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Expressionism Theatre (from 1915-1940)

What were the physical theatre structures like during that era?

What were the costumes like?

The expressionist director Jessner used costumes (along with lighting) to reflectemotions. For example, in his version of ShakespearesRichard III, he used

blood-red costumes for the scene of Richards coronation and white costumes for

the army of Richards opponent Richmond, and Richard dies under an intensespotlight.

What kinds of acting styles were used in this era? What were the stage conventions

of this time?

External images were often distorted since truth is said to lie in internal vision,

therefore exaggerated shapes, abnormal colour, and mechanical movement werecommon. Speech may be reduced to short phrases or single words (refered to as

telegraphic) and these sections of short speeches alternated with long lyricalpassages

What was the content and form of the plays of this era?

The negative aspects of the present: this theme was used to demonstrate how false

ideas have destroyed mans spirits until he is little better than a machine.

Harmony between mans environment and his spirit: the plays looked to

transform society. These message-centered plays were often episodic, taking on

the form of a search or a pilgrimage

Often highly subjective

The action is seen through the eyes of the protagonist, and so it can be distored or

dreamlike Typically, the protagonist journeys for a series incident that are often not causally

related. They are often refered to a station play, referring to the stations of the

cross, and therefore protagonists are often compared to Christ.

What were the technical aspects of the theatre?

Jessner won international fame for his imaginative use of slights of stairs

(Jessnertreppen). He also manipulated colour and light to reflect inner emotions

Fehling experimented with elements such as dance, constantly shifting colours

How did the plays or acting style contribute to modern drama?

Although the movement had pretty much disappeared by 1925, many techniques

are still used. The most noticeable of these is the freer treatment of visual

elements, the introduction of dream sequences into otherwise realistic plays, andin other devices that permit the free manipulation of time, place and appearance.

Its dramatic staging techniques have been absorbed into general eclecticism of

the twentieth-century theatre.

Was there a dominant theme in plays of this era?


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What was the role of make-up/masks in this era?

Expressionism brought the mask back into common usage. Initially, the mask

signified typical or depersonalized characters; later, it became a device for

distancing the audience from the characters altogether, as it was used by Brecht in

The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1948) and other plays. The mask figured as a seminal device

Mask becam an actors trapeze: a vehicle for exploring the darama of

mouvment as an abstract spiritual event

What kinds of characters were developed in this era?

Typically, the protagonist journeys for a series incident that are often not causallyrelated. They are often referred to a station play, referring to the stations of the

cross, and therefore protagonists are often compared to Christ.

Characters are representative types who are often given titles such as Man,Woman, or Clerk

What was the nature of theatre companies of this time? What were the actors,

directors and playwrights lives like?

How was the drama funded?

What were the major influences on the drama?

Current events were a huge influence on expressionist drama. Many playwrights

were examining the human condition and its ability to create such destructionand suffering as evident form WWI. During WWI, expressionistic writers began

to move their focus fom highly personal matters to a concern with social

oppression. Technoligical advancements were another influence. Expressionists were agaist

the use of factories and machines, and believed that they were destroying mans

spirit.

Many of the expressionist playwrights were politically motivated, supportingsocialist and pacifist causes, though some were apolitical.

Does the drama have limitations?

Strict censorship, in place because of the war, limited performances until 1918

In a way, expressionism did itself in. Its optimism gave into the suspicion that

humans are basically selfish and destructive, and the foundation of expressionism

fell through by 1925.

Who are the major Playwrights? Plays?

The Beggarby Reinhard Johannes Sorge was the first true expressionist play.

1912.

August Strindberg, Swedish. Much of his work was realistic (eg. Miss Julie) until

1895. Personal crisis then drove him to the edge of insanity. His plays from the


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1890s (eg. The Dream Play, The Ghost Sonata) were considered the forerunners

of expressionism. Stridberg tries to destroy limitations of time, place, and logical

sequence, by adopting the viewpoint of a dreamer.

Franz Wedekinds works also transform from realism to symbolic abstraction.

Works include Spring Awakening, Earth SpiritandPandoras Box.

Ernst Toller, German. Transfiguration is an antiwar drama (It features aprotagonist who begins as an innocent patriotic soldier and ends as a militant

antiwar activist), Man and the Masses shows how machines and factories have

come to dominate society. The heroine of this play struggles to aid oppressedworks, but is caught in the cross fire between those who uphold humanitarian

ideals and zealous ideologues who believe that any means, including violence, is

justified in attaining workers aims. It also ends on a note of despair.

Georg Kaiser, German. Early works is principally satirical, however WWI made

him questions the foundations of a society that could generate such acts of

destruction. Wrote a trilogy The Coral, Gas I, and Gas II, along withFrom Morn

till Midnight. In the trilogy, the main characters (successive generations of a

wealthy industrialist family) move from optimism to pessimism. The final playsuggests that because of the cataclysmic disruption the world is undergoing, there

is little hope of salvation. From Morn till Midnight is a typical expressionist play.It depicts a single day in the life of an Everyman character as he moves through a

series of episodes, seeking the meaning of life but finding only cruelty and greed;

he ends as a defeated martyr..

Although principally a German movement, American plays such as Elmer Rices

The Adding Machine, Eugene ONeills The Hairy Ape and The Great GodBrown, and Marc Connelly and George KaufmansBeggar on Horseback.

R.U.R.by Czech playwright Karel Capek is one of the most famous expressionist

plays.

Walter Hasenclever, German, was one of the first expressionist playwrights. Hisplays consist ofThe Son andAntigone. The Sonputs forward the idea that loveoffers the only way to achieve happiness, but cannot flourish until immoral,

authoritarian rulers are deposed.

Define unfamiliar terms.

Other Notes.

Term used to distinguish from the impressionist. Originally used in France

referring to artist (eg. Van Gogh, Gauguin). Term then went to Germany where

expressionism = any work that deviated from the traditional modes. Expressionist

believed that fundamental truth is to be found within human kind-its spirits,should, desires and vision and that external reality should be reshaped until it is

brought into harmony with these inner attributes so that the human spirit mayrealise its aspirations. Many strived to express their interpretation ofspirit(the

mystics), while others wanted to change society (the activists). Activists were

very against materialism and industrialism, major destroyers of the soul. Almost

all followers of the movement used phrases such as regeneration of man, and thehope was to create a society free of war, hypocrisy and hate. Opposed to


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movements that glorified science (eg. realism and its emphasis on external

appearances, symbolism and avoidance on contemporary problems, naturalism)

Peak was from 1919-1923, then quickly declined. Almost extinct as an organized

movement by 1925

Jessner and Fehling were 2 German directors who were instrumental in

developing and popularizing expressionist production techniques.


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Epic Theatre/Brecht` (from 1915-1940)

What were the physical theatre structures like during that era?

Walter Gropius designed a playhouse from which could be changed from

proscenium to thrust arena, though it was never actually built.

What were the costumes like?

Costumes are simple, outlines or suggestions. This aids in the alienation effect.

May use some historically accurate, but other elements of the same costume maybe modern or merely expressive of social factors rather than of a historical period.

What kinds of acting styles were used in this era? What were the stage conventions

of this time?

The actor should not impersonate a character so much as present the behaviour of

a person in a specific situation. Brecht wishes the actors to avoid identifying withthe characters or trying to live the part. He suggests that the actor should analyse

the basic social qualities of his role and concentrate upon presenting these to theaudience in a kind of demonstration that comments upon the action and the

characters. The actor, thus, aids the alienation effect and arouses a criticalresponse in the audience.

The actor should be familiar with Brechts ideas on acting, however it is doubtful

that they can ever be carried out fully. The actors in Brechts own troupe statedthat they did not approach his work differently from others, and Brecht himself

did not insist that they accept his ideals.

What was the content and form of the plays of this era?

Brecht want the spectator to be evolved with the action. Brecht uses the key terms

historification, alienation, and epic.o Historification: theatre should emphasis past-ness, the removal of events

from present. Playwright should make the audience feel that had they beenliving in the same conditions shown in the play they would have taken

some positive action. The audience should then go on to see that since

things have changed, it is possible to make desirable social reforms in thepresent.

o Alienation (verfremdungseffekt) to make strange. The playwright is

encouraged to deliberately call the audiences attention to the make-

believe nature of the play (rather than convince the audience that it is real).Songs, narrative passages, filmed sequences and other devices may be

used for this purpose. The play must always be thought of as a commentupon life- something to be watched an judged critically.

o Brecht called his plays epic because he though t they resembled epic

poems (eg. The Iliad) which composed of alternating section of dialogueand narration, presents the story from the viewpoint of a single storyteller.

The epic may also freely change place and time; it narrate some scenes

and sows others; it bridges passages of time a historical period.


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Usually deal with history or foreign lands, cover a long period of time, shift locale

frequently, have intricate plots, and include many characters.

What were the technical aspects of the theatre?

Filmed sequences were integrated into the action as part of alienation.

All elements of production should be independent of each other. Music should comment upon the action rather than merely underscore the

meaning of the words. Often the music and lyrics did not correspond emotionally

(eg. a song which tells the moral degration of a character is set to a light-heartedtune. This achieves alienation, for it forces the audience to consider the song

significant

Scenery is not intended to create the illusion of place. It may suggest a locale, butit does not depict in detail. Brecht advocated the use of projections, fragmentary

set pieces, and similar devices for indicating the location of action, but in each

case the elements should comment on the action as well.

The mechanics of the theatre must remain visible. Lighting instruments should be

mounted where they may be seen, scenery should be changed in view of theaudience, and musicians should be on the stage.

Although little scenery is need, what is used should be designed with great care so

that it makes a definite contribution to the plays effect. In Brechts theatre it is not

enough to copy reality; reality must be clarified by transforming it and making it

strange. The right kind of scenery allows the spectator to view reality criticallyand to understand it- something that would not be possible were it presented in its

everyday and familiar form.

How did the plays or acting style contribute to modern drama?

The theatricality of epic staging, nevertheless, served, in conjunction with other

movements, to turn staging away from illusionism. Brechts theories influenced many later playwrights and directors.

Was there a dominant theme in plays of this era?

Brecht felt deeply mans inhumanity to man and deplored the failure to live inlove and harmony. He longed for a better existence however at the same time he

implies that such ideals are hopeless because of mans essential selfishness.

The moral dilemma of man under the existence of economic conditions.

What was the role of make-up/masks in this era?

What kinds of characters were developed in this era?

Brecht considerably oversimplifies characters, for he is principally concerned

with social relationships. He is not interested in inner personalities or the totallives of his characters. Their desires are also stated in terms of social action. In

each character, social (and sometimes economic) traits are the most important

ones. Action is determined by each characters attempt to better his own situation.


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Brecht does not intend to present well-rounded characters. He sets out to present

an interpretation of social reality, and his characters are only important insofar asthey forward that presentation. The action does not exist to display characters, but

character to demonstrate social action.

What was the nature of theatre companies of this time? What were the actors,directors and playwrights lives like?

All of Brechts works were written before the end of WWII. Living in exile

throughout the Nazi regime, Brecht was little known until after 1945. Since thattime however, his plays and theories have assumed increasing importance and

have been among the most pervasive influences on contemporary dramatic and

theatrical techniques.

Brechts first plays were expressionistic.

While in Berlin, Brecht became a Marxist and at the same time began to develop

his theories for theatre. He lived in Denmark, Sweden and the United States after

being forced to flee Germany by the Nazis. During his years in exile, Brecht had

time to refine his ideas on epic theatre and wrote several important play. LatterBrecht was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities

because of his Marxist ideas, and he left the US shortly after. HE settled in Berlinwhere the government gave him his own theatre, the Berliner Ensemble.

How was the drama funded?

What were the major influences on the drama?

Piscator was greatly influenced by the communist revolution in Russia andwanted to develop what he called proletarian theatre.

Politics

Brecht was highly influenced by Chinese theatre

Does the drama have limitations?

Who are the major Playwrights? Plays?

Bertolt Brecht. Man is Man, The Three-Penny Opera, The Caucasian Chalk

Circle, Mother Courage, Galileo, The Good Woman Setzuan. Brecht felt that each

production element should independently convey the political message.

Brecht wrote short dramas calLehrstucke (learning pieces) which (in part)

attacked theatrical works created purely for mass consumption and entertainment,

referring to them as culinary art.

Erwin Piscator. The good Soldieris a bitter satire on the Germanic war machine.In it, the experiences of the common soldier, are depicted through a swirl of

events that occur in an enormous number of places and over a lengthily stretch of

time. Piscator used treadmills, projection, scenic fragments, film, giant caricaturesdrawings to adapt the action to the stage and to comment on it. Piscator believed

in emotion involvement, while Brechts focus was on intellectual involvement.


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Walter Gropius established a schools of arts and crafts and fine arts, to breakdown

the barrier between crafts people and artists, particularly architecture anddesigne0

Define unfamiliar terms.

Other Notes.

Brecht called his theatre epic to distinguish it from dramatic. He stated that the

old theatre outlived its usefulness since it reduce the spectators to a role ofcomplete passivity. In it, events are present as fixed and unchangeable, for even

historical subjects are treated from a present day point of view, this approach

encourages audience to believe that things have always been the same. The

realistic staging give the action an air of stability. The spectator can only watch ina hypnotized uncritical way.

Brecht insisted that the theatre bring pleasure, although he argued that the greatestpleasure comes form productive participation, in t=which the spectator actively

judges and applies what he sees on the stage to conditions outside the theatre.Brecht manipulated aesthetic distance to evolved the spectator emotionally and

the jar him out of his empathetic response so that he may contemplate and judgewhat he has experienced.

The ultimate goal of the epic theatre, lay outside the theatre. By stirring up

thought, the theatre sought to put man in a position of productivity and desiringsocial reform.

The Living Newspaper is one of the forms most obviously related to Brechts

Epic Theatre. In the US, between 1935-1939 the government issued the FederalTheatre project, designed to relieve unemployment. It strives to create a theatre

experience similar to a newspaper, however was more like a documentary. Each

play treated an individual problem (eg. One Third of a Nation (on slum housing),Triple-A Power Under(on the farm program), andPower(on public utilities and

flood control). The plays alternate scenes demonstrating the social condition with

narrative sequences; stats, still photos and movies were projected on screens;

offstage voice, music, and sound effect were used freely. The plays were writtenby many authors and took a definite standpoint in favour of social reform. The

political and social bias eventually led to the discontinuation of the Federal

Theatre, when congressed refused to fund it. It was the United Statesgovernments first attempt to subsidise theatre. TLN used many of the same

devices as those advocated by Brecht and Piscator, but the epic approach did not

attract many imitators in North America until the 1960s.

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