“I like to do things that people don’t expect — things that challenge me.”

This is how Upper School Theater Director Eric Severson explained his selection of Brecht’s “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” for this year’s annual fall play.

Severson performed in Bertolt Brecht’s “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” as a soldier during his freshmen year at St. Olaf College and is a fan of early modernist playwright Brechts’ cerebral and socio-politically charged style. Naturally, directing a Brechtian epic has been high on his list for some time. “I’ve always loved The Caucasian Chalk Circle and it feels like the right time and the right group to do it with,” Severson said.

Students at St.Paul Academy and Summit School are excited and intrigued by his selection. “I don’t know much about the piece, nor about this specific type of play and so I am excited to try something new,” sophomore Claire Walsh said.

Echoing Walsh’s sentiments, sophomore Maggie Vlietstra anticipates the new and close bonds she will undoubtedly form this fall. “I am so excited to learn more about the story, and also become close with the cast,” said Vlietstra.

The play’s title encapsulates the play well. Understandably, many students have assumed that the word “Caucasian” in the play’s title refers to race; however, this “caucasian”  is actually a reference to the Eastern European Caucus mountain range where the play is set. This geographical region includes modern day western Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

The “chalk circle” in the play’s title refers to a famous story in the Hebrew Bible in which King Solomon rules between two women claiming to be the mother of one child by setting the child at the center of a chalk circle and asking both to pull on the child. This biblical reference directly reflects the plot of “The Caucasian Chalk Circle,” as the show chronicles the life of a peasant girl, Grusha (senior Charlotte Hughes), who rescues her high standing employer’s (junior Sonja Mischke) abandoned baby and raises it on her own. The baby’s biological mother returns years later demanding custody of the child, ultimately sparking the central point of conflict in the show. Audiences are  inevitably torn between the adoptive peasant mother’s claim to the baby and that of the neglectful yet biological mother.

How exactly Severson plans to stage the show will be unveiled in November. This much he knows: he is debating between a classical rendition of Brechtian epic theater or an alternative,  modern interpretation of Brecht’s work.

“It sounds like a challenging piece, and I’m excited to see where it goes,” said Vlietstra.

SPA alum Tim Kraack and junior Sandhya Ramachandran will be the musical accompanists for the show, Kraack on the piano and Ramachandran on the violin. Kraack has kept in touch with SPA since his graduation in 2005, working with the Summit Singers and Academy Choral in the past. Currently Kraack is  hard at work composing an original score for  SPA’s production of “The Caucasian Chalk Circle,” and plans to begin to rehearsing with Ramachandran during late October.

“My experiences working with Tim in the past have always been fantastic. He’s an extremely gifted musician, and besides that is great at coordinating everything,” Ramachandran said.

Ramachandran is already looking forward to the show’s opening night, describing it as the best because “you see your classmates become the characters and, playing the music, you tend to get really invested in it because of the emotions that are present in music.”

In addition to the musical components of this year’s fall play, Severson hopes to incorporate video projection in order to enhance the political and social themes laced throughout the show. The use of visual media on stage will hopefully create a richer, more multi-dimensional viewing experience of The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

The show opens on Friday, Nov. 22 in the Sarah Converse auditorium from 7-9 pm and will run a second night in the same location on Saturday Nov. 23 from 7-9 pm. Admission will be free of charge as always.

“It is definitely going to be a must see!” Walsh said.