I Don't Need an Acting Class
By Milton Justice
I Don't Need an Acting ClassSep 07, 2021
Bonus Video Ep: Acting a Song
A coaching session from Paris.
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Bonus Ep: Speaking Before You Know Enough
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Bonus Video Ep: Milton in Berlin
Hi everyone. We’ve had a bunch of new members join this past week, so to all of you who are new to the subscription membership, welcome!
This week’s bonus episode features some select video clips from Milton’s week-long intensive in Berlin.
Speaking of teaching, Milton will begin some new virtual classes this summer. We haven’t pinned down the dates yet, but if you’re interested, just shoot Walker an email at: questionsformilton@gmail.com so you can get on our mailing list and receive all our latest updates on classes and events.
Wishing you all a great week ahead!
Bonus Content for The Price of a Latee!
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Bonus Video Ep: The Legacy We Carry
From Milton's one-week intensive at Schott Acting Studio in Berlin.
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Bonus Ep: A Bloody Scene
In this bonus episode, Milton talks the class through analyzing a scene in The Country Girl by Clifford Odets. The play follows Frank, a self-destructive alcoholic but brilliant actor, and his devoted wife Georgie, whose years of self-sacrifice have all but obliterated her identity.
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Bonus Ep: Coming Up With Something For Everything
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Bonus Ep: The Way An Actor Talks
If you're getting the bonus content, it means you're one of the serious ones.
Give yourself a standing 👏👏👏👏👏
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Bonus Video Ep: Knowing What The Play Is About
Thank you for being a subscriber! One of the perks of this feature is that you'll continue to get new content even though we're currently between seasons. Clearly, you're destined for greatness!
As always, if you have any acting questions, feel free to contact us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Bonus Video Ep: Greatness Must Be Paid For In Blood
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Bonus Ep: Using Yourself Isn't Substitution
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Bonus Ep: The Problem with Style
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There Is No One Secret to Acting
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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Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Upcoming Spring Classes!
Email Walker at questionsformilton@gmail.com for more information or to register.
Bonus Ep: Opportunities for Acting
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Just a reminder: Milton will be teaching an in-person intensive at the Schott Acting Studio in Berlin the first week of April. For more information, email Walker at: walker@walkervreelandproductions.com
Trusting Your Creative Impulses
In this episode, Milton shares an example of what it means to trust your creative impulses. This means allowing yourself the freedom to wander around until you find a connection to what you're talking about. Although you may know where you're going, you don't necessarily know how you're going to get there, or what choice you're going to discover that ends up bringing you to life.
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Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Bonus Ep: Digging Into Detail
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VIDEO: Mark Ruffalo Goes Rogue
“I’m so sick of Mark Ruffalo. Whatever that is, I’m so sick of it. I am so sick of him that literally there was a part of me that was flirting with disaster.”
On the heels of his Academy Award nominated performance in the film Poor Things, Mark Ruffalo joined his former acting teacher and coach Milton Justice on the podcast I Don't Need an Acting Class to discuss his process. He has since been nominated for an Academy Award.
“I’m always thinking I’m about four hours away from being fired!” He also lightheartedly admitted that his co-star Willem Defoe, and even the film’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos questioned his outrageous character choices. “Willem said to me first day on set, he’s like: “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
In the end, Ruffalo was so grateful for the opportunity to take risks and push himself this far: “It was so liberating. You’re always trying to throw your elbows out to stay one step ahead of what people expect of you as an actor. I get bored, you know? And I wanna keep being challenged.”
Mark Ruffalo Goes Rogue
“I’m so sick of Mark Ruffalo. Whatever that is, I’m so sick of it. I am so sick of him that literally there was a part of me that was flirting with disaster.”
On the heels of his Academy Award nominated performance in the film Poor Things, Mark Ruffalo joined his former acting teacher and coach Milton Justice on the podcast I Don't Need an Acting Class to discuss his process. He has since been nominated for an Academy Award
“I’m always thinking I’m about four hours away from being fired!” He also lightheartedly admitted that his co-star Willem Defoe, and even the film’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos questioned his outrageous character choices. “Willem said to me first day on set, he’s like: “Are
you out of your fucking mind?”
In the end, Ruffalo was so grateful for the opportunity to take risks and push himself this far: “It was so liberating. You’re always trying to throw your elbows out to stay one step ahead of what people expect of you as an actor. I get bored, you know? And I wanna keep being challenged.”
What Acting Is and Isn't
This week’s episode is based on a question we received about adding your own circumstances in order to increase the stakes, or help you connect. Here’s the question in its entirely:
Is it acceptable to add your own specific circumstances or facts to bear down on generalities in the script?
Or is this dangerous embellishment? David Mamet says to invent nothing, and that the author has given you only what is germane to the physical action of the play, as the joke-writer gives you only what is germane to the punchline.
For example act 1, scene 4 (Richard III). Murderers and Clarence. There is nothing that mentions how much time they have to kill Clarence in the scene but the actors may add the fact “we only have 5 minutes to kill Clarence” so as to make the present circumstance more engaging and difficult, therefore more entertaining?
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Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Telling Someone Else’s Story
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This episode begins with the exercise of telling someone else’s story. It involves hearing a story from someone in class, and then retelling it as our own. This is a great technique exercise because it allows you to layer in your first impressions improvisationally. You don’t have to get it all the first time. And in the process, you find the details that stick with you— these are the choices that bring you to life, and what allows you to put your own unique stamp on the role. “This is what you all did with this exercise,” Milton says. “You allowed yourself to add things that became your contribution.
Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Bonus Ep: No Such Thing As A Throwaway
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Observing The Art of Seduction
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Milton begins this episode by emphasizing the importance of observing human behavior— our own and others. The reason is, it gives us clues to everything, from character to circumstance to what “playing an action” looks like. Milton gives the example of an audition Diego recently worked on, where he struggled to play the action “to seduce.” This is where observation becomes so helpful. Looking at others helps us understand the nature of seduction.
Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
The Sin We Commit Without Knowing It
This week, we go back to some of the fundamentals of acting technique. One of which is, The Biggest Sin: Thou Shall Not Make Performance Choices When You First Read The Script. But this is not something we’re always aware that we’re doing. We forget. Or— we have an immediate response to the character or the circumstances, and run with that first instinct. Or— because of our own personal beliefs and values, we unconsciously pass judgement on the character we’re playing. Regardless of the reason, what we end up with is something that lacks depth and complexity. The bottom line is: the mistake is almost impossible NOT to make. The key is: catching ourselves in The Biggest Sin, and coming back to the starting line, giving ourselves permission to really sit with the facts and see what questions occur to us, perhaps do some research and see what sparks some fire within us. If you have the luxury of time, allow yourself the space to build the role, piece by piece, layer by layer.
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Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Bonus Ep: Unreleased Mark Ruffalo Footage
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Bonus Ep: Talking Out, Clarified
For anyone confused about how to "talk out," hopefully this will help make it clearer. Have a question about "talking out" for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Think Like an Actor
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Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Be Outstanding
“Don’t shop at Kmart if there’s a Tiffany’s at 57th and 5th.”
-Stella Adler on Making Choices
This episode begins with Milton’s deconstruction of an audition. He talks about the downside of adding a lot of plot points to your preparation for a scene: it means you have to earn every single one of them in a way that feeds you emotionally. “But the advanced work,” he says, “is making kick-ass choices. You challenge yourself to be smarter.”
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Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Bonus Video Episode: The Nature of Comedy
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Active Relaxation
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There are some misconceptions about relaxation in acting. You want to be relaxed but not so relaxed that you’re not able to be active as your character in the given circumstances. As Milton says in this week’s episode: “I think a lot of it is figuring out where to put your focus in the work, rather than trying to solve the problem of being all over the place, or being nervous or being in your head.” In other words, the answer to relaxation is found in the actor-work itself. Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Playing Witch-Twins on American Horror Story
In this episode, actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones joins us on the podcast to talk about playing twin witches on American Horror Story. She discusses the extensive background and character work the did while working one-on-one with Milton, as well as the exercises that freed her up the most and allowed her to make ever more discoveries.
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Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Bonus Video Episode: Working Slowly
An excerpt from Milton's Masterclass at Spotlight in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Given Circumstances Are Everything
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What do we mean when we say the Given Circumstances? According to Stella Adler, the Given Circumstances includes everything— all the facts. And as Milton puts it, it incorporates all the P’s: the play, the playwright, the plot, the place, the period, and the personality, past and profession of the character.
Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Making the Inactive Active
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This is one of those ideas in acting that is almost scientific in its certainty. If you’re ever in a scene where your character is meant to be inactive, you must equally compensate for it by finding a way to make what you’re doing especially active. For example, your character is “bored” or “depressed” or “listless,” you cannot “play bored or depressed. You must give yourself something active to do, whether it’s an activity with a definite end, or a larger action like something to fight for. In the second half of the class, Milton works with a student on the “Love/Hate exercise” and talks about the importance of letting your choices feed you.
Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Bonus Video Episode: Master Class at Spotlight
An excerpt from last week's masterclass at Spotlight in Stockholm, Sweden. Enjoy and thanks for being part of this amazing community!
Putting In Your Own Words
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The reason why “putting something in your own words” is such a useful exercise is because it covers so much territory: understanding the sequence of thoughts, owning the character’s point of view and the size of an idea, and what action we are playing. There are concepts that you can apply to any monologue, any scene. Since you don’t have time to memorize the words, (and therefore become creatively strangled), you’re forced to get clear about what it is that you’re doing. Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Bonus Video Episode: Milton Speaks at Yonker Film Festival
Happy Thanksgiving to our subscribers! We are so thankful for you. Here's a clip of Milton talking about his early career at Yonkers Film Festival. Wishing you all a day full of peace and love.
Connecting with The Character’s POV
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This week, Milton muses about what we mean when we talk about connecting. How much to we, as actors, have to connect to the character’s point of view, and how it that different than the *character* connecting to their point of view? “I often say that you know more than your character knows,” Milton says. “But the question is: what do I know that my character doesn’t know? And how does that inform the importance of what I’m saying?” Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Bonus Video: Milton on Meisner
Your shirt is blue. 👕
Bonus Episode: One Line of Dialogue
You promised to bring me the notes for the lecture. I waited for you and when you didn’t turn up I knew you’d forgotten as usual.
This is a comprehensive list of what people in class said they would work on when given this one line of dialogue:
- Relationship to partner
- Where are we
- What is the lecture
- Are you teacher or student
- How long did you wait
- Where did you wait
- Who am I who are they
- Past of forgotten as usual
- What have they forgotten
- How do I feel about the fact that they’ve forgetten
- Where was he? At the lecture? What happened?
- What was I doing before waiting?
- What were the consequences
- How important the notes
- What exactly are the notes?
- What was the person’s attitude about this?
- Moment of the promise?
Improvising Your Character’s POV
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There are so many (upsides) to improvisation. For one, it helps you get specific, own what you’re talking about, and find choices that you love. It also forces you to listen because you’re constantly having to check-in with your scene partner to see if you’re getting through to them and solving your problem. It also, as witnessed in this episode’s exercise with JP and Amanda, is a great way to understand your character’s point of view.
Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Bonus Episode: Staying In The Scene
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Your Own Way of Working
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Milton begins this week’s episode sharing memories about working with Swedish cinematographer, Sven Nykvist and Helen Mirren, and why “taking the time to build slowly and let it layer in” is such a wonderful way to work. And yet, there is no one way of working. This is why taking acting advice from other actors can be so misleading. What works for one does not work for all. What works for actors in one culture does not work for actors in another culture. At the end of the day, we have to find what works for us.
Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Creating The “Other”
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Your individual experience will inform your “way in” to approaching a role and of course, your interpretation of a character will be uniquely yours. But that doesn’t mean the character is you, and that you don’t have to move outside of yourself to create this other human being. A great way to begin imagining this “other” is to read. Reading feeds the imagination. It force us outside of ourselves, enabling us to immerse ourselves in pages and pages of another perspective. And we can begin visualizing behavior, physicality and mindset. Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
All You Need for TV
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Bonus Episode: We Need Our Partners To Get Where We're Going
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Bonus Episode: Walker Works on Roy Cohn
This is from a 2021 class when Walker was working on Roy Cohn from Angels in America. This is him building an event from his past that fed into the character’s need to dominate others.
Acting Is Human Logic
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One of the biggest contributions that Stanislavsky (and later Stella Adler) made was the clear logic they brought to the study of acting. This episode includes several ideas in acting technique that simply make sense: make a choice, move slowly, do research that feeds you, "keep moving. It may be forward."
Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com
Bonus Episode: When We Make It About Us
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Getting Hired
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In this episode, Milton talks about the myths actors tell themselves about why they’re not getting hired. The bottom line is this: if you’re good, eventually you’ll start getting hired. In a culture obsessed with tricks, quick fixes, fast-tracks and branding, our abilities as actors has fallen by the wayside. Sure, it’s nice to have credits but the reason to say “yes” to everything is because of what you learn from each job. Have a question for Milton? Send us a voice note below or email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Also, check out our website: www.idontneedanactingclass.com