FURTHER ALIENATING THE AUDIENCE DURING A PERFORMANCE OF BERTOLT BRECHT’S THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI BY UTILIZING DIGITAL DRAMATURGY, SOCIAL MEDIA AND SOCIAL JUDGMENT THEORY

This thesis hypothesizes a new dramaturgical approach to Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre based on Muzafer Sherif’s Social Judgment Theory by utilizing Digital Dramaturgy and Social Media. This thesis has two lines of thought: first, it is up to the dramaturg to push Epic Theatre in a new, audience engagement oriented direction when acceptable; and second, Epic Theatre must embrace the use of social media to effectively persuade the audience in accordance with Social Judgment Theory. It also describes a project utilizing digital dramaturgy and social media in a performance of Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. To determine if the use of social media is effective in this proposed approach to Epic Theatre, this thesis examined quantitative data gathered from social media platform analytics. The results of this analysis support the continued use of social media during Epic Theatre performances at Angelo State University, but will require further development.