2008 Woodie Awards
Lakeland hosts annual German Fair
Festivities include first ever German musical
Mariah Tess
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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On April 8, Lakeland hosted its annual German Fair, welcoming area high schools like Howards Grove, Sheboygan Falls, Manitowoc Lincoln, and the Milwaukee School of Languages. There were about 65 high school students visiting Lakeland in all.
The fair involved fun German activities, such as "Renaissancetanz" (learning a Renaissance dance), "Nennt die Burg" (Name that Castle), and "Witze" (learning German jokes).
After the Fair, a German musical called "Till Eulenspiegel" was performed. "Till Eulenspiegel" is a traditional German story from the time of the Renaissance that features a freelance jester named Till Eulenspiegel who roams around the country, following his Mirror of Truth to point out everyday human foibles.
The word "Eulenspiegel" is actually a combination of two German words-"Eule," which means "owl," and "Spiegel," which means "mirror." The owl part of the name is used because owls are wise, and the mirror is because Till has a magical mirror that sees truth.
A jester was an official position in a royal court. A jester was a joker, and the only person who had the freedom to speak the truth. However, they had to do it in a funny or poetic way to avoid angering people.
The play began with a 'homeless person' walking onto the stage, who actually turns out to be Till. From there on, the play follows Till's adventures and jokes as he travels to wherever his mirror tells him to go.
Till would often declare, "Darn it all and heaven's sake, Till Eulenspiegel was not too late!"
The entire play was in German, with the English translations projected on a screen above the stage.
The character of Till Eulenspiegel is male, but in this case was played by four different actresses "to get as many different people involved as possible," according to project director and German professor Martin Ulrich.
The play involved a combination of Lakeland's German (language) students, high school students from the area, and Gymnasium (the German equivalent of high school) students from Germany.
"For three weeks they have been working on campus with us and staying with host families--Lakeland and high school families--for the play and project and to get to know college, high school, and America.", said Ulrich.
Ulrich decided to do the musical (and the German Fair) "To use the language in an active and fun way, to see what you can do with the language, to bring high school students in, to get them involved in German literature…to promote language study on campus, in high school, and in the public."
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