I Don't Need an Acting Class

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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: [email protected] 

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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: [email protected] 

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Here's what you get: Expanded and unedited episodes • No ads • Interviews • Videos • Full access to the IDNAAC Archives • And newsletters including articles, quotes, acting exercises, and chapter’s of Milton’s next book. For more info or if you have an acting question for Milton, email: [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

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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. Have an acting question for Milton or want to register for his upcoming workshop in March 2023? Email us at: [email protected]