Group work on Mother Courage and Her Children

Splitting off into individual groups and working on the scene from "Mother Courage..." really helped me to develop a better understanding on the different Brechtian techniques and how to apply them to a set piece of text.

We explored using the Verfremdungseffekt to distance the audience by having the title "Scene 12, Saxony, 1636" being read out loud - this reminded the audience that they were watching a play with scenes, rather than real life events. Though we used the V-Effect correctly to distance the audience from the piece, I feel we could have developed it and created a more effective and powerful use of distancing. I feel it was quite simple. However, this did mean that I was able to fully understand applying the technique to a set piece of text and then developing it to work with the whole piece.

To explore the technique gestus, we had Mother Courage simply throw the tarpaulin over her daughter's body with very little care. This was to indicate through one simple movement that the mother honestly didn't care about her relationship with her daughter or her daughter as an individual. Though I feel this was communicated, I think the action could have been performed bolder and with more purpose as it was done quite half halfheartedly, which could have hindered the message we were trying to put across.  

To include the Not...But technique, we then had Mother Courage come out of character and ask the audience why she was paying strangers to take care of her daughters funeral, suggesting that there may be some remorse within her - however, she goes back and decides that she doesn't care enough and hands the money over to the peasants. This showed her true feelings behind her daughters death, she may have some sadness within her - however, it doesn't hold a candle to her eagerness to follow the soldiers. 

I feel Rhianne's group's version of this scene really managed to capture the three techniques in different creative ways. Similarly to ours, they had the title being said out loud and written on a sign - this instantly distanced the audience in a way that meant we were reminded we were watching a performance, rather than real life. After Rihanne said the title, she got into her character of the dead daughter in front of us - this again distanced the audience from getting emotionally attached to the characters as we are reminded they are actors playing roles. They had the mother hesitate before putting the tarpaulin over her daughter's face, this was interesting as they explored a different approach to the mother's relationship with her daughter than we did as well as creating a clear use of gestus. This gesture revealed the truth of her love for her daughter, she's hesitant to say goodbye and doesn't want to accept the finality of her death. This was extremely effective at exploring the two characters' relationship and stating it clearly to the audience. 

I feel all three of these techniques can be extremely powerful when used creatively and in a sophisticated manner. all possessing the ability to send a deeper message than what is being performed on stage or the first impression that the audience might have gained. Exploring these different techniques myself and seeing another groups' interpretations really helped me further my understanding of their use and effect they can have on the piece and audience.