Download The "V-effect"

Brecht and Epic Theatre:
Epic theatre is a theatrical movement, popularized in the early 20th century. It came about as a
reaction to realism, which was the accepted style of most artists at the time. Brecht and a few of
his contemporaries found realism to be overplayed and did not promote individual criticism.
They began to crave a style that would counteract this. What was popular at the time was for
people to present a play from the hero’s perspective and encourage the audience to view from
that angle as well. Brecht’s notion with epic theatre was that the spectators should see a
particular scene or circumstances from more than one viewpoint and form their own judgments
about what was going on. In epic theatre, stage mechanics and set changes are generally not
hidden; rather, the audience is encouraged to view the technical processes of the theatre.
Therefore, the audience will not get so drawn in that they forget they are watching a dramatic
production.
Verfremdungseffekt, commonly referred to as the V effect or Alienation Effect, is a term Brecht
used to describe the actor’s technique employ in creating characters in Epic Theatre.
Verfremdungseffekt is often erroneously referred to as an “alienation effect”. This is partially due
to the inaccurate
translation of the word
“verfremdung”. In
actuality, Brecht
probably meant to use
a word closer to
“estranged”. According
to former National
Theatre School’s
director Wolfgang
Kolneder,
Verfremdungseffekt
“means to look at
something and, in
another light. It looks
different” (Donnelly par
3).
In dramatic (or
Aristotelian) theatre,
the actors aim to
become their
characters, so that the audience will not see the persona they are presenting, rather than the
actual personality of the actor. Epic actors are vessels of representation that reveal that there is
an actor behind the mask.
Contrary to popular belief, Brecht did not invent the concept of
epic theatre. However, he is recognized as its theorist and most
fervent defender in theatre practice. Epic theatre artists have
different goals and intentions than dramatic artists, but they are
not opposites. Below is a chart highlighting many differences
between the two.
“The epic writer Döblin provided an
excellent criterion when he said that with
an epic work, as opposed to a dramatic,
one can as it were, take a pair of scissors
and cut it into individual pieces, which
remain full capable of life.”
~John Willet
Dramatic Theatre
Epic Theatre
Plot
Narrative
Implicates the spectator in a stage
situation
Turns the spectator into an observer but
Wears down
Arouses his capacity for action
Provides him with sensations
Forces him to take decisions
Experience
Picture of the world
The spectator is involved in something
He is made to face something
Suggestion
Argument
Instinctive feelings are preserved
Brought to the point of recognition
The spectator is in the thick of it, shares
the experience
The spectator stands outside, studies
The human being is taken for granted
The human being is the object of inquiry
He is unalterable
He is alterable and able to alter
Eyes on the finish
Eyes on the course
One scene makes another
Each scene for itself
Linear development
In curves
Evolutionary determinism
Jumps
Man as a fixed point
Man as a process
Thought determines being
Social being determines thought
Feeling
Reason
Source: Brecht on Brecht (Bertolt Brecht).
The Use of Epic Theatre Techniques in UAB’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle Production
“It’s being able to [play] a character and at the same time, being able to step out of that
character and [observe] it,” UAB Theatre director Jack Cannon says of epic theatre.
“A lot more emphasis has to be placed upon the actor rather than the character,” says Cannon.
In UAB’s production, this method will be used to help the audience to distinguish between
various roles the actors are playing.
In The Caucasian Chalk Circle, it is not uncommon to have around twenty characters in a scene
at one time. Elements of clowning are present and work to highlight the humor of the work as
well as to distinguish archetypal characters.
University productions of Chalk Circle provide an opportunity for students to learn other acting
techniques that will enable them to broaden their repertoire of skills.
The design team used the transcendent nature of the play to produce a highly theatrical and
culturally ambiguous standard of presentation. Cannon states that the aim is to create an “exotic
foreign environment”, with less importance placed on the “reality of their environment, but
rather the results of theatre.