International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Agitprop theater consisted of short stage-pieces for leftist political agitation and propa ganda. It emerged as an artistic response to the turbulent Russian sociopolitical climate of the late nineteenth century and the Russian Revolutions of 1905 and 1917. Agitprop theater also was found in the Soviet Proletkult Theaters and the Workers' Theater movements in Europe and the United States in the early twentieth century. Agitprop theater was created out of the need for a new kind of working-class theater that portrayed proletarian issues concerning economic and social problems. It was a theater that emphasized Marxist ideology over theatrical aesthetics, and was used as a weapon to agitate minds, emotions, and revolutionary actions. Agitprop performances were crafted to indoctrinate or reinforce communist principles – as opposed to capitalist principles – by illustrating Marxist doctrine to proletarians in abstract stylized productions with revolutionary themes, episodic cabaret-like scenes, stereotyped characters (the workers and ruling class), and direct actor-audience interactions. Performances included skits, dialogues, verses, monologues, and declarative speeches on current topics, as well as songs, music, dances, miming, acrobatics, and gymnastics. Most early agitprop performances were a blend of chanted dialogue and uniformed mass movement to demonstrate the proletarian ... log in or subscribe to read full text