In this lesson, we applied a variation of techniques used in Brechtian theatre such as the "Montage", "Gestus" and the use of "Titles" in order to construct our own "Epic Theatre".
An example of how one could create their "Epic Theatre" piece could be by showing one side of an argument on immigration and then opposing that argument through song, which is what we did at the beginning of the lesson as an introduction to the basics of "Epic Theatre".
The scenario for our " Epic Theatre" consisted of three scenes covering the "physical archetypes" of being a "Mother", "Killer" and a "Madwoman". We were placed in groups of five in which we shared our knowledge of what we had learnt about Brechtian techniques so far in the unit.
We decided on a title for our piece which was to be "Bye,Bye,Baby". Our piece followed the story of a mother who, faced with a miscarriage and drawn to paranoia decides to steal another person's baby out of a pram at the local park. She believes she is a killer for the incident that had occurred with her own unborn child and is placed into a state of madness.
Within our performance, we applied a break in time, where we used song to deliver the story to the audience, (montage) in which time we broke out of character (a technique used by Brecht in order to prevent the audience becoming emotionally attached to the story on the stage and rather more interested in the technicality and positioning of performance members.)
What Went Well?
My understanding of Bertolt Brecht was enhanced through my own practical exploration of applying his techniques; "Gestus", "Montage", and "Titles" to my "Epic Theatre" piece. The knowledge I had acquired from the theoretical exploration of his practises, helped my group and I convey a message through performance that incorporated most distinguishable Brechtian theories and ideas. From this understanding, I was able to make a valid contribution to the way I believed the piece would successfully convey themes of "madness" and "paranoia" and the break in time for song, allowed us as performers to covey these themes.
Even Better If?
In order to covey the themes of "madness" and "paranoia" to a larger extent, the characters that were conveyed in the piece should have been more caricatured in terms of body language, voice and facial expression.
It would have helped in distinguishing a line between comical, overzealous acting most associated with Brecht as opposed to "naturalism" which was being conveyed too much in the piece.
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