TIP Notes: Chapter 2 (Bretch)

Bertolt Brecht (1889 - 1956)
Brecht grew up in Germany and lived through both world wars
Wrote “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” in 1955

Brecht’s ideal performance was one that inspired the audience to take action in the real world for just causes, by having the characters deliver a political and social message, with actors building off of the Stanislavski methods.

Vocabulary

• Political = concerning the government of public affairs and the running of the state
• Social = concerning the relationships between people and communities within a country
• Economic = relating to the buying and selling, production and manufacturing of goods, and how wealth is achieved
• Narrating = the telling of a story
• Class = the position a person holds in society based on their wealth, upbringing, and level of education
• Left wing = socialist views; right wing = communist views
• Gestus = a gesture that defines your character’s place in society
• Gestic props = props used by the actor or director to send a specific message to the audience
• Externalization = to outwardly show thoughts and feelings using gestures, movement, and facial expressions
• V-effect = when the actor and director attempt to distance the audience from losing themselves within the context of the play, instead allowing actors to narrate proceedings and communicate the message of the play to the audience
• Epic theater = theater that uses Brecht’s methods and techniques to create teacher with a political, social, and/or economic message
• Historicization = setting the events of the play in a different time period as a way to help distance the audience from the given circumstances
• De-familiarize = a technique for making the audience stop and think about the social implications of the events on stage
• Epization = a rehearsal technique for creating a narrative style for delivering text
• Ensemble = a group of actors performing together
• Choral work = a piece of theater rehearsed with the ensemble performing in time and to the same rhythm

Exercises 

Exercise 20: Use body language and facial expressions to help sell the message rather than relying solely on words

Exercise 22: Political, social, and class issues are still relevant to present today; they may simply be less obvious

Exercise 23: Use characters as a way to discuss those issues without directly stating them

Exercise 24: Use gestures that match the character and externalize their emotions 

Exercise 25: Don’t be afraid to get comedic

Exercise 26: Shift the focus of the audience from the emotions of the character to the societal factors that put them in this position

Exercise 27: A lot can be conveyed about a character with a simple gesture

Exercise 28: When doing a first read through of the play, it is more important that you focus on what happens, who the characters are, and how it makes you feel, rather than immediately attempting to inject characterization in as you go

Exercise 29: Keep in mind what surprised you about the play, so that you can maximize that surprise for the audience when performing

Exercise 31: Doubling parts prevents the audience from associating one actor with just one role; don’t be afraid to use cross-casting to further de-familiarize the audience

Exercise 32: Brecht plays tend to be organized in an episodic structure so that each moment can carry its own message

Exercise 33: Decide on the overall message of the play, as well as a specific gestus that can be interwoven to represent that message, as a group

Exercise 34: Decide on the emotion in which you will read each line

Exercise 36: Consider each character’s perspective on the events of the scene 

Exercise 39: The lighting of a scene can add to both the atmosphere and what it’s trying to get across

Exercise 40: Consider the effect adding sound and music has on the scene

Exercise 41: Have actors try other people’s roles as a way to see different interpretations; consider the physical positioning of the actors