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