QuoteProject
To me, what is important in the theater is that we don't want to make a conclusion. We don't want to make a statement, don't want to say what something is. We want to ask, 'What is it?'
Robert Wilson
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Theater should provoke questions rather than provide answers or conclusions.

Robert Wilson emphasizes that the essence of theater lies in the exploration of questions rather than delivering definitive statements or conclusions. He advocates for a form of artistic expression that encourages the audience to engage with the unknown and consider various interpretations, essentially promoting a reflective and questioning approach to art.

Themes

TheaterArtQuestionsInterpretationExploration

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a theater workshop to encourage actors to focus on the depth of their characters.

More from Robert Wilson

Usually in theater, the visual repeats the verbal. The visual dwindles into decoration. But I think with my eyes. For me, the visual is not an afterthought, not an illustration of the text. If it says the same thing as the words, why look? The visual must be so compelling that a deaf man would sit though the performance fascinated.
Robert WilsonRead
I never studied theatre; I learned it by doing it. If I had studied theatre, I would not be making the kind of theatre I am making.
Robert WilsonRead

Similar quotes

I loved words. I love to sing them and speak them and even now, I must admit, I have fallen into the joy of writing them.
Anne RiceRead
Music can speak louder than words, and I will use my music to speak out on behalf of children everywhere.
Judy CollinsRead
The system is the work of art; the visual work of art is the proof of the System. The visual aspect can't be understood without understanding the system. It isn't what it looks like but what it is that is of basic importance.
Sol LewittRead
I cannot listen to Beethoven or Mahler or Chopin or Bach when I write because those composers require you stop what you are doing and listen.
Antonio DamasioRead
Art always opts for the individual, the concrete; art is not Platonic.
Jorge Luis BorgesRead
I knew I could only play Cyrano if he were Americanized. I had no intention of writing the script myself. I was afraid of it. You're playing with fire when you tamper with a classic. So I went looking for a writer. But it was such a personal idea, and anyone I would give it to would make it his own. It's hard to ask Neil Simon to write your idea.
Steve MartinRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Robert Wilson | QuoteProject