​Ruhi Kumar

Bertolt Brecht

Introduction to Bertolt Brecht:

 

-Born in 1898 in Germany

-Held strong political views 

-He believed that theatre could present society and its faults but he still believed that the audience had to power to improve society.

-His pieces usually portrayed a strong social or political message

-Non-naturalistic style of theatre

 

Epic Theatre :

 

Definition: A style of theatre which provided a social and political commentary not for mere entertainment.

 

-Epic theatre came about at a time where melodrama, realism and naturalism were popular theatre forms.

 

-He wanted the audience to challenge and question what was presented on stage

 

What is the V-Effect? 

Every actor in a brechtian performance but follow the elements of the V-effect. The V-effect is basically a set of demands on the actor. The V-Effect was incorporated to make the spectator take on an attitude of inquiry and criticism. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staging in Brechtian performances:

 

Breaking down the fourth wall (involving the audience)

House lights are often left on, or there is harsh lighting

minimalistic set (often no external set pieces)

Placards, projections, 

Exaggerated and obvious use of props

 

Acting in Brechtian Performances:

He encouraged his actors to act in a way that would NOT create empathy within the audience as he wanted the actors to examine their character from an alternative perspective. Brecht encouraged a demonstrative acting method that enabled the actors to present the characters from a number of perspectives. Acting in brechtian pieces tend to demonstrate rather than intimidate the audience the actors also swap roles to evaluate the character and their intent. 

 

 

Recap: 

-Used to convey social message or issue

-Minimalistic set and costume

-Break the rule of the fourth wall

-Theatre practitioner

-Scenes were episodic rather than logical 

-The Caucasian chalk circle is an example of a brechtian style production 

-German playwright

-Used placards, posters to create setting and atmosphere  e.g placard saying forest would transport the audience to a forest 

-Non naturalistic and didactic performance style

-Actors used gestus to demonstrate that they are playing a character

-Used songs to break suspense and prevent the audience from getting attached to the characters.

-Used alienation to prevent the audience from feeling empathy

 

Gestus

 

-Gestus is Brecht’s term that is used to represent basic human attitudes. 

-Proxemics, levels and posture is heavily used in Brecht

-Demonstrating a character physically rather than emotionally