Theatrical Performance: “Nothing—What Matters in Life” and Scenes from *Emilia Galotti*

When 14-year-old Pierre Anthon leaves his class with the words, “Nothing means anything, so there’s no point in doing anything,” his classmates are in shock. Because can it really be true that nothing has any meaning? Not first love? Not learning at school? Not one’s parents’ home, siblings, faith in God, or one’s own country? Together, the students want to prove the rebellious Pierre Anthon wrong and gather everything they hold dear on a “mountain of meaning.” But what begins innocently soon turns into an experiment with no holds barred and no limits—as even animals are sacrificed, along with a finger and a girl’s innocence…

Right from the very beginning of our exploration of the play, it was clear to the 11th-grade drama class with Mr. Ullwer that the spatial concept would be a particularly important element. The audience had to be drawn in. And so, at the beginning, everyone is seated in the classroom, where Pierre Anthon stands up and poses the question of what actually matters in this world. The students drew the audience into the maelstrom of a dramatic escalation, in which the question ultimately remained unresolved, though several thought-provoking insights were offered.

 

As a “warm-up” for this year’s performance by the Q-Phase (11th grade), Ms. Müller’s 10th-grade drama class presented its take on Lessing’s *Emilia Galotti*. Through a series of scenes, the students demonstrated the wide range of interpretive possibilities offered by Lessing’s bourgeois tragedy.