The Verfremdungseffekt

V-Effekt

Verfremdungseffekt-making something familiar seem alien.
V-effect intended to shock the audience
It fused the ideological with the formal
Stage was usually very bright and the curtain usually had something projected on it
Props would be minimal
When actors said their lines they sometimes turned to audience and interacted with them, the songs would be disjointed and aimed at the audience
The Three Penny Opera used the concept of the v-effect and it became a huge success

The v-effect was very successful because it took familiar concept of theatre and created something new and exciting for its audience. Brecht made his actors interact with the audience, poke fun at them, get them involved in the plays. In lecture when Professor Wickens talked about the v-effect the first thing that popped into my head was stand up comedy. Stand up comedians are essentially actors who produce material that will make their audience laugh and feel at ease. They use the traditional aspects of theatre for example the stage the loud and interactive voice the space provided, they use minimal props but they add their comical and interactive ideas. They add songs and dance performances to enhance their comedic side, always making sure to add something new and alien to entertain the audience. All this in my opinion is somehow influenced by Brecht and his v-effect. By taking something the audience is familiar with and adding a twist to it making it seem alien, theatre can be very successful and enjoyable.