Upcoming Casting Opportunities
CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE Auditions
CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE by Bertolt Brecht, translated by Eric Bentley
Directed by Sara Holdren
Play Description:
On a quiet Sunday morning, a brutal coup topples the country of Grusinia into chaos. The ruling classes scrap and claw for power as the peasants simply try to survive. In this world on fire, a young servant girl named Grusha finds a baby — the child of the rich governor, abandoned when his mother fled. She makes a choice, and an adventure begins.
Completed in 1945 after the great theater-maker Bertolt Brecht’s escape from Nazi Europe, The Caucasian Chalk Circle is part musical, part parable — funny, expansive, lyrical, and humane. It’s a picaresque satire, a courtroom drama, and an exquisite poem for wartime, all rolled into one. Through the tough, good-hearted Grusha and the wily, world-weary rascal-turned-judge, Azdak, the play asks what we owe to each other in times of crisis and whether we can escape our own cynicism to remake a corrupt and broken world.
Expect scrappy collective magic! Music, physical theater, puppetry, rough edges, exposed seams, dancing, clowning, playing many parts. The Caucasian Chalk Circle is seeking a BIG diverse-in-every-way ensemble, with roles for enthusiastic, curious performers young, middle, and old. Ages 15+ should feel free to audition (if younger, please enquire!). MUSICIANS AND SINGERS especially encouraged and welcome!
Performances:
September 3 (Preview), 4, 5, 9-13, 16-20 (13 and 20 are matinees)
Auditions:
Sunday, June 21 from 10am – 4:30pm
Callbacks:
Monday, June 22 from 6-10pm
Rehearsals:
Sunday – Thursday from 7-10pm | 6-week rehearsal process
July 19 – 23, 26 – 30, Aug 2 – 6, 9 – 13, 16 – 20, 23 – 27
Tech: Aug 30 – Sept 3
To Audition:
Auditions will be held in groups of 10-15 in the following time slots:
- Sunday, June 21, 10am – 11:30am
- Sunday, June 21, 11:30am – 1pm
- Sunday, June 21, 1:30pm – 3pm
- Sunday, June 21, 3pm – 4:30pm
Please email [email protected] to request an audition slot.
What to Prepare:
For your audition, please prepare a short piece of heightened text and come ready to move, improvise, read, and play.
- What does short mean? Seriously, it can be brief! Keep it under two minutes. Fifteen lines of Shakespeare (for example) is plenty.
- What does heightened mean? Choose something that’s got a little more oomph and poetic interest to it than average everyday modern speech. You could choose a poem, or even a song; you could do some Shakespeare or some Moliere or something from the Greeks. There are plenty of contemporary plays with heightened speech, too! Ultimately, pick something brief that speaks to you and that you’re excited to share. Auditioners will be present for each other’s pieces.
- What does prepare mean? Just be ready to get up and do it confidently! If it’s memorized, great. If it’s not, that’s okay too — just bring it on paper and be ready to have fun with it.
If you play an instrument and can bring it, do! If you can sing and want to share a few bars of a song, do! We’d love to hear both. Likewise, if you have some kind of special skill you’d like to share (juggling, tumbling, etc.), please note it on the audition form and be ready to share it if you’re willing.
In each time slot, we’ll meet each other, warm up, share our pieces of text, and do some scene work or some physical composition work together. You may or may not end up reading sides from the play at the first audition! We will work on sides more specifically at Callbacks (Monday, June 22 from 6-10pm).
Accessibility:
All roles are open to performers of any race, ethnicity, gender identity, or ability. The majority of the company will be 18+, but there are a few roles for 15+. (Again, if you are younger than 15, please enquire!)
We welcome actors of all abilities and are happy to make accommodations for those with mobility or physical access needs. If you require specific support to fully participate in auditions, please let us know in advance so we can make appropriate arrangements.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are unavailable on the audition dates listed, please let us know. We will consider accepting video auditions under certain circumstances. Callbacks need to be in person.
A conflict calendar will be sent to you when you confirm your audition slot. Please bring a list of any conflicts you would have for the above rehearsal dates.
Please contact [email protected] if you need assistance and/or would like access to view the script.
SIDES LIST:
*All page numbers given are in the Eric Bentley translation
*Sides are subject to change / addition. Don’t stress, and no need to memorize!
- NATELLA, KAZBEKI, DOCTORS: Scene 1, p. 15-16 (“Happy Easter, Natella Abashwili!” to “Very likely it’s the draft here.”)
- SIMON AND GRUSHA: Scene 1, p. 17-18
- SIMON AND GRUSHA 2: Scene 1, p. 21-23 (starts “Grusha! There you are at last!”)
- NATELLA, ADJUTANT, ASJA, MARO: Scene 1, p. 24-25 (starts “I hardly know if my head’s still on!” to “I wouldn’t dream of going on horseback!”)
- CORPORAL: Scene 2, p. 32-33 (“You’ll never amount to anything… with the help of a fool like you” — skip ironshirts’ singing)
- GRUSHA, PEASANT WOMAN: Scene 2, p. 36-37 (“Hide him. Quick!” to “Look! They’re coming!”)
- LAVRENTI, GRUSHA: Scene 3, p. 48-49 (“Why are you sitting there muffled up…” to “Now I am a fool.”)
- SIMON AND GRUSHA 3: Scene 3, p. 59-60 (“Simon!” to “…someone has come too late?”)
- AZDAK: Scene 4, p. 65 (“Shauwa, Shauwa, shame on you” to “In short, I don’t trust you.”)
- GRUSHA, SIMON, AZDAK: Scene 5, 93-95 (“Are you the man she married in the mountain village?” to “This case is adjourned for fifteen minutes.”)
You can find the sides here. Due to copyright, we ask that you do not share, print, or download these links. There will be paper copies available on site.
Role Descriptions:
We are seeking as many as 16 actors for this production, all of whom will play multiple parts. (Even if it doesn’t say Ensemble under a role track below, everyone counts first and foremost as Ensemble!) Casting tracks are still very open to change, but the following provides a general idea:
Actor 1 (F): Peasant Woman 1 / Natella Abashwili / Fat Peasant Woman /
Sister-in-Law / Wedding Guest / Blackmailer
*NATELLA ABASHVILI: Wife of the wealthy Governor of Grusinia, mother to the
baby, Michael. Impatient, acidic, shallow, obsessed with her clothes and her house.
If she had a cell phone, she’d always be on it. Real Housewives of Grusinia.
Actor 2 (M): Old Man 1 / Beggar / Ironshirt / Old Man (Peasant) / Monk (Brother Anastasius) / Old Man (Grand Duke)
*GRAND DUKE: The Grand Duke is the ruler of Grusinia who has instituted the
system of regional governors — he and the governors are the ones being
overthrown by the princes in Act 1 (it’s a war between the rich in which the poor are,
as always, the victims). The duke disguises himself as a beggar to get away. In his
interaction with Azdak, he shows himself to be almost incapable of speech — he
barely knows how to be human anymore. A brain and conscience fried by power
and greed.
Actor 3 (M/F): Delegate / Rider / Servant (Groom) / Ironshirt / Wedding Guest / Limping Man
*DELEGATE: The delegate has been sent to moderate between the two
collective farms whose debate spurs the prologue. Decent, practical, and
business-like, with a genuine belief in the rightness and potential of socialist
governance.
Actor 4 (M): Wounded Soldier / Simon Shashava / Ironshirt
*SIMON SHASHAVA: A Grusinian soldier/palace guard for the Governor who’s
sweet on Grusha. He acts tough, but the cocky/lascivious banter is just a front. He’s
really a good kid who wants to do his job well and build a loving home.
Actor 5 (F): Girl Tractorist / Grusha Vachnadze
*GRUSHA VACHNADZE: A young servant to the Governor and his wife who ends
up rescuing their baby, Michael, during the coup, and coming to love him as hers.
People call her simple but that’s unfair: What she really is is almost impossibly
staunch and good-hearted. Honest and artless with backbone for DAYS. Her love
and integrity are ultimately what change Azdak, who might have ended his life as a
hardened cynic if not for Grusha. Must be able to sing.
Actor 6 (F): Peasant Woman 2 / Beggar / Maro / Merchant Woman / Wedding Guest / Doctor / Ludovica // (more to come)
*MARO: Servant to the Governor and his wife who puts the child down to save her
own skin // LUDOVICA: Unembarrassed and sexy — the daughter of innkeeper who
wants to sue a man for seducing her in Act 2.
Actor 7 (M): Old Man 2 / Governor Georgi Abashwili / Fat Woman / Peasant Man (Husband) / Wedding Guest
*GOVERNOR GEORGI ABASHVILI: A powerful regional ruler in Grusinia. The type
who’s adding a wing to his palace while people go hungry and there’s a war on. You
know the type.
Actor 8 (F): Agriculturalist Kato Vachtang / Adjutant / Merchant Wedding Guest / Shauwa
*KATO: The agriculturalist for the collective fruit farm in the prologue. Smart and
scientific-minded. Unsentimental. // SHAUWA: The police chief in Act 2. An oft-
chagrined friend of Azdak’s. Likes him even when he has to arrest him. A no-
nonsense “good cop” type. Put upon. Probably has a big loud family.
Actor 9 (M/F): Very Young Worker / Beggar / Servant / Michael Puppeteer
*MICHAEL PUPPETEER: The main part of this track will be helping to bring
Michael, the child, to life, via puppetry. This role will breathe life into one of the most
important parts of the play — you will be, in effect, Michael’s soul. Puppetry
experience not required but of course welcome. Young performers welcome!
Actor 10 (M): Singer (Arkadi Tscheidse) / Azdak
*SINGER / AZDAK: Azdak is the cynical, often-drunk scrivener who gets turned into
a judge in Act 2. Beside Grusha, he is the other half of the show’s heart: He’s the
cigar-chomping, eyebrow-wriggling Brecht. A tipsy Groucho Marx with more bite.
Cynical, world-weary, tired of humans and their bullshit but also, in spite of himself,
amused at the infinite idiocy of the world. He probably would have descended into
total corruption and self-hating squalor if not for Grusha. There’s a true heart in
there, and she touches it. I think he may be the same person as the singer who tells
the story. Must be able to sing.
Actor 11 (M): Ensemble / Arsen Kazbeki (Fat Prince) / Lavrenti Vachnadze / Innkeeper
*ARSEN KAZBEKI: The picture you’ll find under OLEAGINOUS in the dictionary.
Smarmy and scary. Kisses your baby in the morning and has you killed at noon. //
LAVRENTI: Grusha’s brother. As spineless as his sister is sturdy. Thinks he does
more than his fair share for his fellow man. Like a Jane Austen character — think
John Dashwood, but more prone to run on at the mouth.
Actor 12 (F): Ensemble / Beggar / Young Servant Woman (Asja) / Michael Puppeteer
*ASJA: A young servant to the Governor’s wife who’s often the target of her
mistress’s abuse // MICHAEL PUPPETEER: Along with Actor 9, this actor will also
be a part of bringing Michael to life. Puppetry experience not required but of
course welcome. Young performers welcome!
Actor 13 (M): Ensemble / Ironshirt / Corporal / Wedding Guest // (more to come)
*CORPORAL: A petty tyrant among the ironshirts. A grade-A douchebag. Given to
locker-room talk and losing his temper. Empty swagger on top of fundamental
insecurity.
Actor 14 (M/F): Ensemble / Ironshirt / Wedding Guest / Invalid // (more to come)
*IRONSHIRT: One of the main soldiers involved in making Azdak into a judge in
Act 2. This track will be more filled out before casting is finalized.
Actor 15 (F): Ensemble / First Doctor (Mika Loladze) / First Architect / Cook / Mother-in-Law / First Lawyer
*FIRST DOCTOR: This track and Actor 16 are a bit of a clown duo throughout the
play. The two doctors are uptight, resentful yes-men who are constantly brown-
nosing the governor and trying to belittle each other. The architects are a pair of
caterers to the rich who are out to save their own skin. // The MOTHER-IN-LAW is
the mother of the peasant Lavrenti marries Grusha off to — she’s a shrewd
wheeler-dealer. The kind who counts rice grains and waters down soup and
charges beggars a fee to sleep in the barn.
Actor 16 (M): Ensemble / Second Doctor (Niko Mikadze) / Second Architect / Other Woman / Merchant / Jussup (Peasant Bridegroom) / Nephew (Bizergan Kazbeki) / Second Lawyer
*SECOND DOCTOR: The Laurel to the First Doctor’s Hardy (or vice versa). Same
with the architects. // JUSSUP is the god-awful guy Grusha gets forcibly married to.
Has been faking his own deadly illness to get out of the draft. Whiny, weedling,
tyrannical and nasty. Basically a terrible adult toddler. // BIZERGAN KAZBEKI:
The definition of a nepo-baby. Prince Kazbeki’s nephew whom the prince is trying
to wedge into a position of power. Probably dumb as bricks.
A note on the genders above: These are flexible! All gender identities are welcome, encouraged, and celebrated. Almost every actor will be playing both male and female characters — if you wish to be considered only for characters of a certain gender, please let us know on your audition form. Please also let us know your pronouns! A note on music: While the play isn’t a traditional musical, it’s full of music and singing and all musical/singing talent is a big plus in any role. If you’re able to carry a tune and comfortable singing in a group, great! If you’re someone with training / solo singing experience, also great. We need it all!
More Ways to Get Involved!
Check out our volunteer page for more opportunities to get involved!
Check out our more opportunities page for information on year-round programming
Meet Our Production & Volunteer Manager Aldrian Argante!
Looking to get involved, but don’t know where to start? Aldrian Argante will get you signed up for an audition, help you find volunteer resources, or chat about what volunteer opportunities might be a good fit for you.
If you are interested in auditioning this season, reach out to [email protected].
