When the curtain falls, the best thing an actor can do is to go away.
quote by Harold MacMillan

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
O, Curtain Boy...my Curtain Boy!
i'm the stage
i'm the setting
i'm the play
i'm the actor
i'm the green room, too
but how's it you kept
the command ove the
curtain in your hands?
o, curtain boy!
my curtain boy...
don't you see
the stage's developing cracks?
the setting's getting ruined?
the lines're getting broken?
the actor's growing weary?
the greenroom floor is all smudged
with the colours of spent out emotions?
o, curtain boy...
my curtain boy!
30aug2009
00.40hrs
poem by Indira Babbellapati

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Body And Soul
(Nicholas Holmes, additional lyrics by Carly Simon)
The blue of blue
Is mostly grey
Ain't no silver line
No brighter day
Last of the coming up
Didn't come my way
Looks like I'm down here to stay
Down to stay
So kick me, I won't feel a thing
My senses have all been run
And there's nothing left of the used to be
but the weeping that's just begun
That sour taste too late
But now I duck my head
And no cradle rocks this empty bed
If crying's not good for me
Then I guess I'm doing wrong
So I sing this crying song
Cry along
You packed it in too soon
You lose me but not your nerve
Well I guess I know it's what I deserve
Crazy to think that I could keep you on reserve
And so the curtain falls
Curtain falls
song performed by by Carly Simon

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Blue Of Blue
(nicholas holmes, additional lyrics by carly simon)
The blue of blue
Is mostly grey
Aint no silver line
No brighter day
Last of the coming up
Didnt come my way
Looks like Im down here to stay
Down to stay
So kick me, I wont feel a thing
My senses have all been run
And theres nothing left of the used to be
But the weeping thats just begun
That sour taste too late
But now I duck my head
And no cradle rocks this empty bed
If cryings not good for me
Then I guess Im doing wrong
So I sing this crying song
Cry along
You packed it in too soon
You lose me but not your nerve
Well I guess I know its what I deserve
Crazy to think that I could keep you on reserve
And so the curtain falls
Curtain falls
song performed by by Carly Simon

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The Play
I am the only actor.
It is difficult for one woman
to act out a whole play.
The play is my life,
my solo act.
My running after the hands
and never catching up.
(The hands are out of sight -
that is, offstage.)
All I am doing onstage is running,
running to keep up,
but never making it.
Suddenly I stop running.
(This moves the plot along a bit.)
I give speeches, hundreds,
all prayers, all soliloquies.
I say absurd things like:
egss must not quarrel with stones
or, keep your broken arm inside your sleeve
or, I am standing upright
but my shadow is crooked.
And such and such.
Many boos. Many boos.
Despite that I go on to the last lines:
To be without God is to be a snake
who wants to swallow an elephant.
The curtain falls.
The audience rushes out.
It was a bad performance.
That’s because I’m the only actor
and there are few humans whose lives
will make an interesting play.
Don’t you agree?
Anonymous submission.
poem by Anne Sexton

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
The actor has to develop his body. The actor has to work on his voice. But the most important thing the actor has to work on is his mind.
quote by Stella Adler

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Shatter
The still silence falls
A curtain, nay, a wall
To dampen all the noise
Of the gathered girls and boys
Not a thing is heard
Not a whisper, not a word
But a solemn symphony
Of silent harmony
Like a soundless breeze
Gliding in with ease
Falls the silent wall
Holding all in thrall…
Then laughter!
With a clatter!
Like a clang
Out it rang
From their lips
Laughter rips
Hoots and hollers
Wild callers
Façade falls
Broken wall
With the laughter
Silence shatters.
poem by Sophia White

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I Love It All
(John Michael Montgomery/Blair Daly)
Another night on this interstate
Seems like I've been on it everyday for years now
Does it ever end
On my way to another show
Where I'll end up, I don't even know where I'm going
Or where I've been
Don't know why, don't know how
But I keep comin' back for more
It's my life, there's no doubt
Guess I'll never know for sure
But when I stand on that stage, and the curtain falls
I love it all
It's getting late, I think I'll lay it down
Then I'll wake up in some other town and I'll wander
To my hotel room
I'll walk around just a-wastin' time
Lookin' for a little peace of mind I bet I'll find it
On an ole barstool
Don't know why, don't know how
But I keep comin' back for more
It's my life, there's no doubt
Guess I'll never know for sure
But when I stand on that stage, and the curtain falls
I love it all
Don't know why, don't know how
But I keep comin' back for more
It's my life, there's no doubt
Guess I'll never know for sure
But when I stand on that stage and the curtain falls
And the crowd wants to stay for one more song
I love it all
Another night on this interstate
Seems like I've been on it everyday for years now
I hope it never ends
song performed by by John Michael Montgomery

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Bad Little Actress
I cant carry on
This play is too long
I must be going
Extend my regrets
I gave it my best
But now Im going
This is too much for me to take
Something tells me that shes faking it
She says she dont care
She wants to be fair
She must be joking
Its simple she said
Lets not lose our head
Tell me shes joking
This is too much for me to take
But somebody isnt faking
Someones heart is breaking
And if you see her give her my critique
Shes a bad little actress
Gets no curtain call
But the worst of all
When the curtain falls
Theres no one at the backstage door
Im more than her friend
cause I knew her when
She was no sensation
Shes wasting our time
Repeats all her lines
Whats her motivation?
Now she wont share her stage with me
Her performance was outrageous
Put me through some changes
So if you see her give her my critique
Shes a bad little actress
Her delivery dont come naturally
Anyone could see she doesnt mean a word she says
Her mascara ran
And the show was panned
But Im still her biggest fan
So when you see her give her my critique
Shes a bad little actress
Gets no curtain call
But the worst of all
When the curtain falls
Theres no one at the backstage door
song performed by by Utopia

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
An actor is an actor is an actor. The less personality an actor has off stage the better. A blank canvas on which to draw the characters he plays.
quote by Arthur Lowe

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
The only thing we don't do together is get in front of an actor and show any indecision at all about what we think. We don't always agree, so we meet privately, then one or the other will approach the actor.
quote by Bobby Farrelly

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Actor Of Love
Hold on
I have found something I longing for
To fill the hollowness of my heart
But why I'm feeling more of sorrow
Before
I am the one who said: 'Oh, I'll control'
But now I realize you are my world
And it's waiting to break apart
I'm an actor of love
I'm trying to perfect
But I'm just fooling around
I'm an actor of love
I want to be your hero
But I've made myself a clown
I'm an actor of love
I need you by my side
But now you leave me alone
I'm an actor of love
I beg your forgiveness
But you refuse me so cold
Sometimes
We wonder why we should be together
Do we really dream of love forever?
Or we afraid to be alone
I'm an actor of love
I want to protect you
But I always hurt you bad
I'm an actor of love
I want to be your shield
But may turn someone you hate
I'm an actor of love
We kiss in the morning
But in night we have a war
I'm an actor of love
We care for each other
But we only circle round
If this love only makes me crazy
Take the story and just let it be
Tragedy or comedy
Or anything it wants to be
poem by Maria Sudibyo

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!

I became an actor to escape my own personality. Acting is the most therapeutic thing in the world. I think all the courage that I may lack personally, I have as an actor.
quote by George C. Scott

Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
Vote! | Copy! | In Romanian
My dad had been an actor... not only had my dad been an actor, but his dad had been an actor, and my great-grandfather had been an actor. And who knows before then?
quote by David Hyde Pierce

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Curtain call
Curtain call
~
A show as long as a life
Written in the script of the unknown
The mysterious bard has foretold
The final curtain call
~
The closing act is well underway
The last scene about to begin
Soon the lights shall dim to blackness
And the curtains shall fall to close
The lead bystander is all but done
A role written to an end
~
This has been no great story
A simple forgetful tale if told true
The mild tragedy of a few events
Within the comedy of it all
The final performance, a swansong
Then all shall be done
~
Once it is over and the curtain falls
The audience shall rise to leave
With a clatter of chairs ringing out
A dull applause
poem by Matthew Holloway

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Ellis Peters's historical detail is very accurate and very minute, and therefore is not only interesting to read but good for an actor to acquire a sense of the period. And the other thing I think is that an actor lives in the land of imagination.
quote by Derek Jacobi

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
I'm not saying that Sam J. Jones was Flash Gordon - there's no such thing. No actor can be the person, that's a bunch of crap. People pay to see an actor be himself, whether he plays Hamlet or whatever.
quote by Sam J. Jones

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

There's one thing better than having a great actor, and that's having a great actor who's never done this kind of role before and is hungry to do it. They're testing themselves every day. They want to get out of their trailer and get to work.
quote by Sam Mendes

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Once the curtain is raised, the actor is ceases to belong to himself. He belongs to his character, to his author, to his public. He must do the impossible to identify himself with the first, not to betray the second, and not to disappoint the third.
quote by Sarah Bernhardt

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!

Now that was one thing, but from an actor's point of view, this poor young man, crying from the moment I opened the door to the moment he left. Now if an actor did that they would say he's over-acting.
quote by Rod Steiger

Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Behind That Curtain
Let me show and tell you my people,
Behind that curtain,
where all the cooking can be attained,
that, all suprises are drowned,
yap'that, where our eyes directed.
Behind that curtain,
decorated with a colourful carpet,
with a big secret underneath,
yeah! that where every eye digging into it.
Behind that curtain,
sorroundedby curious walls,
walls with beautiful dolls,
yap! that every finger would like to touch.
Behind that curtain,
where all decisions are made,
decisions of power and trade,
that may stand years and decades.
Behind that curtain,
drafted with Tanzanite colour,
that may stand for years not hours,
yes, where every heart would like to mingle in.
Behind that curtain,
where I hear a smell,
something like a rotten hell,
yes, that every fly would be pleased to kiss.
that is where you belong and it is yiur home.
poem by Dickson Mseti

Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!