What sort of techniques did Brecht use?

Answer 1

Brecht developed a style of theatre known as epic theatre. He believed that in conventional theatre the audience hung up their minds with their coats as they entered the theatre. He wanted to remind the audience that they were watching a play. he used representations of characters instead of real characters. He encouraged the actors to talk to the audience before the play began. He used minimal props; usually only one per character. there was a use of character labels. A half curtain across the stage was also a feature, and the actors changed costumes on stage. The characters changed costumes on set because they wanted enforce the idea that the actor's were not completely one with the character. In making this distinction, they helped break the fourth wall between the audience and the stage. Brecht did not want the audience to be comfortable with the play, instead he wanted them to judge society and go out to make a difference. Not one of Brecht's stage directions are a mistake, he strongly believed in the 'Alienation Effect' which means to make something strange and stand out so that the audience sees something in a fresh and new way. In doing so, the audience can see the didacticism (another one of his theories) which is basically showing that each play has a political or social moral found in it.

Brecht also invented Gestus which has everything to do with movements, sounds, etc that the character will perform. In these movements the actor will portray to the audience the emotion trying to be perceived. He wanted the audience to see a specific motion and make them then relate it to a social or political flaw. He encouraged keeping "Model Books" in which the director had photos and intense notes on the piece at hand. That way, when going back, the director could remember each distinct 'gesuts'.