Woyzeck Section C
- Created by: KarolK
- Created on: 19-03-19 12:46
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- Woyzeck
- Context
- written between June and September 1836
- In fragmentary state as he died in 1837 meaning work incomplete
- intended disjointed qualities meaning scholar piece it together enhancing Brechtian style
- each scene structurally independent
- based on man executed for stabbing his wife Marie
- Buchner fascinated with case so took inspiration
- first play seen as modern drama, catalyst of theatrical movement i.e. naturalism and modern theatre of absurd
- Buchner's social commentary stemmed from own political disillusionment anticipating Karl Marx's theories
- Politically active in 1831
- Establishes society of human rights
- Own genre 'psychological realism'
- Influenced by Sturm and Drang (Storm and Stress) politcal movement in Germany
- Young males concerned with trials of common man - expose hypocrisy and social injustice
- Performed in modernist, expressionist, absurdist and naturalistic - give importance
- Carl Richards ' series of stained glass windows in a medieval cathedral'
- each is self contained but builds to form coherent whole
- Maurice B ' is one of the disillusionment ending in the gloom of complete solitude'
- Woyzeck is like a character in a Greek Tragedy who has no power over his own life and what he does
- Original Performance
- Proscenium arch
- Originally performed to the upper class
- 'the bourgeoisie'
- The lighting used was oil lamps
- Basic incandescent stage lights
- Main stage feature - revolve
- Performed on 8th Nov in 1913 at Residenztheater in Munich
- Early colour filters only due to restrictions in electrical technology
- No theatrical curtain – used to aid themes
- songs would be sung without accompaniment
- Brechtian Elements
- Buchner: caricature
- to flesh out characters that are there to enhance protagonist's traits
- Breaking the fourth wall
- Use of song, music and dance to juxtapose the dark lyrics
- Montage - juxtapose scenes
- focus on minute details if the situation of the play demands it
- Narration
- Coming out of role onstage
- Sometimes the narrator will tell us what happens in the story before it has happened.
- Freeze frames / tableaux
- Placards
- Multi rolling
- cross-sex
- Epic theatre
- Distancing audience from action to stop them becoming sympathetic with characters
- idea of objectivity
- episodic
- fractured narrative
- Distancing audience from action to stop them becoming sympathetic with characters
- Tickle and Slap
- Lull audience into fall sense of security and then shock
- Speaking stage directions
- forces them to study the actions of a character in objective detail.
- Gestus
- Gesture, facial expression and body language communicate message to audience
- only to show them as a type of person, not character
- built on the character’s social role and why they need to behave as they do, rather than emotional motivation. we judge the character and situation, rather than empathising
- gesture with social comment.
- only to show them as a type of person, not character
- Gesture, facial expression and body language communicate message to audience
- Ensemble
- Spass
- slapstick
- stand up comedy
- break rising tension
- parody
- audience laugh and question why
- split role
- character representational and inhibits emotional involvement and attachment
- refer to his characters by archetypal names
- Buchner: caricature
- Key scenes
- grandmother's story 'black fairty tale' encapsulated Buchner's message of tragic view of man's existence
- Design
- Staging - difficulty retain plays disjointed while keeping audience understanding
- Iman Bergman famously integrated audience with actors so action never ceased
- important thing is that the audience still see the theatre, see production personnel in action on the stage rather than hidden.
- Use harsh white light 'illuminates the truth'
- minimal props/ sets/ costumes
- Historicism -always a sense of authenticity to production elements apart from a little sound and lighting
- symbolic props
- changing props to other ones
- Context
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