Role within this section Essay Example for Free

Role within this section Essay Discuss, in detail, how you as a performer might approach a role within this section. You will need to give details of the part that you have chosen to play and intended audience response. You will need to include reference to voice, movement, characterisation and relationships created on stage. We are looking at Scene 2, page 20 to 25, from the Governors wifes line Only essentials! Quick, open the trunks. To the end of the scene. This section contains the characters: Grusha, The Governors wife, Cook, Chef, The young woman, Adjutant, A Fat woman, Nurse, Stablemen, Simon, The third woman and the Singer. I am going to look at the Singer. Berlolt Brecht and his techniques Brecht was a very political and scientific writer he didnt agree with all of the political actions at that time. Hitler wanted to kill him after some bad publicity from Brecht so, he fled to America where he wrote this plays. He wrote parable plays to try and get a point over to the audience, each play had a different moral; he tried to change peoples minds on their political views. In order to keep the audience from getting too involved in each play, Brecht only names certain characters. Creating characters that overpower the audience is not good; it can make the audience only think about that one character. Brecht doesnt really have any one main or higher character (thinking in levels of importance and wealth) as all the focus would be put on them. He does include very powerful characters at times, i. e. the Governor, yet he dies soon after he is introduced. This also includes giving characters names. People can get too attached to a certain character if we learn too much about them. An example of this technique is shown in the following quote THE EXPERT: comrade Agronomist! THE AGRONOMIST: Last winter (Page 6, The Expert The Agronomist). Brecht doesnt directly name characters i. e. The young woman, The peasant woman. He also does not like to normally say anything about that character, history or any extra information. He tries to include as many characters as possible so you cannot become attached to them and you concentrate on the story line and the moral. In scene 1 there are 14 or 15 different characters, in scene 2, 22 characters are included. He tries to avoid long one on one confrontations and keeps on including other people here and there. (Ref. Page 20, where the Nurse interrupts the conversation between the Governors Wife and the adjutant and on page 22 when lots of characters are involved in large discussion). This makes people stop thinking about what has happened and concentrate more on what is happening right then. Brecht structures plays differently he creates each scene to portray a story, this is called episodical, people were free to walk in and out of the theatre and alcohol could be brought in. The public liked this, and that encouraged them to come to more of his plays. His main goal was to get people to think about the story line, during and after the play so another technique he had was to stop and change the tense people spoke in, Scene 2, page 13, GRUSHA: I dont understand the solider. Whats so good about it? She changes tense from 1st person to 3rd person, this distracts the audience and hopefully makes them think more carefully about what she meant by that. Brecht liked to used techniques like this to kept the audience listening he wanted them to at most ease whilst watching so they can soak in the moral of each episodic scene. I believe, the most important trick Brecht used to keep the audiences occupied was by linking each character with an object. Grusha, for example, after she became engaged to Simon, he placed a silver cross on a chain around her neck. From this moment onwards someone else can play Grusha but the audience will still know it is her character by the silver cross and chain. The Governor and his wife are portrayed by the wearing of rich garments. An example of this is when the Governors wife says Why? I must have the silver dress it cost 1000 piastres. And that one there, and all my furs.