Exaggeration

We then moved onto Exaggeration. A pair of actors improvised a scene between a doctor and a patient. The Doctor was arrogant and knew that these people paid to see him and the patient wanted his money's worth and was worried for his health.  The actors had to play the characters stereotypically through their voices and their body language. The patient was played very melodramatically, almost to the point where when he was in distress he would put his hand to his head. The doctor was played less melodramatically as he had to be played more professional, he was very straight backed and proper, almost unnaturally so. When the hands were clapped the two actors ha dot switch roles in the middle of what they were saying/doing and they had to play the other character immediately. When this happened the scene became more comical as they went from weeping to being very stern immediately, which was comical as it was so unnatural. Whenever the scene changed the audience laughed and the atmosphere was more relaxed whereas if they had not swapped roles or been so melodramatic the scene would have been much more serious and the atmosphere more tense. When this happened the actors also played the characters more dramatic. For example the patient became more weepy and hysterical and the doctor more stern and proper.

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This was a good exercise to explore for Brechtian theatre as it showed clearly how the actors are not to connect to the characters but only to represent their attitudes and physicality, this was shown through the changing of the roles. Changing the roles also helped to push the audience away from actually believing the scene or the situation and it turns them into being an observer, studying the scene.