Alec Baldwin notes on Acting

These are some notes that I learned from working with Alec Baldwin in his scene study class in 2008. I was accepted into his scene study class and had the privilege to study with him for three summers. He is an excellent teacher. He teaches by fire and I like it a lot. I always like to know when I suck and when I don't.

My two favorite notes of advice he gave to us were:

  1.  "You better be good, dam good because this business demands it" And
  2.  "If you can't remember your lines, don't worry, YOUR FIRED!"

Some of his notes:

  • You can not give everything an equivalence of value. 
  • Look at the lines that are hard to say for your character. Every character has them. 
  • Must show vulnerability in a scene.
  • If there is a beat, a pause, that means the character is thinking something. What? Make a choice!
  • Make choices as an actor, as real people do. 
  • When do you talk to yourself and when do you talk to other people?
  • More important to be real than loud. 
  • Keep your body and voice in shape! It is mandatory. 
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Creating Your Solo Show

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Wynn Handman notes on Rehearsal