“Art is never without consequences, and indeed that says something for it.”
–Bertolt Brecht
Along with working on your revision for your text analysis, you’ll be reading in preparation for our discussion on the theatre practitioner who has perhaps had the most influence on 20th-century thinking about theatre’s possibilities, Bertolt Brecht. His work as a director, playwright, theatre-viewer, and careful theorist of his own work all funneled toward a radical rethinking of theatre’s previous priorities, one that saw an audience’s empathetic connection with a character or performance as deceptive and troubling. He borrowed a large number of techniques (and texts!) from Chinese and Japanese theatre forms in an attempt to rework and challenge Western tradition. The play you’re reading for this week is a revised parable. I’d like you to read a few selections from Brecht’s theoretical work as well, because he provides a great model for being very specific about how his abstract ideas and goals about theatre’s social function ought to translate to stage performance.
If you are able, meet together with others to read Brecht’s play aloud. In your blog, discuss one element of Brecht’s work (drawn either from his theoretical writing or from his play) that is refreshing or stimulating to you, and one element that is difficult or troubling for you. Accomplish this before lecture on Tuesday, and then spend Tuesday and Wednesday responding to the blog entries of THREE of the other members of your group. Can you help calm another person’s troubles, or answer a question? Can you upset someone’s surety with a question? We’ll begin class next week with your interest and difficulty, and then we’ll try to stage some of Brecht’s concerns by determining a mode of developing characters through his ideas.
Readings for this week:
Brecht’s He Who Says Yes/He Who Says No (reader)
Zenchiku’s Teniko (reader)
Excerpts from Brecht on Theatre (handout)
Chart on the back of this page comparing dramatic and epic theatre
Adding comments that improve the conversation and that you should not repeat what has already been said is very vital. At the same time, having a newer blog having a smaller community, I still always appreciate even probably the most simple comments like "I really enjoyed it post", "thanks for covering this topic" etc...it is best to nice to be reassured we appreciate what you're writing. This may be less acceptable very important to bigger, more popular sites.
Posted by: Porsche Mckibbens at January 15, 2011 1:23 AMI like the valuable info you provide in your posts. I will bookmark your weblog and check again here regularly. I am quite certain I will learn lots of new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next! Evonne Hakimi
Posted by: Evonne Hakimi at July 8, 2011 2:13 AM