Shows
I Don't Need an Acting ClassCasting Directors Need to See ThisMilton shares insights from a panel with top New York casting directors including Bernard Telsey and Billy Hopkins. The key revelation: casting directors are looking for "active listening" - actors who remain fully present and engaged even when not speaking. Many actors mistakenly think they only need to act when delivering lines, but casting directors immediately notice when an actor goes "dead" during listening moments.Milton advocates for his "telephone method" - talking out everything happening before and during scenes to ensure continuous engagement. The goal is experiencing circumstances rather than just reporting them, distinguishing between describing...2025-07-1916 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassAnnouncement!The Actor Lab is an acting studio founded by industry veterans Milton Justice and Patrick Quagliano, and producer Walker Vreeland. The studio aims to fill critical gaps in contemporary actor training by focusing exclusively on fundamental acting techniques, script analysis, and practical scene work in a supportive yet challenging environment. Unlike other acting programs, The Actor Lab emphasizes personalized guidance and honest feedback rather than vague instruction. We view acting as a lifelong pursuit where growth as an actor parallels growth as a human being, and strive to create a community of passionate, like-minded artists where professional actors can...2025-07-1602 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWhat is Personalizing?Welcome back to I Don't Need an Acting Class and our first episode of Season 8! In this first episode, we hear a coaching session between Milton and student Madior exploring the concept of "personalization" in acting.The discussion centers around whether actors should draw from their own personal experiences or build relationships from the character's perspective. Using the example of a monologue where a character dismantles a house, Madior argues for using her own childhood home to tap into real emotional memories. However, Milton challenges this approach as potentially limiting, advocating instead for building relationships through imagination...2025-07-1215 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWhat Does That MeanThis episode delves into the importance of conveying big ideas in acting. Milton emphasizes the need for actors to grasp the magnitude of concepts in great plays, avoiding monotonous delivery that reduces dialogue to a mere "grocery list." He advises performers to explore ideas deeply by asking "What does this mean?" and to get specific with examples to bring concepts to life. He also talks about the difference between artistic pursuits and conventional careers.
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Have a qu...2024-10-2909 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassThe Acting Lie DetectorTalking out or improvising text helps us connect to what we’re talking out, sometimes by way of letting us know we are lying. In that sense, talking out is like a lie detector. It’s a way of self-assessing our own work. For example, if we’re bored, that means we’re not bringing ourselves to life, which means we haven’t earned it. Will don’t believe it and neither will anyone else. Milton also makes it clear what talking out isn’t: it’s not performing, it’s not standup comedy, it’s not telling a story. It’s solely m...2024-10-0113 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassMilton à MarseilleMilton will be teaching a week-long acting workshop at Clap Class in Marseille! The class will be held in English. Must have experience in film, television or theater, and be fluent in English.
Monday, November 18th to Friday November 22, 2024; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
To register: go to clapclass.fr2024-09-2500 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassBeing Active AlwaysTwo topics are covered in this episode: our tendency to be disconnected from what you’re talking about, and our tendency to be disconnected from what’s going on with you in the scene. We shy away from being truly connected because it means vulnerability, it means “going there.” Even if you’re talking about something simple or you’re in a moment that’s not particularly heightened, when we’re connected, we’re revealing ourselves. It’s why we fall back on an analytical tone. Because it keeps us removed. Milton also talks about the importance of being active at all times...2024-09-2413 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassI Have Notes: All My SonsThis week, Milton coaches Chris on a monologue from All My Sons. This episode is both audio and video. You can watch the video version on Spotify.
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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 2024-09-1009 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassRobot DramaIn this longer-than-usual episode, Milton coaches the class through Jed’s audition for a TV series in which an out-of-control robot is stealing children. You’ll hear how Milton talks out the entire scene several times. This includes his dialogue, the dialogue of the others in the scene and his response to the others in the scene, as if telling someone a story of what happened. In doing so, he finds choices he loves, which makes the scene more than being a mere plot device. He finds a clear action, gives himself obstacles which help him play that action, and s...2024-08-2826 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWandering with The RainmakerIn this episode, Milton begins talking through The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash. It’s an example of how we can begin working on a play by ourselves. There is no right way. We can take our initial impressions (whatever hits us first) and wander around with them in a non-performative way. We do this, in large part, to discover what world we’re in, and that becomes our entree into all the specific elements that exist in that world. “But I resist making a decision for as long as possible,” Milton says, referring to the barn in the play. “T...2024-08-2020 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassThe Structure of MusicalsTwo of Milton’s students are currently starring in an off-Broadway musical, and this week he discusses his recent work with them. He talks about the similarities between the structure of a film and the structure of a musical. In (almost) every scene there is a song, which takes place because the circumstances become so heightened that the only thing one can do in that moment is to sing; and like in film, each scene turns, (i.e. a big change happens and usually it’s during a song.)
WANT MORE? Become a subscriber on Spotify for bonu...2024-08-1309 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassOrdinary People (In Extraordinary Circumstances)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.
*Starting now, you can leave comments on episodes on Spotify, and we can reply...2024-07-1614 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassMilton The MechanicMilton 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...2024-07-1014 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassThe Nature of Modern Theater: An Analysis of Loose EndsIn 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!
2024-07-0228 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWhat Makes A PersonThis 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.
2024-06-1812 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassTrusting Your Creative ImpulsesIn 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...2024-02-2012 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassVIDEO: 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 lighthea...2024-02-1420 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassMark 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 lighthea...2024-02-1422 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassTelling Someone Else’s StoryWANT MORE? Become a subscriber on Spotify for bonus content!
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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, a...2024-02-0619 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassObserving The Art of SeductionWANT MORE? Become a subscriber on Spotify for bonus content!
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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 Milto...2024-01-3115 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassVideo: Mark Ruffalo Talks About His Acting ProcessOn the heels of his critically acclaimed and Golden Globe nominated performance in the film Poor Things, Mark Ruffalo joins his former acting teacher Milton Justice on the podcast "I Don't Need an Acting Class" to discuss his acting process. In this intimate, passionate and revealing conversation, Ruffalo talks about why Poor Things was so liberating and what it took to find his way into world of the film. Other topics include: the gift of knowing when you're lying, the importance of developing your imagination, and how layering in elements, like a piece of costume is vital to building a...2024-01-1520 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassMark Ruffalo Talks About His Acting ProcessOn the heels of his critically acclaimed and Golden Globe nominated performance in the film Poor Things, Mark Ruffalo joins his former acting teacher Milton Justice on the podcast "I Don't Need an Acting Class" to discuss his acting process. In this intimate, passionate and revealing conversation, Ruffalo talks about why Poor Things was so liberating and what it took to find his way into world of the film. Other topics include: the gift of knowing when you're lying, the importance of developing your imagination, and how layering in elements, like a piece of costume is vital to building a...2024-01-1522 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassBe 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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https://podcaster...2024-01-0218 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassActive RelaxationWANT MORE? Become a subscriber on Spotify for bonus content!
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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 y...2023-12-2720 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassPlaying Witch-Twins on American Horror StoryIn 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 websi...2023-12-2016 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassThe Given Circumstances Are EverythingWANT MORE? Become a subscriber on Spotify for bonus content!
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/actingclass/subscribeWhat 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.idontneedanacti...2023-12-1215 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassMaking the Inactive ActiveWANT MORE? Become a subscriber on Spotify for bonus content!
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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...2023-12-0518 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassConnecting with The Character’s POVWANT MORE? Become a subscriber on Spotify for bonus content!
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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 say...2023-11-2116 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassYour Own Way of WorkingWANT MORE? Become a subscriber on Spotify for bonus content!
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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 fo...2023-11-0720 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassGetting HiredWANT MORE? Become a subscriber on Spotify for bonus content!
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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 quest...2023-10-1013 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassTrust Your HomeworkThere’s a difference between the preparation work we do when creating a role, and what we’re actually *doing* in the scene. For instance, in your preparation, you may have had to build a past so that each moment is emotionally filled, but that may not be what the scene is about. And so you don’t want to “play” the past, but instead, play what’s going on with you in the scene. This lesson is illustrated as Kaleb and Milton work together on a monologue from the Tennessee Williams play, Vieux Carré. Have a question for Milton? Send...2023-10-0322 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWant to Study with Milton Justice? Register Now.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...2023-09-1300 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassPacing Notes Are DangerousIn 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 s...2023-06-1919 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWe Want to Hear from You!Hey everyone. First of all, we want to welcome our new listeners. It never ceases to amaze us that people keep discovering the podcast everyday. We’re so grateful. We also want to know what you think. Are there any issues you want to hear Milton discuss? Any questions or confusions? What do you love? What do you hate? (No we’re not trying to get you to do an acting exercise.) We would love to hear from you. So if you would, please take a couple minutes a leave a review for us on Apple Podcasts. And feel free to u...2023-05-1401 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassLiving Off of ImagesThis episode with Milton’s famous class exercise “Something I Love/Something I Hate” where you talk out improvistorally while building something you love or hate. The purpose of this exercise is learning to live off the images and make choices that feed you in order to earn the line “I hate ________”, or: “I love ________.” “What I want you all to do is stop throwing things out there that you don’t pay a price for.” Milton says. “Everything is something that needs to be earned.”
Have an acting question? Send us a voice message (link below ⬇️), or an email at questionsformi...2023-05-0819 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassA Police Procedural AuditionThis week’s episode is an excerpt of a coaching Milton did with JP for a SWAT audition. You’ll notice that the difference here between teaching and coaching. Teaching demands that the actors themselves comes up with the choices and tools they’ll use for that specific material. Whereas coaching requires less independence because the coach gives it to you. It’s important to take note of what you’re function is in the grand scheme of the episode. If you’re a “plot point” there to further the storyline, you don’t want to build too much, or else you risk s...2023-04-2420 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassTechnique Class, Jan 2021, Pt 2Thank you for becoming a subscriber!
Here's what you get: Expanded and unedited episodes • No ads • Interviews • Videos • Full access to the IDNAAC Archives • And newsletters including articles, quotes, acting exercises, and chapter’s of Milton’s next book. For more info or if you have an acting question for Milton, email: questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/actingclass/message2023-03-2631 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWhat Would You Do If You Had the Part?Want more?
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In this episode, Milton wanders around and takes questions while avoiding Strindberg because of how much he knows it’s going to cost emotionally. But by the end, he lands on a helpful way to access a...2023-03-2015 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassIntroducing...Bonus Content for Subscribers!WANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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Here's what you get: Expanded and unedited episodes • No ads • Interviews • Videos • Full access to the IDNAAC Archives • And newsletters including articles, quotes, acting exercises, and chapter’s of Milton’s next book. For more info or if you have an acting question for Milton, email: questionsformilton@gmail.com
2023-03-2001 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassAm I Doing This Right?WANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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So many of us know what it feels like to doubt ourselves, to ask ourselves: am I doing this right? This week, Milton talks about what it takes to own a play or piece of text with confidence when striving for greatness. The time, the work, the patience is endless, as is the fortitude required to remain steadfast throughout a career. In this rare and inspiring episode, Milton shares several personal stories of how he managed to get back...2023-03-0623 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassSuddenly Strindberg!WANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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This week, Milton introduces us to the playwright August Strindberg, and how Stella Adler’s teaching contributed to the way actors approach his writing. While Chekov and Ibsen signified the beginning of realism, Strindberg marked the beginning of what we think of as the modern theater, deeply exploring the human being’s complexity and inner conflict. In this episode, as Milton introduces the Strindberg one-act Playing with Fire, he talks about two defining characteristics of the playwright: class, and the...2023-02-2718 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassThe "Why" That Turns The DialWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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In this episode, Milton recalls one of Stella’s exercises which he teaches to this day. The purpose of the exercise is to invest ourselves fully in an action. One way we can do this is by understanding the “why” behind the action. We can play the action “to teach,” but understanding the “why”— (that unless you teach the extras how to ride a chariot properly, they could die)— turns the dial on the action, giving it weight and making it more act...2023-02-2015 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWhat We Need to Get Where We’re GoingWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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This episode starts out with a simple “action” exercise but becomes about something much larger: how we go about creating (or talking out) the circumstances so that by the time we get to the words, they are filled with life and believable. As Milton has repeated time and again: “Just because you say it, doesn’t make it true.” We have to earn the lines. This episode is about figuring out what each of us needs in order to do that. H...2023-02-1320 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassThe More You KnowWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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As we approach our new Script Analysis Class beginning March 8th, (if you’re interested in taking it, email us at: questionsformilton@gmail.com), this episode begins with a quote about “the more you know.” Not only does loving your choices free you, but so does knowing the circumstances, the people, the period, the world of the play— experientially. As the episode progresses, Milton and the class analyze the character of Paul in the play Loose Ends, and discover how what...2023-01-3023 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassChoices That Free YouWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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This week, Milton talks about how essential it is to be in love with our choices. If we, as actors, don’t LOVE the choices we make, we won’t commit to them 1000%. We will end up pushing a performance and feeling stuck. But if we are relentless about finding choices that personally excite us, then we won’t have to work so hard once we get up on our feet. Choices that thrill us, free us. Have an acting...2023-01-2310 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassMargo Martindale: "Make a Stab at It"WANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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This episode features Milton's conversation with his longtime friend, character actress Margo Martindale. Mostly recently, you might know her from The Watcher on Netflix, Bojack Horseman, Sneaky Pete and for her portrayal of Bella Abzug on the limited FX series Mrs. America. Margo won a Primetime Emmy and Critics Choice Award for her role as Mags Bennett on Justified; she then won two Emmys for playing a Russian spy on The Americans. Her movie credits include Dead Man Walking, Secretar...2023-01-1619 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassCharacter Colors Prevent ClichéWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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This episode continues the discussion of how to build character. Specifically— how to avoid cliches by remembering that no person is just one thing. Using the tenants of script analysis, finding clues (or facts) in the text about your character is the first step. As you allow these facts to seep into your imagination and you begin analyzing and exploring the complexity of the character, it will eventually help you step into the shoes of this person. You’ll hear an ex...2023-01-0917 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWe Are SomeplaceWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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This week, Milton takes us on a journey through the significance of the “place,” the objects (or props) that live there and our relationship to all of it. He shares an improvisation that JP did for The Glass Menagerie. He wanted to explore Tom’s relationship to his sister Laura’s victrola in order to deepen his relationship with Laura. Milton also shares his experience visiting The Eugene O’Neil House as an example of how, in life, we have specific relation...2022-12-2612 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassThe Loss of MeaningWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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Do you ever look around at our world today and think: nothing means anything anymore. So many of us are (understandably) cut off emotionally, desensitized, and this has affected acting today. All too often, we think that arriving at a big idea is where our work ends. In fact, it’s where our work begins. It’s one thing to intellectually understand an idea, but it’s another thing altogether to understand the meaning as an actor, which manifests itself as the abil...2022-12-1916 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassFind Your Life FascinatingWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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This episode is a five minute rant from Milton about how we don’t find our lives interesting, which is why we often discourage the approach of “using our own lives” for a part. We fail to see the greatness in our own lives and the universal themes that run through them. We tell our own stories in a removed, almost clinical tone as if we were reporting the news. And so when using our lived experience, our performances reflec...2022-12-1205 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassHow Objectives Can Cripple YouIn this episode, Milton coaches Guilherme as he prepares the role of Portuguese Vampire from the 17th Century. He begins by suggesting specific images that will help his development of the character’s physicality and point of view. This eventually leads to a conversation about “objectives” and how using that word can actually get in the way of what’s really going on in the scene and the essence of the character. Have an acting (or Vampire) question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com2022-11-2809 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassUnderstanding The Playwright’s StruggleThis episode, an excerpt from Milton’s Script Analysis class, examines the importance’s of understanding the deeply human struggle of the playwright and how those struggles are infused into their characters. Using The Glass Menagerie, Milton talks about letting the “active facts” about a character seep into the actor’s consciousness over time, keeping in mind the enormity of the theme that the character represents. “One of the problems we have is that we don’t have a sense of our own personal struggles as being a big idea.” Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilt2022-11-1413 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassBe Believable AND InterestingWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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One of the cornerstones of being believable is the ability to connect to the material. And we have to know what it feels like to be connected, so that when we’re not, we do more work to get there. But being believable is just one prerequisite. We also have to be interesting to watch and listen to. Milton shares a story about his former business partner, actress Lee Grant who came up with the most amazing stories as ex...2022-11-0717 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassPt. 1: Let the Play Tell You What to Work OnThe reason we analyze text is so we can make discoveries that will bring us to life and bring depth to our work as actors. Gaining a deeper understanding of the play opens up a world of possibilities when it comes to our choices. However, we always want the play to dictate the choices we make. In this episode, Milton shares an example from Angels in America. Louis and Prior have been together for four years and have an incredible relationship. But no one where in the play is it mentioned how they met. This is a prime illustration of...2022-10-1713 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassRevelations on ActingWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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Welcome to Season 5 of I Don’t Need an Acting Class! Milton begins the season asking the class to reflect on their biggest takeaways and revelations. Among them: how easy it is to jump to a performance; how researching the time period and social circumstances helps our creativity come alive; how the more we know about the world we’re in, the more we're able to believe that world and understand our characters' behavior; the importance of making choices that we love and...2022-10-0314 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassBonus: Where's The Conductor?Milton reflects on his recent theatre trip to London.
*We may continue to bring you some short bonus episodes during our summer hiatus. In order to ensure we can keep the show going, we only ask that you subscribe, rate and review the podcast if it has helped you in any way. That's all! Milton and Walker send you much gratitude for all your continued support, and hope you're having a wonderful summer.
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/actingclass/support2022-07-2204 min
I Don't Need an Acting ClassPt. 2: A Conversation with Chris CarmackThis week, we bring you Part 2 of Milton’s conversation with actor and former student Chris Carmack at Culture Connection at Queen’s Public Library in NYC, moderated by Taylor Purdee. Highlights include: how producing documentaries affected Milton’s understanding of acting, how directors can benefit from learning more about the actor process, and the differences between Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/actingclass/support2022-06-2123 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassPt. 1: A Conversation with Chris CarmackThis week for our 100th episode, we’re bringing you a conversation between actor Chris Carmack and Milton Justice. This talk was part of Culture Connection, a literary series moderated by Taylor Purdee at Queen’s Public Library in NYC. Chris Carmack is known for his work on Grey’s Anatomy, Nashville, and the teen drama series The OC. Highlights of this conversation include: the importance of practicality, what makes a good teacher, letting it happen rather than making it happen, and how not to marry your choices when working in television. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at que...2022-06-1026 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassA Private CoachingWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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This week, we take a break from script analysis, and Milton shares a private coaching session with a new student. He covers some fundamentals such as talking out in order to grasp the sequence of thoughts, and take ownership of the text so that everything you talk about is filled and you’re not just spouting empty lines. Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com2022-05-2414 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassAn Introduction to Tennessee Williams, Pt. 2Tennessee Williams was keenly interested in outcasts, artists and wounded people like himself. He also wrote about the south and regardless of where his character’s find themselves, the mentality of the south looms large, whether they are holding onto their heritage or pushing it away. As Milton looks at his play The Glass Menagerie in this episodes, he allows himself to swim through it, giving us an example of how one might begin the process of working on it. “You have to allow yourself to wander,” he says. “This is my period of letting myself go where the hell I w...2022-05-1718 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassAn Introduction to Tennessee Williams, Pt. 1This episode begins with Milton giving general notes on plays, and then gets more specific to the work of Tennessee Williams. The world of Tennessee Williams is one of fantasy and escape because of the characters’ inability to face reality. The create and live in their own world because as Stella Adler said of Tennessee’s characters: “they are people at their end of their ability to cope.” Have an acting question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com2022-05-1016 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassRealism and The American PlayIn this episode, Milton walks us through the shift that took place in the late 19th century when writers began writing about real people. Plays became much more complex and based on the interior life of their middle class characters, as opposed to being centered around the aristocracy which was larger than life and less personally relatable to an audience. Therefore, a new form of acting was called for. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com2022-05-0311 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassPt. 1: ABCs of Audition PrepWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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There are certain fundamental steps we can take when analyzing sides or preparing audition material. These concepts will help you understand where to begin, determine what work you need to do and inform the choices you make. This is a two-part episode. Next week, Milton will apply these techniques to a specific piece. Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com
2022-04-0514 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassAlways Come from SomewhereWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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This week, Milton talks about the importance of having a clear impulse for all of our work so that we “earn” the text. Nothing starts from nothing or nowhere. We’re always somewhere, in a particular circumstance, with something going on which gives us the impulse for the scene, the monologue, the entrance, the first line, what have you… A great way to get clear about your impulse is to talk it out or improvised it before the text, monologue or scene b...2022-03-2913 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassBuilding the PastThis week, Milton addresses a frequently asked question: how much information do we need when building the past of a character? As individuals, we may desirer (or require) different facts or details or tools. However, there are some “indisputables.” It’s vital to be able to differentiate what information is essential in order for us to play a role, and this is a skill that develops with experience. When doing a play, especially a great play, the text will tell us what we need to build. And the deeper we dive into the “essentials,” the more complex our characters will be, a...2022-03-2217 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassNot Defining a Character ExclusivelyLast season, Milton suggested that one way we can go about developing a character is by asking ourselves, “who is this person most?” In this episode, he reconsiders that idea. (Can you imagine? An acting teacher admitting they might have been wrong and changing their mind? Who’s ever heard of such an anomaly!) But as his own understanding of character work progresses, Milton questions whether asking this question forces us into a box. After all, no one is just one thing. In the end, asking the question: “what is this character most?” might lead to a one-dimensional response and theref...2022-03-1510 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassThe Legacy of LargenessThe lineage of this podcast is derived from the teaching of Stanislavsky and Milton’s teacher Stella Adler, who, among other things, taught her students to aspire towards the big ideas we communicate as actors, (ideas which are far bigger than us.) This is the thrill of acting— entering a different universe, a different skin. It is always a chance for growth. “Your attitude shouldn’t be: oh, I have to build that,” says Milton, “but rather I get to build that. Every fact of a play affords you a fabulous opportunity.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsfo...2022-03-0111 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassDiving Into The Time PeriodWhen breaking down a script, a profoundly important question to consider is: how does the time period in which this play takes place affect my character? It’s not just something you want to understand intellectually; it has to affect you experientially. The time frame is an enormous part of the given circumstances and we must take the time to consider how it influences our characters’ behavior. In this episode, Milton applies this concept to Bernie Dodd in The Country Girl, and how the 1950’s attitude towards the arts affects his mentality and gives him something to play against. “A play e...2022-02-1512 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassInterpreting the PlayThis week’s episode is an excerpt from Milton’s current script analysis class which gives us insight into how we might begin to approach a play, or any piece of text. Using one of his favorite examples, Clifford Odet’s The Country Girl, Milton introduces some fundamental principals of script analysis: the playwright writes out of his social circumstances; the playwright has something to say that is a reflection of the times in which he’s living; It’s our job to figure out: what is that reflection? What is that big idea that the playwright is trying to impart...2022-02-0810 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassNo, But What's Really Going On?This week’s episode begins with an analysis of Aunjanue Ellis’ performance in the film King Richard and why it’s an example of great acting. Her interior life is so complete and rich that we, as an audience, are able to see (and more importantly, feel) the character’s struggle without any dialogue to reveal plot or exposition. How do we bring this level of depth to our work? One way is to talk out. Talk out your character’s past, talk out their unconscious struggle. This makes our work go beyond a kind of surface performance that is just cl...2022-02-0112 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassPt. 2: So Much More Than OurselvesThis week, Milton continues the conversation of expanding the characters we play far beyond ourselves. While it’s true that our choices must feed us as actors, our choices must also feed our characters (who don’t know they are living out our choices— they’re just living their lives— and will respond to our choices differently than we will.) In this episode Milton uses the example of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, and how even though he may instinctively understand different aspects Willy’s circumstances because of his own life experience, he also instinctively doesn’t start with himself a...2022-01-2512 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassPt. 1: So Much More Than OurselvesWelcome back to the podcast and Happy New Year! Milton begins Season 4 of I Don’t Need an Acting Class responding to the misconception that as actors, “all we have is ourselves”— a statement that sounds logical but couldn’t be further from the truth. Only using ourselves as actors can limit us and lock us into choices that come out of our feelings, judgements and perspectives on our characters. In the end, your work is a result of multiple factors: you and your choices, your knowledge of the play, and the research you’ve done to understand the circumstances, the world of...2022-01-1816 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassThe Joy of ActingThis week, we celebrate the return of Broadway by looking at how the joy of acting, and and the joy of being part of its tradition and community is a huge part of what the actor gives and what the audience receives. “That’s what you get for free when actors are so happy to be acting, and acting together,” Milton says in this episode. “If we can connect to that and bring it to our work, it adds an element that is part of the actor’s contribution.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought...2021-09-2808 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWays to Raise the Stakes“Raising the stakes” is an expression we hear a lot in the world of acting technique. In this episode, Milton gives you very practical ideas and exercises that will help you raise the stakes. These are practices you can apply to any project you’re working on that will help to turn the dial. “The reason practical techniques like this are so useful,” says Milton, “is that, without artificially raising the stakes and playing an effect, it allows you to be more active.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brought to you by weaudition.com2021-08-3112 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassCan You Play Two Actions at Once?Have you ever felt like you’re playing two actions at once in a scene and therefore not committing 100% to anything at all? In this episode, Milton addresses a problem that Greg had while shooting a short film in which he felt torn between two different actions and ended up feeling confused as to what he was doing. It raised the question of whether it’s possible to play two actions at once, or if the disconnect is a result of “playing your homework” and not be clear enough on what the scene is about. Have a question for Milton...2021-08-2413 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassKnowing When It’s Not WorkingWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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In this episode, as the Ice Cream Man relentlessly plays his song on the streets of Hamilton Heights— (are they trying to make us go crazy?)— Milton talks about developing the ability to know when your work isn’t working. This is about trusting yourself. If it feels like it’s not working, it’s not. Then we have to trust that we can figure out what tools or techniques will help us. Have a question for Milton? Email him at que...2021-08-1713 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWhat Makes a Good ChoiceWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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In this episode, Milton muses on the Stella Adler quote: "Your talent is in your choices,” realizing the ways this statement has been widely misinterpreted and misunderstood. The idea has crippled actors because we’re so busy trying to come up with brilliant choices, it paralyzes us. We want the opposite. We want to be freed up when we are acting. What makes a good choice? It isn’t something clever or plot based. A choice is more personal than that. If it f...2021-07-2712 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassPlaying a Part You Know S*** AboutOne of our listeners recently began work as a series regular on a new show, and found herself a little lost because of the lack of information she’s been given about her character. When you don’t know where your character came from or is headed, how do you create a three-dimensional human being? How do you approach material when you’ve been given so few facts and there is so much unknown? Do you just make it up? What if you get the character all wrong? In this special episode, Milton invites actor and former student Grant Show...2021-07-1317 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassHow to Talk OutIn this episode Milton shares how his “Talking Out” technique was born in order to clarify how it can best work for us as actors. We talk out in order to take ownership of what we are talking about, little by little. Instead of feeling the pressure to deliver a “performance,” we start where we are, even if it means we are not as connected as we want to be, or will eventually be. This is what Stella Adler meant when she said: “I can believe this much today.” We start small, just with what we, ourselves, can believe, and then we...2021-07-0613 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassThe Accurate ConductorAs an actor, you want to be so much more than just “accurate.” You must have something going on inside of you that makes you alive on the outside. An exercise we can employ that helps us connect to the life inside of us is talking out something you love or something you hate. “You can do this if you will begin to be observers in life and not an audience in life,” Milton says in this episode. “Look at life, observe it and respond to it. You have to become involved with it.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at...2021-06-2217 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassBuilding the Place in the Age of ZoomBecause of the pandemic, the nature of the business of acting has changed, and most likely there’s no going back. Working remotely has become so pervasive that even when theater reopens, self-tape auditions and Zoom readings will remain a vital part of what we do everyday. Because of that, imaginatively *building the place* is that much more essential. We may be in our bedrooms sitting in front of a green screen, but to be believable, we have to be living off of the place we’re in. In this episode, Milton talks about the necessity of visualization in the...2021-06-0113 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassGetting to Know YouIn this episode, Milton draws parallels between the actor’s and writer’s process when it comes to creating a character. Both the actor and the writer have to live with a new character, talk with them, walk with them, get to know them fully, inside and out. The improvisational exercises we do as actors allow us to see how they behave, how they see the world. It’s not about getting the answer right, it’s a process of discovery that only comes from living with the character, and continually being curious about who they are. Through our contempl...2021-05-2511 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassBig Ideas That Are Part of UsIt’s ironic that in this present global, digital age where information travels at the speed of light, we feel so emotionally disconnected to what’s happening in our world, whether in our own country or on the other side of the globe. Perhaps our access to all of it has desensitized us. This has affected our acting because of our inability to understand big ideas. “It’s not enough to be truthful or emotionally connected to it,” Milton says. “When talking about a big idea, it must have size.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at questionsformilton@gmail.com Brou...2021-05-1821 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWhat Cloud Am I Under?Welcome to Season 3! Based on Stella Adler’s work with Stanislavsky, everything we do as actors comes out of the world of the play, or the given circumstances that the writer has given us. One way into the world is understand the playwright’s world view, what they want to say. This season, as the class begins working on George Bernard Shaw, Milton asks us to begin slowly brainstorming what the world of this great writer brings to mind. “Every idea he has is challenging popular thinking,” Milton says. “He writes with a strong, intelligent well-thought-out conviction, and so it tells m...2021-05-1118 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassWorking Slowly“Once you go to the script, all creative work stops” Milton says. It’s a provocative statement but it’s true if you consider how most actors jump straight to a performance or an intelligent rendering of the lines before they ever have an understanding of the world they’re inhabiting, or even a monologue’s sequence of thoughts. In this week’s short episode, Milton uses the short film he’s working on as an example of what it looks like to work slowly, even on a smaller scale. Brought to you by weaudition.com2021-02-1610 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassStaying in the PlayIn this episode, we re-examine the concept of the given circumstances. Every play has its own set of given circumstances, from which all drama emerges. It’s helpful to look at your work from this perspective because it helps you understand what your character is fighting against. Milton’s objection to what is known as “substitution” or “emotional recall” is because these techniques exist in order to create an effect. And since they tap into our own lives, as opposed to the given circumstances, it pulls us out of the play we’re doing and into our own private play. “I objec...2020-11-2417 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassGoing There, Wherever There IsThis week, Milton talks about what it means to “go there,” or commit 100% to giving ourselves over to the circumstances of the play. It’s an enormous emotional risk because by letting go completely, we make ourselves vulnerable, revealing our true selves through a character. “It’s like going off a high diving board. You know you won’t die because there’s water there, but it’s so far down. It’s not a comfortable place to go.” Have a question for Milton? Email him at: questionsformilton@gmail.com2020-10-2714 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassActing as an ArtformIn this episode, Milton talks about the difference between acting as an art form and acting to “get a job,” and how one is much more fulfilling than the other. The Art of Acting is about the pursuit of uncovering the essence, or human spirit, of the role. But that cannot be found overnight— it’s a journey through the complexity of the human condition. Part of our job, as actors is to actively make an effort to connect to other human beings and our own human emotion, especially during a time when we’re isolated from others and cut off fr...2020-09-2913 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassPutting It TogetherThis week, Milton talks about how building different moments in your characters past reveals new information about them, and the importance of knowing exactly what that information is. We must ask the question: What does this moment I’m building tell me about my character? Your answer will clarify a new dimension of this human being. Then, we must integrate every character-discovery, so that you have a process where each piece builds on the next, or in the words of Stephen Sondheim: “the art of making art is putting it together, bit by bit.”2020-08-0410 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassThe Pitfall of Trying to Recreate a PerformanceWe often run into trouble when we try to recreate a performance. This is because the action “to do what I did yesterday” is different from the action that made you DO what you did yesterday. But there are ways to avoid falling into this trap. In this episode, Milton gives examples of adjustments you can make so that the circumstances keep feeding you and the performance stays alive.2020-07-2112 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassActing is HardWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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It can often be overwhelming if you think about the massive responsibility we have as actors and all the many pieces we must fully own before it all comes together to create an illusion that looks and sounds like the truth. We can’t master everything at once and if we try to, we’ll become paralyzed like the centipede who forgot how to walk when he realized each leg was doing something different. Therefore, we must focus on one thing at a t...2020-07-1411 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassPlay the Cause, Not the EffectThis week, Milton talks about resisting the urge to play an effect, or a result. Often if we receive an “effect direction” such as: “it’s too big” or “it’s too small,” we will then overcompensate in the opposite direction. By doing so, we’re playing an effect, focused on our behavior as opposed to what creates that behavior. Part of being an intelligent actor is having the ability to translate an “effect direction” into something actable or doable. For instance: can I get more specific so that this feeds me more? Why am I saying this? What’s happening in the scene...2020-07-0909 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassMore Is MoreWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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This episode is the third in our trilogy about making everything something. This week Milton gives us a strategy for this. Using his “Why I Love the Theater” exercise as an example, he discusses how to building one thing at a time by talking it out, making sure it feeds you and adding more, little by little. “We are after moments so that nothing sound pedestrian, so that every single thing has a life to it.”2020-06-3017 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassEverything is SomethingWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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This week’s episode is a continuation of last week’s topic. Milton talks about the importance of treating every fact and every element as if it’s important. Even those facts that seem to be incidental plot points cannot be skipped over in rehearsal. If they are, the lie that is your play will not sound like the truth. They are facts that give us the opportunity to go deeper into character, into the given circumstances, into the idea t...2020-06-2315 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassAssume NothingIn this episode, Milton takes a question from Benjamin in Canada who asked him to clarify an idea from our episode The Biggest Sin: beginning your work on a play as if you know nothing. Another way to say that is: begin your work with a mindset of assuming nothing. If you assume you already know about a fact of your character or the circumstances of the play, you’ll neglect to dig deeper and end up just throwing it away, thus making your performance cliche or 2-dimensional. Nothing is inconsequential. Every single fact is an opportunity to ask yo...2020-06-1613 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassBut It’s Such a Cool Choice!WANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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It’s true that your talent is in your choices, but that’s not all there’s to it. Your choices must serve the central idea of the play, and must be consistent with the given circumstances of your character. And yet, making a good choice is still not enough. You have to understand what the cost is of your choices and then earn them emotionally. Lastly, we must strive towards creating something enigmatic: good theater.
Thank you for your questi...2020-05-1820 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassA Sequence of Thoughts, Not a Cluster of WordsWANT MORE? Become a subscriber for bonus content!
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When Milton recently asked Gustavo Dudamel, the conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, what he saw when he looked at a piece of orchestral music, he said: “I see phrases.” This is a perfect metaphor for how we need to approach text as actors: not as a group of sentences but as a sequence of thoughts. As they do in life, the words need to come out of the thought, not the other way around.2020-04-2108 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassDear Milton, Please Help MeIn the Summer of 1980 during the run of a regional production of Boys in the Band, Milton wrote a letter to Stella Adler asking for her guidance. She responded: “The actor in you is beginning to feel the birth pangs in acquiring the role and that is very normal. The work you do at home is done, and is in you…Let it go where it wants. That’s the impressive joy of just letting it happen instead of forcing it.” Milton’s book “I Don’t Need an Acting Class”, on which this podcast is based, was born out of the many...2020-04-2105 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassI Relate to HerAs actors, most of us have had the experience of closely identifying with a character we’re playing. In this episode, Milton talks about the mistake so many of us make when we feel like we relate to a role. “The problem is,” he says, “somehow in the back of our minds we think that’s enough, that we don’t have to do any other work.” Tune in to find out how to avoid this common pitfall, and how we can turn our identification with a character into something actable. Have a question or comment? Email us at questionsformi...2020-04-0611 minI Don't Need an Acting ClassA Brief History of ActingHow did we end up studying acting in the first place? In this episode, Milton puts his teaching in context by giving us a brief history of modern acting technique; from 19th-century realism to Konstantin Stanislavky and the American teachers who adapted his principals and revolutionized the American acting landscape.2020-03-3011 min