Theatre Practitioners & Styles
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Transcript of Theatre Practitioners & Styles
Theatre Practitioners &
Styles
What is a Theatre Practitioner?A Director, a Dramatist or an Actor but often and
mainly their occupation consists of a combination of these traditionally-separated roles
Creates Theatrical Performances
ANDProduces Theoretical Discourses
Theories / Debates / Some form of communication that inform & introduce specifically their own practical works /Aka “theatre practices” to not only the audience of their productions but to a broader artistic spectrum that often influences / was influenced by societies and cultures
Bertolt Brecht
“Epic Theatre”
Brecht’s Biography10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956
[Late 19th to the early 20th Century]Born in Augsburg, GermanyGerman poet, playwright and directorStudied philosophy & medicine at the
University of Munich, later becoming a medical attendant in a German military hospital during the First World War
Beginning InfluenceWorld War One experiences
Reinforced his hatred of war and influenced his support for the failed Socialist revolution in 1919 in Germany
After the war, Brecht returned to university but he took on literature instead of medicine as he’s developed a increasing interest towards literature
One of his first plays was deeply influenced by the work of Ernst Toller, including “Drums in the Night”, a play about a soldier returning from war
Stanislavski's System’s Influence on Brechtian Theatre A drastic part of human behavioral
study, which was later on clearly applied and practiced in Brecht’s theatrical productions
Believable emotions and physical actions of actors through “Emotional Memory” portraying character’s behavior onstage
Marxist InfluenceMarxism – Politically, Culturally, Socially
& Economically equal society1927 - Collaborated with the composer
Kurt WeillProduced “The Threepenny Opera”Although based on The Beggar's Opera
of 1728, Brecht added his own lyrics that illustrated his growing belief in Marxism
Hitler’s Influence on Brecht’s CareerReflected a Marxist interpretation of society,
when Adolf Hitler gained power in 1933 he was forced to flee from Nazi Germany
While living in exile he wrote anti-Nazi plays such as “The Roundheads”, “Peakheads” and “Fear and Misery of the Third Reich”
Followed by Life of Galileo (1939), Mother Courage and Her Children (1939), The Good Man of Szechuan (1941), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (1941) Caucasian Chalk Circle (1943).
ExileLived in Denmark, Sweden, the Soviet
Union and the United States (Hollywood)
Wrote the film “Hangman also dies” [1943]
The Return to GermanyInvestigation by the House of un-American
Activities Committee leading to a interrogation at the HUAC on the entertainment industry, Brecht left for East Germany after the fall of Hitler due to his accusation and criticism of being a left wing socialist /communist member & for betrayal
1949 –Founded the Berliner Ensemble and over the next few years it became the country's most famous theatre company. However, Brecht wrote only one play in East Germany, “The Days of the Commune” [1949]
Brecht PlaysMother Courage and her Children
1939Fascism and NazismFilmed after his death, performed
by his widowed wife, famous actress, Helene Wiegel
Considered by many to be the greatest play of the 20th Century and the greatest anti-war play of all time
Brecht’s IdeologyAttempted to develop a new Theatrical approach A Brechtian Expert’s definition ~ “He tried to persuade
his audiences to see the stage as a stage, actors as actors and not the traditional make-believe of the theatre, requiring detachment, not passion, from the observing audience. The purpose of the play was to awaken the spectators' minds so that he could communicate his version of the truth”. Known as Epic Theatre.
My understanding ~ The concept of constant remembrance of the Theatre’s atmosphere & existence often provoking the reaction of the audiences’ realization that the content & context of the production is a daily part of the their societal, cultural and political influence
Epic theatreDevised multiple episodic theatrical
techniques such as…Breaking the Fourth WallNarrationActing StylesGestusAlienation techniqueDidacticismPlacards
Differences between Epic and Naturalistic/Realistic Theatre
Brecht Quotes“The world of knowledge takes a
crazy turn when teachers themselves are taught to learn.”
Let nothing be called natural, In an age of bloody confusion, Ordered disorder, planned caprice, And dehumanized humanity, lest all things Be held unalterable! ~ The Exception and the Rule (1937), Prologue