Photo Flash: First Look at THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE at Antaeus Theatre

The city burns in the heat of civil war and a servant girl sacrifices everything to protect a forsaken child. Antaeus Theatre Company presents Bertolt Brecht's1944 masterpiece, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, in a contemporary translation by award-winning playwright Alistair Beaton.Stephanie Shroyer directs for a July 11opening at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale, where performances continue through Aug. 26. Low-priced previews begin July 5.

Set deep in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia against a backdrop of violence and injustice, The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a play within a play. Amidst the rubble of a bombed out village in the aftermath of World War II, farmers debating the best use of their land enact a parable in which a humble kitchen maid risks her life to rescue an abandoned baby from civil war. But when peace is finally restored, the child's aristocratic mother returns to claim him. Calling upon the ancient tradition of the chalk circle, a comical judge sets about to resolve the dispute, and the entire social order of a corrupt and violent world is put on trial.

In keeping with the style Brecht called "epic theater" - plays that, while providing entertainment, are strongly didactic and capable of provoking social change - the playwright's statements about class and injustice are cloaked in the innocence of a fable that whispers insistently to the audience. He also included a number of "songs" to comment on the action. However, there is no officially published score, and the Antaeus production features original music and songs created and performed by the acting ensemble: John Apicella, Noel Arthur, Paul Baird, Gabriela Bonet, Claudia Elmore, Turner Frankosky,Troy Guthrie, Steve Hofvendahl, Connor Kelly-Eiding, Michael Khachanov, Alex Knox,Mehrnaz Mohammadi, Madalina Nastase, Liza Seneca, Janellen Steininger and George Villas.

The creative team for The Caucasian Chalk Circle includes scenic designer Frederica Nascimento, costume designer Angela Calin, lighting designer Ken Booth, sound designer Jeff Gardner, props designer Erin Walley and dramaturg Ryan McRee. The production stage manager is Taylor Anne Cullen.

For reservations and information, call 818-506-1983 or go to www.antaeus.org.

Photo Credit: Jenny Graham