Brecht’s Epic Theatre Conventions (Pt.2)

Part 2 of Brecht’s Epic Theatre conventions involves an overview of some of his techniques. In future posts, I will go into more depth with certain conventions, but for this post, we will look at a shopping list of Epic Theatre conventions my Year 11 Drama students summarised in class this morning. I trust some readers of The Drama Teacher will find this list useful.

• narration
• direct address to audience
• placards and signs
• projection
• spoiling dramatic tension in advance of episodes (scenes)
• disjointed time sequences – flash backs and flash forwards – large jumps in time between episodes (scenes)
• historification – setting events in another place and/or time in order to distance the emotional impact, yet enhance the intellectual impact for the spectator (audience)
• fragmentary costumes – single items of clothing representing the entire costume
• fragmentary props – single objects representing a larger picture (or setting)
• song – like parables in the Bible, songs are used to communicate the message or themes of the drama
• demonstration of role – actors are encouraged not to fully become the role, but rather to ‘demonstrate’ the role at arms length, with a sense of detachment
• multiple roles – actors commonly perform more than one character in a drama
• costume changes in full view of the spectator (audience)
• lighting equipment in full view of the spectator (audience)
• open white lighting – due to its emotional impact, colored light on stage is eliminated – instead, the stage is flooded with white light
• alienation technique – a complex term translated differently by scholars from the German “verfremdungseffekt”, involves the use of many of the above conventions, with the ultimate aim of distancing the audience emotionally and increasing their intellectual response to the drama