What is meant by the phrase montage in brechts theory?

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I believe it's the same meaning as in film theory: montage is a series of quick scenes in which meaning is derived from their juxtaposition rather than specifically from their content. In this area, Brecht was influenced by (among others) Sergei Eisenstein, the Russiam filmmaker. The idea in the plays is that a succession of scenes creates a meaning which is larger than that contained in any one scene. This fits with Brecht's theory of "alienation", in which he was trying to keep the audience from being emotionally involved in the play, keep a distance, and follow the action without being caught up in it or worrying about the outcome (as in traditional drama). In theory, montage would help keep the audience in the position of being objective observers rather than involved participants.

Personally, I've never felt his theories worked in practice, because audiences tend to get involved in plays in spite of themselves. But they (his theories) certainly explain how and why he wrote and structured his plays the way he did.

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