Behind the Mask: German Mime Troupe Weaves a Spell of Contemporary Fairy Tales for Adults

Three male actors, without a single line of dialogue, interpret 20 characters of different ages, genders and identities in 90 minutes. This is a contemporary adult fairy tale performed on stage by the German Froz Mime Company “The Manor of Joy and Sorrow”.

From September 12 to 15, the auditorium of Beijing Cao Yu Theater was dark and silent. In this silent theater, the audience’s attention was firmly attracted by the performance of the three actors, sometimes laughing, sometimes silent. 20 characters wore different masks on the stage, and the rhythm of the role change was very smooth, making people completely unaware that there were only three actors in the whole performance. After the performance, the three took off the stiff masks and headgear, revealing their real faces, bowed and greeted, and the audience cheered “bravo”.

“The Manor of Joy and Sorrow” is a story that takes place in a luxurious manor by the sea. A grand wedding of a rich family is about to take place, and various characters appear on the stage: the 50-year-old hotel manager has mysophobia and is very strict. He wants to control everything but loses control everywhere; the gatekeeper of the manor is a forgetful and lazy old man; the wanderer Lucy is a young pregnant woman and an intruder without an identity; the bride is depressed and the waiter is exhausted; the chef, the courier, the housekeeper, different characters appear on the eve of the wedding, mixing and matching to create a mixed fate of the characters.

What is surprising is that the three actors powerfully transform characters of different identities and personalities without any lines, only through body movements, from the cautious hotel manager, the pot-bellied gatekeeper, the sad pregnant woman, to the flustered chef. Behind each huge mask, they have a precise grasp of different characters and invest different emotions and expressions.

The German Mime Troupe Froze was founded in 1996. The German newspaper Die Welt called it “Berlin’s artist group”, while the Italian newspaper La Repubblica commented: “Thanks to their unique and complex body control, they can make the rigid masks full of unimaginable rich expressions and emotions.”

The Froz Mime Company originated from the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. The physical theatre performance education established by the school is funded by the German government and is unique in Germany. Since its establishment, the company has created 15 works and has traveled to 43 countries around the world. It has become an independent theater company featuring “mime + mask”, creating a unique and poetic theatrical experience, which has become popular in the world theater community.

In the history of drama, masks are an ancient performance technique. As early as the 5th century BC, in ancient Greek drama, masks were important props in open-air theaters. But with the rise of the Renaissance, people began to pursue true self-expression, and masks began to fade out of the European theater stage. Since the 18th century, few theater troupes have used masks.

In the early 20th century, masks once again returned to the contemporary theater stage. At this time, masks became part of the “surreal” of the theater, with the actors’ faces hidden under the masks, allowing the audience to feel the power of the drama on the stage more deeply. The different appearances brought by the mask also revealed the darker and more closed hearts of the characters.

In ancient Greek drama and religious rituals, masks were the medium between drama and reality, between humans and gods. In today’s drama, movies and contemporary art, masks isolate the self from the outside world, like a veil, reflecting the ripples of the human heart, whether strange and sad, or graceful and gorgeous. The complex and specific soul under the mask becomes more direct and visible.

“Masks can serve as a bridge between personal identity and collective experience, allowing for the expression of emotions, roles and even anonymity, which is impossible with a naked face.” Thomas van Overk said that in the silent play “The Farm”, they tried to explore social issues about class.

In a typical European wealthy family facing the sea, a young, wandering pregnant woman suddenly breaks in. Behind every comic expression in the story is a portrait of different classes and a description of the relationship between the rich and the poor.

The Manor of Joy and Sorrow was created in 2021, during the lockdown period. The three actors, one in Amsterdam and two in Berlin, discussed the creation of the play online. Every play of the Froz Mime Company is the result of collective creation, and this one is no exception. They kept discussing and refining it. When a wealthy class was preparing for a wedding, the intrusion of vagrants meant the disappearance of the sense of order and the birth of comedy. A web full of magic and uncertainty was woven between strangers. Under the beauty and hustle and bustle, undercurrents were surging, which was exactly the topic they thought about the most at the time.

In an interview with Yicai Global, the three actors – Thomas van Overk, Andre Angulo and Johannes Steubenwall – described creation as “raising a child”, “You may have a general idea at the beginning that the work should be like this, but as the process goes on, it will grow and develop on its own.”

China Business News: Masks are props that transform people into the real world. On stage, without the assistance of facial expressions or even lines, does it mean that you will face more physical challenges?

Angulo:Yes, every little movement has a meaning, every movement sends a different message. So when you start to see these possibilities of physical expression, you become very aware of every movement of your body. There is a lot of fun in that, and the audience can feel it too.

China Business Network: What is your usual creative process?

Stubenwall:Generally speaking, we start by sitting together and sharing ideas and wishes, discussing what we want to perform, and then we go on stage and try again and again, and the final result may change completely. We share a lot of materials, and creation mostly happens in the present, and a lot of materials come from daily life. For example, if someone has experienced something in the day, they will bring it to rehearsal and share it. Then we decide whether to incorporate it into the work. In the process, some materials are not suitable for use, but maybe something else is missing, so we go and find it.

We also had a specific theme to work with this time. We often say that there are no clear hierarchies in society, but in fact there are many invisible hierarchies. So, we played a game in “The Manor of Sadness and Joy”, where you think a certain character is the highest, but then another character appears with a higher status, and then another character with a higher status. This way a lot of creativity is generated. Everyone works together to find a main line and story. As the creation progresses, the status of the characters may change, and a character that was once insignificant may become very important. It is an evolving process.

Yicai Global: On stage, you play both a straitlaced hotel manager and a tall, kind-hearted woman. The two characters are completely different. Is it difficult or stressful for you to play a female role?

Owerk:In fact, I found it more fun. By playing a female character, you can discover many subtleties and possibilities of the body.

When developing a character, it’s all about finding the right energy for that character, and once you have that energy, everything will flow naturally. Some moves are really fun, and if you do this, it’s a good move, I can repeat it, and then gradually become more comfortable with it through repeated practice. Over time, you integrate these moves into your body, and eventually you will be able to perform them naturally.

This approach is particularly beautiful when combined with masks, which allow us to transcend gender boundaries. Men can play women, women can play men, and everything is possible. In traditional performances, actors are often restricted to specific role types, but with the performance method of masks, the role division becomes more free and natural, and we have a great opportunity to explore the diversity of roles.

China Business News: The Froz Mime Troupe has performed many works in China, including “Hotel Paradise”, “Life is Good”, “Dream Theater”, etc. How do you feel after the performance of “The Manor of Joy and Sorrow”?

Stubenwall:In Europe, the audience usually has a lot of reactions at the beginning, such as exclamations or laughter. But the Chinese audience was very quiet at the beginning, so I would worry whether they understood the story, but at a certain moment, when everyone laughed, I realized that they had entered the state. This kind of interaction between the audience and the work makes the work more alive.

With each performance, our work is fine-tuned and grows based on audience feedback. Sometimes we realize, “This audience might like more dramatic moments, so we need to work on that,” or “This audience likes jokes, so we can speed up the pace and emphasize the humor.” While we don’t change the work itself for a specific audience group, we adjust the pace and focus of the performance based on their reactions.

(Source: China Business News)

Source: China Business News

Original title: German mime troupe performs contemporary fairy tale for adults: masks allow us to transcend the boundaries of identity

Solemn declaration:Eastmoney publishes this content to spread more information. It has nothing to do with the position of this website and does not constitute investment advice. You will bear the risks if you act accordingly.