Benjamin, Storytelling and Brecht in the USA

Abstract

open air theater of the Bay area parks. The fascinating part of the project was that all we had learned up till then about Brecht's epic theater and alienation techniques had to be readjusted, if not reversed, for outdoor performance. Whereas you might take advantage of the audience's attention indoors and distance them from the stage, you had to attract their attention outdoors. Where indoors you might dramatically hold a moment before you spoke or before a character moved, the audience outdoors thought you had forgotten your lines or didn't know the blocking. The outdoor performances were near-disasters, given our limited production facilities, talents and the obstacles of park shows. Later I wrote: We made a production that was like Bratwurst Chow Yuk.' The excruciating outdoor experience gave us extraordinary courage for the later indoor shows.