Tier5 to Present LEGEND OF THE CHALK CIRCLE World Premiere in March

James Cougar Canfield's latest play, Legend of the Chalk Circle, is a hilarious and heartfelt queer retelling inspired by Bertolt Brecht's "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" and the many legends of the circle that have come before.

Tier5 will present the world premiere production of James Cougar Canfield's Legend of the Chalk Circle. The production will take place at the American Theatre of Actors - Sargent Theatre and run from Thursday, March 9th through Sunday, March 26th.

A revolution has erupted in Grusinia, the governor has been beheaded, his wife, Natella, has fled, their newborn has been left behind. Vash, a servant boy, discovers the child, and begins an adventure across the Caucasus Mountains to save the baby and his own life, all while guided by visions of variants from previous versions of his own story. Meanwhile, Azdak, a hapless peasant and the reincarnation of King Solomon, finds himself as the new judge of Grusinia. When the child's biological mother returns to claim the baby, Vash, Azdak, and Natella, come head to head in an ultimate showdown for custody of the child.

Legend of the Chalk Circle combines music, puppetry, comedy, and modern language to explore what it means to be a parent, and how can one truly matter in a war-torn world, when the world insists on doing what's right, instead of what's good.

The show will run Thursdays, Fridays, and Mondays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm (no matinee on 3/11), and Sundays at 3pm, for 16 performances. All performances take place at the American Theatre of Actors - Sargent Theatre, 4th Floor, 314 W 54th St, New York, NY 10019.

Tickets will go on sale January 1st, and be available through Tier5's website: Tier5TheatreCompany.com.

Chalk Circle is written and directed by award winning playwright and Tier5 Theatre Company Executive Producer, James Cougar Canfield (he/him). Canfield's previous works include Ladies in Waiting: The Judgement of Henry VIII (Hollywood Fringe International Award Winner 2017), The Christmas Carol: A Queer Fantasia (Metrosource and Local Traveler's A Must See Show of the Holiday 2019 season), and co-writer for meg jo beth amy & louisa (Theatre Unleashed Award nominee 2019). All produced by Tier5.

The cast will consist of Joey Carmelo (they/them) as our hero, Vash Nadze, a queer twist on Brecht's original heroine, Grusha Vashnadze, as well as Margaret Gorrell (she/her) as Natella Abashwiili, the Governor's Wife, Frank Murdocco* (he/him) as the wise yet wacky judge, Azdak, and Shannyn Lambert* (she/her), as Vash's temperamental sister-in-law, Aniko.

Completing the cast is: Justine Yeajin An, Leo Jasper Davis, James David Dirck, Yannik Encarnação, M. Hatten, Ariana Haylock, Bri Mariano Ryder, Manasvi Sharma, Jake Smerechniak, Quinn Spivey, Amanda Thomas, Miki Tran, and Cindy Xu.

Understudies: Samantha Cullifer, Cynthia Yiru Hu, Matthew Menendez, and Cameron Walker.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association.

Legend of the Chalk Circle will be presented as an Equity Approved Showcase.

ABOUT TIER5

Founded in 2015 in London, then relocated to NYC, Tier5 takes classic tales and historical events and retells them on stage in a new light, focusing on bringing those excluded from the narrative right to centerstage. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tier5 began creating virtual content, including launching the Tier5 Sings! virtual concert series and our recent virtual new play festival, Fairytales From Home.

Our previous award winning and critically acclaimed original shows include Ladies in Waiting: The Judgement of Henry VIII (Hollywood Fringe International Award Winner 2017, regional theatre premiere at Southwest Shakespeare), meg jo beth amy & louisa (regional theatre premiere at Southwest Shakespeare Company), and The Christmas Carol: A Queer Fantasia (Metrosource Top Pick, premiered at the Access Theatre in NYC).

In 2021, Tier5 premiered our very first animated venture, Tier5's Romeo & Juliet: The Tragic Tale of Two Animal Cross-ed Lovers. Released in five parts over five weeks, the animated series combines the voice acting of our Tier5 talent with the adorable characters of the Nintendo video game phenomenon, Animal Crossing. It was featured in Digital World, an evening celebrating exceptional work in the digital arts. All episodes are currently available to stream on our YouTube channel. This year, we will release our follow-ups to R&J, productions of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest animated through the game, The Sims 4.

Follow Tier5 on Social Media: @Tier5TheatreCompany

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