Respect for Acting
Encyclopedia
Respect for Acting by actress and teacher Uta Hagen
(Wiley Publishing, 1973) is a textbook
used in many acting
classes. Hagen's instructions and examples guide the aspiring actor through practical problems such as "How do I talk to the audience?" and "How do I stay fresh in a long run?" She advocates the actor's use of substitution
in informing and shaping the action of the character the actor is playing.
Hagen later stated that she "disassociated" herself from "Respect for Acting" . In a follow-up book, Challenge for the Actor (1991), she renamed "substitution" as "transference." Although Hagen wrote that the actor should "identify" the character they play with feelings and circumstances from their (the actor's) own life, she also makes clear that "Thoughts and feelings are suspended in a vacuum unless they instigate and feed the selected Actions, and IT IS THE CHARACTER'S ACTIONS WHICH REVEAL the true 'you,'" as the character in the play.
—Harold Clurman
, Theatre critic
"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. An illuminating discussion of the standards and techniques of enlightened stage acting."
—Brooks Atkinson
, Theatre critic
Uta Hagen
Uta Thyra Hagen was a German-born American actress and drama teacher. She originated the role of Martha in the 1963 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee...
(Wiley Publishing, 1973) is a textbook
Textbook
A textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...
used in many acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
classes. Hagen's instructions and examples guide the aspiring actor through practical problems such as "How do I talk to the audience?" and "How do I stay fresh in a long run?" She advocates the actor's use of substitution
Substitution (theatre)
In theatre, substitution refers to the method of understanding elements in the life of one's character by comparing them to elements in one's own life. For example, if an actor is portraying a character who is being blackmailed, he or she could think back to some embarrassing or private fact about...
in informing and shaping the action of the character the actor is playing.
Hagen later stated that she "disassociated" herself from "Respect for Acting" . In a follow-up book, Challenge for the Actor (1991), she renamed "substitution" as "transference." Although Hagen wrote that the actor should "identify" the character they play with feelings and circumstances from their (the actor's) own life, she also makes clear that "Thoughts and feelings are suspended in a vacuum unless they instigate and feed the selected Actions, and IT IS THE CHARACTER'S ACTIONS WHICH REVEAL the true 'you,'" as the character in the play.
Critics Review
"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
Harold Clurman
Harold Edgar Clurman was a visionary American theatre director and drama critic, "one of the most influential in the United States". He was most notable as one of the three founders of the New York City's Group Theatre...
, Theatre critic
"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. An illuminating discussion of the standards and techniques of enlightened stage acting."
—Brooks Atkinson
Brooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson was an American theatre critic. He worked for The New York Times from 1925 to 1960...
, Theatre critic