T D 301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Bertolt Brecht, Samuel Beckett, Martha Graham
Document Summary
Representational staging (realism: realistic illusion, details are filled in. Presentational staging (theatricalism: audience aware of theatrical manipulations. Focus on symbolic expression: movements are exaggerated, almost choreographed, ex: the odyssey by homer. Poetic metaphor (how the sand can represent blood and their souls leaving their bodies) Internal struggles; subjective experience: how their bodies can express their inner struggles. In reality we act one way, but we have all these feelings and emotions within. Imagination required: the props are not meant to give us a perfect picture. Realism arose first, but then theatricalism began to play alongside realism. Motivated by: arms buildup in germany (nazi regime) Increased militarization: deep investment in humanity, german industrialism as a threat to humanity. The excitement of technological advance has led to anxiety. Industrialization creates zombies and strips workers of their individuality. Bertolt brecht: believed it was dangerous, politically and artistically, for theatre goers to get lost in the story of the play, desired:
