I Don't Need an Acting Class

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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: [email protected]), 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: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

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: [email protected]