Uta Hagen, Jessie Fahay and You
My journey to the exploration of acting has begun backwards.
I have been a dancer who has performed for most of her life and whilst dancing involves a distinct amount of expression, it is not acting. Discounting my years of theatre in school, one can say I had no experience of real theatre until I got involved with Ripple Effect Artists. A whole new world opened up where I applied what I had learnt, learnt new things and challenged myself in ways that terrified me to the core. And now look at me, here I am writing an entire blog series about acting techniques!
May you be the initiated, uninitiated or the seasoned, this series of blogs or rather “thought fragments” will have something for you to relate to and utilize. If not, you can at least use them as easy reads before bedtime. Either way, I promise to keep you entertained.
Who is Uta Hagen and Why Should you Care
In keeping with the theme of the day of women’s contribution to society, I will begin this journey with Uta Hagen’s or rather The Mother of Acting’s technique. Uta Hagen was born in Germany and went on to have an illustrious career on Broadway. She rose to stardom through her portrayal of Nina in a Broadway production of Anton Chekov’s The Seagull. In addition to Nina, she went on to be best known for her portrayal in the title role of Saint Joan, Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, Desdemona in Othello and Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Uta Hagen won several Tony Awards and a National Medal of Honor for the Arts for her contributions to American theatre.
In short, it would suffice to say that she was a grand master and has given enough acting methods, tips and techniques to keep inspiring generations of actors. As any actor will tell you that the skill of acting is like a muscle, the more you exercise it, the better it gets. What then, can be better than a list of things to try drawn up by a true grand master?
The Essence of the Uta Hagen Technique
In the introduction of The What Method? Jessie Fahay says that “acting is 100% creative and intentional work” meaning anyone can be a good actor through thorough preparation and exertion. This statement is striking, not just on account of it being true but on account of it being immensely empowering. It essentially says to the reader that you can do what you like as long as you make the time to apply yourself. This statement and the confidence it inspires, is the perfect foundation on which to approach Uta Hagen’s methods.
Uta Hagen essentially encourages actors to avoid “overintellectualizing” the practice of acting. She breaks it down to a simple set of 5 key elements and 9 questions which she later revised to 6. The 5 key elements are Substitution, Transference, Specificity, Authenticity and Preparation. The gist of all the key elements is that Hagen encouraged actors to make every situation as relatable and real in the context of the character. She encouraged actors to draw parallels with situations they experienced, utilize and visualize props but to never draw on traumatic experiences or to get emotionally involved at a destructive level. She refined the technique further in her first book Respect for Acting, by giving actors a set of 9 questions to make their characters come alive. She refined this list in her second book, A Challenge for the Actor, down to 6 questions.
If extended discussions on Hagen’s elements, methods and questions is too much for you to explore, you are not alone and there is a fantastic alternative. Let me point you to Fahay’s masterful encapsulation of “presentational” or “representational” acting as defined by Hagen in The What Method? Using a description and example within a couple of paragraphs Fahay conveys that “presentational” acting is where an actor consistently projects a human connection via the character thus engaging the audience however a “representational” actor masterfully imitates the actions of his character but fails to take the actor along. A representational actor “fourth walls” the audience which may be effectual but fails to produce an emotional reaction from them. This edifying elucidation is easy to understand and better yet, easier to hold in your mind.
So, What Next
I hear you asking, and what of this method? How can it help me?
Well, Uta Hagen as explained by Fahay is where you can safely start your journey to becoming an actor. At the risk of over-referencing, I cannot stress enough how important it is for any aspiring or even active performer to read The What Method?. By way of this book, Fahay gives an actor what they need, an overview of the essentials and resources where they can pursue further education of the method. Any actor or aspiring actor will tell you that a resource like this is invaluable.
You see, theatre like any of the other ancient arts has been over-complicated through time. Everyone involved in theatre in any way, has tried to leave their mark on it by way of giving names to popular methods. If you google acting methods, without any proper direction, you will find yourself losing your mind amongst a list of techniques, methods, processes, questions, and a myriad of other terms the reading of which will l only leave you fit to play the laughing hyenas in The Lion King. What you need is a simple book like this that will give you an overview of the essentials of the method, a list of actors that endorse the method by adopting it, further reading and acting schools that teach the method.
I don’t know about you but I am excited to research the next method in Fahay’s book!! Watch this space for more articles on acting methods, Ripple Effect Artists productions and reflections from all of us at Ripple Effect Artists. After all, we are a group of artists inspiring each other!
Sarina Byron for Ripple Effect Artists. Sarina Byron is a Contributing Writer and Editor. Sarina has been published c.50 times in the last year, covering a range of topics including business, lifestyle, wellness, fashion, book reviews and the art of writing. Sarina also serves on the Board of Ripple Effect Artists in the fulfilment of their mission to harness the power of theatre to highlight social issues.
