"Ryanne’s own production of Mother Courage in 2012, for which I served as mentor, was a sterling conception and was very well executed...Courage proved an exceptional production, generating, in addition to the bold “estrangement” that Brecht conceived, a few deeply moving moments that I believe are critical to the success of this play, which I have seen in both German and English productions over many years. I am happy to report that, in my opinion, Ryanne is a highly intelligent, sensitive, theatrical collaborator and a director with artistic confidence and vision." - Robert Cohen, Claire Trevor Professor of Drama University of California, Irvine 

Plot Summary: Mother Courage and Her Children was first performed in Zurich in 1941 and is usually seen as Brecht's greatest work. Remaining a powerful indictment of war and social injustice, it is an epic drama set in the seventeenth century during the Thirty Years' War. The plot follows the resilient Mother Courage who survives by running a commissary business that profits from all sides. As the war claims all of her children in turn, the play poignantly demonstrates that no one can profit from the war without being subject to its terrible cost as well.