04/29/2016

• Brecht's apartment was larger - privileged 
• East Germany - good relationship
• East Germany liked what Brecht stood for 
• Wife was acting until she was 70
• Leader = Helene Weigel  
• Art director = Brecht 
• Montage - bringing together different elements to bring things together  (create a scene) 
• Strike - 1924 final sequence 
• Montage + Strike = juxtapose with the setting 
• Eisenstein  
• King of editing film 
• way film editor cuts things together
• manipulate images 
• Beyonce - Lemonade
• Short, self-contained scenes he juxtaposed to make a shock
• Story board = staging 
• Alienation Effect
• wants audience to draw conclusions 
• estrangement 
• re-examine preconceptions 
• look at the familiar in a new way 
• as an audience, ask yourself --> how can this change? 
• wants actor to inhabit character
• remember always actor is SHOWING the audience
• identification can be dangerous because it can prevent you as an actor to comment on the character
• results in no purpose
• wants actor to be looking at audience in a critical distance
• wants actor to have clear purpose 
• objectivity 
• he said...she said...
• 3rd person
• variety perspective
• switch focus from one character to another
• humor can be used as a distancing technique 
• Epic Theater
• more of a technique than a genre
• Shakespeare was an inspiration
• Brecht wanted to create new artistic unity
• where interruptions are encouraged
• text is set against action
• music given its own reality
• scenery is cut away
• unconnected scenes follow one another
• diversity for the audience
• contradictions and conflict of opposites
• characters had contradicting principles  
• Gestus 
• physical embodiment of the relationship of people in  society
• each gestus interlocks 
• establish clear physical shape - clear action
• e.g. silent scream of mother courage
• e.g. saving Katrine and stopping ripping up of her shirts 
• Counterpointing 
• 2 scenes happening side by side at the same time 
• People who influenced Brecht
• Meyerhold - didn't want a fourth wall 
• didn't believe middle class should be challenged 
• constructivism - slides
• kabuik
• noh
• comedia
• biomechanics 
• Michael Chekhov 
• pantomime
• actor is acrobat
• emotion was key
• clown 
• Focus was actor could explore contradictions of the actor
• look for the juxtaposition 
• Mother Courage 
• Brecht was acting when he was accused of being a communist 
• looking for action and commenting of action 
• music
• actors

Notes (4/25/2016)

• Epics
• implies a narrative
• long period of time
• Wrote plays with no scene divisions
• divisions were made later and called them episodes
• Didn't like episodes
• Wanted to emotionally distance the audience
• audience is called spectators
• differences: intimacy versus detachment 
• Use alienation 
• Epic theater conventions
• narrations
• direct address to audience
• placards and signs
• projection
• spoiling dramatic tension in advance of episode (scenes)
• disjointed time sequences - flash backs and flash forwards
• fragmentary costumes - single item of clothing representing the entire costume
• fragmentary props - single objects representing a larger picture or setting
• song - like parables (communicating themes in drama)
• demonstration of roles 0 actors are encouraged to demonstrate (not become) roles at arms length
• multiple roles
• costume changes in full view of spectator
• lighting equipment 
• open white lighting - due to its emotional impact, colored light on stage is eliminated - instead the stage is flooded with white light 
• alienation technique - German "verfremdungseffeck" involves the use of above conventions with the aim of distancing the spectators from the drama 
• Mother Courage (process - movie)
• She looks for the war and "easy money"
• loses all her children  
• Ideology is a pretext to business 
• All in different ways profit from the war 
• War brings money 
• Talks about what war is about, but doesn't want to participate 
• Drafted for war (Brecht's assistant) 
• originally wanted to study chemistry 
• Sent to a prison - accidentally met actors at the camp 
• spent 2 years acting at the camp 
• Decelerate Theater - Central Park
• moving into the space
• problem - not being able to hear anything 
• Helicopters hovering (costume) 
• somewhat perfect 
• War - constantly being talked about when they were younger (novel)
• thought about the number of wars
• The Holocaust and Atomic bomb 
• how you respond to that determines your politics 
• Mass death is the issue 
• strung up between life and death 
• Not strong men, they just want money
• tries to bargain down the Sergeant with money
• knows only way to protect her family is business drive
• doesn't see she bargained too long 
• Swiss Cheese dies
• If she had paid everything for Swiss Cheese, she would have commended everyone to death 
• The war has nothing to offer you
• old person talking to a young person 
• "Push comes to shove..." 
• Most unforgivable thing she ever did - let her despair and hate for herself ruin the only push this young angry revolutionary guy had 
• Tell the story of what others were doing 
• if enough people do it over enough time, it stops war 

Hamlet

1.    Theater in Context-

a.     How did it relate to your culture?

• In my culture, Hamlet has been a play that has greatly influenced theatre and been able to evolve through time. Shakespeare as a poet, playwright, and writer has not only inspired many artists today, but also

b.      How did it relate to other cultures?

• It relates to other cultures in the sense that chaos leads to destruction. I think, especially in war, chaos has a tendency to destroy relationships and ultimately humanity.

c.       How did it relate to society today? Your personal world?

• I think this play warns the audience of what not to be. It shows the fall of heroic people and the process to how they became that way.

Knee High Theater - The Dead Dog in a Suitcase

• Words by the director
• People today live in a fast moving life
• Brecht - 2 scenes simultaneously
• In the play, some scenes were 3 scenes simultaneously
• Brecht moments
• See characters changing - audience is aware
• realize we are watching a play 
• Simultaneous scenes 
• Upstairs and downstairs
• Use of songs 
• Felt more like a Brecht musical
• Songs commenting on the scenes
• Criticism of politics
• life sucks man sucks 
• commenting on elements of life
• corruption of life 
• Finale - "Bring it all down!" 
• visual reminder 
• puppets were reminders
• All reminders are processing - wants the audience to go away with
• Unbelievably dark and tragic 
• Creating the musical process 
• Company always have props - idea room
• At one point, actors built shrines for characters

Notes (4/19/2016)

• Andras Practioner Performance
• I thought he did a very good job. I liked how his movements were so clear and precise. It made it seem like everything he did had an intention. I also thought the way he repeated some of the movements conveyed the message of changing the perspectives. However, one thing I questioned was why he chose not to face the audience. At first, I thought it was going to be harder to connect with the audience since we couldn't see his face, but as the performance continued, it felt like we were watching from an "outsider" perspective. Overall, I thought the performance was well done. 
• The Making of "Mother Courage and Her Children" (with Meryl Streep) 
• "Why are we attracted to things that destroy us?" 
• Montague 
• Music 
• Jeanie Tesori
• Also wrote music for Millie
• Writes it only for the actor (character) 
• Process should not be shown to audience 
• "Coke is America in a can." 
• Jay Cantor
• "No matter how rich you are you can never get a better can." 
• Jay Cantor 
• Novelist 
• "Constructed by the world to do work, constructed to do work." 
• Jay Cantor 
• Reminded each day his personality does not matter
• Marxism and Brecht 
• what does it mean by alienation?
• it is taken from you
• you sell it - the way you sell it will give others to have more power over you
• personality is malleable
• what forces make it 
• no "solution"
• thought world could change
• Brecht was an angry writer
• dissatisfied with government and power from his time
• Jeremy Lydic
• Props 
• Also works the role of stage manager 
• Internal conflicts
• what things should look like versus what others want 
• Costumes
• Many wars
• WW1, Civil War, Vietnam
• Kevin Klein
• Sophie's choice
• works with Meryl Streep a lot 
• Carl Weber 
• former assistant of Brecht 
• Stanford professor 
• People do the harm they do - not by the good
• Decided that it was his job to do something beyond himself 
• wanted change
• Interrupted social implications 
• injustice everywhere with no rebellion 
• Brecht = Marxist
• suffering in the making, but participation in our making would bring the greatest joy  
• Mother Courage is looking for the war
• the "easy money"
• There is no easy money when it comes to war, you will pay. 
• She's obsessed with the power, until she loses something important to her 
• Ideology is a pretext 

Notes (4/13/2016)

• Brecht 
• Heavily influenced by communist ideals and elements
• He lived on East Berlin (Run by Soviet Union)
• Brought the "A" Effect from China
• All practitioners were interested in Asian Theater
• Stage picture was key
• He was part of the crew
• The props were very well made
• The costumes were realistic
• Went through extreme measures 
• "The most complicated thing about studying Brecht is the role of the actor."
• He had many affairs
• always had people around him
• groups of friends watching rehearsals
• would laugh if he liked it (despite the scene's mood)
• Married to Helane Vigal 
• Iconic
• 
  

Year 1 Practitioner Project

Antonio - Eugene Ionesco

• I thought his use of props were used well to juxtapose the human emotions around his monologue. I learned theater of the absurd uses both realistic and non-realistic elements. This relationship helps the things that are "absurd" seem even more absurd. 

Lynn - Artaud

• The setup of the performance was very intimate. The chairs were in a circle around a black fabric on the ground. I liked how Lynn was able to interact with the audience using different fabric materials and their colors. Red is usually associated with passion and love. However, it can also be used to portray power, On the other hand, white symbolizes innocence. When Lynn took away each  fabric, I thought it symbolized taking away a piece of someone's innocence and power. This idea relates back to Artaud's theater of cruelty and how often times the audience begins to feel uncomfortable. 

Goose - Chekhov

• I liked how she used a video, similar to how Chekhov would train Hollywood stars. One of the main gestures that was shown was putting on and off the lipstick. I also liked how she spoke to the mirror as if she were talking to herself. However, in reality, she was talking to a reflection of herself. I also thought she incooperated Stanislavsky's method very well. It was easy to see which emotion was being conveyed in their respected units. 

Adam - Grotowski 

• In the beginning of his performance, he was much more submissive and timid. Although it was a very minimalistic set, he was able to use his body and its movements to portray the mood. As the performance continued, it seemed like his character was able to become much more confident. It was interesting that the different dynamics between many characters were able to be compacted into one. Instead of interacting with other actors on stage, he was more or less interacting with himself. 

Year 2 Practitioner Performances

Daniel - Artaud

During this performance, I felt extremely uncomfortable. In the beginning, my initial reaction was to laugh and giggle, since I didn't know what else to do. However, towards the end, this feeling eventually evolved into vulnerability. I thought Daniel's performance was outstanding. His use of technology correlated well with his dialogue, the different fabric and colors were used very cleverly, and his monologue was very unique.

Hanna - Meyerhold

I thought Hana's performance was very clear and had a sense of order to it. It was easy for the audience to follow and understand the different characters. I thought her use bio-mechanics was clearly seen and very efficient. I really liked how she represented each character as a different color and the flow of her performance. It began as tragic, but eventually became power. However, even when the last character seemed powerful and strong, a strong sense of overwhelming sadness was still present. I thought it was interesting, because it was such a human like quality to try to be strong in difficult situations, but still feel like something or someone is holding one back.

Bianca - Robert Wilson

Bianca's performance was very clever. Her use of technology (the background) and lighting helped the audience understand the transitions and mood changes of all the scenes. Although she didn't use any dialogue, the communication she had with her audience was very strong. The scene that stood out to me the most was possibly the beginning. I really liked how she set up her stage and created symbolism by walking around the circle. I also thought her entrances and exits were very stiff and made me feel a little uncomfortable. However, it wasn't the same type of "uncomfortable" feeling I felt watching Daniel's piece. Bianca's performance made me feel uncomfortable, because for a practitioner who said theater was mainly for amusement and pleasure, her piece seemed very real to me. I felt a strong connection with the character during certain scenes. Overall, it surprised me how the lack of one form of communication (in this case speech) forces the human mind to focus so much more on the details in order to fully "understand."

Notes (4/7/2016)

• Most modern version of practical aesthetics
• William Macy and David Mamet
• Manifested Stanislavsky's method in a different way 
• Brecht had a different purpose with Stanislavsky's method
• 1889-1956
• World War 1/11
• Cold War
• Communism
• Socialism
• Nazi (Holocaust) 
• Theater of Cruelty 
• Theater of Poor
• Theater of Absurd
• Brecht
• Sending a message
• More than telling a story
• Politics and war that surrounded them
• Creating a political theater that educates and communicates its audience (1 of his primary aims) 
• Wanted audience to leave theater and be moved to social and political change --> to do something
• examine their lives
• didn't want them to be in fantasy world
• leave with something they're going to do
• wanted to develop entertainment into an object of instruction
• theater = publication 
• Study time period of 1889-1956 to understand the purpose to what he wrote
• Both Stanislavsky and Brecht sent a message beyond amusement 
• Keep in mind there are different cultures and different interpretations 
• Level of awareness
• Racism is a fact of life
• if love transcends that do it
• know racism is present (contest) 
• Important to Brecht --> Being aware