Miss Kathy La Brooy
Drama

 “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” by Bertolt Brecht was performed by the Yr 11 and 12 Drama students at Mater Dei College, on 9th- 11th April 2008.

Brecht’s musical drama centres around two stories. The first part of the play shows how Grusha, a servant girl gets engaged to Simon, a soldier, and then rescues the Governors’ son during a palace revolution and flees with him to the mountains.
After many perils she ends up marrying an invalid to provide for the child.

The second part tells the story of Azdak who goes to the town to confess to a crime and is placed, by a quirk of fate, in the Judge’s chair. His astutely biased judgements bring justice to the poor and needy,
and when the Governor’s wife brings an action against Grusha for the return of her son, he uses the chalk circle test to decide who should get custody of the child, the biological mother, or the woman who saved him.

Brecht’s main aim was to convey a political message. “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” original prologue concerns the disputed ownership of a valley in the Caucasus during World War II. The conflict over land ownership issues in Sri Lanka was the topical parallel we chose to explore,
and its message awakens a wider political awareness of world events.

Bertolt Brecht created “Epic Theatre” which is a form of theatre that puts a social or political message before the exploration of a character. He wanted a theatre that asked questions of the audience and actors.

To understand and examine the world around them. He was not interested in his actors becoming their characters. He wanted them to step in and out of role and remain detached from the emotional centre of their character.

Our aim was to employ Brechtian methodology in our production. We included the use of a narrator, multi role playing which discourages empathy from the audience for a character and the use of gest; gesture and attitude to convey character. The use of montage, and specifically,
contrasting images and music is typically Brechtian and designed to provoke thought.

It was a fantastic experience where the Mater Dei College community connected and produced a terrific result.

Theatre trips this year have included: “Jandamarra”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Perspectives”, “The Caucasian Chalk Circle”, “Speed the Plow” and “The Pitch.”

Kathy La Brooy
Performing Arts Coordinator

December 2008