Analysis Of Brecht On Theatre

1078 Words3 Pages

Brecht, Bertolt. Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic. Hill & Wang New York, 1996. Brecht argues that the ultimate purpose of play is to induce pleasure and to entertain, and that--because of this purpose--play needs no justification. Plays should not be simply copied from or seen through older performances, but need to develop on their own to better relate to a new audience. Through the use of alienation which aims to make the familiar unfamiliar, play and theatre can be seen under a new perspective, and the actor can feel more free to perform under a new guise. The alienation effect creates a temporary state and identity for the actor that allows him or her to explore social boundaries. By basically putting on a mask, the performer …show more content…

However, for Pinter, there is no real sense of taboo when the scene is being performed. Thus, the taboo is a social construct that can be manipulated. The question lies in how it can be manipulated. Metamorphoses. By Mary Zimmerman. Dir. Chris Herold. Zellerbach Playhouse, Berkeley. 22 Oct. 2017. Performance. Director Chris Herold retells the stories from Ovid in UC Berkeley’s TDPS’s production of Metamorphoses. A large square pool is the main design of the stage, and the pool is used throughout the stories in order to emphasize certain ideas and embody a sense of metamorphoses. The cast members each played different roles and represent a variety of things ranging from emotions like hunger to beings like gods, birds, and trees. Because some actors perform multiple characters, the actors are essentially given multiple identities. These identities are each part of unique societies which might interfere with the actual sense of society the real actor normally feels. The changing roles also play into the alienation effect through the constant dissociation the actors employ with their characters. Munoz, Nikki. “TDPS Delivers Visually Stunning, Captivating Rendition of

Show More
Related

  • Gender Casting In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night By William Shakespeare

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a comedy that has been interpreted in different ways, enabling one to receive multiple experiences of the same story. Due to the content and themes of the play, it can be creatively challenging to producers and their casting strategies. Instead of being a hindrance, I find the ability for one to experiment exciting as people try to discover strategies that best represent entertainment for the audience, as well as the best ways to interpret Shakespeare’s work.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Isolation In Fahrenheit 451

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    Feeling alone or isolated is not only a common theme is all kinds of literature, but something that many people face in life. Alienation is the perception of estrangement or dissatisfaction with one’s life. This means you feel like you don’t fit or connect, whether it’s from society, family, or a physical object. These feelings can be due to a lack of deep connections, not believing the same ideals as your society, and many other things. In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, he discusses a man who goes against governmental rule and reads. EA Robinson portrays a man everyone inspires to be, but in the end he isn’t happy and kills himself. Lastly, WH Auden accounts of an “unknown citizen” who also has a picture perfect life, but in the end

    Read More

  • Explore the ways in which Hamlet makes use of the idea or motif of theatrical performance

    1420 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet makes extensive use of the idea of theatrical performance; from revealing characters to not be what they seem - as they act to be - to Hamlet’s play The Mousetrap and his instruction of acting to the players. The extensive use of the stage in the stage directions, as well as numerous monologues and asides, have Hamlet itself acting as a literary device for the motif of theatrical performance.

    Read More

  • Violence within Society: Violent Tendencies That Occur Due to Society’s Narrow-minded Expectations in Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange and Palahniuk’s Fi

    1805 Words  | 4 Pages

    Society often pressures individuals within it to conform to different ideals and norms. This stems from the fact that individuals in a society are expected to act in a certain way. If a person or group of people do not satisfy society’s expectations, they are looked down upon by others. This can lead to individuals isolating themselves from others, or being isolated from others, because they are considered as outcasts. The emotional turmoil that can result from this, as well as the internal conflict of whether or not to conform, can transform an individual into a completely different person. This transformation can either be beneficial or harmful to the individual as well as those around them. The individual can become an improved version of himself or herself but conversely, they can become violent, rebellious and destructive. The novels Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess both explore the negative effects experienced by individuals living within the confines of society’s narrow-mindedness. In A Clockwork Orange, protagonist Alex was the leader of a small group of teenage criminals. He did not have a healthy relationship with either one of his parents or with others around him. Instead he spent most of his time alone during the day and at night roamed the streets in search of victims he could mug or rape. In Fight Club the unnamed protagonist was an outcast in his community. He chose to distance and isolate himself from others and as a result had no friends, with the exception of Tyler Durden and Marla Singer. Due to his isolation, he often participated in nightly fights that took place in Fight Club so that he could relieve his anxiety and stress. In this way, Alex and the unnamed protagoni...

    Read More

  • Brecht

    2059 Words  | 5 Pages

    It is difficult to imagine a play which is completely successful in portraying drama as Bertolt Brecht envisioned it to be. For many years before and since Brecht proposed his theory of “Epic Theatre”, writers, directors and actors have been focused on the vitality of entertaining the audience, and creating characters with which the spectator can empathize. ‘Epic Theatre’ believes that the actor-spectator relationship should be one of distinct separation, and that the spectator should learn from the actor rather than relate to him. Two contemporary plays that have been written in the last thirty years which examine and work with Brechtian ideals are ‘Fanshen’ by David Hare, and ‘The Laramie Project’ by Moises Kaufman. The question to be examined is whether either of these two plays are entirely successful in achieving what was later called, ‘The Alienation Effect”.

    Read More

  • Alienation in The Revolver, Housewife, and How it Feels to Be Colored Me

    1942 Words  | 4 Pages

    Exactly what is Alienation? Bloom’s Literary Reference states the definition as to “turn away in feeling or affection; make unfriendly.” While only looking at the sociological aspect, this definition does not address the term in its entirety. When alienation is present, there is a “divergence between human existence and human essence,” (political economy of socialism 84) meaning that the actual is not the same as the potential. German Philosopher G. W. F. Hegel coined the term alienation. Hegel believed it was the “gap between human consciousness and the natural world” (Quinn); the private life versus the public life. Karl Marx later added to the term to describe how workers are alienated from their work in a capitalistic society because they are no longer the creators of the product, they are simply part of the production line. “Through work man becomes a human being” (political economy of socialism 86), and when the workers are stripped of their work, they are no longer able to show off their own individuality.

    Read More

  • Collective Deterciousness In Emile Durkheim's Fight Club

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ory of alienation are of course present in the film Norma Mae. The characters in the film are shown to be working in a loud, fast paced environment, performing repetitive tasks in a factory. The tasks they perform are for the creation of factory products, which does not belong to them. The film also displays alienation between co-workers, when the main character is briefly promoted to a supervisory position, causing her to be alienated from her friends in the factory. Characters are also frequently shown to shout with each other in the factory due to the noise, with one character at one point even suffering from deafness. The final component of alienation is displayed with the characters feeling alienated from their own potential. They are shown to work in a very low quality environment for minimum wage, and the management shows very little regard for its workers.

    Read More

  • Escapism In Epic Theatre, By Bertolt Brecht

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bertolt Brecht was a German playwright, theatre critic, and director. He created and developed epic theatre with the belief that theatre is not solely for entertainment but also tools for politics and social activism. Previous theatre performances offered a form of escapism. The audience would become emotionally invested in the performance. In contrast to the suspension of disbelief, Brecht never wanted the audience to fall into the performance. He wanted the audience to make judgments on the argument dealt in the play. The aim of epic theatre is to detach the audience from any emotional connection in order for them to critically review the story. The ultimate goal of this theatre is creating awareness of social surroundings and encouraging the audience to take initiative on changing the society.

    Read More

  • Isolation In The House On Mango Street

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    This shows alienation because she can’t relate to

    Read More

  • The Dramaturgical Perspective

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    The dramaturgical perspective, or its equivalent impression management, is sociological paradigm by which a goal-directed conscious or unconscious process (presentation or reception), attempts to influence the perceptions of other people (Helslin, 2012). Unlike other sociological theories, Dramaturgy does not examine the human behavior outcomes but analyzes the context––the stage––in which we perform for an audience. With five personality dimensions: audience status, power, attractiveness, like-ability, and intimidation as perceived by the performer, dramaturgy plays up verbal and non-verbal cues as the main component. In movies, or even Broadway plays, there’s a need for a specific theme. Without this fundamental point, they would be meaningless nonsense with no relevance. Our lives are no different. We all have personal goals in which impression management can be applied for success, and this assignment helped me recognize that. I act a certain way with the goal that I must persuade my audience, or defend my character. In the following paragraphs, I will highlight myself in a workplace performance for dramaturgical analysis. My performance provided me with praise, and self esteem, but a poor performance would surely have brought me negative criticism or disrespect.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Concepts of Anomie and Alienation

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    individuals, society, or work. Some sociologists believe that alienation is inevitably produced not by the individual but by the shallowness and the lack of individuality in modern society. The concept of alienation has been held to account for behaviour patterns. as diverse as motiveless violence and total immobility. Alienation is a state in which the creations of humanity appear to humans as alien objects.

    Read More

  • Elements Of Alienation

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the modern period a common topic used amongst the arts was alienation. The notion of feeling distant from others or an activity to which one should be part of or be involved in was reflected in many pieces during the modern period. Two pieces that were fascinating to me, because of the way they utilized alienation as a part of their visual and literary arts, were “The Scream,” by Edvard Munch and “The Metamorphosis,” by Franz Kafka. Munch and Kafka both used forms of formal elements to get the emotional crisis they felt through to the viewer.

    Read More

  • The Oppression of Caliban in The Tempest

    2589 Words  | 6 Pages

    Vaughan, Virginia Mason. "Caliban's Theatrical Metamorphoses." Caliban. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 1992. 192-206.

    Read More

  • Mental Disorders: The Role Of Monstrosity In Performing Arts

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    This attachment can develop into a blessing or a monster. When performers take on heavy or intense roles, it can begin to affect their emotions off the stage and out of the rehearsal rooms. Many performers struggle with separating their roles from real life. Without this separation, performers can become depressed, angry, and even somewhat evil, depending on what roles they take on. A common, yet exaggerated example of a role overtaking someone to the point of emotional monstrosity is the found in the film The Black Swan. In this film, the prima ballerina begins to become an evil monster because of her role as the black swan. She began to transform into an evil, regretless person. Although fictional, this movie revealed the dark side of taking on dark roles and how they can in turn, make the performer monstrous (Black). Some may say that these effects are signs of dedicated and talented performers, however, these side effects can be signs of greater mental monstrosities or issues. Related to this inability to detach from their roles, performers can begin to have fantasy proneness and dissociation tendencies. Disassociation is defined as “a failure to integrate information and experiences in normally associated ways,” which stated by Paula Thomson, “Can be traced back to Greek muses” (Thomson 73). These issues have been around

    Read More

  • Transformations in Ovid's Metamorphosis

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    Transformations from one shape or form into another are the central theme in Ovid's Metamorphoses. The popularity and timelessness of this work stems from the manner of story telling. Ovid takes stories relevant to his culture and time period, and weaves them together into one work with a connecting theme of transformation throughout. The thread of humor that runs through Metamorphoses is consistent with the satire and commentary of the work. The theme is presented in the opening lines of Metamorphoses, where the poet invokes the gods, who are responsible for the changes, to look favorably on his efforts to compose. The changes are of many kinds: from human to animal, animal to human, thing to human, human to thing. Some changes are reversed: human to animal to human. Sometimes the transformations are partial, and physical features and personal qualities of the earlier being are preserved in mutated form.

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Brecht On Theatre

Open Document