Lesson 2

During this lesson we learnt about Brechtian characterisation; to understand this, we performed an exercise in which we were given a character name that contained an adjective.  We then had to create a physical posture and voice that would suit this character.  My character name was Ted Tedious (a pub landlord).

I found this exercise very useful, as it allowed me to actually involve myself in Brechtian characterisation techniques and this enabled me to understand how to perform these techniques, and why they are vital for a young actor to master. I also gained an insight into what Brecht was trying to achieve through his development and use of stereotypical characters.

From this exercise I have understood that Brectian characters are two-dimensional and deliberately try to alienate the audience from the drama. They achieve this because they prevent the audience from connecting to intimate character traits by creating emotional detachment.

Bertolt Brecht used very specific names for characters to give clues about their class, personality and occupation.  The name and physicality help the audience to define the characters and gives them direct information without depending on the dialogue.

BRECTIAN TECHNIQUE: GESTUS

Definition – A combination of gesture and attitude.

www.kentaylor.co.uk/die/drama_UK/Brecht/Gestus_Workshop.doc

Brecht Workshop

Brecht was famous for a particular style of acting called GESTUS. The combination of gesture and facial expression and body language is deliberately used to create meaning and communicate a message to the audience. The actor carefully uses GESTUS to provoke debate and educate the audience.

An example of Gestus - e.g. A solider walking across the stage does not have much meaning, fill the stage with dead bodies and make the soldiers walk over them looking ahead and the meaning becomes much more powerful – uncaring soldiers / soldiers deadened to the horror of war (etc).

Gestus can include the whole picture that these gestures make.

Gestus is a really important tool in the actor’s repertoire as it allows them to portray a character with great precision and intimacy; in a way it is ironic that Brecht developed this technique because he believed in creating two-dimensional characters to alienate his audience.  Gestus lets the audience know a characters feelings through their on-stage gestures, this means that gestus can only occur with an actor reacting to other objects or people on stage.