The Mystery Drama Conference: Personal Impressions

by Virginia Sease

In August 2013 it was possible for me to attend the performance of The Soul’s Awakening, Rudolf Steiner’s fourth Mystery Drama, directed by Barbara Renold and performed in Spring Valley in the auditorium of the Green Meadow Waldorf School under the aegis of the Threefold Education Foundation. It proved to be a most rewarding experience from many aspects. At the time I heard a faint whisper that maybe in August 2014 it would be possible to perform all four Mystery Dramas in sequence, which had never occurred before in English translation. Immediately I reserved the first weeks in August in case the whisper would develop into an announcement which soon happened to the great appreciation and joy of all who could attend this most special event. The following comments represent merely a few of the many deep impressions which I received and which I would like to share with the members of the Anthroposophical Society in America in which I have been privileged to participate as a member since 1959.

The Structure of the Conference

A Conference core group consisting of Barbara Renold, Rafael Manaças, Marian León, Abigail Dancey, Franz Eilers, and Virginia Hermann worked together consistently throughout many months with Barbara Renold to form a conference which could integrate the performances with karmic insights into the lifestream of the characters as Rudolf Steiner described them, and then as five presenters out of their own experience and study of the dramas perceived them. The titles of the lectures in sequence may give some idea of the point of departure of each speaker:

• “Who is Johannes Really? – An Open Question” Virginia Sease

• “Initiation, Inner Healing and the Transformation of Memory” (Capesius) David Schwartz

• “Getting to Know Maria” Sherry Wildfeuer

• “The Being of Strader” Stephen Usher.

The fifth presenter, Daniel Hafner, accepted the task to hold a lecture on each of the four evenings when there had not been a performance and also to speak on the last morning of the conference. In Daniel’s evening talks he not only brought important connections to light between the characters and their karmic challenges based on their reincarnations but also the relationship in many dimensions to the deepest core of the Anthroposophical Society both at Rudolf Steiner’s time and in its reality and significant potential for today and the future. The themes of his evening lectures were:

Among the excellent speakers, Daniel Hafner gave thoughtful and witty insights before each play’s performance.

“The Metamorphosis of Goethe’s Tale: Introduction to The Portal of Initiation.” Preceding Daniel’s lecture a performance of “The Refugees Tale” based on Goethe’s Green Snake Parable and created by Glen Williamson and Laurie Portocarrero took place. The following contribution by Daniel Hafner concerned “The Karma of the Anthroposophical Society: Introduction to The Trial of the Soul.” The third presentation was “The Renewal of the Mysteries: Introduction to The Guardian of the Threshold,” then to conclude the evening lectures, “The Redemption of the Shadow World: Introduction to The Awakening of Souls.”

The days in between the performances also provided wonderful opportunities for discussion groups and artistic activities as well as free space for spontaneous conversations and meetings—destiny in mutual practice. Many states and countries as well as age groups were represented within the audience.

The Artistic Dimension

To try to describe an artistic event results in an exercise in futility and yet perhaps some chief signatures can be mentioned. From my perspective, each actress and actor had united in such an inward way with his or her portrayal of an individuality so that as an observer in the audience the threshold seemed often to disappear between the stage and the auditorium. Coupled with authenticity of mood, in every scene a high level of conscious interaction between the carriers of the various roles served to illuminate destiny complexities which hitherto may not have been so obvious. Just two of numerous examples may be mentioned here regarding mood and conscious interaction which were sustained: The Trials of the Soul (Templar Scenes) and in the last drama The Soul’s Awakening in regard to Hilary’s plan. Another impression warrants mention: each member of the ensemble played the assigned role and not herself or himself in a personal manner. This meant that every player was a star in the performance whether the role was larger or smaller. Authenticity pervaded every word spoken!

Rudolf Steiner’s indication that supersensible beings should find expression through eurythmy provides a unique and indispensable feature to the staging of the Mystery Dramas. To my perception such supersensible beings moving in eurythmy in synchronization with the spoken word created a mood for the reality of the spiritual world as “living beingness” in every moment of our earthly life. Here for example we think of the soul forces Philia, Astrid, and Luna, and the Other Philia, the Spirit of the Elements, gnomes and sylphs, Lucifer and Ahriman, the Double of Johannes Thomasius, the Spirit of Johannes’ Youth, and the eurythmy to the Fairy Tales told by Felicia Balde.

In conclusion I would like also to emphasize a special quality connected with the staging of these dramas. Many essential esoteric aspects lie concealed in the indications given by Rudolf Steiner for each scene. Naturally there would not be the desire to stage the dramas as if they were historical statements depicting the life and times of the second decade of the 20th century. However, since they are “mystery dramas” and involve perceptions of the sensible and also supersensible dimensions of the actual life of the characters, faithfulness to the original intentions of Rudolf Steiner, an initiate in our age, have a heightened significance. These indications often involve color, which in all cases speaks to the soul of the viewer, hence The Portal of Initiation, Scene One: “A room, rose red in tone...” Indications of nature settings are not just for decoration: Scene Two: “ A place in the open; rocks and springs.” The whole surroundings are to be thought of as within the soul of Johannes, and this setting is repeated in Scene Nine. Then there are settings reminiscent of nature: The Guardian of the Threshold, Scene Three: “Lucifer’s Kingdom: a space not enclosed by artificial walls but by plant- and animal-like shapes and other forms of fantasy.” The indications from Rudolf Steiner contain enormous challenges in staging which tries to remain faithful to the original intentions. When the Guardian of the Threshold appears in Scene Seven of The Guardian of the Threshold, the indications may seem quite impossible to achieve: “A landscape of fantastic forms. Majestic in its composition of whirling masses of water, forming themselves into shape, on one side; of blazing whirls of fire on the other. In the center a chasm out of which fire blazes forth, towering up to form a kind of portal. Behind it mountain-like contours formed of fire and water.” Since these dramas were performed under Rudolf Steiner’s direction one century ago, he obviously even then did not suggest a staging which would be impossible to fulfill. When the setting is inside such as the Balde’s house or the home of Strader and his wife, Theodora, it is clear that everyday life also expresses its dimension: “A room in rose-red tones.... One notices by the arrangement of the room that they use it together, each for his own work. On Strader’s work-table there are models of mechanisms; on Theodora’s things to do with mystic studies.” (Scene Four in the Guardian of the Threshold.) Especially the setting of the temple scenes, the Knights Templar, and of course the Egyptian Temple provided staging challenges which for me were met with exceeding skill, artistry and esoteric understanding for which I wish to express my great appreciation.

In the third play’s opening scene, ordinary people give their views on the expected opening up of the mystic temple.

Two other factors worked together with the settings both of which deserve special recognition. At all times the lighting enhanced the atmosphere and the events—both inner and outer—occurring on the stage. Through the lighting a dimension of depth was achieved which often lent the living relationships and sometimes also the quality of necessary tension between the characters a significant depth. The color mutations in the lighting spoke a language concomitant with the many subtle moments of the drama as well as with those of highest dramatic action. The synchronization of the lighting with the flow of the dramatic movement provided for the many magical moments.

The creativity of the musical interludes during the dramas evidenced true mastery in regard to the various instruments such as the Japanese bamboo flute (sha ku hachi), glockenspiel, percussion, strings, cello, bass, hand bells, harp, lyre, gong, bassoon. To bring such a variety of instruments into a cohesive and new musical experience for the audience represents a challenge for any composer and musician. An amazing aspect could be perceived with this music in that it definitely exhibited its own identity and yet always served the flow of the dramas, never demanding a spot in the forefront.

Perhaps these few impressions will also live in the memory of those of us who were privileged to attend this most special event and for those who could not be present this description merely represents a scanty reflection of a very rich experience. To conclude I would like to express a consideration for the Anthroposophical Society especially in the English-speaking countries. The English language is for the present time the universal language. Rudolf Steiner’s work, including the Mystery Dramas, must reach today’s humanity often in English translation! Perhaps we can think of this fact as a balancing-out in relation to the ways that the nobility of the English language through today’s technology—as vital as it has become—has been compromised, indeed sometimes even desecrated. Through the experience brought by the many speech artists performing these Mystery Dramas in the fine translation by Hans and Ruth Pusch a deed was accomplished for the soul and spirit of this language whose future destiny may work as a connection between many peoples on the earth today beyond the limitations of mere technology. My gratitude to these speech artists who formed and brought to life every word spoken is boundless. May these dramas appear again and again on the stage through the help of many people in general and especially through the members of the Anthroposophical Society who can appreciate their great mission in uniting the reality of reincarnation and karma with the Christ impulse for our time.

Taunted by Ahriman, Johannes meets his double, his unredeemed character, in the Guardian of the Threshold’s light.

Virginia Sease has been a Member of the Executive Council of the Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum for more than thirty years. From 1991 to 2001 she led the Section for the Arts of Eurythmy, Speech and Music.