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- “I started at the top and worked my way down.” — Orson Welles
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: As You Like It
- “Is there any virtue, for literature, for poetry, in the simple continuity of a tradition? I believe there is not.” — Thomas Kinsella
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Tag Archives: Actors Studio
Marilyn Monroe and Method Acting
Nobody writes about Marilyn Monroe like my friend Kim Morgan. Nobody. That’s why I am so excited she wrote about Marilyn for Criterion – and not only Marilyn, but Marilyn’s connection to Method acting, and how important that technique was … Continue reading
Dynamic Duo #28
James Caan and Al Pacino
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2017
It’s been a God-awful year in so many unprecedented ways. It’s also been a great year for me professionally (which has brought with it its own set of challenges.) Here are some of the things I’ve written this year. Reviews, … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, Television
Tagged Actors Studio, B.B. King, Bette Davis, Carrie Fisher, Cate Blanchett, Chuck Berry, documentary, East of Eden, Elvis Presley, Greta Gerwig, Groundhog Day, Harry Dean Stanton, Howard Hawks, Isabelle Huppert, Jack Garfein, Jerry Lewis, Joachim Trier, Joan Crawford, John Steinbeck, July and Half of August, Kim Stanley, Kristen Stewart, Mary Astor, Pat McCurdy, Robert Duvall, Sam Shepard, Sofia Coppola, Supernatural, William Faulkner, women directors, year in writing
15 Comments
Living Truthfully Under Imaginary Circumstances: An Interview with Sam Schacht About Method Acting
I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and finally last month it happened. I sat down with my old Actors Studio acting teacher Sam Schacht to get his perspective on “Method acting,” a term I hear bandied … Continue reading
Posted in Actors
Tagged Actors Studio, friends, interviews, James Dean, Kim Stanley, Kristen Stewart, Lee Strasberg, Liza Minnelli, Marilyn Monroe, Stella Adler
1 Comment
Peter Labuza Interviews Me for The Cinephiliacs Podcast: We Discuss John Cassavetes’ Opening Night
I had a great time talking with Peter Labuza for his wonderful Cinephiliacs podcast. You can download the episode here. We get into it! We talk about actors, movies, movie stars, John Wayne, Elvis, Judy Garland, gesture – and then … Continue reading
Jennifer McCabe on Acting: “Bring Yourself.”
Jennifer McCabe I met Jennifer McCabe in 1995 when we both were grad students at the Actors’ Studio MFA Program in Manhattan. We became friends, of a sort, during our 9 a.m. dance classes at the Alvin Ailey Dance Studio … Continue reading
The Books: A Dream of Passion: The Development of the Method, by Lee Strasberg
Daily Book Excerpt: Theatre Next book on the acting/theatre shelf is A Dream of Passion: The Development of the Method , by Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg’s book on how he developed The Method, expanding on Constantin Stanislavkski’s “System”, was a … Continue reading
The Books: A Player’s Place: The Story of the Actors Studio, by David Garfield
Daily Book Excerpt: Theatre Next book on the acting/theatre shelf is A Player’s Place: The Story of the Actors Studio, by David Garfield I bought this history of the Actors Studio (the only of its kind) when I was heavily … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Actors Studio, Elia Kazan, Group Theatre, John Garfield, Lee Strasberg
4 Comments
The Books: Method Actors: Three Generations of an American Acting Style, by Steve Vineberg
Daily Book Excerpt: Theatre Next book on the acting/theatre shelf is Method Actors: Three Generations of an American Acting Style, by Steve Vineberg Steve Vineberg makes some pretty broad claims for Method acting in his book, and for that reason … Continue reading