Separation of the elements
Separation of the elements is an aesthetic principle formulated by the German modernist theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht. The principle bears primarily on the theatrical register, though it has implications for the dramatic and performative as well. The principle of the "separation of the elements" stands in diametric opposition to that of the "integrated work of art" proposed by Wagner, which refers to a work of art that enables the use of various other visual forms.[citation needed] Brecht utilises the "separation of elements" in conjunction with his other "Epic Theatre" techniques to educate his audience of the social and political context of 20th century Germany.
Brecht's Theories and Influences
The principle of the "separation of elements" stemmed from Brecht's development of "Epic Theatre" which advocated that a play should encourage rational self-reflection and a critical assessment of the event on stage, rather than causing the audience to invest and empathise with the characters emotionally or the action in front of them. The implementation of this theatrical framework intended to challenge and stretch dramaturgical norms and essentially transcend the way theatre was being perceived and created in a postmodern society. Hence, Brecht developed various other theories which set to re-introduce the theatrical realm which included;
- The Alienation Effect[1]
- Complex Seeing[citation needed]
- Demonstration[citation needed]
- Gestus[2]
- The Street Scene[citation needed]
References
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works
- Baal
- Drums in the Night
- A Wedding
- Driving Out a Devil
- Lux in Tenebris
- Mysteries of a Barbershop
- In the Jungle of Cities
- Edward II
- Man Equals Man
- Downfall of the Egotist Johann Fatzer
- The Elephant Calf
- Little Mahagonny
- The Threepenny Opera
- The Flight Across the Ocean
- The Baden-Baden Lesson on Consent
- Happy End
- Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
- Der Jasager / Der Neinsager
- The Decision
- Saint Joan of the Stockyards
- The Exception and the Rule
- The Mother
- Kuhle Wampe
- The Seven Deadly Sins
- Round Heads and Pointed Heads
- The Horatians and the Curiatians
- Fear and Misery of the Third Reich
- Señora Carrar's Rifles
- Life of Galileo
- How Much Is Your Iron?
- Dansen
- Mother Courage and Her Children
- The Trial of Lucullus
- Mr Puntila and His Man Matti
- The Good Person of Szechwan
- The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
- Hangmen Also Die!
- The Visions of Simone Machard
- The Duchess of Malfi
- Schweyk in the Second World War
- The Caucasian Chalk Circle
- Antigone
- The Days of the Commune
- The Tutor
- Die Verurteilung des Lukullus
- Report from Herrnburg
- Coriolanus
- The Trial of Joan of Arc at Rouen, 1431
- Turandot
- Don Juan
- Trumpets and Drums
techniques
- Complex seeing
- Defamiliarization
- Demonstration
- Fabel
- Gestus
- Historicization
- Interruptions
- Not / But
- Refunctioning
- Separation of the elements
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