Jason Alexander is a prolific actor having brought his talents over decades to TV, film, and his greatest love, the stage.
For his second trip to the Lighthouse International Film Festival on Long Beach Island, NJ (June, 2026), he did an acting masterclass. At LIFF 2025, he did a special conversation about his life and career at the Surflight Theater with his friend and industry executive Nina Tassler.
After that, he suggested coming back this year to do more. He suggested teaching a master class in acting, and of course, it came to be. I don't know any film festival that would turn this concept down!
The word got out and over 100 submissions came in, which were whittled down to 8 participants. Jason said he was amazed at the caliber of submissions he received, and that the actors chosen were already great actors in their own right.
Over the course of a few days, he worked intensely with all 8 actors. They all performed a monologue chosen by themselves, and then Jason worked on it with all of them.
In his conversation last year, Jason talked about how influenced he was by all the great acting teachers and programs. He specifically cited Larry Moss as an influence. However, though he incorporates what he learned though him, Jason adds his own expertise to the formula.
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On the Saturday of the Lighthouse International Film Festival 2026 he packed the Surflight Theater in Beach Haven to showcase his students.
We saw their monologue on film as first presented, then the product after Jason gave them some tips.
Jason frequently speaks of "tools" in an actor's toolkit. He states that often actors are given the tools but they don't know how to use them. It's as if they are given building tools and then simply asked to build a house.
What Jason says they lack, and need, is a "blueprint". And that is what he aims to give. He emphasized that the students need to learn how to USE the tools.
It was evident that this blueprint worked. The difference in the original monologues versus after Jason worked with each of them was palpable and measurable. Aside from different intonations in the dialogue, Jason Alexander focuses on the physicality of the performance. He explains how the physical motions can change the meaning of the dialogue, and it showed.
I also believe that the physicality of acting is more important than ever now, as so many people view content with the sound off and reading the dialogue, hence another reason that the physical actions of an actor are key to delivering the desired effect on the viewer.
The actors spoke about how they all tried the new way of acting; they were happy to explore a new method and many expressed after how it changed their way of thinking and made them get out of their comfort zone.
Jason said to them, "I gave you a new way of doing things, but it's up to you if you want to do it or go back to how you did things before."
Here's hoping that Jason will come back again next year. What a treat for these actors to learn from one of the best. And a treat for the audience member to get a glimpse into the hard work and intricacies of the actor.
For more info on the Lighthouse International Film Festival visit: https://www.lighthouseff.com/