Verfremdungseffekt
Verfremdungseffekt (V-effekt), usually translated as alienation effect (a-effect), is a concept developed by the German poet, playwright, and dramaturg Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956). His V-effekt is…
Search Results 1 - 25 of 33
Marx, Karl (1818–1883)
Karl Marx (1818–1883) was a revolutionist, socialist, philosopher, journalist and social theorist, best known for his Communist Manifesto, co-written with his friend and collaborator Friedrich…
Fugard, Athol (1932--)
Athol Fugard has been a novelist and memoirist (of sorts), but is best known for his pioneering political work in the theatre as a writer,…
Fleiβer, Marieluise (1901–1974)
Marieluise Fleiβer is best known for her critical dramas, though she also wrote short stories and an autobiographical novel. Fleiβer is associated with the genre…
Luxemburg, Rosa (1871–1919)
Also known as ‘Red Rosa’, Rosa Luxemburg was a writer, philosopher, feminist, and labour activist who fuelled the socialist movement in Weimar Germany. For modernists…
Ghatak, Ritwik Kumar (1925–76)
Ritwik Ghatak was an Indian Bengali filmmaker who, along with filmmakers like Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, is known as one of the proponents of…
al-`Ayni, Yusuf (1927–)
A playwright, actor, and director, Yusuf al-`Ayni was instrumental in the development of Iraqi theater from the 1950s through the 1970s. His three-decades-long career coincides…
Reinhardt, Max (1873–1943)
Born Max Goldmann to Jewish parents in Baden, Austria and nicknamed “the Magician” by the press, Max Reinhardt was pivotal in establishing theater directing as…
Weill, Kurt (1900–1950)
Kurt Weill was one of the most inventive and prominent composers for musical theatre during the first half of the twentieth century. He wrote for…
Hikmet, Nâzım (1902–1963)
Nâzım Hikmet (Ran) (b.January 15, 1902, Thessaloniki–d.June 3, 1963, Moscow) was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist, and screenwriter who spent nearly fifteen years of his…
Shklovsky, Viktor (1893–1984)
Born in St Petersburg, Russia, Victor Borisovich Shklovsky (or Shklovskii; Ви́ктор Бори́сович Шкло́вский) was a literary critic, autobiographical novelist, and a leading figure of Russian…
Acting
Acting on the modern stage ranges from the psychological realism of Konstantin Stanislavsky (1863–1938) to the sensory assault of Antonin Artaud (1896–1948) to the didactic…
Feuchtwanger, Lion (1884–1958)
Born into a Jewish family in Munich, Lion Feuchtwanger lived in Berlin from 1925 to 1933 when Hitler’s accession to power forced him into exile,…
Williams, Raymond (1921–1988)
The critic, cultural historian and novelist Raymond Williams was an influential theorist of the emergence of literary and cultural modernism, and a key figure in…
Chaplin, Charlie (1889–1977)
Charles Spenser Chaplin was born in London on April 16, 1889, and died on Christmas Day, 1977, at home in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. He had been…
Directors/Directing
Although some official has organized the acting and scenery in theatrical performances since ancient Greece, the director only emerged as a significant creative figure in…
Shingeki
Shingeki (literally “new theater”) is a word coined in late Meiji period Japan (1868–1912) referring to dramatic works and theater performance styles imported and adapted…
Kraus, Karl (1874–1936)
Karl Kraus was a famous literary and cultural critic and a cult figure in Vienna’s intellectual scene around 1900. He was the editor of the…
Nono, Luigi (1924–90)
Luigi Nono stands out as one of the most uncompromising modernist composers of the Italian avant-garde. Together with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez, Nono was…
Zweig, Arnold (1887–1968)
Arnold Zweig was born on November 10, 1887 to a Jewish family in Glogau, Silesia (now Glogów, Poland). As an anti-war and anti-fascist activist as…
Agitprop Theatre
Now widely used as a catchall term to describe politically combative or oppositional art, “agitprop” originated from the early Soviet conjunction of propaganda (raising awareness…
Shaw, George Bernard (1856–1950)
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, music and drama critic, and political theorist who pioneered the play of ideas as a dramatic genre, was…
Dudley, Jane (1912–2001)
Jane Dudley, a key figure in the radical dance movement of the 1930s, was a choreographer who developed her own distinctive voice within the modern…
Gert, Valeska (1892–1978)
Valeska Gert was a dancer, actress, and cabaret artist best known for her radical solo performances during the Weimar Republic. She attracted attention for her…
Denby, Edwin (1903–1983)
Edwin Denby is best remembered as one of the preeminent critics of dance modernism, yet he was also an accomplished poet and an experienced dancer,…