Paul Pryce Named Director Of The Hagen Summer Intensive

HB Studio, one of New York's legendary institutions for theater training and practice, is pleased to announce the appointment of actor, writer, and producer Paul Pryce as Director of The Hagen Summer Intensive, a 6-week summer conservatory for actors.

The Hagen Summer Intensive, best described as an immersive summer "boot camp" for actors, is a program of HB Studio's Uta Hagen Institute, which carries forward the teaching legacy of HB master teacher and co-founder Uta Hagen.

"Uta Hagen's insistence on specificity and rigor for the work has become part of my own creative practice and I look forward to working with our talented faculty to impart these ideals and the tenets of the craft of acting with the incoming cohort of this year's summer intensive," Pryce says of the program.

As a graduate of the Yale School of Drama with an MFA in acting and a former student of HB Studio, Paul is well-versed in the studio's multifaceted curriculum.

"As I think back, my very first professional acting experience was at HB Studio and the acting principles that I acquired [t]here as a full-time international student have been the bedrock of my own artistic practice not only as an actor, but as a multi-hyphenate artist," Pryce says of the program. "Throughout my training and professional career, it has been the ethos of HB Studio-one where the actor must work fully, deeply and be in service of the character's objectives under the given circumstances of the play or screenplay-that has been my guiding light in a competitive and rapidly changing industry."

Pryce has applied this mentality throughout his work, both on and off the stage, in front of the camera as well as in the front of a classroom. He garnered several years of teaching experience having taught at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Music & Theatre Department, Amherst College, and New York Film Academy.

Mr. Pryce joined the HB faculty in 2015, teaching weekly classes in Acting Technique and Audition Prep, as well as a special course on Acting in English for artists working in English as a second language. In his new role as director of the Hagen Summer Intensive program, he will lead a faculty of seasoned master teachers that includes Theresa McElwee (Voice/Speech), Ilse Pfeifer (Movement), Martha Bernard (Alexander Technique), Arthur French, and Rochelle Oliver (Acting).

"Paul Pryce is an extraordinary actor and a wonderful teacher," says Board Director, Marie-Louise Stegall of Pryce's experience. "In performance, he exhibits a vibrant power and magnetism. In the studio, his emotional intelligence makes him a generous, tireless, and insightful mentor. We are excited to have Paul take on the leadership of the Hagen Intensive."

In addition to his teaching credentials, Mr. Pryce has received several awards including the Eldon Elders Fellowship (2012), the Oliver Thorndike Award for Acting (2013) and Caribbean Life Newspaper's 40 Under 40 Award (2014). He is also the founder and co-artistic director of Scarlett Project, a non-profit performing arts and arts education company dedicated to the production and creation of West Indian art and theatre.

Pryce's acting highlights include a recurring role on the Netflix original series MARVEL's JESSICA JONES and UNFORGETTABLE on A+E. Onstage, he has appeared in HAMLET with Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti at the Yale Repertory Theatre. Other notable productions have been PECONG, featuring Tony Award winner Lillias White at the National Black Theatre of Harlem and PRINCE OF TYRE and JULIUS CAESAR at the Elm Shakespeare company.

Uta Hagen was one of the foremost acting teachers of the 20th century. A celebrated actress in her own right, and author of the seminal texts Respect for Acting and A Challenge for the Actor, she trained many of the outstanding actors of the American stage and screen. The Uta Hagen Institute at HB Studio offers full-time immersion in the practical approach to acting craft that characterized Hagen's legendary master classes and classic acting texts. Its key programs are highly structured, integrated courses for actors with serious professional and artistic intent.

The Hagen Summer Intensive is a rigorous, 6-week workshop that probes the practical applications of Uta Hagen's teaching approach. Through acting technique, scene study, script analysis, and technical exercises, Hagen's "Six Steps" become an integral part of the actor's craft. As actors discover the tools and resources to locate themselves in any role, their confidence increases and acting becomes joyful. Applications are currently being accepted for the 2018 Summer Intensive.

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HB Studio is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that supports vigorous, lifelong practice in the theatre arts based on a solid foundation of practical training. The Studio was conceived as a place where artists at all stages of their careers could continue to work and train between engagements, supported and challenged by their more experienced colleagues, in a space free from pressures related to commercial success. HB is open to any person with a serious interest in the theater and its related disciplines. Its students, faculty, and alumni form a vibrant community of actors, playwrights, and directors.

HB Studio alumni include some of the most notable actors of American theater and film including Christopher Abbott, F. Murray Abraham, Debbie Allen, Carroll Baker, Susan Batson, Matthew Broderick, Tisa Chang, Stockard Channing, Billy Crystal, Robert DeNiro, Faye Dunaway, Katie Finneran, Lee Grant, Whoopi Goldberg, Hal Holbrook, Christine Lahti, Jessica Lange, Linda Lavin, John Leguizamo, Christine Lahti, Jack Lemmon, Romulus Linney, Kenneth Lonergan, Anne Meara, Bette Midler, Liza Minelli, Leonardo Nam, Alfredo Narciso, Dael Orlandersmith, Juan Pablo de Pace, Al Pacino, Sarah Jessica Parker, Amanda Peet, Andre Royo, Mercedes Ruehl, Molly Shannon, Barbra Streisand, and Jerry Stiller.