Bergen County Academy for the Performing Arts:
The Caucasian Chalk Circle By Bertolt Brecht

The ensemble of 17 actors, 2 stage managers and 2 musical directors are off to an unusual start by working on their production without knowing their casting! Brecht was a Marxist and the play begins somewhere in the Communist Caucuses just after WWII. We move back in time to the middle of a royal insurrection where social classes are quickly defined, turned on their heads and re-defined again. Wonderfully appealing characters lead us through a journey of dangers and treachery and a bizarre justice and uncomplicated love win the day.

The style knows as "Epic Theatre" is attributed to this remarkably humble playwright who crafted our play during his short time in the US. Our production, in order to work toward a growing understanding of form and content, will reflect a process of community where each member has a certain control over the process and decisions are made as a group. Laced with enchanting songs, our musicians and actors will explore a wide array of musical traditions from Classical Indian to US pop in order to create an entirely new score for, what promises to be, a highly original production.