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

AND

Produces Theoretical DiscoursesTheories / 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, Germany

German poet, playwright and director

Studied 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 society

1927 - Collaborated with the composer Kurt Weill

Produced “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