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</ref> Brecht’s theater attempted to find a position between entertainment through suspension of disbelief, and encouraging thought through alienating his audience from being swept up in their emotions.  

</ref> Brecht’s theater attempted to find a position between entertainment through suspension of disbelief, and encouraging thought through alienating his audience from being swept up in their emotions.  

[[Naturalism]] still had a place in the western theatrical canon, with American playwrights such as [[Eugene O’Neill]], [[Arthur Miller]], and [[Tennessee Williams]] writing realistic scripts throughout the 1950’s, and for the latter two, beyond. Many of the plays released during this period have become American classics, including ''[[Long Day’s Journey Into The Night]]'', ''[[Death of a Salesman]'', and ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' respectively.

[[Naturalism]] still had a place in the western theatrical canon, with American playwrights such as [[Eugene O’Neill]], [[Arthur Miller]], and [[Tennessee Williams]] writing realistic scripts throughout the 1950’s, and for the latter two, beyond. Many of the plays released during this period have become American classics, including ''[[Long Day’s Journey Into The Night]]'', ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'', and ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' respectively.

Drawing upon the surrealist movement, the ‘theatricalization’ of the stage by Brecht, and the rejection of naturalism, the absurdist school of thought became an important part of modern theater. In the [[Theater of the Absurd]], the most well know play is Samuel Beckett’s ''Waiting For Godot''. As evidenced by Godot, plots in absurdist theater are often circular, with inane dialogue. The lives of the characters (often atheist) are usually portrayed as meaningless, often because they cannot find or understand God. <ref> Fortier, Mark (2002), ‘Theory/Theater: An Introduction’, 2nd Ed, Routledge, Oxon.</ref>The influence of Beckett, and indeed the entire school of though can be seen in the works of contemporary practitioners David Mamet and Suzan-Lori Parks.

Drawing upon the surrealist movement, the ‘theatricalization’ of the stage by Brecht, and the rejection of naturalism, the absurdist school of thought became an important part of modern theater. In the [[Theater of the Absurd]], the most well know play is Samuel Beckett’s ''[[Waiting For Godot]]''. As evidenced by Godot, plots in absurdist theater are often circular, with inane dialogue. The lives of the characters (often atheist) are usually portrayed as meaningless, often because they cannot find or understand God. <ref> Fortier, Mark (2002), ‘Theory/Theater: An Introduction’, 2nd Ed, Routledge, Oxon.</ref>The influence of Beckett, and indeed the entire school of though can be seen in the works of contemporary practitioners David Mamet and Suzan-Lori Parks.

Inspired by the works of Brecht, and performance art, [[post-dramatic theater]] emerged in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Post-dramatic theater does not usually focus on a script or characterization, instead opting to focus on the aesthetics of a performance, and the interaction between text, performer and space. <ref> Fischer-Lichte, Erika (2002), History of European Drama and Theatre, Routledge, London. </ref>Post-dramatic theater can be seen as reintroducing the spectacle back into theater. As with most avant-garde work, it tends to have a liberal bias, and often focus on immoral themes such as abortion (as seen in the works of Heiner Muller) or drug use (as seen in the works of the Wooster Group).  

Inspired by the works of Brecht, and performance art, [[post-dramatic theater]] emerged in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Post-dramatic theater does not usually focus on a script or characterization, instead opting to focus on the aesthetics of a performance, and the interaction between text, performer and space. <ref> Fischer-Lichte, Erika (2002), History of European Drama and Theatre, Routledge, London. </ref>Post-dramatic theater can be seen as reintroducing the spectacle back into theater. As with most avant-garde work, it tends to have a liberal bias, and often focus on immoral themes such as abortion (as seen in the works of Heiner Muller) or drug use (as seen in the works of the Wooster Group).