Unit 3: Epic Theatre (Bertolt Brecht) Study RESEARCH INVESTIGATION

Unit 3: Epic Theatre (Bertolt Brecht) Study RESEARCH INVESTIGATION

Using the resources below (or other creditable ones you find on your own) create a blog entry answering the following prompts about Bertolt Brecht and EPIC THEATRE.

Part 1: Historical Context of Brecht's life (Major Events, Geography, etc.) & simple Biography 
Part 2: Brecht's Major Influences & Beliefs 
Part 3: Major Tenets/Characteristics of EPIC THEATRE 
Part 4: Major differences of EPIC THEATRE vs. dramatic theatre of the time 
Part 5: Impact of Brecht's work in contemporary theatre

Part 1: -

Bertolt Brecht was born on 10^th February 1898. He was born in Augsburg.  Brecht’s father was Catholic and his mother was a Protestant. Bertolt Brecht was the first-born and later came his brother, Walter Brecht. Bertolt was mostly sick during his child hood, he had heart conditions through out his childhood. While he was in school, he began to write for his school magazine. He started to be recognized and soon started writing for the newspaper. Later, he wrote his first play. It was called “The Bible”. Through out Brecht’s adult life he married 3 women and had multiple children. Brecht won National Prize in 1951 and later in 1954 won International Lenin Peace Prize. Brecht passed away from a heart attack in August 1956.

Part 2: -

Bertolt Brecht was influenced by Charlie Chaplin. He respected Charlie Chaplin’s twisted humor and therefore, he inserted that into his pieces. He also inserted the political beliefs, just like Charlie Chaplin did. Brecht believed that theatre was the best way to express social and political criticism. “Brecht developed a style known as “Epic Theatre.” In this medium, actors did not strive to make their characters realistic. Instead, each character represented a different side of an argument. Brecht’s “Epic Theatre” presented multiple viewpoints and then let the audience decide for themselves.” (Wade Bradford)

Part 3: -

Epic theatre is a term; the term is very much known to describe the style and techniques that were used in Germany after World War I. These are done by directors, such as, Maz Reinhardt, Erwin Piscator but most particularly Bertolt Brecht. “For Brecht, the radical transformation was from a nineteenth century bourgeois world view to a twentieth century scientific one, from which perspective the artifacts and philosophical tenets of the past appeared old and in decline. The belief in the progress of history, fuelled by the Marxist notion of the march of history, is evident throughout Brecht’s writing. He is in this sense a man of his times. The modernist belief in progress went something like this” (Biomechanics) The characterization of the play was to portray the affluent societies. “His play argues that capitalism's increased productive capacity over the past thirty years has led to the development of consumption as a major social process.” (Alan Lovell)

Part 4: -

Table URL- https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/ppandp/PDFs/Brecht-a%20brief%20overview.pdf

Part 5: -

His theatre has a major impact on theatre now. He is known to be the best play writer, ever. Epic theatre is still used by a thousand people and is still known the best form of theatre. “His view of theatre as an educational tool for social change, his collaborative approaches, and his theories of epic theatre are only some of his many contributions to the development of theatre.” (The Academy)

 Bibliography: -

"Biography of Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)." Biography of Bertolt Brecht. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. <http://www.gradesaver.com/author/bertolt-brecht/>.

Bradford, Wade. "The Life and Work of Playwright Berthold Brecht." About.com Plays / Drama. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. <http://plays.about.com/od/playwrights/a/brecht.htm>.

Lovell, Alan. "JUMP CUTA         REVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY MEDIA." Epic theater and the principles of counter-cinema by Alan Lovell. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. <http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC27folder/EpicThCounterCinema.html>.

"The Academy." The Academy . N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. <http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/siryan/academy/theatres/..%5Ctheatres%5Cbrecht,%20bertolt.htm>.

"brecht - epic theatre." brecht - epic theatre. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. <http://biomechanics.vtheatre.net/doc/epic.html>.