Drama Term Tuesday #18

Gestus

Sometimes referred to as the social gest, gestus is a theatrical technique created by Brecht, which combines gesture and social meaning in one movement, stance or vocal display. It is the embodiment of an attitude or aspect of a character, it is never cliché but very specific and can only come out of a deep exploration of character, context and story. In performance it serves to alienate the audience in order to show them the bigger picture.

Excerpt from Drama Key Terms and Concepts