Uta Hagen's "Acting Class" on DVD
Produced and directed by two of Uta Hagen's former students, Pennie duPont and Karen Ludwig, this two-part video/DVD allows the viewer to “take” Uta Hagen’s highly acclaimed acting class. The heart of the documentary is Ms. Hagen’s exploration with the students of scenes they’ve prepared as well as all ten of her celebrated acting exercises. Scenes and exercises are presented, critiqued and re-worked. As in a master class there is an audience; the atmosphere is charged. Hagen’s observations of human behavior, her onstage demonstrations of acting technique and the wonderful anecdotes from her rich and long career come to life.
Former students, Whoopi Goldberg, Jack Lemmon, Christine Lahti, and Amanda Peet make brief appearances to acknowledge Uta’s influence.
UTA HAGEN received the Tony and Drama Critics Award for her performances in Odets’ The Country Girl and Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? In later years she earned an Obie for “setting a theatrical bonfire” (New York Times) in Mrs. Klein, and subsequently appeared Off-Broadway in Collected Stories and at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles opposite David Hyde Pierce in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks. In 1999 she was awarded a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement and in 2002 was awarded the National Medal of the Arts. Miss Hagen taught master classes at HB Studio from 1947 until her passing in 2004. She was the author of two premier acting books, Respect for Acting and A Challenge for the Actor.
"And while videos don't supplant books... you probably can't do
better than UTA HAGEN'S ACTING CLASS.”
- Backstage
“Ms. Hagen has been confirmed time and again over the
last six decades as one of the major American Theatrical
talents of this century.”
- The New York Times