--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What you don't see backstage is what…" description: "\"What you don't see backstage is what really controls the show.\" — Sarah Sutton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/sarah-sutton-19580_backstage_what-you-don-t-see-backstage-is-what-rea_1928176.png" --- # What you don't see backstage is what really controls the… ![“What you don't see backstage is what really controls the show.” quote by Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/sarah-sutton-19580_backstage_what-you-don-t-see-backstage-is-what-rea_1928176.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/sarah-sutton-19580_backstage_what-you-don-t-see-backstage-is-what-rea_1928176.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/sarah-sutton-19580_backstage_what-you-don-t-see-backstage-is-what-rea_1928176.png) > “What you don't see backstage is what really controls the show.” [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The unseen backstage elements actually drive the performance's success. **In simple terms:** Behind‑the‑scenes control the show. Key Takeaway Focus on backstage work. Themes production control visibility Mood reflective analytical Type insightful practical When to use this quote - theatre - film set - event planning - live concerts Key Concepts stagecraft influence hidden factors Questions to Reflect On - What hidden factors affect your project? - How can you improve backstage coordination? A Different Perspective If backstage is ignored, the show may fail. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Backstage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backstage/) ## Related quotes > [It's such an honor. I still get, I guess, starstruck, at the Opry. Because there's so much history here and there are so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-pickler/it-s-such-an-honor-i-still-get-i-guess-starstruck-at-the-opry-because/) [Kellie Pickler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-pickler/) > [One of my earliest memories is being backstage at 'Bran Nue Dae' in Darwin when I was about eight. It's such a fun, happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-sebbens/one-of-my-earliest-memories-is-being-backstage-at-bran-nue-dae-in/) [Shari Sebbens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-sebbens/) > [The one who loves least controls the relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-one-who-loves-least-controls-the-relationship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My greatest concern is that the emergence of this technology without the appropriate public attention and international controls could lead to an unstable arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-eric-drexler/my-greatest-concern-is-that-the-emergence-of-this-technology-without/) [K. Eric Drexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-eric-drexler/) > [The future is to heal back to the mind again. Recognizing that the mind is all powerful - it controls every cell to every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lipton/the-future-is-to-heal-back-to-the-mind-again-recognizing-that-the/) [Bruce Lipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lipton/) > [You either control your mind or it controls you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/you-either-control-your-mind-or-it-controls-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [The brain is a complex biological organ possessing immense computational capability: it constructs our sensory experience, regulates our thoughts and emotions, and controls our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kandel/the-brain-is-a-complex-biological-organ-possessing-immense/) [Eric Kandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kandel/) > [These are the two basic controls at the photographer's command--positi on and timing--all others are extensions, peripheral ones, compared to them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hurn/these-are-the-two-basic-controls-at-the-photographer-s-command-positi/) [David Hurn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hurn/) > [I believe God controls the universe. I don't believe biology works in an uncontrolled fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mourdock/i-believe-god-controls-the-universe-i-don-t-believe-biology-works-in/) [Richard Mourdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mourdock/) > [A state-based regulatory system is quite burdensome. It allows price controls to create market distortions. It can hinder development of national products and can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/a-state-based-regulatory-system-is-quite-burdensome-it-allows-price/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), which controls the living environment on shuttles and on the International Space Station, doesn't have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/the-environmental-control-and-life-support-system-eclss-which/) [Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/) > [There weren't many weapons in Egypt in the 1990s. Police controls on guns were very strict back then. That is no longer the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/there-weren-t-many-weapons-in-egypt-in-the-1990s-police-controls-on/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [No one in the modern world controls the wealth or territory that Cleopatra did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/no-one-in-the-modern-world-controls-the-wealth-or-territory-that/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [Nobody controls me but my mama and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-moss/nobody-controls-me-but-my-mama-and-god/) [Randy Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-moss/) > [I don't think that anyone should be in control of a relationship. I think that if you have a woman that controls her man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-nique/i-don-t-think-that-anyone-should-be-in-control-of-a-relationship-i/) [Mo'Nique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-nique/) ## More by Sarah Sutton > [We had a very energetic floor manager and he was always jumping around all over the place. The director would send down messages like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/we-had-a-very-energetic-floor-manager-and-he-was-always-jumping/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [Strikes always leave a bad taste with everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/strikes-always-leave-a-bad-taste-with-everyone/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [I don't know if you've ever tried writing a Doctor Who story, but it's a lot more difficult than it initially appears, especially if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/i-don-t-know-if-you-ve-ever-tried-writing-a-doctor-who-story-but-it-s/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [I don't think I would have stayed for the second season if I hadn't been happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/i-don-t-think-i-would-have-stayed-for-the-second-season-if-i-hadn-t/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [Doctor Who is like any long-running series in that the cast tend to look to the star to set the general tone. Rehearsals and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/doctor-who-is-like-any-long-running-series-in-that-the-cast-tend-to/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [I enjoyed working with Peter, I was very pleased when I heard he was going to be the Doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/i-enjoyed-working-with-peter-i-was-very-pleased-when-i-heard-he-was/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [In the studio, if they need to come down to the floor, things are a bit pushy, although it is easier for them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/in-the-studio-if-they-need-to-come-down-to-the-floor-things-are-a-bit/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [I think I must have too much to eat, we were doing a scene where we were crawling, and I ripped my trousers. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/i-think-i-must-have-too-much-to-eat-we-were-doing-a-scene-where-we/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [I'm not really a science-fiction fan, I quite like the idea of getting away from the science-fiction side of it, for two episodes. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/i-m-not-really-a-science-fiction-fan-i-quite-like-the-idea-of-getting/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [Some of those cartoons look nothing like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/some-of-those-cartoons-look-nothing-like-me/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [I'm a terrible person for carrying things around. I carry everything around with me, it's like my home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/i-m-a-terrible-person-for-carrying-things-around-i-carry-everything/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [I enjoyed showing a bit more leg in the last few stories. It was good fun, but it can be quite sexist. But it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/i-enjoyed-showing-a-bit-more-leg-in-the-last-few-stories-it-was-good/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [One of my favorite stories was Black Orchid, because it was so different from all the others. I especially enjoyed dancing the Charleston. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/one-of-my-favorite-stories-was-black-orchid-because-it-was-so/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [I found it a little bit stressful, because I wasn't used to working with Doctor Who. I got the impression I'd walked into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/i-found-it-a-little-bit-stressful-because-i-wasn-t-used-to-working/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) > [There are generations who watch Doctor Who together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/there-are-generations-who-watch-doctor-who-together/) [Sarah Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) [Explore all 32 Sarah Sutton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/) ## More Backstage quotes > [“Sometimes I fantasize backstage about how people do their laundry. Woolite? Mixed-color loads? Do they fold? Do they press? Do they Shout it out?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/sometimes-i-fantasize-backstage-about-how-people-do-their-laundry/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [One of my earliest memories is being backstage at 'Bran Nue Dae' in Darwin when I was about eight. It's such a fun, happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-sebbens/one-of-my-earliest-memories-is-being-backstage-at-bran-nue-dae-in/) [Shari Sebbens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-sebbens/) > [I certainly know that on our first tour of America in 1968, David Crosby came to see us backstage at the Fillmore East in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-hayward/i-certainly-know-that-on-our-first-tour-of-america-in-1968-david/) [Justin Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-hayward/) > [In 2011, I had a big chip on my shoulder, and I felt like I had a lot to prove every time I went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyson-kidd/in-2011-i-had-a-big-chip-on-my-shoulder-and-i-felt-like-i-had-a-lot/) [Tyson Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyson-kidd/) > [Woodstock - I didn't see anybody play, except when I was standing backstage waiting to go on, because it was so muddy. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-slick/woodstock-i-didn-t-see-anybody-play-except-when-i-was-standing/) [Grace Slick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-slick/) > [I spent 25 years clearly understanding that I'm not gonna meet Bono or the Edge. But then it happened at the Grammys when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristian-bush/i-spent-25-years-clearly-understanding-that-i-m-not-gonna-meet-bono/) [Kristian Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristian-bush/) > [We need to diversify the people who are backstage and producing and marketing these shows. It's the limitations of these people that are holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/we-need-to-diversify-the-people-who-are-backstage-and-producing-and/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [“She was the backstage director who worked so hard to make the star shine and without whom there could be no show. She was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-lawson-timmer/she-was-the-backstage-director-who-worked-so-hard-to-make-the-star/) [Julie Lawson Timmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-lawson-timmer/) > [My dad was a theater actor, so I would follow him backstage. And my mom was a casting director. The moment I heard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/my-dad-was-a-theater-actor-so-i-would-follow-him-backstage-and-my-mom/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [“Get this into your head right from the start. Make backstage kids your best friends. Do not take all the glory. It is lonely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-goldin/get-this-into-your-head-right-from-the-start-make-backstage-kids-your/) [Lisa Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-goldin/) > [I'm lucky in the sense that I can write wherever I am - on the bus, in the hotel room, backstage, sitting at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-m-lucky-in-the-sense-that-i-can-write-wherever-i-am-on-the-bus-in/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [ I think what you see \[in Salome the play backstage\] is an artist having this fit of temperament. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/i-think-what-you-see-in-salome-the-play-backstage-is-an-artist-having/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [I was doing theater in my high school, and I started writing sort of silly songs on the piano backstage in summer theater. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/i-was-doing-theater-in-my-high-school-and-i-started-writing-sort-of/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [We have amazing people that help us backstage, and Arn Anderson is someone I always like to look to. He's a legend in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/we-have-amazing-people-that-help-us-backstage-and-arn-anderson-is/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [I'm the kind of person who wants to present my most honest, authentic self to the world, so I hide backstage and rehearse honest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/i-m-the-kind-of-person-who-wants-to-present-my-most-honest-authentic/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) [Browse all 170 Backstage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backstage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What you don't see backstage is what really controls the show.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Sutton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/what-you-don-t-see-backstage-is-what-really-controls-the-show/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Backstage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/what-you-don-t-see-backstage-is-what-really-controls-the-show/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/sarah-sutton-19580_backstage_what-you-don-t-see-backstage-is-what-rea_1928176.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/sarah-sutton-19580_backstage_what-you-don-t-see-backstage-is-what-rea_1928176.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ec/sarah-sutton-19580_backstage_what-you-don-t-see-backstage-is-what-rea_1928176.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What you don't see backstage is what really controls the show.” — Sarah Sutton", "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": "Sarah Sutton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-sutton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What you don't see backstage is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/what-you-don-t-see-backstage-is-what-really-controls-the-show/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-sutton/what-you-don-t-see-backstage-is-what-really-controls-the-show/#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 } } ] } ```