A Challenge For The Actor (Hardcover)

by Uta Hagen (Author)
Key Phrases: tenth exercise, sensory recall, scoring the role, New York, Laurette Taylor, George Bernard Shaw (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
This volume completes Hagen's earlier classic, Respect for Acting (Macmillan, 1973). The beliefs, professionalism, and standards of training and performance that make Respect required reading for all actors are explored in this acting textbook that represents a lifetime of performance and teaching. Unlike the more academic texts, Hagen's study reflects exercises, insights, and techniques that have been taught and practiced in acting studios and on stages for many years. Readers should not be put off by Hagen's slightly archaic diction and habit of italicizing or boldfacing for emphasis. The heart of this book burns with commitment to an artistic ideal that, if it were a model for every actor, would improve American theater at all levels. Bravo. Recommended.
- Thomas E. Luddy, Salem State Coll., Mass.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Fritz Weaver 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. -- Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons (August 21, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684190400
• ISBN-13: 978-0684190402
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,246 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Like a Second Edition, December 5, 1997

By	Michael D. (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Although the synopsis found above suggests this book is entirely new, looking at it as a second edition to her first acting book, RESPECT FOR ACTING, is probably more accurate. It is still full of the tangible practice techniques an actor needs, but it has been updated with additional sections her previous book didn't include. RESPECT FOR ACTING was separated into three parts: One-The Actor; Two-The Object Exercises; and Three-The Play and the Role. In A CHALLENGE FOR THE ACTOR there are four parts: One-The Actor; Two-The Human Techniques; Three-The Exercises; and Four-The Role. Hagen doesn't simply rehash what she wrote in her first book; she's refined her techniques and expanded them. The two of her books used in conjunction might be the only reference books an actor needs on the craft of acting. First rate writing from one of the most revered and respected actresses to ever take the stage.

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More like an updated edition, yes, February 3, 2000

By A Customer

My own acting teacher, who has herself been a student of Ms. Hagen's, has suggested that Ms. Hagen actually prefers that students of acting refer to this book rather than her previous one ('Respect for Acting'), because in it, not only does she expand on the ideas presented in the earlier work, but she also actually revises some of the ideas she presented in the first book.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great follow up to Respect for Acting, August 24, 1998

By A Customer

After having read Respect for Acting, I had discovered that Ms Hagen had written another book. Immediately I went out and bought it. While I found it every bit as fascinating as the first I must say a lot of it is repeats from the first book. Even some of the wording is the same. That said, it is still a wonderful read. her ideas are more concise, her craft more honed, and her expansion well worth the cover price. I especially liked the first chapter where she discusses The Actor's World. Here she goes into a bit of history we all would be better off to know, and she tells a little more about herself. When she talks about the McCarthy hearings, and in particular her radio speecah afterwards, I was moved to tears. Her words on Edwin Booth have sparked my interest in him and the "Golden Era of the Actor." Uta has done it again. Now if only I could meet her.