Respect for Acting: Expanded Version

Description

The classic book on acting, in an attractive updated edition Since its original publication in 1973, Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting has remained a durable classic and a must-read for all students of acting. As an acting instructor at the Herbert Berghof Studio, Hagen helped to develop the talents of world-class actors like Robert DeNiro, Matthew Broderick, Gene Wilder, Amanda Peet, Austin Pendleton, Whoopi Goldberg, and more. In this book, Hagen offers an indispensable account of the techniques that professionals use to elevate their acting to an art form. This updated edition illuminates Hagen's original text with a new foreword written by Katie Finneran, retaining the David Hyde Pierce foreword, along with added background on HB Studio―one of the original New York performing arts training and practice spaces―and an excerpt from Hagen's autobiography SOURCES. In working through this book, actors will learn physical, verbal, and emotional practice that empower them to connect their own self-concept to the characters they play. Specific, detailed exercises help actors learn to address a range of problems actors face, like maintaining immediacy and relevance, and developing the dimensions of a role over a long performance run. Respect for Acting is a book for actors and audiences who understand the need for truth in the creative process. Discover the acting book that has shaped professional theater performances for decadesLearn the history and background of Herbert Berghof Studio, one of New York's foremost acting schoolsPractice the craft of acting with concrete exercises and instruction on techniqueDelve into the deep questions that arise when actors truly inhabit the lives of their characters Actors at all levels of their craft will love this stunning updated version of the essential Respect for Acting. Cover Title page Copyright Contents Editor’s Note by Jesse Feiler 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 Studio Story, by Uta Hagen Address to the Austrian Academy, by Herbert Berghof Sources, by Uta Hagen About Uta Hagen About Haskel Frankel Index EULA.