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. 

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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.

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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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