26/10/2019 Phil Gyfordʼs website Home Writing Photos 'Respect for Acting' by Uta Hagen (Phil Gyford: Writing) Links Reading More… Search About me 'Respect for Acting' by Uta Hagen I made these notes last summer, but itʼs taken me nine months to get round to typing them up. My notes on Stanislavskiʼs An Actor Prepares seem to be useful to plenty of people, so maybe these will too. Hagenʼs book was the only required read for my Foundation acting course at the City Lit, and weʼve had to do some of the solo exercises she describes. Part 1 — The Actor Introduction 4-6 Lists people who use “methods” in their performance, even if they say they have no particular technique. 6 Anecdote. Acting with Albert Basserman. He only began to play fully in first dress rehearsal. She kept waiting for her “turn” to speak, but never found it. After she said, “I canʼt apologise enough, but I never know when youʼre through!” He was amazed: “Iʼm never through! And neither should you be.” 1. Concept 11-13 Two kinds of acting: Representational — imitating a characterʼs behaviour. Presentational — trusts a form will result from identification with the character. 12 Representational actor Coquelin, 19th century, called fellow actors together backstage: “I cried real tears on stage tonight. I apologise. It will never happen again.” 13-17 What an actor needs beside talent: All-round arts education; training and perfecting of the voice and body; a point of view about the world. Theatres must have a point of view to succeed. Monday 8 May 2006, 5:36pm < Previous In all of Writing Next > On this day I was reading The Diary of Samuel Pepys: 1663 v. 4 by Samuel Pepys (Author), William Matthews (Editor), Robert Latham (Editor) (UK, USA) Macbeth by William Shakespeare Music listened to most that week 1. The Cure (18) 2. Hank Williams (6) 3. Sébastien Tellier (6) 4. Minnie Riperton (4) 5. Vince Giordano's Nighthawks (3) 6. Hello Saferide (3) 7. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2) 8. Death Cab for Cutie (2) 9. The Mountain Goats (2) 10. Wolf Parade (2) More at Last.fm... RSS feeds Writing, photos and links combined Writing only Photos only (at Flickr) Links only (at del.icio.us) 17-18 It is no use wanting to be “the best” — you must do your “own best.” Value only your opinion of your acting, and that of a few trusted people. 2. Identity 24 We have an image of who we think we are, but we are more than this — we can be childish, stupid, angry, arrogant, etc. An actor must develop a full sense of his own identity. 25 You play different roles in life depending on who youʼre speaking to, where you are, what youʼre wearing, etc. 26 If you have to play a particular type of person and donʼt think any of you is like that, youʼll only be indicating what they would do. 28 Some actors get stuck playing a single “personality.” 28-9 We might think weʼre not shy, vengeful, etc, but we probably have been at some point and we must use those times. https://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2006/05/08/respect-for-act/ 1/10 26/10/2019 'Respect for Acting' by Uta Hagen (Phil Gyford: Writing) 30-31 Read biographies and histories and put yourself in them. Donʼt just look at paintings, put yourself in them. 3. Substitution 34-9 When faced with a role, you may have to find substitutions for moods, objectives, feelings, settings, history, locations, relationships, periods, etc., in order to feel what the character feels. More so if they or the setting, character, etc. is unlike things from your life. 39-42 You donʼt need to be literal. If someoneʼs trying to kill your character, look to the characterʼs objectives, think of times youʼve been terrified of something or someone. 42 Your substitutions are complete only when they have become synonymous with this actor, this playʼs events, these objects you are using in your stage life and produce a significant action. You may even forget your original source — fine! 43 Intangibles like colours, textures, elements of nature, music, etc. can be stimulating too. 43-4 Donʼt tell others your substitutions or theyʼll evaluate the sourceʼs consequent action, rather than finding their own relationship to the action. 44-5 Make all details of place, objects, relationships, needs, obstacles, etc. particular, not general. Itʼs not just an ashtray — is it expensive? heavy? Where did it come from? etc. 4. Emotional Memory 46 The recall of a past emotional event in order to recreate the emotion and its physical response — sobbing, laughter, etc. 47 An emotion happens to us when we lose our reasoning control — generally we donʼt want this loss of control, so it can be hard to recall the emotion. 47-9 The initial tendency is to think of an event in general to bring about the emotional response. This sometimes works but it is more reliable to find a release object — an item, sound, smell, etc. that you recall from the event, which releases the censor. One way of finding one: tell a friend the story of an unhappy event from your life. Describe the surroundings, weather, sounds, etc. One of these will release the pain anew. You can build a collection of these trigger objects. 49-50 Avoid examining experiences that youʼve never wanted to talk about — this isnʼt psychotherapy! 50-51 If an emotion or object is losing its freshness, this could be because: 1. You are stopping to demand that you feel, because you have not made your object synonymous with the one on stage. 2. You are anticipating how or at what second the emotion should manifest itself. 3. You have dwelt on the emotion for its own sake, rather than for furthering your stage action. 4. You are weighing the degree of intensity of previous use of the emotional experience. 5. You are fearful that the emotion will elude you, etc. etc. 5. Sense Memory https://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2006/05/08/respect-for-act/ 2/10 26/10/2019 'Respect for Acting' by Uta Hagen (Phil Gyford: Writing) 52 Recall of physical sensations in order to make the audience (and you!) believe youʼre really cold, hot, tired, etc. 53-4 Sleeping and waking: Get comfy in bed, concentrate on one area of your body. Close eyes and centre them straight ahead. Direct your inner attention to an unconnected object — a leaf, cloud, wave, etc. Then direct attention to something in the given circumstances — what time is it? Have I overslept? etc. Then open eyes and sit up. 54 Yawn: Open wide, inhale, push jaw down and back, push air into lungs then exhale. To pretend itʼs dark: Open eyes wide, expand muscles around them until eyes almost feel glazed. 55 To be hot or cold: Think of one part of your body and its sensation (eg, sticky armpit) and then think what youʼd do to alleviate the sensation (eg, lift arm). In that moment of adjustment youʼll have the overall sensation. Fatigue: Where are you tired? Shoulders? Feet? 56-7 Cough: Where in your throat does it tickle? Cold: Localise the sense of swelling in the uvula and try to swallow. Nausea: Think of your queasy stomach, inflate your cheeks slightly, wait for saliva, breathe deeply. Headache: Recall a specific one in a specific spot. What do you do to ease it? 56 “It is not your responsibility to show the condition, but to have it so you believe it, and deal with it in terms of the playʼs action.” 58 Research the physical conditions for things you havenʼt experienced and use familiar analogues. 6. The Five Senses 60-63 Concentrate on how things look, sound, feel, etc. in real life so you can recall them accurately when needed. 63 When listening to someone on stage, donʼt just listen to the words — listen to the context — how theyʼre said, what youʼre experiencing, etc. 64 Itʼs rare that you make constant eye contact with someone youʼre talking to in real life, so donʼt do it when acting. 7. Thinking 65-7 Donʼt consciously decide what your thoughts should be. Have real inner objects, and these will lead to relevant thoughts as you perform actions. 8. Walking and Talking 68-70 You canʼt follow a direction like “He rises” without an objective — it will feel and look false. Arthur Hopkins: “The reason for walking is destination.” 70 The clothes you wear, even in rehearsals, affect your movement. 71 Donʼt memorise all your lines and their inflections too early, or you will never be able to get rid of them. 10 Reality https://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2006/05/08/respect-for-act/ 3/10 26/10/2019 'Respect for Acting' by Uta Hagen (Phil Gyford: Writing) 74-7 We canʼt just use anything from “real” life on stage. We must only take relevant things. And some reality will be distracting to the audience (eg, if you create rain theyʼd be thinking “how did they do that?”). Fights etc. canʼt be “real.” You canʼt “use” everything accidental that happens — some wonʼt be appropriate to the situation. Part 2 — The Object Exercises Introduction 81-5 She has created some exercises so that actors can practice alone, just as singers, dancers, musicians, can. Nine questions to ask yourself in order to act: 1. Who am I? (Character) 2. What time is it? (Century, year, season, day, minute) 3. Where am I? (Country, neighbourhood, room, etc.) 4. What surrounds me? (Animate and inanimate) 5. What are the given circumstances? (Past, present, future and events) 6. What is my relationship? (To events, characters and things) 7. What do I want? (Character, main and immediate objectives) 8. Whatʼs in my way? 9. What do I do to get what I want? (Action: physical/verbal) 87-8 When doing the exercises donʼt look for “interesting” events — use definite, mundane needs. Donʼt mime — use real props. “A minimum of one hour of rehearsal for each two-minute exercise is recommended.” 11. The Basic Object Exercise 89 “Re-creating behaviour which leads to the achievement of a simple objective.” 91-4 A couple of minutes doing something. Answer the questions above. However much you improvise while rehearsing, the final performance must be definite, but it should appear spontaneous, as if done for the first time. 12. Three Entrances 89 “Preparation and its influence on the entrance.” 95-6 Actors protect themselves from the shock of first contact with the audience by sneaking on or making a spectacle. Wrong. “My three essential steps of preparation are: What did I just do? What am I doing now? Whatʼs the first thing I want? [As Iʼm entering.]” 97-100 Be in character while waiting to go on. Think about what youʼve just been doing, do whatever your characterʼs doing now, and continue in character as you enter. If you need to be in a certain state upon entrance, you may be able to create some immediate history to help you (eg, youʼve just struggled through a storm to get there, so you feel tired by strong). 13. Immediacy 89 “Dealing with the problems of anticipation while searching for something lost or mislaid.” 102-5 Looking for something as if you donʼt know where and when youʼll find it. While practicing youʼll improvise but for the performance you must make decisions about your course of action, and give them logic. Search for a small item — easier to search for if there are few props in the way. https://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2006/05/08/respect-for-act/ 4/10 26/10/2019 'Respect for Acting' by Uta Hagen (Phil Gyford: Writing) 14. The Fourth Wall 89 “The guarantee of privacy while using, not ignoring, the visual area of the audience.” 107-8 Using fourth wall for a primary purpose — looking in a mirror, reading time from a clock, etc. Imagine the objects, and attach them to features in the auditorium. How far away an object should be affects your body — practice, eg, looking in a real mirror from different distances. Donʼt place your objects in the audience itself as they move and distract. 109-111 Secondary purpose — just having things there for your attention to wander to if needed. Donʼt interact with the objects. Each actor has their own wall. Distance to the objects is irrelevant. Practice — when you make a phone call, where does your attention go? Work on a devised two minute call, use the same objects you looked at, but now imaginary. It shouldnʼt be obvious that youʼre looking at things. 15. Endowment 89 “Dealing with objects which cannot have total reality because they might otherwise control you; heightened reality.” 112-7 Endow objects with physical attributes. eg, shaving without a blade, removing wet clothing when itʼs not wet, drinking water as if itʼs wine. To practice, use at least three objects with physical properties that would otherwise control you. You can endow objects further by making them particular, giving them history. 117-8 You should be “rehearsing” every day, when you do things. Observe yourself — what are your inner and outer objects? Whatʼs your sense of identity? What elements of your action are essential? 16. Talking to Yourself 89 “The problem of the monologue.” 120 Itʼs a monologue if you are alone talking to yourself. If you talk to the audience, itʼs a duologue. 120-1 Be aware of when you talk to yourself normally. 122 When talking to ourselves we donʼt usually tell the whole story or stay in sequence — itʼs not necessarily clear from the outside. 122-3 When doing a monologue, first decide on your surroundings and what youʼre doing — you probably didnʼt go there just to talk to yourself. 17. Outdoors 89 “a) Relationship to space and nature, b) Finding forward-moving occupation without the help of furniture and props.” 124-5 Part one: Explore being in different outdoor situations, how your body reacts to the ground, temperature, surroundings, etc. Create four fourth walls. Search for your relationships with items on them. Become aware of how your body moves whenever you look at things. 125-8 Part two: Learn to watch what you do when on your own, doing nothing, while outside (eg, waiting for someone/thing). 18. Conditioning Forces 89 “Learning to put together three or more sensory influences — heat, cold, physical pains, hurry, dark, quiet, etc.” https://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2006/05/08/respect-for-act/ 5/10 26/10/2019 'Respect for Acting' by Uta Hagen (Phil Gyford: Writing) 130 The scene is rarely about these forces — they affect it. 130-1 Hurry: You must be precise about your destination and how long it will take to get there. 131-2 Quiet: You must know why and where the people are you donʼt wish to disturb. 132-3 When practicing work on the task itself until it has logic and you are familiar with it. Add one condition at a time, get familiar with that before adding another. Start with the one that has least importance, end with one that requires the most conscious attention. 19. History 90 “Identify with and finding realities of historic time and place (the character taken out of crisis in the play).” 134-8 Take a character from a play set in the past and research the time and, if possible, the character. Perform an everyday task as the character. Try it wearing clothes that you can believe feel right (even if not historically accurate). 20. Character Action 90 “Objects as they affect two different characters in terms of behaviour.” 140 Choose two characters from the same country and time. Put them in a place and give them a common, simple, relevant objective. Select objects they might occupy themselves with. Construct behaviour logical to each character by changing your endowments of the objects to serve each character. Part 3 — The Play and the Role Introduction 145 Donʼt have to be rigid with the following rules, or use them in this order. 21. First Contact with the Play 147-8 Discard your first impressions of the play. Read it over and over. 148 Define what the playwright wants to communicate in a single active sentence. 150 Objective research should be 10%, subjective 90%. Intellectual work should be just enough to stimulate the creative imagination. 150 Next: Examine the play in terms of time, place, needs, conflicts. Whatʼs the texture of the play? What adjectives would you use to describe it? 22. The Character 152-3 Donʼt think of them as “he” or “she”. Itʼs “Who am I?” Study the play to glean facts about parents, upbringing, health, friends, interests, etc. What do others think of you? What do I want (or not want)? 154-5 Combine real people, events, from your past, or imagined ones, to give these facts reality. 156 Ask why the character does things, both in the play and in your created history. What do they think about it? https://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2006/05/08/respect-for-act/ 6/10 26/10/2019 'Respect for Acting' by Uta Hagen (Phil Gyford: Writing) 157 None of this needs to be discussed with others. Itʼs for you. 23. Circumstances 158-9 Decide the past, present and expectations for future circumstances. Not just for the start of the play, but during and between every act and scene. 160-4 Examine the when and where. How do those affect you? Your thoughts, constraints, actions, appearance, etc. Details of people, society, locations, etc. 24. Relationship 65-6 You must make relationships specific. Endow them. How are you related to other characters in terms of power? Is that willingly or unwillingly? In which areas (love, work, etc.)? Is a relationship reciprocal? Secret? What assumptions do you have about other characters (and vice versa)? Whatʼs the history of your relationship? What do you like and dislike about them? What about them annoys you or pleases you? How do their actions affect you? 167-8 Donʼt judge your character — reveal the human being. 169-70 You may have to combine people from real life for different aspects of a character you have a relation to. 170-3 Itʼs possible to play characters of a different age to yourself, but avoid clichés. Ages affect your relationships. 25. The Objective 174-6 Three categories: 1. Overall. Part of the work on “Who am I?” General needs in life. Use substitutions if these objectives seem alien to you. 2. For each scene. Should be linked to events and drive things forward. 3. Moment-to-moment wihtin the scenes. The beats of the scene. 176-7 There may be conscious and subconscious objectives. The former are aligned with your self-image and sense of morality. Subsconscious — deal with them openly. What actions would you take if you followed these objectives? Then bury those and only pursue actions related to conscious objectives. Subconscious will influence. Or you might prefer to work on them the other way around. 177 Donʼt confuse things you want to do (objectives) with what you have to do (which might be obstacles). 26. The Obstacle 182 There is always an obstacle. Find one if itʼs not obvious. 27. The Action 184 “Acting” is doing. Everything above leads to an action. 185 Hagen crosses out any adjectives from stage directions — they are not actions. If you are sad, happy, etc. it will be because of the circumstances etc. and the result of actions. 186 The “mood” results from the actions. You canʼt “get into the mood.” 187-8 Ask how you get what you want, how to overcome obstacles. Answer using active verbs. When performing you should be aware of the actionʼs https://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2006/05/08/respect-for-act/ 7/10 26/10/2019 'Respect for Acting' by Uta Hagen (Phil Gyford: Writing) effect on the object. But you donʼt know if the action will succeed or fail. 188 Actions can be split like objectives: 1. Overall, to overcome overall obstacles and fulfill overall objectives. 2. Main action to overcome main obstacle and achieve main objective. 3. Immediate action to overcome immediate obstacle and fulfill objectives within individual beats of the scene. Work positively — not what you wonʼt do, but what you might or must do. Does it get you where you want? 28. The Rehearsal 191-2 Donʼt be egotistical, donʼt tell each other what to do or not. Be on time. Donʼt waste time socialising — get on with work. 192-4 Do homework on a scene before rehearsal. First rehearsal, read through together for content only, a couple of times, without acting. Avoid emotions. Donʼt discuss it! If your characters have a past, do an improvisation with them. If theyʼre competitive, play a game. If man and wife, improvise him coming home from work. If thereʼs a crisis, how does that then affect the routine? Donʼt discuss the place — set it up. Donʼt settle on the first choice. Keep moving things for a bit. If the scene is in your room, ask someone to quiz you about it, every object and detail. Endow things, make them particular. If itʼs supposed to be, say, chilly, work for a sense memory. 194 Donʼt “help” your partner with their role. “You destroy all innocence of receiving” by watching them too much. 195 If, say, the actor is supposed to stop you leaving, but is too slow, leave! Theyʼll be quicker next time. Then put the first beat of the scene on its feet. [She seems to be saying not to worry about the exact words, as the previous work will give you all you need to take you through the beat?] When the first beat seems valid, move on. Avoid run-throughs — save till last. Donʼt finish a rehearsal just because it “felt good.” 29. Practical Problems 201 Have material ready for any audition. Have several monologues and scenes ready. 203 At auditions — When reading, give yourself an objective, head for it with improvised actions which are as real as possible. Endow whoeverʼs reading with you. 207 If youʼre talking to the audience, decide who they are — put them in the correct time and place for the play. To avoid looking at individuals, place your imaginary audience as primary objects on the fourth wall. 209 Practice accents long before you get to working on the lines themselves — the accent should be second nature by then. 31. Style 217 Forget “style” — you canʼt work from an outward appearance. 218 If youʼre playing a comedy, donʼt try to be funny. Similar for tragedy, etc. https://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2006/05/08/respect-for-act/ 8/10 26/10/2019 'Respect for Acting' by Uta Hagen (Phil Gyford: Writing) Comments teion hairston at 25 Oct 2006, 10:56pm. Permalink just very interested in acting. A co- worker of my mother's told her that your book, Respect for Acting, was something that I need to read. Gary Zahalsky at 5 Apr 2007, 9:49pm. Permalink Nice job, short and right on about it. ujajopfhiopajgja sodoariojweajge at 12 Jul 2007, 6:26pm. Permalink fuck dis shit bitch acting sucks! at 15 Dec 2008, 2:56am. Permalink i took an acting class in my first semester of college and we had to do assigments in this book at times. the class sucked and this book is getting burned if its not worth anything! Tiery Flores at 16 Mar 2009, 11:31pm. Permalink Thank you so muchhh!!!... I have to taking acting and I never really got around to read the book. It didn't interest me at all but now I have a test on it tomorrow and I have no clue! .. These notes helped a lot.. THANKS! Nikki at 28 Apr 2009, 4:12pm. Permalink This is so helpful! I wish I would have found your stuff when I was being forced to read Stanislavski last semester! :) Best Acting School at 27 Jun 2009, 6:39am. Permalink This is really very interesting and very helpful book. I just need to refer it briefly. I would like to thank you for sharing. Thomas Anthony at 21 Aug 2009, 11:19pm. Permalink I'm a studying and working actor and have studied Stella Adler's technique Meisner's technique, and Hagen's technique. I myself use methods from all of them when I'm acting to get me where I need to be for the scene when I'm performing. For Nikki who said that she wished she would have found this stuff when she was being "Forced" to read Stanislavski. In case you didn't know if it wasn't for Stanislavski none of the acting techniques taught by Adler, Meisner, Hagen, or Strasberg would even exist because there all built on the foundation of his approach towards acting which was in it's simplest definition a way for and actor to portrait reality and truth threw natural actions under imaginary circumstances to an audience at the theatre. Before Stanislavski there was no such thing as Realism in the theatre. There were maybe 2 or 3 actors that were near what Stanislavski's vision was for the actor and for the theatre the great Italian actor Salvini being one of them but that was about it. Basically if you don't have what the title of this book is for acting along with a driving passion don't waste your time trying to be an actor or with reading this book. Kelly at 27 Aug 2009, 8:23pm. Permalink So helpful. Thank you so much. The book is so full of dated references that it's hard for someone very young (with no frame of reference for NY theater of that era) to sort out the messages. Now, we can go back and read the chapters with your notes as a guide for what to look for. https://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2006/05/08/respect-for-act/ 9/10 26/10/2019 'Respect for Acting' by Uta Hagen (Phil Gyford: Writing) lalala at 28 Sep 2009, 11:40pm. Permalink thank you so much for doing this! my drama teacher expects us to read all of the book by the end of the week! i mean i would be happy to read it all if i didnt have a ton of high school work :] babs at 14 Oct 2009, 8:43am. Permalink i love this...thank you tahilla90 at 28 Oct 2009, 2:39pm. Permalink This book quite literally changed my life. It's applications go well beyond the realm of the actor. Tonia Jackson at 4 Jun 2010, 1:55am. Permalink it is amazing to me how people want to act but are not willing to do the WORK! It is so much more than glamore and being seen!That is why so much mediocore work exist.Im so glad im willing to do the work and i feel the results moment to moment on stage.Thank you Uta Hagan!! © 1995-2019 Phil Gyford. Email: phil [at] gyford [dot] com https://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2006/05/08/respect-for-act/ 10/10
