Video transcript
@The Arts Unit Art Bites – Uta Hagen's object exercises

[music playing]

STEPHANIE MERRIMAN: Hi. My name is Stephanie, and I'm a drama teacher at Crestwood High School. Today, I will be teaching you a series of acting exercises developed by Uta Hagen which you can do by yourself at home.

If you haven't already, watch episode 10 of Jane Simmons's characterisation module. This will be helpful if you're not familiar with Stanislavski system. Now to begin we need to know who Uta Hagen was.

Uta Hagen was a renowned theatre practitioner and Broadway actor. She was a pretty big deal. She was just 18 when she landed the role of Nina in a Broadway production of Chekhov's play, 'The Seagull.'

Notably, Uta Hagen was awarded her third Tony award in 1999 for Lifetime Achievement. A few years later, she was honoured at the White House with a national medal for her work in the arts.

Like I said, a pretty big deal. She developed an acting technique which built on Stanislavski's system. This technique focused on the craft of making authentic choices on the stage.

Her object exercises were designed to be completed by yourself, as she says, under circumstances which you find yourself alone. Because it helped to develop discipline as an actor. You don't have a teacher to remind you to stay on task. And as we all know, drama students must be disciplined especially during the HSC.

In the object exercises you will recreate behaviour, which leads to the achievement of a simple objective. But before we do that, let's do an easy physical warm up.

We'll start with a spinal roll, which you may know as a rag doll stretch. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and relax your knees. They should be soft, not locked. Take a breath in and lift your arms up.

Now release, breathe out, and drop. Sway from left to right. Take your time. And don't forget to breathe.

When you're ready, slowly come up as though you were being pulled up by string. But make sure you keep your chin to your chest.

Think of your spine like stacking LEGO, go brick by brick. Finish by standing tall looking straight ahead shoulders relaxed. Feel free to pause this video and repeat this exercise. It's simple. But it's one of my personal faves.

Next we'll be focusing on our breath. Remember, when you breathe deeply, your shoulders shouldn't be rising. Don't do this. Do this. Breathe from your belly.

Now close your eyes. Breathe in for a count of three-- one, two, three. Hold for three-- one, two, three. Release for three-- one, two, three. Pause this video and repeat this count a few more times.

The basic object exercise puts no emphasis on any particular problem. It's about recreating two minutes of your life. It's about belief, authenticity. Uta Hagen warned her students not to become bad playwrights. You don't have to be exciting. This isn't a melodrama. It's realism.

What will you discover about your own behaviour? So choose an ordinary moment to recreate like, for instance, the first two minutes arriving home from school. What are the components of those two minutes-- not in crisis, but in pursuit of a simple need?

What do you have to know in order to recreate two minutes of existence? Who am I? For this exercise, you already know. It's you.

But if you were preparing for a role you would need to consider who your character is-- their age, their occupation, their personality traits, details like that. When is it-- time of year, time of day? Depending on how close you live to your school or the seasonal extracurricular activities you are committed to, this might vary.

Where am I? This can mean both your geographical location as well as the room you're standing in. Where's the first place you go when you open your front door? Do you rush to your bedroom and change out of your uniform? Perhaps, you flop down on the couch and turn on the TV instead.

Or maybe like me, you linger at the doorway to greet your pet. Consider what surrounds you when you occupy these spaces and your relationship to these inanimate objects or living things. What are the given circumstances?

Did you have a good or a bad day? Are you anxious about an upcoming assessment task? Or are you looking forward to seeing friends on the weekend? What's on your mind? You should also consider the bigger picture such as what is happening in the world right now. 2020 looks very different than 1999. I mean, for starters, I was still wearing butterfly clips in my hair.

What do I want? What's your immediate want? What about your overall objective? For example, perhaps, your immediate want is to look in the fridge, but your overall objective is to avoid doing your homework.

What's in my way? What obstacles are preventing you from achieving your overall objective? In the example I gave before, it could be a looming deadline or a parent checking in on you or the feelings of guilt that your drama teacher has instilled in you for not doing your homework on time.

Whatever the obstacles might be, you'll also need to consider the actions you will take in order to overcome them. As I mentioned previously, if you've already studied Stanislavski, you should be familiar with these questions.

Now, if you can convincingly recreate on the stage two minutes in which you exist alone at home, you will have succeeded. So use this time as an opportunity to rehearse. As a result of this exercise, you will know intuitively what you were just doing, what you were doing presently in that moment, and what you'll be doing next.

But what happens if you change or modify what you were doing before this moment? How might that influence your actions and behaviour?

For example, your returning home from school. But, perhaps, you had to walk in the rain without an umbrella. Or while on the bus, you received a text message with good news.

The possibilities are endless. Play and experiment. In each instance, you are establishing a past event which drives you into the present with a future at stake as opposed to the vague task of simply entering. While waiting for the entrance, you have responded to an imagined event which precedes it allowing your actions on stage to become more truthful.

When performing in a play, choose the entrance which best serves your character. To extend even further upon these exercises, try recreating a moment when you have found something that was lost. Your sense of urgency will depend on a few factors, such as the value of the item or the circumstances in which you lost it.

For example, perhaps, you misplaced an important document. Or you're running late but you can't locate your Opal card. If you can't recall a specific moment, ask a family member or a friend to hide something of yours.

It shouldn't be impossible to find. But it shouldn't be hidden somewhere too obvious either. Now, try to find it. Where did you look first?

How did it feel when you didn't find it immediately? Did you give up before trying again or did you make a triumphant noise when you finally discovered it? Reflect on this process. And then put the item back exactly where you found it.

Now search for it again. You can ask a family member or friend to watch you do this. Or you could film yourself completing the activity and compare. How authentic were your choices?

Hagen's technique is taught at the HB Studio in New York City. But you can learn more about it through her books, 'Respect For Acting' and 'A Challenge for the Actor' or via video footage of her classes called 'Uta Hagen's Acting Class' which can be found on popular video streaming websites.

These exercises encourage a form of self-reflection, which will allow you to discover your own idiosyncrasies and subconscious behaviour, which is dependent on both internal and external factors.

In developing your understanding of these factors, you will grow as an actor. Uta Hagen believed that a fine actor is one who forgets what's coming, because they are reacting in the moment. These exercises will help you to realise this.

Thanks for watching.