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Breakdown
“In the war-torn country of Grusinia, a young servant named Grusha rescues the abandoned baby of a deposed Governor and raises him as her own. Years later, the ruler’s wife returns to reclaim her child—and the two mothers bring their case before a cynical, battle-weary judge. An epic fable set against the harrowing backdrop of civil war, The Caucasian Chalk Circle puts the competing claims of law and justice, of blood and love, to the ultimate test.”
The show will be set in the present in Grusinia, a fictional place, inspired by Georgia, Chechnya, Azerbaijan. Our Grusinia may or may not resemble these countries in this production.
61 roles played by 15 players plus 1 puppet;
9 men, 6 women.
We are seeking actors who sing and play a musical instrument – AND those with strong dance, fight, and comic character skills to play the following roles:
ACTOR 1:
MALE late 30s – early 50s. Sings and speak-sings.
SINGER (Scenes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6): - An aging singer/poet who still burns with the need to understand what happened to the dream of liberty and justice for all. His voice is ragged, his wit dry and cynical, but his hungry eyes still search the horizon for a sign of hope. AZDAK (SC 5,6): An ornery, brilliant clown who plays the fool and commits petty crimes to save his skin and that of others. He is nearly murdered by the Ironshirts twice in acts of horrific onstage violence.
ACTOR 2:
MALE, late 30s-early 50s. GOVERNOR (SC 2): a petty bourgeois runt, chosen by the Great Leader to rule the province of Grusinia. He’s gotten rich by stripping the country of its wealth. Suspicious, conspiratorial, a thug in a suit who makes a show of going to church. OLD MAN (SC 3): a hostile old coot who has lost every cent, and any kindness he once had, to marauding armies; YUSSUP (SC 4): A crafty, aging miser who’s avoided the draft by faking a terminal illness. And as-cast.
ACTOR 3:
FEMALE (30s).
NATELLA (SC 2,5,6): wife of the Governor. Obsesses over her baby and then forgets him when she panics during the coup. A stunningly narcissistic clothes horse who terrorizes her servants and manipulates her husband; MERCHANT WOMAN (SC 3); SISTER IN LAW (SC 4): the domineering, terminally stingy wife of Grusha’s brother, Lavrenti. She refuses Grusha all but the most meager help, and watches her husband like a hawk lest his pity get the better of him.
ACTOR 4:
MALE.
FAT PRINCE (SC 2,5): the two-faced prince of Grusina, who fawns and flatters and then chops off the Governor’s head during a coup he sets in motion. Gluttonous, unctuous, and canny. PEASANT (SC 3): a hard working farmer who just wants to eat his dinner on time; LAVRENTI (SC 4): Grusha’s brother, a decent sort but with no backbone, who dodges his wife’s wrath by sheltering Grusha and Michael in the barn. And as-cast.
ACTOR 5:
MALE. Probably 20s-40s.
ADJUTANT (SC 2,5): the Governor’s brilliant young Chief of Staff who understands the dire political situation better than his boss. Hyper efficient, ambitious, the consummate insider. NEPHEW (SC 5) nephew to the Fat Prince who goes head to head in a mock trial against Azdak. Cool, effete, sharper than his uncle. And as-cast.
ACTOR 6:
MALE. Probably 20s-40s.
COURIER (2,6): A mysterious messenger who delivers crucial reports from the front. His arrivals herald giant turns in the plot. SERVANT (SC 3): the gruff, goodhearted worker who helps Grusha escape when she is accused of fraud. MONK (SC 4): a poor, lecherous, drunk of a priest who marries off Grusha to adying man for a few piasters and some booze. And as-cast.
ACTOR 7:
MALE. AGE is flexible.
1ST DOCTOR (SC 2): one of two palace doctors hired to check Baby Michael’s every sneeze. Anxious to please, viciously competitive with his partner; fawning. 1ST ARCHITECT (SC 2): excited to be designing for the Governor; eager to impress, one of two identical architects; FUGITIVE (SC 5): the Great Leader Himself, disguised as a poor refugee, in flight after the coup. His clipped speech gives him away. 1ST LAWYER (SC 6): one of two lawyers hired to win back Baby Michael for his birth mother, Natella. A master of the sentimental appeal, he is a windbag of lofty rhetoric. And as-cast.
ACTOR 8:
FEMALE. Age is flexible.
2ND DOCTOR (SC 2) one of two palace doctors hired to check Baby Michael’s every sneeze. Hates her job, hates her partner but needs the money. Impatient, bitter, viciously competitive, dour; 2ND ARCHITECT (SC 2): excited to be designing for the Governor; eager to impress, one of two identical architects. 2ND LAWYER (SC 6): one of two lawyers hired to win back Baby Michael for his birth mother, Natella. She tries to win via legalistic nit picking; she refuses to play the sentiment card on principle, dooming the case. And as-cast.
ACTOR 9:
MALE. 20s-30s.
SIMON (SC 2, 4, 6): Grusha’s earnest, honest, eager suitor. Simple and good hearted, prone to grandiloquence when moved. And as-cast.
ACTOR 10:
FEMALE. Leading role. SINGS. 20s-30s.
GRUSHA (SC 2, 3, 4, 6): the heroine of our play. Stout hearted, blunt, determined to survive the war and reunite with Simon, Grusha, an orphan herself, takes pity on the Governor’s abandoned baby, Michael, and flees to the northern mountains, enduring near starvation and the brutality of soldiers. Her stubborn, instinctive feeling that she should help the baby when no one else will develops over the course of the play into love, and her rage at those who seek to separate her from her child crystallizes into a fierce and conscious commitment to justice.
ACTOR 11:
FEMALE. 20s-30s.
YOUNG WOMAN (SC 2): aka Sulieka, a strong, striking, and stoic young servant to Natella, the Governor’s Wife. She strives to obey, but can do no right in the eyes of her mistress. YOUNG LADY (SC 3): an exhausted, terrified artistocrat-turned-refugee, during the coup. LUDOVICA (SC 5): Brecht describes her as “A voluptuous wench” . Caught fornicating with the Servant by her father-in-law, she is dragged into court to claim rape. And as-cast.
ACTOR 12:
FEMALE. Age is flexible.
NURSE (SC 2): Baby Michael’s caregiver at the palace. A serious, and utterly professional nanny. Committed to Baby Michael, until the coup begins. ELDER LADY (SC 3): an aristocrat-turned-refugee who, despite ample evidence to the contrary, believes she can continue to order people around and get what she wants. And as-cast.
ACTOR 13:
MALE. Age is flexible.
CHEF (SC 2): A big man and a passionate gourmet cook who packs hampers of food for the fleeing palace workers; CORPORAL (SC 3,6) a professional soldier who is trying to maintain his hold on the one soldier in his unit who hasn’t gone AWOL. He is loud, emphatic, a boaster and a bully; IRAKLI THE BANDIT (SC 5): a brilliant, charismatic modern-day Robin Hood.
ACTOR 14:
MALE. 20s-30s.
VALET (SC 2): young and restless, he is glad for the coup – he’s eager to get out from under the Governor and make his own way in the world; IRONSHIRT A (SC 3): the long-suffering, sweet-voiced boy soldier to the Corporal who was drafted into service and is homesick. SHAUVA (SC 5, 6): the village policeman in Azdak’s hometown. Good hearted and weak willed, Shauva will go whichever way the political winds may blow, but he’s fond of Azdak. It’s Azdak’s anarchistic streak he secretly loves best.
ACTOR 15:
FEMALE. Age is flexible.
COOK (SC 2, 6): A strong, solid woman, devout and superstitious. Plain spoken; PEASANT WOMAN (SC 3): takes in Baby Michael when Grusha leaves him on her doorstep. Her husband is no match for her but when the Ironshirts appear to demand the baby, she caves completely; MOTHER IN LAW (SC 4): Yussup’s mother, Grusha’s mother-in-Law. An older woman whose son, her hope for her old age, is dying. Counts every penny, but strives to honor traditions. And as-cast.
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