I Don't Need an Acting Class: Recent Episodes
Milton Justice
Academy Award winner and celebrated acting teacher Milton Justice invites you into his weekly acting class, and what has become an invaluable audio resource to actors across the globe. Based on his years of study with the legendary teacher Stella Adler and his forthcoming book of the same name, I Don’t Need an Acting Class is one of the few acting podcasts that delves deep into the craft of acting, breaking down the concepts, tools and techniques we have at our disposal and providing a practical "road in" to approaching a role. Produced by Walker Vreeland. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/actingclass/support
Talking out or improvising text helps us connect to what we’re talking out, sometimes by way of letting us know we are lying. In that sense, talking out is like a lie detector. It’s a way of self-assessing our own work. For example, if we’re bored, that means we’re not bringing ourselves to life, which means we haven’t earned it. Will don’t believe it and neither will anyone else. Milton also makes it clear what talking out isn’t: it’s not performing, it’s not standup comedy, it’s not telling a story. It’s solely meant to connect, or begin experiencing the character and circumstances.
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Milton will be teaching a week-long acting workshop at Clap Class in Marseille! The class will be held in English. Must have experience in film, television or theater, and be fluent in English.
Monday, November 18th to Friday November 22, 2024; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
To register: go to clapclass.fr
Two topics are covered in this episode: our tendency to be disconnected from what you’re talking about, and our tendency to be disconnected from what’s going on with you in the scene. We shy away from being truly connected because it means vulnerability, it means “going there.” Even if you’re talking about something simple or you’re in a moment that’s not particularly heightened, when we’re connected, we’re revealing ourselves. It’s why we fall back on an analytical tone. Because it keeps us removed. Milton also talks about the importance of being active at all times, whether we’re speaking or not. A great way to listen actively is to talk out your reaction to what another character is saying. This creates an internal monologue so that something is always “going on” with you, whether you’re listening or looking out of a window.
*This episode is in audio and video format. To watch the video version, find it on the Spotify app.
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Milton gives another round of notes to Chris who is doing a monologue from All My Sons.
This week, Milton coaches Chris on a monologue from All My Sons. This episode is both audio and video. You can watch the video version on Spotify.
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This week’s episode calls to mind the Steve Martin quote: “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” You want to make choices that are so inventive that they have no choice but to hire you.
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In this longer-than-usual episode, Milton coaches the class through Jed’s audition for a TV series in which an out-of-control robot is stealing children. You’ll hear how Milton talks out the entire scene several times. This includes his dialogue, the dialogue of the others in the scene and his response to the others in the scene, as if telling someone a story of what happened. In doing so, he finds choices he loves, which makes the scene more than being a mere plot device. He finds a clear action, gives himself obstacles which help him play that action, and starts getting a sense of who this person is.
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In this episode, Milton begins talking through The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash. It’s an example of how we can begin working on a play by ourselves. There is no right way. We can take our initial impressions (whatever hits us first) and wander around with them in a non-performative way. We do this, in large part, to discover what world we’re in, and that becomes our entree into all the specific elements that exist in that world. “But I resist making a decision for as long as possible,” Milton says, referring to the barn in the play. “The reason is: I want every decision I make to feed into my understanding of what the scene is about. And at this point, I don’t know enough yet, about the play or my character, to create the barn. But once I know more, I’m going to build it in a way that helps me an as actor, that gives my character something to play against.”
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Two of Milton’s students are currently starring in an off-Broadway musical, and this week he discusses his recent work with them. He talks about the similarities between the structure of a film and the structure of a musical. In (almost) every scene there is a song, which takes place because the circumstances become so heightened that the only thing one can do in that moment is to sing; and like in film, each scene turns, (i.e. a big change happens and usually it’s during a song.)
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This episode gets back to the HUGE topic of using your own life, featuring an in-depth conversation amongst the class. It culminates with the following ideas: even though Stella Adler advised against using your own life and experience because it limits you, it’s impossible to take you out of the work. When you use your imagination instead of searching for how you can “relate” to your character, whatever comes up emotionally for you is the result of your own personal, emotional well. Your life is still going to be there in your performance because it’s you! But that is simply the result, not some place that we should start.
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Let’s face it: acting is weird. So are actors. The issues we have…the circumstances we find ourselves in are unlike that of anyone else. Some examples: How does one negotiate a love scene? What do you do when you’re on stage and you start focusing on the mole on your fellow actor’s face, pulling you completely out of the moment? Why dating a co-star is dangerous. What are the principals of “food acting”? And how does a gay cult classic film end up on The Criterion Collection? There are so many weird things that we have to know as actors that have little to do with acting.
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Even when you're getting bad direction, or someone in the cast inappropriately gives you notes... Even when you feel like you're the only one who knows what they're doing, it's impossible to overemphasize the importance of being respectful and leaving a positive impression on everyone you work with. There are ways to handle these situations. Some actors have to learn the hard way, but for those who don't want to go through that, here's some advice on how to communicate when you feel stranded in a sea of stupidity while continuing to bring your best work to the table.
Milton begins this week’s episode talking about a client whose personal life reflects the circumstances of the character he’s playing. It’s yet another lesson about the actor’s instinct to make a character about us, and it’s especially difficult to resist when we have been through almost the exact same experience. The difference is— our relationship to the circumstances. This is what can wake you up to the fact that the character you’re playing is in fact, very different from you.
*Starting now, you can leave comments on episodes on Spotify, and we can reply! (Finally!) Please leave and questions or comments you have and we'll get back to you.
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Milton Plays A Car Mechanic
The point of this episode is that, while we always need to work hard to make our work believable and interesting, there are times where you might have to work even harder because of your limited imagination and/or life experience. Such as the example provided in this week’s episode: Milton working on a car. This, in life, has never and most likely, will never happen. And a big part of our talent is know what it’s going to take to get there for us as individuals, playing a specific part. We have to be able to identify what it’s going to take for us to earn it.
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In this episode, we take a look at the play Loose Ends by Michael Weller. We do so through the lens of realism and the contribution that Ibsen, Strindberg and Chekov made to the modern theater. It’s an unusually long episode, but listening to Milton lecture on and analyze the time period of this play is an example of where script analyses can begin. It’s an exploration, a deep-dive conversation where the actor layers in information and just begins to consider it. Also— stay tuned for the end where Milton shares his favorite relationship advice!
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Whether it’s stage or screen, you have to be able to analyze the text to figure out what world you’re in, what’s going on with your character and how you fit into the bigger picture. This way, you can come up with a choice that gives you something, moves you, makes you excited. So that by the time you say it, you’ve earned it.
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This week, Milton explores a few of the ways we can gain insight into character. We can observe a stranger on the street and then, using a specific character trait, improvise a monologue as that person. We can also examine the events that contribute to a person’s identity. The crucial lesson here is that we never stop searching, never stop digging to find the complexity of a human being. Finally, Milton shares a “talking out” exercise Shane did which is a great example of allowing yourself to wander until you find something that brings you to life.
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We begin our 7th season with a call to save acting. Together, we can do it! One of the biggest elements that is missing in acting today is understanding the idea behind the play (or whatever it is that we’re doing) and understanding the size of it. Because of the work we do as actors, we get insight into truths about the human experience that we get to share with an audience. And this is how we need to approach plays: that we are letting the audience in on an idea. We are there to teach, inspire, enlighten and ultimately save.
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In life, we usually don't relive a painful experience when we're talking about it. That doesn't mean it doesn't affect us. It's just that we're not actively trying to "go there." In fact, usually we resist going there with all of our being.
The same should be true when we're acting. We must build the character's past, but that doesn't mean our action is to relive it. This is another example of trusting the work we've done is in us and playing the action of the scene.
And if the scene does call for you to "go there," it's important to give yourself somewhere to go. This has to do with knowing where you're going and where you are in the context of the character's journey.
*If you want to access the video version of this bonus episode, you can watch it on Spotify.
www.idontneedanactingclass.com
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Season finale! The problem with trying to learn acting in a linear way is that no creative art is linear. You can’t fit a lifelong craft into one box or one book. Therefore, there is no one secret, or one method, or one idea that will save you. We have to be able to take on board the fact that acting is multifaceted. It is not about right or wrong, but a matter of depth. And the more you’re able to challenge yourself, and integrate the many aspects of being human, the greater chances that the audience will walk away considering something new.
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In this episode, Milton shares an example of what it means to trust your creative impulses. This means allowing yourself the freedom to wander around until you find a connection to what you're talking about. Although you may know where you're going, you don't necessarily know how you're going to get there, or what choice you're going to discover that ends up bringing you to life.
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“I’m so sick of Mark Ruffalo. Whatever that is, I’m so sick of it. I am so sick of him that literally there was a part of me that was flirting with disaster.”
On the heels of his Academy Award nominated performance in the film Poor Things, Mark Ruffalo joined his former acting teacher and coach Milton Justice on the podcast I Don't Need an Acting Class to discuss his process. He has since been nominated for an Academy Award.
“I’m always thinking I’m about four hours away from being fired!” He also lightheartedly admitted that his co-star Willem Defoe, and even the film’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos questioned his outrageous character choices. “Willem said to me first day on set, he’s like: “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
In the end, Ruffalo was so grateful for the opportunity to take risks and push himself this far: “It was so liberating. You’re always trying to throw your elbows out to stay one step ahead of what people expect of you as an actor. I get bored, you know? And I wanna keep being challenged.”
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“I’m so sick of Mark Ruffalo. Whatever that is, I’m so sick of it. I am so sick of him that literally there was a part of me that was flirting with disaster.”
On the heels of his Academy Award nominated performance in the film Poor Things, Mark Ruffalo joined his former acting teacher and coach Milton Justice on the podcast I Don't Need an Acting Class to discuss his process. He has since been nominated for an Academy Award
“I’m always thinking I’m about four hours away from being fired!” He also lightheartedly admitted that his co-star Willem Defoe, and even the film’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos questioned his outrageous character choices. “Willem said to me first day on set, he’s like: “Are
you out of your fucking mind?”
In the end, Ruffalo was so grateful for the opportunity to take risks and push himself this far: “It was so liberating. You’re always trying to throw your elbows out to stay one step ahead of what people expect of you as an actor. I get bored, you know? And I wanna keep being challenged.”
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This week’s episode is based on a question we received about adding your own circumstances in order to increase the stakes, or help you connect. Here’s the question in its entirely:
Is it acceptable to add your own specific circumstances or facts to bear down on generalities in the script?
Or is this dangerous embellishment? David Mamet says to invent nothing, and that the author has given you only what is germane to the physical action of the play, as the joke-writer gives you only what is germane to the punchline.
For example act 1, scene 4 (Richard III). Murderers and Clarence. There is nothing that mentions how much time they have to kill Clarence in the scene but the actors may add the fact “we only have 5 minutes to kill Clarence” so as to make the present circumstance more engaging and difficult, therefore more entertaining?
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This episode begins with the exercise of telling someone else’s story. It involves hearing a story from someone in class, and then retelling it as our own. This is a great technique exercise because it allows you to layer in your first impressions improvisationally. You don’t have to get it all the first time. And in the process, you find the details that stick with you— these are the choices that bring you to life, and what allows you to put your own unique stamp on the role. “This is what you all did with this exercise,” Milton says. “You allowed yourself to add things that became your contribution.
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Milton begins this episode by emphasizing the importance of observing human behavior— our own and others. The reason is, it gives us clues to everything, from character to circumstance to what “playing an action” looks like. Milton gives the example of an audition Diego recently worked on, where he struggled to play the action “to seduce.” This is where observation becomes so helpful. Looking at others helps us understand the nature of seduction.
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This week, we go back to some of the fundamentals of acting technique. One of which is, The Biggest Sin: Thou Shall Not Make Performance Choices When You First Read The Script. But this is not something we’re always aware that we’re doing. We forget. Or— we have an immediate response to the character or the circumstances, and run with that first instinct. Or— because of our own personal beliefs and values, we unconsciously pass judgement on the character we’re playing. Regardless of the reason, what we end up with is something that lacks depth and complexity. The bottom line is: the mistake is almost impossible NOT to make. The key is: catching ourselves in The Biggest Sin, and coming back to the starting line, giving ourselves permission to really sit with the facts and see what questions occur to us, perhaps do some research and see what sparks some fire within us. If you have the luxury of time, allow yourself the space to build the role, piece by piece, layer by layer.
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“Don’t shop at Kmart if there’s a Tiffany’s at 57th and 5th.”
-Stella Adler on Making Choices
This episode begins with Milton’s deconstruction of an audition. He talks about the downside of adding a lot of plot points to your preparation for a scene: it means you have to earn every single one of them in a way that feeds you emotionally. “But the advanced work,” he says, “is making kick-ass choices. You challenge yourself to be smarter.”
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There are some misconceptions about relaxation in acting. You want to be relaxed but not so relaxed that you’re not able to be active as your character in the given circumstances. As Milton says in this week’s episode: “I think a lot of it is figuring out where to put your focus in the work, rather than trying to solve the problem of being all over the place, or being nervous or being in your head.” In other words, the answer to relaxation is found in the actor-work itself. Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
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In this episode, actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones joins us on the podcast to talk about playing twin witches on American Horror Story. She discusses the extensive background and character work the did while working one-on-one with Milton, as well as the exercises that freed her up the most and allowed her to make ever more discoveries.
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An excerpt from Milton's Masterclass at Spotlight in Stockholm, Sweden.
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What do we mean when we say the Given Circumstances? According to Stella Adler, the Given Circumstances includes everything— all the facts. And as Milton puts it, it incorporates all the P’s: the play, the playwright, the plot, the place, the period, and the personality, past and profession of the character.
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This is one of those ideas in acting that is almost scientific in its certainty. If you’re ever in a scene where your character is meant to be inactive, you must equally compensate for it by finding a way to make what you’re doing especially active. For example, your character is “bored” or “depressed” or “listless,” you cannot “play bored or depressed. You must give yourself something active to do, whether it’s an activity with a definite end, or a larger action like something to fight for. In the second half of the class, Milton works with a student on the “Love/Hate exercise” and talks about the importance of letting your choices feed you.
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The reason why “putting something in your own words” is such a useful exercise is because it covers so much territory: understanding the sequence of thoughts, owning the character’s point of view and the size of an idea, and what action we are playing. There are concepts that you can apply to any monologue, any scene. Since you don’t have time to memorize the words, (and therefore become creatively strangled), you’re forced to get clear about what it is that you’re doing. Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
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This week, Milton muses about what we mean when we talk about connecting. How much to we, as actors, have to connect to the character’s point of view, and how it that different than the character connecting to their point of view? “I often say that you know more than your character knows,” Milton says. “But the question is: what do I know that my character doesn’t know? And how does that inform the importance of what I’m saying?” Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
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Your shirt is blue. 👕
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You promised to bring me the notes for the lecture. I waited for you and when you didn’t turn up I knew you’d forgotten as usual.
This is a comprehensive list of what people in class said they would work on when given this one line of dialogue:
- Relationship to partner
- Where are we
- What is the lecture
- Are you teacher or student
- How long did you wait
- Where did you wait
- Who am I who are they
- Past of forgotten as usual
- What have they forgotten
- How do I feel about the fact that they’ve forgetten
- Where was he? At the lecture? What happened?
- What was I doing before waiting?
- What were the consequences
- How important the notes
- What exactly are the notes?
- What was the person’s attitude about this?
- Moment of the promise?
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There are so many (upsides) to improvisation. For one, it helps you get specific, own what you’re talking about, and find choices that you love. It also forces you to listen because you’re constantly having to check-in with your scene partner to see if you’re getting through to them and solving your problem. It also, as witnessed in this episode’s exercise with JP and Amanda, is a great way to understand your character’s point of view.
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Milton begins this week’s episode sharing memories about working with Swedish cinematographer, Sven Nykvist and Helen Mirren, and why “taking the time to build slowly and let it layer in” is such a wonderful way to work. And yet, there is no one way of working. This is why taking acting advice from other actors can be so misleading. What works for one does not work for all. What works for actors in one culture does not work for actors in another culture. At the end of the day, we have to find what works for us.
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Your individual experience will inform your “way in” to approaching a role and of course, your interpretation of a character will be uniquely yours. But that doesn’t mean the character is you, and that you don’t have to move outside of yourself to create this other human being. A great way to begin imagining this “other” is to read. Reading feeds the imagination. It force us outside of ourselves, enabling us to immerse ourselves in pages and pages of another perspective. And we can begin visualizing behavior, physicality and mindset. Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
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One of the biggest contributions that Stanislavsky (and later Stella Adler) made was the clear logic they brought to the study of acting. This episode includes several ideas in acting technique that simply make sense: make a choice, move slowly, do research that feeds you, "keep moving. It may be forward."
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In this episode, Milton talks about the myths actors tell themselves about why they’re not getting hired. The bottom line is this: if you’re good, eventually you’ll start getting hired. In a culture obsessed with tricks, quick fixes, fast-tracks and branding, our abilities as actors has fallen by the wayside. Sure, it’s nice to have credits but the reason to say “yes” to everything is because of what you learn from each job. Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
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There’s a difference between the preparation work we do when creating a role, and what we’re actually doing in the scene. For instance, in your preparation, you may have had to build a past so that each moment is emotionally filled, but that may not be what the scene is about. And so you don’t want to “play” the past, but instead, play what’s going on with you in the scene. This lesson is illustrated as Kaleb and Milton work together on a monologue from the Tennessee Williams play, Vieux Carré. Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
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Welcome back everyone! Hope everyone is enjoying their fall so far. We’re beginning Season 6 with an overview of some of our actor-tools: exploring the nature of character, connecting to something honestly and interestingly, they importance of improvisation, visualization, and how music can influence your work.
For anyone interested in Milton’s upcoming six-week Technique & Script Analysis Workshop beginning October 7th, there are still a few spots available. For more information or to register, email Walker at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
What did you think of the episode? Send us a voice note below!
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Hey everyone,
Milton’s 6-week Technique & Script Analysis Workshop will begin October 7th. Classes are Saturdays, from 2PM to 5PM EST and will be held over Zoom for six consecutive weeks. The fee for the 6-week session is $300. This is a great opportunity to get your foot in the door to one of Milton's classes, as he rarely opens up a class to new students. It's also insanely discounted, much to my (Walker's) dismay! 🤪 Anyway, if you're interested you can register or get more info by emailing me, Walker, at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Hope to see you soon!
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Hope you've all had a great summer. Just a quick message to let you know we'll be back with Season 6 in September!
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In this episode, Milton takes a great question about pacing, which is a note actors get all the time, especially from people like agents and casting directors, and even directors. The reason it’s so precarious is because it’s an “effect/result” direction and never addresses the reason for the pacing. Does the pacing need to be different because of the genre you’re in? Or is it because the moments aren’t “filled” and therefore the work is dying? Or is it both? Most people who give notes about pacing have no idea why the pacing needs to change, and so they don’t know how to direct the actor to change it. In so many cases, the actor runs the risk of just “doing it faster” without any regard for what will help achieve that result and why it needs to be be achieved. He also takes a question from a listener, (James) who asks about casting based on your credits.
Thank you for a wonderful season! If you have an acting question while we’re on break, send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at questionsformilton@gmail.com and Milton will send you a personal audio response.
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This week, we bring you a private coaching in which Milton breakdown a monologue he’s seeing for the first time with an actor he’s working with for the first time. As the session progresses, you begin to understand his approach. From getting beneath the mentality of a character and they way they see and understand the world that they’re in…to beginning to own and experience the the enormous struggle that underlies the reason for the play. Here is the monologue:
A Bright New Boise By Samuel D. Hunter
Will, a disgraced evangelical who has let his own fundamentalist beliefs ruin his entire life, is presented with an option-hold on to his beliefs, or give them up and accompany his new love interest to a Lutheran service on Sunday. But when pushed, he clings to his former belief.
WILL: Believe in what? Believe in the Lutheran Church, some branch of some branch of some branch of Christianity, some vapid, meaningless organization that's going to legislate my belief system instead of looking to God's word for it? You work at a Hobby Lobby, Anna. Before that you worked at Walmart, JC Penney, McDonald's, Barnes and Noble, and now we both work here. Your life is meaningless, my life is meaningless, and the only thing that gives any meaning, that brings any hope to this life is my unshakeable belief that God will come again in glory to replace this disgusting life with something new, and pure, and meaningful- And you could take the easy route, you could go to a liberal church, and believe in nothing, believe that God is unknowable and we'll never know the meaning of life, you'll go to college and get a degree in English or Philosophy or Art or Economics and you'll spend your life searching in the dark, trying to find meaning in meaninglessness- become one of those people who sit around in their fashionable clothes with their fashionable friends and call us bigots, and fanatics, and hicks, calling us idiots for actually believing in something, for standing for truth— (losing himself) AND THESE PEOPLE WILL BURN IN HELL, YOU WILL BURN IN HELL BECAUSE INSTEAD OF SEEKING TRUTH YOU MOCK IT, YOU INSULT IT, YOU SPIT IN THE FACE OF GOD AND HE WILL—
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In case you missed it live, this week we bring you our Conversation on Acting series with Sharon Carnicke. Sharon is an internationally acclaimed expert on Stanislavsky. Her latest book Dynamic Acting through Active Analysis follows the evolution of a radical rehearsal technique created by Stanislavsky. She is also the author of Stanislavsky in Focus: An Acting Master for the Twenty-First Century, Checking Out Chekhov: A Guide to the Plays for Actors, Directors, and Readers, and is the coauthor of Reframing Screen Performance. She is currently a Professor of Theatre Critical Studies at USC School of Dramatic Art. In this conversation, we break down "The Method" and the biggest confusions and misconceptions surrounding it.
Have an acting question? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at questionsformilton@gmail.com and Milton will send you a personal audio response. WANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content! https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/actingclass/subscribe
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Film Genres
Genre Conventions are specific settings, roles, events, and values that define individual genres and their sub-genres.
- Love Story
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Buddy Salvation
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Road Picture
- Horror Film
- Uncanny – source of horror is astound but subject to “rational” explanation – such as beings from outer space, science-made monsters, or a maniac.
- Supernational – in which the source of horror is an “irrational” phenomenon from the spirit realm.
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Super-Uncanny – in which the audience is kept guessing between the other two possibilities
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Modern Epic – individual versus the state – Spartacus, Erin Brockovich
- Western
- War Genre
- Pro-war – covertly glorifying war
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Anti-war
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Maturation Plot – Coming of age Story
- Redemption Plot – film arcs on a moral change within the protagonist from bad to good
- Punitive Plot – good guy turns bad and is punished
- Testing Plot – stories of will power versus temptation to surrender – Forest Gump
- Education Plot – Deep change within the protagonist’s view of life, people, or self from the negative (naïve, distrustful, fatalistic, self0hating) to the positive (wise, trusting, optimistic, self-possessed)
- Disillusionment Plot – a deep change of worldview from the positive to the negative – Great Gatsby, Macbeth
- Comedy
- Parody
- Satire
- Sitcom
- Romantic
- Screwball
- Farce
- Black Comedy
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Bro Comedy
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Crime
- Murder Mystery (master detective POV)
- Caper (master criminal’s POV)
- Detective (cop’s POV)
- Gangster (crook’s POV)
- Thriller or Revenge Tale (victim’s POV)
- Courtroom (lawyer’s POV)
- Newspaper (reporter’s POV)
- Espionage (spy’s POV)
- Prison Drama (inmate’s POV)
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Film Noir (POV of a protagonist who may be part criminal, part detective, part victim of a femme fatale)
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Social Drama – problems in society 0 poverty, the education system, then constructs a story demonstrating a cure.
- Domestic Drama (family problems)
- Woman’s film (dilemmas such as career versus family, lover versus children)
- Political Drama (corruption in politics)
- Eco-Drama (battles to save the environment)
- Medical Drama
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Psycho-Drama
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Action/Adventure
- High Adventure
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Disaster/Survival Film
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Historical Drama
- Biography – must have point of view Gandhi becomes the hero of a Modern Epic, Nixon suffers from Punitive Plot
- Docu-Drama
- Mockumentary
- Musical
- Science Fiction – often marry the man0against0state Modern Epic with Action/Adventure: Star Wars
- Sports Genre - a natural home for Maturation Plot, Redemption Plot, Education Plot, Punitive Plot, Testing Plot, Disillusionment Plot, Beddy Salvation, Social Drama.
- Fantasy
- Animation
- Art Film
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This week, our episode focuses on the idea of instinct. Most of us think of that word as something w’re born with, something that is innately part of us. But in the context of training and learning a process, instinct is learned. The more you exercise certain muscles of your technique, the more it is there for you when you need it. For example, one of our tools is slowing down enough to analyze “the nature” of an idea and then translate it into something actable. If we take the time to work these tools, eventually they become part of our instinct, and our way of working becomes almost automatic.
And if you ever get lost, you can always come back to the fundamentals.
Please join us for our Conversations on Acting session with Sharon Carnike this Saturday, June 3rd at 3pm EST. To receive the link by email, go to idontneedanactingclass.com and sign up for our mailing list. Or simply logon to our Facebook page or YouTube page and we'll be streaming live.
Have an acting question? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at questionsformilton@gmail.com and Milton will send you a personal audio response.
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This episodes happens to contain more casual chat and personal anecdotes than usual, but there is a point to it. It’s about the need to look at your character’s character. Do they have a strong sense of morality? Do they have principals, and off so, what are they? This is a particularly important question when playing someone whose actions in the play reflect their moral character. Perhaps they take a stand and do so at great personal cost. This is such an integral part of a human being, one that deserves a lot of our time as actors.
Have an acting question? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at questionsformilton@gmail.com and Milton will send you a personal audio response.
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This week, Milton talks about his approach to scene work. He begins discussing what the scene is about, has each actor do an etude (or improvised) monologue about their character, and then has both actors do an improvised scene that is not in the play. However, it’s important that this scene is not an arbitrary choice. There needs to be a reason in the text to explore this “missing” scene. Why does he do this? As Stella once said: “If you know how your character lives outside the play, then when you come back to the play, you’ll know how they behave.”
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Hey everyone. First of all, we want to welcome our new listeners. It never ceases to amaze us that people keep discovering the podcast everyday. We’re so grateful. We also want to know what you think. Are there any issues you want to hear Milton discuss? Any questions or confusions? What do you love? What do you hate? (No we’re not trying to get you to do an acting exercise.) We would love to hear from you. So if you would, please take a couple minutes a leave a review for us on Apple Podcasts. And feel free to use that review to send us a message. Not only will Milton respond to you, but we will love you for it. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/actingclass/message
This episode with Milton’s famous class exercise “Something I Love/Something I Hate” where you talk out improvistorally while building something you love or hate. The purpose of this exercise is learning to live off the images and make choices that feed you in order to earn the line “I hate ________”, or: “I love ________.” “What I want you all to do is stop throwing things out there that you don’t pay a price for.” Milton says. “Everything is something that needs to be earned.”
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This week’s episode, taken from a private coaching session, is about uncovering what your character’s problem is, and who the character’s partner is, in order to get to the action. And the problem is never the plot. Even though the given circumstances play into the problem, the true problem is always a much bigger, cosmic idea. Your impulse to solve this problem is what you’re doing to solve it.
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This week’s episode is an excerpt of a coaching Milton did with JP for a SWAT audition. You’ll notice that the difference here between teaching and coaching. Teaching demands that the actors themselves comes up with the choices and tools they’ll use for that specific material. Whereas coaching requires less independence because the coach gives it to you. It’s important to take note of what you’re function is in the grand scheme of the episode. If you’re a “plot point” there to further the storyline, you don’t want to build too much, or else you risk stealing focus. “What you really want to do,” Milton says, “is look at the plot that is there, and figure out what you need to both earn the plot, and make it more interesting.”
We want to know: what is the worst, most confusing, unhelpful, or enraging acting note or direction you’ve ever received? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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A question was asked our script analysis class about the idea of stillness in film acting, which led to a conversation about the proliferation of acting “tricks” that are espoused by so many actors who may be brilliant, but don’t always have a clear idea about their own process or what makes them great. “Stillness” is a result or “effect direction” while active listening is something you can actually do.
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The episode discusses the importance of seeing the character you’re playing as a separate entity. You, as the actor, get the opportunity to build a human being. After allowing your mind to wander and wonder what it would be like to be this person in this specific circumstance, you can begin talking it out different moments. Eventually, you will be ready to shape-shift into the character and talk out as them. Most importantly, you want to get specific in your choices so it excites you as much it would if you were telling a favorite story. Have an acting question for Milton? Send a voice note or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This week’s episode is about the difference between the actor’s contribution to the creative process, versus the writer’s. Whereas the writer’s job is to put into words what they have to say, the actor’s contribution to the art form is bringing the text to life, which they do by experientially filling in what the writer has given us. It’s always a lot of work, but every actor’s performance will be unique because everyone connects to something different and has a distinct ”road-in” to approaching the role. Have an acting question for Milton? Email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Find more at idontneedanactingclass.com
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This week, we’re swinging back to an important idea. Which is knowing what the idea is! Getting to the idea doesn’t happen in an instant. It is a process in which you keep coming back to the piece, whether it’s a play, a film, a monologue, a radio show or a speech, and asking yourself: what is this about? It’s alright not to know yet, and it’s alright if the answer changes. The important thing is that you never stop asking the question. Have an acting question for Milton? Email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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In this episode, Milton wanders around and takes questions while avoiding Strindberg because of how much he knows it’s going to cost emotionally. But by the end, he lands on a helpful way to access a role, especially if it’s not yours yet: ask yourself “if I had this part, how would I, as an individual, work on it?” This gives you confidence because it gives you ownership of the role, and helps you make bolder choices. Of course there is no right or wrong, there is only the best “road-in” for you. Have an acting question for Milton? Email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Even if we’re not working on a Strindberg play, we can learn so much from the playwright about how to bring depth to a character. One distinction about Strindberg is that he showed us real people, not only in external conflict in their relationships with one another, but internal conflict, in relationship to themselves. All human beings are paradoxes. As an example: a character may be confident, but finding where they have self-doubt could be a revelation. It’s these internal conflicts that are the character’s central problem. They are tortured not by the society in which they live, but their own psyche. Have an acting question for Milton? Email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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So many of us know what it feels like to doubt ourselves, to ask ourselves: am I doing this right? This week, Milton talks about what it takes to own a play or piece of text with confidence when striving for greatness. The time, the work, the patience is endless, as is the fortitude required to remain steadfast throughout a career. In this rare and inspiring episode, Milton shares several personal stories of how he managed to get back up and move forward after getting knocked down. “This is not a profession for the faint of heart,” he says. “The field is littered with the bodies of people who gave up acting. And nobody cares.” Have an acting question for Milton? Email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This week, Milton introduces us to the playwright August Strindberg, and how Stella Adler’s teaching contributed to the way actors approach his writing. While Chekov and Ibsen signified the beginning of realism, Strindberg marked the beginning of what we think of as the modern theater, deeply exploring the human being’s complexity and inner conflict. In this episode, as Milton introduces the Strindberg one-act Playing with Fire, he talks about two defining characteristics of the playwright: class, and the struggle between the sexes. Have an acting question for Milton or want to register for his upcoming workshop in March 2023? Email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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In this episode, Milton recalls one of Stella’s exercises which he teaches to this day. The purpose of the exercise is to invest ourselves fully in an action. One way we can do this is by understanding the “why” behind the action. We can play the action “to teach,” but understanding the “why”— (that unless you teach the extras how to ride a chariot properly, they could die)— turns the dial on the action, giving it weight and making it more active. Have an acting question for Milton or want to register for his upcoming workshop in March 2023? Email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This episode starts out with a simple “action” exercise but becomes about something much larger: how we go about creating (or talking out) the circumstances so that by the time we get to the words, they are filled with life and believable. As Milton has repeated time and again: “Just because you say it, doesn’t make it true.” We have to earn the lines. This episode is about figuring out what each of us needs in order to do that. Have an acting question for Milton or want to register for his upcoming workshop in March 2023? Email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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As actors, Doing research is important, but it’s only useful if we’re able to turn it into something actable. There is nothing useful about the knowledge that comes from research if all we do is know it. This is where the imagination comes in. We have to take the time to let the new information gestate, to turn it around, dig deeper, ask ourselves what it means, all the while letting it affect us, filtering it into the emotional part of our instrument.
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As we approach our new Script Analysis Class beginning March 8th, (if you’re interested in taking it, email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com), this episode begins with a quote about “the more you know.” Not only does loving your choices free you, but so does knowing the circumstances, the people, the period, the world of the play— experientially. As the episode progresses, Milton and the class analyze the character of Paul in the play Loose Ends, and discover how what he does tells you about who he is. Have an acting question for Milton or want to register for his upcoming workshop? Email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Back when classes were in person!
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This week, Milton talks about how essential it is to be in love with our choices. If we, as actors, don’t LOVE the choices we make, we won’t commit to them 1000%. We will end up pushing a performance and feeling stuck. But if we are relentless about finding choices that personally excite us, then we won’t have to work so hard once we get up on our feet. Choices that thrill us, free us. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This episode features Milton's conversation with his longtime friend, character actress Margo Martindale. Mostly recently, you might know her from The Watcher on Netflix, Bojack Horseman, Sneaky Pete and for her portrayal of Bella Abzug on the limited FX series Mrs. America. Margo won a Primetime Emmy and Critics Choice Award for her role as Mags Bennett on Justified; she then won two Emmys for playing a Russian spy on The Americans. Her movie credits include Dead Man Walking, Secretariat, Million Dollar Baby and August Osage County. In this conversation Margo shares how she works on material that lacks information about character and/or backstory, and talks about the importance of making a choice and committing to it. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This episode continues the discussion of how to build character. Specifically— how to avoid cliches by remembering that no person is just one thing. Using the tenants of script analysis, finding clues (or facts) in the text about your character is the first step. As you allow these facts to seep into your imagination and you begin analyzing and exploring the complexity of the character, it will eventually help you step into the shoes of this person. You’ll hear an example of this process towards the end of the episode when Milton asks the class to give their first impressions about the character trait “indifferent.” Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Happy New Year everyone! As we begin 2023, we thought it would be helpful to circle back and address some fundamental ideas about character. Like everything else in acting, this is not a cut and dry, fill-in-the-banks process. Sometimes a large piece of a character is their background, the time period in which they lived, or their social circumstances. Sometimes we’re creating specific character traits. We also cover: whether or not personalities change, how to avoid a one-dimensional character portrayal, and the importance of being able to play a wide range of different human beings. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This week, Milton takes us on a journey through the significance of the “place,” the objects (or props) that live there and our relationship to all of it. He shares an improvisation that JP did for The Glass Menagerie. He wanted to explore Tom’s relationship to his sister Laura’s victrola in order to deepen his relationship with Laura. Milton also shares his experience visiting The Eugene O’Neil House as an example of how, in life, we have specific relationships to places and things. Those relationships ground us in the play, fill us emotionally and bring a richness and dimension to our work. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Do you ever look around at our world today and think: nothing means anything anymore. So many of us are (understandably) cut off emotionally, desensitized, and this has affected acting today. All too often, we think that arriving at a big idea is where our work ends. In fact, it’s where our work begins. It’s one thing to intellectually understand an idea, but it’s another thing altogether to understand the meaning as an actor, which manifests itself as the ability to experience it, to understand it emotionally, in the core of our being. “As actors we have to eventually save the world because other things aren’t.” Milton says in this episode. “Our understanding of material and our understanding of life should be what affects people.” Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This episode is a five minute rant from Milton about how we don’t find our lives interesting, which is why we often discourage the approach of “using our own lives” for a part. We fail to see the greatness in our own lives and the universal themes that run through them. We tell our own stories in a removed, almost clinical tone as if we were reporting the news. And so when using our lived experience, our performances reflect that lack of size. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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You can avoid deciding in advance how to play something and marrying yourself to that performance by talking out immediately. But if the first thing you do is go to the words, you’ll be stuck with the words, and nothing but your initial interpretation of the words. Even if your instincts are right on, you run the risk of cementing yourself in a performance, and once that happens, it’s very difficult to make adjustments or evolve beyond it. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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In this episode, Milton coaches Guilherme as he prepares the role of Portuguese Vampire from the 17th Century. He begins by suggesting specific images that will help his development of the character’s physicality and point of view. This eventually leads to a conversation about “objectives” and how using that word can actually get in the way of what’s really going on in the scene and the essence of the character. Have an acting (or Vampire) question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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One of Stella Adler’s fundamental exercises was a visualization exercise. This is something we can do anytime and anywhere— walking down the street, driving down the highway, standing in the shower. The more you train yourself how to see, the more specific your work will become, and the more the images will feed you emotionally. But this is not work you can do intellectually, deciding beforehand what the images are. It requires a leap of faith to be fully present and let the images come to you. Eventually, you will find specific things that make you come alive. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This episode, an excerpt from Milton’s Script Analysis class, examines the importance’s of understanding the deeply human struggle of the playwright and how those struggles are infused into their characters. Using The Glass Menagerie, Milton talks about letting the “active facts” about a character seep into the actor’s consciousness over time, keeping in mind the enormity of the theme that the character represents. “One of the problems we have is that we don’t have a sense of our own personal struggles as being a big idea.” Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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One of the cornerstones of being believable is the ability to connect to the material. And we have to know what it feels like to be connected, so that when we’re not, we do more work to get there. But being believable is just one prerequisite. We also have to be interesting to watch and listen to. Milton shares a story about his former business partner, actress Lee Grant who came up with the most amazing stories as excuses for why she was late for Stanford Meisner’s class. They weren’t just believable, they were fascinating performances. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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At the end of the day, the technique is there for those moments we feel absolutely panicked and lost, like we have no idea what we’re doing. Maybe we’re staring blankly at a script thinking: I don’t know how to prepare, or where to start. Maybe we’re on stage and have no idea why the choices that have been working for months suddenly have stopped. Or, we’re on set and the director is giving us an “effect-direction” which we need to translate into something actable. Although there’s never one “right” answer to any of these problems, there are certain concepts we can always come back to, like working on character, the social circumstance or making what we’re building more specific. All of the tools we have are there to help feed us emotionally and give us something to hold onto so that we’re confident we do know what we’re doing. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This episode features a work session with Kaleb on the character of Joe Pitt in Angels in America. It’s a rough one. But we’re not releasing this to abuse Kaleb any more than he already has been. We’re sharing this because so many of us make the mistake of inventing a backstory or past that has nothing to do with the facts of the play, don’t serve the play and therefore don’t help us ground ourselves in the reality of the circumstances as actors. When we invent an imagined past that is not connected to the facts of the play, it has to do with our own personal experience and preconceived notions. This is why using our own lives to create a character is such shaky territory. This session is also a reminder that even when we are building something factual, we have to be connected to them. As Stella Adler said: “the facts must be filtered through the imagination and become the experience of the facts.” Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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The reason we analyze text is so we can make discoveries that will bring us to life and bring depth to our work as actors. Gaining a deeper understanding of the play opens up a world of possibilities when it comes to our choices. However, we always want the play to dictate the choices we make. In this episode, Milton shares an example from Angels in America. Louis and Prior have been together for four years and have an incredible relationship. But no one where in the play is it mentioned how they met. This is a prime illustration of the play telling you what you might want to explore: an event where Louis and Prior met. But again, we don’t just make a random choice about how they met. We use what we know about the play and the characters to feed us. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Most of the time, when we have a last minute audition, there’s no way we can accomplish everything. The best way to approach it is to pick a few things we want to work on. Sometimes it’s getting clear about the sequence of thoughts and making sure we have a specific relationship with everything we talk about. Sometimes we’ll choose to work on the character, or build the relationship with our scene partner. But choosing how we want to prepare isn’t arbitrary— the material will give us clues as to what we might want to work on. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Welcome to Season 5 of I Don’t Need an Acting Class! Milton begins the season asking the class to reflect on their biggest takeaways and revelations. Among them: how easy it is to jump to a performance; how researching the time period and social circumstances helps our creativity come alive; how the more we know about the world we’re in, the more we're able to believe that world and understand our characters' behavior; the importance of making choices that we love and bringing ourselves up to the big ideas we’re working with. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Hello friends, listeners, actors and artists. Today we're making a small request that you rate and review the podcast if it has helped you in any way. This simple gesture will help us return with a fifth season and continue the show indefinitely. Thank you in advance!
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Milton reflects on his recent theatre trip to London.
*We may continue to bring you some short bonus episodes during our summer hiatus. In order to ensure we can keep the show going, we only ask that you subscribe, rate and review the podcast if it has helped you in any way. That's all! Milton and Walker send you much gratitude for all your continued support, and hope you're having a wonderful summer.
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Dear listeners, We're gonna take a short break before we return with Season 5. In the meantime, please keep your acting questions coming. You can email Milton at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Thank you so much!
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This week, we bring you Part 2 of Milton’s conversation with actor and former student Chris Carmack at Culture Connection at Queen’s Public Library in NYC, moderated by Taylor Purdee. Highlights include: how producing documentaries affected Milton’s understanding of acting, how directors can benefit from learning more about the actor process, and the differences between Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This week for our 100th episode, we’re bringing you a conversation between actor Chris Carmack and Milton Justice. This talk was part of Culture Connection, a literary series moderated by Taylor Purdee at Queen’s Public Library in NYC. Chris Carmack is known for his work on Grey’s Anatomy, Nashville, and the teen drama series The OC. Highlights of this conversation include: the importance of practicality, what makes a good teacher, letting it happen rather than making it happen, and how not to marry your choices when working in television. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Whether you’re in an audition, in rehearsal or standing on stage during a performance, most of us know what it’s like to have a scene partner who gives you absolutely nothing. The unfortunate news is that we can’t blame our performance on our scene partners. The good news is: we can’t blame our performance on our scene partners. As actors, we have to take responsibility for everything we do, and that means using the power of our imaginations to make choices, not only for ourselves but for whomever we’re playing opposite. Also included in this episode: some tips on how to deal with actors who try to direct you or impose their process onto you. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This week, we take a break from script analysis, and Milton shares a private coaching session with a new student. He covers some fundamentals such as talking out in order to grasp the sequence of thoughts, and take ownership of the text so that everything you talk about is filled and you’re not just spouting empty lines. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Tennessee Williams was keenly interested in outcasts, artists and wounded people like himself. He also wrote about the south and regardless of where his character’s find themselves, the mentality of the south looms large, whether they are holding onto their heritage or pushing it away. As Milton looks at his play The Glass Menagerie in this episodes, he allows himself to swim through it, giving us an example of how one might begin the process of working on it. “You have to allow yourself to wander,” he says. “This is my period of letting myself go where the hell I want.” Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This episode begins with Milton giving general notes on plays, and then gets more specific to the work of Tennessee Williams. The world of Tennessee Williams is one of fantasy and escape because of the characters’ inability to face reality. The create and live in their own world because as Stella Adler said of Tennessee’s characters: “they are people at their end of their ability to cope.” Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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In this episode, Milton walks us through the shift that took place in the late 19th century when writers began writing about real people. Plays became much more complex and based on the interior life of their middle class characters, as opposed to being centered around the aristocracy which was larger than life and less personally relatable to an audience. Therefore, a new form of acting was called for. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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When we first sit down with a play, it’s far too easy to rush through it and start getting preoccupied about how we're going to "play it." Our minds start racing, we get overwhelmed and we start making decisions too soon. We have to fight this impulse. Your first time reading through a script, you want to go really slow and just register first impressions. Then when you go back, you will start getting an idea of what work you need to do. Again, take one fact, or idea, at a time and explore it deeply. As you do so, you want to filter the facts through your imagination so that you experience them, as opposed to just ‘knowing’ them intellectually. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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In this second part of ABCs of Auditioning, Milton applies all the concepts mentioned in the last episode to Teo’s audition for a police procedural, in which he was given two lines and no information. This is a practical example of knowing what world you’re in, understanding the function of your scene, having a relationship with everything so that every moment is filled, and having not only a strong recognizable character, but a personality that an audience would want to spend time with over the course of many seasons. The more information you have about the genre, the writers, the network and the tone of the piece, the smarter your choices will be and the more you’ll be grounded for the audition.
Here’s are the sides so you can follow along if you’d like:
East New York
His trainee ANDRE BENTLEY- Black, late twenties; also RIVAS and LYLE; all but SANDEFORD sneak glances at Haywood, the new boss.
SANDEFORD
[to Bentley)
Don’t just look on the ground for shell casings. Sometimes they go into tires which is why you wanna look for flats.
RIVAS
Anyone know anything about our new commandante?
LYLE
(sarcastic)
She was the most qualified candidate, that’s all.
RIVAS
She was awarded the Combat Cross.
LYLE
Shut up.
[END]
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There are certain fundamental steps we can take when analyzing sides or preparing audition material. These concepts will help you understand where to begin, determine what work you need to do and inform the choices you make. This is a two-part episode. Next week, Milton will apply these techniques to a specific piece. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This week, Milton talks about the importance of having a clear impulse for all of our work so that we “earn” the text. Nothing starts from nothing or nowhere. We’re always somewhere, in a particular circumstance, with something going on which gives us the impulse for the scene, the monologue, the entrance, the first line, what have you… A great way to get clear about your impulse is to talk it out or improvised it before the text, monologue or scene begins. We never want to recreate the performance or the preparation that we did the last time. If we find a choice we love, we can continue to use it but alter it slightly each time, either adding or or adjusting it, so that it always stays fresh. This preparation work helps us always “come from somewhere” and therefore seamlessly move into the world of the play. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This week, Milton addresses a frequently asked question: how much information do we need when building the past of a character? As individuals, we may desirer (or require) different facts or details or tools. However, there are some “indisputables.” It’s vital to be able to differentiate what information is essential in order for us to play a role, and this is a skill that develops with experience. When doing a play, especially a great play, the text will tell us what we need to build. And the deeper we dive into the “essentials,” the more complex our characters will be, and the more the world of the play comes alive— all in service of why it was written in the first place. Also, Milton goes on a rant about actions, which is always fun to hear. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Last season, Milton suggested that one way we can go about developing a character is by asking ourselves, “who is this person most?” In this episode, he reconsiders that idea. (Can you imagine? An acting teacher admitting they might have been wrong and changing their mind? Who’s ever heard of such an anomaly!) But as his own understanding of character work progresses, Milton questions whether asking this question forces us into a box. After all, no one is just one thing. In the end, asking the question: “what is this character most?” might lead to a one-dimensional response and therefore, a one-dimensional performance. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Learning to act is not something you do in one year. It takes a lifetime. In the same way, doing a play isn’t something you can take on in one night. It’s a process. Stella told a student once that if she could learn one new thing a year, she’d be on the right path. Stanislavsky likened doing a play to going on a journey and making many unexpected stops along the way that added to the overall journey. These lessons remind us that the creative process is never linear or finite. With each project and with our craft, we take on as much as we can, knowing that there are always more stops on the way to our destination, always more to revisit and explore. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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The lineage of this podcast is derived from the teaching of Stanislavsky and Milton’s teacher Stella Adler, who, among other things, taught her students to aspire towards the big ideas we communicate as actors, (ideas which are far bigger than us.) This is the thrill of acting— entering a different universe, a different skin. It is always a chance for growth. “Your attitude shouldn’t be: oh, I have to build that,” says Milton, “but rather I get to build that. Every fact of a play affords you a fabulous opportunity.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Very few directors speak the language of acting or have any real idea about what we do. So most of them give us “effect directions,” such as: “play it angrier,” or…”the scene needs to be more intense.” But if we play “anger” or “intensity” or any result, we’ll end up playing a cliche, an idea of an experience that we’ve absorbed from watching film and television. Therefore, we have to be able to translate a performance note into something doable. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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When breaking down a script, a profoundly important question to consider is: how does the time period in which this play takes place affect my character? It’s not just something you want to understand intellectually; it has to affect you experientially. The time frame is an enormous part of the given circumstances and we must take the time to consider how it influences our characters’ behavior. In this episode, Milton applies this concept to Bernie Dodd in The Country Girl, and how the 1950’s attitude towards the arts affects his mentality and gives him something to play against. “A play exists in a world,” Milton says. “And we need to figure out how my character does or does not fit into this world.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This week’s episode is an excerpt from Milton’s current script analysis class which gives us insight into how we might begin to approach a play, or any piece of text. Using one of his favorite examples, Clifford Odet’s The Country Girl, Milton introduces some fundamental principals of script analysis: the playwright writes out of his social circumstances; the playwright has something to say that is a reflection of the times in which he’s living; It’s our job to figure out: what is that reflection? What is that big idea that the playwright is trying to impart? What does he want us to consider? “Our job is to interpret the play, not play the part,” says Milton, “And you have to really think of it that way.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This week’s episode begins with an analysis of Aunjanue Ellis’ performance in the film King Richard and why it’s an example of great acting. Her interior life is so complete and rich that we, as an audience, are able to see (and more importantly, feel) the character’s struggle without any dialogue to reveal plot or exposition. How do we bring this level of depth to our work? One way is to talk out. Talk out your character’s past, talk out their unconscious struggle. This makes our work go beyond a kind of surface performance that is just clear or believable. “It turns the dial,” says Milton. “It gives us more to play and it brings the dialogue to life.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This week, Milton continues the conversation of expanding the characters we play far beyond ourselves. While it’s true that our choices must feed us as actors, our choices must also feed our characters (who don’t know they are living out our choices— they’re just living their lives— and will respond to our choices differently than we will.) In this episode Milton uses the example of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, and how even though he may instinctively understand different aspects Willy’s circumstances because of his own life experience, he also instinctively doesn’t start with himself and explores the choices that feed both him and Willy. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Welcome back to the podcast and Happy New Year! Milton begins Season 4 of I Don’t Need an Acting Class responding to the misconception that as actors, “all we have is ourselves”— a statement that sounds logical but couldn’t be further from the truth. Only using ourselves as actors can limit us and lock us into choices that come out of our feelings, judgements and perspectives on our characters. In the end, your work is a result of multiple factors: you and your choices, your knowledge of the play, and the research you’ve done to understand the circumstances, the world of the play, time period, your character, the big idea of the play and how your character fits into that. But throughout this process, you must be able to discern what is you and what is the character. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Milton will be teaching a six-week sᴄʀɪᴘᴛ ᴀɴᴀʟʏsɪs ᴡᴏʀᴋsʜᴏᴘ beginning on Wednesday, January 12th, 2022. I know many of you have expressed interest in taking his class since the beginning of the podcast— and this is your chance! 😄 Class is limited to 20 students— first come, first serve. $500 for the six weeks, BUT— the first 5 people to register before the new year can take advantage of this workshop for the promo rate of $400. Email Walker at questionsformilton@gmail.com if interested!
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It's the end of Season 3! Thank you all so much for being a part of this podclass. We're gonna take a short break and will be back in 2022 with a season of script analysis! In the meantime, feel free to email Milton with any questions, confusions or comments at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Order the book and stay tuned for the latest news at idontneedanactingclass.com
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We have so many tools and techniques as actors that we can easily forget what the missing link is. Or what might help us when we find ourselves stuck. So it’s helpful to step back and ask ourselves: what are the things that I know? What are the acting tools that I have? One of those tools that is often forgotten is the idea. The idea of the play/film, or looking at our character as an idea. Often it can be the element that frees us up and helps us make strong choices. Brought to you by weaudition.com and anchor.fm I Don’t an Acting Class- the book is out now! Order at idontneedanactingclass.com
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So many actors feel the need to deliver a performance in rehearsal. And yet, rehearsal is not a performance, nor should we expect what we do in rehearsal to be “the final performance”, but a work in progress, a building of the elements that will eventually lead to performance. Rehearsal is an opportunity to try new things, dig deeper, make sure that we have a specific relationship with everything we talk about. That means giving ourselves permission to be in rehearsal. It means slowing down to make sure every moment is clear and filled. As an outstanding example of this, we hear veteran actor Ben Daniels in rehearsal for The Normal Heart at the National Theatre. Brought to you by weaudition.com and anchor.fm I Don’t an Acting Class- the book is out now! Order at idontneedanactingclass.com
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There comes a point, especially when doing a long run that your choices dry up and no longer have the emotional effect on you they once did. But part of being an actor is never allowing our relationship to anything dissipate. Therefore, we don’t ever want to try and recreate what we did last time, or “bring in our homework.” Instead, we have to keep finding new things that activate our talent, making sure our choices keep feeding us. Your creative process must be an endless pursuit where you’re always looking for something else to keep it interesting for you, and to keep you alive on stage. Brought to you by weaudition.com and anchor.fm I Don’t an Acting Class- the book is out now! Order at idontneedanactingclass.com
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Ok. It's a creepy sounding episode title but it's not what it sounds like. In this episode, we learn more about the power of everyday-observations and how to integrate them into our creative process. Four people from class tell us about characters they’d crossed paths with over the last week, proving that it’s the details we notice about character traits, behavior, and circumstances that make the story good theater. But how do we translate our observations into our work? If we find something specific about them that we really respond to, we can steal it. Brought to you by weaudition.com and anchor.fm I Don’t an Acting Class- the book is out now! Order at idontneedanactingclass.com
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As actors, we are the musician, instrument, composer and conductor. Therefore, there are certain technicalities we have to be aware of that have little or nothing to do with being truthful. Since real life is often boring, it’s not enough for our work to be truthful, it also has to be interesting. Brought to you by weaudition.com and anchor.fm I Don’t an Acting Class- the book is out November 1st. Pre-order at idontneedanactingclass.com
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This week’s episode can be applied to any part of the process. You always want to give yourself permission to let your mind wander through, make discoveries and absorb information, be it about a character trait, their relationship to a certain fact, what is going on for them, or what the play is about. It’s okay not to know. In fact, “knowing” anything too quickly can be a hindrance to the creative process, the millions of possibilities that exist and the depth necessary to dig when building a human being. Brought to you by weaudition.com and anchor.fm I Don’t an Acting Class (the book!) is out November 1st. Pre-order at idontneedanactingclass.com
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When working on a role, we will inevitably come face-to-face with adjectives that describe our characters. We find these adjectives in the script itself, or if auditioning, in the breakdown. But if those adjectives don’t do anything for us, as actors, we need to find ones that do. Just as we have to translate an “effect direction” into something active that brings us to life, we also have to take descriptors we don’t connect with, and translate them into words that affect us and free us up, words that we “get” and instinctually know how to play. Otherwise, we may fall into the trap of playing a cliche. Brought to you by weaudition.com and anchor.fm I Don’t an Acting Class- the book is out November 1st. Pre-order at idontneedanactingclass.com
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If you want to create characters that have depth, that is work that you have to do. The script won’t give it to you, and the director definitely won’t give it to you. This requires asking the question: what kind of person would do this/say this? And then, really slowing down as we explore. We must be careful not to jump too fast to a conclusion or make an assumption based on a cliche, or our own limited experience. And, we must spend time digging deep to understand the complexity of the person. As Milton says in one of our very first episodes: “Begin as if you know nothing.” Brought to you by weaudition.com and anchor.fm
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This week, we celebrate the return of Broadway by looking at how the joy of acting, and and the joy of being part of its tradition and community is a huge part of what the actor gives and what the audience receives. “That’s what you get for free when actors are so happy to be acting, and acting together,” Milton says in this episode. “If we can connect to that and bring it to our work, it adds an element that is part of the actor’s contribution.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com
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One of the problems we face as actors, is that, without even knowing it, our limited experience and points of view as human beings naturally affects the way we approach characters that are different from us. Obviously we cannot stop having our own opinions or world views, nor would we want to. But it’s something to start becoming conscious of: how are my personal feelings about the character affecting my ability to play the fullest scope of the character’s humanity? Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com
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Visualization is such an enormous part of what we have to do as actors and it requires exercising our imagination on a regular basis. If we’re not consistently building worlds that are not our own, we will limit ourselves and end up creating cliches as opposed to something specific that we love, that feeds us and grounds us in the scene. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com
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Blocking should always come out of what is really going on in each scene. And as your emotional understanding of what’s happening becomes clearer and more profound, the blocking with naturally change. Unless the director is hugely conceptual, (and therefore “setting” stage pictures, they will welcome this. It comes back to the idea that while very few directors understand the acting process, they nevertheless expect the part to walk in the room at the audition, for our work to deepen and evolve over time, and to take their “effect direction” and translate it into something actable. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com
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“Raising the stakes” is an expression we hear a lot in the world of acting technique. In this episode, Milton gives you very practical ideas and exercises that will help you raise the stakes. These are practices you can apply to any project you’re working on that will help to turn the dial. “The reason practical techniques like this are so useful,” says Milton, “is that, without artificially raising the stakes and playing an effect, it allows you to be more active.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com
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Have you ever felt like you’re playing two actions at once in a scene and therefore not committing 100% to anything at all? In this episode, Milton addresses a problem that Greg had while shooting a short film in which he felt torn between two different actions and ended up feeling confused as to what he was doing. It raised the question of whether it’s possible to play two actions at once, or if the disconnect is a result of “playing your homework” and not be clear enough on what the scene is about. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com
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In this episode, as the Ice Cream Man relentlessly plays his song on the streets of Hamilton Heights— (are they trying to make us go crazy?)— Milton talks about developing the ability to know when your work isn’t working. This is about trusting yourself. If it feels like it’s not working, it’s not. Then we have to trust that we can figure out what tools or techniques will help us. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com
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Like the many other tools we have at our disposal, working on a character trait can give you something to hold onto, something that is “playable.” Here’s what’s important to keep in mind: a character trait is not a plot. It has to be something we can “get” about the character, without the need for dialogue. This is an example of how working internally produces external results. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com
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When creating a character, it’s important to take yourself out of the mix. If you don’t, you’ll bring the character down to you, falling back on how you would react to the given circumstances, as opposed to taking stock of what you know about the character, and building a human being based on those facts. If you know where the character ends up— being a success— then you can further examine the nature of that fact: what is the makeup of a successful person? How do they operate in the world? What do they do? Also, this episode is worth listening to just to hear Milton talk about Wu-Tang.
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In this episode, Milton muses on the Stella Adler quote: "Your talent is in your choices,” realizing the ways this statement has been widely misinterpreted and misunderstood. The idea has crippled actors because we’re so busy trying to come up with brilliant choices, it paralyzes us. We want the opposite. We want to be freed up when we are acting. What makes a good choice? It isn’t something clever or plot based. A choice is more personal than that. If it feeds you, brings you to life, then it's good. “The technique is meant to free you up not cripple you,” says Milton. “And the amazing choices come out of those freed up moments.”
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There’s a difference between getting the job and getting the part. And if we want to elevate ourselves to doing great work and truly “get the part,” then we have to understand that the key lies in discerning a plot problem from a soul problem. Your character’s soul problem is what runs deep. It’s what’s really going on, underneath the plot. This is not about getting the answer right, it’s an exploration that begins when you start rehearsal and in some ways, never ends. We must keep asking: what is going on with this person, beneath what they are saying? What “soul problem” is this human being wrestling with? Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com
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One of our listeners recently began work as a series regular on a new show, and found herself a little lost because of the lack of information she’s been given about her character. When you don’t know where your character came from or is headed, how do you create a three-dimensional human being? How do you approach material when you’ve been given so few facts and there is so much unknown? Do you just make it up? What if you get the character all wrong? In this special episode, Milton invites actor and former student Grant Show (Dynasty, Melrose Place) to class to address what is a complex but common situation in which so many actors find themselves, both in auditions and on actual jobs. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com
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In this episode Milton shares how his “Talking Out” technique was born in order to clarify how it can best work for us as actors. We talk out in order to take ownership of what we are talking about, little by little. Instead of feeling the pressure to deliver a “performance,” we start where we are, even if it means we are not as connected as we want to be, or will eventually be. This is what Stella Adler meant when she said: “I can believe this much today.” We start small, just with what we, ourselves, can believe, and then we build on that. In each rehearsal, we come back and make more discoveries, get more specific, and more connected. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com
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We all know the importance of doing research when creating a role, but even more important is what you do with that research. If you can’t turn it into something actable, it’s useless. This is a skill that we have to develop through practice: the ability to take a dry piece of information and determine what it means from an actor’s point of view. The facts should lead you to thinking; thinking leads you to understanding how you turn the facts into something active; and that leads you to experiencing. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com
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As an actor, you want to be so much more than just “accurate.” You must have something going on inside of you that makes you alive on the outside. An exercise we can employ that helps us connect to the life inside of us is talking out something you love or something you hate. “You can do this if you will begin to be observers in life and not an audience in life,” Milton says in this episode. “Look at life, observe it and respond to it. You have to become involved with it.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com
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There was a period where you took the time and energy to communicate, either writing a letter or speaking. We’re now living in a world where language has become truncated into a shorthand of images and soundbites and yes, emojis. This episode is a rant about that. In may not be consequential for most people, but for actors, it’s important that we utilize the muscle of outward self-expression, lest it become atrophied. We must be in the habit of expressing what we’re feeling in our lives because it’s part of our job. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com
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The ability to identify what’s going on in any given scene from an actor’s perspective is very important. Instead of getting bogged down in all the elements of the scene— specifically the plot and what your character is going through emotionally— we have to be able to take those facts and translate them into a clear action that activates us. If the action does not bring us to life, we have to find another one that does. This is like a gateway to freedom for the actor, a key that will free you up and allow you to access your creativity and spontaneity within the scene. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com
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Because of the pandemic, the nature of the business of acting has changed, and most likely there’s no going back. Working remotely has become so pervasive that even when theater reopens, self-tape auditions and Zoom readings will remain a vital part of what we do everyday. Because of that, imaginatively building the place is that much more essential. We may be in our bedrooms sitting in front of a green screen, but to be believable, we have to be living off of the place we’re in. In this episode, Milton talks about the necessity of visualization in the age of the closeup, because it grounds you in the place and moves you into the world of the play. “The fact is,” Milton says, “if you are not some place, you’re acting in a vacuum.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com
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In this episode, Milton draws parallels between the actor’s and writer’s process when it comes to creating a character. Both the actor and the writer have to live with a new character, talk with them, walk with them, get to know them fully, inside and out. The improvisational exercises we do as actors allow us to see how they behave, how they see the world. It’s not about getting the answer right, it’s a process of discovery that only comes from living with the character, and continually being curious about who they are. Through our contemplation, inquiry and experimentation they emerge. Every discovery we make is like another adjustment to a manual camera lens, and slowly, over time, the person comes into focus. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com
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It’s ironic that in this present global, digital age where information travels at the speed of light, we feel so emotionally disconnected to what’s happening in our world, whether in our own country or on the other side of the globe. Perhaps our access to all of it has desensitized us. This has affected our acting because of our inability to understand big ideas. “It’s not enough to be truthful or emotionally connected to it,” Milton says. “When talking about a big idea, it must have size.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com and Anchor.fm
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Welcome to Season 3! Based on Stella Adler’s work with Stanislavsky, everything we do as actors comes out of the world of the play, or the given circumstances that the writer has given us. One way into the world is understand the playwright’s world view, what they want to say. This season, as the class begins working on George Bernard Shaw, Milton asks us to begin slowly brainstorming what the world of this great writer brings to mind. “Every idea he has is challenging popular thinking,” Milton says. “He writes with a strong, intelligent well-thought-out conviction, and so it tells me, as an actor, I have to be very, very clear.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com
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A great technique that we have at your disposal when building a character, is to interview them. Or, come up with interview questions and answer them as the character you’re playing. If you, the actor, could ask your character anything, what would you most want to know? The questions you come up with become your own signature on the part because they’re coming out of your own interest; and by asking them, you are helping to fill in the blanks the character’s past, traits, drives and worldview.
*This is the last episode of Season 2- we’ll be back with Season 3 this Spring, so please stay tuned! In the meantime, have a questions for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com’
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Actors often ask: “how is this character like me?” But unless we know how the characters we play are different from us, it’s hard not to fall back on playing ourselves, or a variation thereof. Knowing the clear differences in how you and your character approach the world is the first step in finding actable character traits that will help you eventually embody this human being. Brought to you by weaudition.com
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One effective way to uncover your action in a scene is to ask: what is going on with him/her/them/you? Actions, as we refer to them in acting, are often misunderstood as “activity” or “plot.” The true action is what’s going on beneath all of that, internally, within the character. It is what you are really doing to your scene partner(s) in order to get something. Asking yourself “what is going on?” gives you a broader view of your given circumstances, and your relationships, therefore helping you find something truly active to play. I Don't Need an Acting Class is sponsored by weaudition.com
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It’s important to realize how conditioned we are to quickly jump to a conclusion about a character when we read lines of dialogue. We will end up playing an uniterteresting cliché unless we slow down and dig deeper to find a bold choice that we love. This will help you enormously in auditions because if you go beyond the obvious choice, you will walk in (or appear on tape) with something whole original and compelling to watch. Brought to you by weaudition.com
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“Once you go to the script, all creative work stops” Milton says. It’s a provocative statement but it’s true if you consider how most actors jump straight to a performance or an intelligent rendering of the lines before they ever have an understanding of the world they’re inhabiting, or even a monologue’s sequence of thoughts. In this week’s short episode, Milton uses the short film he’s working on as an example of what it looks like to work slowly, even on a smaller scale. Brought to you by weaudition.com
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It’s something every actor can relate to: you walk in the room, onstage on in front of the camera. Your heart is racing, your mouth is dry, and before you even speak, you know your nerves are getting the best of you. In that moment, instead of trusting all the work you’ve done and living off the given circumstances, you fall back into “performance mode,” that same, old, tired gimmicky “thing” you’ve been getting by on all your life. This, according to Milton, is just part of the process. Eventually, we begin to trust that the work we’ve done is in us and it’s enough. Brought to you by weaudition.com
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Stanislavsky’s Method of Acting was born out of trial and error. He was not a natural talent. Had he been, we probably would not have been gifted with his discoveries of the craft. By analyzing his students’ successes and failures, and his own, he created techniques that were practical and coaxed the actor “toward the inner most source of their creativity.” Brought to you by weaudition.com
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As you gain a deeper understanding of the role you’re playing through analysis and rehearsal, it’s important that we give ourselves permission for our actions, or impulses, to change. It’s not something static that we decide in advance. And, if an action becomes stale and is no longer bringing you to life, it’s essential that it changes. Brought to you by weaudition.com
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Today we revisit a question that actors never stop asking. The ability to know whether or not you’ve made a good choice is part your talent, and it’s a skill you can hone over time. A choice has to feed you emotionally but it also has to be appropriate to the character and the world of the play. And the more you know about the world that you’re in, the more it feeds your imagination which becomes fertile ground for amazing choices. Brought to you by weaudition.com
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Stanislavsky never wanted a set vocabulary of acting. The words he used were an outgrowth of the creative work he was doing with actors. They pointed to ideas that brought actors to life, gave them something to hold onto. In other words, it was never about the words. Nowadays, we've become so focused on vocabulary, it's lost its meaning. So instead of asking yourself: what’s your action in the scene?” It might be more helpful to ask: “why are you going out there?” Or, “why am I telling you this?” Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com
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Our job, as actors is so much more profound than playing the part and getting applause. As Stella Adler’s father said to her: “We need to make it better for them.” When we understand what the play is fundamentally saying to the audience, and what your character represents, it not only gives us something to hold onto, but something to aspire to, lift ourselves up to. It is a universal human idea or lesson that the audience will be better for having learned when they leave the theater. Plus, Milton goes off on Wesley at the end for “trying to get it right”, so that’s fun. Brought to you by weaudition.com
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When building a character we can use the facts that are available to us in any way that will help us. Just as this is true for our character’s past, physical life or way of seeing the world, it is also true of the time period in which our character lives. Some helpful questions are: how does this time period effect who my character is? And how can I translate that information into behavior?
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“If you’re waiting for the director to help you, you’re going to be dead in the water,” says Milton. This episode is about taking ownership of your process, how you work. This builds confidence and independence as actors. Most directors don’t understand how we do what we do, so we have to be able to translate their effect-directions into something doable. Also, we never want to feel that our performance is dependent on a director. We do however, want to be able to depend on our process, always. This empowers us and allows us to take pride in our work as creative artists.
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This week, we return to the Russian word Rasbor, which means “to dig down” beneath what you’re talking about to get to the big, cosmic idea. This is a new way of thinking in terms of acting, a muscle that we’re not accustomed to exercising. When we talk about our characters, it should never be about accuracy, or information or words. When we talk about our characters, it should be in a way that shows we understand, experientially, the meaning of the idea. How do we get there? Through “Rasbor.” We must scratch the surface of our impressions and discoveries to reach the true meaning, or big idea, of what we’re talking about. This connects us, vitally, to the character, bringing us to life and giving us something to hold onto.
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As actors, it is our job, our responsibility to observe human behavior. We do this to understand what it reveals about people and relationships, because it gives us information that we can use, another frame of reference for an idea or character or relationship. Imitation may be where we start but it can’t be where we end up. To inhabit the character fully we need to scratch the surface of physicality and behavior to understand what is going on underneath it and thus build the full scope of a complex human being.
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This week, Milton reminds us of the importance of having a specific relationship with everything and everyone around you. According to Stella Adler, the director’s job is to tell you where to enter, hit your marks and exit; your job is to fill in all the blanks, and we have limitless possibilities at our finger tips when it comes to choices. You are never in a place and time about which you have no point of view. You should never stare out a window blankly with no relationship to what you’re looking at. You should never have the same relationship to everything and everyone in a scene. These are all opportunities we must take advantage of, in order to give us depth as actors.
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In this episode, we re-examine the concept of the given circumstances. Every play has its own set of given circumstances, from which all drama emerges. It’s helpful to look at your work from this perspective because it helps you understand what your character is fighting against. Milton’s objection to what is known as “substitution” or “emotional recall” is because these techniques exist in order to create an effect. And since they tap into our own lives, as opposed to the given circumstances, it pulls us out of the play we’re doing and into our own private play. “I object to it because I think it cheapens plays,” says Milton, “but also because it loses the fun for you. Part of the joy of acting is being able to live off of the play that you’re in.”
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Somewhere in the process of creating a character, it’s helpful to step back and ask ourselves: why are we doing this play? Why are the characters we’re playing important? Why bother in the first place? The answers will begin moving you in the direction of a theme, and remind you that big ideas about the human struggle are timeless and vitally relevant, right now. It's also helpful to ask your character "why questions" about who they are and what is important to them. Asking these questions helps to connect you, the actor, to your character, as well as capture their essence in a three dimensional way.
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Cultivating the imagination was one of Stella Adler's core tenets as an acting teacher. But the idea of the imagination is often misunderstood when actors assume that their imagination is limited to their experience. We must inform and enrich our imaginations in order to broaden it as an instrument. When educated, the imagination becomes a much more useful tool. This is why it’s so important to do research, immerse ourselves in the character’s timeline and the period in which they live. If you can get a full picture of the world your character lives in, you then get a much clearer sense of how he or she fits into that world, which is essential in order to fully live off the facts of the play.
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It essential for us to step back and look at our character's timeline in the play, to know where he or she is going. One of the benefits of playing a role is that, unlike in life, we know what the future is. And so the actor, unlike your character, knows where your character is headed. This is important information to have because it informs what pieces of past we need to build in order to get there.
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This week, Milton talks about what it means to “go there,” or commit 100% to giving ourselves over to the circumstances of the play. It’s an enormous emotional risk because by letting go completely, we make ourselves vulnerable, revealing our true selves through a character. “It’s like going off a high diving board. You know you won’t die because there’s water there, but it’s so far down. It’s not a comfortable place to go.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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This week, Milton touches on a very tenuous aspect of building a character’s past. There is a difference between experiencing a past event from the perspective of the present, and experiencing the past in that moment, as if reliving the scene. It’s an important distinction because your relationship to the past event in the present is different than it was at the time it was happening. There are no hard and fast rules here. Often we move in and out of the past and present, as we do in life when telling a compelling story; and it’s a valuable exercise to talk out an event from both perspectives. But ultimately, how you experience the past is influenced by your relationship to it (then and now), and what you're doing in the scene.
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When building a craft, it’s important that we actively put to use the tools and techniques that we’ve learned. Otherwise we’ll keep “winging it”, hoping and praying that it lands. Also, kicking ass on an exercise doesn’t mean that we’ve mastered the concept. We must be disciplined, practicing the techniques over and over again in order to integrate them into our way of working, and eventually it becomes second nature. This is about understanding that “connecting” and “being believable” isn’t enough. If the goal is to become a great actor, we must keep pushing ourselves, asking ourselves: what else could I try here? What technique could I apply to what I’m working on that will help me go deeper?
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There are many different aspects of acting technique. One of them is building a character’s past. A helpful way to approach this is to know what the major events are in this person’s life. We ‘build’ these events by talking them out in improvised monologues so the character’s past is in us. If an event is referred to in the text, then you know you have to build it. But there are other events that are not mentioned in the text that we choose to build imaginatively, because it helps us get specific and fully own the character’s past, thus giving us confidence.
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In this episode, Milton talks about the difference between acting as an art form and acting to “get a job,” and how one is much more fulfilling than the other. The Art of Acting is about the pursuit of uncovering the essence, or human spirit, of the role. But that cannot be found overnight— it’s a journey through the complexity of the human condition. Part of our job, as actors is to actively make an effort to connect to other human beings and our own human emotion, especially during a time when we’re isolated from others and cut off from ourselves. “You become a better person when you become an actor,” says Milton. “It broadens you.”
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We begin our second season with a reminder that acting is not a math equation. “The method,” said Stanislavsky, “is not a guide, it’s a culture.” This means that a creative process, like a culture, is meant to change and grow. There is no hard and fast, static rule book for acting; we require different things for different roles. But if we keep digging, exploring, trying new things, seeing what works and what doesn’t, we will find choices we love, choices that feed us and give us confidence. When we can trust that everything we’ve built is in us and let go, that is when the most unexpected and exciting work happens.
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Don't panic. We'll be back with Season 2 of I Don't Need an Acting Class in September!
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As we continue making discoveries about all the dimensions that make up a character, we always want to look for what is actable or doable. For example, if your character is compulsive, the challenge is to translate that into something doable. One way to get there is by asking ourselves: what is the nature of being compulsive? And eventually we might come up with the need “to create order around me.” If our character is in a circumstance that is shocking, it’s important to go deeper and ask: what is the nature of shock? Maybe we pull away or lash out. Whatever action we come up with, we want it to feed us emotionally. If we fail to go deeper and instead play “compulsive” or “shocking,” we will end up playing a cliche. To oversimplify it: we must figure out what we’re doing, and then we must do it.
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This week, Milton talks about how building different moments in your characters past reveals new information about them, and the importance of knowing exactly what that information is. We must ask the question: What does this moment I’m building tell me about my character? Your answer will clarify a new dimension of this human being. Then, we must integrate every character-discovery, so that you have a process where each piece builds on the next, or in the words of Stephen Sondheim: “the art of making art is putting it together, bit by bit.”
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As we approach a play and begin letting the facts simmer in our imagination, we can begin to ask questions, as though we are interviewing our character. There are no right or wrong questions and no two actors will ask the same ones. Your own personal exploration becomes part of your signature on the role. But here’s the rub: we cannot answer these questions based on our own limited personal experience, or from the cliches we have absorbed from film and television. We need to do research. What does that look like? Watching interviews and documentaries, or even better: talking to real people who share your character’s attributes and circumstances. The joy of research is that it opens us up to worlds beyond our own where we can shop for choices that feed us and help us build a 3-dimensional human.
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We often run into trouble when we try to recreate a performance. This is because the action “to do what I did yesterday” is different from the action that made you DO what you did yesterday. But there are ways to avoid falling into this trap. In this episode, Milton gives examples of adjustments you can make so that the circumstances keep feeding you and the performance stays alive.
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It can often be overwhelming if you think about the massive responsibility we have as actors and all the many pieces we must fully own before it all comes together to create an illusion that looks and sounds like the truth. We can’t master everything at once and if we try to, we’ll become paralyzed like the centipede who forgot how to walk when he realized each leg was doing something different. Therefore, we must focus on one thing at a time, layering each element onto the one before it, like the bricks that make up a house. “And then all of sudden, one day,” Milton says, “this fantasy happens where you don’t know where you end and the character begins. And you begin to see the world in that particular way. But slow and steady wins the race.”
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This week, Milton talks about resisting the urge to play an effect, or a result. Often if we receive an “effect direction” such as: “it’s too big” or “it’s too small,” we will then overcompensate in the opposite direction. By doing so, we’re playing an effect, focused on our behavior as opposed to what creates that behavior. Part of being an intelligent actor is having the ability to translate an “effect direction” into something actable or doable. For instance: can I get more specific so that this feeds me more? Why am I saying this? What’s happening in the scene? What is the big idea?
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This episode is the third in our trilogy about making everything something. This week Milton gives us a strategy for this. Using his “Why I Love the Theater” exercise as an example, he discusses how to building one thing at a time by talking it out, making sure it feeds you and adding more, little by little. “We are after moments so that nothing sound pedestrian, so that every single thing has a life to it.”
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This week’s episode is a continuation of last week’s topic. Milton talks about the importance of treating every fact and every element as if it’s important. Even those facts that seem to be incidental plot points cannot be skipped over in rehearsal. If they are, the lie that is your play will not sound like the truth. They are facts that give us the opportunity to go deeper into character, into the given circumstances, into the idea that the writer is intending to communicate. The more specific we are when building each fact, the more confidence we have to let go and let the play play us.
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In this episode, Milton takes a question from Benjamin in Canada who asked him to clarify an idea from our episode The Biggest Sin: beginning your work on a play as if you know nothing. Another way to say that is: begin your work with a mindset of assuming nothing. If you assume you already know about a fact of your character or the circumstances of the play, you’ll neglect to dig deeper and end up just throwing it away, thus making your performance cliche or 2-dimensional. Nothing is inconsequential. Every single fact is an opportunity to ask yourself: what does that really mean? How do I feel about it? The deeper we dig into the facts, and the more specific we get, the more they will feed us, and bring us to life.
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Last episode we talked about theme. This week, we continue that conversation but make the distinction between truly big ideas and everything else. Big ideas affect all of us, they shape civilization. As actors, our understanding of a big idea has to go beyond our own personal relationship to it in order for us to communicate the idea that the writer intended. This is what is meant by “raising ourselves up to the size of the idea,” as opposed to bringing it down to our limited human experience.
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In every play, there’s a big, universal, cosmic idea, (or theme.) It’s what the writer wants to communicate. As actors we must know what this big idea is. We won’t know what it is right away- our rehearsal process is our discovery process. But eventually, in order to play the part, we have to reach this understanding. Once we do, we must raise ourselves up to the size of the idea, making sure that all of our choices feed into it.
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This week’s episode is a direct response to a question from one of our listeners. Belen from Argentina wanted to know what to do when she’s in the middle of a scene and suddenly remembers none of it is real. Email your questions to: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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It’s true that your talent is in your choices, but that’s not all there’s to it. Your choices must serve the central idea of the play, and must be consistent with the given circumstances of your character. And yet, making a good choice is still not enough. You have to understand what the cost is of your choices and then earn them emotionally. Lastly, we must strive towards creating something enigmatic: good theater.
Thank you for your questions so far! If you’ve sent in a question, we have not forgotten you, and Milton will address them in upcoming episodes. Send all questions and comments to: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Acting is not mathematical. You won’t always use the same tools, and what worked for you during one project may not work for you in another. There are so many different paths you can take when building something out of nothing, but here’s what is certain: you must dig deep into every aspect. If you just logically answer questions, thinking that if you have the answers your work is done, your performance will be a cliche. This takes a long time to get to, but eventually we come to realize that your character doesn’t have a plot problem, she has a conflict of the soul. We come to the theater to watch her live it out.
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If there’s one word all actors are familiar with it’s “objective.” But how often is the idea of “objective” a practical tool and how often is it an albatross around our necks? Stanislavsky wanted acting vocabulary to come out of common usage, and he wanted it to free us, not cripple us. Today we examine where the word came from, and whether the concept of “objective” was even Stanislavsky’s in the first place.
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We've all been there. You look at your script and see something that resembles a list. What do most actors do? They act it as a list and by doing so, sound like they're running down a dull inventory of groceries. There's no connection to what they're talking about, no specific choices made, and therefore, no real human being with a past standing before us. This is an episode about having a specific relationship to everything you talk about. You never want to miss the opportunity to build each element specifically. Nothing is a throwaway, everything is something. And the more detailed you are, the more you'll come to life.
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When Milton recently asked Gustavo Dudamel, the conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, what he saw when he looked at a piece of orchestral music, he said: “I see phrases.” This is a perfect metaphor for how we need to approach text as actors: not as a group of sentences but as a sequence of thoughts. As they do in life, the words need to come out of the thought, not the other way around.
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In the Summer of 1980 during the run of a regional production of Boys in the Band, Milton wrote a letter to Stella Adler asking for her guidance. She responded: “The actor in you is beginning to feel the birth pangs in acquiring the role and that is very normal. The work you do at home is done, and is in you…Let it go where it wants. That’s the impressive joy of just letting it happen instead of forcing it.” Milton’s book “I Don’t Need an Acting Class”, on which this podcast is based, was born out of the many correspondences he has shared with his current and former students over the past decade. Although email has long since replaced letter writing, the spirit of getting to the bottom of an acting concept, or clarifying an idea that has someone stuck or confused, is the same. This episode sheds light on why that has been helpful to his students as well as to Milton as a teacher.
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Whether you’re auditioning for a pilot or in rehearsal for a Clifford Odets play, our jobs as actors is to launch, imaginatively, into the world of the piece, and open ourselves to its influence. But how do we build this world? By talking out one believable moment at a time and knowing we have to earn what we create. Have a question or comment? Email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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As actors, most of us have had the experience of closely identifying with a character we’re playing. In this episode, Milton talks about the mistake so many of us make when we feel like we relate to a role. “The problem is,” he says, “somehow in the back of our minds we think that’s enough, that we don’t have to do any other work.” Tune in to find out how to avoid this common pitfall, and how we can turn our identification with a character into something actable. Have a question or comment? Email us at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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How did we end up studying acting in the first place? In this episode, Milton puts his teaching in context by giving us a brief history of modern acting technique; from 19th-century realism to Konstantin Stanislavky and the American teachers who adapted his principals and revolutionized the American acting landscape.
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In this episode, Milton talks about how writing and thinking are great ways for actors to avoid acting, and offers a practical technique that allows us to fully own (and earn) our character’s reality, or in other words: make a complete lie sound like the truth. Email your questions to: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Contrary to popular belief, just because you can answer “who, what, why, where, when” and “what do I want?” doesn’t mean you can act. Stella Adler said: “Facts are death to the actor until they’re fed through the imagination and become the experience of the facts.” Tune into this episode to learn how you can allow the facts of a play to simmer within you and bring you to life.
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In this episode, Milton reveals what he feels to be The Biggest Sin of Acting and offers solutions on how we can resist the urge to commit it. What is one of those solutions? Look at the blank canvas and think: “so many possibilities.” Email your acting questions to: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Have you ever worried that studying and honing a technique as an actor will destroy your natural ability? Is acting just about being "natural"? In this first episode of I Don't Need an Acting Class, Milton answers the question: "why take an acting class?"
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