Disruption (Brecht & Artaud)

When I read this prompt, I couldn’t stop thinking about the work of The Living Theatre that we discussed in class. The play Not in My Name, was such an abrupt and in your face piece of theatre that I had trouble imagining it being successfully performed. It reminds me of when I’m in New Orleans and there are street performances popping up here and there, and honestly I always try my best to avoid them. Although street performers have, in a way, become a part of the culture of big cities such as New Orleans and New York, I feel that most people walking on the street have some place to be, and it would take a lot for them to stop and watch a play in its entirety. We also discussed in class how this style of theatre often has very polarizing effects. Basically if someone if going on about something that I am passionate about and I agree with his/her stance on the issue, my response is likely to get fired up or at the very least acknowledge that what they are saying is something I agree with. Oppositely however, if someone is performing a street theatre piece and taking a stand on an issue that I vehemently disagree with then I am likely to only get angry at the performance and leave the experience with my thoughts confirmed on the issue that was discussed. So I suppose to answer the prompt question, I think it is difficult for street theatre to be successful. Having the power to stop people in their tracks and then also getting them to really hear what they have to say and form an opinion on the issue is a lot to ask of an audience of unexpecting bystanders. 

I feel like theatre is always trying to innovate and change itself to keep up with the times. The biggest challenge that theatre faces as an art are competing forms of entertainment. So that pushes theatre artists and producers to find new and inventive ways to make theatre more appealing to the large group of people who are not necessarily avid theatre goers. Unfortunately I think that this push towards innovation sometimes leaves the final product looking very obviously affected. There does not have to be all of these crazy changes to the theatrical conventions that have already been established. If we can simply continue to produce compelling pieces of theatre then people will continue to be interested. Often when I hear someone say they don’t really enjoy seeing plays, my response is that they just haven’t seen the right play yet.