The Lei Chuan Waldorf School in Taichung has been intensively rehearsing since May, and on June 8, 2022, the first performance of ‹Parzifal› in Taiwan took place in the city’s theatre. How did this come about?
«We wanted to find out whether this story we had heard about helps our students in their development» was the motif six years ago. The first attempts were made for an era in the 11th grade, which was further developed every year. The Parzifal story also had a place in teacher training and in parent seminars. In 2021, a colleague saw a call for tenders from the state school authority to promote an artistic-pedagogical school project. The project ‹Parzifal› was approved and promoted.
This resulted in a collaboration between a set designer, a costume designer, a playwright, and a composer. In an intensive process with the students of the 12th grade, we reworked the present theatrical version. Of course, it was performed in Chinese. The 9th, the 10th and the 11th grade were involved in the orchestra, choral singing, and various smaller stage tasks. For the fight scenes, a former student was hired as a choreographer. In three scenes, the students developed eurythmy forms together with the eurythmist. Some scenes were also sung.
Already during the rehearsals, the power of the ‹Parzifal› text became apparent. Many questions about the struggle of the personality for the harmonious path, for the understanding of a spiritual, life-supporting orientation accompanied the work. When we paused in the process and asked ourselves how to achieve a coherent presentation, the Parzifal pictures and their backgrounds gave us new insights and new strength for the rehearsal work.
Image ‹Parzifal› performance in Taiwan. Photo: J. Peter Schmidt – Translation: Monika Werner
