Class Spotlight

Hagen Teacher’s Lab 1

“It changed my teaching. It changed my life…the experience and generosity of the Hagen Teacher’s Lab teachers were extraordinary.” – Flori Doyle, Board of Directors, New York State Theatre Education Association

Immerse yourself in Uta Hagen’s approach to acting and teaching

Meet & Greet: Sun, Aug 4, 2024, 12-3pm
Lab Sessions: Mon – Fri, Aug 5 – 9, 2023, 9:30am-5pm
Wrap-Up: Fri, Aug 9, 5-6pm
Location: HB Studio, 120 Bank Street, NYC

Apply Online

Application deadline: Accepted on a Rolling Basis. Priority Deadline: June 4.
Registration deadline: July 2

Interested in observing? See “Audits” below.

Faculty

Program Director & Scene Study: Mark Nelson
Program Founder & Acting Technique: Carol Rosenfeld
Voice Warm Up: Theresa McElwee

Held annually at HB Studio since 2014

The Uta Hagen Institute’s Hagen Teacher’s Lab 1 is an intensive, five-day program where artists and educators from around the world come to continue their professional development. The program is designed to serve teachers, future teachers, and professional actors who wish to explore and expand their understanding and experience of Uta Hagen’s approach to acting and teaching.

In the artistic home where Uta Hagen taught her legendary professional classes for more than 50 years

Experience the depth and value of Uta Hagen’s Object Exercises and Scene Study process. Led by HB Studio faculty who trained directly with Uta Hagen, we will explore the infinite potential of the exercises in the actor’s practice, and apply the same rigorous values to scene work. Through participation and discussion, we see the individual talent revealed and released through this approach. As an actor, you will be asked to prepare an exercise and rehearse a scene. As a teacher, you will consider how to empower each actor’s discovery through clear, specific guidance.

The extremely practical exercises found in Uta Hagen’s world-famous books, Respect for Acting and A Challenge for the Actor, probe the depths and heights of human behavior.

They offer the actor a structure for lifelong practice exploring the dynamic interaction between sensory/emotional experience and the creative imagination. They hone the actor’s ability to actively live through the circumstances of the play and the character’s dilemma. When the work becomes a part of the actor’s process, unpremeditated truthful behavior replaces cliché and easy sentiment in performance. The actor grows to honor an authentic, present and intuitively responsive self in the role while making imaginative choices that serve the play.

Upon registration, you will be given guidelines on how to prepare for the workshop. Rehearsal outside class is required.

“…An organic transference of oneself to the role, the development of a new “I” who is alive in the world of the play, involves a creative process which is not a willy-nilly, loose way of working that depends solely on intuitive or elusive inspiration. On the contrary, it is a process which, however slow and painstaking, can be structured in an orderly way over which the actor has control, although no part of it is mechanical… It is a true challenge of one’s diligence and one’s talent. This process is to me like the drafting of a musical score in which the actor composes the character’s theme, orchestrates it, defines the phrases, individual beats, and the arrangement of the notes he will eventually play with spontaneity at each performance, putting to use his finely honed inner and outer techniques.” – Uta Hagen, A Challenge for the Actor © 1991, by Uta Hagen, All Rights Reserved.

Tuition: $850.00

Required Texts: Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen and Acting and Living in Discovery by Carol Rosenfeld

Daily Schedule:
• 9:30am-10:25am Vocal Warm-up
• 10:30am-1:00pm Technique
• 1:00pm-2:00pm Lunch
• 2:00pm-4:30pm Scene Study
• 4:30pm-5pm Discussion

AUDITS: 

If you are interested in auditing (observing) one or two sessions of the Hagen Teacher’s Lab, you may request to do so at the link below. Approved auditors are allowed to audit up to two days. Audits cost $45 per day.

Request Audit

Hagen Teacher’s Lab 1

“It changed my teaching. It changed my life…the experience and generosity of the Hagen Teacher’s Lab teachers were extraordinary.” – Flori Doyle, Board of Directors, New York State Theatre Education Association

Immerse yourself in Uta Hagen’s approach to acting and teaching

Meet & Greet: Sun, Aug 6, 2023, 12-3pm
Lab Sessions: Mon – Fri, Aug 7 – 11, 2023, 9:30am-5pm
Wrap-Up: Fri, Aug 11, 5-6pm
Location: HB Studio, 120 Bank Street, NYC

Apply Online

Application deadline: Accepted on a Rolling Basis. Priority Deadline: June 4.
Registration deadline: July 2

Interested in observing? See “Audits” below.

Faculty

Program Director & Scene Study: Mark Nelson
Program Founder & Acting Technique: Carol Rosenfeld
Voice Warm Up: Theresa McElwee

Held annually at HB Studio since 2014

The Uta Hagen Institute’s Hagen Teacher’s Lab 1 is an intensive, five-day program where artists and educators from around the world come to continue their professional development. The program is designed to serve teachers, future teachers, and professional actors who wish to explore and expand their understanding and experience of Uta Hagen’s approach to acting and teaching.

In the artistic home where Uta Hagen taught her legendary professional classes for more than 50 years

Experience the depth and value of Uta Hagen’s Object Exercises and Scene Study process. Led by HB Studio faculty who trained directly with Uta Hagen, we will explore the infinite potential of the exercises in the actor’s practice, and apply the same rigorous values to scene work. Through participation and discussion, we see the individual talent revealed and released through this approach. As an actor, you will be asked to prepare an exercise and rehearse a scene. As a teacher, you will consider how to empower each actor’s discovery through clear, specific guidance.

The extremely practical exercises found in Uta Hagen’s world-famous books, Respect for Acting and A Challenge for the Actor, probe the depths and heights of human behavior.

They offer the actor a structure for lifelong practice exploring the dynamic interaction between sensory/emotional experience and the creative imagination. They hone the actor’s ability to actively live through the circumstances of the play and the character’s dilemma. When the work becomes a part of the actor’s process, unpremeditated truthful behavior replaces cliché and easy sentiment in performance. The actor grows to honor an authentic, present and intuitively responsive self in the role while making imaginative choices that serve the play.

Upon registration, you will be given guidelines on how to prepare for the workshop. Rehearsal outside class is required.

“…An organic transference of oneself to the role, the development of a new “I” who is alive in the world of the play, involves a creative process which is not a willy-nilly, loose way of working that depends solely on intuitive or elusive inspiration. On the contrary, it is a process which, however slow and painstaking, can be structured in an orderly way over which the actor has control, although no part of it is mechanical… It is a true challenge of one’s diligence and one’s talent. This process is to me like the drafting of a musical score in which the actor composes the character’s theme, orchestrates it, defines the phrases, individual beats, and the arrangement of the notes he will eventually play with spontaneity at each performance, putting to use his finely honed inner and outer techniques.” – Uta Hagen, A Challenge for the Actor © 1991, by Uta Hagen, All Rights Reserved.

Tuition: $850.00

Required Texts: Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen and Acting and Living in Discovery by Carol Rosenfeld

Daily Schedule:
• 9:30am-10:25am Vocal Warm-up
• 10:30am-1:00pm Technique
• 1:00pm-2:00pm Lunch
• 2:00pm-4:30pm Scene Study
• 4:30pm-5pm Discussion

AUDITS: 

If you are interested in auditing (observing) one or two sessions of the Hagen Teacher’s Lab, you may request to do so at the link below. Approved auditors are allowed to audit up to two days. Audits cost $45 per day.

Request Audit

Hagen Teacher’s Lab 1

HB Studio is thrilled to bring back the Hagen Teacher’s Lab in person in August 2022!

“It changed my teaching. It changed my life…the experience and generosity of the Hagen Teacher’s Lab teachers were extraordinary.” – Flori Doyle, Board of Directors, New York State Theatre Education Association

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN UTA HAGEN’S APPROACH TO ACTING AND TEACHING

Meet & Greet: Sun, Aug 7, 12-3pm
Lab Sessions: Mon – Fri, Aug 8 – 12, 9:30am-5pm
Wrap-Up: Fri, Aug 12, 5-6pm
Location: HB Studio, 120 Bank Street, NYC

APPLY ONLINE

Application deadline: June 5
Registration deadline: July 3

FACULTY

Program Director & Scene Study: Mark Nelson
Program Founder & Acting Technique: Carol Rosenfeld
Voice Warm Up: Theresa McElwee

HELD ANNUALLY AT HB STUDIO SINCE 2014

The Uta Hagen Institute’s Hagen Teacher’s Lab 1 is an intensive, five-day program where artists and educators from around the world come to continue their professional development. The program is designed to serve teachers, future teachers, and professional actors who wish to explore and expand their understanding and experience of Uta Hagen’s approach to acting and teaching.

IN THE ARTISTIC HOME WHERE UTA HAGEN TAUGHT HER LEGENDARY PROFESSIONAL CLASSES FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS

Experience the depth and value of Uta Hagen’s Object Exercises and Scene Study process. Led by HB Studio faculty who trained directly with Uta Hagen, we will explore the infinite potential of the exercises in the actor’s practice, and apply the same rigorous values to scene work. Through participation and discussion, we see the individual talent revealed and released through this approach. As an actor, you will be asked to prepare an exercise and rehearse a scene. As a teacher, you will consider how to empower each actor’s discovery through clear, specific guidance.

THE EXTREMELY PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOUND IN UTA HAGEN’S WORLD-FAMOUS BOOKS, RESPECT FOR ACTING AND A CHALLENGE FOR THE ACTOR, PROBE THE DEPTHS AND HEIGHTS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

They offer the actor a structure for lifelong practice exploring the dynamic interaction between sensory/emotional experience and the creative imagination. They hone the actor’s ability to actively live through the circumstances of the play and the character’s dilemma. When the work becomes a part of the actor’s process, unpremeditated truthful behavior replaces cliché and easy sentiment in performance. The actor grows to honor an authentic, present and intuitively responsive self in the role while making imaginative choices that serve the play.

Upon registration, you will be given guidelines on how to prepare for the workshop. Rehearsal outside class is required.

“…An organic transference of oneself to the role, the development of a new “I” who is alive in the world of the play, involves a creative process which is not a willy-nilly, loose way of working that depends solely on intuitive or elusive inspiration. On the contrary, it is a process which, however slow and painstaking, can be structured in an orderly way over which the actor has control, although no part of it is mechanical… It is a true challenge of one’s diligence and one’s talent. This process is to me like the drafting of a musical score in which the actor composes the character’s theme, orchestrates it, defines the phrases, individual beats, and the arrangement of the notes he will eventually play with spontaneity at each performance, putting to use his finely honed inner and outer techniques.” – Uta Hagen, A Challenge for the Actor © 1991, by Uta Hagen, All Rights Reserved.

Tuition: $850.00

Required Texts: Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen and Acting and Living in Discovery by Carol Rosenfeld

Daily Schedule:
• 9:30am-10:25am Vocal Warm-up
• 10:30am-1:00pm Technique
• 1:00pm-2:00pm Lunch
• 2:00pm-5pm Scene Study

Hagen Teacher’s Lab Online

December 12, 13, 15, 17 & 19, 2021 | $475: 

  • Lab Meet & Greet: 4-6pm, Sun, Dec 12
  • Lab Sessions: 10am – 4pm, Mon, Wed, Fri & Sun, Dec 13, 15, 17 & 19
  • Lab Wrap-Up: 4-5:30pm, Sun, Dec 19

Applications accepted on a rolling basis:

APPLY NOW

You will be notified by: Nov 1, 2021
Upon acceptance, you must register by:* Nov 14, 2021

INSTRUCTORS:
Program Director & Acting Technique: Carol Rosenfeld
Script Analysis & Scenes: Mark Nelson
Voice Warm-Up: Theresa McElwee

HB Studio offers a strategically modified version of the Hagen Teacher’s Lab online over Zoom.

The Hagen Teacher’s Lab was founded at HB Studio where Uta Hagen taught her legendary professional classes for more than 50 years. The Lab provides a forum for artists interested in teaching and for educators from around the world to continue their professional development and explore Hagen’s approach to acting and teaching. It is a virtual retreat, a coming-together to share our teaching successes and frustrations. We will see how Hagen’s acting exercises enrich the actor’s practice.

¨(….), I came on the idea of working by myself at home to devise corrective exercises for all of the problems I was having by exploring personal behavior under a variety of circumstances. (…) in order to lay down guidelines and give a form to the exercises, I decided first to define and then to re-create two seemingly routine minutes of life when alone at home, two minutes spent in the execution of a simple task in pursuit of normal objective.¨ – A Challenge for the Actor, Uta Hagen

This is how Uta Hagen describes the origin of what have now become her world-renowned acting exercises. She was inspired by her own wish to create a practice that she could undertake solo, that was also physically immersive and behavioral, not just textual. This gave her a way to keep continuity in her work whether she was actively employed or not, and a methodical and deep way to prepare for a role, keeping it live and fluid and open, long before she came to work with her colleagues in the rehearsal room.

Uta Hagen’s exercises provide an oasis of grounded physical solo practice that are shared with colleagues in the Zoom space.

Breaks and Guided Warm-Ups will be offered throughout the day, to step away from the screen, refresh, breathe, ground and recenter in our bodies.

Required Texts:
A Challenge for the Actor by Uta Hagen
Acting and Living in Discovery by Carol Rosenfeld

Daily Schedule:
•10am- 10:30am: Voice Warm-up
•10:35am- 12:35pm: Acting Technique
•12:35am- 1:25pm: Lunch
•1:25-1:55pm: Voice Warm-up
•2-4pm: Script Analysis & Scenes

Optional Bonus Sessions!:
•4pm-4:30pm after each Lab Session
•Off-Day Garden Lunch Hours: 12pm-1pm, Tue, Thu & Sat, Dec 14, 16 & 18

ACTING TECHNIQUE – The 10 Hagen Exercises

Every participant will be asked to present a rehearsed exercise assigned from Uta Hagen’s A Challenge for the Actor in class.  Hagen’s Six Steps serves as a template for every exercise. By preparing Hagen’s exercises “on location” in your living spaces and familiar locations where they were designed to be rehearsed, you have the opportunity to work with us on your rehearsal process in real time. During the virtual Lab we will watch each other’s exercises and discuss what to look for and how to respond to what would have been the final rehearsal at home. Looking toward the future, we will also discuss the steps the actor must take to transfer their exercise from their home to the classroom space, and how this work relates to company rehearsal and performance. 

SCRIPT ANALYSIS & SCENES

When we can’t explore scenes in a physical space with another actor, Zoom teaching invites us to focus on the imaginative homework so fundamental to Uta Hagen’s approach: Script Analysis. In the Lab, you will be assigned a scene or a monologue specifically chosen for you. We’ll read it through together early in the week, mining the text for clues to character and action, asking questions based on Hagen’s Six Steps. In the days following, you will rehearse on Zoom with your partner, and then present the scene for the group, testing how well-prepared actors can connect across virtual space, and how a teacher’s feedback can support that connection.

VOICE

Uta Hagen would often share with her classes that she wouldn’t dream of embarking on a rehearsal or performance without a warm-up of some kind. That her voice/speech/body warm-up served as a means of “clearing the runway for take off.”  That is the purpose of our daily Vocal Warm Ups, with the additional focus toward helping you bring your fully present, embodied self into this new Zoom playing space we are now asked to navigate. There will be breathwork and very light bodywork geared to the days’ activities, and this will be divided into two parts: A morning focus warm up, featuring breathwork from many pedagogies and methodologies; and a second, mid-day warm up designed to refresh your senses, give you a healthy dose of play, and serve as a bridge to the work you will do in the afternoon.

AUDITS: We welcome you to submit a request to audit the Lab. University and High School Acting Teachers and Hagen Teacher’s Lab Alumni are welcome to request to audit (observe) one or two days of the Hagen Teacher’s Lab Online. Audit fee: $45 per day. Space is limited. Those interested in auditing Hagen Teacher’s Lab Online should fill out an Audit Request Form at this link:

REQUEST AUDIT

*REGISTRATION & REFUND POLICIES:

  • Upon acceptance into the Lab, you must register in full by Nov 14 to secure your spot in the Lab.
  • A $350 refund will be given to cancellations made more than 3 weeks (22+ days) before the first day of the Lab.
  • No refunds will be given less than 3 weeks (21 days or less) before the first day of the lab.

Hagen Teacher’s Lab Online

December 13, 14, 16, 18 & 20 | $475: 

  • Meet & Greet: 4-6pm, Sun, Dec 13
  • Lab Sessions: 10am – 4pm, Mon, Wed, Fri & Sun, Dec 14, 16, 18 & 20
  • Wrap-Up: 4-5:30pm, Sun, Dec 20

APPLY ONLINE

FACULTY

Program Director & Acting Technique: Carol Rosenfeld
Scene Study: Mark Nelson
Voice Warm Up: Theresa McElwee

This December, HB Studio will offer its strategically modified, four-day version of the Hagen Teacher’s Lab, to be held online over Zoom.

Founded at HB Studio where Uta Hagen taught her legendary professional classes for more than 50 years, The Hagen Teacher’ Lab provides a forum for artists and educators from around the world to continue their professional development and explore and expand their understanding and experience of Hagen’s approach to acting and teaching. This year, it will be a virtual retreat, a coming-together to share our online teaching successes and frustrations. It will also be an exploration of how Hagen’s acting exercises are opportune for online and distance learning, providing a rich home-practice for the solo actor and student.

¨(….), I came on the idea of working by myself at home to devise corrective exercises for all of the problems I was having by exploring personal behavior under a variety of circumstances. (…) in order to lay down guidelines and give a form to the exercises, I decided first to define and then to re-create two seemingly routine minutes of life when alone at home, two minutes spent in the execution of a simple task in pursuit of normal objective.¨ – A Challenge for the Actor, Uta Hagen

This is how Uta Hagen describes the origin of what have now become her world-renowned acting exercises. She was inspired by her own wish to create a practice that she could undertake solo, that was also physically immersive and behavioral, not just textual. This gave her a way to keep continuity in her work whether she was actively employed or not, and a methodical and deep way to prepare for a role, keeping it live and fluid and open, long before she came to work with her colleagues in the rehearsal room.

Given the current circumstances the theater community is experiencing, with so much work interrupted, Uta Hagen’s exercises provide an oasis of grounded and embodied physical solo practice that can then be shared and assessed with colleagues in the Zoom space.

Breaks and Guided Warm-Ups will be offered throughout the day, to step away from the screen, refresh, breathe, ground and recenter in our bodies.

Required Texts:
A Challenge for the Actor by Uta Hagen
Angels in America, Part I – Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner

Daily Schedule:
•10am- 10:30am: Voice Warm-up
•10:35am- 12:05pm: Acting Technique
•12:05am- 12:55pm: Lunch
•12:55pm-1:25pm: Voice Warm-up
•1:30pm– 3pm: Script Analysis & Scenes

Learn More about the Hagen Teachers Lab Online

The Hagen Teacher’s Lab Online

August 3, 5, 7, & 9, 2020
Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday | 10am – 3pm | $375
Apply Now! Applications accepted on a rolling basis.* 

APPLY ONLINE

FACULTY

Program Director & Acting Technique: Carol Rosenfeld
Acting Technique: Brian Mulligan
Scene Study: Mark Nelson
Voice Warm Up: Theresa McElwee

This August, HB Studio is offering a strategically modified, four-day version of the Hagen Teacher’s Lab, to be offered online over Zoom.

Founded at HB Studio where Uta Hagen taught her legendary professional classes for more than 50 years, The Hagen Teacher’ Lab provides a forum for artists and educators from around the world to continue their professional development and explore and expand their understanding and experience of Hagen’s approach to acting and teaching. This year, it will be a virtual retreat, a coming-together to share our online teaching successes and frustrations. It will also be an exploration of how Hagen’s acting exercises are opportune for online and distance learning, providing a rich home-practice for the solo actor and student.

¨(….), I came on the idea of working by myself at home to devise corrective exercises for all of the problems I was having by exploring personal behavior under a variety of circumstances. (…) in order to lay down guidelines and give a form to the exercises, I decided first to define and then to re-create two seemingly routine minutes of life when alone at home, two minutes spent in the execution of a simple task in pursuit of normal objective.¨ – A Challenge for the Actor, Uta Hagen

This is how Uta Hagen describes the origin of what have now become her world-renowned acting exercises. She was inspired by her own wish to create a practice that she could undertake solo, that was also physically immersive and behavioral, not just textual. This gave her a way to keep continuity in her work whether she was actively employed or not, and a methodical and deep way to prepare for a role, keeping it live and fluid and open, long before she came to work with her colleagues in the rehearsal room.

Given the current circumstances the theater community is experiencing, with so much work interrupted, Uta Hagen’s exercises provide an oasis of grounded and embodied physical solo practice that can then be shared and assessed with colleagues in the Zoom space.

Breaks and Guided Warm-Ups will be offered throughout the day, to step away from the screen, refresh, breathe, ground and recenter in our bodies.

Required Texts:
A Challenge for the Actor by Uta Hagen
Angels in America, Part I – Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner

Daily Schedule:
•10am- 10:30am: Voice Warm-up
•10:35am- 12:05pm: Acting Technique
•12:05am- 12:55pm: Lunch
•12:55pm-1:25pm: Voice Warm-up
•1:30pm– 3pm: Script Analysis & Scenes

ACTING TECHNIQUE – THE 10 HAGEN EXERCISES

Every participant will be asked to present a rehearsed exercise assigned from Uta Hagen’s A Challenge for the Actor in class.  Hagen’s Six Steps serves as a template for every exercise. By preparing Hagen’s exercises “on location” in your living spaces and familiar locations where they were designed to be rehearsed, you have the opportunity to work with us on your rehearsal process in real time. During the virtual Lab we will watch each other’s exercises and discuss what to look for and how to respond to what would have been the final rehearsal at home. Looking toward the future, we will also discuss the steps the actor must take to transfer their exercise from their home to the classroom space, and how this work relates to company rehearsal and performance.

SCRIPT ANALYSIS & SCENES – ANGELS IN AMERICA PART I 

When we can’t explore scenes in a physical space in contact with another actor, Zoom teaching invites us to focus on the imaginative homework so fundamental to Uta Hagen’s approach: Script Analysis. In the Lab, we’ll sketch out the fundamentals of the actor’s mining of text, using Tony Kushner’s Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. After a broad discussion of themes and through-lines (how does this story of loss and transformation during an epidemic speak to us now?), we’ll take a detailed look at key scenes using Hagen’s Six Steps. Finally, we’ll cast the scenes from the group, explore how well-prepared actors begin to connect across the digital divide, and test how a teacher’s feedback can support that connection.

VOICE

Uta Hagen would often share with her classes that she wouldn’t dream of embarking on a rehearsal or performance without a warm-up of some kind. That her voice/speech/body warm-up served as a means of “clearing the runway for take off.”  That is the purpose of our daily Vocal Warm Ups, with the additional focus toward helping you bring your fully present, embodied self into this new Zoom playing space we are now asked to navigate. There will be breathwork and very light bodywork geared to the days’ activities, and this will be divided into two parts: A morning focus warm up, featuring breathwork from many pedagogies and methodologies; and a second, mid-day warm up designed to refresh your senses, give you a healthy dose of play, and serve as a bridge to the work you will do in the afternoon.

* Apply early, space is limited. Upon acceptance into the Lab, you must register in full by June 24 to secure your spot in the Lab.

Financial Aid

OUR SUMMER 2024 FINANCIAL AID APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.

If you wish to be notified when applications open for the Fall Term please fill out the form below.

Contact Form

HB Studio offers two forms of financial aid: Scholarships and Work-Study.
One application covers both opportunities. 

Please read the terms & conditions below carefully, as updates may have been made for the current term:

Financial Aid Audition Policy

New students to the studio will be required to audition for financial aid, and new playwriting students will be asked to submit a writing sample of their work. You will select an audition appointment within your application. You must notify us at least one day ahead of time if you are unable to make it to your audition as scheduled. No-shows who fail to email auditions@hbstudio.org in order to reschedule or cancel the audition will not be allowed to apply or receive financial aid the following term.

You are only permitted to submit one financial aid application for one class each term.

Notification of Awards

All applicants will receive notification whether or not you are awarded financial aid. Notifications are generally made within one month of the application deadline.

If you receive financial aid, policy prohibits you from using it on a class you have already paid for. Please wait to receive notification whether or not you have received financial aid before enrolling in the class you are seeking aid for. If you pay for a class before receiving notice of your financial aid award, we are not able to reimburse you.

Scholarships

HB Studio makes limited scholarship funds available for artists of demonstrated talent and commitment who lack the means to study. HB Studio Scholarships are awarded based on need, a statement of goals and intent, and instructors’ recommendations. Applications for Studio class scholarships are accepted prior to each Term with deadlines and applications. New students to the studio will be required to audition.

Scholarships for The Uta Hagen Institute’s Hagen Core Training or Hagen Summer Intensive programs are awarded through a separate process and you should indicate your wish to be considered for scholarship support when applying for those programs.

In addition to general HB Studio scholarships, we are pleased to offer the following select scholarships:

  • Ann Feshbach Scholarship – Supports enrollment in a 10-week class in our Movement department for an artist who has done outstanding work in theater movement
  • Christina Kukucka Scholarship – Supports enrollment in a 10-week Playwriting class for a promising new playwright

Please note that if you are awarded a scholarship, you are required to enroll in the class by the first day of the term. Failure to utilize your scholarship by this date may result in forfeiture. HB scholarships are awarded on consideration of both merit and need, and are given with the expectation that those supported will lead their fellows in discipline, attendance, and preparation, and demonstrate a full commitment to their work in class.

Work-Study

Students at HB Studio are eligible for a Work-Study position if they have studied for one full term or are invited to audition. HB offers two kinds of Work-Study Opportunities: Key Students and Studio Assistants. In exchange for their time helping at the studio, Key Students and Studio Assistants earn the opportunity to add a free course to their schedule for one term. Key Students and SAs must be enrolled in a second (paid) course during that term. These Work-Study positions are given to students who have proven reliable, punctual, and conscientious in their classwork, and show a true commitment to the Studio’s mission. Key positions are assigned to students upon the recommendation of their teachers, and Studio Assistants are assigned based on applications submitted online. In addition to the required Work-Study hours, all Key Students and SAs are required to perform 4 Community Hours per term.

Key Students

Select classes have a Key Student, appointed by recommendation of the instructor, to serve as a monitor and teacher’s assistant. The key is responsible for preparing the classroom; taking attendance; maintaining class contact lists; tracking auditors; assisting with emergency procedures; seeing that the Studio is left in proper order, and such other tasks as the teacher may require. In exchange for the key scholarship, keys are also asked to provide 4 Community Hours per term. Key Students must be enrolled in a second (paid) course during the term. If you are interested in a Key Student position, please contact your instructor directly to ask if they would like to recommend you as their Key.

Studio Assistants

Studio Assistants (SAs) work 2, 4 or 6 weekly hours over 10-weeks of a term. SA shift(s) are based on student work interest and supervisor availability within the Studio’s operating hours of 9:30am–9:30pm on weekdays, and 9:30am–6pm on weekends. Each term HB offers roles that are in-person, and a limited number of remote work-from-home roles:

Office Assistant SAs will help with tasks like database updates, filing, taking ticket reservations over the phone, mailings, internet research, scanning for archives, hosting Zoom auditions, marketing support, etc.

Venue Assistant SAs will help with tasks like student check-in, studio upkeep, preparing studios for incoming classes, updating casting database, organizing the library, taking ticket reservations over the phone, etc.

Facilities Assistant SAs will help with tasks like sweep and/or mop the studio stairs, help with snow removal from the front of the building and in the courtyard, mopping floors and wiping down restroom counters, cleaning and storing props in studios, etc. Occasionally help will be needed in the theater, so experience with carpentry or interest in technical aspects of theater are encouraged.

On acceptance to an SA position, the SA will be connected with a supervisor and agree to a regularly scheduled shift(s). The staff supervisor must approve changes in shift time in advance. If an SA misses more than 2 shifts without ample notification they may be asked to leave the SA program and withdraw from their class. Poor attendance may also prohibit a student from future SA positions. An SA’s duties and shifts may vary within any given term with the agreement of both the SA and staff supervisor. An SA may receive free enrollment for a maximum of one class per term and must be enrolled in a second (paid) course during that term. A limited number of waivers to the second class requirement will be granted each term, in exchange for an additional 2 hours/week of work. SAs are also asked to provide 4 Community Hours per term.

Community Hours

Over the course of the term student help will be needed to assist with front of house management for performances and talks, mailings, and other projects. All Key Students and Studio Assistants are required to complete 4 Community Hours a term. Community Hour opportunities will be sent out via email at various times over the term and hours will be assigned on a first response basis. If at the end of a term you realize you have not completed your Community Hours please be in touch with registration@hbstudio.org to make arrangements. In order to continue into a new term as a work-study student Community Hours must be completed or scheduled.

How to Apply

To be eligible for a Key or Studio Assistant position, a student must be studying at the Studio for at least one term. If awarded a Key or SA position, you must enroll in at least one other (paid) class during the term of your Work-Study. Requests for exceptions due to financial hardship may be addressed to the Student Affairs Committee in writing (studentaffairs@hbstudio.org). No student will be allowed more than one work-study class registration per term.

Contact the instructor directly if you have an interest in serving as a Key Student for a particular class, or email registration@hbstudio.org for more information.

Still have questions about any of the above? Email scholarships@hbstudio.org

Hagen Teacher’s Lab West

The Hagen Teacher’s Lab is thrilled to bring its work to the West Coast this January 2019, hosted by the California State University Long Beach Theater Department.

Wednesday – Monday | 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
January 2 – 7, 2019
California State University – Long Beach, CA

Applications are now closed.

APPLY ONLINE

FACULTY:

Program Director & Technique: Carol Rosenfeld
Scene Study: Brian Mulligan
Speaking Voice: Andrea Caban

HELD ANNUALLY IN NYC AT HB STUDIO SINCE 2014.

The Uta Hagen Institute’s Hagen Teacher’s Lab West is an intensive, six-day program where artists and educators from around the world come to continue their professional development. The program is designed to serve teachers, future teachers, and professional actors who wish to explore and expand their understanding and experience of Uta Hagen’s approach to acting and teaching.

EXPERIENCE THE DEPTH AND VALUE OF UTA HAGEN’S OBJECT EXERCISES AND SCENE STUDY PROCESS IN ACTOR TRAINING.

With HB Studio faculty who trained directly with Uta Hagen, we will explore the infinite potential of Uta Hagen’s exercises in the actor’s practice at all levels of experience. Through participation and discussion, we see the individual talent revealed and released through this approach. Lab participants will play dual roles: Actor and Teacher. As an actor, you will be asked to prepare an exercise and rehearse a scene. As a teacher, you will be assigned an exercise and scene to critique.

THE EXTREMELY PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOUND IN UTA HAGEN’S WORLD-FAMOUS BOOKS, RESPECT FOR ACTING AND A CHALLENGE FOR THE ACTOR, PROBE THE DEPTHS AND HEIGHTS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

They offer the actor a structure for lifelong practice exploring the dynamic interaction between sensory/emotional experience and the creative imagination. They hone the actor’s ability to actively live through the circumstances of the play and the character’s dilemma. When the work becomes a part of the actor’s process, unpremeditated truthful behavior replaces cliché and easy sentiment in performance. The actor grows to honor an authentic, present and intuitively responsive self in the role while making imaginative choices that serve the play.

Upon registration, you will be given guidelines on how to prepare for the workshop. Rehearsal outside class is required.

“…An organic transference of oneself to the role, the development of a new “I” who is alive in the world of the play, involves a creative process which is not a willy-nilly, loose way of working that depends solely on intuitive or elusive inspiration. On the contrary, it is a process which, however slow and painstaking, can be structured in an orderly way over which the actor has control, although no part of it is mechanical… It is a true challenge of one’s diligence and one’s talent. This process is to me like the drafting of a musical score in which the actor composes the character’s theme, orchestrates it, defines the phrases, individual beats, and the arrangement of the notes he will eventually play with spontaneity at each performance, putting to use his finely honed inner and outer techniques.” – Uta Hagen, A Challenge for the Actor © 1991, by Uta Hagen, All Rights Reserved.

Tuition: $850
CSU Faculty Tuition: $750

Required Texts: A Challenge for the Actor by Uta Hagen and Acting and Living in Discovery by Carol Rosenfeld

Schedule:
• 9:30am-10:25am Vocal Warm-up
• 10:30am-1:00pm Technique
• 1:00pm-2:00pm Lunch
• 2:00pm-4:30pm Scene Study

Audits: University and High School Acting Teachers and Hagen Teacher’s Lab Alumni are welcome to request to audit (observe) one or two days of the Hagen Teacher’s Lab.
• Audit fee: $60 per day.
• To request an audit, email Jim Boerlin at jboerlin@hbstudio.org with:
– Your name
– School affiliation and position
– Your reason for auditing
– Date(s) you would like to audit

Program options for International Students

International students have different options for participating in classes at HB Studio. While many choose to design their own program from the variety of classes taught at the Studio, others prefer the intensive, full-time training programs that the Uta Hagen Institute has to offer. All programs at HB Studio require international students to obtain an F-1 visa to participate. Our International Student Advisors assist students with this process.

Study Acting in the United States
International Studio Class Program

The Studio offers an International Studio Class Program that can be shaped to achieve the individual’s goals. The full-time program requires students to attend a minimum of seven Studio classes per week, consisting of a mix of required and elective classes.

Mandatory classes include:

Upon assessment, students who are not native English speakers may also be advised to take Acting in English in order to ensure adequate language support. They may also be required to supplement their Studio program with outside English as a Second Language (ESL) courses.

Students may begin studying at the Studio in the Fall, Winter, Spring or Summer terms. The International Studio Class Program allows students to study for a maximum of two  years and minimum of one term (10 weeks). Please see F-1 Visas & Program Policies for more information and a breakdown of tuition and fees.

After completing two years in the International Studio Class Program, students may choose to participate in Optional Practical Training (OPT), where students may receive up to 12 months of authorization to pursue employment directly related to their field of study.

The International Studio Class Program requires an application and audition for admission. For more information, contact our International Student Advisor Snezhana Chernova at international@hbstudio.org or 212-675-2370 extension 28.

Hagen Core Training

The Uta Hagen Institute at HB Studio offers full-time immersion in the practical approach to acting craft that characterized Uta Hagen’s legendary master classes and classic acting texts. Its Hagen Core Training is an intensive one-year training program taught by world-class faculty/practitioners. This program offers an integrated progressive curriculum of essential classes: Acting Technique, Scene Study, Script Analysis, Movement, Alexander Technique, Voice and Speech.

The Hagen Core Training is a three-term program (Fall, Winter, Spring) that requires an application, audition and interview for admission. For more information, visit Hagen Core Training or contact Uta Hagen Institute Administrator Jim Boerlin at jboerlin@hbstudio.org or 212-675-2370 extension 38.  

Hagen Summer Intensive

The Hagen Summer Intensive is a rigorous, six-week workshop with the Uta Hagen Institute that probes the practical applications of Uta Hagen’s technique as discussed in her book A CHALLENGE FOR THE ACTOR. Through acting technique, scene study, script analysis, and technical exercises, “The Six Steps” will become an integral part of the actor’s craft. When you have strong technique and more confidence in how to find yourself in the role, acting will be joyful. Classes include: Acting Technique, Scene Study, Alexander Technique, Movement and Voice.

The Hagen Summer Intensive program requires an application and online audition for admission. For more information, visit Hagen Summer Intensive or contact Uta Hagen Institute Administrator Jim Boerlin at jboerlin@hbstudio.org or 212-675-2370 extension 38.  

Options for Short-Term Students

International students wishing to study at HB Studio for a shorter amount of time under an F-1 visa may apply for a minimum of one term (10 weeks). Students would be required to attend a minimum of seven Studio classes per week, consisting of a mix of required and elective classes. Please see the course breakdown under the International Studio Class Program above.

We also welcome international visitors spending a shorter amount of time in the U.S. to audit classes at HB Studio. Auditing provides a great introduction to the wide variety of classes that the Studio has to offer. It can also help prospective international students to decide if they want to apply for a full-time program in the future. One audit is allowed per class and there is a $20.00 fee. You must come in person to the Studio office on the day of the class you wish to audit and arrive at least 30 minutes before class begins.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Please contact International Student Advisors Snezhana Chernova at international@hbstudio.org or 212-675-2370 extension 28 with any questions you may have about the programs available for international students at HB Studio.

Share:

The Hagen Summer Intensive

The Hagen Summer Intensive is a rigorous, 6-week workshop that probes the practical applications of Uta Hagen’s technique as discussed in her book A CHALLENGE FOR THE ACTOR. Through acting technique, scene study, script analysis, and technical exercises, “The Six Steps” will become an integral part of the actor’s craft. When you have strong technique and more confidence in how to find yourself in the role, acting will be joyful. Classes include: Acting Technique, Scene Study, Alexander Technique, Movement & Voice.

Classes meet Mondays – Fridays, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, over six weeks:

  • 2024 HAGEN SUMMER INTENSIVE:
    • June 24, 2024 – August 2, 2024 (Orientation June 23; no classes July 4)

APPLICATIONS:

  • Apply Now for the 2024 Hagen Summer Intensive! Applications accepted on a rolling basis

APPLY ONLINE

(includes $50 non-refundable application fee)
*Fill out application from a computer – not a phone or tablet

AUDITIONS:

For your audition please prepare two contrasting contemporary monologues, two-minutes each from published plays. Auditions take place by appointment virtually over Zoom. You will be contacted to schedule your audition after you submit your application.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:

  • A rigorous, integrated 6-week training that probes the practical applications of Uta Hagen’s approach to acting
  • A faculty of master practitioners
  • A direct, in-depth approach to your work and a safe, supportive, challenging environment
  • To strengthen your craft and stretch all aspects of your instrument
  • To complete the Intensive a stronger, more knowledgeable, more confident actor

INSTRUCTORS:

Tuition: $3,600
International visa students pay an annual, non-refundable administrative fee of $150.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS:

International students are welcome to apply for the Hagen Summer Intensive. International students are required to obtain an F-1 visa to participate, and our International Student Advisors assist you with this process. For a listing of the required documentation to apply as an international student, please see the “International Students Only” section of the Hagen Summer Intensive Application. This application form will allow you to upload all of the required documentation to apply as an international student. Questions? Email international@hbstudio.org

Share: