Gestus

In today's lesson we looked into gestus, which is taking a physical gesture and adding an attitude to it. Brecht used this to show the audience simply and quickly what the character was about and what they were like. During the exercise we watched Rhianne walk around with her pelvis pushed out and walking with her feet slightly turned out, like waddling. We all came to the conclusion she was a lazy, tired, sluggish sort of character. Then Simon asked her to put a hand just in front of her stomach, then in a split second it was clear to all of us that she was a pregnant character.

I really love this technique because it is so simple but it shows the audience so much. It gives you a way to communicate with the audience using your body language instead of vocals, this is extremely useful in Brecht's plays politically because it can show difference in social status. It allows characters to get across their idea's to the audience without the actor's having to connect emotionally with their character's situation and just using gestures.