HARWOOD UNION HIGH SCHOOL FALL PLAY

 "The Good Woman of Setzuan" by Bertolt Brecht

 PLEASE NOTE NEW AUDITION DATES:

AUDITIONS: Sept. 8 and 9, 3:00-5:00

CALLBACKS: Sept. 12, 3-4:30

REHEARSALS: Mon, Tues, Thurs - 3-5:30; Friday, 3-4:30

SHOWDATES: Nov. 10-1, 7:30 pm; Nov. 12, 1:30

Using a Chinese fable and the fictitious setting of the village of Setzuan, German playwright Bertolt Brecht questions who's good and who's evil in a capitalistic society. In Setzuan, only the conniving survive. Shen Te is down on her luck but is still the only townsperson willing to extend hospitality to three strangers (who just happen to be gods). The gods are on a mission to find "people living lives worthy of human beings - good people, that is." Rewarding her kindness, the gods give her money to open a shop, allowing her the freedom to change her life. When the money rolls in, so does a large cast of greedy family and friends, and Shen Te discovers she cannot be charitable and good as well as a successful business owner. She is forced to create a cruel alter-ego, a "cousin" named Shui ta, to defend herself against the masses and make the hard business decisions. When Shen Te meets a selfish lover who leaves her pregnant, she "hides out" from her business, leaving Shui Ta in charge; this causes the people who have been taking advantage of her goodness to suspect Shui Ta of harming her, and "he" is arrested and put on trial.

Brecht wanted to identify social problems and challenge people to go forth from the theater and effect change. His staging technique, which he called "epic theater", continually reminds the audience that the play is a representation of reality and not reality itself, through the use of masks, peotry, music, damce, and actors speaking directly to the audience. The play features some "larger than life" characters to give the audience distance so one can think about the issues: Why do we do "good"? Do we really reap what we sow? Should we give till it hurts?