THAR 281 Lecture 11Outline of Last Lecture: SymbolismI. Recap of RealismII. Symbolism: 1880-1910III. Symbolist Dramaa. Friedrick Nietzscheb. Richard Wagnerc. August StrindbergIV. Antirealist Directora. Vsevelod Emilievich MeyerholdOutline of Current Lecture: Epic TheatreI. Epic TheatreII. Erwin PiscatorIII. Bertolt BrechtIV. Piscator vs. Brecht & Shared BeliefsV. Brechtian techniquesVI. Berliner EnsembleCurrent LectureEpic Theatre- German movement- common- two main men responsible forErwin Piscator:- 1st person to explore idea of epic theatre (or what it would come to be)- Proletarian Drama- political drama for the peopleThese 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- MarionettesBertolt 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 usedConflicting Viewpoints- Piscator vs. Brechto Piscator: - Directors message- Emotionally involved audienceo 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 pastyou 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