<P> The distancing effect, more commonly known (earlier) by John Willett's 1964 translation as the alienation effect or (more recently) as the estrangement effect (German: Verfremdungseffekt), is a performing arts concept coined by German playwright Bertolt Brecht (1898--1956). </P> <P> Brecht first used the term in an essay on "Alienation Effects in Chinese Acting" published in 1936, in which he described it as "playing in such a way that the audience was hindered from simply identifying itself with the characters in the play . Acceptance or rejection of their actions and utterances was meant to take place on a conscious plane, instead of, as hitherto, in the audience's subconscious". </P>

When would you use the tactic of distancing