Best Improvisation Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings Page 2

“I'm proud of my ability to understand what somebody else is trying to do and help them achieve it, because part of the aesthetic of improvisation is service. We don't lead, we only follow. You never say no. Serve the servant, follow the follower. And that's very valuable in your life, as well as very valuable in your work.”

Trying Wells Helping Ability Achieve Proud Valuable Servant Followers Aesthetic Improvisation

Author:Stephen Colbert

“I grew up in the theater, and you can't improvise Shakespeare and Ibsen. You have to speak the language. But obviously, in a contemporary film, there's often room for improvisation and spontaneous things that happen. As long as I know what I'm trying to achieve in the scene, and when something comes up, I know that the response is genuine, I'm comfortable. That's really how I build everything.”

Knows Trying Long Happens Film Speak Language Rooms Achieve Grew Scene Comfortable Grew Up Theater Response Come Up Genuine Contemporary Spontaneous Improvisation Ibsen

Author:Victor Garber

“Improvisation, it is a mystery. You can write a book about it, but by the end no one still knows what it is. When I improvise and I'm in good form, I'm like somebody half sleeping. I even forget there are people in front of me. Great improvisers are like priests; they are thinking only of their god.”

People Thinking Knows Writing Stills Book Ends Form Sleep Forget Half Mystery Fronts Priests Improvisation

Book:Jazz Violin

Source: Jazz Violin

“I used to go to the Improvisation Comedy Club every night in Times Square. How I didn't get killed in that area either means that 1) God is watching over me or 2) I am so insignificant to God that he didn't bother having me killed.”

Mean Used Night Comedy Areas Clubs Bother Squares Every Night Insignificant Improvisation Times Square Comedy Clubs

Author:Gilbert Gottfried

“if you don't think that all life is improvisation, then you haven't been paying attention. Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans.”

Ifs Thinking Happens Life Is Attention Plans Havens Pay Attention Improvisation

Author:Joan Rivers

“I know all about improvisation and the free-form that mirrors the chaos of our time, but I do like to feel that the playwright has done some work before I got there.”

Knows Feels Done Form Theater Mirrors Chaos Our Time Playwright Improvisation

Book:Penny Candy

Source: Penny Candy

“Art originates in play - in improvisation, experiment, and fantasy; it remains forever, in its deepest instincts, playful and spontaneous, an exercise of the imagination analogous to the exercising of the physical body to no purpose other than ecstatic release.”

Art Play Body Purpose Imagination Fantasy Forever Exercise Remains Instinct Experiments Release Spontaneous Improvisation Ecstatic Physical Body

Book:The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art

Source: The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art

“Improvisation can be either a last resort or an established way of evoking creativity.”

Way Lasts Creativity Resorts Improvisation

Book:Composing a Life

Source: Composing a Life

“If you just want to be a writer, I don't care, for pitching, for writing dialogue, you should take an improvisation class. It's super important.”

Ifs Want Should Writing Important Care Class Don't Care Dialogue I Don't Care Improvisation Pitching Writing Dialogue

Author:Thomas Lennon

“My whole life has been one big improvisation.”

Has Beens Whole Bigs Whole Life Rejection Improvisation

Author:Clint Eastwood

“If anybody is a master at improvisation, it would be Ken Jeong. He is hilarious.”

Ifs Would Be Masters Improvisation

Author:Anneliese van der Pol

“Everyone can act. Everyone can improvise. Anyone who wishes to can play in the theatre.”

Play Wish Theatre Improvisation

Book:Improvisation for the Theater: A Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques

Source: Improvisation for the Theater: A Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques

“Sometimes people that are very good at improvisation in life, meaning like stage improvisation, aren't good in films because you have to ultimately take a scene where it needs to go. It's not about just saying something that's funny. You can say something funny but if it's not on story or driving the scene to its end it's really not very helpful at all.”

People Ifs Needs Ends Sometimes Stories Film Stage Scene Very Good Driving Meaning Of Life Helpful Improvisation Just Saying Life Means

Author:Vince Vaughn

“The only band I was really over-into was Cream. And the only thing I really liked about them was their live stuff 'cause they played two verses, then go off and jam for 20 minutes, come back and do a chorus and end. And I love the live jam stuff, the improvisation.”

Two Ends Causes Stuff Minutes Band Verses Cream Jam Improvisation Chorus

Author:Eddie Van Halen

“Bob Dylan's one of the greatest blues singers of the western world; ancient art, on-the-spot improvisation, mind quickness, endless variation, classical formulae, prophetic vision, mighty wind-horse.”

World Mind Art Vision Wind Horse Western Ancient Singers Endless Spots Bob Dylan Variation Improvisation Prophetic Western World Quickness Ancient Art Mighty Wind

Author:Allen Ginsberg

“With Sleater-Kinney, we did a lot of improvisation in our live shows, and even our process of songwriting involved bringing in disparate parts and putting them together to form something cohesive.”

Shows Together Form Process Involved Songwriting Improvisation

Author:Carrie Brownstein

“I'm not a standup. I didn't start off as a writer, I learned to write through improvisation, and so that's the part of the show that can most surprise me. The written part of the show, I know I can get wrong. You can't really get the interview "wrong."”

Knows Writing I Can Shows Written Surprise Interviews Improvisation Surprise Me

Author:Stephen Colbert

“For me, improvisation is about working with a partner. That is much easier to do in the interview, because you have a sounding board.”

Easier Partners Boards Interviews Improvisation

Author:Stephen Colbert

“Improvisation was the blood and bone of jazz, and in the classic, New Orleans jazz it was collective improvisation in which each performer, seemingly going his own melodic way, played in harmony, dissonance, or counterpoint with the improvisations of his colleagues. Quite unlike ragtime, which was written down in many cases by its composers and could be repeated note for note (if not expression for expression) by others, jazz was a performer's not a composer's art.”

Ifs Way Art Cases Written Blood Expression Harmony Jazz Notes Bones Classic Collectives Performers Composer Colleagues New Orleans Improvisation Dissonance Ragtime

Author:Russell Lynes

“...a disgruntled reflection on my own life as a sort of desperate improvisation in which I was constantly trying to make something coherent from conflicting elements to fit rapidly changing settings.”

Trying My Own Fit Elements Reflection Setting Settings Desperate Improvisation My Own Life Disgruntled

Book:Composing a Life

Source: Composing a Life

“The transformation of the impossible into reality is always the mark of a demonic will. The only way to recognize a military genius is by the fact that, during the war, he will mock the rules of warfare and will employ creative improvisation instead of tested methods and he will do so at the right moment.”

Way War Moments Facts Reality Creativity Creative Impossible Military Genius Victory Mark Transformation Method Warfare Tested Improvisation Mock Demonic Right Moment

Author:Stefan Zweig

“Everything we design and make is an improvisation, a lash-up, something inept and provisional.”

Design Improvisation Lashes

Author:David Pye

“Improvisation, the main thing is it teaches you to be in the moment and present in the moment and be reactive and proactive for what's going on. Someone gives you something - a lot of actors are a little shut off, so they're just doing, "This is my character, these are my lines, I'm going to just send it to you then you send whatever you're sending." Improvisation teaches you to really be listening.”

Giving Littles Moments Character Actors Lines Teach Listening Improvisation Proactive

Author:John C. Reilly

“Most of my comedy writing happens through improvisation on stage; doing it in the moment.”

Writing Moments Happens Comedy Stage Improvisation Comedy Writing

Author:Marc Maron

“I used to think that running an organization was equivalent to conducting a symphony orchestra. But I don't think that's quite it; it's more like jazz. There is more improvisation.”

Thinking Running Used Leadership Organization Jazz Orchestra Symphony Improvisation Conducting Definition Of Leadership Future Leaders Symphony Orchestras Participative Leadership

Book:Managing People is Like Herding Cats

Source: Managing People is Like Herding Cats

“Improvisation is about finding the best joke or the silliest way to get something across. Improvising conflict is always fun because you can just go for it.”

Way Fun Conflict Findings Jokes Improvisation Improvising

Author:Ed Helms

“Improvisation helps because you get what's on the page and you make it a little more palatable to your tongue. And that's the beauty of creating and being spontaneous. That's the way I love to work.”

Way Littles Helping Creating Pages Tongue Spontaneous Improvisation

Author:Taraji P. Henson

“I believe that improvisation is really just a directorial tool. It's a writing tool. It's not so much that the actors get to say whatever they want, whatever pops into their head. It's an opportunity to write the last draft of the screenplay as you're working on it.”

Want Writing Believe Lasts Actors Opportunity I Believe Tools Pops Improvisation Screenplays

Author:Ivan Reitman

“Improvisation, for me, is when the cameras start rolling, we don't know where we're going and let's just waste people's time and money.”

People Knows Waste Cameras Rolling Improvisation Time And Money

Author:Jason Bateman

“Preparing to improvise is at a level commensurate with mastering the structure in a European classical piece. Another way to define improvisation is spontaneous melody. In order to improvise, a player first needs to have memorized and analyzed the harmonic structure of so many pieces.”

Way Needs Firsts Order Levels Pieces Player Structure Melody Spontaneous Preparing Another Way Improvisation

Author:Jimmy Heath

“All actors have to make the words fit in their mouths, and make the words the words fit to how you say it and how you make it life-like and make it look like what you're saying is just conversation that you're just thinking off the top of your head. That process is not quite improvisation.”

Thinking Looks Actors Process Fit Conversation Mouths Improvisation

Author:Bruce Willis

“Effortless [performance] and improvisation are two different things. Just because it's improvised doesn't mean it's effortless and just because it's effortless doesn't necessarily mean it's improvised.”

Mean Two Different Performances Different Things Improvisation Effortless Two Different Things

Author:Christoph Waltz

“Sometimes some of the best moments are contributed by the actors being creative, with their own improvisations.”

Sometimes Moments Actors Creative Be Creative Improvisation Best Moments

Author:Woody Allen

“When I began doing theatre in high school I saw that I could get laughs from people but I didn't really connect that to going on and becoming a comedian. I was interested in acting and while I was at Boston College I was part of an improv group, Mother's Fleabag, which had a long history and has been known as one of the best college improvisation groups in the U.S.”

People Long Has Beens School Mother Acting Known Laughing Saws Groups College Becoming High School Theatre Comedian Boston Improvisation Best College

Author:Amy Poehler

“I never did improv professionally, but that was certainly in my training as an actor. I like it. Actually, when I did theater, I used to have a partner, and that was the way we used to write a lot of our sketches, through improvisation. So it's something I feel comfortable with.”

Way Feels Writing Used Actors Comfortable Training Theater Partners Improvisation

Author:Steve Buscemi

“During improvisations, I'll hear people bringing back up details from something I heard about at breakfast or something somebody was saying that they were thinking about, and it informs a rewriting of a scene.”

People Thinking Heard Scene Details Breakfast Improvisation Rewriting

Author:Joe Swanberg

“Improvisation is a weird word because we often think it means that you make things up out of whole cloth right there on the spot, and that's rarely the case in acting. You have to know who the character is, what the situation is and what is needed.”

Thinking Knows Mean Whole Character Acting Situation Cases Needed Spots Improvisation

Author:Roger Ebert

“When you start to kind of immerse yourself in that improvisation culture, you gotta be comfortable enough with your instrument to throw yourself into a really potentially dangerous situation.”

Kind Enough Culture Situation Dangerous Comfortable Instruments Improvisation Dangerous Situations

Author:Mike Patton

“Most of my show is just improvisation. It goes with the energy of the crowd.”

Shows Energy Crowds Improvisation

Author:Freddie Gibbs

“I really think that martial arts and music are very close to each other and both require a lot of focus and improvisation because you don't know where or when you're going to get kicked!”

Thinking Knows Art Focus Martial Arts Improvisation Art And Music

Author:Hiromi

“The problem with improvisation is, of course, that everyone just slips into their comfort zone and does sort of the easy thing to do, the most obvious thing to do with your instrument.”

Doe Problem Courses Easy Comfort Instruments Obvious Things To Do Zone Slips Comfort Zone Improvisation Easy Things Obvious Things

Author:Brian Eno

“When I create I don't think in technical or mathematical terms until the idea is formulated Musical composition is formulated in improvisation. Once a pianist like myself sits down and begins to play and start thinking about what I am writing all of a sudden a little tune will emerge, a little spot light and I'll go, "That's interesting."”

Thinking Writing Littles Ideas Play Light Term Interesting Down And Musical Spots Mathematical Tunes Composition Improvisation Pianist Musical Composition

Author:Aaron Zigman

“My gigs are built on improvisation: I go out there and I'm like the Energizer bunny.”

Built Gigs Improvisation Bunnies

Author:Meat Loaf

“I never know what it's going to look like. Wouldn't be much point in painting if I already knew the outcome. I have a subject in front of me and I start flooding colour and making marks, I don't know, it's improvisation isn't it?”

Ifs Knows Looks Subjects Fronts Painting Mark Outcomes Colour Improvisation Flooding

Author:Peter Wright

“Generally speaking I would say I enjoy the smaller films more because there's a less sense of pressure and often the material is more unusual. But in "Iron Man" it was kind of like both worlds colliding because there was a lot of improvisation, not that we improv-ed in the scenes but to discover the actual scenes themselves.”

Men World Kind Problem Film Enjoy Materials Scene Pressure Iron Unusual Improvisation Iron Man

Author:Jeff Bridges

“We would do improvisation together. And that in a way, had almost a "student-film side" where we'd be sitting there with Robert Downey and Jon Favreau and we're playing around, we're jamming around and we read those pages and in next couple of days that's what we do, so it was a good experience. Kind of frightening at first because you didn't quite know how it was going to work out, but they had some very talented people there so it worked out well.”

“What an actor says is much, much less important than a life, so that's the great use for improvisation; you go, you find the life and then you add the words.”

Important Use Actors Add Improvisation

Author:Giovanni Ribisi

“I use improvisation as a writing tool to help produce material that goes into a script, but a well-crafted script shouldn't sound scripted, and oftentimes people confuse something that looks like improvisation for what is actually a very well-written script that is well-acted.”

People Writing Wells Looks Helping Use Sound Written Produce Materials Tools Scripts Improvisation Well Written

Author:Steve Coogan

“It may seem like improv because it flows quite naturally, and a little bit of leeway for improvisation is good, but you have to be judicious with it. So it's good, but sometimes people deify it. You can't improvise your way out of a paper hat.”

People Way May Littles Sometimes Seems Bits Paper Little Bit Flow Hats Improvisation

Author:Steve Coogan

“Improvisation has never been my strong point.”

Strong Improvisation

Author:Scarlett Johansson

Improvisation Quotes

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Improvisation Quotes