2026 top band exemplar · grade 7
Epic Theatre, a devised piece on beauty standards
A full grade 7 PCUP responding to the 2026 SOI and style. Read both the content and the structure. The annotations name the moves that earned top band.
Investigating Epic Theatre, Piscator, Meyerhold and Brecht
A.i.1Origins, Piscator and Meyerhold
Epic theater is a form of dialect drama that emerged during the 1920s following the First World War and during the Weimar Republic (Willett 1). Known for its social and political commentary, the creation of this style is often credited to Erwin Piscator and developed by Bertolt Brecht (Britannica Editors). The term “epic theater” was coined by Erwin Piscator during his first year as a director.
Epic theater was a significant deviation from traditional theater due to its unique approach with its aesthetics. This new style of theater was staged using documentary effects and according to The Influence of Erwin Piscator on German and American Theatre this included multimedia integration to create a more immersive and dynamic theatrical experience, audience interactions, and complex scaffold stages which were strategies to cultivate an objective response. This essentially breaks the illusion of watching a play and instead invites the audience to explore how identity (class, age, gender, race or religion) is often a constructed matter shaped by the character’s relationship with the social and political conditions of the time.
On the other hand, another significant pioneer, Vsevolod Meyerhold, further influenced epic theater by effectively capturing the imagination, will and intellect of his audience by dividing a play into episodes, altering the audience’s perception of the mise en scene and leaving the message of the play up for interpretation. The use of Episodic theater allowed for different people to bring in their own identities, knowledge, perspectives and history to connect the same dots in various ways to therefore interpret the same event differently. Ultimately both Piscator and Meyerhold reshaped the style of Epic Theater to help bring light to societal issues by ensuring that the audience do not lose themselves in the play.
Top band move: the essay names Piscator AND Meyerhold as the lineage Brecht emerges from, rather than starting with Brecht.
Notice the early line: “identity (class, age, gender, race or religion) is often a constructed matter”. The Identities & Relationships global context is already doing work in paragraph two, not tagged onto the very end in the conclusion.
Meyerhold’s contribution is named as leaving ‘the message up for interpretation’, directly delivering the RELATED concept (Interpretation).
A.i.2Brecht and the Verfremdungseffekt
However, the development of Epic Theater is often associated with Bertolt Brecht, a German playwright who aimed to devise a theatrical practice that would not only interpret the world but would help to change it. He was influenced by the loss of human life, the suffering of the middle class and lower class during postwar recessions of the 1920s, Great Depression of the 1930s and the teachings of Marxism.
To do this Brecht and his fellow epic theater artists devised non illusionistic theater aesthetics that encouraged alienation (Verfremdungseffekt) to remind the audience that they were critical observers and not passive participants allowing for a more active interpretation of the play unlike Piscator who preferred to use multimedia to demonstrate social realities. According to Brecht to Epic Theatre, he believed that “seducing” the audience would lead to uncritical analysis of the play. Instead, by keeping the set open with exposed lighting instruments as seen in Man equals Man, using placecards as shown in Mother Courage, encouraging the actors to break character and address the audience, and using an episodic and non linear story as seen in Caucasian Chalk Circle, performances were able to maintain the emotional neutrality necessary to understand the truth of society.
Man Equals Man, Mother Courage, Caucasian Chalk Circle, three plays, three techniques, in one sentence. Specific evidence rather than general claims. The technique is the move here: each play is the home of one named device.
“…unlike Piscator who preferred to use multimedia to demonstrate social realities.” Distinguishing between the practitioners shows you understand each one in their own terms, not as a single blur.
Brecht’s “seducing the audience” line is quoted, then used to explain the V effekt.
A.i.3Production evidence, Mother Courage
In 1949 Brecht staged Mother Courage which revolved around a woman who lives during the Second World War and is nicknamed Mother Courage for her coolness in safeguarding her merchandise under enemy fire. She is so focused on the wellbeing of her goods that even the deaths of her three children, one by one, do not interrupt her profiteering. This play links to the statement of inquiry because it demonstrates how identity is often shaped by the pressures a person undergoes revealing how differences in circumstances can often result in a painful uniqueness.
During the play Brecht uses a range of techniques to emphasize his use of alienation. This includes the dialogues of Mother Courage rarely being emotional in nature and instead is more intellectual and drier to allow the audience to focus clearly on the antiwar message of the play and how war and greed can distort human relationships from being genuine connections to something built on transactions, survival and deceit. Brecht’s aesthetic in Mother Courage is further highlighted through his choice of turning every available light full on in a whitewash to transform the atmosphere, making it “surprising and sobering” for the audience. This further accentuates the dissociation between the actors and the audience, allowing them to think critically and reflect on the consequences of global wars.
Additionally, Brecht is also successfully able to link his play with Karl Marx’s alienation theory of how the definition of a worker is by the work they do and their individual identity and worth is shaped by their productivity and how them losing their individuality results in them losing their beauty, ultimately becoming indistinguishable from one another.
The phrase “a painful uniqueness” is a band 8 reframing, it takes the SOI word (‘uniqueness’) and adds Brechtian weight to it. Uniqueness is not pretty here; it is the cost of the social pressure. That is the SOI redefined, not restated.
The whitewash light is described as “surprising and sobering” (Brecht’s own phrase) and linked to dissociation, not mood. Lighting is read as Brechtian argument, not decoration.
Bringing in Marx’s alienation theory to explain HOW losing individuality is losing beauty is the SOI argument at its most ambitious. The candidate is reading Brecht through Marx and arguing about beauty through both.
A.i.4Production evidence, The Threepenny Opera
Brecht also uses epic theater techniques in his play The Threepenny Opera, written in collaboration with composer Kurt Weill, that critiques capitalist society. The didactic components to use of songs, alienation and an episodic structure to of Bertolt Brecht’s “The Threepenny Opera” are well known for their ability to inform and elicit critical thinking from the audience.
In order to do this, he utilises alienation techniques to divert from traditional narratives to communicate his concerns on the capitalist system and how its lack of social mobility and freedom shifts relationships and forces people to lead lives of crime. Brecht reminds us that beauty and uniqueness are found in our differences; however, he also spotlights how easy it is for oppressive systems to strip our individuality away from us. This is frequently brought up during the play as the characters repeatedly have conversations regarding justice, morality and the structure of society interrupting the emotional flow for the audience and preventing them from escaping the subject.
Additionally, in collaboration with Kurt Weill, The Threepenny Opera contains several songs each used to convey Brecht’s message in a memorable and engaging way. These songs often have a satirical or ironic tone to change the atmosphere of the play into a lighthearted one. This shift not only unsettles the audience but also changes their interpretation by making it seem very absurd as it contradicts the grim reality of the play instigating critical analysis and reflection of the performance.
Mother Courage AND The Threepenny Opera, two productions, each with techniques named (whitewash, songs, episodic structure), each tied to the SOI.
Reading the SOI through Brecht: “beauty and uniqueness are found in our differences… he also spotlights how easy it is for oppressive systems to strip our individuality away from us.” The candidate names what the SOI claims AND the threat to that claim, that is a band 8 dialectical move.
Weill is named as collaborator AND his contribution (satirical / ironic songs) is named AND tied to the V effekt.
A.i.5Closing, Epic Theatre today
Today, many global social, political or ethical issues are still undermined by the media as they are considered irrelevant on a global scale. However, epic theatre has the ability to raise awareness surrounding these events by clearly demonstrating a divide between sides involved. Moreover, this style of theater trains audiences to be active thinkers and participants instead of passive viewers. By being constantly reminded to reflect on the event, audiences are able to interpret their own social realities through opposing perspectives and deeply analyse the roles they play in it. Epic theater is able to assist them in understanding their own identity and their relationships with the people around them making it easier for them to celebrate and see beauty in both their own and other’s differences.
The conclusion does the work the conclusion should do: argues that Epic Theatre makes audiences see beauty in difference by training them as critical observers.
Critique of Splendid’s Antigone
A.ii.1Setting the production
In 2013-2014 Splendid Theater performed an Epic Theater inspired adaptation directed by Kerry Frampton and Mal Smith and involving actors Kerry Frampton, Guy Hargreaves and Genevieve Say. Through its use of minimalistic staging, multirolling, alienation, direct address and didactic theater the play is successfully able to explore themes ranging from obedience to the law and the king, family loyalty and if individual values should overturn state laws. The adaptation highlights how identities can be shifted through changes in confidence, clothing and posture and how the difference in physicality results in relationships shifting as status and power dynamics evolve.
Directors named (Kerry Frampton, Mal Smith). Actors named (Frampton, Hargreaves, Say). Year named (2013-2014). The introduction does not pretend the production happened in a vacuum.
Five techniques named in the first sentence, the lens for the critique is established before any moment is unpacked. Compare with critiques that introduce techniques only when they appear.
A.ii.2The “King Says” game, didactic theatre
One of the first moments an epic theater technique is used is at 1:20 to 2:57 when the three actors encourage the audience to play a game. This game is essentially the equivalent of Simon Says but instead labelled as the King Says. One of the actors says “The King says put your arms up in the air … the King says wave them like you just don’t care.” This was performed with very flamboyant actions including the stretching of his body and arms before waving and wiggling his whole body. The use of the over exaggerated physically suggested that the actor was treating the audience as if they were children at a birthday party.
This moment uses didactic theater through demonstrative acting. This is because it encouraged me to question how authority is constructed and how, despite the actor merely being named “king” the audience immediately follows his orders without questioning his logic or purpose. By framing this as a children’s game the production successfully tricks the audience into believing their actions are innocent when in reality they took part in a system that is designed to demonstrate how easily people submit to power when relationships shift and a title becomes legitimised with confidence.
Following this moment the actor states, again in a very over the top manner, to “put your arms down please” and because he did not say “the King says” anyone who put their arms down would have to do a dramatic death. The performers use alienation in this instance by treating death as a light hearted and humorous instead of something realistic. This motivates the audience to step back and dissociate with the play to wonder why death is used as a punishment in real life and how easily the loss of human life can be dismissed by disguising it under the law.
“The King says put your arms up in the air … wave them like you just don’t care.” Exact dialogue + timecode (1:20-2:57). The examiner can scrub straight to it.
flamboyant · stretching · waving · wiggling · over exaggerated. The HOW step is doing real work, the examiner can see the body in the prose.
Layer 1: “how authority is constructed”, the social claim. Layer 2: “they took part in a system… designed to demonstrate how easily people submit to power”, the audience’s implication in their own answer.
A.ii.3Multirolling + gestus, clown to guard
Another key epic theater technique that is used in the play is multirolling and gestus. At 27:05 to 27:30 one of the actors transforms from a clown into a guard. Instead of going backstage to do this she remains on stage to remove her party hat and clown glasses and instead replaces them with a guard hat. This allows the audience to see how easily an actor can change their identity on stage showing how social roles are constructed and not fixed.
Moreover, when the actor changes character not only do they use props but they also use gestus, another key epic theater technique which involves a physical action that reveals something about the characters social status, social relationships or power, by shifting their body language. Suddenly going from a very expressive, open and high spirited physicality to a rigid one. This is seen when the actor plants their feet shoulder width apart signaling military discipline however the bent knees and blank expression suggest resignation and mocks the seriousness of guards.
Following their change in status the guard very literally states “I am a guard, a job title that tells you exactly what to do.” Hearing the actor say this so bluntly and robotically is laughable for the audience but it also reminds them that this character does not have any personal backstory, their whole identity is defined by the fact that “they are a guard.” This influences the audience to think more about the difference between someone who is free compared to someone who is controlled and is obedient without thought.
The clown hat coming off + the guard hat going on, “on stage” not backstage, is exactly the visible mechanics V effekt move.
The candidate defines gestus mid sentence (“a physical action that reveals something about the characters social status, social relationships or power”) so the analysis can proceed.
“I am a guard…” + “bluntly and robotically”. Voice adjectives doing analytical work, the line is not just quoted, the delivery is named.
A.ii.4Exposed theatricality + the alienation effect
An additional epic theater technique which is used throughout the play but specifically at 27:05 is exposed theatricality. The aesthetics of the play includes a black box theater to this ensures that the audience and the actors are always in close proximity leaving no time for the audience to escape the issue that they are watching. Additionally it also guarantees that everything is visible including props that have previously been used and are going to be used. Nothing feels naturalistic because nothing is hidden from the audience, constantly reminding them that they are watching a constructed performance.
This also allows for multirolling to be fully displayed. While one actor is turning into a guard on stage right, another actor is simultaneously becoming a king via the change to a confident and powerful posture while a third actor at stage left remains as a clown, casually sitting down and drinking water, a very human action. Being reminded that the actor is a real person playing a role in a constructed performance, forces the audience to further distance themselves from the narrative and maintain passive spectatorship.
Epic theater is known for its use of alienation which can especially be seen at 52:38 where the actor of Antigone is seen crouching down on the stool while her fate is being narrated by the clowns of either side of her using the line “she chooses to die with her eyes open.” The use of the clowns in this moment does not give the audience enough time to develop a visceral connection with Antigone and instead interrupts grief with narration making the audience feel uncomfortable. The use of clowns for this narration shows the artificiality of power because clowns are performers. Throughout history different versions of clowns have existed in royal courts in order to entertain others. They were known for their acrobatics, humour, storytelling, music, performances and their ability to mock the powerful when no one else was allowed to.
Three actors, three actions, three positions on stage (right / centre / left). The whole picture is described, not just the speaking moment.
Bringing in historical context for the clown (“royal courts… ability to mock the powerful”) explains WHY Splendid’s choice carries authority. The candidate reaches outside the production to make the V effekt argument fully.
“she chooses to die with her eyes open”, the line is quoted AND becomes the basis for analysis of the alienation effect.
Artistic intention + the development journey
B.1Artistic intention
My artistic intention for this performance is to explore how beauty standards negatively adjust the relationships between women and their bodies. I aim to utilise epic theater techniques such as song, multirolling, placecards and alienation to demonstrate how comparison based on existing toxic beauty standards causes deterioration on a woman’s mental health and their body image. We will enforce the idea that perfection does not exist. But by watching women suppress themselves into society’s “criterion” of perfection, the audience will have to interpret our play to question if beauty and uniqueness actually exist in our differences in the modern day society.
Our performance will utilise the concepts of fairytales and pageant culture as a stimulus. The usage of Disney fairytales will exhibit the standards that Disney princesses have set for children including the non existent waist, slim and delicate bodies, large eyes, long eyelashes and often pale skin. Furthermore, Disney movies have often enforced the notion that aesthetically pleasing girls are always kind, worthy and able to be princesses whereas the less conventionally attractive characters are always evil or undesirable. By placing emphasis on the transformation of unique characters into clear clones of each other, the audience will attempt to mourn the loss of personality and individuality however this is immediately interrupted by the introduction of direct address and song.
To make certain that the audience leaves with a clear message that highlights the ridiculousness of unattainable beauty standards we are going to use epic theater techniques that interrupt passive watching for critical analysis. This includes using alienation and SPASS by treating harmful conditions as something to be celebrated. We will intentionally break the illusion and prompt the audience to question the seriousness and societal implications of what they are watching. Additionally, the use of narration, multirolling and gestus will convey the fractured mental state of these women as their world becomes disordered and their sense of identity is unraveled.
Theme · SOI link (quoted directly, made into a question) · audience impact (interpret, question) · stimulus (fairytales + pageant culture, both justified) · style with named techniques (song, multirolling, placecards, alienation, SPASS, narration, gestus).
The candidate turns the SOI into a question the audience must answer: “if beauty and uniqueness actually exist in our differences in the modern day society.” This is the SOI being USED, not quoted.
Disney fairytales as stimulus + pageant culture as second stimulus, both linked to the SOI. The intention names exactly what the style is going to DO with the stimulus.
B.2Mood board, Barbie
When brainstorming ideas, I found that my group and I were drawing a blank. Therefore, I decided to go online and look for images that represented my theme. Since my group already had a theme to go off, I used key words related to the theme including “body dysmorphia” and “perfection”. I then found the image of Barbie (top right) which I found particularly inspiring. Barbie has always been known for her perfect hair, skin, face and body and has always been someone little girls have looked up to. Although numerous complaints came in about the unrealistic body standards Barbie was promoting, the doll never decreased in popularity and continued to contribute to a lower body self esteem and a desire for a thinner body.
Despite being the literal embodiment of perfection, in the top left image Barbie is seen getting plastic surgery. This is incredibly contradictory as it shows Barbie, a seemingly perfect doll with no insecurities, being “corrected”. This demonstrates that not even the doll that represents society’s ideal women is good enough. The image also hints at what is unfortunately a very common narrative in the modern day, which is that in order to be considered “beautiful” one must undergo plastic surgery to erase anything that makes them different. This promotes a detrimental belief to the youth and states that although society may preach about self love, respect and beauty, the only way to truly be worthy enough is to undergo cosmetic enhancements.
One image (top right Barbie) is named. A second image (top left Barbie in plastic surgery) is named. The contradiction between them is identified and explained. The mood board is doing analytical work, not decoration.
“in order to be considered ‘beautiful’ one must undergo plastic surgery to erase anything that makes them different”, the SOI link is made directly from the image. Difference is what plastic surgery erases.
What was on the moodboard, described and cited
The images are described rather than shown: a citation makes a source honest to use in coursework, but it is not permission to republish the image on a public website. Full citations are in the bibliography at the end of this page.
- A body shaming infographic, four figures labelled “too skinny”, “too bony”, “too fat”, struck through with a red cross.Yadav, FairGaze.
- A Barbie head marked with plastic surgery dotted lines, syringes pointed at her face. The image the writing above unpacks.Behance.
- The ringmaster from The Greatest Showman under stage light.Stone Blade Entertainment.
- The Evil Queen at the magic mirror, from Snow White.Hitchen, Disney Dining.
- Rows of empty theatre seats repeating into the distance.Rossi and Kostylieva, FixThePhoto.
- A black and white photograph of a girl facing a wall that reads “I am ?”.Pinterest.
- The Disney princesses crowded into one frame.AllEars.
- A pink pageant runway leading to a curtained arch, on a pink glitter ground.YouTube; PublicDomainPictures.
B.3Scene 3, Jasmine’s birthday (Stage 1 → 4 modifications)
In order to make our piece further fit the Epic theater style we knew we needed to include some form of interaction with the audience. At 0:00 we initially started off with Jasmine forcefully taking two tutus, holding them up and asking the audience “which one should I wear”. At the same time, I would raise a placecard which would state “choose wisely”. Whichever tutu the audience would choose Jasmine would throw away and accuse them of trying to make herself conscious about her weight. Although the moment successfully includes the audience in our scene, our audience told us that the circumstances of the scene being a beauty pageant is not very relatable.
So instead of Jasmine picking out her dress for the pageant we decided to transform the scene into a celebration of Jasmine’s birthday, a universal experience filled with fun, love and sugar. We maintained the initial setup; at 0:55, you are able to observe us simultaneously exiting the frame in an overexaggerated and almost predatory manner to wish Jasmine a happy birthday. To ensure that the audience was not only able to relate but was also able to be involved, we decided to use the epic theater technique of alienation, specifically by singing happy birthday to Jasmine while willing the audience to join us in the celebration. By breaking character to encourage the audience to join us, we remind them that this is a constructed piece, keeping them emotionally separated from the action. Moreover, by roping them into the scene, it would also make them feel partially responsible for the events that followed.
Our original idea at 1:07 was to start off with everyone in their respective frames standing around Princess Jasmine; the counterpoint representing how she is always being observed. However, the main issue arose at 1:17 when Jasmine individually approaches each person attempting to grab a tutu out of their hands. But she is turned down with cruel remarks such as “You are too fat” or “go to the gym”. Our aim for this scene was to concentrate on internal pressure rather than societal pressure. Yet, by representing society and commenting on her weight, our audience told us that they believed that the issue our scene was trying to convey was mean people and bullying in beauty competitions which did not fit our objective.
So, at 1:38 we further developed our birthday scene. Jasmine remains in the center eating her birthday cake in a very grotesque and gluttonous way while the rest of us stand around her in our frames. While she finishes eating, we start commenting, not about her unhealthy eating habits, but instead about the weight she will gain. The gestus of us judging her from our frames highlights society’s indifference to physical health as long as the person is visually appealing.
We felt this change definitely suited our artistic intention much more but, other than the over exaggerated eating, it did not fit the epic theater criterion at all. So we decided to make use of SPASS which is using dark humour to confront serious subject matters. At 1:54 we decided to make one of the tutus a birthday gift. Once Jasmine finishes eating, she attempts to put on the tutu but realises it does not fit. So, us as the ensemble, in a cheerful and lighthearted way, tell her: “We’ve got the perfect solution for you, two fingers down your throat” while concurrently turning away. Following this, Jasmine makes a vomiting sound and collapses on the floor while we crowd around above her and repeat our motif “Beauty is pain”. The contradiction between the celebratory tone and the harmful actions creates alienation because the mocking nature of our dialogue forces the audience to reflect on the harmful behaviours women have to undergo to erase their differences.
0:00 → 0:55 → 1:07 → 1:17 → 1:38 → 1:54. Each timestamp anchors a deliberate change. Each modification names what didn’t work AND what replaced it AND why.
“our audience told us that the circumstances of the scene being a beauty pageant is not very relatable”, the modification was driven by audience response, which is exactly the kind of evidence the examiner expects to see (peer review applied, not just received).
The candidate names SPASS, defines it (“using dark humour to confront serious subject matters”) and applies it to a specific moment.
A repeating piece of language (“Beauty is pain”) used as Brechtian motif. The motif itself is an SOI argument, pain is the price the SOI claims is wrongly attached to difference.
B.4Cinderella, paparazzi interview (gradient of disorder)
At 2:26 we wanted to present the overwhelming pressure placed upon someone trying to maintain their illusion of perfection. This is done with Princess Cinderella being at an interview. We started off by circling Cinderella in a vulture like formation. The gestus used was deliberate as it aimed to show how society likes to collectively hunt and disassemble people’s confidence and appearances. However, although the scene encapsulates the predatory nature of society it looked unfinished and messy especially since the majority of the time our backs were to the audience while we were also covering Cinderella.
Consequently, we decided to introduce frames as a way to organise our scene, shown at 2:34. Because they were already on stage, they comply with the epic theater technique of visible stagecraft as at 3:01 you can observe us transitioning scenes and moving the frames around. Cinderella walks through the frame at the back and immediately struts her way to a box in the center that was set up in the transition. Simultaneously the rest of the group exits their frames and starts bumping into Cinderella knocking her off course while shouting random phrases such as “that’s your best angle!”, “click!” or “smile for the camera”. The rapid movements helped enforce the chaos of paparazzi, but it made it hard for the audience to hear what we were saying due to our lack of rhythm and synchronisation.
To increase the overwhelming nature of our scene while keeping it structured, we decided to introduce a gradient of disorder. As shown at 3:38, we would originally begin with Cinderella standing at the back in a pageant pose while everyone else remained in their frames. Then one at a time each of us would repeat our own distinct phrase; the staggered delivery ensuring the audience could comprehend what we were saying. Then Cinderella would step out of her frame and the rest of us, one at a time, would follow suit. But almost as if the frame was keeping us grounded, the moment we leave, chaos erupts. The overlapping and seemingly disordered commands from the ensemble who continuously disrespect Cinderella’s boundaries as they enter her personal space highlights the objectification of women.
The candidate invents and names a technique, “gradient of disorder”, to describe the structural choice (ordered → overlapping → chaotic).
“it made it hard for the audience to hear what we were saying due to our lack of rhythm and synchronisation”, the failure is named at production quality level, not deflected.
“that’s your best angle!”, “click!”, “smile for the camera”, the exact dialogue is given. Compare with “shouting phrases about photography”.
Evaluating the performance + development as an artist
D.1Opening, intention restated
Although our performance was initially 10 minutes long, I decided to present only 5 minutes of my most powerful individual performance that contained the best display of my acting ability according to the epic theater criterion while also demonstrating our artistic intention: beauty standards negatively adjust the relationships between women and their bodies. Our performance links to the statement of inquiry, beauty and uniqueness are found in our differences, as it explored the theme of imposed societal beauty standards forcing the audience to question if women erasing the differences truly makes them beautiful.
The candidate names that they cut a 10 minute piece to 5 minutes for the submission AND names the reason. Transparency about editorial decisions is itself a form of reflection.
D.2PEEL, alienation effect via multirolling (advertiser scene)
One of the key performance techniques I employed was the alienation effect via multirolling. This can be seen at 0:03. In this moment I make use of an over exaggerated physicality with outstretched arms, legs wide apart, sharp movements and the illusion of me holding some form of bottle. Additionally, the use of overdone and dramatised facial expressions highlighted by the widened eyes to convey horror regarding the princess’s skin, was an attempt to alter Snow White’s perception of herself negatively. Between my over exaggerated physicality and the Princess’s passive body language, a clear contradiction in power dynamic is shown between the power of companies, who spend millions of dollars researching ways to undermine girls’ confidences to sell them products, and the consumers also known as the girls themselves.
Another clear contradiction in body language is shown at 0:15 when I successfully convince my customer to buy my product. I multiroll from an advertiser to a de individualised figure in a neutral position eliminating the over exaggerated physicality while also removing all aspects of identity. The sharp transition of this moment is a use of the alienation effect which highlights the performative, artificial and programmed nature of companies and advertisers who exploit young girls by manufacturing an insecurity for them. By exposing the robotic, repetitive nature of advertisements, the audience is advised to contemplate how companies frame interactions between themselves and consumers as a personal exchange.
P: alienation via multirolling. E: (0:03) + specific physicality (outstretched arms, legs wide apart, widened eyes). E: WHY, exposes the artificial nature of advertising. L: SOI link, companies erase identity to sell back insecurity.
(0:03) advertiser mode vs (0:15) neutral mode. The candidate compares two moments to show the V effekt landing, exactly the band 7 evaluation move.
“the audience is advised to contemplate how companies frame interactions… as a personal exchange”, the audience is told what they are being asked to do.
D.3PEEL, direct address in Hindi (what could be stronger)
A second performance technique I utilised to demonstrate the damaging effects of beauty standards was direct address as seen at 4:57. In this moment you can see me at the down stage center on the floor as I begin to speak in Hindi. The translation of my dialogue in the scene is “this is my tradition; this is my identity”. This is spoken in a distressed manner as a plea directly to the audience; the use of Hindi in this moment means that many of them will not understand, forcing them to disengage to think of the possible translation. Meanwhile, besides me, another actor grabs a placecard which contains a mistranslated version of my dialogue and presents it to the audience. The contradiction between my Hindi and the placecard exposes how detrimental miscommunication can be especially against individuals from marginalized communities who are often spoken over, mistreated and hidden behind harmful stereotypes.
However, I believe the direct address could have been further emphasized by me actually going up to the audience, one person at a time, and begging, in Hindi, for them to help me or at least understand me. This would have placed audience members in an extremely uncomfortable position. It requires them to recognise they too are part of the problem because they are simply sitting down and letting the other actors disrespect me, this will encourage them to further think about their own biases.
Speaking in Hindi while a mistranslating placecard is held up is a brilliant V effekt construction, language itself is alienated. The candidate names exactly what the contradiction exposes (miscommunication against marginalised communities).
The Crit D guide specifically asks for at least one evaluation of what could have been stronger in your own performance, here the candidate names a concrete improvement (one on one direct address in Hindi) and explains why it would have worked (audience implicated in the disrespect).
“they are simply sitting down and letting the other actors disrespect me”, the candidate is willing to implicate the audience in their own theatre.
D.4PEEL, projections (production element)
A production element that I made use of was projections as seen at 1:10. Behind us actors is a large projection with a pink cake, a happy birthday title, sprinkles and colour. I chose to make this projection pink, specifically because pink is a colour that stereotypically is considered to represent femininity. It is known to represent love, affection, beauty and care but by also integrating it as a representation of lust, it frames the fetishization and objectification of femininity.
This scene specifically talks about weight insecurities which the projection aims to emphasize as seen at 2:21, when the actor faints. At this moment the projection changes with hazard tape covering it. In the center there is a pulsing danger sign that states “calories exceeded”. The alienation effect was used here as the soft, celebratory tone is immediately interrupted by a jarring warning sign. The emotional moment between the actor and the audience is interrupted as they are forced to take a step back and acknowledge the change. When we first used it in front of an audience, we observed their eyes widening and their body stiffening; later they informed us that the projection was unexpected and alarming which we counted as a success.
The Crit D guide asks for production elements to be covered as well as performance. The candidate evaluates projections with timestamps (1:10 and 2:21), specific design choices (pink → fetishization, hazard tape → “calories exceeded”) and audience reception (eyes widening, body stiffening).
The pink choice is justified through stereotype theory (femininity → love/care, recoded as fetishization). Colour is read as Brechtian argument, not aesthetic decoration.
“we observed their eyes widening and their body stiffening; later they informed us that the projection was unexpected”, observed audience reaction + reported audience reaction. Two forms of evidence for one claim about effectiveness.
D.5Development, creative risk taking
A key skill I developed during the creation of my performance was creative risk taking. A fundamental part of epic theater is the exaggerated physicality but throughout rehearsals this was something my group really struggled on. Personally, I believed I was doing a reasonable job with my over the top physicality but I was informed by my classmates that was not the case; I was apparently too one dimensional. This feedback was initially discouraging, especially since every time I thought I was really putting effort into my body language, the audience clearly did not feel the same way.
After taking some time to look back on rehearsal videos I noticed that there were key moments where I seemed to slack off and almost forget about my body language because I was too focused on a separate part of the production. After experimenting with my body language, I discovered that the easiest ways to use angular movement were through my arms, upper body and neck while also keeping my legs far apart. In my next rehearsal with my group, I made a conscious effort to focus on my exaggerated physical language and really step out of my comfort zone. I got a lot more positive feedback which was motivating, however I was also informed that my audience was unable to detect any physical contrasts between myself and other characters, especially when I multirolled. Consequently, I specifically zeroed in on the slight difference in my physicality that would help audience members distinguish between the advertiser, photographer, princess or the passive member of society.
“I noticed there were key moments where I seemed to slack off”, naming your own slacking is itself a band 7 move. Compare with “I worked hard on my physicality”.
Round 1: too one dimensional → fixed by angular arms/neck. Round 2: not enough character contrast → fixed by differentiating advertiser/photographer/princess/passive.
D.6Development, challenge: making the audience think
A significant challenge our group faced was finding ways to make the audience think. During our practices we often got so hung up on trying to make our body language fit the epic theater criterion while also including as many epic theater production techniques as possible that our performance got too overwhelming too quickly. According to our peers, we simply were not giving the audience enough time to really think about what we were trying to convey, meaning we did not convey our statement of inquiry successfully.
So after taking some time to deliberate as a group, we pinpointed key moments in our performance where we would slow down or add alienation. A key moment where we chose to add 3:10, after the princess states that she has flaws. We felt this moment was ideal to add a pause because it makes the audience reflect on their personal flaws while simultaneously making them question why having flaws and being different is seen as such a taboo topic that can remove beauty. Moreover, with further research, we discovered that one of the most successful forms of direct address was through facts or statistics as it reinforced the reality our performance is based on real world issues which is why we also decided to include some statistics as seen at 3:26.
Overall, using epic theater techniques to convey our statement of inquiry, I unearthed the value of theater as not just entertainment but a form of social commentary that requires content that challenges an audience member’s perception of their reality and perhaps inspires them to make a change.
“too overwhelming too quickly”, the candidate names that the problem was too much Brecht, not too little.
The solution is concrete (a pause at 3:10) AND timestamped AND linked to the SOI (“why having flaws and being different is seen as such a taboo topic that can remove beauty”).
The bibliography
Submitted as its own PDF alongside the three written tasks. Note the shape of each entry: author where known, title, source and the date accessed. Organised by the criterion the source served.
Criterion A
- Willett, John. “The Theatre of the Weimar Republic.” South Atlantic Review, vol. 49, no. 2, 1984, pp. 11–26. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3200317.
- “Bertolt Brecht.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Aug. 2025, www.britannica.com/biography/Bertolt-Brecht. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
- “Brecht – Epic Theatre.” VTheatre: Biomechanics, 2 Aug. 2001, biomechanics.vtheatre.net/doc/epic.html. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
- “Epic Theatre.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Nov. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_theatre. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
- “Did Meyerhold Influence Brecht? A Comparison of Their Antirealistic Theatrical Aesthetics.” Academia.edu. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
- The Influence of Erwin Piscator on German and American Theatre. Schott Acting Studio, schott-acting-studio.de. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
- “Brecht's Life and Political Ideology.” Fiveable, Sept. 2025. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
- Kiebuzinska, Christine. “Brecht and Weill Collaborate on the Mahagonny Songspiel.” EBSCO Research Starters, 2023. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
- “Bertolt Brecht.” Digital Theatre+, edu.digitaltheatreplus.com. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
- “5 Alienation Effect.” Scribd, 2021. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
- “Historical Context: Mother Courage and Her Children.” Journeys at Dartmouth, Dartmouth College. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
- “Mother Courage and Her Children.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
- Dutta, Bidduth Kumar. A Critical Analysis of Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera. International Journal of Humanities Arts and Business, vol. 2, no. 1, 2024, pp. 35–42.
Criterion B
- “Recovering from Loss of Identity.” Pinterest. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
- “The New Runway We're Getting on the Valentines Update in DTI.” YouTube. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
- “The Ultimate Guide to All of the Disney Princess Movies on Disney+.” AllEars, 26 Sept. 2020. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
- Yadav, Simran. “Body Shaming – How Can This Problem Be Resolved?” FairGaze, 27 Mar. 2023. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
- Rossi, Tata and Tetiana Kostylieva. “17 Tips for Using Repetition in Photography in 2026.” FixThePhoto. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
- “Beauty Standards Projects.” Behance, Adobe. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
- Hitchen, Thomas. “Forget Magic Kingdom, the Hollywood Studios Villain Attraction Gets New Update.” Disney Dining, 29 Mar. 2025. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
- Stone Blade Entertainment. “Ringmaster FAQ.” Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
- “Pink Glitter.” PublicDomainPictures.net. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
- Dittmar, Helga, Emma Halliwell and Suzanne Ive. Does Barbie Make Girls Want to Be Thin? Developmental Psychology, vol. 42, no. 2, 2006, pp. 283–292. doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.42.2.283. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
Criterion D
- Chung, Audrey. “Disliking Pink Was Never About the Color: Stigmatization of Color Pink.” The Teen Magazine, 14 Oct. 2025.
Notice the mix: a JSTOR journal article, a peer reviewed Developmental Psychology study on Barbie and body image, subject specific theatre sources and general websites in a supporting role. The examiner note on Criterion A applies: academic and subject specific sources are primary at 7 to 8, general websites are supplementary. Even the moodboard images are cited, organised by the criterion they served.