Tuesday 6th
November
Here is a
breakdown of the session today.
After a
brief overview of the term and introduction to the practitioner we explored
some Brechtian techniques.
Represent, don't become!
GESTUS
Gesture +
Attitude = Gestus
Task
1 - Told a
nursery rhyme to each other from opposite ends of the room - you had to shout.
Could you hear? Performers had to focus on using their body language to tell
enforce the verbal communication. How did this help?
Task
2 - Created paired still images to show characters such
as Romeo and Juliet, Cat and Mouse, Sweet and Sour, War and Peace, Rich and
Poor. Dicuss what everyone did for Rich and Poor - why did everyone create the
same image? How did this demonstrate Gestus?
Task
3 - An actor played a soldier, they walked on stage,
stopped and walked off. How did you know he was a soldier? What did you think
of the character, if anything? Then we added in seven dead bodies, the soldier
appeared and disappeared again. What was different about this scene? What did
the soldier do? How did this demonstrate Gestus?
Task
4 - You created two still images to show opposing
gestic images:
War the
maker of heroes & War the taker of lives
Exaplain what
you did and why? How were these gestic?
Thinking
questions...
- Summarise Gestus using examples from the above
exercises?
- Explain this: Gesture + Attitude =
Gestus
- How do you feel about this technique?
EXAGGERATION
Write about the first or second scene. If you were
in the scene you can write about your actor experience.
A pair of actor demonstrated a scene between Doctor
and patient. Describe the key characteristics of the characters in the first
scene. Actors were told to play a stereotype of the characters and to
exaggerate them both physically and vocally. How were the characters played?
When I clapped my hands the actors had to switch roles. Explain the audience
reaction and what happened in the scene. Why was this a good exercise to
explore for Brechtian theatre for both the audience and actor?
NARRATIVE
In groups you created a performance of a fairy
story using four styles of Narration.
- A narrator
- Actor stepping out of character to narrate
- Actor speaking in 3rd person
- Singing narration
Thinking questions...
- Explain what you did and why?
- Why did Brecht use narration?
VERFREMDUNGSEFFEKT
German translation: effect of making strange
Task 1: In pairs
you created a naturalistic scene that Stan would have been proud of. We shared
with the group. What were your reactions to the performances?
Task 2: You
revisited the scene and selected the climactic moment and rehearsed this so you
knew the stage directions well.
Task 3: You
recreated that moment keeping the character dialogue, but the characters had to
speak every stage direction too.
Thinking questions...
- How did the activity help you to understand
the 'V' effect?
- Why would Brecht use this? Why did he want to
distance as audience?
- What were the challenges as an actor?
Thinking questions...
- What do you understand about Epic theatre so
far from the session today?
- What is your opinion so far on Brechtian
theatre?
- Why does Brecht and political theatre go hand
in hand successfully?
Remember to keep track of your strengths and
weaknesses as you go, set yourself targets throughout the project!
