measuring & layout chalk line tools
the caucasian chalk circle
few authors have had such a dramatic effect as bertolt brecht . his work has helped to shape a generation of writers theatergoers and thinkers . his plays are studied worldwide as texts that changed the face of theater . p the caucasian chalk circle is a parable inspired by the chinese play chalk circle . written at the close of world war ii the story is set in the caucasus mountains of georgia . it retells the tale of king solomon and a child claimed by and fought over by two mothers . but this chalk circle is metaphorically drawn around a society misdirected in its priorities . brechts statements about class are cloaked in the innocence of a fable that whispers insistently to the audience . p no translations of brechts work are as reliable and compelling as eric bentleys . these versions are widely viewed as the standard renderings of brechts work ensuring that future generations of readers will come in close contact with the work of a playwright who introduced a new way of thinking about the theater .