Alright folks: House of the Dragon Season Two is well underway and I don’t care what TikTok says, I think it’s one of the strongest instalments in the Game of Thrones franchise yet. Dragons, battles, schemes, would-be kings and queens vying for the crown – Game of Thrones has just about everything a nerdy little actor like you (and me) could wish for. So, how the heck do we get cast on this roaring good time of a series? Polish your armour and sharpen your tongues, folks. It’s time to learn how to get cast in Game of Thrones and show them all why you belong on the iron throne. Industry Checkl ..read more

My parents never let me watch horror movies growing up. So whenever my friends with cooler parents invited me to a sleepover, the first thing we did was find the scariest movie we could and peek at it from behind the couch. I adore horror movies. As I’ve gotten older, learned more about film and acting and actually entered the business, I’ve only become more fascinated by them. Horror movies present a unique challenge to actors in that they demand a level of commitment and energy unlike many other genres. I was lucky enough to audition for one recently, too, and I learned a lot that I’m very e ..read more

This article is going to kick things off with a few assumptions about you, dear reader. It’s going to assume that you’ve got a killer idea for a play in your head. Fantastic! It’s also going to assume that the prospect of writing a full-length stage play is somewhat daunting. Now: you’re not wrong. But lucky for you, StageMilk is here to help. Let’s answer the question of “How do I start writing a play?” To start writing a play, you need a solid idea in mind, anchored by characters with clear and achievable goals. Unlike film, formatting is yours to determine—although it should be as simple an ..read more

As a person who spends a lot of their time teaching and training artists, I really hate the word “talent.” I believe that it does describe something, well, indescribable at times. And there are people I’ve worked with who exhibit a natural affinity for their craft. But focusing on talent—as so many actors are wont to do—reduces the multifaceted nature of the artist’s life and process to a cruel binary: “either ya goddit or ya don’t, kid.” If you’re asking yourself “do I need talent to become an actor?”, you’ve come to the right place. And not a moment too soon. Talent—an innate ability to do s ..read more

So, you wanna be an actor, huh? You wanna strut your stuff on the stages and screens of the world under dazzling lights in front of adoring crowds? Well, kid, you’ve come to the right place. (Okay, apologies, I’ll drop the sleazy talent agent act.) I almost feel as if I should introduce myself in this article, because chances are if you’ve clicked on it, you’re a new addition to our global team of thespians. I’ve been in the game for a fair few years, and today I’d love to share some early career actor tips I had (or wish I had) when I was just starting out. These are the kinds of things that ..read more

There are few things as frustrating as watching an actor enter a scene with no motivation. It’s like a clip from The Walking Dead: they shuffle into view, aimless, expressionless, devoid of energy or light behind the eyes … and then suddenly they snap into action as if they remember their reason for being. No matter how good the subsequent scene is, it’s hard to shake that image of an actor walking on stage—not because of the story—but because a director told them it was their cue. Want to avoid becoming a zombie-actor? Use “The Moment Before.” The Moment Before refers to a concept in act ..read more

Every month of every year I tell myself that I’m going to commit to reading a play each week. And every month of every year I successfully do that about, well, 40% of the time. That is, until I made a life-changing discovery: there’s a local group of actors and writers who gather at my city library to read and talk about plays. I’m proud to announce that since my discovery (and my attendance) I have been reading a play almost every week, which is a marked improvement. Let’s talk about how to start a play reading club. Starting a play reading club is a terrific way to keep your skills honed as ..read more

Death of a Salesman (1949) by Arthur Miller is one of the greatest plays of all time. Despite being close to a century old, it tackles the American Dream peerlessly—warning against belief and trust in a system that chews men up and spits them out. It is just as relevant on the day you read this article as it was when it was first written. The titular salesman, Willy Loman, is a towering and tragic figure in the narrative that tells his downfall. But our focus, today, is on his eldest son and last great hope Biff: and his last-ditch attempt to shake his father out of his delusions. In this arti ..read more

You can tell a lot about a character from the clothes they wear. A crown on a head can signify royalty, just as a patch on the knee of a pair of jeans might allude to poverty. A medal pinned to a chest might signal bravery—or the desperate need to seem that way. And a radioactive lizard suit might hint at a miniature city soon under attack. As audience members, we understand the signs and symbols of costume and how they relate to he story being told. And so as actors, we can use this understanding to craft better and more considered characters. Let’s talk about costume for actors. Depending on ..read more

“How to act good” is one of the most popular questions from actors all over the world. It’s so popular that entire schools have been founded to teach it, and people have become famous for just writing about what they think the answer is. Today, I’ll attempt to follow in the footsteps of Stanislavski, Adler and Moss to answer the burning question: what the heck is good acting anyway? Personally, I think the best way to understand what something is … is to understand what something isn’t. So let’s play a round of good acting vs bad acting. It can be difficult to determine what makes for good act ..read more