At the invitation of Herbert Berghof, Uta Hagen joined the faculty of the HB Studio in 1947. Since then, teaching has always been a challenge for her, as well as for the many prominent actors whom she has helped to develop. For many years, she has been asked to write a book. Now, here it is: an account of her own struggle with the techniques of acting and based on her teachings.

The first part, "The Actor," deals with techniques that set an actor in motion physically, verbally, and emotionally. It deals with the actor's concept of himself and with the art of acting, as well as with the ethics that have made the theater what it is today and what it could be tomorrow. Part Two, "The Object Exercises," offers specific and detailed work for the actor, covering a broad range of his problems. Part Three, "The Play and the Role," concerns itself with the definition of the play and identification with the character the actor will undertake. It also covers practical problems, the rehearsal, "style," and communication. Respect for Acting is a book for people who respect (or wish they could) the theater on both sides of the footlights, for actor and audience who favor truth in a creative process. The constructive stages of work delve into performance as well as into the issues surrounding a necessary change in the theater. It is all quite authentic, since Uta Hagen has never hesitated to throw herself into a good fight for a better offering in the theater in "the time of her life."

UTA HAGEN, Tony Award-winning actor and renowned acting teacher, co-founded HB Studio in New York City with her husband, Herbert Berghof, where she trained actors including Al Pacino, Jason Robards, Jack Lemmon, Whoopi Goldberg, and Christine Lahti. On stage she starred in groundbreaking productions with José Ferrer, Paul Robeson, Anthony Quinn, and Marlon Brando. HB Studio is her legacy where new generations of actors come from around the world to study.

HASKEL FRANKEL worked as a journalist and critic for publications including The New York Times, The Saturday Evening Post, Saturday Review, The National Observer, Show and Playbill. He wrote and collaborated on many books including Milton Berle: An Autobiography, The Admiral’s Daughter with Victoria Fyodorova and All My Patients Are Under the Bed with Louis J. Camuti.

Foreword by Katie Finneran

Foreword by David Hyde Pierce

Acknowledgments

PART ONE: The Actor

Introduction

1 Concept

2 Identity

3 Substitution

4 Emotional Memory

5 Sense Memory

6 The Five Senses

7 Thinking

8 Walking and Talking

9 Improvisation

10 Reality

PART TWO: The Object Exercises

Introduction

11 The Basic Object Exercise

12 Three Entrances

13 Immediacy

14 The Fourth Wall

15 Endowment

16 Talking to Yourself

17 Outdoors

18 Conditioning Forces

19 History

20 Character Action

PART THREE: The Play and the Role

Introduction

21 First Contact with the Play

22 The Character

23 Circumstances

24 Relationship

25 The Objective

26 The Obstacle

27 The Action

28 The Rehearsal

29 Practical Problems

30 Communication

31 Style

Epilogue

The HB Studio Story

Sources

About Uta Hagen

About Haskel Frankel

Index