The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Bertolt Brecht (born Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht) was born in 1898 in Ausburg, Germany. He was raised in a religious family: his father was Catholic, and his mother and grandmother (who also heavily influenced Brecht as a child) were both Protestants. While in school at Ausburg, Brecht befriended Caspar Neher. Neher would grow up to become his life-long collaborator, designing the sets for his plays that helped define the epic theater. Brecht is known for being the “father of epic theater,” which was his bold approach to staging his political views. He lived through both world wars, and lived in exile in the United States while Hitler was in power. He and his wife, actress Helene Weigel, founded the renowned Berliner Ensemble, which is still making theater to this day.

Brecht’s theatrical career initially began as a theatre critic in 1916. Over the next several years he came into contact with and worked alongside several artists who inspired his work. The first was the Munich comedian, Karl Valentin, who had a similar approach to the craft to Charlie Chaplin. In Berlin, he met Austrian playwright and director Arnolt Bronnen. The two formed a theatre company, and it is during this time that Brecht changed the spelling of his name to