Physical Theatre: Brecht and Berkoff - GCSE Knowledge Organizer
undefinedDRAMA
Physical Theatre: Brecht and Berkoff
1
GCSE Knowledge
Organiser
Autumn 2
Section A: Physical Theatre
Physical Theatre
•
A style which uses
choreographed
movement and dancing
to tell a story.
•
These movements can be combined with
traditional dialogue or used on their own.
•
Minimal set and props
are used so that the
audience can focus on the physical action.
•
Sometimes the
actors’ bodies are used as
objects onstage.
•
There is
nothing realistic
about this way of
movement and so this style can be
associated with Brecht and Artaud.
•
Performers can
communicate emotion
to
the audience that would be difficult to
convey using dialogue.
Non-naturalistic Epic Theatre –
BERTOLT
BRECHT
•
Opposite of naturalism – it aims to distance the audience from the
story by reminding them it isn’t real.
•
This encourages the audience to focus on the play’s message or
moral.
•
Performance techniques are used to remind the audience they are
watching a play and this is called the
‘alienation effect’
•
The techniques mentioned enable the audience to focus on the
(usually political) message of the play.
Steven Berkoff
A British theatre practitioner (born 1937) who is known
for his
experimental style.
His plays often use physical
theatre techniques like
mime, exaggerated movement
and improvisation
. He believes that actors’ bodies
should convey the story rather than relying on sets.
Bibliography: Physical Theatre Companies
Frantic Assemblyhttps://www.franticassembly.co.uk/
Identify and use the conventions of status and tension within other people
performances and your own performances.
Be able to develop effective and appropriate body language for different
characters.
To understand and be able to manipulative your physicality to express
different emotions, concepts and ideas.
To understand and use Brecht's theory of Gestus in both your own
performances and recognise it in other peoples’ performances.
To understand and use Berkoff’s style of Total Theatre in their
performances.
In the end, you will be able to:
Section B: Bertolt Brecht and Steven Berkoff
undefinedDRAMA
Physical Theatre: Brecht and Berkoff
2
GCSE Knowledge
Organiser
Autumn 2
Body language:
Body language is a type of non-
verbal communication. A
performer can use movements,
facial expression and posture to
communicate how a character is
feeling.
Status:
Acting status
plays an important
role in drama. The actor must be
aware of the
acting status
of the
character he/she is playing. At
different times of the play, the
acting status of the character can
differ. It is about which character
has most power at that moment in
the play.
Status can also be concerned with
the social class of the character:
HIGH STATUS – Royalty – powerful
LOW STATUS – Peasant – weak
7
Levels of Tension –
as developed by Jacques Lecoq, who developed an approach to acting using
seven levels of tension. Actors can be trained by slowly moving through these states so that they
become comfortable with them, then begin to explore them in scenes.
Exhausted or catatonic.
The Jellyfish. There is no tension in the body at all. Begin in a complete
state of relaxation. If you have to move or speak, it is a real effort. See what happens when you
try to speak.
Laid back
– the “Californian” (soap opera). Many people live at this level of tension. Everything
you say is cool, relaxed, probably lacking in credibility. The casual throw-away line – “I think I’ll go
to bed now”.
Neutral or the “Economic
” (contemporary dance). It is what it is. There is nothing more, nothing
less. The right amount. No past or future. You are totally present and aware. It is the state of
tension before something happens. Think of a cat sitting comfortably on a wall, ready to leap up if
a bird comes near. You move with no story behind your movement.
Alert or Curious (farce).
Look at things. Sit down. Stand up. Indecision. Think M. Hulot (Jacques
Tati) or Mr Bean. Levels 1 – 4 are our everyday states.
Suspense or the Reactive (19th century melodrama).
Is there a bomb in the room? The crisis is
about to happen. All the tension is in the body, concentrated between the eyes. An in breath.
There’s a delay to your reaction. The body reacts. John Cleese.
Passionate (opera).
There is a bomb in the room. The tension has exploded out of the body.
Anger, fear, hilarity, despair. It’s difficult to control. You walk into a room and there is a lion sitting
there. There is a snake in the shower.
Tragic (end of King Lear when Lear is holding Cordelia in his arms).
The bomb is about to go off!
Body can’t move. Petrified. The body is solid tension.
Section C: Body language, status
Section D: 7 Levels Of Tension
DRAMA
Physical Theatre: Brecht and Berkoff
3
GCSE Knowledge
Organiser
Autumn 2
Gestus
, another Brechtian technique, is a clear character gesture or movement used by the actor that
captures a moment or attitude rather than delving into emotion. So every gesture was important.
Brecht and his actors studied photographs of the plays in rehearsal to ensure each moment worked
effectively. Could the audience tell by the actor’s gestures alone what was happening in the scene?
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Section E: Gestus
DRAMA
Physical Theatre: Brecht and Berkoff
4
GCSEKnowledge
Organiser
Autumn 2
His concept of
TOTAL
THEATRE
fulfils his desire for
a spiritual and psychological
theatre which attempts to
illuminate the
text rather than depict it.
TOTAL THEATRE:
•
Is a belief that all
elements of theatre are
EQUAL and have the
same value in
contributing
the effect to the audience.
•
Concerned with
conveying emotion
•
To give the audience an
overwhelming experience
•
Every aspect of theatre
must have a purpose
Section F: Berkoff’s Total Theatre
Key features of Berkoff style theatre:
• Stylised movement (slow motion/robotic)
• Exaggerated facial expressions
• Direct address
• Exaggerated vocal work
• Tableaux
• Mask
• Ensemble playing
• Minimalistic set
• Exaggerated and stylised mime
• Non-naturalistic set and lighting
Physical Theatre involves choreographed movements and minimal set usage to convey stories and emotions effectively. Brecht and Berkoff are notable figures in this style, using techniques like status, tension, and body language. Brecht's Epic Theatre aims to distance the audience from the story, focusing on the play's message, while Berkoff emphasizes experimental styles with mime and exaggerated movements. Explore conventions of status, tension, and body language to enhance performances. Discover the 7 Levels of Tension by Jacques Lecoq and learn how to manipulate physicality for different characters.
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DRAMA Physical Theatre: Brecht and Berkoff GCSE Knowledge Organiser Autumn 2 In the end, you will be able to: Section A: Physical Theatre Identify and use the conventions of status and tension within other people performances and your own performances. Physical Theatre A style which uses choreographed movement and dancing to tell a story. These movements can be combined with traditional dialogue or used on their own. Minimal set and props are used so that the audience can focus on the physical action. Sometimes the actors bodies are used as objects onstage. There is nothing realistic about this way of movement and so this style can be associated with Brecht and Artaud. Performers can communicate emotion to the audience that would be difficult to convey using dialogue. Be able to develop effective and appropriate body language for different characters. To understand and be able to manipulative your physicality to express different emotions, concepts and ideas. To understand and use Brecht's theory of Gestus in both your own performances and recognise it in other peoples performances. To understand and use Berkoff s style of Total Theatre in their performances. Section B: Bertolt Brecht and Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff A British theatre practitioner (born 1937) who is known for his experimental style. His plays often use physical theatre techniques like mime, exaggerated movement and improvisation. He believes that actors bodies should convey the story rather than relying on sets. Non-naturalistic Epic Theatre BERTOLTBRECHT Opposite of naturalism it aims to distance the audience from the story by reminding them it isn t real. This encourages the audience to focus on the play s message or moral. Performance techniques are used to remind the audience they are watching a play and this is called the alienation effect The techniques mentioned enable the audience to focus on the (usually political) message of the play. Bibliography: Physical Theatre Companies Frantic Assembly https://www.franticassembly.co.uk/ DV8: https://www.dv8.co.uk/ 1
DRAMA Physical Theatre: Brecht and Berkoff GCSE Knowledge Organiser Autumn 2 Section D: 7 Levels Of Tension Section C: Body language, status 7 Levels of Tension as developed by Jacques Lecoq, who developed an approach to acting using seven levels of tension. Actors can be trained by slowly moving through these states so that they become comfortable with them, then begin to explore them in scenes. Body language: Body language is a type of non- verbal communication. A performer can use movements, facial expression and posture to communicate how a character is feeling. Exhausted or catatonic. The Jellyfish. There is no tension in the body at all. Begin in a complete state of relaxation. If you have to move or speak, it is a real effort. See what happens when you try to speak. Laid back the Californian (soap opera). Many people live at this level of tension. Everything you say is cool, relaxed, probably lacking in credibility. The casual throw-away line I think I ll go to bed now . Status: Neutral or the Economic (contemporary dance). It is what it is. There is nothing more, nothing less. The right amount. No past or future. You are totally present and aware. It is the state of tension before something happens. Think of a cat sitting comfortably on a wall, ready to leap up if a bird comes near. You move with no story behind your movement. Acting status plays an important role in drama. The actor must be aware of the acting status of the character he/she is playing. At different times of the play, the acting status of the character can differ. It is about which character has most power at that moment in the play. Alert or Curious (farce). Look at things. Sit down. Stand up. Indecision. Think M. Hulot (Jacques Tati) or Mr Bean. Levels 1 4 are our everyday states. Suspense or the Reactive (19th century melodrama). Is there a bomb in the room? The crisis is about to happen. All the tension is in the body, concentrated between the eyes. An in breath. There s a delay to your reaction. The body reacts. John Cleese. Passionate (opera). There is a bomb in the room. The tension has exploded out of the body. Anger, fear, hilarity, despair. It s difficult to control. You walk into a room and there is a lion sitting there. There is a snake in the shower. Status can also be concerned with the social class of the character: HIGH STATUS Royalty powerful LOW STATUS Peasant weak Tragic (end of King Lear when Lear is holding Cordelia in his arms). The bomb is about to go off! Body can t move. Petrified. The body is solid tension. 2
DRAMA Physical Theatre: Brecht and Berkoff GCSE Knowledge Organiser Autumn 2 Section E: Gestus Gestus, another Brechtian technique, is a clear character gesture or movement used by the actor that captures a moment or attitude rather than delving into emotion. So every gesture was important. Brecht and his actors studied photographs of the plays in rehearsal to ensure each moment worked effectively. Could the audience tell by the actor s gestures alone what was happening in the scene? Brecht didn t want the actors to be the character onstage, only to show them as a type of person. For example, the boss who is corrupt and smoking a fat cigar as his workers starve is representative of every boss who profits through the exploitation of others. For this reason Brecht will often refer to his characters by archetypal names, such as The Soldier or The Girl . The interpretation will be built on the character s social role and why they need to behave as they do, rather than looking inwardly at social role and why they need to behave as they do, rather than looking inwardly at emotional motivation. emotional motivation. So we judge the character and their situation, rather than just empathising with them. Gestus is also gesture with social comment. stage is a gesture. But if he was saluting as he marched over a stage strewn with dead bodies, it would be Gestus as a social comment about the type of person he represents. Mother Courage s silent scream silent scream in the face of her son s dead body is strange. Therefore we think of why she must hide her feelings rather than losing ourselves in the emotion. social comment. For example, a soldier saluting a soldier saluting as he marches across a 3
DRAMA Physical Theatre: Brecht and Berkoff GCSEKnowledge Organiser Autumn 2 Section F: Berkoff s Total Theatre His concept of TOTAL THEATRE fulfils his desire for a spiritual and psychological theatre which attempts to illuminate the text rather than depict it. Key features of Berkoff style theatre: Stylised movement (slow motion/robotic) Exaggerated facial expressions Direct address Exaggerated vocal work Tableaux Mask Ensemble playing Minimalistic set Exaggerated and stylised mime Non-naturalistic set and lighting TOTAL THEATRE: elements of theatre are EQUAL and have the same value in contributing the effect to the audience. Concerned with conveying emotion To give the audience an overwhelming experience Every aspect of theatre must have a purpose Is a belief that all 4
