Avant-Garde Theater Theorists (Notes)

1. Peter Brook
1. England, 1925-
2. Worked at Royal Shakespeare company in London 
3. Values simplicity and common sense 
4. Founded International Center of Theater Research in 1974
5. Also a movie director
6. Wrote The Empty Space
7. Four theaters:
1. The Deadly (constructivism)
2. The Holy (Theater of the Absurd)
3. The Rough (Brecht)
4. The Immediate (Clean slate audience reaction)
2. Bertolt Brecht
1. German; Lived through World War II 
2. Wanted to make political theater that made people want to take action in the real world
3. “Alienation effect”: don’t identity/sympathize with the characters (principle inspired by Chinese opera)
3. Theater of the Absurd
1. European existential fiction writers post WWII
2. Find the comedy in tragedy
3. Not much plot; gets you to think
4. Major theorist: Samuel Beckett
1. Irish novelist, playwright, theatre director, poet, and literary translator
2. Spoke French and English
3. Wrote black comedies like “Waiting for Godot” 
4. Jerry Grotowski
1. Born August 1933  died January 1999
2. Polish theater director
3. Went to Stanislavski’s school
4. His permanent company first appeared in Western Europe in 1966
5. Preferred to perform works in regular spaces rather than designated theaters
6. Audience seated around or even in the action
7. Emphasized physical movements, human connections, and vocal training
8. Actors used emotional memory
9. Method: The Poor Theater
1. Small groups of actors, small audience 
2. Simple staging, lighting, costumes, and special affects, putting more weight on the actors’ performances
3. Experiment with physical, spiritual, and ritualistic aspects of theater