A civil Uprising on 17 June 1953 in the German Democratic Republic created a dilemma for a number of writers there. On one hand, they were deeply committed to the principles of socialism, upon which their state was based and which they saw as being put in grave danger by events such as those they experienced on 17 June. On the other hand, they were fiercely critical of the practice of socialism as pursued by the governing party, whose Stalinist methods of governance they believed to be in large part responsible for the civil unrest. My thesis explores the nature of this dilemma in the case of four writers, Bertolt Brecht, Heiner Müller, Stefan Heym and Erich Loest, and their efforts to resolve it within a repressive state, whose regime vigorously suppressed all signs of criticism or dissent. These writers created major works of fiction, a cycle of poems, a drama and two novels, in which the Uprising of 17 June is the central theme. In addition, each has provided a substantial body of non-fictional texts, largely journalistic and autobiographical, in which the Uprising is extensively contextualised. In bringing together and interrelating the fictional and non-fictional work of each author into my analysis, I have been able to demonstrate that all four held and publicly expressed views that set them in opposition to the regime in the GDR.

Perhaps Bertolt Brecht's most obvious intention in connection with the theater was to help change the economic conditions, under which the people in a capitalistic society live. But, according to him, this could only be possible if the people were to develop a critical attitude and awareness of the contradictions that exist in such a society, in which "exploiters exploit the exploited", to put it in Brecht's straightforward terminology. It was his goal in the theater to help the spectator achieve this critical attitude. However, it was his opinion that this could only be done by rejecting the traditional theater of illusion, in which the spectator identifies completely with the characters and is "manipulated" by the supposed feelings of the hero and by the supposed necessity in the order of occurrences and by the supposed necessity of the occurrences themselves. To be critical means, of course, that not only are the feelings of the spectator involved, but also his thoughts. In order to introduce thought into the spectator, it was necessary for Brecht to break the spectator's illusion that he was participating in the actions on stage and that these actions were real. This led to the most significant of Brecht's theater contributions, which in English is perhaps, best called alienation. Actually, it is more accurate to say that his particular use of this element was his contribution. That is to say that his application of certain illusion-destroying techniques was not simply for aesthetic purposes, but rather for societal purposes. Each of Brecht's "alienations" leads in fact, in the ideal theater situation, to a revealing of some contradiction in the depicted societal conditions. It was my goal in this thesis to analyze the "alienation" as a countermovement to the theatrical illusion. In order to do this, it was necessary to analyze the theatrical illusion as well, which comprises the first part of the thesis. The second part is concentrated on "alienation". On a critical basis of acceptance and rejection of two selected thinkers on the subject of illusion I was able to arrive at a concept of illusion, which would also encompass Brecht's own writings concerning the topic. Since Brecht did not research the concept of illusion in a systematic manner, it was discovered in the course of researching his writings that Brecht was referring to two different phenomena with the same word, "illusion" Further, I discovered that it was possible to divide his "alienation" techniques into two different types, which corresponded to the limitation and hindrance respectively of the two types of illusion. I also attempted to construct a step-by-step process, through which the spectator goes whenever an "alienation" appears in a drama by Brecht. This "alienation-process" begins with application of the "alienation" and proceeds to the hoped for change in society. In the third and last part of the thesis I analyzed the main medium of "alienation" which is the language itself. This was done with the purpose in mind of researching Brecht's "alienation" method where it would be most fruitful. And since I was limited to the written text (a live presentation would reveal less of Brecht than of the director of the play), it was obviously the most appropriate research object for this purpose. In order to simplify it for the reader, I limited by references to specific dramas as much as possible to one play, namely "The Good Woman of Sezuan".

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This thesis investigates the transatlantic manifestation of the debate regarding the aesthetics of commitment in the modernist literary and theatrical tradition. Within the debate theatre occupies a privileged position since (because of its two-fold roles both as theory and performance) it allows a critique both of performative conventions and methods and also a dialectical consideration of the audience’s socio-political consciousness. The debate, often referred to as form versus content – schematically re-written as ‘autonomy’ versus ‘commitment’ – and its transatlantic evaluation are central to modernist aesthetics, as they bring into question the established modes of perceiving and discussing the issue. A parallel close reading will reveal the closely related development of the European and the American traditions and evaluate their critical strengths and shortcomings. The first part of the thesis discusses the positions of Georg Lukács and Bertolt Brecht, Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin in tandem with those of the New York Intellectuals, especially as expressed in the latters’ writings in the Partisan Review. The second part extends this transatlantic dialogue through a consideration of the theatrical works of the New York Living Newspaper unit of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) in the USA and Bertolt Brecht’s vision of and relationship with ‘Americana’ as revealed through such plays as In the Jungle of Cities, Man Equals Man, St Joan of the Stockyards and the 1947 version of Galileo. The Federal Theatre and Brecht’s respective dramaturgies demonstrate differences in the articulation and application of the aesthetics of commitment and politics of engagement. A close reading of four plays by the Living Newspaper unit will not only reveal the influence of the Russian Blue Blouse groups and Meyerhold’s theatrical experimentations, but also how the unit’s playwrights and administration attempted to re-write this aesthetic. Hallie Flanagan (the director of FTP), recognising the limitations of Broadway and having sensed the audience’s need for a new kind of theatre, realised early on the importance of ‘translating’ the European aesthetics of commitment to conform with the American New Deal discourse. Brecht’s plays manifest not only the differences with respect to the European aesthetics of commitment, but also its highly complicated development. His American experiences revealed that the failings of the FTP’s attempt to establish a viable national theatre with a social agenda prohibited a more powerfully theatrical connection (theoretical and performative) between the two traditions. Both the European and the American modernist aesthetics are informed by Marxist cultural and literary theory, particularly by the writings centred on the political efficacy of a work of art with respect to its reception and its modes of production. The politico-aesthetic encounter of the Marxist tradition of engagement with a commitment to aesthetic formalism (often associated with the autonomy position) led to a confrontational and polemical rather than dialectical argumentation. However, this thesis maintains that the arguments were not simply articulated by theorists at opposing ends of the political spectrum. At the same time, Brecht and the Federal Theatre Project’s interest in the advancements of the European avant-garde and fascination with the notion of ‘Americana’ demonstrate the necessity to examine the issue of commitment in a more dialectical manner. While their notion of the aesthetics of commitment differed, this thesis argues for the necessity, not only of revisiting some of the fundamental premises regarding the role and function of this aesthetics in modernist political theatre, but also of reading the two traditions in conjunction.

This research-creation thesis describes and analyzes the dramaturgical methodologies of verbatim theatre – a form of documentary theatre that uses transcripts as the dominant source of its dialogue – through the practical exercise of play writing. This paper marks the theoretical component of my thesis, which analyzes both the dramaturgical process and the historical context of my play Exhibit A. Using verbatim transcripts from legal evidence for its dialogue, the play examines the psychology of two teenage boys responsible for the brutal rape and murder of an 18-year-old Canadian woman in 2010. As documentary theatre emphasizes socio-political themes, this thesis considers the dramaturgical, aesthetic, and ethical considerations of verbatim theatre through my experience as a playwright and researcher. Acknowledging both the historical antecedents of documentary theatre and its contemporary examples, this thesis will define an original typology of verbatim theatre entitled the “Subcategories of Verbatim Theatre”. These subcategories are identified as Tribunal, Literary, Historical Drama, Expository and Participatory. Each privileges different types and usages of documents, which are further defined as being primarily related to “text” or “aural” based testimony. The thesis relates the dramaturgical principles of each subcategory to artistic choices made in Exhibit A. A description of the various incarnations of verbatim and documentary theatre, as well as an analysis of my experience as a documentary playwright examines the dramatic representation of reality as highly constructed in this form of theatre where the selection and editing of a documentary play's archive is a creative process that is not dissimilar from the creation of fictional drama. In that sense, the documentary genre can be said to present a dramatic representation of the playwright's subjective version of the truth. Exhibit A thus stands as my creative reconstruction of the evidence presented in the Kimberly Proctor murder trial.

This thesis examines the theoretical foundations of Brecht's and Sartre's "dialectical" theatre. Proceeding first from their most significant theoretical writings, it then studies representative plays--Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder and Les Mains sales--in an attempt to make explicit the relationship between theory and artistic practice. The textual analysis proper develops certain aspects of theme, structure and reception which in turn reveal meaningful differences and contradictions. Sartre's "dramatic" theatre in fact evidences a sort of ideological creativity whereas Brecht's "epic" theatre presents a more primordial artistic creativity. Therefore, though the concept of dialectical theatre (essentially political and/or historic) is a common thought-structure to both dramatists, its actualization differs. I will argue that Sartre's work shows a view of the art process as ideologically predetermined and almost ineluctable. Brecht's more primordial work, on the other hand, shows process as a creative anagnorisis, more immediate and archetypal. In the last chapter, I will give an overview of the changes in consciousness produced by these approaches of "dialectical" theatre and substantiate these by criticism that has dealt with the subject.

Zugl.: Mannheim, Univ., Diss., 2005

Zugl.: Hamburg, Hochsch. für Musik und Theater, Diss., 2009

This work concerns a theatrical text upon an historical moment known as 'The Galileo Case'. This relevant episode of the history of science played a very central role in the context of the development of the ideas concerning the birth of both, the Classical Physics and the Telescopic Astronomy. In order to elaborate the theatrical piece we proceed to a confrontation among several reference frames provided by diversified authors like Geymonat (1997), Reston Jr (1995), Koyré (2009), Drake (1981), Banfi (1949), Santillana (1960), Redondi (1990), Shea (1973), among others. Concerning the organization and construction of a dramatic theatrical text, properly said, we follow the seminal works due to Ball (2011). With respect to the Didactic Theatrical Piece we follow the seminal works due to Bertolt Brecht (1967; 1978), to Koudela (1992; 2007; 2010) and to Steinweg (1992). The works of these last three authors constituted the theoretical foundation in order to construct the theatrical activity, properly said. The students which constituted the control group were invited to read the theatrical piece and after this reading they were invited to answer a formulary with selected questions about the content of the piece. The corresponding collected answers were analyzed and categorized in the light of the following criteria: (i) the real contribution of the activity for the construction of students' knowledge; (ii) the real changes with respect to their a priori conception of the nature of science. Starting from the analysis of the obtained results we conclude that the adopted pedagogical practice was well successful to provide important changes concerning a better conception on the nature of science by the students. Besides this, we also conclude that the dramatic theatrical piece represents a good possibility to providing the overcoming of distorted conceptions on the nature of science and for the study of epistemological questions emerging from the theme. / Nesta dissertação, construímos um Texto Teatral que aborda o momento histórico conhecido como O Caso Galileu. Este episódio desempenhou papel importantíssimo no desenvolvimento das ideias relacionadas ao nascimento de ambas, à Física Clássica e à Astronomia Telescópica, e, deste modo, teve grande relevância para a História da Ciência. Foram incorporados e confrontados no processo de elaboração da parte escrita da peça intitulada "A Matuta e O Caso Galileu" quadros conceituais teóricos sobre a vida e a obra do filósofo florentino como aqueles propiciados por Geymonat (1997), Reston Jr (1995), Koyré (2009), Drake (1981), Banfi (1949), Santillana (1960), Redondi (1990), Shea (1973), entre outros. No que concerne à formatação de um Texto Teatral dramático nos orientamos pelo trabalho seminal de Ball (2011). A Peça Didática de Bertolt Brecht (1967; 1978) e os trabalhos de Koudela (1992; 2007; 2010) e de Steinweg (1992) constituíram-se na fundamentação teórica propriamente dita da atividade teatral a ser realizada. Além disso, foi aplicado um questionário com os estudantes após discutirem o Texto Teatral, e suas respostas foram categorizadas e analisadas verificando-se a contribuição da atividade na construção de conhecimentos relacionados ao tema em questão, assim como às mudanças de algumas de suas visões sobre a natureza do empreendimento científico. A partir das análises dos dados, essa prática pedagógica proporcionou mudanças, ainda que parciais, nas visões deformadas dos estudantes/atuantes acerca da natureza da Ciência como também propiciou uma compreensão mais adequada dos mesmos acerca das questões epistemológicas suscitadas.