The fools festival

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The festival of fools ( fools' convention around 1550) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder is the basis for the piece.

The Narrenfest is an impromptu comedy by the actor, director and lecturer Tom Witkowski from 1994 based on the picture of the same name by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and has so far been edited and performed under the following titles: Comedia del Regio and The Migratory Birds .

                                       Ephemeral,
                             like all earthly happiness,
                               the game of mimes,
                      the fool's festival consists of a
                                "soap bubble chain"
              which the clowns
                thread in shimmering colors on a "red thread"; until it    slips away from our memories ,
          nourished by Vanitas symbols and symbols
...
                                         ... until nobody talks about it anymore.

Data
Title: The fools festival
Original title: Charlemagne
price version Comedia del Regio
European version
The migratory birds
Genus: Impromptu comedy
Original language: German
Author: Tom Witkowski
Literary source: After a picture by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Publishing year: 1994
(Charlemagne price version 1996)
(European version 2013)
Premiere: 3rd September 1994
Place of premiere: Frankenberg Castle , Aachen
Place and time of the action: present
people
  • With double occupations 8 actors
  • Master of ceremonies
  • Jester
  • Michel , with the dog
  • Minna , with a mop
  • Freak
  • hippie
  • Gallant
  • Steep tooth , Europe
  • The old
  • The old
  • doctor
  • Pope , jester
  • Adlatus , court jester
  • Filius
  • Filia
  • Guests:
    • for the festival of jugglers and fools

Conception

The festival of fools is equally suitable for:

  • Large theaters and opera houses
  • Small theaters and studio stages
  • Theatrical festivals and open air performances
  • As a clown workshop for 8 to 20 participants followed by a performance
  • As well as simply as teaching material for clown techniques
  • As a theater convention

Edits

There are three arrangements by Tom Witkowski:

  • The Narrenfest - a festival for clowns and a meal for actors , with a prelude, twelve scenes and an aftermath, had its world premiere in 1994 at Frankenberg Castle in Aachen .
  • As part of the celebrations for the award of the Charlemagne Prize in 1996 to Beatrix , Queen of the Netherlands, the festival of fools was performed under the title Comedia del Regio in Aachen.
  • Migratory birds - a festival for Europe was developed from the festival of fools on the occasion of the European Culture Forum 2013 in Brussels . Witkowski was a participant in a three-day gathering of over 1000 cultural professionals from all member states of the European Union in Brussels. Within this theater convention, the theater protagonists performed with their students .

action

There are two delegates from each EU country; like in the Middle Ages the masters traveled with their students through the country. Everyone speaks in their own language. The mimes (clowns) meet for the theater convention. In their first round of introductions, they present their country as a unique, distinctive and outstanding artist. The Babylonian muddle of languages ​​is arranged by the master of ceremonies. For this he uses "The Book with the Seven Seals". At the beginning of a section of the game, the key word is mentioned in all participating languages ​​or dialects in order to understand the scene. This results in a unique, enjoyable experience for every viewer, no matter what language they speak. The master-student convention came into being in 1994 and was premiered on September 3, 1994 under the direction of Tom Witkowski at Frankenberg Castle in Aachen.

content

  • They come together from all parts of Europe, people with their dreams, with their wishes or even just their everyday needs: very simple people, lovers, marginal figures in life, visionaries, artists, scientists - all of them fools. You come to the festival of encounter, unique or ephemeral, cheerful or painful, in any case a get-together in which life is reflected.
  • They also come to celebrate the euro , a symbol of togetherness in a Babylonian tangle of languages. Babylon needs its symbols in order to reconcile diversity and order. The festival of the euro becomes the festival of unity in diversity, becomes a symbolic celebration of life.
  • Here they are now, the fools of this world, at the same time the wise men who are not afraid to put their fingers in the wounds of life. They are on their way to seek experiences and pass them on to their fellow students. You carry the fool balls with you, in which the experiences and memories are symbolically stored in small pieces. The fool's festival for the euro becomes a game of meaning in life. Life runs in a circle in time lapse before us.
  • The clowns present their country in a first round of introductions: the audience experience slapsticks, acrobatics, songs and everything that the imagination can create. Worlds of different views collide. Imagination rules what happens and is confronted with reality, with order.
  • A pair of bums, outsiders of society who are making a good life for themselves at the expense of others, appear and spread their shopping carts in front of us, they brag about their snagged and rascaled luxury. Michel and Minna, self-appointed police officers, put an end to the hustle and bustle.
  • A gallant discovers a long-stemmed red rose in the shopping cart that awakens his longing for love and security. She even elicits gruesome chants from him, so that he is gagged and tied down on the edge of the stage.
  • The clowns of the Fools' Convention prepare a big feast, the highlight of every common celebration. You try to invite the most attractive, most beautiful woman from the audience to your board. She persistently refuses. In a clown parade, the now lovable fools try to shape their most beautiful love proposals into songs, poems or little tricks. Without success. That is why the beau is released from his straitjacket. He succeeds in getting the stubborn on stage with his advertising.
  • An old clown couple recognizes their own daughter in her and tries to prevent a relationship with the galan, this juggler who has come up. But love is stronger. The beloved, a “hot sweeper”, and the galan turtle and only have eyes for each other. The galan chokes and "lays" an egg with great effort. She catches it with her hands and immediately builds a nest. The hot sweeper begins to brood. Over this she sinks into complete apathy, which the clowns consider a serious illness.
  • The doctor comes, but first demands payment - in euros, of course. Clowns who live only from their imagination have to be inventive: They ask the audience to settle the bill. They use all the tricks to literally pull the money out of their pockets. The break finale culminates in the song about the euro! The doctor, enchanted by the foolish goings-on, gives up his job and turns himself into a clown.
  • After the break, the wedding preparations are in full swing. The beau takes leave of bachelor life with all male clowns. The female clowns surround the hot sweeper as bridesmaids. The first voices can be heard from the grown egg. Time is of the essence, the wedding ceremony must be carried out as quickly as possible. In a furious clown parade, everyone presents their most beautiful slapsticks to the bridal couple as gifts.
  • Sudden disillusionment. The frenzy of joy turns, the two old people are missing in the parade of the well-wishers. The ball of fools left behind brings certainty about her death. The funeral parade of the grieving clowns is interrupted by the birth of twins.
  • Death and birth in an alternating sequence. Pain and sadness turn into a frenzied frenzy of joy. As the heir of the dead, the twins receive the vanitas balls at baptism . Filius and Filia grow and learn quickly: through the nursery in a fast train to adult humans. The clowns are excellent teachers in theory and practice. In a fun interlude of teaching and research, they teach the “little ones” their best and most secret tricks. Puberty torments the old more than the young, who are more likely to educate their parents than the other way around. The children become the most skilled clowns. In the Vanitas parade you will receive all of your “master craftsman's letters”.
  • The old becomes the new, just as the old currencies became the euro. The festival of fools goes down in history. Everyone will be back at each subsequent meeting to honor new members.

People (role characters)

Master of ceremonies
Manages, organizes and comments on the performance. For this he uses "The Book with the Seven Seals". With his staff he calls the clowns together at the beginning, after the break, or when they pull the money out of the audience in the audience. He knocks with his stick.
Or when he announces a new scene.
He can easily stop a running scene if it gets too long, gets bogged down, or runs in an undesired direction. This way, hangers can be caught in a conciliatory manner.
Jester
The court jesters ( there may be several court jesters, this also includes Pope and Adlatus. ) Have absolute fool freedom . They are the free persons within the piece. Court jesters can do anything. In the festival of fools they have the task of guiding and organizing, conveying and prompting the whole piece in practical terms. To do this, they can go to the clowns concerned and tell them directly. You can also slide or drag it in place.
Minna
Minna (with a scrubber) keeps things tidy. She is constantly wiping dust, especially where there seems to be nothing, she can still find something. Your communication with others only happens through it. She searches clothes for dust lint and wipes and brushes. She can sometimes wave over her shoes with her feather duster. In the prelude she will clean the theater entrance and everything that goes with it with great zeal. The visitors are occasionally brushed off and their ties are straightened or their sleeves are plucked.
Michel
Michel is responsible for rest. On top of that, he has a dog! A very dangerous animal, which he can hardly control. If something doesn't suit him, he sends the dog in front, which can then growl and bark very badly! In such critical situations Minna comes to his aid with the words: "Michel hold the dog!" The fact that the dog is just a stuffed animal or a wooden dachshund doesn't really matter. In foreplay, he 'll feel like Count Koks from the quark mill . Of course he helps Minna, even if a point falls out of his crown .
Michel and Minna: They represent a completely different world than that of the clowns. Freaks and hippies are a thorn in their side.
Freak or bum
Might as well have been picked up from any street corner. Well, what is there to say, there are people like that. You cannot fit into bourgeois life or you are overly enthusiastic about something, a thing or an idea. Foreplay is a good opportunity to hose down . Good-humored visitors to the festival of fools are sure to let something jump. He approaches the visitors with the words. “I have a question? Don't have anything left, I would also like to go to the performance ”, or“ Do you have a euro? ” . The only thing that is extremely uncomfortable is that Minna and Michel take care of the peace and order with their dog, and that they also set the dog on him.
Hippie or bum
The hippie or the bum (is a real flower child. The world is beautiful and it would like to hug everyone.) Of course, he would also like to be part of the performance, but has no money. She has no choice but to charm the visitors to give her a little bit of money. “I would just love to visit The Fools Festival. But I'm still missing something. Can't you help me out? ”. If only it weren't for Michel and Minna. These two roles can be understood as being variable. It depends on the environment and the time in which the game is played. The actors should also have a say.
Gallant
The beau is in the prime of his life . He's the classic lover. A passionate singer who only utters gruesome love songs. Everyone just wants to flee, or he is gagged and tied up to prevent him from singing. But when he sees his beloved in the audience, he becomes a bull (Zeus) when he kidnaps his beloved (Europa) from the audience.
Hot babe
She is half aware of her beauty. She demands the highest stars from heaven and every highest pleasure from earth ... (Gretchen: in Goethe's Faust ). But nevertheless she is a strong, self-confident person and embodies the classic lovers Zeus and Europe with the beau . Only here the stumbling blocks and the lovable little mishaps that life has in store for us are made particularly clear and made visible as if with a magnifying glass. If there were a balcony scene here, as in Romeo and Juliet, the whole balcony would certainly have to collapse before they could find each other.
The old
The old man is the absolute professional, just like the old man
The old
The two old ones : (The old man and the old man) are already a bit hardened in their views, laden with prejudices, and have more proverbs at hand than the casual sayings of the kids and the serious arguments of the middle generation. They both have their ailments and everything doesn't work as it used to. But on stage, at their show, they are fit, unsurpassable.
doctor
He is the link between civil society and the clowns. When it overflows , it practically fulfills the longings of many. At some point, the desire to live in freedom, unbound and imaginative breaks through in almost every one of us. It is precisely the doctor, the demigod in white , who is envious of all respect in bourgeois, compulsive society, who can let his imagination run wild. If possible, two gentlemen, from the UK, very British looking for a job. A luminary in the field of brain surgery with assistants. (Since a large number of patients from England are currently undergoing surgery in Germany, they are practically traveling after the “customers”.) They would like to benefit from the euro.
Pope
Is responsible for all less worldly rituals. He is one of the court jesters who are responsible for running the performance. His fool's stick is a children's wagon drawbar with a fad attached. He will remove this in the appropriate scenes and hold a wooden cross in his hand. He is of great wisdom and serene. He embodies many religions in the world, not just those that have the cross as a symbol. In addition, he also has his own gigs . The vanitas scene in his honor will be celebrated by another clown.
Adlatus
Prepare the outer framework for the secular ceremonies. He infuses everyone with soap bubbles. He, too, is one of the court jesters who help organize the performance and ensure that everything runs smoothly. Nevertheless he is a clown and has his own gigs like everyone else.
Filius
Hatched from the egg. Of course, the Filius pushes forward. Filia is faster, smarter, smarter in life.
Filia
The youth: (Identical twins Filius and Filia) These are kids of our day. This shows how the failure of all educational efforts, how slow the educational scheme tilts and the Great are capable of learning. Time-lapse snapshots through the nursery to being.
Guests
for the festival of jugglers and fools. ("The greatest artists living today")

scenario

foreplay

Walk in (street theater)

Before the start of the performance in the style of the earlier carnival screamers, promote the upcoming fools festival as the event of the century . (Street theater) Michel and Minna (sweeping the street) “There's got to be a party here somewhere.” Peace, order, cleanliness. They have no other purpose in life. They also brush off passers-by. Freak and hippie try to scrounge the money for the performance together.

1st scene: The greeting

The master of ceremonies enters the stage with a long ceremonial staff and the book with the seven seals . He carefully places the book on a high desk. The clowns are spread out in the auditorium and everywhere. They are happy and talking to the audience, they ask people if they are okay, if they are sitting well, etc.

2nd scene: The individual characters

Each one must be unique. Each individual is allowed to present themselves with a small number . This presentation can last about half a minute. With 20 fools, that's 10 minutes. The ideal time is around seven minutes. for everyone together! In this case, less is more. But mind you, it shouldn't be rushed. The number has to be played very precisely and with great tension.

Important! The character shown here has to be held up to the end of the performance and used in all suitable situations, only in this way is it possible for the audience to retain a lasting memory of each or every individual. Caution no dud do not cover or overturn . The greatness of the clowns lies in walking the tightrope between utopia and reality, existence and appearance, clumsiness and ability , and the struggle with the problem of the object ,

3rd scene: preparation for the festival

Scene description : Enter: freak and hippie; Freak in the absolute rotten lock and hippie a real flower child have bought. The shopping cart or handcart overflows. There must be a discrepancy with their outward appearance. The shopping cart oozes prosperity, abundance and luxury as she / he would be diverted to the nearest heap of rubbish by any hotel attendant. In addition, they have some small change , a few hundred-mark notes in a handy tear-off pad with them and brag extensively about how inexpensive and inexpensive they were able to take advantage of the special offers. (The shopping cart is inspected, Galan finds a rose, lyrical love scene, howls of love, Galan is packed, The big food! The paper ball fight, attention, Michel is coming!)

4th scene: The feast

Description of the scene : The long table for the feast is set up and covered, chairs are only on the side opposite the audience. Everything happens very solemnly. Everyone tries not to make any noise. If a plate rattles or something falls, the air is held. The whole scene freezes. Only when nothing changes and no Michel comes, it goes on quietly, everything takes its place solemnly. But one chair is still empty. The place of honor in the middle. The Steep tooth (the Hot Feger, Europe) still has to be taken out of the audience, the Old and the Old realize that it is their child and are strongly opposed to it for traveling people , goes to the entertainers. With these circus people who have to take the laundry away

The Galan chokes while eating and "lays" an egg with great effort. (This is one of the turning points of the play, the galan tortures himself between life and death. He finally stands on the table and crows like a rooster on the dung heap)

Everyone builds a big nest out of tables, chairs, benches, the shopping cart, (cart). The nest should be raised, possibly set back a little, in an alley, or above a flap in the stage floor. The twins must be able to crawl into the nest unnoticed. The nest is padded with blankets, pillows, the tablecloth and of course everyone sacrifices something of themselves, an item of clothing, a feather and colorful ribbons. It is important to ensure that there is an opening for the twins somewhere.

5th scene: The doctor comes

Description of the scene : Steep tooth broods like a mother hen. She is a bit dull and no longer reacts at all. The clowns try to cheer them up. Unfortunately without success, they make rough jokes in front of her ...... nothing! The clowns do handstands, headstands, play funny scenes for her and try to make her laugh. Everyone shows the most beautiful slapstick - without success.

Scene 6: The disdainful Mammon

Description of the scene : The doctor insists that the bill be paid immediately. The clowns try to withdraw money from the bank . The anticipation lets them build castles in the air. The song about the euro! The doctor becomes a clown too. A break is arranged with Michel and Minna.

Break

During the break, two clowns take a tray together, one carries it, the other has the cash register (tin can rattle) (e.g. cover flat fruit boxes with crepe paper and attach a long, colorful shoulder strap.)

7th scene: The wedding

Description of the scene : Steeper Zahn is still brooding - the whole break she sat on her nest and was repeatedly fed, cared for and caressed by the galan. Of course also made up so that she resembles the clowns. When the clowns are gathered, the bridesmaids will dress her for the wedding. It is important to shield them from the looks of the curious . On the other hand, the beau is attracted to his friends . He says goodbye to bachelor life! He drinks and drinks and drinks! The priest celebrates the wedding in front of an improvised altar, followed by the variable scene of visiting relatives .

8th scene: Death

Description of the scene : Two bundles of clothes suddenly become the focus of attention. It's the clothes of grandma and grandpa! Only remnants of them. The doctor declares the death of the grandfather and grandmother and writes out the death certificate for the inheritance. The vanitas balls and the covers are buried by the priest . Galan and Steiler Zahn accept the condolences together. The funeral feast is organized.

9th scene: The birth

Description of the scene: Steep tooth continues to brood undaunted. The doctor refuses to practice because he has given up his profession. Only when someone from the audience answers that they scold and prefer to do it themselves. The voices of the twins from the egg. The mood turns into a frenzy of joy. Watch out, Michel is coming! The brood hatches. Then the third clown parade follows the birth.

10th scene: the brood

Scene description : The twins are the directors of this scene. They monitor and censor the process. You determine and do not allow any change. But everything new is registered and expected in the same way at the next repetition (exact, meticulous and fussy) The basic pattern of twin feeding is repeated continuously. Galan begins with a raised ladle Gudigudigudigudi , then the twins say “Bläah!” And “Nmläeh!” Then Steiler Zahn says alternately “A bite for grandma or grandpa”. The twins have to be careful here. You improve immediately when something is different. Every movement must be the same. If z. If, for example, Gudigudigudigudi sounds different, or the ladle is not held up properly, they protest immediately. With each repetition, a clown joins in until everyone participates in a grotesque way. In the case of a clown, instead of the encouraging gesture, authoritarian impatience can creep in. Even a curse, maybe; associated with the notorious outburst of anger. The parents should then appease. This is also precisely repeated in the next round. If at any point the audience applauds, or a person in the audience has laughed especially, or there has been an interjection, the twins must point out how it was before during the next repetition and keep bleating for so long ! and number! refuse until applause comes again in the right place, the laughter is back, or the interjection is repeated in exactly the same way. Steeper Zahn may have to ask the audience (because otherwise the little ones will starve to death), or the beau, or the clowns. The court jester can of course applaud the audience and act on their behalf, or shout in between. In conversation he can also encourage people to take part (but be careful: “I can't get rid of those I called, the spirits!”). This scene can be shortened if necessary depending on the mood of the audience.

11th scene: The reconnaissance

Description of the scene : Here, as almost everywhere, the explanation is incomplete or through personal initiative. After Filius and Filia have enlightened the clowns, they meet in the background and discuss their big appearance which is about to come. They have now become real clowns and are about to present themselves with their first number. The clowns prepare the platform , the climate and form a semicircle for their first, big performance.

Scene 12: The final apotheosis

Description of the scene : The hustle and bustle on stage must have reached a climax again for Michel to perform. The greater the hustle and bustle, the greater the difference between joy and horror at being caught . There must be a height of fall for the scene to gain tension. According to the motto: the higher, the splash! The audience has to believe the performance is over. The clowns bow to the final applause . - Trap the audience . - Only then does Michel step in and bow too. All clowns stand in a loose semicircle, put one index finger in front of their mouth and point the other at Michel. They command frightened, so calm the audience.

Aftermath

After the performance, when the spectators leave the venue, the master of ceremonies and court jester as well as priest and adlatus go to the exits. There they read out the vanitas associations alternately with: "Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas". Jester and Adlatus blow soap bubbles over the audience. All the other clowns distribute the vanitas snippets from the crepe paper tape Narrenfest , which was stretched across the stage at the beginning of the performance. In between slapsticks, little numbers, jokes, foolishness, conversations with viewers and lots of fun!

The applause order

Applause : It has to be said again and again: Don't look wrong and don't decorate. The applause, and especially the final applause, must be precisely organized. This is the last impression the audience takes home from the performance, discipline is more important here than ever. This is not to be underestimated. Concentrate here one last time, please. Applause is the daily bread of fools. It has to be received as greedily as children pounce on camels in carnival . Applause is light, sun, sea and salary! In order to find the best place in the sun, there can be little jostling and friction. Reconciliation, togetherness, and unity are always important.

The variable scenes

Inset: Vanitas vanitatum

Scene description : This scene is inserted whenever a new clown is introduced or honored. Vanitas clown symbols are e.g. B. fragile glass balls, wooden balls, or pig bladders, in which the fool (Dutch Sot ) used to carry an image of himself. Soap bubbles and balloons certainly have similar meanings. As a symbol of the hollow and empty world, they stand for its fragility and demonstrate our vanity.

Other symbols and attributes may contribute to the vanitas association: round loaves of bread, sottebollen (fool's balls), Berlin balls, the bells on the tips of the robes of some fools, baldness, a bare buttocks, the quirk (fool's cap, or doll on the fool's scepter ), the vanitas ball also corresponds with the imperial apple , which was supposedly filled with ashes or earth to remind the wearer of the transience of the world, of power, the apple from the tree of knowledge and the somersault when we meet balls .

Light polystyrene balls are used here, which are worn around the neck on a medal chain with the name of the wearer.

At every clown parade, the vanitas ball is separated from the chain and thrown to the court jester and thus has the status of a business card. For the clowns, the vanitas ball is also a symbol of life. We often play with it lightly. Whoever loses them has forfeited their right to be a clown. (See the two old people who put their ball down and slowly fade from our memory.) So we have to play for our lives to get the clown ball back after our performance. As long as we have the Vanitas Ball, we play, we live.

Inset: Watch out, Michel is coming

The Minna / Michel scene can be inserted on the stage at any time during the hustle and bustle. Every time he appears again, Michel has one more big brother and therefore more dogs. The bigger brother a dog. "Attention !, the MICHEL is coming!"

Inset: The visit to relatives

Scene description : This scene is played on different occasions. The images must be the same. The outer frame, the text, the gestures, the positions on the stage must be the same. Only the inner attitude is different.

Individual evidence

  1. Sabine Rother: Narrenfest: Clowns are incredibly vain ... but very social . In: Aachener Zeitung . September 3, 1994, p. 19A .
  2. Marion Fischer: Lots of clowns in Theater 99 (Narrenfest der Kultur- und Theaterinitiative - individual mini-performances) . In: Aachener Zeitung . 5th September 1994.
  3. Kerstin Lüpschen: Borders no longer play a role on the stage (joint play by theater groups from three countries) . In: Aachener Zeitung . November 7, 1995.
  4. (mow) Photo: Schmitter: A lively spectacle del'Regio (performance art from three countries - Brain teasers already at the entrance) . In: Aachener Zeitung . Charlemagne Prize '96, April 29, 1996.
  5. Bert Kasties: Theater, Painting and an Intensive Dutch Course (The Charlemagne Prize Framework Program this weekend) . In: Aachener Zeitung . Charlemagne Prize '96, No. 99 . Aachener Verlagsgesellschaft, Aachen April 27, 1996.
  6. Grit Schorn: A colorful festival of fools (In Aachen: Turbulent clowning in three languages) . In: Aachener Zeitung . April 29, 1996.
  7. Gernod Geduldig: With the festival of fools through the euro countries (Tom Witkowski wants to have his play performed in ten languages) . In: Aachener Zeitung . Culture, May 7, 2002.
  8. Tom Witkowski: Original of the director's book . Ed .: Witkowski. Aachen September 3, 1994.