Acting is all about relating to the people on stage with you, even in plays that break the fourth wall. Clowning, for the most part, is the opposite. If somebody in the audience sneezes, I can count on it: I don’t even have to look at Shiner; he’ll have his handkerchief out. It’s all about all of us in the room together. Bill Irwin Read Quote
Competition between men is a fuel that’s useful to us. We have to be careful that it doesn’t tell the same story over too many times, but it’s amazing how durable that story is. Bill Irwin Read Quote
People ask me, ‘Have you done much drag?’ And I say, ‘I don’t think of it as drag. I’m playing a woman!’ Bill Irwin Read Quote
Edward Albee, the premier dark playwright of the American theater, would show up at rehearsal and quote his favorite lines from ‘Auntie Mame’. He would stand at the back of the theater, not facing the stage, and sort of conduct the music of his play. Bill Irwin Read Quote
Here’s my story: My mother and I were at Cirque du Soleil, looking down on Shiner doing his act. She was always tolerant of my being a clown, but I don’t remember her rolling with laughter. But with Shiner, she could not sit up straight! Bill Irwin Read Quote
I am the oldest of three. I was in charge of making sure my brother and sister were OK and also entertained so they didn’t bother my mother, who had a job at home. Bill Irwin Read Quote
We want to be able to fly. We want to be able to sear somebody with lightning from across the room. Those are primal desires, to shoot somebody with energy. Bill Irwin Read Quote
It’s shocking to think of the universe now without Robin Williams’ energy, even muted. Bill Irwin Read Quote
