Uta Hagen was one of the foremost acting teachers of the 20th century. A celebrated actress in her own right, she trained many of the outstanding actors of the American Stage and Screen. (from the Overview page of the Hagen Institute, HB Studio, hbstudio.org.)
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| Uta Hagen in The Seagull. Vandamm theatrical photographs, 1900-1957. / Productions / The Seagull. (Shubert Theatre, 1938). The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts / Billy Rose Theatre Division |
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.
She was interviewed by Charlie Rose on November 28, 1995. Watch the interview (copyright Charlie Rose LLC):
She was interviewed by Charlie Rose on November 28, 1995. Watch the interview (copyright Charlie Rose LLC):
Among her students are these names you'll recognize: Matthew Broderick, Robert DeNiro, Judy Garland, Whoopi Goldberg, Christine Lahti, Jack Lemmon, Liza Minelli, Al Pacino, Geraldine Page, Amanda Peet, Charles Nelson Reilly, Jason Robards, Sigourney Weaver.
To learn more about Hagen, visit the library's display table featuring outstanding artist-educators for the 2012 Women's History Month.
Fogelson Library has Hagen's two books on acting, her memoir Sources, a vinyl LP recording of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Uta Hagen as Martha, and the two-volume video Uta Hagen's Acting Class. These will be on display for about a week, but you can always find them in our collection.
More information about Uta Hagen:
