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Respect for Acting
"This fascinating and detailed book about acting is Miss Hagen's credo, the accumulated wisdom of her years spent in intimate communion with her art. It is at once the voicing of her exacting standards for herself and those she teaches, and an explanation of the means to the end. For those unable to avail themselves of her personal tutelage, her book is the best substitute."
— Publishers Weekly "Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting is not only pitched on a high artistic level but it is full of homely, practical information by a superb craftswoman. crafts-woman. An illuminating discussion of the standards and techniques of enlightened stage acting."
— Brooks Atkinson "Hagen adds to the large corpus of titles on acting with vivid dicta drawn from experience, skill, and a sense of personal and professional worth. Her principal asset in this treatment is her truly significant imagination. Her ‘object exercises’ display a wealth of detail with which to stimulate the student preparing a scene for presentation."
— Library Journal "Respect for Acting is a simple, lucid and sympathetic statement of actors' problems in the theatre and basic tenets for their training wrought from the personal experience of a fine actress and teacher of acting."
— Harold Clurman "Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting…is a relatively small book. But within it Miss Hagen tells the young actor about as much as can be conveyed in print of his craft."
— Los Angeles Times "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."
— Fritz Weaver "This is a textbook for aspiring actors, but working thespians can profit much by it. Anyone with just a casual interest in the theater should also enjoy its behind-the-scenes flavor. Respect for Acting is certainly a special book, perhaps for a limited readership, but of its "How-To" kind I'd give it four curtain calls, and two hollers of "Author, Author
— King Features Syndicate
— Publishers Weekly "Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting is not only pitched on a high artistic level but it is full of homely, practical information by a superb craftswoman. crafts-woman. An illuminating discussion of the standards and techniques of enlightened stage acting."
— Brooks Atkinson "Hagen adds to the large corpus of titles on acting with vivid dicta drawn from experience, skill, and a sense of personal and professional worth. Her principal asset in this treatment is her truly significant imagination. Her ‘object exercises’ display a wealth of detail with which to stimulate the student preparing a scene for presentation."
— Library Journal "Respect for Acting is a simple, lucid and sympathetic statement of actors' problems in the theatre and basic tenets for their training wrought from the personal experience of a fine actress and teacher of acting."
— Harold Clurman "Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting…is a relatively small book. But within it Miss Hagen tells the young actor about as much as can be conveyed in print of his craft."
— Los Angeles Times "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."
— Fritz Weaver "This is a textbook for aspiring actors, but working thespians can profit much by it. Anyone with just a casual interest in the theater should also enjoy its behind-the-scenes flavor. Respect for Acting is certainly a special book, perhaps for a limited readership, but of its "How-To" kind I'd give it four curtain calls, and two hollers of "Author, Author
— King Features Syndicate
227 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1973
691 people are currently reading
4967 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews
September 26, 2008
This book turned the shy dreamer writer into the shy dreamer actor you see today!
April 20, 2010
This is one of those books that I wish I had read 10 years ago and yet I picked it up at the most appropriate time to guide me through figuring out the most difficult role I've had to play yet. Her chapter on emotion has been invaluable. She reprimands the "modern" actor so effectively too! (This book was written in the 70s, but everything is still perfectly usable. When it feels dated is in the language of the decade and then it only serves to endear me towards her more.) I loved getting a good scolding from Uta. She knows actors so well, our tricks, our excuses, our bad habits. Ugh. Thank you. I needed to be yelled at and knocked down a few notches. This book makes me want to go back to school and learn with her, though some of her exercises I think would make me go absolutely crazy.
I immediately want to start reading it again and take better notes this time. Maybe I'll read this book every time I start rehearsal for a new play. I guess I must read her next book too. Uta Hagen is my new hero.
I immediately want to start reading it again and take better notes this time. Maybe I'll read this book every time I start rehearsal for a new play. I guess I must read her next book too. Uta Hagen is my new hero.
August 6, 2012
The "method" explained in understandable terms by a great acting teacher. She was my teacher and when I teach, I use this book as an important resource. If you are even considering being an actor, you should read this.
October 19, 2015
A readable, well-organized guidebook. A wee bit pretentious, but I sure want to work hard now!
February 26, 2014
This is only the second book on acting I have read so far, the first one being Stanislavski's An Actor Prepares, so naturally I've been comparing the two a lot while reading. Although Uta Hagen's approach is definitely in line with Stanislavski's method, the book itself is very different. I love how she stresses the craft part of acting. Not that Stanislavski's book doesn't cover it as well, but in much less detail and I found "Respect for acting" to have a highly practical and no-nonsense feel to it, which I greatly enjoyed.
August 24, 2020
Like other books I've read on acting, I enjoyed the lyrical, beautiful style with which this whole books was executed as much as I enjoyed the practical instruction it communicated. I read this book on my own, and worked through all the object exercises on my own, and I felt that they likely would have been more useful as Hagen originally employed them: in a classroom with presentation and criticism. That being said, I fully intend to repeat the exercises on my own. When I first got this book, I had trouble taking it seriously because the cover looks a lot like the 'confused maths lady'.
November 11, 2022
This one of those foundational books you gotta read when you start acting. It gives you building block exercises, as well as gives you a glimpse of insight into the world of actors in the 1930s through 1960s. She talked about developing some of the exercises while spending time in her house out in Long Island. Stage actors today don't dream of a house in the Hamptons!
July 30, 2025
A classic for a reason!
April 28, 2018
Good basic instructions on acting technique from one of Broadway's leading actresses. Ms. Hagen is noted for her "Nine Questions" exercise in defining one's character. Many of the directors I've worked with assign this exercise as preparation for a role. Reading about the exercise from the source and seeing how Ms. Hagen developed and refined this exercise in her own career is invaluable. I'm sure I'll come back to this book time and time again.
December 4, 2024
I really wish I could have met her. In many ways reading this book was more about me getting to know Uta than getting to know acting.
Of course it has completely changed my perspective on acting too… but something about Uta...
Of course it has completely changed my perspective on acting too… but something about Uta...
March 31, 2008
Uta Hagen has some good advice. I can't say this was a page-turner, but if you're in the craft, it's got some good bits of insight.
December 31, 2015
Really interesting take on the process of acting--I will definitely have to reread, it was a pretty information heavy book.
December 11, 2023
Uta taught me that you kinda have to take out your inner sociopath to bring truth to a scene. lowkey iconic if you ask me.
April 8, 2025
uta hagen's method makes a lot of sense to me! i appreciate that this was a proper, written out guide as opposed to the re-telling of a class (e.g. stanislavski's books). made it a lot easier to comprehend and highlight important bits
the ten object exercises are tedious as hell but i respect them. maybe i will try em some day
the ten object exercises are tedious as hell but i respect them. maybe i will try em some day
October 11, 2023
she was very preachy
July 26, 2024
2.5 Stars.
January 18, 2025
She is just phenomenal ~ not only from an actor’s perspective but as a writer as well. How incredible it is to be able to read the thoughts of such a talented actress and teacher!
March 15, 2020
This was a birthday gift from my friend José V. Garza. Thank you, José!
As I've been getting obsessed about improv comedy (it started as a way to get comfortable with speaking in English and it transformed into a passion), I've been having a hard time finding resources to improve on the "acting" component of the performances... until I read this book.
I've learned that is a highly recommended book within the acting community and it delivered. Not only it has a mindful approach but it also shares some specific exercises and activities that the reader can do to improve his/her acting skills.
If you are a left-brained person, or someone who is stumbling into "acting" late in life, this is the book for you.
Flow: 4/5, it might be difficult to follow sometimes as it makes many references to plays that might not be familiar to people who have not been in the acting world for a while.
Actionability: 5/5, lots of specific activities and exercises that can/should be applied right away, even before finishing the book.
Mindset: 4/5, it teaches you that to be a great actor you basically have to be a student of everything around you which requires the ability to be present and to listen
Some Of My Highlights:
"An intellectual actor can intellectualize himself out of real acting impulses, while his less mentally endowed brother, provided he is not dull and insensitive, may function magnificently if he has understanding of human behavior."
"...there is no excuse for his frittering away the hours that belong to him - and his true work - with partying, and fun and games."
"The less-talented actor can win with a thorough, back-breaking discipline in his work, in his examination of his materials and his relationship to it, in the dedication (that mich-abused word) to his work."
"We must serve the play by serving each other."
"Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art."
"The continuing job of learning to find out who you really are, of learning to pinpoint your responses - and even more important, the myriad, consequent behaviorisms which result - will help you begin to fill your warehouse with sources upon which to draw for the construction of a character."
"Your own identity and self-knowledge are the main sources for any character you may play."
"We have to truly be curious about ourselves and others."
"We must overcome the notion that we must be regular... It robs you of the change to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre."
"...how you make these things real to yourself, how you make them exist is totally private work."
"Don't fall victim to the temptations of revealing your little goodies to your director or your fellow actors."
"In life, an emotion occurs when something happens to us which momentarily suspends our reasoning control and we are unable to cope with this event logically."
"As pleasurable as the idea of a big emotion may seem to an actor, human beings do not want this loss of control and usually make an attempt to cope with the emotion as it hits them."
As I've been getting obsessed about improv comedy (it started as a way to get comfortable with speaking in English and it transformed into a passion), I've been having a hard time finding resources to improve on the "acting" component of the performances... until I read this book.
I've learned that is a highly recommended book within the acting community and it delivered. Not only it has a mindful approach but it also shares some specific exercises and activities that the reader can do to improve his/her acting skills.
If you are a left-brained person, or someone who is stumbling into "acting" late in life, this is the book for you.
Flow: 4/5, it might be difficult to follow sometimes as it makes many references to plays that might not be familiar to people who have not been in the acting world for a while.
Actionability: 5/5, lots of specific activities and exercises that can/should be applied right away, even before finishing the book.
Mindset: 4/5, it teaches you that to be a great actor you basically have to be a student of everything around you which requires the ability to be present and to listen
Some Of My Highlights:
"An intellectual actor can intellectualize himself out of real acting impulses, while his less mentally endowed brother, provided he is not dull and insensitive, may function magnificently if he has understanding of human behavior."
"...there is no excuse for his frittering away the hours that belong to him - and his true work - with partying, and fun and games."
"The less-talented actor can win with a thorough, back-breaking discipline in his work, in his examination of his materials and his relationship to it, in the dedication (that mich-abused word) to his work."
"We must serve the play by serving each other."
"Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art."
"The continuing job of learning to find out who you really are, of learning to pinpoint your responses - and even more important, the myriad, consequent behaviorisms which result - will help you begin to fill your warehouse with sources upon which to draw for the construction of a character."
"Your own identity and self-knowledge are the main sources for any character you may play."
"We have to truly be curious about ourselves and others."
"We must overcome the notion that we must be regular... It robs you of the change to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre."
"...how you make these things real to yourself, how you make them exist is totally private work."
"Don't fall victim to the temptations of revealing your little goodies to your director or your fellow actors."
"In life, an emotion occurs when something happens to us which momentarily suspends our reasoning control and we are unable to cope with this event logically."
"As pleasurable as the idea of a big emotion may seem to an actor, human beings do not want this loss of control and usually make an attempt to cope with the emotion as it hits them."
December 6, 2015
Uta's occasional (or not) pretentiousness aside, her tone is full of enthusiasm. As intent as she may seem upon making her techniques clear, I see her overall objective as encouraging deeper thought for acting, and in doing so, generating greater respect for the craft. So while I may disagree with some of the finer points, I can't help but appreciate the effort and passion. I've found it helpful to treat this book not as an Acting Bible as some would seem to encourage, but rather picking and choosing what works for me, where I am in my work right now. It's always developing, and I'm sure some things I think are worthless now will make more sense later down the road, and vice versa. Worth a read for any actor--even if it's just for a familiarity with the vocabulary, as Hagen's definitions have become something of an industry standard.
April 24, 2009
In my opinion, to make it short and sweet, this is the best damn book EVER written on acting. Uta = goddess of acting. Her other book is equally as good, and perhaps a bit more polished since it was written later in her life, but this one was the foundation of all her teachings at the HB Studio in NYC. Read it and weep, actors!
July 14, 2019
100% recommend for anyone who wants to improve their acting skills or just develop a deeper understanding of drama! Uta Hagen does an amazing job with writing this book, analysing all the various aspects of theatre concisely but covering all the most important points. I know I have a lot of work to do after reading this!
June 28, 2024
“acting is the most demanding creative art. humanism is at the root of it. a crucial social offering in the making. consistently good acting is never an accident or empty of its purpose. to achieve a technique which will allow for genuine existence on stage can take a life time to accomplish”
January 12, 2020
A highly regarded treatise on acting methodology.
August 31, 2022
Interesting perspectives on portraying characters that can be applied to writing characters.
January 5, 2023
This book made me have no respect for acting
January 11, 2024
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
April 5, 2025
4.75/5
Most of me would say that this is an essential reading for anyone who considers themselves an actor. So much of the information here is invaluable to living organically in the moment in the given circumstances of the play, the scene, and down to the page or line. With exercises included, I would generally consider this a very beginner-friendly approach to deepening your understanding of the craft.
On the other hand of that, some of Hagen's writings can be quite extreme and elitist, jumping to saying that if you do not do things as she says, then that person performs like a terrible actor. I could see that being intimidating to a beginner and potentially unencouraging if there is stuff that doesn't necessarily resonate with them. Acting is an art, take what works for you and leave what doesn't, which based on her writings, I feel like Hagen is sometimes aware of, however she is obviously quite passionate on certain stances in her craft and that absolution on points can rub me the wrong way.
One last thing that's a nit pick, was Hagen's language using the r-word--I understand this is an older book, being from the 70s, however that doesn't make the way she uses the word any less offensive.
Most of me would say that this is an essential reading for anyone who considers themselves an actor. So much of the information here is invaluable to living organically in the moment in the given circumstances of the play, the scene, and down to the page or line. With exercises included, I would generally consider this a very beginner-friendly approach to deepening your understanding of the craft.
On the other hand of that, some of Hagen's writings can be quite extreme and elitist, jumping to saying that if you do not do things as she says, then that person performs like a terrible actor. I could see that being intimidating to a beginner and potentially unencouraging if there is stuff that doesn't necessarily resonate with them. Acting is an art, take what works for you and leave what doesn't, which based on her writings, I feel like Hagen is sometimes aware of, however she is obviously quite passionate on certain stances in her craft and that absolution on points can rub me the wrong way.
One last thing that's a nit pick, was Hagen's language using the r-word--I understand this is an older book, being from the 70s, however that doesn't make the way she uses the word any less offensive.
August 16, 2025
not bad! i didn't feel that her examples were vivid or engaging enough, so sometimes her writing (except for the exercises part) felt very conceptual. i think the foreward gave me a bad first impression just because it said uta hagen herself didn't really want people to read this anymore...but i'd be interested to see how she would have taught these things to her students. there were certainly some things i thought were interesting that i'd like to try, and i've never read any of uta hagen's books so i am glad i read this
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September 18, 2024I wish I’d studied this theory at school—I loved the emphasis on physical life. It’s almost like a more intuitive version of Adler❤️ made me miss acting
(ALSO as someone who had to sew onstage I’m feeling v proud after reading the chapter on endowment😂)
(ALSO as someone who had to sew onstage I’m feeling v proud after reading the chapter on endowment😂)
October 8, 2023
queen uta
Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews