Francesca Ferrera Student, Actor, Co Director at HB Studio
We couldn’t be happier to share this episode with Francesca. Francesca’s journey started with HB when she was 12 years old. Her father Richard Ferrera was the resident architect, taking over for George Calvary, a friend of Herberts. Richard designed the speech room. A spacious room behind the office that looks over the garden. Richard being in contact with Herbert’s assistant & acting teacher to young children. Marlene suggested Francesca come & watch her class. Francesca came, was called out to get on stage in class. She was hooked. Performing in the Second Sheppards play a yearly Christmas event at the theatre.
After being in Marlene’s class, she was ready to graduate into Trudy Steibl’s class (both still teach at HB). Marlene had change of plans. Herbert needed a key student & Francesca was going to be it.
I was in a class with adult professional actors who were there in-between broadway shows. I knew how fortunate I was. Francesca took his Friday classes for the next few years. When it as time for her to go to college, Herbert was not happy with her decision, feeling that college’s took financial advantage of families. Classes at the studio during this time, were $5 a class. It wasn’t until Herbert passed, that the cost of a class increased to $7.
Francesca’s friend was going for her MFA at the actors studio at the New School. The audition was a great experience. The cost was approximately $20K. I thought I’m studying with Uta for $7 a class! I was enjoying being at my artistic home. Francesca became what Herbert called a Hagenite. She & other students would bring food for the Hagen Wagon.
Both Herbert & Uta’s classes would run 3-4 hrs. Francesca shares a time when teacher Edward Morehouse needed to get into the class studio to teach but Herbert was still teaching.
I remember the giants of theatre who were there.
Francesca dives in how she became & what it’s like being the co executive director of HB Studio.
Uta will make you a great technician Herbert will make you a great artist. Uta was matter of fact. Everything Uta was giving you would get you to those magical moments where you were flying. Herbert was about telling stories in metaphors & you got it.
To be a good acting teacher, you have to be a good actor. Herbert wanted a melting pot of a safe artistic home. Herbert Berghof
These are her words.
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To know more about Uta & Herbert, go to UtaHagen.com
HB was a stepping stone. I came to NY from LA just to go to HB.
Growing up Tim was in theatre at an early age. Living in a neighborhood where a lot of people were in the bissness. They would produce 1 act plays. Hearing such good things about HB I told my mom, we have to go to NY. I found an a sublet. It was the apt of Richard Valentine who was touring in Camelot with Richard Burton.
I started my courses HB starting with Edward Morehouse. Traveling through the class rooms of teachers, I got to meet Murriel who would introduce me to Uta & Herbert. I worked as a receptionist from 1981-84.
Later Tim got involved working at HB Playwrights Foundation doing tech work building sets with the late. Robert Fleri for shows The Apollo of Bellac, The Silver Fox with Uta & Kelly Wolf.
Tim shares working with Bob Fleri building sets. I was 20, I worked in the office & would work all hours of the night building with Bob. Tims favorite shows was The Apollo of Bellac & The Silver Fox.
Alexander Bernstein studied at HB. His father, Leonard Bernstein would come daily to the rehearsals. I introduced myself & shared with him how much I enjoyed working with Alex. “Alex was one of my favorite compositions.”
The willingness to allow yourself to be exposed to work ethics was instilled in me at a very young age, by Uta, Herbert & my parents.
Tim & I dive into the Spring cleanups. Herbert would be cutting cold cuts, listening to the radio, singing along, while one of their dogs, Suzzie running around in 122. Having lunch in the garden. It was so special.
Uta was always very supportive of me.
Never in my life have I ever seen anyone work as hard behind the scenes as Uta. It was a whole other show. You know what the house looked like in her head just by watching her work.
They were there to help you every single step of the way.
Kelly shares her story of what it was like coming to New York as a dancer & being introduced by her friend to HB Studio.
Studying with Herbert in the early 80’s she discovered the feeling of “knowing what you’re meant to do.”
His ability to see into the core of a person & what they needed, changed my life.
He like Uta held you to a standard that he was never willing to do himself.
“You never stop working. You keep going deeper & deeper.” We’re not focusing on the fame.
Terrified she auditioned with Craig Bacon for Uta’s class. While studying with Uta, she discovered they both taught the same thing using different tools.
One of the brilliant things about Uta, watching how devoted she was to her craft. Being completely absorbed in her character was relatable.
Kelly talks about being what it was like being performing with Uta & Lyla Robins in a play written by Donna DeMatteo, “The Silver Fox.” Kelly’s character was the granddaughter of Uta. She mentored me with her actions & how she conducted herself.
It’s worth mentioning that HB studio was for my parents what the Vatican is for a catholic.
It was there absolute & complete spiritual center. It was everything that they cared about & loved was in those walls.
From when I was born until my 30’s, it was a place that I was around, seeing the creative process between my parents & your grandparents collaborating on projects they continuously worked on.
It was this that gave you the opportunity to unleash your creative process. HB Studio taught me how to conduct myself.
Spending a lot of time at HB, watching the creative process & projects with your grandparents & my parents. I saw it as a Mecca for the support of creativity. I come into my life being predominately a singer, singer writer, recording artist & producer occasionally working on film.
That place had a huge impact on what it meant to be a creative person & how to stay a creative person in what seems like hopeless unimaginative world. Uta & Herbert were very inviting to whatever was going on. I was there all the time, though I never took a class.
I was very young when Tomorrow started, a short story written be William Faulkner adapted by Horton Foote into a full length play directed by Herbert. My mom, & Robert DuVall were cast as the main two characters. The play did well at the Studio. This lead into discussions about it becoming a film.
Herbert ended up not moving into the film direction. He felt that he was much more a theatre director than a film director. This would overtime result in tension between them that would eventually smooth out getting to the other end.
Herbert’s last peace was a two person play with Paul called December.
Jerry Stiller & Ann Mira, were besties with my parents. It was a time when Jerry & Ann were focusing on Drama, not comedy. Though this, Ben & I became good friends.
Herbert wanted to introduce Olga to Paul. Before introducing them, Olga thought Herbert was introducing her to Paul Robeson! Instead it was Paul Roebling!
Soon after that, they were working together. One of the projects they did was with Westing house theatre were they performed the balcony scene of Romero & Juliet.
We went back in time to a special moment when Kris played guitar in the theatre at 124 Bank St for the memorial of his mother Olga. Kris shares the time he got to have Herbert’s adult students watch a horror film he & his father made. Kris heard what he sounded like coughing from Herbert, wondering if he was okay. In actuality, Herbert was bawling. What surprised Kris was how invested Herbert was. How sincere his response was. It was shocking & a revelation. It was life changing. I cannot forgot it to this day.
For the holidays or birthdays they always gave me things that assumed that I wasn’t a little kid or incapable of addressing mature content. They gave me Faust, saying you’re going to like that. Because they trusted that this was something I could handle, I took it very seriously.
I could tell right away that seeing how your grandmother & Herbert worked were insanely brilliant.
I wasn’t a student but I was. There was a sense of inclusivity, caring about their well being.
Traveling with three generations, Kris’s kids studied at the studio. It gives me a sense of the consistency if your family has the creative bug to not let it die.
It’s a love affair with that space.
Marc Dourso acting coach founder of Act True based in Miami. I was an art student at the University of Tampa. My sister, a triple threat talent heard about an audition for Burt Reynolds institute of Theatre training. My sister suggested I audition. I worked on a monologue from the play “Lou Garret did not die of Cancer.” I auditioned wearing a hand tied bow tie. On the panel was Charles Nelson Riley. With his pipe, he asked “who taught you to tie that tie? It should look like a flower.” It was shortly after I was chosen (along with my sister) as apprentices at the Burnt Reynolds Program. Charles was a master teacher for the full year at program. Charles would have master classes at his house on the beach. Upon occasion his friends would stop by. We would all have dinner, doing mock auditions for Jerry Herman.
After doing some regional theatre with Moon for the Misbegotten. I landed in Conn. I reached out to Charles, asking should I audition for Ms. Hagen’s class? “Sure. I’ll make a call.” I auditioned doing a scene from Half full of Rain. Not remembering anything from the audition, I got into her class. I was already learning the Hagen technique at the Burnt Reynolds Institute. That’s the way Charles worked, the behavior, the WHY, the action.
I get into her class. Everyone knew the reputation, of Uta Hagen. She was so active, physical, So connected to the students. When she looked at you, you paid attention!
I started studying with Ms. Hagen 1986/7. Here’s a story of being in Ms. Hagens Class. I was in a scene & Uta came to switch places with my scene partner. I was acting with Uta Hagen! I was shaking, I was working with the master teacher! All of that was gone because she is so connected.
I decided I needed to do something in the industry so I wasn’t just starving. I met a stage manager who introduced me to James A Doolittle. He looked at my resume & seeing her name, Uta Hagen. I confirmed that yes I studied with Ms. Hagen. I got to work with Mr. Doolittle for 4-5 years.
While looking at the trades, I saw that Charles Nelson Riley was directing Uta Hagen in an off Broadway play After All written by Vincent Canby. I called Charles. I have to be your assistant director. Charles wanted to know more.
I got an apt in Hells Kitchen. I would walk to HB studio. Rehearsals started at 10, went til 4 or 5. Ms. Hagen was still still teaching & running the school. She came to rehearsal stone cold solid off book. She knew her lines but carried her script. It was marvelous to watch her work, playing three different types of woman.
You go from moment to moment. There is no next thing. That is Ms. Hagen’s exercise.
As soon as I get a script, I would clean my apt. Ms. Hagen was phyiscalcizing the lines.
Ms. Hagen’s technique is the basis of my work. What is your action? Where are you?… Ms. Hagen used to say, “Give an actor 1 note. One thing to work on.”
“Are you using the technique in the art?
These are his memories.
You might know her from Edward Albee’s play Lolita, Steal Magnolia’s or one of the iconic 80’s films 16 Candles, just to name a few.
Blanche a student of Uta Hagen’s in the 70’s. The first thing was auditioning for her class. I choose Saint Joan, coming in with a broom stick. Uta thought my creativity was impressive but suggested I simplify her props. So I did a second audition. Uta had a great way of criticizing you without knocking you down.
What was it like auditioning doing Saint Joan? I was young & all over the place. You have a few auditions that you always remember. I was either going to audition with a Winters Tail, a role that was way to old for me or Saint Joan. With choosing Saint Joan, Uta saw a spark that worth fanning that flame. I studied on & off for 10 years.
Blanche’s father also taught the Studio. I would assist him on & off for many years.
When I first started with Uta, I wasn’t working. I would bring in scenes. In a year or two, I started booking work. I was no longer a full time student but it was always important to keep learning. You have to keep your instrument tuned up as I tell my students.
The doors of HB were open & inspiring while I was there.
I remember dragging suitcases full of props. It was a great place to hang out.
Blanche shares some of her favorite memories. The lights go out, waiting for a scene, hearing her critique.
We talked about the “Hagen Wagen.” Something that came much later to Uta’s class.
Blanche is teacher at the New York Film Academy. I teach acting for film which I’ve been teaching for 15 years. I have adapted a lot of exercises amazingly well. I always give Uta credit. I’ll take the 3 entrances coming to the past, into a present, stake in the future. I still use a lot of exercises.
When I work with actors I always think back to Uta & how she was to bring out the performances that she did.
Blanche share what she misses the most about Uta. When I’m feeling less enthused. I never felt that Uta wasn’t there 100%. She was ferocious in her attention. That kind of energy, passion & care. It’s very inspiring. I remember how focused she was. Uta set a standard. It takes energy & ferocious to survive this business.
Listen to her story.
Having a reoccurring dream of lights and a blue curtain. It was when I auditioned for Uta, that the dream came to life.
I was accepted into her class at age 17. Because I was so young, it was all intuitive. Shifting into learning from her on how to bring things down & do it 8 times a week. That’s where the hard work began.
Would the American way of acting work with Shakespeare? Any way of working will lead you there.
Just before our interview, Victor’s friend asked him. What was the biggest thing you walked away with? It was the work ethic. For 3 mins of life on stage is a minimum of 2 hours of rehearsal. Learning the score was learning the text, like a musician.
Uta pushed for discovery instead of anything written. It’s the only way to get to the great stuff until something breaks open.
At the end of the class, Uta would ask her students, how did you feel? She later changed it to, what can you tell me?
I am so lucky. She was my first acting teacher. She gave me the foundation. Once you have a foundation, it’s so much easier to work with people.
The first time I studied with Uta for a few years, it didn’t end well. I was in my early 20”s. I hit a wall. Uta was REALLY REALLY hard on me. I wouldn’t see Uta for a few years.
In my 30’s, I wanted to go back to study with Uta. After writing Uta a letter, I received a phone call, please come back to class. I did a scene, chosen by Uta. I did the scene with a “thank you very much.” As I walked back to my seat, Uta turned with cigarette in hand & said, “you know you’re doing serious work now.”
HB Studio is your (the students) school, do the work. Bring food for the Hagen Wagon, bring your work. Do the work. Respect it.
Shortly after that, I would often be a guest in at her Montauk home. I saw a very different side of Uta.
What do you miss the most? At a very early age, I was lucky enough to have Uta see me & say you are a part of my tribe.
Victor reflects back to a conversation he had with Uta, “Do you know why I was so hard on you? I thought you knew what you were doing & you were fucking around.” That would be the closest I would get to an apology from Uta.
Today I was up at 4 am. It was because of her. She would be up at 5, with her legal pad.
She prepared me for how difficult & horrible the business is. Get to the point where you’re given the opportunity to do what you love.
These are his memories.
Summer fruit. Words from Uta’s book love for cooking. If you’d like to know how her journey with food started you can read it in her memoir, Sources.
When I think of Uta I think of the school. In the 90’s I was looking for an acting school. Feeling a little lost, a good friend suggested she study at HB. “They have a different approach to learning the craft.” The style was more European. It was exactly the type of training I was looking for.
“It was there at HB I became an artist, not just an actor.”
Katherine Sergava, small but mighty. Intense, an artist, a former dancer herself. I wrote her poems, I became her key student. I just loved her so.
I wanted to get an idea of who I was & what I was to become. I knew the stage was for me. Everything had to have a purpose. Remembering what it was like walking to class with all my props that I took from home only to learn that behind the curtain in class were a ton of props.
I remember going to Jeffrey Owens Shakespeare class. Being so drawn, of the way Jeffrey would command the language.
By the time you got to Uta’s class, you realized why she let us do the classics was because we had the opportunity to watch characters change.
I learned in Uta’s class how cognizant she was of objects. It’s about the preparation. You’re creating your own story. You HAD to rehearse. Do the work. Leave it there. I loved working with Uta. It was high intensity, it was pressure. She wanted to pull the best out in us.
Maria shares a critique after her scene in Uta’s class. It didn’t matter, opening or closing night, you kept the energy of the play. I miss being able to talk with her.
Setting that foundation, set the life that I lead. It was all about truth & being real.
Today’s show we have actor Laila Robins. She talks about meeting Uta & Hebert for the first time in there apt in NYC.
They changed the trajectory of my career. I got a lot of validation because of working with Uta & Herbert. “Working with them, is like studying with them.”
I felt very drawn to Uta. She had immigrant parents, I had immigrant parents. I went to school in Wisconsin. She was from Wisconsin. I could see my future in her.
There was a person that I recognized in her.
Laila dives into the time they were performing at the Drew Theatre in the Hamptons Laila your doing the lines the same every time. If we listen, we react.
One time I called Uta, from the Guthrie Theatre, in Minneapolis. I was playing Hedda Gabler & I was struggling. Uta was always encouraging. She gave you something to strive for. She was my artist mother.
She really taught us how to keep it alive. Listen to the fine details that Uta shared with Laila on acting.
Karen creator of DVD Uta Hagen acting class with the late Penny DuPont.
Karen shares what it was like studying with Uta in the late 60’s while Uta was performing in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf 8 shows a week.
Karen talks about the rehearsal process in Uta’s class that is rarely practiced. We would rehearsal at least 10 times before presenting in class.
Karen tells us how the making of the DVD Uta Hagen’s acting class came about. If you want to learn about acting “watch how you live your life.”
Karen shares stories of being in Montauk to dining with her in California.
She tells about the play Six Dance Lessons a play staring Uta & David Hyde Pierce. It was the last play Uta would perform before her stroke. Karen talks about the rehearsals & how it evolved into a loving friendship. “David would send her flowers every Wednesday.”
She talks about smoking, the Hagen Wagen & what was to be expected in class.
“Watch how you live your life.”
In this episode, we talk about Uta's technique now being taught in China at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and Uta's daughter Letty shares her thoughts with students studying there.
In this episode, Letty talks about being on the back porch in Montauk at Uta’s to going boarding school with Orsen Wells daughter & so much more.
Alexander Scourby I’ve known him since I was little. He was in Othello with my mother & and father (Jose Ferrer) playing Brabantio, Desdemona’s father.
At camp Lexi, (Alex & Lori March’s daughter) & I became good friends. Our parents would often come to visit us on parents day & we would have picnic lunches.
“They were family.” Later Alex would be in
Peggy Webster version of Saint Joan with Uta.
While mom was in Chicago doing Street Car named Desire, I attended The Todd School for Boys with Chrissy Wells, Orsen Wells daughter.
This upbringing was normal for Letty. Often times being surrounded by well known names in the theatre.