Spectacles des Finissants
PartagerThe Caucasian Chalk Circle
By Bertolt Brecht
Translated by Frank McGuinness
Directed by Micheline Chevrier
des spectacles
du 24 février au 28 février 2015
mardi 24 février : 20 h
mercredi 25 février : 20 h
jeudi 26 février : 20 h
vendredi 27 février : 20 h
samedi 28 février : 15 h
Salle Ludger-Duvernay
1182, boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal
métro Saint-Laurent ou Place d'Armes
Coût du billet : 9 $
Les billets sont disponibles à la billetterie du Monument-National un mois avant la première.
Réservation téléphonique :
514-871-2224 | 1-866-844-2172
Des frais supplémentaires de 3,50 $ par billet s'appliquent lors des réservations téléphoniques.
From February 24 to 28, at the Ludger-Duvernay Theatre (Monument-National), the 2015 Graduating Class of NTS presents Bertolt Brecht’s modern classic The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Guided by acclaimed Canadian director Micheline Chevrier, the Acting, Production, and Set and Costume Design students will offer a fresh take on Brecht’s “play within a play”, written in 1944 during the playwright’s exile in the United States. Incorporating spoken dialog and song, the play will feature original music by the Montreal-based duo AroarA (Ariel Engel and Broken Social Scene co-founder Andrew Whiteman). A cast of 12 third-year Acting students will take on the challenge of bringing 85 characters to life in what is to be their last and not-to-be-missed performance on the Ludger-Duvernay stage before graduation.
Set in post-World War II Soviet Union, The Caucasian Chalk Circle introduces two farming collectives engaged in a dispute over land reallocation. Once resolved, the conflict gives way to a parable about the interwoven destinies of Grusha, a peasant girl who flees civil war with an abandoned baby boy in her arms, of the boy’s aristocratic family, and of a cunning judge who will come to hold the child’s fate in his hands.
MORE ABOUT THE PLAY
The Caucasian Chalk Circle draws attention to issues such as justice and the power of agency in the face of war and conflict. “We are so quick to say ‘That war is happening over there, so why should I care?’ or ‘That’s not my problem’,” says director Micheline Chevrier. “Grusha takes care of baby Michael not out of altruism, but out of plain pragmatism because she understands that you can't save yourself if you don’t take care of others and of the rest of your community or society.” A perspective that resonates deeply in today’s economic and geopolitical context.
With its powerful narrative, multilayered plot and high intensity, "The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a great example of Bertolt Brecht’s ability to invite audience members to think critically about the deeper messages he wished to convey — this time around justice, ownership, social and personal responsibility as well the notion of the greater good — all the while entertaining them with humour, song, romance, and action,” says Alisa Palmer, the Artistic Director of the English section of NTS.
ABOUT MICHELINE CHEVRIER, DIRECTOR
For over 35 years, Micheline Chevrier has worked across Canada and abroad as a director, artistic director and dramaturg. As a director, she has worked at The Shaw Festival, the National Arts Centre, Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects, l’UniThéâtre, the Citadel, the Globe Theatre, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Canadian Stage, Young People’s Theatre, Théâtre français de Toronto, the Centaur Theatre, Segal Centre, Geordie Productions, Imago Theatre, Theatre New Brunswick, and BeMe Productions (Barcelona and Munich), among others.
Her credits include works by Molière, Shakespeare, Churchill, and Fo as well as several Canadian playwrights such as John Murrell, Wendy Lill, David Young and Ann-Marie Macdonald, just to name a few. She has also directed several plays in translation by several Quebec playwrights, including Michel Tremblay, Michel Marc Bouchard, Jean–Marc Dalpé and Carole Fréchette.
In July 2013, Micheline Chevrier became Artistic and Executive Director of Imago Theatre. From 1995 to 2000, she was the Artistic Director of the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa. She was Associate Artistic Director at Theatre New-Brunswick from 1990 to 1992, Associate Dramaturg at Playwrights Workshop Montreal from 1992 to 1993 and, from 2002 to 2004, was Associate Artist at Canadian Stage in Toronto. She has also directed and taught at the National Theatre School, Concordia University, McGill University, York University, Dalhousie University and University of Alberta among others.
Micheline Chevrier has received several awards across the country, including a Montreal English Theatre Award for Best Direction of Top Girls at the Segal Centre.
2015 Graduating Actors
Thomas Mitchell Barnet
Daniel Ellis
Rebecca Gibian
Humberly Gonzalez
Shelagh Haney
Cynthia Hicks
Emma Laishram
Dustin Luck
Diana Luong
Devin MacKinnon
Erik Mrakovcic
Giacomo Sellar
Design / Production Team - Graduating Set and Costume Design and Production students
Lorena Trigos
Set Design
Carlan Lonsdale
Assistant to the Set Designer
Alexandra Lord
Costume Design
Johnny Cann
Lighting Design
Bruce Lambie
Sound Design
Andrew Scriver
Video Design
Jess Alexander
Production Manager
Victoria Wang
Stage Manager
Emlyn vanBruinswaardt
Technical Director