I Don't Need an Acting Class

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Want to Study with Milton Justice? Register Now. Sep 13, 2023

Show notes

Hey everyone,

Milton’s 6-week Technique & Script Analysis Workshop will begin October 7th. Classes are Saturdays, from 2PM to 5PM EST and will be held over Zoom for six consecutive weeks. The fee for the 6-week session is $300. This is a great opportunity to get your foot in the door to one of Milton's classes, as he rarely opens up a class to new students. It's also insanely discounted, much to my (Walker's) dismay! 🤪 Anyway, if you're interested you can register or get more info by emailing me, Walker, at: questionsformilton@gmail.com Hope to see you soon!

www.idontneedanactingclass.com

Trailer: I Don't Need an Acting Class Sep 13, 2023

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www.idontneedanactingclass.com

Bonus Episode: Don't Rely On Your Voice Aug 26, 2023

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Hope you've all had a great summer. Just a quick message to let you know we'll be back with Season 6 in September!

Pacing Notes Are Dangerous Jun 19, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Milton takes a great question about pacing, which is a note actors get all the time, especially from people like agents and casting directors, and even directors. The reason it’s so precarious is because it’s an “effect/result” direction and never addresses the reason for the pacing. Does the pacing need to be different because of the genre you’re in? Or is it because the moments aren’t “filled” and therefore the work is dying? Or is it both? Most people who give notes about pacing have no idea *why* the pacing needs to change, and so they don’t know how to direct the actor to change it. In so many cases, the actor runs the risk of just “doing it faster” without any regard for *what* will help achieve that result and *why* it needs to be be achieved. He also takes a question from a listener, (James) who asks about casting based on your credits.

Thank you for a wonderful season! If you have an acting question while we’re on break, send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at questionsformilton@gmail.com and Milton will send you a personal audio response.

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Bonus Episode: The Struggle Is The Play Jun 17, 2023

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This week, we bring you a private coaching in which Milton breakdown a monologue he’s seeing for the first time with an actor he’s working with for the first time. As the session progresses, you begin to understand his approach. From getting beneath the mentality of a character and they way they see and understand the world that they’re in…to beginning to own and experience the the enormous struggle that underlies the reason for the play. Here is the monologue: A Bright New Boise By Samuel D. Hunter Will, a disgraced evangelical who has let his own fundamentalist beliefs ruin his entire life, is presented with an option-hold on to his beliefs, or give them up and accompany his new love interest to a Lutheran service on Sunday. But when pushed, he clings to his former belief. WILL: Believe in what? Believe in the Lutheran Church, some branch of some branch of some branch of Christianity, some vapid, meaningless organization that's going to legislate my belief system instead of looking to God's word for it? You work at a Hobby Lobby, Anna. Before that you worked at Walmart, JC Penney, McDonald's, Barnes and Noble, and now we both work here. Your life is meaningless, my life is meaningless, and the only thing that gives any meaning, that brings any hope to this life is my unshakeable belief that God will come again in glory to replace this disgusting life with something new, and pure, and meaningful- And you could take the easy route, you could go to a liberal church, and believe in nothing, believe that God is unknowable and we'll never know the meaning of life, you'll go to college and get a degree in English or Philosophy or Art or Economics and you'll spend your life searching in the dark, trying to find meaning in meaninglessness- become one of those people who sit around in their fashionable clothes with their fashionable friends and call us bigots, and fanatics, and hicks, calling us idiots for actually believing in something, for standing for truth— (losing himself) AND THESE PEOPLE WILL BURN IN HELL, YOU WILL BURN IN HELL BECAUSE INSTEAD OF SEEKING TRUTH YOU MOCK IT, YOU INSULT IT, YOU SPIT IN THE FACE OF GOD AND HE WILL—

Conversation with Sharon Carnicke Jun 12, 2023

Show notes

In case you missed it live, this week we bring you our Conversation on Acting series with Sharon Carnicke. Sharon is an internationally acclaimed expert on Stanislavsky. Her latest book Dynamic Acting through Active Analysis follows the evolution of a radical rehearsal technique created by Stanislavsky. She is also the author of Stanislavsky in Focus: An Acting Master for the Twenty-First Century, Checking Out Chekhov: A Guide to the Plays for Actors, Directors, and Readers, and is the coauthor of Reframing Screen Performance. She is currently a Professor of Theatre Critical Studies at USC School of Dramatic Art. In this conversation, we break down "The Method" and the biggest confusions and misconceptions surrounding it.

Have an acting question? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at questionsformilton@gmail.com and Milton will send you a personal audio response. WANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content! https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/actingclass/subscribe

26 Different Kinds of Films Jun 05, 2023

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Film Genres

Genre Conventions are specific settings, roles, events, and values that define individual genres and their sub-genres.

Love Story

Buddy Salvation

Road Picture
Horror Film

Uncanny – source of horror is astound but subject to “rational” explanation – such as beings from outer space, science-made monsters, or a maniac.
Supernational – in which the source of horror is an “irrational” phenomenon from the spirit realm.
Super-Uncanny – in which the audience is kept guessing between the other two possibilities

Modern Epic – individual versus the state – Spartacus, Erin Brockovich
Western
War Genre

Pro-war – covertly glorifying war
Anti-war

Maturation Plot – Coming of age Story
Redemption Plot – film arcs on a moral change within the protagonist from bad to good
Punitive Plot – good guy turns bad and is punished
Testing Plot – stories of will power versus temptation to surrender – Forest Gump
Education Plot – Deep change within the protagonist’s view of life, people, or self from the negative (naïve, distrustful, fatalistic, self0hating) to the positive (wise, trusting, optimistic, self-possessed)
Disillusionment Plot – a deep change of worldview from the positive to the negative – Great Gatsby, Macbeth
Comedy

Parody
Satire
Sitcom
Romantic
Screwball
Farce
Black Comedy
Bro Comedy

Crime

Murder Mystery (master detective POV)
Caper (master criminal’s POV)
Detective (cop’s POV)
Gangster (crook’s POV)
Thriller or Revenge Tale (victim’s POV)
Courtroom (lawyer’s POV)
Newspaper (reporter’s POV)
Espionage (spy’s POV)
Prison Drama (inmate’s POV)
Film Noir (POV of a protagonist who may be part criminal, part detective, part victim of a femme fatale)

Social Drama – problems in society 0 poverty, the education system, then constructs a story demonstrating a cure.

Domestic Drama (family problems)
Woman’s film (dilemmas such as career versus family, lover versus children)
Political Drama (corruption in politics)
Eco-Drama (battles to save the environment)
Medical Drama
Psycho-Drama

Action/Adventure

High Adventure
Disaster/Survival Film

Historical Drama
Biography – must have point of view Gandhi becomes the hero of a Modern Epic, Nixon suffers from Punitive Plot
Docu-Drama
Mockumentary
Musical
Science Fiction – often marry the man0against0state Modern Epic with Action/Adventure: Star Wars
Sports Genre - a natural home for Maturation Plot, Redemption Plot, Education Plot, Punitive Plot, Testing Plot, Disillusionment Plot, Beddy Salvation, Social Drama.
Fantasy
Animation
Art Film

Instinct is Developed May 29, 2023

Show notes

This week, our episode focuses on the idea of instinct. Most of us think of that word as something w’re born with, something that is innately part of us. But in the context of training and learning a process, instinct is learned. The more you exercise certain muscles of your technique, the more it is there for you when you need it. For example, one of our tools is slowing down enough to analyze “the nature” of an idea and then translate it into something actable. If we take the time to work these tools, eventually they become part of our instinct, and our way of working becomes almost automatic.

And if you ever get lost, you can always come back to the fundamentals.

Please join us for our Conversations on Acting session with Sharon Carnike this Saturday, June 3rd at 3pm EST. To receive the link by email, go to idontneedanactingclass.com and sign up for our mailing list. Or simply logon to our Facebook page or YouTube page and we'll be streaming live.

Have an acting question? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at questionsformilton@gmail.com and Milton will send you a personal audio response.

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Your Character's Ethics May 22, 2023

Show notes

This episodes happens to contain more casual chat and personal anecdotes than usual, but there is a point to it. It’s about the need to look at your character’s character. Do they have a strong sense of morality? Do they have principals, and off so, what are they? This is a particularly important question when playing someone whose actions in the play reflect their moral character. Perhaps they take a stand and do so at great personal cost. This is such an integral part of a human being, one that deserves a lot of our time as actors.

Have an acting question? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at questionsformilton@gmail.com and Milton will send you a personal audio response.

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A Scene Outside the Play May 15, 2023

Show notes

This week, Milton talks about his approach to scene work. He begins discussing what the scene is about, has each actor do an etude (or improvised) monologue about their character, and then has both actors do an improvised scene that is not in the play. However, it’s important that this scene is not an arbitrary choice. There needs to be a reason in the text to explore this “missing” scene. Why does he do this? As Stella once said: “If you know how your character lives outside the play, then when you come back to the play, you’ll know how they behave.”

Have an acting question? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at questionsformilton@gmail.com
WANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/actingclass/subscribe