Stanislavski, Brecht and Beyond: An Integrated Approach to Actor Training in Berlin

The curriculum will focus on the study and practical application of aspects of German theatre that have made and continue to make a significant contribution to international theatre practice. It includes the integration of the Russian based Stanislavski Method of Physical Actions and Active Analysis with Brecht’s Epic Theater, Advanced Realistic scene study, classes in video performance with the company Gob Squad, Brecht scene study, Devised theater, Post Dramatic Theatre, movement, voice and rigorous actor-oriented Dramaturgical research. Students will study the history of 20th Century German Dramatic Literature, Dramatic Theory and Theatrical practice, German language, attend productions in several major theatres and take field trips to other cities in Germany. The program will culminate with workshop performances of several original devised theatre pieces based on short plays (Lehrstucke) by Brecht.

Students will also attend performances in the FIND Festival, a two-week theatre festival hosted by the Berlin Schaubuhne, for many years the premier theater in Germany. Designed to foster international artistic exchange this festival brings together a select group of international theatre students for ten days. They attend several contemporary professional productions, meet with the directors and participate in a series of master classes led by an international team of major teaching artists including Mr. Ostermeier.

The overall goal of the program is to enable students to create and perform realistic and devised theater that balances full physical and emotional embodiment with critical distance and actively interfaces the dramatic story and the theatrical context. This integrated approach aims to strengthen and deepen their presence on stage and their ability to create performances that are intellectually informed, viscerally exciting, and theatrically courageous.

This course examines German theatre of the 20th century, from Expressionism to contemporary postdramatic forms of writing and performance. The course will first offer an overview of German theatre traditions before 1900 and will then engage in analyzing specific developments in German theater starting with Max Reinhardt and his work at the Deutsches Theatre Berlin. Other case studies will focus on Brecht’s epic theatre, theatre during the Third Reich, postwar theatre trends in East and West Germany, and current developments in reunified Germany. Not only will we closely read relevant plays and theory by the theatre makers of the respective periods but we will also explore aesthetics and performance issues as they have changed over time. As the involved practice of dramaturgy in Germany has greatly influenced theatrical developments, we will investigate this major aspect of theatrical work in Germany as a contribution to world theater and study how the extensive debate of ideas is being concretely realized in the theatre through the choices being made in a production. An integral part of the course will include visits to Berlin theatres, attending performances, which we will analyze in class, and engaging in discussion with contemporary theatre makers in Berlin.

You will take one of the German language courses offered through NYU Global. Placement is based on your experience.