Respect for Acting: Amazon.co.uk: Uta Hagen, Haskel Frankel: Books

Product Description

"This fascinating and detailed book about acting is Miss Hagen′s credo, the accumulated wisdom of her years spent in intimate communion with her art. It is at once the voicing of her exacting standards for herself and those she teaches, and an explanation of the means to the end. For those unable to avail themselves of her personal tutelage, her book is the best substitute."
—Publishers Weekly

"Uta Hagen′s Respect for Acting is not only pitched on a high artistic level but it is full of homely, practical information by a superb craftswoman. crafts–woman. An illuminating discussion of the standards and techniques of enlightened stage acting."
—Brooks Atkinson

"Hagen adds to the large corpus of titles on acting with vivid dicta drawn from experience, skill, and a sense of personal and professional worth. Her principal asset in this treatment is her truly significant imagination. Her ‘object exercises’ display a wealth of detail with which to stimulate the student preparing a scene for presentation."
—Library Journal

"Respect for Acting is a simple, lucid and sympathetic statement of actors′ problems in the theatre and basic tenets for their training wrought from the personal experience of a fine actress and teacher of acting."
—Harold Clurman

"Uta Hagen′s Respect for Acting…is a relatively small book. But within it Miss Hagen tells the young actor about as much as can be conveyed in print of his craft."
—Los Angeles Times

"Uta Hagen is our greatest living actor; she is, moreover, interested and mystified by the presence of talent and its workings; her third gift is a passion to communicate the mysteries of the craft to which she has given her life. There are almost no American actors uninfluenced by her."
—Fritz Weaver

"This is a textbook for aspiring actors, but working thespians can profit much by it. Anyone with just a casual interest in the theater should also enjoy its behind–the–scenes flavor. Respect for Acting is certainly a special book, perhaps for a limited readership, but of its "How–To" kind I′d give it four curtain calls, and two hollers of "Author, Author
—King Features Syndicate

From the Inside Flap

"I have attempted to break down all the areas in which you can work and search for realities in yourself which serve the character and the play…. Put your instincts and sense of truth, your understanding of human realities to use while probing and grappling with the content and the roots of the material. Be specific and real in your actions, and they will communicate your artistic statement. Bring your universal understanding of the present to the present … as a real artist."
—Uta Hagen

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."

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

An eye-opening experience for any actor 13 Oct 1998

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

As an actor, I have found myself unable to describe how I feel towards a scene or how/why I reacted the way I did. The choices I made sometimes were not the best. Uta Hagen's book has been the understanding I needed along with the edge I desired. Thank You Uta Hagen

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

Mrs. Hagen has summed up all actor's needs in a handbook. 22 Mar 1999

By reading Mrs. Hagen's theories on acting skills and techniques, I felt, as an actress myself, the strenghth, courage and proudness of having encountered such usefull and helpful "tips". Her generosity has inspired many young actors to fully understand the meaning of the word "respect" towards the acting profession. It was a pleasure to read and an honour to be reviewing this essential actor's "must-have" hand book. Thumbs up, and thank the Gods of the Theater for having people like Mrs. Hagen guiding us actors not to sucumb to mediocre acting. Many actors in Brazil have read and applauded Mrs. Hagen's books.

An absolute must for any theatre enthusiast! 24 Aug 1998

Uta Hagen has long been considered one of "our" best. Here she examines what makes a human being "tick" and how an actor can use this to enhance his/her performance. Too many times books on acting tend to be very bland, and uninformative. Or even worse, they tend to take an almost clinical approach to our art, making it impossible to enjoy, and almost equally impossible to learn.

Having read many books on technique, I would consider this one of the best. Unlike Stanislavski's trilogy, which to me is like reading a science textbook, it doesn't bore the reader while trying to teach him, but rather inspires the artist to a greater understanding of his art and himself as an artist. In the book, she challenges us to work to achieve a higher form of theatre, one that works collaboratively, not individually. In summation, all I can say is that, for me, she speaks to my soul.