Choose one of the following quotes and tell me how you think it applies to the work we are doing with Uta Hagen. Think of this as a mini-essay: give me a thesis statement with your opinion, and two (or more) sentences of support explaning why you believe what you do.
1. "For most actors, success is achieved through study, struggle, preparation, infinite trial and error, training, discipline, experience and work!" - Robert Cohen
2. “With any part you play, there is a certain amount of yourself in it. There has to be, otherwise it's just not acting. It's lying.” - Johnny Depp
3. “Growth as an actor and as a human being are synonymous” - Stella Adler
Quotes courtesy of Actor's Realm/Volcanic Theatre (http://www.actorsrealm.com/index.php?p=1_24_Essential-Quotes)
Uta Hagen would most agree with Robert Cohen when he says that acting requires struggle and discipline. Hagen believes in using acting exercises to train the actor to become more natural and have good stage presence on stage. In the three entrances exercise Hagen teaches us to learn how to enter with purpose and a continuation of a prior action. This exercise requires practice and study in order to be able to use it in a performance situation.
ReplyDeleteIn Uta Hagen's work, we experiment with the different approaches to everyday tasks. We explore the little things that influence our decisions and actions, making us who we are. As Stella Adler said, growing as an actor and a person is confluent. Not only because the longer you live, the experience you have with other people grows, but because the more you know about yourself and the human race, the better your understanding will be of the characters you portray. A strong skill in acting comes from a study of human behavior, making characters more natural and realistic, which is what Hagen is trying to achieve.
ReplyDelete“With any part you play, there is a certain amount of yourself in it. There has to be, otherwise it's just not acting. It's lying.” - Johnny Depp
ReplyDeleteAs actors we walk the fine line of our characters and ourselves. This line needs to be reached, but it doesn't need to be crossed. You must have a part of yourself in a role, otherwise you are creating a figment of your imagination and not creating something real. One must be grounded in a role to find true progress. Uta Hagen's work tells us that over and over. By using her exercises, an actor is able to feel themselves on stage. That way when they are playing a character, they are able to incorporate themselves into the role.
I agree more with Stella Adler's quote of "Growth as an actor and as a human being are synonymous." I feel like as you act you learn more about yourself and can personalize the material to fit any situation. Uta Hagen's work shows more of studying the human behavior, and I think that studying human behavior is easier when you make it fit into your life, and you can fit yourself into that role.
ReplyDeleteI love Bailey's use of the word "confluent."
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, I appreciate that everyone is not only replying with thoughtful comments but that your writing is so mature. No texting abbreviations and the like. Very refreshing.
Jumping a bit off of what Austin said about lines and crossing them and what Leigha said about personalization: one line you should think about crossing is when you personalize material - when you use something real for your life to stand in for the scene so you experience the same conflicts that you think the play's given circumstances create. So the question is this: do we need to feel the actual emotion in order to really move someone in the audience? Sometimes that means your personalization may take you to some emotions you don't want to feel or re-experience. You have to decide if you can cross that line to feel them, and whether you are able to go there night after night for a show.
Blerg I commented on this a few days ago, but apparently it didn't stick. (Pardon my 30 rock cursing).
ReplyDelete2. “With any part you play, there is a certain amount of yourself in it. There has to be, otherwise it's just not acting. It's lying.” - Johnny Depp
When acting, it is imperative that you put emotion and thought into your characters. As an actor, it is your job to breathe life into a character. You cannot create true emotion out of nothing, it cannot be forced into something. Being real, and putting a part of yourself into a character are essential to successfully portraying a character.
Ashley
Referring to Stella Adler's quote, the idea that acting is purely an extension of you as a human being is quintessential to growth as a performer. The implications of all our lives' events is that we gain an understanding of how certain events can affect us emotionally. The way we change and grow from life events changes us as actors because of this parallel. Our acting should be a portrayal of our life events because our characters should go through just the same tribulations we do.
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