lutz

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i'm a boy from indiana and this is very emotional for me


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tsiro
@tsiro asked:

hello michael first time long time. the short version of the question I’m about to over-explain is: do you have any Big Brecht Thoughts?

I’ve been reading his stuff over the last few months (essays, poems, novel, plays) and I feel like there is an interesting resonance between his conceptions of the Epic Theater and some aspects of the (pre-?)early modern theater that you’ve discussed, and that bourgeoise/naturalistic/“aristotelian” theater movements moved away from. Eg understanding and playing with a relationship to the audience, as opposed to the social construction of the fourth wall that separates the play and the crowd.

Obviously there are some major differences in approach and and objectives and also social milieu. Also I recognize that he comes a few hundred years after your area of expertise. But, as a guy who doesn’t know much about the theater (but who has found Brecht both resonant and deeply rooted in the last century), I am really curious to know what thoughts you have about Brecht (even just very broadly), if any!

i don't have any big thoughts about Brecht himself, as my knowledge is mainly couched around his interest in Shakespeare. but you are correct to discern that Brecht sees in the early modern theater an avenue for the development of his own dramaturgy. one part of this that matches up pretty well is Brecht recognizing that many early modern historical plays (or otherwise) are often written in ways that make commentary on their contemporary political developments (staging "history" was a way to get around scandals and censors). he follows suit in this, writing stories that work as fables and as political polemics. the thing i tend to bring up more often is probably the rickety nature of theatrical belief, which plays of Shakespeare's time are constantly trying to shore up or incite. this is where the distinctions matter; a simple reading of early modern plays would see them grasping toward an audience that accepts their fictions with little prompting, ie, a naturalized docility in the theatrical spectator, whereas Brecht is taking cues from archaic theatrical practices or less formal popular entertainments in order to undo that precise spectatorial mode.


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