Mylon Joseph Cox
Alisa Sniderman
Intro to Theatre Studies
8 December 2016
~~Alien Nation~~
Talking, action, plot… Talking, action, plot… Talking, action, plo- BOOM! The actors break out into song and dance which moves the story along with the hopes that the audience will suspend their disbelief and follow a world where breaking out into song is apart of reality! …A musical: a dramatic performance known to incorporate realistic elements amidst an abundance of spectacle, of fun, of entertainment. Its size, its scope, its music… Grand… Epic.
Epic – 1: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an epic <an epic poem>
2 a: extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope <his genius was epic— Times Literary Supplement>
b: heroic
— Merriam-Webster Dictionary
An ‘epic poem’– as is mentioned in the definition above– is a long, narrative poem that is usually about heroic deeds and events that are significant to the culture of the poet. Bertolt Brecht’s pieces are known for being ‘significant to’ [as well as critiquing and advocating the change of] his culture and society, hence his co-signing of the term Epic Theatre, among many other aspects which characterize his specific style [of Epic Theatre]. Among Brecht’s works, which explicitly give light to the problems he sees within his society (culturally [spec. artistically] and politically), are his plays, theatrical projections of his opinions on these subject(s). One of said plays– written in resistance to the rise of Fascism and Nazism plaguing Europe and known as [one of] the greatest portrayal[s] of Brecht’s distaste for war– is Mother Courage and Her Children (1939). There are arguably many anti-heroic actions performed by the title character, as her goal is to make a living from the war (even if it means losing her own children), thus implying a rejection of Mother Courage and Her Children’s ‘fitting into’ the category of Brecht’s Epic Theatre; However, many characteristics of the style are employed in the anti-war play, which keep it fighting for the title of “being illustrative” of said genre.
In order to further explore, and even participate in, this discussion, one must acquire an accurate definition of Epic Theatre– specifically that of Bertolt Brecht, for his definition is an extension of the term’s earliest meaning.
Originally, the term “Epic Theatre– coined in the early 1920s by director Erwin Piscator– connotated “epic” to be in regards to scale, to social dimension. In an effort to provide historical context for his works of social vision, Piscator projected slides and films– an accompaniment to the lifts, multiple stages, and other theatrical machinery used. Piscator yearned for his works to display a response to the political battles of the time; as such, he incorporated documentary material to assure a didactic, factual drama, but the texts he used weren’t “ideal” in accomplishing this goal.
Brecht, however, wrote his own works– many adapted from Operas or novels– in order to insure a more successful comprehension of his ideas from spectators. “Epic,” in Brecht’s opinion, had much to do with a sense of narrative; moreover, his works were of fiction, as opposed to Piscator’s– documentary based. Brecht’s fictional works were created with intent to portray human interaction, yet with a reformulated structure in opposition to that of Aristotelian drama: wanting spectators to react rationally rather than emotionally, Brecht’s plays were structured on a non-linear storyline– each scene existing individually, so as to prevent a climax. In turn, audiences were denied a cathartic response and pushed to examine their cultural and political surroundings instead.
In addition to Brecht’s plays, his essays were known to critique the culture and society which surrounded him. These characteristics of Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre– used in contrast with the works he critiques– are described in Brecht On Theatre, a collection of essays in which Brecht dissects aspects of theatre in accordance with his theoretical perceptions of drama. Comparing the styles of Aristotle’s Dramatic Theatre to Epic Theatre (Brechtian), Brecht focuses on the presence and attributes of the latter style using the context of the performance of Opera– he displays a focus on changing the culture, contrasting with the aim of Aristotle’s Dramatic Theatre, which seemed to reinforce an already present cultural identity. Section thirteen of “Brecht On Theatre,” titled “The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre,” discusses Brecht’s knowledge and opinion of Opera– it’s irrationality and culinary attitude– and how it must be changed, be brought up to the modern theatre, for “the modern theatre is the epic theatre” (37):
“Mahagonny is a piece of fun […] -pays conscious tribute to the senselessness of the operatic form […] The irrationality of the Opera lies in the fact that rational elements are employed, solid reality is aimed at, but at the same time it is all washed out by the music. A dying man is real. If at the same time he sings we are translated to the sphere of the irrational […] Mahagonny is nothing more or less than an opera” (35-37).
Brecht presents this “bringing up” of the opera with an observation of his doing so, claiming that when societal boundaries– those of mainstream culture– are exceeded, the piece is rejected: “We are free to discuss any innovation which doesn’t threaten [operas] social function- that of providing an evening’s entertainment. We are not free to discuss those which threaten to change [operas] function, possibly by fusing it with the educational system” (34). These “innovations”(37) of Opera, of theatre, are presented similarly to that of a “before and after,” with the quote regarding Mahagonny being the “before,” and the “after,” being the following quote (a side by side list of “changes of emphasis” (37) between dramatic theatre [implied to have failed opera/made it “culinary through and through” (37)] and [Brecht’s] Epic theatre):
DRAMATIC THEATRE
Plot
Implicates the spectator in a stage situation; wears down his capacity for action
Provides him with sensations
Experience
The spectator is involved in something
Suggestion
Instinctive feelings are preserved
The spectator is in the thick of it, shares the experience
The human being is taken for granted
He is unalterable
Eyes on the finish
One scene makes another
Growth
Liner development
Evolutionary determinism
Man as fixed point
Thought determines being
Feeling
EPIC THEATRE
Narrative
Turns the spectator into an observer, but arouses his capacity for action
Forces him to take decisions
Picture of the world
He is made to face something
Argument
Brought to the point of recognition
The spectator stands outside, studies
The human being is the object of the inquiry
He is alterable and able to alter
Eyes on the course
Each scene for itself
Montage
In curves
Jumps
Man as a process
Social being determines thought
Reason
Using this concept to his advantage, Brecht employs this knowledge and opinion of Opera in his own work, with Threepenny Opera (an adaptation of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera). Brecht personalizes this adaptation, however, employing the thematic elements listed in the right column above. These elements of Epic Theatre are also found in works subsequent to Threepenny Opera, such as the aforementioned Mother Courage and Her Children.
The list of “changes of emphasis” above make up what Brecht calls Verfremdungseffekt, or “Alienation-effect.” The alienation of spectators from the spectacle allows the social gist, or “gestus,” of each individual scene to be revealed. Gestus, similar to “gesture,” is defined by Brecht as the embodiment (physicalization) of an attitude, either as an uncovering of the motivations a dramatic exchange between the characters, or as the revealing of a specific aspect of a character which can be made visible by the “epic” narration of that character by the actor. A prime example of Alienation being achieved through Gestus can be seen at the very end of Scene Three in the 1949 production of Mother Courage and Her Children, directed by Brecht himself, after Sergeant removes the sheet, revealing Swiss Cheese’s dead body to Mother Courage. Upon Sergeant’s exit with Swiss Cheese’s body, actress Helene Weigel– who played Mother Courage– screamed… silently.
“Her look of extreme suffering after she has heard the shots, her unscreaming open mouth and backward-bent head probably derived from a press photograph of an Indian woman crouched over the dead body of her son during the shelling of Singapore.” (Brecht 1972, 360)
This action [of silent screaming] alone does not produce the Gestus, but in combination with its social implication, gestus is successfully created; Moreover, the social implication of the silent scream is a representation of those unable to express their feelings due to fear for their [loved ones’] lives– victims of war [WWII]. Also within Scene Three of Mother Courage and Her Children (earlier on in the scene than the Mother Courage’s scream) lies another alienating element: as “Mother Courage can be heard in the background talking politics with the Chaplain and the Cook” (1.3.164-66), a spatial device is employed– “The Chaplain and the Cook go behind the cart with Mother Courage (1.3.161-62). This decision alienates audiences from the passive, daze-inducing conventional stage tendencies, specifically that of identification– with the characters’ identities “covered,” an effort must be made from spectators to reflect on what they’re seeing.
A great attention to detail is evident within Scene Three, and that same emphasis on detail is presented within all of Mother Courage and Her Children, whether it be speech, gesture, costume, etc. In Scene Twelve, the final scene, just before Mother Courage entrusts Kattrin to the Peasant family, “She counts out coins into the Peasant’s hands” (1.3.37). Brecht’s 1949 production with Berliner Ensemble includes Mother Courage’s removal of one coin before paying the Peasant. Small though it may be, this gestural detail removes a sense of the spectacle’s unity– interrupts the display of maternal grief, and reveals Mother Courage’s unwavering determination to profit. Thus, the audience is presented with an example of Mother Courage as a depiction of capitalism, forcing them to consider its very nature and their stance on said greed-based system.
An additional alienating effect which forces audiences to consider the societal dysfunctions surrounding them, is Brecht’s inclusion of song within his works. Mother Courage and Her Children is heavily informed with song and musicality– not just at the play’s beginning and ending (which are the same song), but within almost each scene. Rather than acting as accompaniment or underscoring to the action taking place within said scenes, however, the music involved holds its own purpose. Song could be argued to assume the position of a character’s conscience– offering a varied perspective in regards to certain events/themes than that of a line which was spoken by that character, or it take on the role of giving more insight into the complexities of characters–for many of these songs reveal characters’ pasts, foreshadow plans for the future, and showcase certain traits such as bitterness or cynicism. In Brecht’s production of Mother Courage and Her Children, when a song that remained separate from the action arose, stagehands lowered a musical emblem– elevating the music to its own reality and therefore decomposing the dramatic illusion. The singing of “The Song of the Great Souls of the Earth” in Scene Nine, for example, narrates the [dark] fates of a number of heroic (or “epic”) figures due to [the “danger” (1.9.92) of] virtues. Mother Courage’s “fortune telling” in Scene One, seems to loosely tie to the aforementioned song, existing discreetly as an allegory for herself and her child[ren]: Mother Courage’s line “O wretched mother that I am, O pain-racked giver of birth!” (1.1.253) holds a commonality with the tale of Solomon “He cursed the hour that gave birth to him” (1.9.85); Eilif’s courage is to be the death of him “If he becomes a soldier he shall bite the dust” (1.1.254-55), “nevermind if they […] call you a chicken” (1.1.261), as Caesar’s courage “had him murdered just the same” (1.9.102). The separation of music from action likely facilitates the spectator’s critical view of said scenes, allowing the allegories to present themselves. More than a connector for literary devices such as allegory, however, the Brecht’s inclusion of song serves as a reminder to spectators that they are watching a piece of theatre.
Because breaking out into song is a highly theatrical action,the audience is pulled out of the world of the play and back into the theater. Though musicals are known for their use of song in the midst of action, the provoking of audiences to examine the action of the play critically, rather than emotionally is absent and therefore a different genre is presented. In this same way, opposition to the presence of Epic Theatrical elements in Mother Courage and Her Children has the possibility of proving valid only if one views ‘epic’ in its original context– that of its poem-related definition: the lack of emotions displayed as a result of Kattrin’s death seems distant from the typical definition associated with “epic,” with heroic. The name “Courage” can also be questioned in this context, as Mother Courage rarely acts accordingly; in fact, silently screaming proves to be just the opposite of the courageous, epic heroine “Mother Courage” connotes. When in the context of Brecht’s definition, contrarily, Mother Courage’s loss of her children bears no relevance to her winning of the title, “Illustrative of Brecht’s Epic Theatre.”
WORKS CITED
Brecht, Bertolt. Willett, John. Brecht On Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic, Hill and Wang, New York, 1964, pp. 32-39.
Brecht, Bertolt. Collected Plays, vol. 5. Vintage Books, New York, 1972, pp. 360.
Brecht, Bertolt. “Mother Courage and Her Children.” The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama, 6e. W.B. Worthen. 2011.