“You’d think Klaus Kinski had risen from the dead.” Principal Bernd Holly was deeply impressed by the performances of the 7th-grade classes as part of their theater workshop. It’s no coincidence, then, that one of the “patients” in Class 7b’s skit is named Klaus Kanski—with an “a”—and this character, alias Konstantin Jostaufderstroth, was indeed strongly reminiscent of the famous actor in his younger years. The young actors and actresses in the 7th grade received hearty applause for their performances, whether they were portraying psychopaths, a soccer player, or a construction robot.
Guidance and instruction from professional actors has become a tradition in the 7th-grade theater workshop. For the second year in a row, following the painful hiatus caused by the pandemic, the students have been able to return to the stage and benefit from this valuable support. The goal is to use their own bodies, voices, and expressions to create their own characters on stage and develop a play around them. Driven by a passion for performance, inspired by imagination, and spiced with playful wit, the young actors and actresses served up a thoroughly entertaining cocktail to the audience in the packed Forum.
Risks and Side Effects of Intelligent Machines
In the future, no one will have to clean or tidy up their own apartment anymore. Class 7a, under the guidance of subject teacher Ines Vielhaben and theater director Daniel Sempf, brought this promising vision—titled “Future?”—to the stage. Since technology is only helpful as long as it works well, there are two sides to this issue as well. In a humorous way, Class 7a highlighted the risks and side effects of using intelligent machines for the audience, and it remained highly questionable whether artificial intelligence will be able to solve the world’s problems in any way.
Don’t Be Afraid of a Night at the Museum
Just imagining spending a night in a museum requires a good dose of fearlessness, a lack of fear of the dark, and the ability to handle silence with ease. But what if you’re spending the night there as a burglar and hear another burglar approaching? “Night@theMuseum” is the title of the play by Class 7c, directed by Steinmühlen teacher Frank Wemme—who is also the head of the lower secondary school—and Michael Pietsch. As an actor, puppet maker, and puppeteer, Pietsch naturally possesses the necessary know-how to captivate an audience. And he succeeded brilliantly.
16th Birthday with Complications
Class 7b was hoping for a wonderful birthday—and that was also the title of their play. It was “Johanna’s” 16th birthday, and her friends had expected more from her and her party. And so they found themselves unexpectedly dealing with some difficult parents, the police, and the entire medical staff of a therapeutic facility. Yes, even at a party, things can often turn out differently than planned! The directing team—consisting of Steinmühlen teacher Steffen Ullwer and Michael Köckritz from the Marburg Hörtheatrale team—did an outstanding job on this production as well.
All in all, it was a spectacular stage performance that evening, with an audience that was perfectly suited to the show and well-organized technical support under the proven leadership of the Sound & Light team. It’s a shame that it will be almost another year before the next performances by the 7th-grade theater workshop.
