ADa+Epic+Theatre+-+Bertolt+Brecht



Drama Practitioners: Bertholt Brecht, Erwin Piscator

media type="youtube" key="_QXSU9anj7Y" height="344" width="425"Yet another ridiculous, but informative explanation of Epic Theatre

A BBC Documentary about Brecht and his performance style: media type="youtube" key="7LlYv6iytDY" height="344" width="425"media type="youtube" key="zsjQL6RP8dg" height="344" width="425"media type="youtube" key="yZbDX-F3WHs" height="344" width="425"

[|NSWHSCOnline Brechtian Theatre] [|Brecht's reaction to the Theatre of Realism] [|A more detailed study of Brecht] [|Brecht Theatre Blog]

media type="youtube" key="5K9zDoynn4M" height="344" width="425" Scene from stage production of 'The Resistable rise of Arturo Ui'

**BRECHT AND EPIC THEATRE** One of the most influential of modern theatre movements was known as Epic Theatre. It took shape in Germany in the 1920s and is associated with **Bertolt Brecht** (1898-1956). There are three key areas to describe his ‘ideal’ theatre: Brecht was against **realism** and **illusion**. He saw it as obscene: //"Looking around one discovers more or less motionless bodies in a curious state they seem to be contracting their muscles in a strong physical effort, or else to have relaxed them after violent strain they have their eyes open, but they don’t look, they stare…they stare at the stage as if spellbound which is an expression from the Middle Ages" // The audience should feel that if they had been living under these conditions, they could have taken some positive action to correct them. The next step for the audience:- they should see that since things have changed since then, it is possible to reform the present conditions. The audience should **never** confuse the stage with reality. Every single element of the production should contribute to the alienation. Brecht also felt that each element should comment in its own way on the action. For example, music should not merely underscore the meaning of the words. It should offer another standpoint. For example, a song about moral degradation is made satirical through a light-hearted tune. //"To see one’s mother as a man’s wife needs a V-effekt; this is provided, for example, when one acquires a stepfather. If one sees one’s teacher hounded by the bailiffs a V-Effekt occurs: one is jerked out of a relationship in which the teacher seems big into one where he seems small" // A further device was to have all the **mechanics of the theatre** visible to the audience. This could involve: Brecht called his plays **EPIC** because they resembled epic poems rather than traditional drama. The Germany of the 1920s had vivid experiences of war, revolution and economic collapse. In the arts, boxing, wrestling and racing became symbolic forms of struggle. Indeed, Brecht presented ‘In the Jungle of The Cities’ as a wrestling match.
 * HISTORIFICATION**
 * ALIENATION**
 * EPIC**
 * HISTORIFICATION** involved the use of material from other times and places. Brecht wanted to dramatise the ‘pastness’ of events as opposed to making it feel like they were happening today.
 * ALIENATION** (Verfremdungseffekt) is a large concept. Brecht spent much effort calling attention to the make-believe nature of the work through:
 * Songs
 * Narrative passages
 * Film
 * VERFREMDUNGSEFFEKT** is not simply about breaking with illusion. It is not to do with alienating in the sense of being hostile. It is about detachment and about reorientation.
 * Lighting where could be seen (clear light )
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Changing scenery in front of the audience
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Having musicians on stage
 * THE POLITICAL SCENE**

Storytelling aspects <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">From Elizabethan theatre His most well known play, in terms of music, is ‘The Threepenny Opera’, a collaboration with Kurt Weill. Although it is described as an opera, the form draws more upon cabaret. An example of this style can be seen in the film Cabaret. Follow the link to the Cabaret play examples. Arose from a strong dislike of traditional theatre, especially the pretentious German Classic stage of his era. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Brecht felt that identification with characters (from an actor and audience perspective) made thought impossible. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Epic theatre dispenses with naturalistic exposition e.g. the slow introduction of character and plot. Characters can be introduced directly by flashing their names on a screen. You could go further. You could tell the audience how the play would end and supply background information. Audiences come to be informed. Audience watch performers exhibit their skills without identification. The designer is free to supply his or her own contribution. They might provide backdrops making their own individual comment. The actor should see their role like narrating the actions of another person at a set time in the past. It is acting in quotation marks. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">‘The Street Scene’ essay by Brecht: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">//‘For practical experiments I usually picked as my example of ‘natural’ epic theatre an incident such as can be seen at any street corner: an eyewitness demonstrating to a collection of people how a traffic accident took place. The bystanders may not have observed what happened, or they may simply not agree with him, may see things a different way; the point is that the demonstrator acts the behaviour of driver or victim or both in such a way that the bystanders are able to form an opinion about the accident’// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">According to Brecht, this approach is wider and more complex than mere identification with a character. The actor must also show that the character’s behaviour is by no means the only possible course of action. There are always alternatives. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Rehearsal technique might include:
 * THEATRICAL INFLUENCES**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Short scenes
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Use of folk songs
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Sinister poetic atmosphere
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Stylised manner
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Method of directly addressing the audience
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Having a chorus, which makes comment
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Greek/Oriental theatre
 * MUSIC**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">· Singers designed to be primarily actors
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Songs are interruptions to the action
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Music is not allowed to swamp the text
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Music provides an individual comment on the action
 * THE THEORY**
 * SIMILARITIES WITH A LECTURE**
 * SIMILARITIES WITH THE CIRCUS**
 * THE DESIGNER**
 * THE ACTOR**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">· Translating the text into the 3rd person
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">· Inclusion of stage directions in the spoken text

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">[|Brecht’s Epic Theatre Conventions]
 * <span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">[|Senior Drama] **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: justify;">Lots of university and high school students around the world study Bertolt Brecht and his Epic theatre style in drama and theatre courses. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: justify;">Brecht is one of the most influential people in 20th century theatre.

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Where did “Epic”come from? ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: justify;">Many argue Brecht did not coin the term “Epic Theatre” himself. Some argue it was fellow German collaborator Erwin Piscator who actually coined the term. Others argue Brecht borrowed the term from the great “epic” poems of literature, such as Milton’s Paradise Lost. Still, others argue the term “Epic Theatre” was already in use in various avant garde theatre circles in Germany by the time Brecht claimed it as his own.

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Why “Epic”? ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: justify;">Epic implies a narrative, rather than a simple plot. It also implies a story that spans multiple time frames and locations. Many of Brecht’s own plays follow this convention and there are numerous examples that can be easily found. I always try to associate this convention with modern film examples for my senior high school students, so they can relate to it and understand it properly. Epic films with huge narratives of yesteryear include Ben Hur. Today’s examples may be Gladiator (2000) and The Lord of The Rings trilogy of films (2001, 2002, 2003). There are many others.

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">“Scenes” or “Episodes”? ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: justify;">Brecht began writing his plays with no act or scene divisions, which were later added after the work was completed. Publishers may call them “scenes”, but Brecht preferred to name them “episodes”. Once again, I use modern media examples in order for my students to understand the convention, and we then discuss the characterisitics of television “episodes” with a number of contemporary shows. These also differ, depending on the show (daily soap opera, weekly show, mini series etc). “Episode” implies a self-contained unit of action and less of a reliance on the cause and effect relationship between scenes in the theatre of realism … a style of theatre Brecht loathed.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: justify;">“** Audience” or “Spectator”? ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-align: justify;">One of Brecht’s primary goals was to emotionally distance the audience from the action on stage. We will discuss in a future segment in this series on Brecht and his Epic Theatre conventions that he achieved this via a number of alienation techniques. Meanwhile, Brecht labeled the audience “spectators” in his writings on the theatre. In the classroom, I dicusss with students when do we refer to the term “audience” and when do we use the term “spectator”? What are the differences? We always come to the conclusion that cinema and theatre viewers are an “audience”, while large venue, arena and sporting examples (often, but not always outdoors) are “spectators”. In a 100, 000 seat arena, the spectator is physically distanced from the action and feels less involed in the experience. But in the cinema, the audience can be much more involved in the event. “Audience” implies intimacy. “Spectator” implies detachment. On this level, it may simply be semantics, but coupled with Brecht’s techniques, labelling the audience member a “spectator” has much more meaning.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Brecht called his plays **EPIC** because they resembled epic poems rather than traditional drama. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> Brecht believed that theatre should be used to make a political statement and to make the audience think. Brecht called his plays Epic Theatre, a type of play that tells a story, usually historical, on a large scale, including a number of people in a series of events over a long period. Brecht used his plays to present his political views, showing types of human behaviour to show why they happened and how they could be improved. The conventions of Epic Theatre are often known as ** ‘alienation’ ** techniques. Brecht used these conventions to alienate or distance the audience from becoming involved with the characters or story. He wanted the audience to observe the action and think about the message. Typical conventions of Epic Theatre include:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">POLITICAL STATEMENT **

- remain uninvolved with the other actors, physically & emotionally - make your own movements on stage when it suits you - speak your lines as thought they were a quotation or a speech - occasionally speak stage directions out aloud - Use opposite styles of acting, such as performing a serious death scene in a comic style. - Use non-naturalistic movements and voice.
 * **Play structure** is usually a series of independent scenes (episodic structure), sometimes skipping years in time and moving from place to place
 * Each scene is there to make a particular point about human behaviour
 * **Audience** is expected to observe events in a detached way in order to make a judgement. Unlike realism, where the audience is expected to become involved with the characters and what happens to them.
 * **Set Design** is minimalistic and functional. Single pieces of furniture and/or props suggest whole locations. Scenes changed in front of audience, usually by actors. No front curtains.
 * **Costumes** are sometimes complete, but usually only a single item of costume or prop is used. Costume changes occur on stage in front of audience.
 * **Lighting** – bright, white light was used to flood the stage. No mood or special effects.
 * **Narration** – Brecht used large screens or signs within the play to introduce scenes, or give the audience information, to project images or to make comment about the action happening on stage. A Narrator, or actor talking directly to the audience, also can be used.
 * **Songs** – songs are used as another alienation effect. By breaking the mood or action of a scene and bursting into song, the actors remind the audience they are watching a play that has a message. Songs are used to comment on the action or make a particular point about one of the actors. Sometimes actors step out of character to sing the song directly to the audience.
 * **Movement** – Brecht was influenced by Asian Theatre in the way that movement was used to tell a story in a stylised, unemotional way. Chinese Theatre uses formal gestures (like in sign language or mime) and these are used to represent emotional states. (e.g. In Chinese theatre, the gesture for crying is moving a finger up and down in front of the eyes, instead of actually weeping)
 * **Voice** – actors use their voice in a variety of non-naturalistic ways, such as singing, chanting, using mechanical and strange-sounding voices, disconnected non-human sounds, range of accents. Class distinctions are an important part of the language and use of voice.
 * **Acting** – the actor’s role is not to become that character, but ton demonstrate what happened. Unlike Stanislavski and Realism the actor should
 * - perform with an awareness of being watched