The Craft

How To Determine Your Objective as an Actor

Objectives (what your character wants) can’t come alive in a fog of thoughts and feelings. Only by actively pursuing your objective—playing actions—does your character, and the script, come alive.

Acting for Theater, Film, And Television are Dictated by Each Medium's Roots

Stage. Film. Television. For the actor, does it really matter? After all, great acting is great acting, whether it's at Manhattan Theatre Club, on the set of "Pirates of the Caribbean," or in front of a "Law & Order" camera, right?

Playing Farce in the 21st Century

Have the excesses of reality TV and the distractions of the digital age upped the ante for farce, a time-honored type of comedy usually characterized by slamming doors, mistaken identities, broad characterizations, and physical mayhem?

How To Create a Credible Back Story and Emotional History

Stella believed that an actor’s talent was in his or her choices; the more intelligent the choice, the “better” the talent.

Are You Director-Proof?

Most directors struggle to speak the actor’s language. While some take an interest in the craft—even signing up for the occasional acting class—others have no idea what we do.

Auditioning for Pilots

Reality-check time: As Los Angeles acting teacher Doug Warhit reminds us, most pilots don't go beyond the pilot stage. Of those that do, most are canceled within the first four weeks.

How To Find Freedom As An Actor

Freedom is the ultimate goal of technique. Many actors have no repeatable system of work. Afraid that technique will trap them, they use random instincts, which produce random results.

How to Embrace Unideal Conditions

With ample preparation, you’re ready to riff on the conditions at play and do your best work for the moment, even when that looks nothing like you thought it might.

How To Handle Working With Celebrities

Jackie Apodaca, the head of performance at Southern Oregon University, reminds actors that the stars on set are just like you.

Shakespeare Behind Bars Helps Inmates Seize Their Present

I have learned many truths since founding Shakespeare Behind Bars in Kentucky in 1995, bringing art, theater, and the works of William Shakespeare into correctional facilities.