Continued discussion of Scene 2 and Staging

On Monday, we continued working on scene 2 by finishing the presentation by Timmy and Stephen.  There was much discussion about whether or not the staging of the play would lose impact by omitting scene 1, the prolog set during World War II.  In the UALR production of the Caucasian Chalk Circle the prolog has been omitted due to time constraints.  With the prolog included, the play would run over three hours.  For a student production with severely limited rehearsal time (usually in the neighborhood of one or two hours twice per week for just a few weeks), and the addition of dance numbers and original music for operatic voice there would simply not be enough time to present Chalk Circle with the prolog.  Besides, a show that long would overly stress the audience.  Some class members felt that by keeping the prolog the Marxist idea of ‘greater good’ would be doubly reinforced.  Also, the inclusion or the prolog would be more true to Brecht’s original concept for the play and make the production more historically accurate.  Brecht had put the prolog into the play, so he meant it to be there. 

However, one must remember that the very first staging of Caucasian Chalk Circle was done without the prolog in 1948 at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota.

This photo came from that premier production at Carleton College.  Though it is from the final scene, it is the only photo of this play in their archives.  I still think that it is worth viewing.