In this lecture we were introduced to Bertolt Brecht, a German poet, playwright and theatre director.
Brecht is different to Stanislavski in the sense that Stanislavski invented what he refers to as the ‘fourth wall’. The fourth wall is a divide between the audience and the actor(s) on stage that allows the actor(s) to block-out audiences in order to act realistically as though they are not “playing a character” but instead becoming and believing deep down that they are in fact the character. Brecht wanted his actors to demolish the ‘fourth wall’ in order to emphasise to the audience that they are in fact watching a performance. Stanislavski asked his actors to get physically, mentally and emotionally attached to a character however, Brecht
How Brecht achieves producing this state of consciousness is more subtle and elegant than the previous technique of having actors walk out with blatant placards to remind the audience that they are watching a play. One of the marks of Brecht’s epic theater is his alienation effect, or “a representation which allows [the audience] to recognize its subject, but at the same time makes it seem unfamiliar” (Brecht 1948, 8).
Brechts work is based on the concept that theatre is a means of political persuasion for the masses. He sees the theatre as a tool to manipulate the audience, and to influence their day-to-day living once that have thought about issues raised during the performance.
Here we can perhaps see the way in which Brecht explains the aim of techniques such as use
Brecht’s political theatre stems from his political views towards communism and the upper class society. Theatre that comments on political issues within society. Brecht began to have a dislike for the capitalist society he was brought up in and wanted more of an equal approach to the world and the people around him. With epic theatre, Brecht wanted it to be both didactic (able to teach others) and dialectic (able to create discussions and ideas). The audience at no time during an epic play can be seen to be in a trance or take what they see on stage for granted. Our performance is reflective of Brecht and his Epic and Political theatre as we address many political topics such as Marxism and the divides between classes and the corruption of the government. We have props such as protest signs and banners to communicate Brecht’s political theatre to the audience. In the first episode, Brown’s Boys, there is a scene where MPs choke and die after ignoring the recession and protesters emerge into the audience chanting that ‘politics is dead’ and ‘they don’t really care about us’ while holding banners saying, ‘politics is dead’ and ‘Gordon Clown’. This was done as it represented politics and the fact the seriousness of the situation was ignored; showing how quickly the issues with the recession spiralled out of control and became something that even the higher up in society were unable
This phenomenon was replicated at the University of Michigan’s SMTD performance of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, written by Bertolt Brecht. This play told the story of the rise of gangster Arturo Ui and the corruption of the cauliflower business in order to satirize the rise of Hitler. Despite this being a play, rather than a musical, the use of Copland’s “planes of listening” still apply. Theater-goers can still view the work with different approaches- either purely surface level, meaning-driven, or technical, like the “planes of listening Copland describes.
Stanislavsky wrote three novels that discuss his acting method; An Actor Prepares, Building a Character, and Creating a Role. These books are from the perspective of a
As the house lights went dark and the music began onstage I was already hooked by the design and sounds of the set. The DePauw University theater department put on Bertolt Brecht’s play The Good Person of Szechwan on November 17th through the 20th directed by Gigi Jennewein and performed by the DePauw University community among other surrounding communities. When we attended on the 17th I was curious as to how the director and the actors in this performance would relate a play to recent times considering the play was written in 1941. The scenery was quite interesting and fascinating, and the moving piece used for different scenes was intriguing. The costumes looked appropriate to the performance, the original music from the saxophone and drum box was in sync with the performers, and the actors and actresses delivered a performance to with very little criticism could be something amazing. That said this is an interesting play that everyone should attend, as it gives a contemporary feel for this classic play.
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
The best tip for overcoming interviewing anxiety is preparation. I learn this tip from my mother who was a supervisor for 15+ years. Preparation is one the greatest way I have use to overcome interviewing anxiety. Remembering that a certain amount of anxiety in a stressful circumstance is healthy. Sometimes a bit of anticipation and nervousness may make a person sharper and help with their performance. I always do my homework, before an interview this helps me feel more confident. The more I practice and prepare, the more confident I feel when my career aspirations are on the line in a job interview. The more confident I am makes me look forward to the interview. This confidence helps me eliminated unattractive nervous habits and feel more
Stanislavski was a great believer in formal training for the actor. His interest in deeply analysing qualities of human behaviour was meant to give the actor an awareness of such human behaviour and how easily falsehoods, or aspects of behaviour that an audience can detect, are assumed by an untrained or inexperienced actor in performance. Stanislavski once insisted that all actions that a person must enact, such as walking, talking, even sitting on stage must be broken down and re-learned. In his book, translated into English as Building a Character, describes the correct way of walking on stage. Stanislavski developed his own unique system of training where actors would research the situation created by the script, break down the text according
In this essay I will be discussing the theatrical style of Brecht and how he created his own form of theatre and I will be using his play 'Mother Courage and Her Children' to back up the innovation and techniques that Brecht used during his career. 'Mother Courage and Her Children' is set in the 30 year's war and follows Mother Courage making a living by selling supplies from her wagon to armies that they encounter. Trying to make a living for herself and her family. The focus is on the conflict that occurs between war profiteering and maintaining a family. Her children end up dying due to the struggle of trying to live like a family and trying to survive the war.
Akilas Karazisis’ and Nick Chatzopoulos’ stage directions offer an illuminating insight in the two men’s psychology. One of the facts that struck my attention is that at the beginning of the play the action is evolving at the very front part of the stage, but later on the actors start to “go deeper”, resulting finally at the back wall. It seems like the stage reflects the level of communication Nietzsche and Breuer have; every time that a barrier regarding their relationship is broken, a curtain is rising. Another interesting fact regarding the direction of the performance is the way the female characters are presented: through puppets. This is actually weird if we take into account the major impact they have on Nietzsche and Breuer, but it helps the audience to focus on the male characters, which are actually more important to the plot.
== == == == Stanislavski believed that theatre was about working together, he recognized the need to improve the theatre practice of his time and saw actors needed methods to help them act well and consistently.
The following essay will therefore discuss the impact of the 20th century on German-speaking literature, after which it will analyse the responses of Bertolt Brecht and Günter Eich to the historical and political events.
Brecht, Bertolt. “Mother Courage and Her Children.” Jacobus, Lee A., eds. The Bedford Introduction to Drama. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.