– Här kommer vi att börja och här kan vi också komma att sluta. – Vi befinner oss i ett slags vakuum eftersom att start- och slutpunkten för den här texten finns någonstans i ett flertal parallella verklighetsskildringar - berättelser som å ena sidan kan tala för sig själv, men samtidigt är beroende av varandra för att förklara och förtydliga strategier, tematik och intentioner i en konstnärlig praktik. – Den här texten är enbart en text och existerar inte på något annat sätt än just som text. – Den här texten är en förklaring, ett komplement, en svepande rörelse men också ett tidsdokument - ett statement of the times. – Vi som talar är på sätt och vis samma person, men är också medvetna om att vi besitter olika förmågor och har olika kvalitéer som skiljer oss åt. – Vi är yttre skal och inre demoner. – Vi är någon slags karaktärer - verklighetsflyktens frukt. – Vi som talar är ständigt närvarande i texten och vi kommer att sammanfoga våra röster och kanaliseras genom en kropp, just eftersom att det är så vår verklighet ser ut.

This thesis proposes a critical study of the theoretical framework of Urinetown, asking the question of whether or not the show is truly a “Brechtian musical,” utilizing the tenets and beliefs of Bertolt Brecht. Set in a quirky, Gotham-like town where you have “to pay to pee” due to a severe drought, Urinetown follows a cast of absurdist characters as they navigate a society plagued by the perils of big business, ecological devastation, and the inequalities of capitalism. While the show appears to make a relevant social commentary, supporting a righteous rebellion to overthrow the evil Urine Good Company, in the end, by proving that revolution does not always succeed, writers, Kotis and Hollman invalidate these commentaries, proving that despite its Brechtian appearance, the show in its textual form is much more simply a comedic parody. However, Pomona College’s production, in which I played Hope Cladwell, takes on a much more severe tone, creating legitimate commentary by replacing many of the comedic, two-dimensional characters with living breathing, realities. In a text traditionally lacking authenticity, I approached Hope Cladwell with the intention of finding strength and satire in an otherwise vapid character.

In the period following the May 1968 protests, French women began to create theatre that highlighted women’s struggles. This study explores the dual influence of Antonin Artaud and Bertolt Brecht on plays by Hélène Cixous, Simone Benmussa, and the Théâtre du Soleil led by Ariane Mnouchkine. Artaud argued that theatre should become a transformative experience through an explosion of sensory stimuli: music, light, noise, and imagery. Conversely, Brecht wanted to use theatre to revolutionize society and theorized that by maintaining historical and emotional distance between the audience and the play, spectators would be encouraged to think critically about the its significance and be compelled to action. The female playwrights and directors studied created powerful theatre by combining these ideas in a manner mimicking Julia Kristeva’s notion of subject formation. Kristeva proposes that the human subject is never stable. Instead, it oscillates between the non-discursive, emotion-filled state she labels the semiotic and the more language- and logic-propelled symbolic register. These two realms are in constant tension as the semiotic disrupts the logic of the symbolic and in turn, the symbolic strives to regulate the semiotic impulses. In this study, I argue that the ideas of Artaud are aligned with the semiotic while those of Brecht resemble the symbolic. In the plays examined, the non-linguistic elements of the design and mise-en-scène engage with the didactic aims of the playwrights and directors, causing the spectator to connect emotionally with the story while simultaneously reflecting on its real-world signification.

The history of Bertolt Brecht's play Leben des Galilei extends through the writing of its three versions during 1938 to 1955 -- a period of two decades that also encompassed the entirety of the Second World War. The period also covers the atom bomb from its development to America's use of the bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the beginning of the Cold War, which included the sustained threat that nuclear weapons might be used any day. This thesis traces, and offers interpretations of, changes in Brecht's Leben des Galilei from its inception in 1938-1939 -- when the protagonist, a scientist, is portrayed in a positive light -- through the play's American version in 1947, where it bitterly accuses science and scientists of having betrayed society and humanity, and finally to its last version in 1955, where the protagonist struggles to prevent the normalization--the familiarization--of the threat of nuclear warfare. Next to the writing of the Leben des Galilei, the thesis also focuses on the main critical readings of the play. A large fraction of the critical readings, but not all of them, interpret the play either as a judgment of science or as an invitation to pass judgment on science. The thesis compares Leben des Galilei with three different groups of other texts. The first comparison is with two other plays that also address the problem of science in the age of nuclear weapons, and the second comparison is with other work of Brecht himself. The first comparison leads to the observation that the muted note of optimism in the final version of Leben des Galilei is exceptional, and the second comparison to the apparently unrelated observation that it was uncharacteristic of Brecht to make explicit a certain literary allusion in Leben des Galilei. The two observations converge to a possible common explanation from a comparison with a still third group of texts, a cycle of Native American myths which appear in the oral traditions of various Native American tribes spread throughout the New World. Finally, the thesis addresses the question of why a modern-day literary text, addressing the essentially modern problem of nuclear warfare, and addressing that problem using the essentially modern techniques of Brechtian theatre, might have structures parallel to the structures of primitive mythology.

Access to new forms, conduct and practices of educational research remain elusive providing researchers stay within the narrow theoretical constructs�the static, single vista of conventional research models. This dissertation presents the findings of an experimental study that aims to extend the discourse of educational research through a 'performative ethnographic analysis' by using a single-site case study approach. The case study is an analytical parody based on multiple discourse relevant to a 'new' and different approach to educational research so that a more comprehensive and complex process of reading and writing text becomes possible. Throughout this process, a generative methodology and interpretative base are anticipated to provide a metaphoric focus for a critical dialogue. The discourse informing the theoretical and interpretative base of the study include philosophy, science, visual arts, literary theory, critical postructuralist theory and theatre performance. The data are presented as a series of performance narratives in the form of socio-drama, interspersed with critical reflection that enables the researcher, the research participant and reader to become part of a triadic construct. The findings from this study have major implications for informing contemporary educational research, as they demonstrate that by approaching research in 'new' and different ways, the researcher and the educational community have access to insights that are unavailable within the constraints of conventional models of research.

While in recent years Caryl Churchill's drama has engendered substantial critical inquiry, there has been no sustained or comprehensive examination of her work in the context of one of this century's most influential dramatic forms, what has been known as Brechtian epic theatre. Epic theatre's counter-discursive, counter-hegemonic elements have appealed to a new generation of women playwrights, among them Caryl Churchill, who finds its politics invaluable to her socialist feminist dramaturgy. A detailed exploration and analysis of several of Churchill's explicitly socialist feminist plays, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (1976), Vinegar Tom (1976), Cloud Nine (1978), Top Girls (1982), Fen (1983), and A Mouthful of Birds (1986), enable us to determine the extent to which her plays can usefully be considered within the context of Brechtian epic theatre and to understand Churchill's unique application of epic techniques to a politic that moves beyond class concerns to incorporate concerns of gender, race, sexual orientation, and age. The theoretical framework of this dissertation will address subjectivity, power, and discourse in an attempt to demonstrate how Churchill's plays, like all literary texts, construct meaning and subject positions for the reader and for the audience. This dissertation privileges socialist and/or feminist theories that stress the social construction of subjectivity and recognize the need for historical specificity. Such a critical methodology not only clarifies how Churchill's epic drama, with its strong socialist feminist politic, constructs fictive representations of women and men that contest norms of patriarchal gender relations and the implicit hierarchies of value at work within them, but also reveals how Churchill moves beyond Brecht to present complex female and male characters whose subjectivities are constructed in the experience of class, race, gender, sexual orientation, and age.

Det finns både skillnader och likheter mellan Stanislavskij och Brecht. En av de tydligaste är att de har olika ismer i grunden, Stanislavskij är naturalist och Brecht är realist. Dessa ismer gränsar till varandra i det att de båda vill ge en så realistisk bild av verkligheten som möjligt, men tar olika vägar i synen på verkligheten och hur denna ska avbildas på bästa sätt. Där Stanislavskij vill ha total inlevelse vill Brecht fjärma och hålla distans. Där Brecht bara låter skådespelaren ge utlopp för sina känslor i det inledande repetitionsarbetet låter Stanislavskij känslan vara med som en röd tråd genom hela processen från rollskapande till färdig föreställning. Jag har även kommit fram till att politiken, i synnerhet kommunismen och den socialistiska realismen, tilläts större utrymme hos Brecht än hos Stanislavskij. Vidare ansåg både Stanislavskij och Brecht att publiken hade en jämförelsevis stor roll i teaterns varande. Brecht menade att publikens möjlighet till kritisk eftertanke var det viktigaste för teatern i det stora hela, detta samtidigt som underhållningsfaktorn vägde tungt. Stanislavskij å sin sida strävade istället efter publikens beständiga upplevelse av den verklighet som skådespelarna åskådliggjorde på scenen, för honom var det viktigare att publiken trodde på vad de såg än att de blev roade.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Hamburg, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [325]-336).

Submitted by NATALIA KNEIPP RIBEIRO GONÇALVES null (nataliakneipp@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-05-09T18:42:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TESE_NATALIA_final_rev_repositorio.pdf: 2362286 bytes, checksum: a857cd8026881e08ef411c76c41566ac (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Felipe Augusto Arakaki (arakaki@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-05-10T17:10:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 concalves_nkr_dr_arafcl.pdf: 2362286 bytes, checksum: a857cd8026881e08ef411c76c41566ac (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-10T17:10:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 concalves_nkr_dr_arafcl.pdf: 2362286 bytes, checksum: a857cd8026881e08ef411c76c41566ac (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-09 / Pró-Reitoria de Pós-Graduação (PROPG UNESP) / O presente trabalho caracteriza-se como pesquisa bibliográfica e tem como objetivo a compreensão da didática a partir do estudo das peças didáticas de Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956), as quais são uma tipologia do teatro épico brechtiano e compreendem as seguintes obras: “O voo sobre o oceano” (escrita em 1928/1929); “A peça didática de Baden-Baden sobre o acordo” (escrita em 1929); “Aquele que diz sim”/“Aquele que diz não” (encenadas sempre em conjunto, escritas em 1929/1930); “A decisão” (escrita em 1929/1930); “A exceção e a regra” (escrita em 1929/1930) e “Os Horácios e os Curiácios” (escrita em 1934); além dos fragmentos “O malvado Baal, O Associal” e “Decadência do egoísta Johann Fatzer”. A didática é a categoria central deste trabalho, o universo são as peças didáticas de Bertolt Brecht e o método de análise é o materialismo histórico e dialético. Pretendemos contribuir com a discussão dos processos pedagógicos, sobretudo no que se refere à práxis pedagógica escolar e, para tanto, os caminhos trilhados em nossa pesquisa partiram da análise do conceito de didática presente na obra “Didática Magna”, de Comênio (1592-1670), que é um marco referencial da Pedagogia Moderna, e se dirigiram ao estudo da didática nas peças didáticas brechtianas. Compomos um panorama sobre as condições sócio-históricas do teatro europeu, em fins do século XIX e início do século XX; enfatizamos as aproximações e distanciamentos do expressionismo e do teatro político de Erwin Piscator (1893-1966) em relação ao desenvolvimento do teatro épico brechtiano; discutimos o elemento didático presente em peças anteriores às didáticas; e, por fim, analisamos as peças didáticas e seus fundamentos. Assim, consideramos que a didática compreendida a partir das peças didáticas propicia que o ensino seja posto em cena e aponta possibilidades ao diálogo entre o teatro e a educação escolar na perspectiva da práxis. / This work is characterized as bibliographic search and has aimed to understand the teaching from the study of learning plays of Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) which are a type of Brechtian epic theater and consist the following works: “The Ocean Flight” (written in 1928/1929); “The learning play of The Baden-Baden Lesson on Consent” (written in 1929); “He Who Says Yes”/ “He Who Says No” (always together staged, written in 1929/1930); “The Decision” (written in 1929/1930); “The Exception and the rule” (written in 1929/1930) and “The Horations and the Curiatians” (written in 1934); beyond the fragments “Bad Baal, the Antisocial Man” e “ Demise of the Egotist Johann Fatzer”. The teaching is the central category of this work, the universe are the learning plays of Bertolt Brecht and the method of analysis is the historical and dialectical materialism. We intend to contribute to the discussion of pedagogical processes, particularly with regard to school pedagogical praxis and, therefore, the paths in our research set out the teaching this concept analysis in the work “Magna Didactics”, of Comênio (1592-1670), wich is a reference point of the Modern Education, and headed to the study of teaching in Brechtian learning plays. We compose an overview of the socio-historical conditions of european theater, in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century; we emphasize the similarities and differences of expressionism and political theater of Erwin Piscator (1893-1966) for the development of Brechtian epic theater; we discuss this didactic element in previous parts to learning; and finally, we analyze the learning plays and its fundamentals. Like this, we consider that the didactic understood from the learning plays provides that education be put into play and points out possibilities for dialogue between theater and education from the perspective of praxis.

Eulenspiegel est une des rares figures littéraires du XVIe siècle à jouir jusqu’à aujourd’hui d’une renommée considérable en Allemagne. Pourquoi et comment Eulenspiegel demeure-t-il particulièrement présent dans le paysage littéraire allemand après 1945 ? Ce travail se concentre sur des réécritures du recueil de farces Ein kurtzweilig Lesen von Dil Ulenspiegel, l’oeuvre la plus ancienne dans laquelle apparaît Eulenspiegel. L’étude préalable de ce recueil montre que, tel Janus, il présente deux visages : l’un promeut les normes établies, relevant de l’ordre juridique, religieux ou social, tandis que l’autre incite à transgresser ces dernières. L’ambivalence du recueil est due à sa composante comique et à l’absence d’une délimitation claire entre l’autorisé et l’interdit, entre le souhaitable et le répréhensible. L’analyse des transpositions du recueil produites par Bertolt Brecht, Christa et Gerhard Wolf et Thomas Brasch met au jour les procédés employés relevant de l’inter- et de l’hypertextualité, tels que les définit Gérard Genette. L’étude de la Ballade de Günther Weisenborn éclaire les textes de B. Brecht, nourris par l’échange entre les deux auteurs. Cette pièce sert de contrepoint aux autres réécritures pour distinguer les transpositions du recueil et les adaptations de la figure. Les réécritures analysées attribuent à Eulenspiegel, dans des contextes historiques différents, une fonction de résistance combinée à une fonction identitaire. Les métamorphoses d’Eulenspiegel s’inscrivent dans une veine comique de la littérature allemande qui plonge ses racines dans la farce médiévale. / Eulenspiegel is one of the rare literary figures of the 16th century to enjoy until today a significant celebrity in Germany. Why and how does Eulenspiegel remain particularly present in the German literary landscape after 1945? This work concentrates on rewritings of the chapbook Ein kurtzweilig Lesen von Dil Ulenspiegel, the most ancient work in which appears Eulenspiegel. The preliminary study of this collection of pranks shows that, such Janus, it presents two faces: the one promotes the established norms, related to the legal, religious or social order, whereas the other one incites to break these last ones. The ambivalence of the chapbook is due to its comic component and to the absence of a clear demarcation between what is authorized and what is prohibited, between the desirable and the reprehensible. The analysis of the transpositions of the chapbook produced by Bertolt Brecht, Christa and Gerhard Wolf, and Thomas Brasch brings to light the employed processes related to inter- and hypertextuality, such as Gérard Genette defines them. The study of the Ballad of Günther Weisenborn sheds light on the texts of B. Brecht, fed by the exchange between both authors. This play acts as counterpoint to the other rewritings to distinguish the transpositions of the chapbook and the adaptations of the figure. The analyzed rewritings attribute to Eulenspiegel, in different historic contexts, a function of resistance combined with a function of identity. The metamorphoses of Eulenspiegel belong to a comic vein of the German literature which plunges its roots into the medieval prank.