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Extended Essay:
What are the similarities and differences in the theatrical
styles and staging techniques ofBertolt Brecht and Richard
Foreman?
Candidate Name:
Candidate Number:
Session: May 2012
Subject: Theatre Arts
Supervisor
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Word Count: 3997 words.
Abstract
My research question is; What are the similarities and differences in the theatrical styles
and staging techniques ofBertolt Brecht and Richard Foreman? I decided to write my
Extended Essay on this topic because having read about Bertolt Brecht's Epic Theatre in
class and having observed the works of Richard Foreman independently, I could not help but
notice how there were striking similarities in the nature of their works.
The first step I took for my research was watching and reading various plays written by
Bertolt Brecht and Richard Foreman. After getting a clearer idea of the content, I studied
various books written about the respective forms of theatre of both playwrights as my
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primary source of information. For this essay, I have taken help from various books on Epic
theatre and avant-garde. Significant sources of reference for me have been books written by
the two theatre practitioners themselves as well as various other respected authors renowned
for their knowledge of these theatre forms. I have also refetTed to a personal journal kept by
Hannah Lilly during her time as intern for the Richard Foreman play PANIC: How to be
Happy. I was also able to get a better picture of Foreman's approach to staging plays through
an interview conducted with Robert Cucuzza, an actor in the same production.
..
After conducting my analysis, I was able to conclude that the works ofBertolt Brecht
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and Richard Foreman contained various similarities as well as differences. The most
significant similarities were found in the acting techniques, audios and visuals used by the
actors while the methods of staging sets and props were found to be moderately similar. On
the other hand, major differences were seen in the ideology, themes and writing styles of the
playwrights.
Word Count: 296 words.
I - \
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Table of Contents
Page Number
1. Introduction
2.1 History, Philosphy and Themes.
3
2.2 Acting Techniques, and Visual and Sound Effects.
6
2.3 Sets and Props
10
3. Conclusion
13
4. References
16
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1. Introduction.
While the rules of Western theatre devised by Aristotle hold true for some theorists,
theatre in the twentieth century and beyond has seen the emergence of a number of theatre
forms which refuse to adhere to the rules set by the ancient Greek philosopher. Practitioners
of these forms of theatre believe that Aristotle's views cannot encompass the boundaries of
theatre and thus they have set out to devise new theatre forms that will expose the frailties of
this traditional system. Bertolt Brecht, the founder of Epic Theatre and Richard Foreman, a
pioneer in American avant-garde theatre, are two very prominent figures who have
spearheaded this non-Aristotelian movement. While perhaps not obvious on a quick
observation of their works, a deeper investigation into the thoughts and philosophy of these
practitioners shows that they have more in common than just a mutual disregard for
Aristotle' s theories.
In this essay, I will be exploring and comparing the works of both the aforementioned
playwrights. My research question is: What are the similarities and differences in the
I
theatrical styles and staging techniques of Bertolt Brecht and Richard Foreman? The
aforementioned theatrical styles and staging techniques are constituted by: (2.2) Acting
Techniques, Visual and Sound Effects and (2.3) Set and Props. History, Philosophy and
Ideology (2. 1) was included because despite not being a part of any theatrical style or staging
technique because the elements named in the section have been instrumental in shaping the
mental and emotional mindset of the playwrights, important assets to any playwright. While
investigating these various techniques, I will analyze the similarities as well as the differences
with which Brecht and Foreman approach these techniques and their significance in sending
out the message that the playwrights intend to give to audiences. I have used specific
examples :fi:om a variety of plays by both these theatre practitioners to highlight their usage of
the techniques explored.
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I have chosen this topic because I believe that Brecht and Foreman are two of the most
prominent figures in the movement to provide audiences with an alternative to traditional
theatre. Both playwrights are worthy of applause because they have been creative as well as
courageous enough to devise theatre forms that hand audiences the opportunity of active
viewership by forcing them to think about and contemplate what is happening on stage,
instead of just observing the characters from afar. The fact that these playwrights employ
similar techniques in different fashion in order to stage their plays gives this investigation the
chance to yield interesting results.
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2.1 History, Philosophy and Themes.
Bertolt Brecht constructed his theory of Epic Theatre around the works of Erwin Piscator,
a German playwright and director ofthe Volksbuhne Theatre in Berlin in the 1920's. Brecht
believed that the aim of a play should not be to give the audience answers, but to provide
them with questions to ponder over. He believed in creating a play in accordance to how he
thought it would challenge the audience to question the issues being raised. Unlike the
realism, which attempted to make the audience feel like a part of the play, Brecht argued that
making the audience conceive a work offiction as reality was a form of cheating. Brecht
"objected to a theatre of illusion that left audiences spellbound" and "argued ... for a theatre
that teaches and empowers the audience," (Coldewey, Streitberger 1059). He thought of Epic
Theatre as a separate entirety to the traditional theatre of the time.
Just as Epic Theatre was devised in Europe to counteract plays based around realism, a
new theatrical movement that aimed at creating an alternative choice for those bored by the
traditional theatre of Broadway started taking shape in the United States around the mid
1950's. This theatre form, which we now commonly label as avant-garde, set out to displace
the "psychological and melodramatic" (Aronson xi) nature of naturalism and realism. Richard
Foreman, as one ofthe pioneers of modem American avant-garde theatre, founded the
Ontological- Hysteric Theatre in 1968 with a target to explore the "static tension of
interpersonal relations in space" (Foreman Para 2). In this way, Foreman wants to examine
not only the relationship between the characters within the play, but also the relationship
between the characters and the people watching from the audience.
Both Brecht and Foreman aim to give their audiences not only entertainment, but also the
encouragement to reflect and look back on the plays by presenting them in such a way that
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the audience is not deceived into believing that these plays are real. Brecht's plays tend to be
more overtly political. This can be owed to his disenchantment from the observation of many
wars in his lifetime, especially World War I and II. As a student of Marxism (Coldewey,
Streitberger 863), Brecht aimed to create plays that would educate the audiences about the
effects of war while also giving them the liberty to decide whether or not it was wrong.
Brecht did this by creating morally ambiguous characters whose acts could be classified as
heroic or villainous with equal ease. For example, in his play Mother Courage and Her
' f(hildren, he portrays the protagonist Mother Courage as a woman during a war who has to
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sacrifice some of her own children for the well being of the rest of the family. Thus, Brecht
gives the audience the question to ponder over whether Mother Courage should be called a
hero or a villain.
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Richard Foreman too encourages the audience to participate in his plays in a capacity
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which is higher than that of a passive onlooker. While Amold Aronson, a prominent theatre 1~l~~' 1 tJ'It
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professor, has noted that elements social, spiritual and political ideas can be found in the , · 'Q.. •
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works of Foreman, he states they are almost completely devoid of any type of ideology
(Aronson 112). However, I disagree with the view of Aronson as I believe that Foreman
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forces audiences to question the validity of popular beliefs. Therefore, I believe that
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Forernan' s ideology consists of making audiences question the validity of our actions and our ' , J. 1
existence as human beings as a whole. He is quick to de-prioritize the significance of themes
in his plays by saying, "it is not interesting to have a theme or subject, what is interesting are
the rays and molecules that make up each moment" (Lilly10.12.02). From this, one can
understand that Foreman hies to constmct each and every part of his play with equal care. It
can be seen that Foreman tries to imply a theme for every single beat of the play. For
example, commenting on a scene on his 2003 play PANIC, where a character can be seen
getting ill from having to eat cookies placed on the genitals of another character, Foreman has
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been quoted as saying that the aforementioned act is best described by the theme, "too much
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sex can make you sick" (Lilly 10.08.02 ). This also implies that according to Foreman's point
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of view that audiences can relate to the final product better if they can identify and
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understand the miniscule particles that fotm the entirety of the production. This differs from
the Brechtian philosophy offmding a subject matter into which relationships can be
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integrated on being better understood (Brecht 30). In simpler terms, Brecht believed that .
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characters need to be formed . It is through the relationships and interactions of these
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characters that the central theme of the play is explored.
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Foreman's plays are more politically abstract. He is more focused on creating a theatre
that "fiustrates our habitual way of seeing things and frees the impulse from the objects in our
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culture to which it is invariably linked" (Aronson 134). Thus, Foreman wants audiences to
see an alternate way to the traditional view of happenings in society. While Brecht questions
his audiences, Foreman challenges them to accept a wider and perhaps much more different
perspective to the stance taken by the general public. This is in accordance to the initial
American theatrical avant-garde movement in the 1960's which aimed at displacing the
popular naturalist and realist plays as Foreman sets out to displace popular concepts through
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his form of theatre. An example of Foreman trying to challenge a commonly accepted
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opinion in society can be seen in his aptly titled play Film is Evil: Radio is Good. The play
centres around a group of individuals working in a radio station as they discuss why radio is a
more effective mode of communication than the television, thus forcing the audience to
rethink their evaluation on the importance of radio wpen compared to television.
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2.2: Acting Techniques, and Visual and Sound Effects.
Brecht and Foreman share unique traits when it comes to their respective philosophies on
acting techniques. Brecht considered it essential that the audience should feel at all times that
they are watching a play and distance themselves from any false impressions of being a part
of it. This is now known as the alienation effect, derived from the German word
Verfremdungseffekt. This means that the actors and audiences are encouraged to draw an
imaginary line between themselves to act as a reminder for the audience that the play was
piece ofliterature waiting to be critiqued. A typical characteristic ofthe alienation effect ·
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the stage, both in as well as out of character. This disturbs the element of realism in a play as
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people would not expect a character to directly address them in such a manner in any realism
play. Further emphasis to obtain the alienation effect was placed through the introduction of a
narrator who would guide the audience through the course of the story without being a part of
it. Brecht also utilized "big screens recalling other simultaneous affairs .. . projecting
documents that confinned or contradicted what the characters said" (Brecht 71).
The projection of messages with contradictory information with respect to what the
characters were saying also made it difficult for the audience to choose a side to agree with.
Brecht was first inspired to incorporate visuals and sound into his work on observing Erwin
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Piscator do so in his production of Rasputin (Brecht 102). Brecht opposed how such sound
effects were being used to give people the illusion of realism by trying to copy real life
sounds. Instead, Brecht believed in employing this technology to produce sounds that would
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disrupt the natural course of the play. He would intelTupt his plays :vith seeming!}'_ random
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videos accompanied with sound, which despite perhaps not always related to the play, still ~~
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aimed at educating the audiences. The example given by Brecht with respect to this is how he
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could interrupt a play with a video and audio track of a man's beating heart that would be
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used just to educate people about the functioning ofthe human heart (Brecht 103). One can
deduce from this that Brecht focused greatly on educating his audiences with the help of the
various technological tools at his disposal.
Foreman, similar to Brecht, heavily utilizes sound effects in his plays. Foreman showcases
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this style in his plays by having the actors' speech become "disconnected by means of
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interruptive devices such as the tape recorded voice of Foreman and the voices of other
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actors" (Marranca 5). Disturbing the continuous delivery of the actors, the interruptions are
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timely reminders of the fact that the characters are not real people trying to make the
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audience believe that they are watching real-life events. Also, the fact that the actors on stage
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can be as easily intenupted as the people watching reaffirms the audience's belief that they \
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are in the same world as the actors. This also helps in downgrading the importance of
dialogue as Foreman deviates from the popular opinion that knowledge is best acquired
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through " dialectical framework that is deeply personal" ( Marranca 4). Instead, Foreman
emphasizes the actors to "engage their bodies in every moment of the play, even if some
actions may come out as mundane" (Cucuzza, 11.20.2011),hence counteracting traits found
in realism. Since the production of Angelface in 1968, Foreman has controlled the sound
systems of most of his plays through a control panel within the audience (Aronson 111).
PANIC is a play in which such sound effects have been prominently used to the extent that
the entire original dialogue of the play was produced through voiceovers. Furthermore, the
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play contains continuous intenuptions to the characters' actions in the f01m of bells ringing
tlu-oughout inegular intervals of the play.
PANIC! is also noted for its lack of dialogue as Foreman is a minimalist in terms of
dialogue, believing that reduced dialogue allows the audiences to think more and not be
overpowered by the sheer v!~al effect that might be induced by words from the character's
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mouths being fed to the audience. This differs from the philosophy as well as writing style of
Brecht, whose plays were densely layered with dialogue. Brecht encouraged audiences to
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consciousness to their observation of the characters, enabling them to make clearer and more '
precise judgments about what was being presented to them from the stage. "The spectator
was no longer in any way allowed to submit to an experience uncritically by means of simple
empathy with characters of the play" (Brecht 71), therefore, having to critique the cons and
pros in the character through observation rather than connecting to him emotionally. Brecht
claimed that attachment to the setting or character was the main cause in the disillusion of the
audiences. He encouraged even actors to observe their characters from a distance and to not
engross themselves in the portrayal of these characters. The actors, like the audience,
"refrained from going wholly into their role, remaining detached from the character they were
playing and clearly inviting criticism of him" (Brecht 69). In this way, Brecht forced not only
the audiences, but also the actors to watch and make sense of the actions being depicted on
stage.
As with Brecht, Foreman also believes that actors are actually tools that the director
uses in order to communicate the message of his play to the audience. Foreman has discussed
his approach to acting in his book, Unbalancing Acts: The foundations of a Theatre, where he
argues that the extreme naturalness of traditional acting has a disruptive effect on the
audience due to the fact that it is neither heightened nor natural enough (Foreman 55).
Believing that it is an example of the audience being mislead, Foreman has set out to
introduce "awkward, amateurish and wooden" (Kimbrough 246) acting that contradicts what
one may find in plays staged on Broadway. Foreman tries to stray as far away as possible
from the acting techniques found in realism plays by downplaying the importance of
"interconnectedness, logic or rationale" in the acts committed by characters on stage
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observe his plays with intense concentration. He believed that this added an element of
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(Cucuzza 11.20.2011 ). This can be seen as further deviation from the cyclical structure of
acting in realism plays where almost every action acted out by a character is a response to
what has happened earlier in the play.
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2.3: Sets and Props
When it comes to sets and props, Brecht aims to build something that is "beautiful and
intrusive" tlu·ough the fusion of"illusion and symbolism" (Brecht 134). The intertwined
usage of the terms of illusion and symbolism suggests that while building the set and props,
the aim was to strike a balance between the two. This most likely meant that while the sets
should have at least a trace of similarity to what they are based on in real life, there is no
necessity to emulate the size or the quantity of what the stage would look like outside the
stage. This is evidenced by the design of the set of Brecht's production of his play The Life of
Galileo, based on the real life events of the Italian who had a multitude of talents within the
fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy and philosophy. The production of this play was
noticeable for being performed against a backdrop of map projections (Brecht 203). Such
anangements symbolize the fact that such projections are essential in terms of mathematics
and astronomy. This means that Galilee probably made heavy use of such projections, hence
they were kept against the backdrop of the characters to symbolize significance that they had
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on Galilee 's works. On the other hand, one can also speculate that the map projections were
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actually used to show what Galilee' s working place historically looked like. It can be argued
that perhaps Brecht assumed that Galilee stuck such maps in his room for reference or
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inspiration, something that was directly drafted into the set of The Life ofGalileo.
Brecht was more inclined towards the conventions of realism and naturalism in terms of
the props that were to be used. The props were designed in such a way that they would
complement the act of the characters. For example, a chair and a table would be set up in an
anangement that would mean great discomfort to the character dining on it (Brecht 231 ). The
conventions of Epic theatre state that such circumstances would aid the actor in expressing
the discomfort that his character felt and would make up for a better understanding of the
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111
character's feelings. In this way, Brecht could be seen paying careful attention to small
details that he believed affected the development of the characters in his plays.
Foreman takes perhaps a more liberal approach in selecting the props that he uses in his
plays. He has stated that "all the materials that we find available in theatre should be thrown
together in a polymorphous play" (Foreman 54). By saying this, Foreman is trying to induce
the concept that the sets and props are of great importance because they contribute to the
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completion of the play. The set design and the props used are in Foreman's views, a tool
which the actors can use to express themselves, the efficiency of self expression in this case
being measured by how efficiently the characters can force the audience to actually give
thought to what they are watching.
However, Foreman warns that props should never be used to "convince the audience that
what they are watching is 'real'" (Foreman 54). Foreman's views on the importance of the
arrangement of the stage is very similar to his philosophy of the structure of the themes of his
plays. Foreman pays attention to even the smallest of details that the audience might notice
(Foreman 55). Even if a prui of the stage is not at the focus of attention at a cetiain moment,
Foreman believes that by treating it with equal attention with the rest of the stage will lend
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itself well to when the action struts arriving on that prut ofthe stage. In the picture below,
taken from the set ofhis play The Cure, one can see a myriad of props, ranging from bulbs to
pendulums. It shows Foreman's attempts to cover every single part of the stage by making
sure that no part of the stage is left bare. This is again in compliance with Brecht's views that
these playwrights, despite their opposition of naturalism and realism, are sometimes allowed
the liberty of deviating towards ce1tain elements of these forms of theatre- especially in
regard to the props and the set.
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Figure 1.1: The set of The Cure by Richard Foreman. (Foreman 113)
Foreman believes that showcasing characters using realistic props and acting on a realistic
set enables the audience to not only "identify with a character", but rather enjoy the
"multitude of tensions" (Foreman 67) that may be seen at any given moment of the play.
With this, Foreman reaffirms his stance of saying that the props and sets are integral parts of
his plays.
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3. Conclusion
To conclude, I would like to state my research question again and address my conclusion
to the reader and summarize what I have concluded from my analysis of the work of both
playwrights:
"What are the similarities and differences in the theatrical styles and staging techniques of
Bertolt Brecht and Richard Foreman?"
Both directors are similar in their beliefto abstain from realism with an aim to give the
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audience more than only passive entertainment. Both playwrights encourage watchers to
question the validity of the actions being portrayed on stage by judging whether or not what
is being portrayed on stage is morally correct or not in context to the events occuning in our
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lives, even if a majority of people have contradicting opinions.
Both playwrights differ in terms of themes. Brecht plays are mostly based around wars and
expect watchers to question the negative and positive aspects of war. On the other hand,
Foreman's body of work covers mostly concepts stemming from the culture and intrapersonal relations between human beings. Despite this, both playwrights force audiences to
actively participate as thinkers while watching their plays.
The most striking similarities between the techniques of both directors can be seen in the
acting techniques as well as audios and visuals used in their plays. Both encourage actors not
to immerse themselves completely into their roles so that the audience can feel the alienated
and judge the actions of the characters from a distance. This is characterized by techniques
like the characters breaking the "fourth wall", something highly encouraged by both
playwrights. The similarity in the styles of the use of audios and visuals in the works of the
directors is also notable. Both believe that sounds and videos are apt tools to disrupt the
.,;
14
natural flow of the play so that audiences are reminded of the sole purpose Brecht and
Foreman have envisioned for them; to remember that they are watching a play which requires
I
them to think about every single action taking place on stage.
However, there are major differences in the writing styles and presentation of scripts of
both playwrights. Foreman's plays contain more actions than words while Brecht's plays are
dominated with dialogue that is focused on the theme. Foreman focuses on miniscule events
that occur throughout the play and believes that the product of all these smaller events
contribute to the overall theme of the play while Brecht focuses on a specific subject matter
around which the play revolves. Their writing style has a direct effect on their choice of set
and props. Foreman builds his set by combining a multitude of props that are necessary for
one certain action in the play as he believes they contribute to the overall theme. On the other
hand, Brecht employs a more symbolic set that symbolizes the major theme and subject of the
play.
While I feel very fortunate to have been able to possess so many sources for references, I
would state my inability to interview someone who has worked directly with Bertolt Brecht
as a limiting factor for my investigation. Having received huge amounts of relevant
information from people who have had the experience of working with Richard Foreman, I
wonder how well it would have served me to have been able to interact with people who had
worked with Brecht in the same capacity. Alas, the half century time difference between
Brecht's demise and the formation of this essay would not allow for any such interactions.
As a theatre enthusiast and admirer of both Brecht and Foreman, I greatly enjoyed
working on this essay, but I think that there is further room for investigations to be carried out
on the subject ofthe similarities and differences of these theatre practitioners beyond the
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4000 word limit of this essay. I plan to preserve the fmdings of this essay and further expand
on them in the near future.
Overall, it is very interesting to note how two directors from different countries, different
cultures and different times share similar traits with subtle differences that have defined the
theatre outside the mainstream in the twentieth century and beyond. It is very difficult to
imagine what the state of both Epic Theatre and avant-garde theatre would have been like
had it not been for Bertolt Brecht and Richard Foreman, respectively.
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116
4. References
Written Sources:
Aronson, Arnold. American Avant- Garde Theatre- A History. London: Routledge Taylor &
Francis Group, 2000. Print.
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Brecht, Bertolt. Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic. Ed. and trans. John
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Willett, London: Methuen. 1964. Print.
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Coldewey, John C. & Streitberger W.R. Classical to Contemporary Drama. London: Rev
Sub. 2000. Print.
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Foreman, Richard. " About Us". The Ontological- Hysteric Theatre. Web. 17 June 2011. ttt::L ·
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\ Foreman, Richard. Unbalancing Acts: Foundation for a Theatre. New York: Theatre
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Communication Group, 1992. Print.
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Goldfarb, Alvin & Wilson, Edwin. Living Theatre: A History. New York: McGraw Hill.
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1999. Print.
Kimbrough, Andrew. Dramatic Theories of Voice in the Twentieth Century. New York:
Cambria Press. 2011. Print
Lilly, Hannah G. Personal Journal for Rehearsals for Panic: How to Be Happy. New York:
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Interviews:
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Cucuzza, Robert. Personal Interview. 11.20.2011.