Fall Play Review

Mr. Aronson was the director of the play, and Mrs. Guarino was the producer of the play. Ms. Guarino asks us to see that on November 9th 10th or 11th, but actually, I was in the play. We had a lot of fun on having lines between each other. Caucasian Chalk Circle is reflecting the behaviors of other people in the society, and let us ruminate the behaviors in nowadays.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle begins with a prologue that deals with an argument over a valley. Two groups of peasants both want to have the valley. One group said that they used to live in the valley and herded goats there, so they can produce cheese in the valley, while the other group is from a neighboring valley and hopes to plant fruit trees in the valley. In the end, the fruit farmers get the valley because they will use the land better. The peasants then hold a small party and a Singer agrees to tell them the story of the Chalk Circle.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle then is describing who was the real mother of the child. Grusha as a kitchen maid who works in the palace gets the child when the rebellion happened. The Fat Prince is the brother of the wealthy Governor, he stages a rebellion on the Easter Sunday. The Governor got killed, and the Governor’s wife flees. The real mother Natella was the Governor’s wife, in which she left the child behind just to carry her cloth and dresses. Grusha sees this and carries the child with her. After all of the careless from people that people don’t help her too, but betrays her to the Iron-shirts, she decides to go to her brother's house. In her brother’s house, he allows Grusha to stay over the winter, but then his brother forces her to marry a ‘dying’ man because of her illegitimate child. Then, they hold a wedding, but during the reception, a guest says that the war is over and that the Grand Duke is back. The "dying" man, Jessup wakes up because he can no longer go to the war, and throws all the guests out of the house. Grusha is forced to become a good wife to him. One day Simon returns and learns that she is married. He is so sad about that. A soldier soon arrives and takes Michael away from her, claiming that Michael belongs to the Governor's wife. Grusha follows them back to the city.

The story returns 2 years ago when the night of the Fat Prince's insurrection.  Azdak finds a fugitive and saves his life. Then, he realizes that’s the Grand Duke, so he denounces himself to the capital. The soldiers refuse to believe him and he is released, but then the Fat Prince soon shows up with his nephew that he wants to make him be the new judge. However, he agrees to let the soldiers decide who the next judge should be. After staging a mock trial that Azdak exposes many things that the Fat Prince had done, they choose Azdak to be the next judge. Azdak had had many cases, and he always helped the poor, so he thinks he will be punished by the rich. But from the Grand Duke, he will be the judge of the case of Grusha and her child. The Governor's wife wants Michael back because without Michael she cannot take over the former Governor's estates. Grusha wants to keep the child because she had raised for two years. Even Simon goes to the trial and promises Grusha that he will support her, but it seems Azdak is helping Natella, but actually he is helping Grusha to get the child. Azdak draws a chalk circle in the center. Then, he orders the two women to pull the child into the circle, saying that whichever woman can pull the child out of the circle will get him. The Governor's wife pulls whereas Grusha lets the child go. Azdak orders them to do it again, and again Grusha let it go. Azdak then gives Michael to Grusha and orders the Governor's wife to leave. He declares that the palace will be the public gardens. His last act is to divorce Grusha with the dying man so she can marry Simon.

There are two themes for the play in my opinion. Firstly, real mother vs. ‘true’ mother is a huge one because, in people’s mind, the real mother is only who cares about their children. A lot of people are applauding for the true mothers who devote their whole energy into the children, yet in this play, the true mother seems only cares about her cloth and dresses when the fire is broken. She is commanding her servant taking her cloth first to the carriage, then they disappear. and then she left the room with the child alone. Also, she is even jealous of her own child because Georgi only builds East wing for little Michael by emphasizing certain words and complaining it, so it shows that she doesn’t like the child and having motherhood on the child. Whereas Grusha is caring the child more and more as she goes. At first, she is just following command by some other maid. When she goes to the bridge, she says to the two people that she and the child belong together, die together, live together. At that moment, she already sublimates and expresses her mothering the child. Also, when the Iron-shirts come to find Grusha, her actions to the peasant woman,  in which worried about the child and cares about the child more than herself gave us the idea of a mother.  She knocks down the Iron-shirts just to protect the child not to be killed and asks the peasant woman to help her protect the child. It reveals a sense of motherhood. Brecht uses a new form to against the stereotype that people had on mothers, thinking the mother will obviously do whatever the best to their child, It emphasizes that the true mother may not even care about her own child. Only if the child has benefits to her, then she will get the child instantly. While the woman who takes care of the child might have some connections or relations to the child. I think it was a great part to declare and against the stereotype because nowadays the rich mothers in the family don’t really care about their children as well, they throw their children to the babysitters, but when the children grow up, they start to steal it since they need their children taking care of themselves because they are getting older and older. Maybe Brecht wants us to look into this as a political issue, and stop thinking mothers would do the best for their children.

Also, another theme would be selfishness. Brecht exposes the social issue in the society. In the society, people are willing to believe that there are more good people in the world because then they can help more fragile and poor people. People always had a stereotype where people should be nice all the time, but it doesn’t seem that in the play. After the rebels, people only care about its own benefits. When Grusha asks for the milk, the old man doesn’t help her, but asks money for little milk. His words and expression are ironic to Grusha. Also, when Grusha goes to the peasant woman’s house, seeking her to protect the helpless child, she agrees. Nevertheless, when the soldiers come, she betrays her and begs the soldiers don’t burn the roof over her head just because she doesn’t want her advantages got ruined and she thinks it’s not a good idea to against the soldier. If they find out the baby, she will die for sure, so to protect her own safety and the money in the house, she denounces the child and overtly speaks up about the child. She only cares about her house, rather than helping a child. This also gave us an idea of what would people do, and started to think deeply about why would people do that and what could we change about that.

The lighting of the play was perfect because every light was what should focus and it’s easier for people to see where should they concentrate now. When the soldiers come out from the door, the light goes to the door, and this ensures that the audience would definitely look to that direction and there will be some important scene happen. Moreover, When Grusha goes up to the bridge, there is only the bridge light was on. As a result, people can only focus on the bridge than other places. For the costume, the different groups of peasant had a different color of the shirt. On the right-hand side, the people are wearing green shirts, yet the people on the left side are wearing grey shirts. Originally, the people on the right side are representing the fairness side including me, the iron-shirt, the judge, the singer, but the left side is representing the goat herder side where Grusha, Simon, Natella, the two lawyer. There are all on the left side, and surprisingly they are the one that is arguing who should have the child at the end. The music was applied while the show started, and the two sides were sitting until the light went on. Also, the music might represent the relaxation because when the show starts, the dispute was serious and angry. Maybe the music wanted to let us enjoy the music first. Then, the show started. In additions, the music was soft and quiet that sometimes we might not able to hear the beginning on the backstage.

My favorite actor in the play is Linda because, in the book, I know that her characters on the play are all mean characters. I especially like the character of Natella. Her attitudes changed over time. She acts serious and strict to the servants and doctors, but to her Georgi, she acts it nicely and speaks nicely to him. This character has a dynamic changing among different people. In the book, I notice that she is a mean and selfish person, and Linda expresses her really well as she is the mean Governor’s wife. Her small details of personality of Natella expresses that she is the one who suppresses everyone such as telling adjant that Georgi only builds building for Michael, and her emotion when she sees Grusha by saying in an annoying way like Is that the creature or something. Sometimes, her emotions could make us laugh and I think that’s so funny when she screams.  

I love this play very much because I am one of the participants(casts) in the play so I could understand most of the part in the play. I found it really interesting because it overtly talks about the social problems in the society by using the war, aristocracy, and the different levels of certain people. I think that’s what I am interested in. Sometimes, I could find some connections between the society and the real-life experience. People in the society are selfish, and through this play, I could understand why people are doing this to me.