Non Aristotelian Drama Essay

Bertolt Brecht and Constantin Stanislavski are regarded as two of the most influential practitioners of the twentieth century, both with strong opinions and ideas about the function of the theatre and the actors within it. Both theories are considered useful and are used throughout the world as a means to achieve a good piece of theatre. The fact that both are so well respected is probably the only obvious similarity as their work is almost of complete opposites.

The 1920s is recognized as a time of citizen imbalance, from the various industrialization, the Prohibition Era, and the fight for women’s rights. It was essentially rural versus urban as America was divided into two categories, Fundamentalists, and Modernists. Modernists, who lived mainly in cities, would strive for a future in knowledge and being technologically advanced. As for the Fundamentalists, they based themselves off old ideals, and considered any other race allied with the more “superior” race to be degrading. More often than not, each association would either approve a supremacy, or fight to discontinue it.

Explain the role of the army and its use for political purposes during this period.

This meant that the old high culture, with its idealism and élitism, would have to be replaced with a specifically modern culture. Brecht demanded ‘the radical transformation of the theater’ which would ‘correspond to the whole radical transformation of the mentality of our time’. In the 1920s, he, along with Erwin Piscator, created an ‘epic’ theatre different from ‘dramatic’ or ‘Aristotelian’ theatre. Whereas the premise for dramatic theatre was that human nature could not be changed, ‘epic’ theatre assumed that it both could change and was already

Bertolt Brecht and Constantin Stanislavski are regarded as two of the most influential practitioners of the twentieth century, both with strong opinions and ideas about the function of the theatre and the actors within it. Both theories are considered useful and are used throughout the world as a means to achieve a good piece of theatre. The fact that both are so well respected is probably the only obvious similarity as their work is almost of complete opposites.

In The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt you feel unattached and are constantly reminded that you are in fact watching a play, nothing else. Dürrenmatt constructs this play using Bertolt Brecht’s epic theatre, a twentieth-century theatrical movement that was a reaction against popular forms of theatre, Dürrenmatt uses epic theatre in his work, The Visit, because he wants his audience to analysis what is being said and done instead of what they see and hear. An intellectual audience member will make connections when watching an epic play.

In this lecture we were introduced to Bertolt Brecht, a German poet, playwright and theatre director.

“I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life- and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” Georgia O’Keeffe, also known as the mother of American Modernism, stands a magnificent example of courage and determination. She pushed aside gender roles and created brilliant paintings that exhibited a feminine touch, but somehow she also depicted a strong woman. Harper lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, written in the 1930s, displayed multiple common gender roles at the time. Lee’s novel also addresses the issue of racism, which tied into the main idea of the novel. American Modernism is an American art form that focuses on music, literature and visual arts. American Modernism has improved the social issues present in the 1930s such as gender roles and racism, by allowing for a way for people to widely express their opinion on the matter.

The ideas of Bertolt Brecht (1898-1965) changed the theatre in many ways. Brecht along with Erwin Piscator developed the style of Epic theatre style contrasting to previous accepted styles. Presentational in form, Epic theatre is a vehicle for social comment through techniques such as: alienation, historification, eclectic influences (highly Asian), constructivism in scenery, disjointed and illogical scene placement, ordinary clothing and lighting, the use of music to detach the audience from emotion, placards and signs and projected images. Didactic in nature Brecht’s works aim to challenge the

Epic theatre refers to a form of drama that attracts spectator’s mind more than his feelings. The term was developed and adopted by Bertolt Brecht in Germany in 1920’s. Epic theatre presents a narrative which turns the observer into spectator. The main aim of epic theatre is to arouse the spectator’s capacity to take action by provoking rational self reflection. “Brecht has followed the epic theatre because he realised that the traditional theatre of his time is inadequate for his purposes.” Epic theatre serves the purpose of social function. Through its narrative, Brecht presents social, political and economic problems. His main aim is to invoke the audience into analysing the play rather than getting attached with the characters or the plot. This form was empolyed by Brecht in his play Mother Courage and Her Children which was performed in 1941. The play consists of twelve scenes that tackles the thirty year war (1618-1648) between Sweden and Poland. The

What I found was that Leonardo da Vinci was constantly being challenged for his unique paintings and the choices behind his creations. He wanted people to feel his art just as much as he wanted them to see his art. Because of this, he was categorized under a “negligible” role in the history of science… He believed painting was science; this belief gave significant consequences for the history of art.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, changes in the dynamics of society caused intellectuals to question the traditions of everyday life. From religious views to the arts of literature, traditional values and forms were rejected, thus defining a line between the two time periods, which can be considered as the start of the Modern era. Also known as Modernism, the modern era used literature as an outlet for expressing the thoughts and feelings of the time. Modern texts use city life, industrialization and globalization, and ironic and satirical themes to showcase their bleak outlook on life post both world wars. The nature of these events are aspects of society

However, Brecht (1898-1956) Incorporating Piscator's concept of Epic Theatre, Brecht suggested that plays set in different historical or cultural settings would establish some distance between the experiences of the audience. and experiences of the characters in a story. He hoped that this safe distance would enable spectators to critically appraise the circumstances and attitudes in the story and encourage them to compare those in their own

“Modern painting, breaking through old conversation, has released countless suggestions which are still waiting to be used by the practical world.”(Gropius) The birth of modernism and modern art goes back to the Industrial Revolution, a period that lasted from the 18th to the 19th century, in which rapid changes in manufacturing, transportation, and technology profoundly affected the social, economic, and cultural conditions of life in Western Europe, North America, and eventually the world. Before the 19th century, artists created art pieces for wealthy people and institution places like the church where they can create art works about storytelling of religious or mythological scenes . These arts were there to instruct the viewers.However, this changed when during the 19th century many artists began to create works that were about people, places, or ideas that interested them, and of which they had direct experience. With the popularization of the idea of a subconscious mind, many artists began exploring dreams, symbolism, and personal iconography as avenues for the depiction of their subjective experiences.Challenging the notion that art must realistically depict the world, some artists experimented with the expressive use of color, non-traditional materials, and new techniques and mediums.

Modernism is just another word for 20th century. It was a movement which started in the beginning of the 20th century and carried on until about the 1960’s.