Brecht and Artaud's Acting Methods

The Theatrical Styles of Brecht and Artuad

German playwright Bertolt Brecht created acting techniques that largely focused on audience recognition and engagement. He always wanted them to be aware that what they saw was a drama, not real life. Elements such as music, montage narration, and screen projections force the audience to think more objectively about the performance. However, Brecht also still believes that an audience should be entertained. This is why he often referred to the concept of Dramatic Theatre. In Brecht’s view, this style should have a concise and chronologically-told story without any lingering questions. He wanted the audience to engage in the emotional experience of a performance only while in the theatre.

In contrast, the French writer Antonin Artaud wanted to have an audience that was shocked by his pieces. Through his use of powerful gestures, he tried to cause “sensory disruptions” for the audience as a means of confront them with emotion and not words. facial expressions and the relative unimportance of the spoken word. In Artuad’s Theatre of Cruelty, gesture was much more effective than words in displaying unconscious and conscious intentions. Even though he was a writer himself, Artuad believed that words could only do so much without betraying true feeling. He also believed that the typical auditorium style stage created a barrier for actors. Theatre, to him, was meant to be acted as a state of “organized anarchy”.