The Art of Listening: How It Elevates Your Acting to a New Level

The Art of Listening is the foundation of The Art of NOT Acting. Truly listening as an actor requires being open, receptive, and spontaneous, while embracing a state of not knowing. It demands being fully present, because real listening can only happen in the moment.

We often think of listening as simply hearing, but it is much more than that. Listening involves all of our senses and extends beyond sound. Here, I use the word “listening” to mean receiving impressions. These impressions, which come through our senses, affect us and play on the only acting instrument we have: ourselves.

"We often think of listening as simply hearing, but it is much more than that. Listening involves all of our senses and extends beyond sound."

Morgan Freeman in his Oscar-winning role as a gym associate and former boxer in Million Dollar Baby. Freeman is a master at The Art of Listening, it's no wonder his career has spanned seven decades of memorable roles.

We listen with our eyes by observing behavior, both obvious and subtle. The more nuance we notice in our scene partner’s behavior, the more fun it becomes to respond. Our sense of touch can also deeply affect us as actors, whether it’s the feel of a prop imbued with personal meaning, or the physical touch of a fellow actor in a scene. Through our imagination, we are touched internally by images that arise. These images can evoke powerful emotions and transport us to places we could never have planned.

"The more nuance we notice in our scene partner’s behavior, the more fun it becomes to respond."

As an actor, truth is your compass. Only through listening can you respond truthfully and authentically to what is happening in the moment. Constantin Stanislavski, the great Russian acting teacher, proclaimed, “Truth in art is truth in circumstances.” I would add that truth in art is also truth in listening and genuinely responding within those circumstances.

Mastering The Art of Listening will elevate you to the realm where true greatness in acting resides. In fact, show me a great actor, and I’ll show you a great listener. Did you hear that? 

---

Are you ready to uncover the power of authentic listening? Whether you’re based in Los Angeles for in-person scene study or joining online from anywhere in the world, my classes are designed to help actors master this transformative skill. Reach out to learn more. Let’s take your acting to the next level, one moment at a time.

Why "Not Knowing" Makes You a Better Actor

In my previous blog, The Power of Presence: How Being Fully in the Moment Transforms Your Acting, I talked about how certain actors have a remarkable presence in their work. I purposely chose an image of Marlon Brando in The Godfather to represent this idea. Brando’s power of presence is legendary among actors; he literally transformed “truthful” acting forever with his groundbreaking portrayals of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and Terry Malloy in On The Waterfront, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. If you’re a young actor reading this and haven’t seen those iconic performances, I highly recommend you do—they continue to influence actors today, whether they’re consciously aware of it or not.

Brando once said that you can never know the “how” in acting, which means you must be in a constant state of “not knowing.”

This state of “not knowing” can be exhilarating but also intimidating for actors, as it requires letting go of control over what’s happening or what’s going to happen. Yet, this is where your talent, imagination, playfulness, and instincts come alive, and one of your greatest strengths as an actor—vulnerability—truly shines.

(I’ll dive deeper into vulnerability in a future blog.)

Emma Stone as Cruella de Vil. Stone’s range of memorable characters is a testament to her ability to step into any situation and seamlessly play ball. Watching her, you can tell that leaning into the spontaneity of "not knowing" is genuinely fun for her, and when the actors are having fun, the audience can feel it too.

“Not knowing” not only makes you a better actor, but is also the springboard into great acting when you trust the moment, trust yourself, and trust the story as it unfolds. The actor who can consistently stay in a place of “not knowing” as they explore their role, may very well become one of the greatest actors of their generation.

That could be you, if you’re up for the challenge. I don’t know. ;) Do you?

Join us to explore the power of “not knowing” and bring a new level of truth to your work.

The Power of Presence: How Being Fully in the Moment Transforms Your Acting

You often hear people say that certain actors have great presence, that you just can’t take your eyes off them. But why do some actors have more "presence" than others? What’s their secret? What is this mysterious quality everyone’s talking about? The answer is so simple and obvious that it’s often overlooked:

They’re PRESENT! That’s it—and that’s a lot.

So, why is there power in presence and being present? Because life can only happen in the present moment, and life itself is pure power. It’s eternal. What’s more powerful than that?! Just look at the power of life around you, in all its forms—it’s stunning, awe-inspiring, and it’s pulsating within you right now.

Marlon Brando in The Godfather. The cat's appearance was not part of the script. Director Francis Ford Coppola found the cat wandering around the studio and gave it to Brando without warning. A master at being present in the moment, Brando then improvised his actions with the cat.

In acting, the power of aliveness, spontaneity, unpredictability, and truth can only be found in the present. That’s why being in the moment is crucial for great acting. What’s even more extraordinary is that life never repeats itself. The mind, however, is constantly on repeat, projecting its same old stories onto the present moment and into a future that hasn’t even happened yet. In acting, we call this being "in your head."

This is why I strongly caution against the trap of playing "ideas" in your acting. It’s deadly for an actor because the moment is alive, and your "ideas" have nothing to do with what’s happening right now. You’ll lack presence and end up indicating moods, feelings, and behaviors rather than living them truthfully and spontaneously.

In acting, you have to trust that what IS…is enough. If you don’t, you’ll make the big mistake of trying to force something to happen, playing "ideas," and becoming a predictable actor.

The Art of "NOT" Acting is about being fully alive and present with characters that are unique and memorable from one acting project to the next. Think of some of the greatest actors like Daniel Day-Lewis and Frances McDormand. The fact that this exceptional quality of "NOT" acting in their work can be filmed, watched repeatedly, and never get old speaks to the power of presence in these actors.

Are you ready to join them? If you're looking for an acting class that goes beyond technique and dives deep into the power of being present, join my Art of "NOT" Acting class in Los Angeles or online via Zoom, available worldwide. Let’s tap into your potential and bring your presence to life.