Bertolt Brecht
Historical Content
- Scenery becomes realistic and naturalistic
- Theatre is plot based
He was a pacifist and communist
Believed that he could present society and its faults and suggest that its within the audience’s power to alter it (Epic Theatre)
Epic Theatre
Acting w/ Brecht
- Attitude is expressed through words
Verfremdung Effect (V Effect)
Brechtian Devices
Staging
He used Action vs. Conversation. Made performance even harsher, he make actors isolate there movements from the conversation. (Ex. Talking about the death of someone’s mother while dancing an Irish jig)
Historical Content
- 1800’s - Realism is happening at this time (Stanislavsky)
- Scenery becomes realistic and naturalistic
- Theatre is plot based
- 1914 - WWI starts
He was a pacifist and communist
Believed that he could present society and its faults and suggest that its within the audience’s power to alter it (Epic Theatre)
Epic Theatre
- Provides social and political commentary
- Wrote play to tech rather than for entertainment
- Didn't care about the linear story but rather, what caused it, what effect it had and how it could have changed
- Wanted to expose the actual issues and made sure to distance the audience from the characters (Mother courage and her children)
- Was against the popular realistic style of Stanislavsky
Acting w/ Brecht
- Dealt with types of people rather than complex characters
- Asked actors to demonstrate their character instead of becoming them
- Gestus- An acting technique developed by the German theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht. It carries the sense of a combination of physical gestures and "gist" or attitude.
- Attitude is expressed through words
Verfremdung Effect (V Effect)
- Alienation Effect
- Wanted audience to remember that they were watching a play
Brechtian Devices
- Narration
- Direct adress to o audience
- Placards and signe
- Projection
- Spoiling dramatic tension
- Disjoined times (Flashback & Flashforward)
- Fragmented scenery, costumes & props
- Songs used as parables
- Demonstrative acting
- Open, white lighting
- Exposed lights or band
- Costume changes in full view
- Multiple charachters/ roles
- Exposed theatre structure
- Acting at a distance
- Social or political message
Staging
- Breaking down fourth wall
- House lights left on to create harsh lighting
- Set design very simple
- Placards, subtitles, projections
- Sound effects
- Exaggerated and obvious use of props
He used Action vs. Conversation. Made performance even harsher, he make actors isolate there movements from the conversation. (Ex. Talking about the death of someone’s mother while dancing an Irish jig)