VERBATIM: Grotowski and Brecht

Jerzy Grotowski - An Introduction

Towards a Poor Theatre a book by Grotowski

Worked with Stanislavski

He says Stanislavski “was he father”

He focused on ‘Finding the truth’

And spent time looking at Indian, and European culture

‘The Chairs’ by Ian Esco

Absurd Theatre     

-       Who are we? What’s this world? Life is about? Purpose of Life?

              

Looking at the ‘Mundanities of life’, ‘routines of life’, highlighting the mundane. E.g., having a very boring conversation about weather, with a mundane tone to the characters voices

He wanted Not to be An Artistic Kleptomania – Stealing others artistic ideas

He wanted to create something different using thought processes he created ‘Poor Theatre’

Born Poland 1933

Developed a spiritual side during WWII

Influenced by Russian Theatre (Stanislavski

Directorial début Gods in Rain (1958)

Changes in Direction

Moving away from the conventional theatre styles, e.g., proscenium arch

Utilizing the space

The actor using that space

How the actor is a gift to the audience

Discarding the physical mask of life

Removing barrier between the actors and the audience

What is ‘TOTAL THEATRE’?

Rich Theatre                                                  Poor Theatre

Drawing on other disciplines                       A new space for each performance

Trying to fight back against Tv & Film        Stripping away the artificial scenes

Incorporating technology                             Natural light and sound (fire, candles)

He created the Theatre Laboratory

Exploring the actor as a gift

1.     The actor and their mask

2.     Sacrifice for art

3.     Actor- creator, model and creation

4.     Inspiration and partnership with others, No stars but ensemble

5.     Environment to suit all

6.     No external references to creative process

7.     Consistency and keeping record of activities (What we did, what happened, what we leant from it)

8.     Creativity is boundless yet disciplined (Do whatever you feel but do it with commitment)

9.     No recipe or “box of tricks’ for the actor
10.     Leave your ego at the door to achieve a total act

The 5 Truths Jerzy Grotowski

http://youtu.be/-ScsvWtMZWo

In this video I see performance as it’s rawest. 

Raw emotion portrayed by single actor. The scene is focused solely on the character and the emotion of the story, with basic set, lighting, and staging. No symbolism is needed, the lily flower and the torn picture communicate clearly the loss, and pain of the death being mourned. This piece is really blunt yet cutting. 

The ACTOR is a GIFT

Holy Theatre

·      Actor/audience = Priest/Worshipper

·      Performance and Ritual offered to the audience

·      Audience Participation

·      Holy purpose – Place in community

Actor as a Gift

·      Role must ‘penetrate’ the actor

·      Break down boundaries

·      Acquire the technical mastery over physical and psychic means

·      Inner impulse and outer reactions

·      Must not illustrate but accomplish (not demonstrate the role but be the role)

The actor giving of their whole self, physically and mentally to the role is how they be a GIFT to the audience.

Example; getting a gift for someone’s birthday, you can get them the first thing you see in a shop, or taking time to look for something specific for that person, maybe have to order something, or make it yourself. The difference it’s the investment in the gift given. 

The gift is you’ve made something for them; you’ve created something for the audience, that’s taking time and effort. Created a role with time and effort to gift to the audience. Gifting that story

In the Verbatim context

Grotowski didn't want the technical aspects of the performance to be the focus, but that all you need to do theatre is the actor and the audience, which I believe puts emphasis on the characters and the story which what verbatim is all about. Doing a true portrayal of that person in order to deliver that persons story.

Invest all the vocal, physical, and technical skills learnt in order to create/be that character to give to the audience as a gift, to use to gift that story to the audience.

Dinosaur eggs and Teradactyl’s

The group did an exercise starting off by walking around the room, and then on tiptoes, imagining that we are tiptoeing on dinosaur eggs, carefully slowly walking around being careful not to crack the eggs. And while this was happening Teradactyl’s came swooping in from above with a loud screech!

What I noticed from this exercise was the physical demands on the body as we tiptoed around on the dinosaur eggs trying to keep low. I felt the tension in the back of my calves, and shoulders. And the use of vocal ability as we made the screeching teradactyl sounds. Grotowski wanted sounds to be made by the artists themselves acoustically, e.g. train sounds made vocally by the performers

Video of Lauren embodying and vocalising the Teradactyl

The purpose of this exercise was to notice the involvement and importance of physical, vocal strength and flexible when embodying a character. And how we as actors in order to present ourselves as ‘gifts’ to the audience, need to invest a lot physically and vocally in order to ‘be’ that character, which we present to the audience.  

http://youtu.be/dRyLLTvs00c

Above is a video link of actors at Grotowski’s laboratory. 

Here I see how the actors physical ability and fitness are key for them to embody characters to the highest degree, if they are to be presenting themselves and their character as a ‘gift’ to the audience. In the video we see how the process starts small with just the movement of the hands, and getting in tune with that impulse, and then gradually progressing to the arm, shoulders, back and throughout entire body. Being in tune with the body and it's natural impulse, which would be used in performance. This would need 100% commitment to go into the preparation of that gift.

"Discipline is based on pride, on meticulous attention to details, and on mutual respect and confidence. Discipline must be a habit so ingrained that it is stronger than the excitement of the goal or the fear of failure.

- Roger Armando Nevares Guajardo

Brecht

Brecht’s style of making theatre displays that here is man who who only has something to say but has seen how using theatre in a particular way, the action speaks louder than words. 

He purposely doesn’t allow the audience to get sucked into the performance, empathy is not what he desires from them and has many devises in place throughout his productions that make that possible. Changing the set while the actors are still on stage, projecting text onto the stage, and exposing the theatre’s machinery and staging. His actors “gestus” or “grandgestus” style of acting along with the alienation technique, the “Verfremdungseffekt” which Brecht himself developed, shows his intention to keep his audience aware that they were watching a performance and not get emotionally involved. He wanted his audiences to see life in almost a theoretical manner, A+B = C, or Young child + Abusive parents = Unstable adult. He wanted to remove the fog that theatre can create, and tell a story to an audience who have clear vision.  

So what did Brecht have to say that was worth reshaping the face of theatre?

Producing the type of theatre that Brecht was making was risky at that time in life. Theatre audience at that time where used to the Stanislavski style of method acting, watching characters that they could see in their lives  ...............

Notes and videos from Paul’s class with my reflection and thoughts