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International Baccalaureate Extended essay cover Candidates must complete this page and then give this cover and their final version of the extended essay to their supervisor. I_ I Candidate session number - v I- I Candidate name ,_ School number School name 1 - j Examination session (May or November) -~ ~ny 2 0 j 1 Year Diploma Programme subject in which this extended essay is registered : 2-U i 2 I , ~ £ 1!. 1 f2 f ft()_ T ~ (For an extended essay in the area of languages, state the language and whether it is group 1 or group 2.) 1AJHAT p.-PE IHf ~1.fv1'TLtJO..lT!.r-1 ~ Ff"l---rl ~( E" l !N 'l H ~ 1 H\:-~ ,- f2 1 ("Il--L ~ '1 \f l 8 ANO 1 Title of the extended essay: S1A (, W ("\ 12 t-~ (M \~ ((AN' ( (( V t>-r< () F1 0 ~ f6 (02 T 0 l 1 12 f2 f-l H .., Jh-..-1'/) ~ Y) Fv (l ~IV\ /'iN · ' Candidate's declaration This declaration must be signed by the candidate; otherwise a grade may not be issued. The extended essay I am submitting is my own work (apart from guidance allowed by the International Baccalaureate). I have acknowledged each use of the words, graph1cs or ideas of another person , whether written , oral or visual. I am aware that the word limit for all extended essays is 4000 words and that examiners are not required to read beyond this limit. This is the final version of my extended essay. Candidate's signature: Date: 2 International Baccalaureate, Peterson House. Malthouse Avenue. Cardiff Gale, Cardiff. Wales, CF23 8GL, United Kingdom 19 ( 1-0 i. '1.. Supervisor's report and declaration The supervisor must complete this report, sign the declaration and then give the final version of the extended essay, with this cover attached, to the Diploma Programme coordinator. Name of supervisor (CAPITAL letters)_ Please comment, as appropriate, on the candidate's performance, the context in which the candidate undertook the research for the extended essay, any difficulties encountered and how these were overcome (see page 13 of the extended essay guide). The concluding interview (viva voce) may provide useful information. These comments can help the examiner award a level for criterion K (holistic judgment). Do not comment on any adverse personal circumstances that may have affected the candidate. If the amount of time spent with the candidate was zero, you must explain this, in particular how it was then possible to authenticate the essay as the candidate's own work. You may attach an additional sheet if there is insufficient space here. ~ ~ 01" ~ ££ ~ eJ(~~. f-/.e_ L-Va4 ~~;~ P.5 -d-lk. l7l'l. Berfol+ f3orecJili fpC~ tU w-ltil O-<J "'- ~ ~~ &!r- ~ o.NaJ::;gcP.-.ecAO:r &4~~ h.L '-fvY~ ,{trv tA ~~ ~~~~M f!:- -o- --k-i'l1' ~~ &~ " -· ,..t , ~ ~ ~ wc.l~ ~ V +o ~~~ tD -re£Atz! r>- s . v\ ~~~ .LRi~~O-.AA_ ?~<M,~ ~6~ 2 (VA_ l~vto~ ~ P. vah~ f-\~Q · +{e CJV'f.,v~~ _dJffic.vJ\fvl ~ ~ s-1-i ll phJ>'t~ ~ p~cn~s bJ4 1o~ ~ · ~ JNtUld "'o...d ok~ ~ 11\_ ~~ c~ 1=¥'JNIC•How to ~ JYY\. ~ ~ Jo--'V"~~ l;,e, V\M ~"- CA ~ 1 ~ iV\ w~ sk.J0Jeht CAMS! kU ~ ' '~ C,CY'I~d ~ lJs~ic . ~ ~ ~ cvwJ ~t5YYl ~r~~~ lA)%. ~~cat~~. _L,:--..____,ikvlckd toW~ f~M;ve ~ ~ tfOh nLtt.eM~ ~~'4()· This declaration must be signed by the supervisor; otherwise a grade may not be issued. I have read the final version of the extended essay that will be submitted to the examiner To the best of my knowledge, the extended essay is the authentic work of the candidate . I spent W hours with the candidate discussing the progress of the extended essay. Supervisor's signature: Date: /Wl 2- 2/1 r , Assessment form (for examiner use only) Candidate session number Achievement level Criteria Examiner 1 maximum Examiner 2 D A research question B introduction [L] 2 c GJ 4 investigation D D D 2 2 4 [J 4 E reasoned argument CJ 4 D 4 G use of subject language H conclusion formal presentation J abstract K holistic judgment D lJ lJ 4 [i] 4 D LJ l ~l [ l 2 ~] 4 2 4 Totaloutof36 0 / [ [ - ---;::::::===============-..., e of examiner 2 'ITAL letters) - --t...__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _____r J CJ u u [J 4 4 2 lJ [ l l I 4 2 4 D D I e of examiner 1 'ITAL letters) n [l 4 [2J D LJ L] 2 D knowledge and understanding F analysis and evaluation Examiner 3 maximum Examiner number· Examiner number e of examiner 3· _ _ __ 'ITAL letters) Examiner number· - - - - - - - - IB Cardiff use only: B: IB Cardiff use only: A: _j_ 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 i l L I 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 i ~ 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 (1 t;Cl"' 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 - \ ,Mt 1 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 'I 1 ~!J r?f l~ l~tu1 dt r~ll . [ ;· ' IT Jht-tC(tt.r..__e ( 1 dl tld'- A-1loy·l i . ll 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. ~· ·. 12 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. ~' h(' rk"-'1 Lw ~ w t/ £, '(("'jL~t ,J~ wnflJ'{"'I~:; D!tarft vK.r/(1/ri/-+L . ( ~t1 1 l .t~c.f ,• ( / I L I J ~~ 13 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 1 14 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 I ~,1/\ ()..~1: 1 (\I ·~j ( 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. 'r\1(,1 d, .; ·'~'' Richard Foreman too encourages the audience to participate in his plays in a capacity 0 which is higher than that of a passive onlooker. While Amold Aronson, a prominent theatre 1~l~~' 1 tJ'It ~'(;()4\lf professor, has noted that elements social, spiritual and political ideas can be found in the , · 'Q.. • .fv • tq(tv 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 I forces audiences to question the validity of popular beliefs. Therefore, I believe that oh'l+r·· v (}'VI~' . f\1 (,. l f)r 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 ~~~ 5 been quoted as saying that the aforementioned act is best described by the theme, "too much ~K,\\~ 1 sex can make you sick" (Lilly 10.08.02 ). This also implies that according to Foreman's point 't/J~J.tiV of view that audiences can relate to the final product better if they can identify and ~J- 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 "~; { I . w\'b ~ t~h~ iKJ,J.).Jl integrated on being better understood (Brecht 30). In simpler terms, Brecht believed that . ~~~~bL before writing a play, the writer needs to decide upon a theme or subject after which characters need to be formed . It is through the relationships and interactions of these l rl4J'A~ ) 'v.~ I 'VI ~~.J r \ WIW I ( ;~~~~. VV,' ~ 1~~ /) y.At j, characters that the central theme of the play is explored. f ~\Nc.)V 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 I 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 . his form of theatre. An example of Foreman trying to challenge a commonly accepted A>f(''l 'Z\ 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. ti· IG 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 · \,0 . . L~~J)t ·'\tiH''' I ~~dl l v.m ( >'includes breaking the fourth wall, where the actors talk to the members of the audience from ' C~ y~ 1 ti~'\ l.l[/ r the stage, both in as well as out of character. This disturbs the element of realism in a play as \ 1 ~\ V.;.~ ,, ,·\ 11 I' 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 ./ 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 'l tv~· .f Yif(.t · '7 disrupt the natural course of the play. He would intelTupt his plays :vith seeming!}'_ random -- videos accompanied with sound, which despite perhaps not always related to the play, still ~~ '-- - ·vru{·) , / b I aimed at educating the audiences. The example given by Brecht with respect to this is how he Ghimire 17 could interrupt a play with a video and audio track of a man's beating heart that would be v' 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 f1 . .Y\A-i.it-- this style in his plays by having the actors' speech become "disconnected by means of ~ C)) u~~J7,1. interruptive devices such as the tape recorded voice of Foreman and the voices of other II ·t)" \..~'·" J(' actors" (Marranca 5). Disturbing the continuous delivery of the actors, the interruptions are 1 timely reminders of the fact that the characters are not real people trying to make the 1 . ~~ tilt,• ()\ \\ ttv~t !f.l ·Jh'' i1JV1 audience believe that they are watching real-life events. Also, the fact that the actors on stage .~·1,, can be as easily intenupted as the people watching reaffirms the audience's belief that they \ ll \ i"" I 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 I . ',\ , , 1 \ , Sl ( l I~ kl¥ .,f.v 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 / 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 1 Ghimire IS 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 ·~·y~"'~ 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 ,,o,"''(v#-'\ .~ •. l I , observe his plays with intense concentration. He believed that this added an element of ~ ~ ·~ 1 i'' \ ().Atl.i'~1' () 19 (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. \ 110 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 / on Galilee 's works. On the other hand, one can also speculate that the map projections were . V \11 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 \ 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 ~.~v,~~·HI)" 111\ 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 ) 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 ~\ 1)'/ 1 1 '~)-ut..t" l 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. ·I G him ire 112 ( 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. f A~r (,.( I r !ufat -twyb It ,fl.; / tU,'rl{lWI J.... wtll . I vt • ;,.,.,J /1 1 f'fl. fu. Jut [ f "I ·~ / ,J, tn, I ' -tnt[, 1 I 'WI 1 'J-t•Mrf'f '/}'1 •~•< ' .u •' ~ •"'( Jt<P, . 111 '"7-ct (I ;., 1 ~ fJ 113 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 / 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 v· 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 .~~In,!,_,, /t • .> d y ~/, 1;, 'f''·'/' I /Lorur.:st,s , I~~111,(UJ h J,t" 'ltl( S' S' l. tvnh;"f J ly ft. J 115 v 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. v 116 4. References Written Sources: Aronson, Arnold. American Avant- Garde Theatre- A History. London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2000. Print. v Brecht, Bertolt. Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic. Ed. and trans. John j Willett, London: Methuen. 1964. Print. v Coldewey, John C. & Streitberger W.R. Classical to Contemporary Drama. London: Rev Sub. 2000. Print. ? v Foreman, Richard. " About Us". The Ontological- Hysteric Theatre. Web. 17 June 2011. ttt::L · I I \ Foreman, Richard. Unbalancing Acts: Foundation for a Theatre. New York: Theatre v Communication Group, 1992. Print. I Goldfarb, Alvin & Wilson, Edwin. Living Theatre: A History. New York: McGraw Hill. / -~ 1 V' ·yt /1)_., 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: 1/ 117 Interviews: J ,j ! Cucuzza, Robert. Personal Interview. 11.20.2011.