Brecht and Epic Theatre

[Bluefey]

I am considering doing Good Person of Setzuan - but I wanted to be pretty true to what Brecht intended.

To be honest, I am not sure what that is .... I have a general understanding of his concepts. For example, I know that he wanted the audience to be aware that they are watching a play. I have tried to research, but have not been very successful in answering my questions.

I was wondering if any of you know specifics about Brecht - and what my production should include and the approaches I should take.

 

[Footer]

Get a hold of a book by Brocket, it has a good amount of info on Brecht and Epic Theatre.

Amazon.com: History of the Theatre: Oscar G. Brockett, Franklin J. Hildy: Books

I have done a few brecht plays, heres what I can tell you. First, you MUST have a concept behind the show, what do you want the audience to experience and to walk away with?

As far as how to analyze and work with the script, remember, he wrote the plays to not "take you" somewhere. He wrote them to be performed in a theatre, and he wrote them to be performed. Don't attempt to make the character real, instead analyze them and what they are saying. Build the characters off of that. Don't get bogged down in spectacle, these plays should be simple. Put them into a vacum, don't set them somewhere lavish. Really look at the words, and....

RESEARCH THE CRAP OUT OF EPIC THEATRE AND BRECHT.

 

[ship]

Been a few years since I studied the author and the play. Will attempt to refresh my memory some in the coming weekend if possible but good point above on the seperation.

 

[Bluefey]

Footer - that was actually very good advice and something I will try to remember as i jump in to this project

I look forward to hearing more input ship - so thanks!

 

[cdcarter]

Hello, I realize this is a bit of a necro, but Brecht is so wonderful to work with. The most important thing to realize is that these are caricatures and stereotypes. You are not working with "people" like you would in a realist play. You want your audience to disassociate with the characters so they can see the greater meaning of the play.