Before she developed her widely used method, Uta Hagen (1919–2004) was a successful actor. She made her Broadway debut at the age of 18 as Nina in Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull—a performance the New York Times described as “grace and aspiration incarnate.” More roles followed; then, in 1948, Hagen began teaching at the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York City. She went on to become Berghof’s artistic partner (and, eventually, his wife).
During her time at the studio, Hagen developed her own performance theory, which is grounded in Konstantin Stanislavsky’s method but places particular emphasis on authenticity. Hollywood legends such as Whoopi Goldberg, Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, and Liza Minnelli all trained under her.
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Hagen’s approach encourages actors to dig deep into both their character’s circumstances and their own inner lives to build believable, emotive performances. Hagen introduced nine questions for actors to ask themselves in order to find the truth of a role, which she trimmed down to six steps, accompanied by a selection of object exercises.
Introduced in Hagen’s 1973 book Respect for Acting, the nine questions prompt actors to explore a character’s background in order to develop a fully formed understanding of the role. Working through these steps will build a solid foundation for your performance.
1. Who am I?
Consider your character’s age, physical traits, education, beliefs, and background.
2. What time is it?
What season, year, day, and hour does the scene take place in? What is the significance of that context?
3. Where am I?
Analyse the location of the scene: the country, city or town, neighbourhood, building, and room you’re in. How does this affect your character?
4. What surrounds me?
Observe the immediate environment. Consider weather, landscape, and the time of day, as well as objects, people, sounds, and other elements that are present in the space.
5. What are the given circumstances?
What’s happened in your character’s past, what’s happening in the present, and what will happen in the future?
6. What are my relationships?
This question invites you to consider your character’s connections not only to other people, but also to objects and events. This will influence their behavior and responses.
7. What do I want?
Identify the character’s objectives and desires, both in the moment and overall. Knowing what they’re striving for is crucial to shaping their actions.
8. What is in my way?
Recognise the obstacles and conflicts that stand between your character and their goal.
9. What do I do to get what I want?
Finally, decide on the specific strategy and actions your character will take to achieve their aims.
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In 1991, Hagen published a second book, A Challenge for the Actor, in which she condensed the nine questions down to six steps. This simplified process is designed to give actors a more streamlined path to character development.
- Who am I?
- What are the circumstances?
- What are my relationships?
- What do I want?
- What is my obstacle?
- What do I do to get what I want?
These techniques help actors explore and inhabit their character, and can be done with or without referring to the nine questions or six steps.
The basic object exercise
This helps actors connect to the world around their character and encourages them to react naturally to their physical environment. Choose a simple everyday task, such as making breakfast or getting dressed. Perform it first as yourself, then as your character. This will bring greater awareness to the “doing” and help you establish a physicality for the role that’s distinct from your own.
The fourth wall exercise
This technique invites you to create an imaginary barrier between yourself and the audience. Imagine a clear, physical wall that separates you from the world beyond the stage. Use your imagination to fill this space with specific objects or images that have meaning for your character, such as a clock or painting, then consider your emotional relationship to it. This practice will help you connect your performance both to the actual physical space around you and the imaginary world the story takes place in.
Substitution
Substitution is Hagen’s version of Stanislavsky’s affective memory technique, which asks actors to blend their personal experiences with their character’s circumstances to elicit more genuine emotions. For example, if your character was abandoned as a child, consider bringing any abandonment issues you might have to the role.
The main difference between affective memory and substitution is that the former essentially asks the actor to dig into their own emotive past. Substitution, on the other hand, invites you to connect to the character’s situation with your own lived experience; any sad memory could serve as a bridge to your character’s sadness.
Three entrances
As you walk onstage, ask yourself: What did I just do? What am I going to do? What is the first thing I want to do? This exercise encourages you to consider your character’s intentions, which will inform your actions in the scene.
Endowment
In this activity, actors imbue an object with a particular quality—often a dangerous one—and consider their feelings in relation to it. For example, you could imagine that an empty cup is filled with boiling water, or even poison. This will intensify your emotional investment and deepen your relationship to other objects on set.
These exercises help bridge the gap between the inner life of a character and the physical actions the actor performs onstage, connecting exterior physicality with interior emotion.
Here are a few practical suggestions to get you started:
Study the source material.
Read Respect for Acting and A Challenge for the Actor to give yourself a framework for bringing her thoughts and theories into your work.
Practise object exercises.
Set aside time in your daily routine to work on Hagen’s exercises. This will help you build the habit of reacting truthfully to your surroundings—a key component of the technique.
Apply the six steps.
When preparing for a role, use the steps to peel away the layers of your character. Write down your thoughts about each so you can refer back to them as you rehearse.
Take workshops or classes.
Look for courses in your area that focus on Hagen’s technique. Working with experienced instructors and fellow actors can provide valuable feedback and reinforce your understanding of her method. The HB Studio still offers classes in New York. If you’re based in the U.K., you can sign up for Hagen-focused courses at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts or the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. You can also study virtually; Acting Out Drama school offers an online class called Mastering Uta Hagen.