I Don't Need an Acting Class

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 [email protected] Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com

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 [email protected] Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com

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 [email protected] Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com

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 [email protected] Brought to you by Anchor.fm and weaudition.com

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 [email protected] Brought to you by weaudition.com and Anchor.fm 

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 [email protected] 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: [email protected] Brought to you by weaudition.com’

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

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

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