 | 1913
 | Erwin Piscator begins his theatre career as an apprentice in a Munich
theatre |
|
| 1915
| Stravinsky
writes Renard and begins in an attempt to bring music
down off its pedestal, this brings about a trend in both music
and theatre |
| Antonin
Artuad experiences his first bout with madness prior to this
point |
|
| 1916
| Hansenclever's The Son
is presented at the German National Theatre in Prague - this is the
first expressionist play produced |
|
| 1917
|
| 1918
|
| 1919
| Workers' Theatre League formed to win acceptance for working-class
causes |
| Karlheinz Martin
organizes a theatre called "The Tribune" and
uses it as a platform for social change |
| Erwin Piscator opens his own theatre in Könisberg
also called "The Tribune" (1919-20) |
| Expressionist productions come
into vogue and a new style develops quickly |
|
| 1920
|
| 1921
| The
German Neue Musik movement found an annual festival to
support the growing trend of simplicity in music |
|
| 1922
| Brecht
wins the Kleist Prize for Drums in the Night the first
of his plays produced |
|
| 1923
| Brecht's
In the Jungle Cities produced in Munich |
| Brecht
works at the Pocket Theater in Munich |
| Expressionism reaches its
peak and begins to decline throughout the year becoming repetitive |
| The German Neue
Sachlickheit (literally, "New Matter-of-factness") gains popularity
in the decline of expressionism - this movement was to greatly influence
such theatre artists as Brecht |
| Paul Kornfeld, a former
expressionist playwright, writes The Great Dream, in the
new neo-realistic style, which ridicules the utopian outlook of the
expressionists |
|
| 1924
| Neue
Sachlichkeit (German neo-realism) begins to emerge as a
major form of influence |
| Piscator receives the opportunity to work at the Berlin Volksbühne and
is able to experiment with "epic" scenery for a production The
Flags |
| Brecht
moves to Berlin and serves as assistant dramaturg for
Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater |
| Paul Kornfeld, in support of
neo-realism proclaims: "Let us be modest and turn our attention to other
and smaller things. Let us ponder on a human being, or a soul, or
a fool." (qtd. Brockett, Century 240) |
| Artaud
becomes involved with the Surrealist movement, but is expelled in
1927 for founding the
Théâtre Alfred Jarry |
|
| 1926
| Piscator continues to experiment with Sturmflut (Tidal Wave),
a production about the Russian October Revolution |
| Brecht
leaves the Deutsches Theater |
| Brecht
completes Man is Man, this marks the beginning of the
second phase of his career |
| Brecht
begins his Marxist studies at the Berlin Workers' School |
| The
influence of expressionism wanes and Neue Sachlichkeit
(German neo-realism) calls for sharper awareness of social
realities |
| Brecht
begins studying Marx's Das Kaptial |
|
| 1927
| Antonin Artaud and Roger Vitrac opens the
Théâtre Alfred Jarry, they are promptly expelled from the
Surrealists who believe theatre is for the bourgeois |
| Artaud writes Le Jet de sang ("The
Jet of Blood") |
| Artuad produces Vitrac's Les Mystères de
l'amour ("The Mysteries of Love") |
| Piscator produces his most controversial show at the Berlin Volksbühne,
Storm Over Gothland, which leads to his resignation from the
theatre |
| Piscator leases the Theater-am-Nollendorfplatz and renames it Piscator
Theater |
| Piscator produces Hurrah, We Live!, Rasputin and The
Good Soldier Schweik in the Piscator Theater's 1927-8 season |
| Brecht
and Piscator collaborate on the producing of The Good
Soldier Schweik |
|
| 1928
| Brecht
gains his first real fame with The Threepenny Opera
which runs for 400 performances |
| Brecht
marries Helene Weigel, a performer |
| Brecht
completes St. Joan of the Stockyards |
|
| 1930
| Brecht
completes The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahahonny |
| A
Neue Musik festival in Berlin promotes Lehrstücke
(short didactic plays) as a viable didactic medium |
|
| 1931
| Carl Zuckmayer, once an
expressionist and German patriot, writes The Captain of Kopenick,
a neo-realist play satirically viewing Prussian militarism and
bureaucracy |
| Artaud
attends a performance of Balinese dancers in Paris, and begins to
formulate the theories for which he will become famous |
|
| 1933
| Erwin Piscator leaves Germany when Adolf Hitler comes to power |
| Brecht
leaves Germany begins a "nomadic existence" which
lasts until 1941 when he settles in America |
|
| 1935
| Brecht
writes The Private Life of the Master Race (1935-8) |
|
| 1936
| Brecht
begins using the term "alienation" |
|
| 1937
| Artaud
is committed to a psychiatric hospital |
|
| 1938
| Mother
Courage and Her Children written by Brecht |
| Life
of Galileo (1938-9) written by Brecht |
| The
Good Woman of Setzuan (1938-9) written by Brecht |
| Artaud
publishes a collection of thirteen essays entitled: The
Theatre and Its Double |
| |
|
| 1940
| Herr
Puntila and His Servant Matti written by Brecht
|
|
| 1941
| Brecht
settles in the United States and remains until 1947 |
| The
Resistible Rise of arturo Ui written by Brecht
|
|
| 1944
| The
Caucasian Chalk Circle (1944-5) written by Brecht |
|
| 1947
| Brecht
returns to Europe after living the United States since 1941 |
|
| 1948
| Brecht
publishes his first fully intergrated theory with "Little
Organon for the Theatre" |
| The
Days of the Commune (1948-9) written by Brecht |
| Artaud
dies of cancer |
|
| 1951
| Brecht
writes an opera The Trial of Lucullus reworked from a
1939 radio play |
|
| 1955
| Adamov writes Ping Pong
changing his dramatic style to more social commentary rather than
absurdist |
|
| 1957
| Adamov rejects absurdism and
his earlier works and begins following the Brechtian style in his play
Paulo Paoli |
|
| 1961
| Adamov writes Spring '71
about the rise and suppression of the Paris Commune of 1871 |
|
