Theatre Practitioners and Genres

Ways to make theatre

There is no single right way to make a play, and this area of study is about the different approaches that have shaped modern theatre. Some practitioners want the audience to forget they are watching a play at all. Stanislavski built a naturalistic style in which actors create truthful, believable characters from real emotion. Others want the opposite. Brecht built epic theatre around the alienation effect, deliberately reminding the audience it is a play so they think about its message. Berkoff works through bold physical theatre, telling stories with stylised movement and the whole ensemble. And Emma Rice is known for playful, visual productions full of live music and movement. Alongside the practitioners sit genres such as musical theatre, theatre in education and physical theatre. This module teaches what each practitioner and genre does and how their techniques change the performance, which is what you draw on when devising and interpreting.

Words for theatre styles

Learn what each of these means before you use it.

Stanislavski against Brecht

The two most contrasted practitioners want opposite things from the audience, which is why they are always compared.

How to use a practitioner

When a task asks you to work in a practitioner style, or to interpret a scene through one, use a clear routine. First, name the practitioner or genre you are using. Second, choose one specific technique that belongs to them, such as the alienation effect or truthful emotional acting. Third, and this is where the marks are, say what that technique does to the audience. A weak answer just names a practitioner. A strong answer names a technique of theirs and explains the effect it creates in performance. Name the practitioner, choose a technique, state the effect. That works whether you are devising your own piece or directing a set scene.

Match the practitioner to their technique

Whose technique?

A director wants the audience to keep thinking critically about a play message, so an actor steps out of character and speaks straight to the audience. Whose approach is this?

• Brecht
• Stanislavski
• Berkoff
• Emma Rice

Order devising in a style

Put the steps for devising a scene in a chosen practitioner style in a sensible order.

• Choose the practitioner whose style suits your idea
• Pick one of their techniques to build the scene around
• Rehearse the scene in that style
• Check what effect the technique has on the audience

Spot the true theatre facts

Tap the TWO statements that are true.

• Stanislavski aimed for truthful, believable acting
• Brecht used the alienation effect to make the audience think
• Physical theatre relies mainly on long speeches rather than movement
• Theatre in education is made only for adult audiences and never to teach

How many practitioners left?

This module names 4 practitioners: Stanislavski, Brecht, Berkoff and Emma Rice. So far you have studied 1 of them closely. Subtract to find how many of the 4 are left to study.

Complete the theatre facts

A naturalistic style aiming for truthful, believable acting was developed by _____. The alienation effect, which keeps an audience thinking, belongs to _____. A genre in which a story is told through song, dance and dialogue is _____ theatre. A genre made to teach or explore an issue, often for young audiences, is theatre in _____.

One scene, two styles

Take a simple scene: a worker is told they have lost their job. Staged one way, the actors play it for complete truth. The performer sinks into the character, the pauses feel real, the room is a convincing office, and the audience is pulled in until it almost forgets it is watching a play. That is the naturalistic approach, aiming for belief and emotional connection. Now stage the very same scene the other way. An actor turns to the audience and states plainly that thousands lose their jobs this way each year, a placard shows a number, and a short song comments on the moment. The spell is broken on purpose so the audience thinks about the wider point rather than only crying for one character. That is the alienation effect at work. Same scene, opposite intentions, and naming which one you are using is exactly what an examiner is looking for.

Build the style rule

Choose the words that complete the rule for writing about a practitioner.

Direct the scene

Read each case and choose the best answer, then think about why.

• You want the audience to be swept up and to believe fully in a grieving character. Whose style fits best?
• A company tells a whole story using only their bodies to become waves, doors and a storm, with almost no set. Which genre is this?
• A group creates a short interactive play to help a school audience understand bullying. Which genre is this?

Practitioners and genres

Select the TWO statements that are true.

• Berkoff is known for a bold, stylised physical style of theatre
• Musical theatre tells its story through song, dance and dialogue
• Brecht wanted the audience to forget completely that it was watching a play
• Stanislavski is famous for using placards and direct address to break the illusion

Explain theatre styles

A friend is revising Drama and cannot tell the practitioners apart. Explain how the main practitioners and genres differ, using the ideas from this module.

• Explain what Stanislavski wanted from actors and the audience
• Explain what Brecht wanted instead, and what the alienation effect does
• Explain what marks out the physical style of Berkoff
• Explain one genre, such as musical theatre or theatre in education
• Finish by explaining why naming a technique and its effect matters more than just naming a practitioner