SHAUWA MOOD BOARD

Reasons for My Choice

When writing the history and backstory for the character of

Shauwa, I wanted there to be unique relationship between her and
Azdak. When going through research of The Caucasian Chalk Circle
and watching different performances, I never really saw a
father/daughter relationship. Through working on some of the
scenes in rehearsals like when Azdak walks through all the
homeless, peasants, Alex suggested that Azdak gets older. I
decided then that possibly during this walking scene in Act 4,
Azdak finds young Shauwa, on her own and takes her in raising
her until she turns 18/19 when she becomes a policeman. This
type of picture reminded me of the dynamic because in this case,
Azdak would have been quiet young finding Shauwa. This is also
what I kind of imagined them living like. A kind of run down but
friendly home.
When reading through The Caucasian Chalk Circle, the idea
of Christianity and religion is very much apparent its
one of the many themes that Brecht had within the majority
of his plays due to how he was raised. Within act 4,
Shauwa tells Azdak that she is a Christian and in our
telling of the play, we also have Azdak scaring her into
the thought of damnation to get himself out of being
arrested. This to me, shows how powerful of an influence
Christ is within her life and that she needs to dedicate
her life to him. This picture is the representation of
Christ on the cross, which is the most recognisable sign
within the Christian Community.

These images here, is how I first initially thought

Shauwa should look like. Shes very dirty but also has a
sense of pride throughout her. It felt like a visual
representation of the almost hidden side of Shauwa which
is the very strong woman she is. In the left photo, she
seems more masculine which is how Shauwa seems (costume
wise) towards the beginning of her scenes. To the photo
on the right, she seems more feminine which is what
Shauwa is in reality, a strong woman.

These images, are more about the

characteristics of the lead character Jim
Hawkins from Disneys Treasure Planet. For me
this character is in a way similar to the
stronger and smarter side of Shauwa. He knows
when something isnt right and defiantly knows
the difference from right and wrong, which is a
characteristic shown by Shauwa, when she
doesnt want to arrest Azdak for a petty
mistake. He also has the emotional side that I
think Shauwa has which you dont really see on
stage, but is in the characters mind.

These images, similar to Jim, are more about

the characteristics. In the beginning of
Madagascar 2, the character of Alex cub is
seen as very vulnerable and naive, also very
curious about the world. This is something that
Shauwa goes through throughout the play and
outside the play. She was raised by Azdak so of
course was very curious as most children are,
but within the play, she shows a sense of
naivety when faced in danger, especially when
Azdak convinces her of damnation when she
catches him killing the Fat Princes rabbits.
 For my backstory of Shauwa, I decided
to have her begin as a young girl on
the streets and Azdak who is a grown
man takes her in as his own. These
pictures are from the 2012 movie Les
Miserables in which, similar to the
backstory of Shauwa, Jean Valjean takes
young Cosette practically off of the
streets and raises her as his own.

These images are from the 2004 movie The Passion of

the Christ with the character of Mary Magdalene. Mary
is a woman who is rumoured in the Christian faith to be
the wife of Jesus Christ. When first approaching the
character we aimed to have Shauwa and Azdaks
relationship very much like Jesus and Mary, however
after changing how the whole scene was approached were
know going for the father, daughter approach. The
reason these images are still on my mood board however
are because Mary is a symbol of holiness and purity
she began her life pretty much on the streets, becoming
a prostitute and then becoming a follower of Jesus.
Similar to Shauwa, beginning her life on the streets
she was saved by Azdak and he practically changed her
life. Jesus saved Mary and she became one of his most
devoted followers.

This picture of one of the posters of the Disney movie Mulan was
used for several reasons. Mulan is a character who is slightly niave
but is also willing to do anything and everything to protect her
father. In the case of Shauwa, she fairly willingly is arrested
alongside Azdak and I dont believe it is because she ran away from
the Ironshirts, what I mean by this is, as a person of authority and
not really breaking any law by leaving without any power being given
or taken, she wouldnt have done anything wrong. Therefore I believe
that off stage Shauwa possibly either helped Azdak escape further or
potentially even hurt one of the Ironshirts to help her father
figure. I also chose this image as Mulan dresses as a man throughout
the movie to give her a sense of authority. This is also due to the
time period the movie takes place in where women couldnt necessarily
be a part of authority. Due to when the play is set, there werent
many female authority figures which is why Shauwa dresses as a man to
make sure she can still have equal power as a man to change what she
doesnt like about her city. Her identity is also revealed at the end
to clearly be a woman, but by that point, Azdak has already changed
the way some people think about woman in power.

This quote I found I felt really represented Shauwa well, as her

personality on the outside is very shy, closed and she is a very
vulnerable and niave person due to the way she was brought up.
However, her character is one of the more courageous characters in
the sense that she tries to put others before herself and protect
those around her whilst trying to help people she doesnt even
really know. She puts herself in dangerous situations which was make
her nervous or afraid but she can get out of them once she uses her
brain and think about the situation ahead. An example of this is
when herself and Azdak get arrested, she is thrown into jail and is
scared at first of the Ironshirts and being in jail with the Fat
Prince. After thinking about it for a while however, she plucks up
the courage to try and escape. Even then she doesnt leave Azdak to
get killed or beat up, she stays by his side until he leaves.
In term, Shauwa initially calls herself an
ignoramus however she states it more in a sense of
trying to allow Azdak to feel overpowering towards
her. This quote I felt represented Shauwa with the
idea that if she can call herself an ignoramus
shes not too bothered by others calling her the
same as internally she knows shes smart she
almost uses it as a defense mechanism to make
herself seem weaker/smaller.
 This quote I felt resignated with Shauwa in the sense
that she forgives people fairly quickly. Being a
Christian myself, I constantly forgive people because I
know that God knows were not all perfect, thats how I
mainly connect with my character of Shauwa through our
love of Christ. Shauwa knows herself shes not perfect as
shes able to lie fairly easily and deceive people who
trust her (like how she allows Azdak to believe he is a
superior person to herself). Although she doesnt
necessarily like certain people, like rich abusive
capitolists, however she still finds a place in her heart
to allow the non-perfectionists into her life.

As a Christian, you commonly allow yourself to be

handed over to the Lord in the sense that you trust
him with your life and guides you onto the right
path. With that in mind, Shauwa rarely gets scared
of things like being arrested as she knows
everything leads to something due to her faith in
the Lord. She puts her faith and trust in the lord
that she will end up where she needs to be, which
is why I chose this picture its a way of
practically giving all your love and hope into the
lord.

References:
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