That feeling of not being authentic, of having something to prove: use it.

-- Smash, "Tech"

Well, sometimes dreams are hard.

-- Smash, "Pilot"

Ivy: I know you guys are super successful now, but did you ever feel like giving up?

Julia: Um, I could barely get up to answer the door.

Ivy: I just don't know what to do. Now I'm going in for parts that I would have passed on two years ago. Maybe I should just quit.

Julia: I've been where you are. It's a brutal business. But just when I'd want to throw in the towel, something would happen to remind me of why I love it in the first place. And thus the dysfunctional cycle continues.

-- Smash, "The Fallout"

Tom, do you honestly think I have never thought about all of this before? I made a decision to do what I love to do, and I accept everything that comes along with that. Whatever happens next, I accept it. This is what theatre is; it is joy one day, and it's gone the next. It's like a religion, and I don't apologize for wanting to be a part of that, and I don't wish for something more. I really don't.

-- Smash, "Tech"

Art isn't therapy. We're not here to work out our personal problems. We're here to take those problems and completely exploit them, to hell with how much we hurt. Actually, the more we hurt, the better.

-- Smash, "Bombshell"

Tom: Tell me why we do this again.

Sam: Oh, you know. Art.

Tom: Art. What? Art is a sick compulsion. Art is an ego gone haywire. Art...

Sam: Art is beautiful. It brings you joy to write a song, brings us joy to sing it, brings an audience joy to hear it. Now get back to work.

-- Smash, "Bombshell"