Bertolt Brecht and Epic Theatre

 Front Page
 What is Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht was born in Augsburg, Germany, in
h2g2? 1898, the same year that Konstantin Stanislavski established the
 Who's Moscow Art Theatre. He was the son of a Protestant mother and a
Online Catholic father who was director of a paper company. At the age of 12
 Write an he had his first heart attack, but recovered to go on to have poems
published in 1914 - the start of his writing career. Three years later,
Entry
he enrolled in the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich as a medical
 Browse student; he took a hiatus to work as a medical orderly in his military
 Announce service and then finally abandoned his studies in 1921. During the 1918
ments Bavarian revolution he wrote his first play, Baal, which was produced
 Feedback in 1923, and in 1919 he became connected with Communism as a
 h2g2 Help member of the Independent Social Democratic party where he
developed his anti-bourgeois attitude that had its genesis in the horror
 RSS Feeds of the Great War.

Having already fathered an illegitimate son at the age of 19, he went

on to marry an actress in 1922, although he didn't see her after she
Contact Us moved into her parents' house during her pregnancy with their
daughter. Brecht was also thought to have had at least three
mistresses at any given time. This may be because his sex life started
Like this page? young when, as a child, the family's second servant used to hide
Send it to a friend! objects in her undergarments for Bertolt and his brother to find. By
  the age of 16, he would frequent the local brothel to consciously
broaden his experiences and soon he would experiment with
homosexuality. After some success in the theatre he divorced his first
wife to marry Helene Weigel, who had his second child in 1930. She
was tolerant of his constant affairs; in fact, she helped prevent other
men sleeping with his mistresses so as not to upset him.

Life In The Theatre

His first play to be performed was Drums in the Night in 1922, for
which he won a prize for young dramatists. After this play and
another, Baal, he became consultant at a Berlin theatre, where he
began a reworking of John Gay's 18th Century operetta The Beggar's
Opera, that satirised Italian opera, contemporary fashion trends and
the politics of the 18th-Century court. Brecht combined forces with
composer Kurt Weill for his 1929 version, The Threepenny Opera,
which moved the subject towards attacking bourgeois respectability.
Rehearsals were disastrous, but audiences loved, among other things,
the opening ballad, the 'Moritat'1. Two years later, he wrote another
opera with Kurt Weill, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
while he began to study the theories of Karl Marx and became largely
Communist. It was also around this point that Brecht began developing
his own conceptual ideology of drama, known as the 'epic theatre'.

Epic Theatre
Violently opposed to the spectacular bourgeois theatre of the day,
Brecht sought to inject commitment into his work and provide the
audience with something that would provoke them mentally rather
than evoke mere emotions. The techniques used were far removed
from the social realism and naturalistic styles of Stanislavski. As
naturalistic theatre prohibited the playwright to speak through the
words of characters, Brecht had to create his own style that allowed
him to talk directly to the audience, as in epic poems such as Homer's
Odyssey, and make sure his work was not forgotten as soon as the
curtain came down.

As a Marxist, Brecht believed that the proletariat 2 should take control

of their lives and that his plays should help people become rational
and unafraid while making judgements about the oppressive capitalist
society they lived in. He wanted people to challenge the status quo of
society and to challenge tradition; ironically, his techniques have now
become clichés of the modern theatre that he would probably have to
dismiss if he were alive today. Brecht rejected traditional tragedy, as
discussed by Aristotle and exemplified by Shakespeare, where a
person's downfall is a result of their own flaws but cannot be helped;
here, the audience reacts with emotion; they pity the hero's fall and
become grateful that their fate is not as bad. Brecht wanted to
prevent the idea that man did not have a capacity to change their own
fate and that society could not be changed. For Brecht then, the focus
of theatre was not on plot but on narrative, why a person achieves
what they do, rather than if they will. The emphasis is on reason, not
emotion, and the audience is made to face a social ill that can be
changed, rather than be shown an inexorable part of life. Brecht
achieved this mental evocation via his alienation effect.

Alienation
Sometimes known as the V-effect, coming from the German for
distancing effect, verfremdungseffect3, Brecht used various
techniques to make sure that thought took priority over emotions in
his audience; he had to make sure they knew they were there to
engage and react to the play, rather than to merely enjoy,
emotionally, what was in front of them.

Stage Design

The set and props were only on stage if they were necessary for telling
the story; if something was not used or spoken about then it was not
needed and could therefore be dispensed with. The stage would
therefore be almost bare and empty, and any set changes would be
made in full view of the audience. Props themselves were often
symbolic representations rather than real objects.

Lighting

The lights were to be in full view of the audience, as were their

operators, to ensure actors were seen in the same world as the
audience. Light would indicate passage of time or change of scenes
rather than create mood or atmosphere.

Music

Rather than accompanying the action on stage, music was meant to

comment on or conflict with the action on stage. He modelled it on
working class favourite, music hall.

Structure

Ideally each element of the play should operate independently on its

own; every scene must tell its own story and carry its own message.
Though this is hard to achieve, it is exemplified by Tennessee Williams'
A Streetcar Named Desire in which all of the eleven scenes have a
definite beginning and end, but all thread through into a main
narrative.

Suspense

This was to be avoided in epic theatre and so dramatic irony4 was

commonplace. Many scenes were introduced with a projected title or
a brief song which would synopsise the coming action. Like myths and
legends, some of which Brecht turned into plays, the story is already
known but it can be enjoyable to hear it again because of the teaching
message inherent in it. If the ending is already known the audience
can focus on how and why something happens, rather than whether or
not it will come to pass.

Storytelling Actor

Rather than live or 'be' the character, an actor must show and portray
them - become a representation of that person. Brecht, in rehearsals,
advised actors to speak in the third person, the past tense and even
say their stage directions in order to help this. Another way to achieve
this is to show the actors changing costume and becoming different
characters in full view of the audience; the play is cemented as not
being real and the focus can move back to the message. This
particular technique has had a great influence on theatre and
continues to be used regularly.

Later Life
In the 1930s, the German government began censoring plays and
Brecht's performances were sometimes interrupted or forbidden
entirely. He became an expatriate in Zurich, then Denmark in 1933
until the outbreak of war in 1939, when he moved to Finland and then
once more to the US in 1941; his third child was born illegitimately in
1945 after a short-lived affair. During his exile, he wrote the majority
of his plays, essays and poems but his interest in social revolution and
equal rights gained him a bad reputation and he left in 1947 after
being summoned by the House Un-American Activities Committee
during the McCarthy Communist scare. After a year in Zurich, he
returned to Berlin, where he was reunited with his wife, Helene, and
established his own theatre company. After receiving praise from both
sides of the Iron Curtain, Brecht died in 1956.

1
Later made famous as swing song 'Mack The Knife'.
2
Working class.
3
Literally, 'to make strange'.
4
Where the audience knows something the characters do not.
Konstantin Stanislavski and Method Acting

 Front Page
 Who's Konstantin Sergeyevich Alekseyev was born the son of a wealthy
Online Moscow manufacturer in 1863 and is regarded as the founder of
 Write an realism. He first appeared on stage at the age of seven and later
Entry changed his acting name to Konstantin Stanislavski 1 to preserve the
 Browse reputation of his family, though they were not ashamed of his work.
Indeed, his father often supported him and allowed his son to perform
 Announce
to friends and relations at their family and country home. At the age
ments of 25, he established the Moscow Art Theatre (MAT) which became
 Feedback famous for realistic performances of plays by famous Russian
 h2g2 Help playwrights Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorki. In fact, Chekhov became
 RSS Feeds famous because of Stanislavski's direction of The Seagull in 1898.
Stanislavski's interpretation of Chekhov's piece was almost unheard of
at the time, but drew audiences deeply into the mythical universe
created on stage. He turned simple stage directions into a barrage of
subtle details, varied emotions, long pauses and gloomy stares.
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Contemporary Theatre
Like this page?
Send it to a friend! At the beginning of the 19th Century, Russian theatre was heavily
  censored and only Moscow and St Petersburg sustained acting
companies. Towards the middle of the century, social comedies began
to disguise scathing attacks on society and gradually broke down
censorship. Playwrights, such as Gogol and Schepkin, tried to make
acting a respectable and structured practice; but by the time
Stanislavski came to it, it was as chaotic as it had ever been.
Stanislavski's chief worries early on as a director lay with the
punctuality of the actors and their backstage drunkenness.

The acting style itself was almost anarchic. Actors would strut on
stage as they saw fit and deliver the lines downstage to the audience,
without any regard to addressing fellow actors. The actors or theatre
store provided whatever costumes they had to hand. The theatre
provided sets and props from stock, while set design placed doors for
the convenience of actors rather than to create a realistic aesthetic
for the crowds. In 1894, Stanislavski directed Shakespeare's Othello
and took a trip abroad to buy props and fabrics for costume that would
actually fit the play - something unheard of at the time.

Stanislavski not only disliked the costumes and props, but also the
general feel of theatre - an indifferent system negligent of thespian
training or a rehearsal process, relying primarily on cheap French and
German farce comedies. In a bid to eradicate this problem, he
developed a method, or more accurately a system, with which to train
the actors he directed. This system led Stanislavski to become the
father of modern theatre.

The System
The System uses a balance between an actor's personal experience and
an attempt to imagine being in their character's situation. The actors
could not merely rely on observation and imitation, they had to
emotionally feel the role of their characters and recognise themselves
in it, not just think of the part but also live it. Stanislavski stressed
importantly that no part of his three-part system take precedence
over another part, as this would create an imbalance. All aspects of
The System must systematically engage together.

The System falls into three sections, elaborated upon in Stanislavski's

novels:

 An Actor Prepares (1937) - This book explains how the actor

must psychologically and emotionally prepare for a created
role. Once it is created, the actor must personally develop it
until he feels comfortable living as somebody else. Actors
must ask themselves 'What would I do if...?' based on the
circumstances surrounding their character. The System
describes this as a personal reality.
 Building A Character (1949)2 - This book deals with the
external training an actor undertakes to communicate
different aspects of a role. The stress here is on a physical and
vocal approach to the role and how far these aspects can
change to display aspects of the role while remaining in the
character.
 Creating A Role (1961) - This book gives detailed examples of
how The System can be applied to various roles. The actor
must make the role fit the script, but only after preparing the
role and assuming it both physically and vocally. The actor
must effectively consider and approach each line and every
pause from the character's perspective. This helps the actor
gain proper access to the subtext.

The Method
By encouraging actors to become artists in their own right, Stanislavski
had to lay down a method to stimulate his three-part System. Now
known as 'method acting', the mechanisms used to take on a role are
varied, but all focus on making an actor put their own experience,
imagination and feeling into a role.

Physical Actions

Towards the end of his life, Stanislavski placed emphasis on physical

expression in training. He said that through the physical - the doing -
an actor could give his role depth. He believed that actors must be in
role all the time they are on stage, and most of the rehearsal time
too, even if not required by the text to speak or carry out an action.
This meant the actor should assume the role of their characters even
during rehearsals. If the character stood in a cold place then the actor
should shiver and alter his posture while rehearsing. A good way to
experiment with characterisation is to improvise various scenes that
do not appear in the text, but could happen between some characters.
This activity provokes the actor to think about their character as a
real person rather than simply role on a page.
The Magic If

The 'magic if' is the basis of assuming the mentality of a character. An

actor asks 'If I were there, what would I be thinking?' and then later 'If
I were my character, what would I be thinking?' allowing the emulation
of realism on stage. Stanislavski did not require actors to be the part,
as is a popular misconception, but he did demand that they lived the
part with the magic if.

The Given Circumstance

This forms the context within which the actor asks the 'magic if', the
basis for an actor and their role. The actor must believe in the given
circumstances and appreciate it as the truth. The circumstances are:
the play's narrative; its facts, events, epoch, time and setting;
conditions of life; interpretation by the actor and director; and,
finally, the design element - costumes, lighting, sound, etc.

Imagination

A character does not have a full biography. The actor must find details
of a character's life from hints within the text or invent them.
Stanislavski demanded his actors to undergo a visual journey of
motivation, including: who you are, where you came from, why, what
you want, where you are going and what you will do when you get
there. According to Stanislavski, speaking lines without fully realising
the answer to these questions means not acting with your imagination.

Circles of Attention

During his career as a young actor, Stanislavski felt tense on stage.

Later in life, he examined ways to help an actor relax and focus on
stage. An actor could focus by concentrating on a small circle, himself
and one other actor or prop. The actor, once focused on this small
circle, extends his attention to a medium circle that includes more
actors or larger props. After truly focusing on this, the actor can
extend the focus of the large circle of attention to cover the entire
stage. If an actor loses concentration, he can retreat into the small
circle before building up to a large circle again. This enables actors to
achieve public solitude.

Truth and Belief

Stage truth is unlike real truth as it is not really true, it is merely

suggested to be true by the actor. If the actor fails to employ the
magic, if they will not reach the stage where they are speaking and
acting as a character, this will cause the audience not to believe and,
in turn, stop them from suspending their disbelief.

Communion

Before communicating the subtle nuances of the play with an

audience, an actor must commune with the cast. They must be aware
of them and the character relationships between them. To achieve full
communion the actor must use all senses and he should practice
dialogue with another actor so as to learn nothing away from this
communion.

Adaptation

An actor must overcome problems to achieve the best portrayal of a

role. To keep a creative mind, the actor must think round a problem
and approach it in different ways. By doing this, an actor can find
imaginative solutions to the problems of staging.

Tempo Rhythm

On stage, less experienced actors may fall victim to nerves and hurry
their lines and directions in order to get off as soon as possible. It is an
actor's responsibility to find the correct tempo rhythm of every line
and action performed. They should rehearse each line and action until
they find a suitable tempo rhythm.

Emotion Memory

It is an actor's duty to stimulate his own emotion memory from which

to draw and build a character. These memories are repeated
emotional experiences, rather than the primary experiences they are
based on. In other words, an actor should look for a general approach
to a situation rather than their personal one. Stanislavski found this
process best suited to re-inventing emotions for performances night
after night.

Units and Objectives

The idea focuses on breaking the play down into units of action, and
not just acts and scenes. The objectives within them dominate each
unit and once reached the unit ends. There must not be too many
units, but there should be enough to guide an actor towards realism.
Each actor must realise their character's role in the objective,
whether they want to achieve it, prolong it, prevent it, etc.

Super-Objective and Through-Line of Action

The super-objective of a play is the main thrust of the plot, an

objective that runs throughout the entire text, it links to all the small
units and objectives via the through-line. To gain understanding of a
character, an actor must be aware of their character's relation to the
super-objective.