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?

Everyone chose very natural scenes that many of us could relate to like Molly and Ruaruri. In their scene they played a young couple, trying to decide what they were gonna watch on Netflix whilst molly was indecisive and Ruaruri didn't care what they watched. I liked their scene because it was quite a true representation of a young couple, of course it was stereotypical but your able to relate; girls cant decide what to watch but stare at all the hot actors and talk too much, whilst the guys just want to spend quality time with their girlfriends and their not really bothered by anything else but her constant chatting of rubbish.  

Task 2: You revisited the scene and selected the climactic moment and rehearsed this so you knew the stage directions well.

I found this interesting as it helped me and Harry to only include the most important moments in our scene. Where as we done and said a lot of things that weren't necessary in the beginning. Doing this helps to identify the structure from beginning to end with climatic moments. 

  

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?

The activity helped me to distance myself from my emotions i felt like a robot who was acting and saying my stage directions and not being too emotionally invested which feels strange. Brecht used this to ensure that the audience knew they were watching a piece of theatre with an underlining message. I found it hard to concentrate on my feelings and how id convey them when every change or shift in the scene require stage directions. However this helps you as an actor to be aware at all times what your meant to be doing and what your role is as an actor and a informer.  

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? 

Why is Brecht so important?

Bertolt Brecht was a theatre practitioner. He made and shaped theatre in a way that had a huge impact upon its development. Many of his ideas were so revolutionary that they changed the theatrical landscape forever. Modern theatre owes a lot to his methods.

When naturalistic theatre was at its height and acted as a mirror to what was happening in society, he decided to use it as a force for change. He wanted to make his audience think and famously said that theatre audiences at that time “hang up their brains with their hats in the cloakroom”.

In naturalistic or dramatic theatre the audience care about the lives of the characters onstage. They forget their own lives for a while and escape into the lives of others. When an audience cries for a character or feels emotion through the events happening to them it’s called catharsis.

Brecht was against cathartic theatre. He believed that while the audience believed in the action onstage and became emotionally involved they lost the ability to think and to judge. He wanted his audiences to remain objective and distant from emotional involvement so that they could make considered and rational judgements about any social comment or issues in his work. To do this he used a range of theatrical devices or techniques so that the audience were reminded throughout that they were watching theatre; a presentation of life, not real life itself. His kind of theatre was called Epic theatre. He called the act of distancing the audience from emotional involvement theverfremdungseffekt.

(found on BBC- GCSE Drama) 

What i've learnt so far about epic theatre is that its away to express your thoughts, views and

beliefs through performance. It is the true represtation in showing everyone has options and 

everyone makes different choices nothing is a "fixed point ". I think that this is a brilliant way 

to explore subjects and issues because the audience would be aware at all times this is a 

performance a piece of theatre and they would focus on the message instead of being

captivated with an actor and possibly their fictional lives and situations. This goes hand in 

hand with political theatre because they both show and explore political ideas through 

theatre. the audience are constantly thinking and never escaping into the characters and 

their lives.