Marianne Elliott Quotes

Powerful Marianne Elliott for Daily Growth

About Marianne Elliott

Marianne Elliot is an acclaimed playwright, theatre director, and founder of the multi-award-winning theatre company, Theatre-Rites. Born in London, England on April 17, 1964, she was raised in a family that valued creativity and intellectual pursuits. Her interest in theatre began at an early age, nurtured by regular visits to the National Theatre with her family. Elliott studied English Literature at King's College London before embarking on a career in theatre. In 1990, she co-founded the influential theatre company, Kneehigh, where she directed productions like 'The Bacchae', 'Ubu Roi', and 'Tristan & Yseult'. These shows were characterized by their blending of traditional forms with contemporary influences, a style that would become synonymous with Elliott's work. In 2003, Elliott founded Theatre-Rites, a company dedicated to creating theatre for young audiences. Her productions with Theatre-Rites, such as 'Angel Exit', 'The Scarecrow's Wedding', and 'Midnight Nation', are known for their innovative use of puppetry, music, and storytelling. Elliott's breakthrough in mainstream theatre came with the 2007 National Theatre production of 'War Horse'. Co-directed with Tom Morris, this adaption of Michael Morpurgo's novel was a critical and commercial success, winning numerous awards including the Olivier Award for Best Director. The show later moved to Broadway, where it also triumphed. Marianne Elliott continues to push the boundaries of theatre, exploring themes of identity, community, and the human condition with her unique blend of traditional forms and contemporary influences. Her work continues to inspire a new generation of theatre-makers.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The best stories come from listening."

This quote by Marianne Elliott emphasizes the importance of active listening in storytelling. It suggests that the most captivating tales are born not just out of personal experiences, but also from understanding and empathizing with others' narratives. By truly listening to people and their stories, we can gain valuable insights, foster connections, and create compelling narratives that resonate with a wide audience. Essentially, it encourages us to be open-minded, patient, and attentive when engaging with others if we wish to craft meaningful stories.

"Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here."

This quote suggests that stories, whether personal, cultural, or historical, play a crucial role in defining our identity and purpose as individuals and societies. When stories are not shared or passed down, they risk being forgotten, leading to a loss of knowledge about our past, values, and sense of belonging. In essence, the quote emphasizes the importance of storytelling as a means of preserving our heritage, understanding ourselves, and maintaining a connection with our collective history.

"To create a piece of theater is to share a secret with an audience."

This quote by Marianne Elliott emphasizes the intimate bond between creator and audience in the realm of theater. It suggests that when a play or performance is crafted, it holds a unique, private understanding within its narrative, characters, and themes. By presenting this work on stage, the creator "shares" this secret with the audience, offering them an opportunity to engage with and interpret these elements in their own personal way. In essence, theater becomes a shared experience that transcends the ordinary, fostering empathy, understanding, and emotional connection among participants.

"Theater is a communal experience that brings us together in a way that nothing else quite can."

This quote underscores the unique, unifying power of theater as an art form. The shared experience of watching live performances fosters a sense of connection and community among audience members. Unlike most other activities, theater transcends individuality by inviting us to collectively engage with a story, characters, and emotions, ultimately forging a common bond that sets it apart from other forms of entertainment.

"I think it's really important that the work we do on stage reflects the world we live in."

This quote by Marianne Elliott emphasizes the need for theater, a form of art that mirrors society, to be inclusive and representative of our diverse world. By presenting stories and characters that accurately reflect the realities and complexities of contemporary life, the stage can serve as a mirror, a platform for dialogue, and a catalyst for change in our broader society.

I'm quite unusual in directing terms: I'm a woman. I'm quite a girly girl. I was never academic.

- Marianne Elliott

Woman, Never, Terms, Girly

The less subsidy we have, the more the 'producers' take over, and the 'bottom line' becomes the raison d'etre. That's quite an unappealing landscape for artists.

- Marianne Elliott

More, Over, Bottom, Subsidy

I had done drama at university, but I never thought I could be a director. There were so few female directors then. I just assumed you had to be a man to be a director. I also assumed you had to be extremely authoritarian and extremely intellectual, none of which I was.

- Marianne Elliott

Thought, University, Had, Authoritarian

We're always steered towards what is good in the canon by a male perspective. I like to do plays with a female protagonist who finds her way through. My way is unusual.

- Marianne Elliott

Through, Always, Plays, Canon

Often during rehearsals, I catch myself thinking, 'God, this is hard. Why am I always choosing such difficult plays to put on?'

- Marianne Elliott

Myself, Always, Plays, Rehearsals

The actors work out how to create the show with me during the rehearsals. They owe it to themselves and each other to maintain that contract regardless of what the critics say.

- Marianne Elliott

Work, Other, Maintain, Rehearsals

It would be quite interesting to use Kermit the Frog to act like a real frog. But it wouldn't produce captivating theatre.

- Marianne Elliott

Theatre, Act, Would, Captivating

I've seen many shows ruined by bad reviews and good reviews, so I always tell my actors not to read the reviews until after the run is over.

- Marianne Elliott

Always, Over, Read, Ruined

It's difficult to find an actress prepared to play a fading star.

- Marianne Elliott

Play, Star, Actress, Fading

My dad had a big influence on me, and although I was never very bright at school, I used to love philosophising with him about big universal things - and I think that's what directing is.

- Marianne Elliott

Love, Big, Very, Big Influence

I always loved and secretly wanted to do 'Company.' It was produced on Broadway in 1970, and it's about a successful 35-year-old guy who's starting to think he should get married.

- Marianne Elliott

Think, Always, Broadway, Get Married

I think theater is so undervalued. I have seen things there that have been far more vivid than things that actually have happened.

- Marianne Elliott

Think, Been, I Think, Undervalued

If you are working in a publicly subsidized building, then you have a responsibility to deliver truly interesting, risky, innovative, even provocative work. Work that speaks to your audience in many resonant ways. The priority is less about the financial rewards.

- Marianne Elliott

Financial, Deliver, About, Risky

There's a certain type of theatre that I haven't got any time for at all - established, boring, same-old stuff without any reason or passion. There's quite a lot of it about, and it motivates me to try to do something different, something risky, raw, ugly, and challenging.

- Marianne Elliott

Reason, About, Type, Risky

My father was a director, and my mother and grandparents were actors, so I spent a great deal of my time as a teenager trying to get away from the theatre.

- Marianne Elliott

Grandparents, Deal, Away, Teenager

Directors have this mask of being in control and in charge, but underneath, I'm terrified.

- Marianne Elliott

Charge, Directors, Terrified, Mask

When I was a kid, I never spoke. I would sit under a table and not speak to anybody. No words for years.

- Marianne Elliott

Kid, Spoke, Anybody, No Words

I had a very embarrassing time acting extremely badly at university, which is when directing suddenly became so attractive.

- Marianne Elliott

Very, Badly, Which, Embarrassing

As you get older, you realise that your identity becomes more important - the environment in which you have grown is actually part of who you are just as much as your family or your school.

- Marianne Elliott

More, Part, Which, Just As Much

For me, 'Angels in America' is not really about AIDS. For me, it's a metaphor for anybody who is struggling with serious illness or having to face their own demise. All of the characters face some form of destruction in themselves.

- Marianne Elliott

Some, Anybody, Having, Illness

I worked in casting for about five years before I became a director, and that taught me a huge amount because you never actually will see the character walk through the door - and if you do, then you have to be slightly suspicious of that.

- Marianne Elliott

Door, Through, Became, Casting

I'm always drawn to female stories with female protagonists, and I particularly yearn for more older actresses to take centre stage in 2018.

- Marianne Elliott

More, Always, Stories, Protagonists

In subsidized theater, you are encouraged to take risks. It's about being imaginative and artistic. That's the priority. It might not be a success, but let's try.

- Marianne Elliott

Might, About, Artistic, Priority

It's impossible to feel the creative juices flowing if you're always worried about the end result. I think really, really good work comes out of people being quite open, not stressed, really exploring, trying to be imaginative, without worrying too much about the end result.

- Marianne Elliott

Good Work, I Think, About, Worried

'Friends' is easy to dismiss, but it's really good television - the art with which those actors play with comedy shouldn't be denigrated. And they also know how to play irony, which I think a lot of English actors might find quite difficult.

- Marianne Elliott

Play, Irony, I Think, Dismiss

My generation feels it has been lied to a great deal.

- Marianne Elliott

Generation, Been, Feels, Great Deal

It is draining when you have a child, and there aren't many women directors with kids out there as role models.

- Marianne Elliott

Role, Directors, Models, Draining

Staging any play is very exposing because, if you are going to do it well, you have to put so much of yourself into it.

- Marianne Elliott

Play, Going, Very, Staging

I hope for continued bravery and risk-taking for all theatremakers in 2018 and beyond.

- Marianne Elliott

Hope, Beyond, Risk-Taking, Bravery

I suppose I always find a lot of characters that are deeply, deeply keening with a sense of yearning and desire through sadness, but they have a bravery that keeps them going despite that.

- Marianne Elliott

Desire, Through, Always, Bravery

I find theater emotionally expensive and all-involving. You have to pour so much blood and passion and heart into it. And so much time. Why do that for something that's only vaguely interesting and anyone can do it?

- Marianne Elliott

Interesting, Why, Pour, So Much Time

It's a tremendous asset if you have a visual eye because you can make huge visual statements in a very theatrical way and play to the strength of theatre. But the high end of directing is working with actors and making the acting the best it can be.

- Marianne Elliott

Play, Very, Theatrical, Directing

You need to see yourself in what you direct, I think - directing is quite self-indulgent from that point of view.

- Marianne Elliott

Think, Need, Self-Indulgent, Directing

It's incredible how London-centric the theatre world is. Certain actors won't travel away from London anymore for work; practitioners often aren't taken seriously enough unless their work is seen in London; and it's sometimes very difficult to get national critics to review shows - especially if there's a clash with a London press night.

- Marianne Elliott

London, Away, Very, Review

I was 28 before I started putting on productions. I got in the back door by doing fringe shows and a lot of assisting, and I learned on the job. There weren't many female directors when I was starting out. I slowly gained confidence and understanding of the theater, but on my own terms.

- Marianne Elliott

Door, Doing, Putting, Slowly

You have to lead by example. You have to be the calmest person in the room. You have to be very open. I think the qualities of a director are to enable and to find the best in everybody.

- Marianne Elliott

Lead By Example, Think, Very, Enable

I am still very observant. I am absorbed by people and why they do what they do.

- Marianne Elliott

I Am, Very, Still, Absorb

For me, it's life or death doing plays: there's this perfectionist thing about me that it has to be brilliant - anything less than that is a failure.

- Marianne Elliott

Doing, Brilliant, Plays, Perfectionist

Whether you're a man or a woman, life can be very, very difficult and confusing and desperate, and it's life-enhancing to know that somehow, there is a way through it.

- Marianne Elliott

Woman, Through, Very, Confusing

I am quite an insecure person, and I think that, like any director, if I'm asked about my vision for a piece, I feel very vulnerable.

- Marianne Elliott

Think, I Think, Very, Insecure

I feel that if you're going to do theater, you've really got to throw yourself into the deep end. You have to commit your whole life and soul to it to make it the best it could ever be because theater can truly change people in lots of different ways. But I also think it can bore people to death, and it's quite a fine line between those two things.

- Marianne Elliott

Death, Deep, Soul, Fine Line

I'm very much of the opinion that theatre is a collective art form, not just one person's vision.

- Marianne Elliott

Art, Opinion, Very, Art Form

I'm interested in teasing out the contemporary issues in what I'm working on, however old the piece might be, whenever I'm working on it.

- Marianne Elliott

However, Whenever, Piece, Contemporary

I hope that subsidised theatres continue to be rewarded for the wonder of talent they provide to this industry, on stage and off.

- Marianne Elliott

Hope, Industry, Off, Rewarded

Horses are wild animals, essentially, and they're not there to do what humans want them to - they can be browbeaten or cajoled or trained, but they don't hear English; they're not obedient most of the time.

- Marianne Elliott

Want, Trained, Obedient, Wild Animals

If you put a blank canvas in front of Matisse and say, 'This has to be a success,' who's going to pick up a paintbrush?

- Marianne Elliott

Canvas, Going, Blank, Blank Canvas

I believe that theater has to be utterly life-changing for the people watching it.

- Marianne Elliott

Theater, Utterly, For The People

The plays I choose to work on are about having masks. We all have masks in life, but there is a different inner life going on. The audience has to work hard to see what is going on. I love what is not on display.

- Marianne Elliott

Love, Audience, Plays, Masks

I suppose what's so amazing about working at the National Theatre is that, because it's a subsidized theatre, you're not trying to create a product that's going to have a mass market in order to make the money back.

- Marianne Elliott

Back, Mass, About, Mass Market

I'm drawn to female stories, of which there aren't that many, and particularly to stories now about older women. The things they have to confront and override is really fascinating. That's a whole untold part of our world.

- Marianne Elliott

Confront, Part, About, Untold

I used to love getting older.

- Marianne Elliott

Love, Older, Getting, Getting Older

I never wanted anything to do with the theatre as a child. I was dragged there under duress.

- Marianne Elliott

Theatre, Never, Wanted, Dragged

The better the acting is, the less visible the director and the less visible the actor.

- Marianne Elliott

Better, Actor, Director, Visible

With everything I do, there always seems to be a massive risk involved.

- Marianne Elliott

Risk, Always, Involved, Massive

A bad audition is usually the director's fault, not the actor's. It's up to the director to get the atmosphere right to get the best out of your auditionees.

- Marianne Elliott

Bad, Director, Atmosphere, Audition

I've enjoyed lots of productions, and it's always been down to the actors I've been working with.

- Marianne Elliott

Always, Been, Lots, Productions

I never want to see 'Hamlet' ever again! Never ever!

- Marianne Elliott

Never, See, Ever, Hamlet

It's predominantly a male society, predominately a male culture, predominantly a male theatre, and predominantly male critics, but that's changing, definitely.

- Marianne Elliott

Society, Theatre, Definitely, Critics

If you can't see it, you can't be it. It's just having those brilliant women break out and do something - then other girls can say, 'I can do it, too!'

- Marianne Elliott

Other, Break, Having, Brilliant

I didn't want to just be remembered for 'War Horse.'

- Marianne Elliott

Remembered, Want, Just Be, Horse

'War Horse' is just an extraordinary being.

- Marianne Elliott

War, Extraordinary, Being, Horse

I'm really fascinated by other directors' methods. I've done a lot of learning by observation.

- Marianne Elliott

Other, Methods, Lot, Fascinated

I just think that you have to approach anything you do with a huge amount of integrity - I don't really care where it comes from, whether it's a children's piece or an adult piece.

- Marianne Elliott

Think, Approach, Amount, Integrity

I suppose that I'm excited by exciting theater. It takes a risk to show us the world in a new way.

- Marianne Elliott

New, Excited, Show, New Way

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