Master Quote:
“We must overcome the notion that we must be regular…it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre.”
(Uta Hagen)
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Uta Hagen (June 12, 1919 – January 4, 2004) was an influential theater actress – she was the first actress to play Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf on Broadway – and acting teacher, authoring best-selling acting books like A Challenge for the Actor and Respect for Acting. Her influence on the craft can be seen in actors such as Matthew Broadrick and Al Pacino.
Said Hagen:
“In 1947, I worked in a play under the direction of Harold Clurman. He opened a new world in the professional theatre for me. He took away my ‘tricks’. He imposed no line readings, no gestures, no positions on the actors. At first, I floundered badly because for many years I had become accustomed to using specific outer directions as the material from which to construct the mask for my character, the mask behind which I would hide throughout the performance. Mr. Clurman refused to accept a mask. He demanded ME in the role. My love of acting was slowly reawakened as I began to deal with a strange new technique of evolving in the character. I was not allowed to begin with, or concern myself at any time with, a preconceived form. I was assured that a form would result from the work we were doing.”
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