Snow Queen Press Round Up

The Snow Queen received lovely press this week, with stories in both the Gazette and the Herald-Mail. Both pieces feature an interview with writer and director, Reiner Prochaska.

Photo: Daniel Cross as Kai, Rachel Sears as Gerda and Carly Lawrence as the Snow Queen. ©2008 Joe Williams

More Snow Queen Video Shoot

Reiner talks to Mark and Gené about the play and the sequence they are going to shoot:

Snow Queen Video Shoot

Our production of The Snow Queen features a multimedia component and director Reiner Prochaska has been busy filming video sequences for the show. These mini movies will play on screens upstage of the action. Yesterday evening, Reiner filmed some segments in our Ensemble School classroom:

Julie Herber and Reiner apply makeup to Ken Poisson, who will be playing the part of "Evil Sprite."

Julie makes Ken look evil, Reiner applies spirit gum and elf ears. Ken relaxes, enjoys the attention, sips a Fresca and muses that he should wear this makeup when playing World of Warcraft.

Ken is an evil sprite!

Reiner sets up a low-tech green screen. 'Real' green screens are incredibly expensive, but Reiner made this one for $4, using plastic tablecloths. He said the other videos he's shot with this cheap solution look great.

Ken positions Ensemble School students Austin Lemere and Lena Janes, who are playing his minions. Reiner prepares to shoot their scene.

To see how the videos turn out and how they mesh with the play, come see the show!

Ken's Evil Amulet

Ken prepares for his role as an evil sprite in a Snow Queen video sequence. There was a minor costume malfunction just prior to the shoot. But Ken, ever the resourceful METster, grabbed some spirit gum and saved the day!

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