In today's lesson we started off with another Brechtian exercise called 'Snobs and Servants'. This involved a technique called 'Gestus' This was a very good game to play because it helped with my improvisation skills, it helped me think on my feet and be aware of your surroundings. This exercise is good for me as an actor because it kept me thinking about status and roles in a scene, it allowed these two factors to remain constant and stable as well. The fact that when you were a servant you subconsciously knew that any obstacle could have been thrown at you at any time it truly helped with my on the spot skills because I would be prepared to do any task.
Next we continued work on characterization and archetypes. We began with an exercise called 'Montage'. We were told to turn into, a mother, a mad man and a killer. Then we had to create stories but the three archetypes were actually the same person. This exercise was good for story telling and coming up with ideas for a characters story as well. On the other hand, I don't think that this exercise was too useful when thinking it is political term because I feel it didn't really show a political essence although it was Brechtian so I can see how it is in fact useful in a way.
Finally, we looked at our chosen play, which is 'The Most Horrific' by the prolific political playwright, Vivienne Franmann. The play is very contemporary, containing modern political topics such as the, 'Bring Back Our Girls' campaign and the 'Guantanamo Bay Force Feedings'. The characters in the play are unamed, they are just A,B,C and D. This is a very Brechtian method called the 'V effect'. Not giving the characters names, distances them from the audience because it doesn't trigger a relationship with them. In my opinion, this is a very good way for the audience to understand what the play is really about and not be distracted by any characters they have formed a relationship about. In a political theatre view, this is perfect for a political message to be portrayed because the politics is the only thing the audience will be thinking about throughout the piece.
Franzmann uses guilt as a device in the play to make people open their eyes to the truth in society. She understands that guilt is a brilliant way for someone to re-think/ re-evaluate what is really important and what are the priorities in life. A celeb or hundreds of girls being kidnapped by terrorists?
In my opinion, the play is very important for society, especially my generation. My age group are divulged in materialistic things and are not awake to things going on in the world. I feel that the previous generation have let us down and we need to change how we live as humans. The play reflects on the depressing fact that a human life is deemed less important than a photo on social media or a celebrity with a ridiculous tattoo on an even more ridiculous body part. I feel plays like this are important because it gives a lot of people hope that there are still people out there who want to help other people's causes.
Sunday, 16 November 2014
Brecht, V effect, Making a Gesture Strange and Basic Charcterization
In today's lesson we looked at numerous exercises that our chosen practitioner, Brecht used when he was creating his pieces of theatre.
Today I learned a lot about Brecht and realised as to why he created so many political pieces. He lived in an era where Hitler and Nazism was prominent in Germany, his place of birth and he hated it. Knowing this I understood why he decided to make many political plays because he understood that theatre and performance were perfect ways to portray a serious message to an audience. I feel as if this was really helpful to my understanding of political theatre and its power because it made me realise that it is in fact easier to convey your message to a group of people through entertainment.
We used an exercise called the distancing effect or the "V effect", which allows the actor to distance their character from the audience. Brecht first used the term in an essay on "Alienation Effects in Chinese Acting" published in 1936, in which he described it as "playing in such a way that the audience was hindered from simply identifying itself with the characters in the play. Acceptance or rejection of their actions and utterances was meant to take place on a conscious plane, instead of, as hitherto, in the audience's subconscious" I feel after using this exercise, it helped me understand how political theatre was truly effective because I realised that once an audience member is distant from the characters and scenarios in a piece, then it gives them an outside view of the situation and allows them to see what truly is going on. This is good because maybe the audience isn't distant from the character or situation at all but instead in the exact scenario as well but may not have been able to see the true problem from their perspective. I feel that this is what makes political theatre so important because it can actually open the eyes of the oppressed. This means a lot to me as a person because I believe that society as a whole is oppressing the lower classes and it isn't being seen. Therefore the 'V effect' is important for me as a theatre creator so I can actually show my beliefs and what I feel is going on in society.
Secondly, we looked at basic characterization.Firstly, we began with 'moody objects'. This exercise was really good for an actor's physicality and how you can portray something using just your body. I feel that this exercise was good for me personally, because I feel, as an actor I need to work on my physicality a bit more then anything else. Then we did actual characters. This could have been done by doing the most basic of movements and changing your body shape slightly and you would have created a character. Many characters made were archetypal. I believe that if the characters were clear to us then they would be clear to the audience because the characters created were universally recognised. I think that the creation of familiar characters in a play is important because the audience needs to know who is who, obviously. It is important as a theatre maker to establish a character from the offset so the audience isn't confused. In my opinion if the characters aren't established early on then the whole political concept is lost because the audience members will not be able to truly understand what is going on what the message is. Also, I think this exercise benefited me because it helped me focus on body language and how to keep a constant in my character.
Today I learned a lot about Brecht and realised as to why he created so many political pieces. He lived in an era where Hitler and Nazism was prominent in Germany, his place of birth and he hated it. Knowing this I understood why he decided to make many political plays because he understood that theatre and performance were perfect ways to portray a serious message to an audience. I feel as if this was really helpful to my understanding of political theatre and its power because it made me realise that it is in fact easier to convey your message to a group of people through entertainment.
We used an exercise called the distancing effect or the "V effect", which allows the actor to distance their character from the audience. Brecht first used the term in an essay on "Alienation Effects in Chinese Acting" published in 1936, in which he described it as "playing in such a way that the audience was hindered from simply identifying itself with the characters in the play. Acceptance or rejection of their actions and utterances was meant to take place on a conscious plane, instead of, as hitherto, in the audience's subconscious" I feel after using this exercise, it helped me understand how political theatre was truly effective because I realised that once an audience member is distant from the characters and scenarios in a piece, then it gives them an outside view of the situation and allows them to see what truly is going on. This is good because maybe the audience isn't distant from the character or situation at all but instead in the exact scenario as well but may not have been able to see the true problem from their perspective. I feel that this is what makes political theatre so important because it can actually open the eyes of the oppressed. This means a lot to me as a person because I believe that society as a whole is oppressing the lower classes and it isn't being seen. Therefore the 'V effect' is important for me as a theatre creator so I can actually show my beliefs and what I feel is going on in society.
Secondly, we looked at basic characterization.Firstly, we began with 'moody objects'. This exercise was really good for an actor's physicality and how you can portray something using just your body. I feel that this exercise was good for me personally, because I feel, as an actor I need to work on my physicality a bit more then anything else. Then we did actual characters. This could have been done by doing the most basic of movements and changing your body shape slightly and you would have created a character. Many characters made were archetypal. I believe that if the characters were clear to us then they would be clear to the audience because the characters created were universally recognised. I think that the creation of familiar characters in a play is important because the audience needs to know who is who, obviously. It is important as a theatre maker to establish a character from the offset so the audience isn't confused. In my opinion if the characters aren't established early on then the whole political concept is lost because the audience members will not be able to truly understand what is going on what the message is. Also, I think this exercise benefited me because it helped me focus on body language and how to keep a constant in my character.
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