Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
“This is not the Disney version,” said Madelon Kohlerbusch, a German professor at the University of Maine, about the recent reader’s theater all-German production of “Die Aschenputtels.” The story is a modern adaptation of “Cinderella.” It is the second production in what she hopes will become an annual event at UMaine.
The play is comparable to the recent Broadway smash “Wicked,” putting a twist on the classic translation of the story. In this version Cinderella’s character is manipulative, employing an innocent demeanor to get what she wants. She also has an unhealthy obsession with shoes. Kohlerbusch explained that foot fetishism is alluded to throughout the script, which follows the typical plotline of Cinderella, but with the variation on her character.
While foot fetishism is given a comic approach by the playwright, it may not be too far off from the early development of the tale. The beauty of tiny feet and foot binding in Chinese culture rooted itself into early versions of this tale.
“The glass slipper was introduced in a French version because it was part of French fashion at the time,” Kohlerbusch said.
Surprisingly, not all students cast were German students. There were students majoring in other languages and one in the engineering department. Kohlerbusch said she likes to use plays as a way of helping students not only expand their German vocabulary, but also glean information about German culture and better understand how people interact with one another.
“Fairy tales are fundamental to German culture,” Kohlerbusch said. German fairy tales have found their way into contemporary American culture as well. The German Brothers Grimm stories have been the foundation of modern tales such as “Hansel and Gretel.”
The piece is also reflective of German culture in its humor.
“Germans like to make fun of themselves,” Kohlerbusch said.
The piece has a lot of elements of absurdism, typically a response to some sort of great cultural pain. It deals with a comic approach to taboo sexual topics and in this way it’s similar to a lot of contemporary American media. The adult content may also make it more appealing to college crowds.
Kohlerbusch said that she felt that there was a “depressed disillusionment” among many students in majors that have been suggested for suspension in the recent Academic Program Prioritization Working Group proposal. The audience for this event was not as large as it was before the proposal was made. She said she wants the students to keep their spirits up though, as she feels that many students do not understand it is still just a proposal and it still has to go through Faculty Senate, among other things.
According to Kohlerbusch’s opinion, events like these prove how important interdisciplinary education really is and how suspending programs narrows a student’s view. She gave the example of how Germany is a world leader in environmental studies, but without knowledge of German culture and language these ideas would be inaccessible to students.
“We cannot give in. This is of the upmost importance,” she said.
