<P> The term "epic theatre" comes from Erwin Piscator who coined it during his first year as director of Berlin's Volksbühne (1924--27). Piscator aimed to encourage playwrights to address issues related to "contemporary existence ." This new subject matter would then be staged by means of documentary effects, audience interaction, and strategies to cultivate an objective response . The epic form describes both a type of written drama and a methodological approach to the production of plays: "Its qualities of clear description and reporting and its use of choruses and projections as a means of commentary earned it the name' epic' ." Epic theatre incorporates a mode of acting that utilises what Brecht calls gestus . One of Brecht's most - important aesthetic innovations prioritised function over the sterile opposition between form and content . Brecht discussed the priorities and approach of epic theatre in his work "A Short Organum for the Theatre". Although many of the concepts and practices involved in Brechtian epic theatre had been around for years, even centuries, Brecht unified them, developed the approach, and popularised it . </P> <P> Near the end of his career, Brecht preferred the term "dialectical theatre" to describe the kind of theatre he pioneered . From his later perspective, the term "epic theatre" had become too formal a concept to be of use anymore . According to Manfred Wekwerth, one of Brecht's directors at the Berliner Ensemble at the time, the term refers to the "' dialecticising' of events" that this approach to theatre - making produces . </P> <P> Epic theatre is distinct from other forms of theatre, particularly the early naturalistic approach and later "psychological realism" developed by Konstantin Stanislavski . Like Stanislavski, Brecht disliked the shallow spectacle, manipulative plots, and heightened emotion of melodrama; but where Stanislavski attempted to engender real human behaviour in acting through the techniques of Stanislavski's system and to absorb the audience completely in the fictional world of the play, Brecht saw this type of theatre as escapist . Brecht's own social and political focus was distinct, too, from surrealism and the Theatre of Cruelty, as developed in the writings and dramaturgy of Antonin Artaud, who sought to affect audiences viscerally, psychologically, physically, and irrationally . While both produced' shock' in the audience, epic theatre practices would also include a subsequent moment of understanding and comprehension . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (August 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Who developed a method of acting to reproduce real human behavior on the stage