acting

    From his actors Brecht wanted not realism and identification with the role but an objective style of playing. To do this the actor demonstrates rather than imitates, this provides a 'bond' of alienation between the actor and the audience. Distancing can be achieved through the actors stepping out of role and evaluating their character by swapping roles and imitating each other. This allows the actor to critcise and question their character. To see how the role of an actor in Epic theatre is achieved I have applied it to Brechts' 'Mother Courage'. In rehersal to distance the actor from 'being' the character the actor speaks their lines in the 'third person', this results in the characters name being said before the line like this;

     'Elif: It's called The song of the girl and the soldier
      ( He sings it, dancing a war dance with his sabre)'

      The actor should also use past tense and say the stage directions, this will allow the actor to distance themselves futher.
       Physicality is also important for an actor in Epic theatre. Different external physicalities like gesture, costume and props build stage pictures and indicate inner feelings. In 'Mother' scene two, Elif and the general are drinking, this scene can be blocked to clarify the relationship of the characters. Elif, a soldier is lower in status then the general, this 'social relationship' can be shown by Elif being on a slightly lower level then the General. Even though the social level is different, the two charaters are amicable towards each other, so gestures like patting backs and eye contact can potray this.
        Brecht also believed the role of the actor was to address the audience directly, this enables the fourth wall to be broken down. In 'Mother' direct contact to the audience can be used when Elif sings his 'War song'. The actor playing Elif could use eye contact with the audience and can also move into the audience area. This would break the barrier between the audience and actor and help the audience to become in a sense detatched observers.