As part of the MÄRCHENWELTEN children’s theater project, pupils from Gesundbrunnen Primary School in Wedding are bringing their own versions of the two popular German folk tales Puss in Boots and The Brave Little Tailor to the stage. The productions have many facets, serious and comical, romantic and realistic, fairytale and contemporary. This is true of the story of the poor miller’s boy who inherits nothing but a tomcat and makes his fortune in the end despite – or perhaps because of – this, and it is equally true of the story of the cunning little tailor who daringly sets out into the wide world, defeats monsters and in the end convinces the princess that princes don’t always look like they do in fairy tales.
The children involved in our TALE WORLDS project – more than 60 this year – come from many nations, the majority of whom did not grow up with the language of the Brothers Grimm. Puss in Boots and The Brave Little Tailor helped them to feel at home in this language and to gain more confidence in their own abilities. Above all, however, they have learned that they can create something completely new together. And something that not only gives them pleasure, but also those who watch it!
In MÄRCHENWELTEN, children explore the world of theater and dance. Open groups made up of interested pupils in grades 3 to 6 from the Gesundbrunnen elementary school in Wedding are accompanied by professional theater and dance teachers in weekly courses as well as vacation and weekend workshops. From the selection of a favorite fairy tale to the production on stage, the participants are involved in all processes and influence themselves which content is dealt with and how it is presented. They not only influence the choice of fairy tale, but also the text, costumes and dramaturgy, making them important players in the decision-making process.
While participation must be made possible, it also needs to be learned: How does it feel to make suggestions for a choreography? How do I express criticism of a text if I simply don’t like it, or if I would like to see my own idea realized? How do I separate observations from evaluations? How do I deal with it if my ideas end up looking different because the group wants to come to a common result? And how do you reach a common result as a group in the first place? This increased focus on participation sets MÄRCHENWELTEN apart from the previous projects of the LUNA PARK initiative: both children and adults learn what participation in dance and theater can look like and how it can be shaped in practice. What comes out of it: a TikTok dance theater, cake and swimming pool breaks. Being able to get in and out again and again. Frustration and joy. Openness to results. Stamina. A pop-up performance. A magic box. A dance performance at a street festival. And much more! As many of the participating children do not come from German-speaking families, it is a particular challenge and at the same time an enormous enrichment for their sense of language to work so intensively with German texts in weekly courses and also in vacation workshops, in which they develop their own sentences in a short space of time and – as in the pop-up performance – perform them on stage. This type of open-ended, participative and language-sensitive work is made possible by committed, visionary dance and theater professionals who use their experience to provide new impetus and offer a framework in which the children can try out their strengths and interests artistically and as a group.
Performances of “Puss in Boots” and “The Brave Little Scheider”
Tuesday, 19.12.2023, 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, 20.12.2023, 10:30 am
Thursday, 21.12.2023, 10:30 am
Uferstudios (Studio 1), Badstraße 41a, 13357 Berlin (access via Pankstraße underground station)
Performances of “The Brave Little Scheider”
Saturday, 07. 10. 2023, 17:00 to 18:00 (as part of the 13th Berlin Family Night)
in the auditorium of the Gesundbrunnen elementary school, Prinzenallee 8, 13357 Berlin
Tickets
Admission free (donations welcome), registration requested at: contact@lunapark.works
Please note
The performances are suitable for children aged 3 and over.
Performance & Cast
Schauspiel und Tanz: Schüler*innen der Gesundbrunnen-Grundschule in Berlin-Wedding
Künstlerische Leitung, Konzept, Choreografie und Training: Kosmas Kosmopoulos
Regie und Theaterpädagogik: Ron Rosenberg
Theatertext und Training: Caroline Kahmann, Kai Pichmann, Klaus Stephan
Ausstattung: Michael Graessner
Technische Leitung und Lichtdesign: Eduard Mont de Palol
Musik: Antonios Palaskas
Choreografische Assistenz und Training: Maia Joseph, Davide Lorenzi, Caspar Stuart
Produktionsassistenz und Kommunikation: Elisa Schwiss
Fotografie und Dokumentation: Giovanni Lo Curto
Pädagogische Leitung und Beratung: Luris Farhat, Zehra El-Mousleh, Fethullah Baykus, Olcay Erdemir u.a.
Production and promotion
MÄRCHENWELTEN is realized by the LUNA PARK initiative in cooperation with the Gesundbrunnen elementary school and the Gesundbrunnen elementary school after-school care centre, which is supported by the Pro-Gemeinsinn foundation. MÄRCHENWELTEN is funded by the Future Package for Exercise, Culture and Health. The Future Package is a program of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). It is implemented by the Gesellschaft für soziale Unternehmensberatung (gsub) and the SPI Foundation. The German Children and Youth Foundation (DKJS) is responsible for the “Child and Youth Participation in the Future Package” part of the program.
