Unlike film and TV, theater is a luxury object, but one that ordinary middle-class people can still afford. Above all, it isn't a mass medium: Live theater is a small-scale, handmade art form. Intimacy is what makes it special.
Terry TeachoutRead
Just as most of us prefer to watch a trapeze artist work without a net, we like to be absolutely sure that a virtuoso is giving us our money's worth, and a seemingly effortless performance, no matter how spectacular it may be, deprives us of that slightly sadistic thrill.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We appreciate skilled performances more when they come with an element of risk, as it heightens our enjoyment.
This quote illustrates the human tendency to seek thrill and satisfaction in performances that include a sense of danger or uncertainty. It suggests that mastery, while admirable, requires an element of risk to fully engage an audience, as the absence of danger can dull the excitement of watching someone display their remarkable skills.
Themes
PerformanceRiskThrillArtistryMastery
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the arts, this quote can illustrate why audiences appreciate danger in performances.
More from Terry Teachout
All quotes →No translation can possibly be perfect. Every production and every performance is a different path up the mountain, and nobody ever makes it all the way to the summit.
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No, I don't know how to get young people to start listening to jazz again. But I do know this: Any symphony orchestra that thinks it can appeal to under-30 listeners by suggesting that they 'should' like Schubert and Stravinsky has already lost the battle.
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Century-old records are the closest thing we have to a time machine. To listen to the voice of Theodore Roosevelt or the piano playing of Claude Debussy is to feel the years falling away like autumn leaves from a maple tree.
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