THE BRECHT PROJEkT:
THIRD REICH REDUX
--Currently in Development--
THE BRECHT PROJEkT:
THIRD REICH REDUX
--Currently in Development--
THE MOTIVATION for doing these plays is driven by the striking similarities between the rise of the Third Reich in 1930s Germany, and the rise of White Christian Nationalism and Totalitarianism here in the U.S.
THE VISION (Pt. One) is to bring forward the comic irony, bitter tragedy, and the clown-like absurdity of the human condition found in the writing of these plays by employing Brechtian Verfremdungseffekt strategies (aka The V-Effect)* and his "gestus" performance style (designed to avoid verisimilitude by emphasizing the archetype of the characters rather than their psychology). By enriching the comic aspects of each play, through Brechtian modes of performance, the sinister elements of the unseen and unspoken oppression of a rising totalitarian regime become heightened, and the stakes of its inherent tragic circumstances even more piercing.
THE VISION (Pt. Two) includes a single “seamless” production where the world of the two plays live on-stage side-by-side. This means that as the first play is unfolding in real time on one side of the stage the characters of the second play are silently living “next-door,” so to speak –as if the two plays exist in adjoining apartments of the same building. The intention of situating these two private, interior spaces, side-by-side is to place the audience in the role of voyeur, enhancing the element of complicity, where we witness the suggested lives of the characters in the second play before they begin speaking. Subsequently, we observe the implied outcome of the lives of the characters in the first play after the characters conclude their lines.
DESIGN: The design for the production includes a set and costumes suggesting 1930s Germany (with the possibility of layering in subtle contemporary references), along with the side-by-side staging mentioned above.*
CASTING: This project depends upon unconventional, non-traditional casting choices for both plays. It is an extremely important element for this production, and it includes the use of a highly theatrical, non-realistic makeup (that Brecht used frequently to heighten the theatricality of his Epic Theater style) as well as the use of whiteface for the actors of color (see Casting Breakdown below). The intention of these choices not only emphasizes the radical threats of a fascism, but it also raises the stakes for the current climate in the U.S.
Attached please find a scanned PDF of both plays, translated by Eric Bentley (c.1965), as well as a pitch document that covers a fuller and more comprehensive vision of the project.
CAST BREAKDOWN:*
5 Actors + 1 Female Stage Manager/Run Crew:
● 3 Men (Two Caucasian males. One male of color)
● 1 Woman (One woman of color)
● 1 Child (One child of color, age 10-ish. Must be able to sing)
● 1 Female Stage Manager or Run Crew
*Notes:
For details on strategies of V-Effect, Design Ideas, and details on the unconventional casting choices please see below under the header
RE-ENVISIONING.
The Following TABLE OF CONTENTS is for the Full-Length Pitch Document --available upon request.
TOC:
THE PLAYS:
Background, Playlet Summaries, Relevance
RE-ENVISIONING:
My History with These Plays, Stage Setting, Re-Envisioning Casting, Epic Theater & The V-Effect, Production Structure: Prologue, Entre Act, Epilogue
PRE-PRODUCTION & PRODUCTION NEEDS:
Translation, Copyright, Dramaturgy, Design, First Iteration
Pre-Production Needs