets-i-ever-heard-in-my-life/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [All good writing comes out of aloneness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/all-good-writing-comes-out-of-aloneness/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [When I first started in film, I was terrified of the camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/when-i-first-started-in-film-i-was-terrified-of-the-camera/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [I'll develop my own image. I'm an original man. A one and only. I just need some help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-ll-develop-my-own-image-i-m-an-original-man-a-one-and-only-i-just/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [When I just sit around my house and work, I can work two, three hours, and then I go off and ride a horse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/when-i-just-sit-around-my-house-and-work-i-can-work-two-three-hours/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Hollywood is geared toward teenage idiocy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/hollywood-is-geared-toward-teenage-idiocy/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [It's my private life, and it's not up for grabs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/it-s-my-private-life-and-it-s-not-up-for-grabs/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Keep away from fantasy. Shake off the image,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/keep-away-from-fantasy-shake-off-the-image/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) [Explore all 176 Sam Shepard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) ## More I can quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [My team mates are fundamental for my characteristics, if they send in crosses I can play inside the area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/filippo-inzaghi/my-team-mates-are-fundamental-for-my-characteristics-if-they-send-in/) [Filippo Inzaghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/filippo-inzaghi/) > [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/) > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [From my experience of having served for 3000 days, I can say that anything can be achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/from-my-experience-of-having-served-for-3000-days-i-can-say-that/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [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/) > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I remember my friend Johnny von Neumann used to say, 'with four parameters I can fit an elephant and with five I can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrico-fermi/i-remember-my-friend-johnny-von-neumann-used-to-say-with-four/) [Enrico Fermi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrico-fermi/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) [Browse all 24,836 I can quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ive been so spoiled in the theater, writing plays where I can just do exactly what I want and nobody messes with me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Shepard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/ive-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writing-plays-where-i-can-just-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "I can" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/ive-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writing-plays-where-i-can-just-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/sam-shepard-2232_i-can_ive-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writi_3228197.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/sam-shepard-2232_i-can_ive-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writi_3228197.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecc/sam-shepard-2232_i-can_ive-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writi_3228197.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ive been so spoiled in the theater, writing plays where I can just do exactly what I want and nobody messes…” — Sam Shepard", "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": "Sam Shepard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ive been so spoiled in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/ive-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writing-plays-where-i-can-just-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/ive-been-so-spoiled-in-the-theater-writing-plays-where-i-can-just-do/#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 } } ] } ```