Reiner Prochaska talks about The Snow Queen

When--in the summer of 2008--Julie Herber first asked me to write a stage adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's Snow Queen, I had to admit that I had actually never read it. Having grown up in Germany, I was thoroughly familiar with the fairy tales the Brothers Grimm had woven from centuries of central European folklore--but reading Andersen's work was a new experience. The critics seemed to agree that Snow Queen was his best and most complex work. But why?

Snow Queen combines a range of compelling themes: good, evil, love, friendship, loyalty, religion, nature, compassion, and ambition. Adapting so complex a story for an audience of children--as well as for their parents and grandparents (since children rarely come to the theater by themselves)--seemed a daunting task. I wanted to write a play that was relevant to a twenty-first-century audience. After I re-read the text several times, two prevalent themes--dichotomies, rather--that seemed to me both modern and timeless emerged: Intellect versus Emotion and Civilization versus Nature.

Both themes have been represented in literature for as long as humans have recorded their experience through the written word. We find them in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Their timelessness intrigued me. Too often, the Snow Queen is a representation of evil and wickedness. I see her as a Force of Nature, rather than a Force of Evil. When Gerda asks Grandmother whether the Snow Queen can come inside, Kai responds, "Let her try! I'd put her on the stove and she'd melt!" If we can accept the Snow Queen as a representation of nature, could Kai's comment be a modern metaphor for human interference with our environment? So, I chose to write this play as a cautionary tale about the precarious balance between Man and Nature, but also about the power of love and loyalty in the face of adversity.

Because I am also directing this production, staging it for visual impact was a big consideration for me. Since so many of the scenes take place in the vast landscapes of Scandinavia, a traditional set seemed hardly appropriate. While as an actor I love the immediacy of the stage, as a filmmaker I'm thrilled by the excitement of moving pictures. But why not combine the two? I decided to use--instead of a stage set--two large screens onto which still and video images could be rear-projected. These images will serve as set interiors as well as interactive outdoor videos. A combination of stock video clips will create the illusion of the Snow Queen's sleigh flying over glaciers and mountains and above the clouds. This past Tuesday, I traveled to Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, to tape footage from a moving horse-drawn carriage driving through a snowy forest for a scene in which Gerda is captured by a band of robbers.

Below is a short "teaser" with images from the show. Check it out. And, come see the show. I think it will be exciting for children of all ages. See you at the MET!

- Reiner Prochaska