I Don't Need an Acting Class

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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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.”

Have an acting question? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at [email protected]
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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.”

Have an acting question? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at [email protected]

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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. 

Have an acting question? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at [email protected]
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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 [email protected]

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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. 

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 ⁠[email protected]⁠

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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: [email protected] 

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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: [email protected] Find more at idontneedanactingclass.com