I Don't Need an Acting Class

Latest Episodes:

What to work on Mar 18, 2026

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Sometimes I think we've just had too many classes - and too many teachers telling you what you have to do in order to play a part. An actor needs to develop the ability to figure out what is necessary for each part.

Seeing What's Not There Mar 13, 2026

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The ability to visualize and live off images that are in the actor's imagination is a great skill to develop. It keeps you from acting in a vacuum,– to say nothing of solving the problem of a bad partner.

Talking Out Revisited Mar 03, 2026

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Actor work is not an intellectual exercise. And it’s not about “good writing.”

It’s about experiencing.

The audience doesn’t come to the theater for the words on the page. They come for the experience of what the character is going through — in the world of the play.

In this episode, I return to one of my core tools: Talking Out. Through études — structured improvisations in which you speak aloud everything happening with your character — you begin to move off analyzing and philosophizing about the character and move into the experience of the character.

The Technique Works! Feb 24, 2026

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Actors have a tendency to abandon their technique as soon as they get an audition – and leap to a performance. Just taking a little time to really think about the text makes an enormous difference.

Building a Character Feb 17, 2026

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There are many roads in to building a character and, unfortunately, there is no paint-by-number approach. It's great as an actor to play with several different techniques.

Connecting Through Specifics Feb 10, 2026

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When an actor does not connect, you catch them "acting". It doesn't matter if it's a television series or a play. Specificity helps us connect.

Fighting Clichés through Specificity and Events Feb 03, 2026

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We have a tendency to leap to clichés because the dialogue seems to lead us there. There's a way to fight this.

An Encyclopedic Possibility of Choices Jan 27, 2026

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It's very difficult to believe that there is not just one correct choice. As long as an actor is clear what the text is about, there are countless roads in to the experience of the world of the play.

Your choices must feed the text Jan 20, 2026

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"Everything is something." It seems simple, but as actors we often skip over something that can give us the key we're looking for.

Everything is Something Jan 13, 2026

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The craft of acting is there to give us confidence. If we're not confident it's easy to see, especially for people casting. One of our problems is that we often throw away lines, – or parts of lines, – or even entire phrases. We miss the opportunities for creative acting work because we rush so fast to performance.