Bertolt Brecht

One of the most important techniques Brecht developed to perform epic theatre is  Verfremdungseffekt, or the "alienation" effect. The purpose of this technique was to make the audience feel detached from the action of the play, so they do not become immersed in the fictional reality of the stage or become overly empathetic of the character. Flooding the theatre with bright lights (not just the stage), having actors play multiple characters, having actors also rearrange the set in full view of the audience and "breaking the fourth wall" by speaking to the audience are all ways he used to achieve the Verfremdungseffekt.

Epic theatre was a reaction against popular forms of theatre, particularly the naturalistic approach pioneered by Constantin Stanislavski. Like Stanislavski, Brecht disliked the shallow spectacle, manipulative plots, and heightened emotion of melodrama; but where Stanislavski attempted to engender real human behaviour in acting through the techniques of Stanislavski's system and to absorb the audience completely in the fictional world of the play, Brecht saw Stanislavski's methodology as producing escapism.

(information found online) 

Brechts techniques were driven by his political ideas and views, he wanted the audience to feel detached from the actors and not to sympathise with them but to reflect on their own lives and current situations but also affairs surrounding them and internationally. He wanted his audience to question their morals and social behaviour. He was big on the alienation effect because it compelled people to think outside of the box, to have a new point of view. Breaking fourth wall is a way to make the performance more ratable by the fact that everybody has different choices to make that can effect a persons path in life, it gives the audience the understanding of the character and their inner thought and feelings on their situations. Using epic theatre techniques are very similar to real life circumstances and i believe Brecht found it more effective and real compared to other techniques like naturalism used by other theatre practitioners. 

Represent, Don't Become 

Represent a person, a situation; don't become a character based on a person or story.