(Brecht, 1964: 136) To aid the audiences" objective assessment of onstage action, Brecht developed a technique of alienation also known as the a-effect or distancing technique involving the process of taking human social incidents to be portrayed and labelling them as something calling for an explanation. ... Another device cutting across the narrative and breaking the realistic continuity was that of intermingling action with songs. Examples of this technique in contemporary theatre can be seen in plays such as Woza Albert. ... The Brechtian technique of making use of the cyclorama for c...

• Word Count: 1464
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Brecht's "epic" (narrative and non-dramatic) theatre is based on detachment, on the Verfremdung or translated, the alienation effect, to "disrupt the viewer's normal or run of the mill perception by introducing elements that will suddenly cause the viewer to see familiar objects in a strange way and to see strange objects in a familiar way" (Fuegi, p.83). This was achieved through techniques that reminded the audience that they were being shown a demonstration of human behaviour in scientific spirit rather than an illusion of reality. ... Some of the techniques of Brecht's stagi...

• Word Count: 1259
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

A large cast of proletarian-types and capitalist-types fill out the sociological picture -- it's pre-Revolutionary China -- and the whole panorama is watched over by three gods looking for goodness in the world and a lowly water carrier who acts as a narrative liaison between gods and men. ... Granted, Brechtian distancing techniques and broad characterizations often encourage stodgy delivery, but some of the supporting cast are wooden in ways that mark this as a collegiate show -- and yet I hesitate to say "amateur" in this regard, because many a professional production could learn a...

• Word Count: 2078
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School