Ward Acting Studio Podcast

If you play the adjectives, you'll end up with a caricature and that's never believable.

Using endearments like "love," "dear," "sweetie," etc. is just wrong in this industry.  Please don't do this until you are least on a first name basis with someone.  Even using a person's first name can be presumptuous.  Better to err on the conservative side and wait until a

name is given to you to use.  People like to say, "Oh, you can call me

by my first name."

Mickey Rourke was given a second chance but do not romanticize the stories you hear on the Actor's Studio and think that your bad behavior will be tolerated.  Being difficult to work with can sabotage your career.

Sometimes being ready to shoot the best take just takes some time.

Sometimes students complain about friends who disparage their Meisner training by saying things like "Sounds like a cult!"  When actors make a commitment to training, sometimes it means giving up Friday nights out with friends in favor of rehearsing or prepping for that Saturday class.  Sometimes significant personal growth shows on the actor's face, as he talks enthusiastically about his new experiences.  And those experiences can threaten other people -- especially other actors.  So don't concern yourself when someone refers to Meisner as a cult.  It's not.  But it does demand a singular focus on becoming a great actor.

Sometimes students complain about friends who disparage their Meisner training by saying things like "Sounds like a cult!"  When actors make a commitment to training, sometimes it means giving up Friday nights out with friends in favor of rehearsing or prepping for that Saturday class.  Sometimes significant personal growth shows on the actor's face, as he talks enthusiastically about his new experiences.  And those experiences can threaten other people -- especially other actors.  So don't concern yourself when someone refers to Meisner as a cult.  It's not.  But it does demand a singular focus on becoming a great actor.

Shout out to strong, talented women.  We need you to step up as writers, directors and producers! When will our stories move front and center?  How many decades will it take before the industry (and the culture) identifies women's stories as being as interesting as those of men?

Acting is not therapy or a mystery nor is it an intellectual pursuit.  You want to find training that makes you proficient without a teacher manipulating into a temporary result.  You want to make choices that make your work more human not less.

Why we need to get past the myth of the Aussie invasion.