Upon reading Georg Buchner's Woyzeck, some thoughts in accordance to the casting of the characters in this play. The following statement is a textual analysis of my thoughts concerning certain characters, and Traditional or Non-Traditional casting as a whole.
Traditional and Non-Traditional casting is one of the obstacles the production team of any work must delegate in a world with Equity and Non-Equity actors. However, I find that whoever wishes to tackle casting for the play Woyzeck would have a wonderful time doing so. This is because he characters themselves are so diverse, not only in their personalities, but also in their race, age, sex, creed, mental, and physical capabilities. The Child, for example, could be played by practically anyone if done with Non-Traditional casting, as it is a non-speaking role and is only required to scream and push his father away at the end of the play. This role can be filled by an actual child or a skilled actor portraying a child. There is no indication that a particular race or sex is required and could even be handicapped as long as he can do the two things mentioned before. Casting in this manner will open a wide array of possibilities for character development and visual interest.
Casting Georg Buchner’s Woyzeck Non-Traditionally will add to the beauty of the work but, there are certain characters that require certain individuals. Woyzeck is definately a character that cannot be played by just anyone. There are particular scenes that require him to walk, dance around and even murder his wife, Marie (p.20). The actor playing this role must be physically capable of performing the action required in the text. Meanwhile, Woyzeck is also undergoing some serious mental issues as a result of a medical experiment where he is required to eat only peas. As his mind deteriorates, Woyzeck believes that the world is heading towards a the Apocolypse and tells Marie "...there was something out there again - a lot. Isn't it written: 'And lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace'?...It followed me until I reached town. What's going to happen? (p.13)" An actor must be mentally capable of handling this role or else it wouldn't work or could even be dangerous to the actor.
Eventhough, some of the roles in Woyzeck, like the apprentices', children and students lack a specific sex in their character descriptions, there are certain ones who MUST be their perspective male/female roles. Not only is it against copyright law to cast characters opposite to their gender specific roles, the 1800's is an unforgiving time period in which you do not publicly have homosexual relationships, therefore, Woyzeck and Marie could not be the same sex (especially since Woyzeck fathered a child) nor could the Drum-Major and Marie. On that note, if this production was to be an accurate historical depiction of the time and place in which Woyzeck is set, the play will have 15 men, 4 women, 1 child plus “others” (soldiers, sundry men and women, students, children, court officials, judge). This is because certain occupations such as a doctor or soldier were not held by a woman in the 1800's.
In retrospect of this statement and my previous findings, it is safe to conclude that this production of Georg Buchner's Woyzeck could not be a true Non-Traditional cast. There are textual demands in the script for certain characters that must be performed by a capable person; otherwise, the play won't work.
Eventhough, some of the roles in Woyzeck, like the apprentices', children and students lack a specific sex in their character descriptions, there are certain ones who MUST be their perspective male/female roles. Not only is it against copyright law to cast characters opposite to their gender specific roles, the 1800's is an unforgiving time period in which you do not publicly have homosexual relationships, therefore, Woyzeck and Marie could not be the same sex (especially since Woyzeck fathered a child) nor could the Drum-Major and Marie. On that note, if this production was to be an accurate historical depiction of the time and place in which Woyzeck is set, the play will have 15 men, 4 women, 1 child plus “others” (soldiers, sundry men and women, students, children, court officials, judge). This is because certain occupations such as a doctor or soldier were not held by a woman in the 1800's.
In retrospect of this statement and my previous findings, it is safe to conclude that this production of Georg Buchner's Woyzeck could not be a true Non-Traditional cast. There are textual demands in the script for certain characters that must be performed by a capable person; otherwise, the play won't work.
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