THAR 281 Lecture 11 Outline of Last Lecture Symbolism I II III Recap of Realism Symbolism 1880 1910 Symbolist Drama a Friedrick Nietzsche b Richard Wagner c August Strindberg Antirealist Director a Vsevelod Emilievich Meyerhold IV Outline of Current Lecture Epic Theatre I II III IV V VI Epic Theatre Erwin Piscator Bertolt Brecht Piscator vs Brecht Shared Beliefs Brechtian techniques Berliner Ensemble Current Lecture Epic Theatre German movement common two main men responsible for Erwin Piscator 1st person to explore idea of epic theatre or what it would come to be Proletarian Drama political drama for the people These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute The Good Soldier Schweik He heightened theatricality lots of spectacle visually captivating Multimedia projected images Actor audience relationship looked for ways to change boundary between Piscator s Techniques Projections Film Treadmills Cartoons Marionettes Bertolt Brecht German 1898 1956 Socialist dramatist director playwright theorist Mother Courage and Her Children 1939 most well known musical he wrote His thoughts Theatre Should Instruct Idea of unity today in plays everything belongs together and works to tell one central story but in epic theatre everything has its own purpose Several messages all political and have their own meanings Critically engaged audience everything draws people out of the plays so they have to think about it Example movies that make you cry have emotions towards Both men had Shared Beliefs basic principles to Epic Theatre Theatre should teach a lesson didactic Should exist to bring about social change make things better Audience should be constantly aware they are watching a play Multimedia used Conflicting Viewpoints Piscator vs Brecht o Piscator Directors message Emotionally involved audience o Brecht Text Only intellectually involved audience Force emotional detachment Brechtian techniques alienation setting it apart Plays written in episodic structure long work in chunks over long period of time Several different settings Multiple characters Historification take an event from history and set the play in the past it parallels what is happening now If it doesn t involve you it s not as personal If you have something from the past you don t have a set opinion about it Mythical foreign lands Narrator Brecht likes to use narration between each act Sometimes they narrate and tell what s going to happen or give a title Multimedia Visible scene changes when scene shifts you see it happen Music to comment on action OPENING TITLES TO EACH SCENE distracts the audience and reminds them that it s a play Alienation to alienate an incident means to take away from it everything that makes it recognizable making it strange or different forcing audience to ask what why how Example of Brecht s plays Mother Courage and Her Children about mother s journey as all her children die you don t want a history lesson when you go to see a play or be told what the lesson is Brecht doesn t want you to be told the lesson he wants you to question and find the answers yourself this way you can understand it better and create your own opinions creates an illusion that makes you aware it s artificial and fake No attempt to mask play and make look different Alienation techniques man making sound affects with his mouth outside of action during play Example of taking things that is recognizable and making unrecognizable No attempt to making people blend in Brecht writes alienation into his music example Mac the Knife has a happy catchy tune but the lyrics are dark and talk about murder What does this do Catches the audience s attention causes you to ask why Berliner Ensemble 1948 East Berlin