Brecht / Devising 

Brechtian Methodology and the "Verfremdungs Effekt" - Bertholt Brecht 

Bertholt Brecht (1898-1956) is a German poet and playwright who was responsible for pioneering a unique method of presenting theater. Brecht was adamant about the distinction between 'Dramatic Theatre' and 'Epic Theatre'. He took many of the principles offered by the Greek thinker and poet Aristotle in his Poetics as a basis for his principles of Epic Theatre. Aristotle and Brecht had the same goal in mind; that theatre should be a tool to mobilize the common people to action, especially in regard to political change. A theatre performance should help to leave the audience with a clear and level head to aid them in their duties as a productive citizen. However, when it came to the methods used to produce the desire outcome, Brecht and Aristotle had quite different methods. 

While Aristotle sought for the audience to form a connection to the characters in play and experience an emotional response and catharsis, Brecht thought it best to separate the audience from the storytelling. This is what he called the "Verfremdungs Effekt", commonly translated as the 'Distancing' or 'Alienation' effect. Brecht wanted the esthetics of his plays to break the illusion of theatre; to remind audiences that this is just a play and allow them to think critically on the subject matter. In traditional theatre productions clever tactics and tricks are use to cover up any details or technology that might break this illusion, like hiding lights and speakers or designing them to blend seamlessly with the environment. Brecht preferred to leave all of this exposed so that the technology of theatre was up front and apparent. This is partially relevant to our set design for Artaud Artaud, which contains visble projectors, lighting, and an operational curtain that can conceal or reveal the structure behind and the rear wall of Parker Theater (Tech and Design ).  

In terms of Acting, Brecht did not want his actors to try and 'become' their characters. It was less like the actors were portraying their characters and more like the actors are narrating the characters' actions and words. Many of his plays relied on multi-rolling, where a single actor would appear as multiple characters over the course of the play, and costume changes between scenes would take place within the audience's field of view. 

Artaud Artaud does not employ this method of acting but does follow other practices that were commonplace throughout Brecht's work. For example, the title cards that are held up for the audience at the start of each scene in  the play are a tool used in brechtian theatre. In essence, when Artaud Artaud begins it is operating as Dramatic Theatre and once the illusion of Artaud's creation is broken for The Double (just before we reach s26, Catharsis), what we see is Epic Theatre and the story  plainly demonstrates to the audience that they are attending a performance. Our play is not meant to have a traditionally satisfying resolution.

Actors are encouraged to read chapter 13 "The Modern Theatre is Epic Theatre" (pg. 33/actual pg.49) and chapter 31 "New Technique of Acting" (pg. 136/actual pg. 170).

Devising Theatre 

“The role of the performer/deviser usually requires involvement in several processes, which often include improvisation, research, and discussion.” 

“[John] Wright believes that devising is a very charged and satisfying way of working, and stresses the importance of a spontaneous, imaginative process that enables individuals to constantly suggest ideas for exploration.” “The skills of physical theater depend on the visual…” 

But beware, “Devised theatre demands contributions of ideas from the performers in a group, causing both frustration and satisfaction much of the time. If a character is being devised from nothing, then this can be creatively exciting or may encourage feelings of drowning in a sea of ideas and getting nowhere.” 

Oddey, Alison. 1996. Devising Theatre : A Practical and Theoretical Handbook / Alison Oddey. London ; Routledge.

On Library Website 

“Straight” theatre is a traditional process in which a director and creative team determine the framework and vision of a piece, the production team builds and supplies the visual and audio aspects to support the piece, and finally the performers present the piece to an audience under the guidance of the director. Devising theatre encourages all members of a group or production team to contribute ideas to a project on a creative level that is not constrained by the aforementioned  traditional hierarchy. A work of devised theatre typically begins with a “departure point” which is oftentimes a question. The ensemble then seeks to answer this question using their own personal and nuanced understandings of themselves and the world at large. The many views and ideas expressed have the potential to align with one another but it’s likely that an ensemble will contain views that are quite contradictory, which provides an opportunity to discuss and explore these views and ideas together. 

In our case, we do not have to start devising from nothing and our production exists within a hierarchical structure of traditional theatre. We have a playwright that has created a piece of theater for us to present, and a director to provide the performers with a starting point and guidance throughout the process. Devising becomes relevant to Artaud Artaud where the stage directions provided by the playwright become intentionally vague, surreal, or impractical. It is up to us as theatre artists and storytellers to determine and plan out the physical and visual ways to present these moments to our audience, using our knowledge of the play’s text and the framework presented by the director as our “departure point”.