EIGENTLICH ABER (ACTUALLY HOWEVER) by Frl. Wunder AG & DieOrdnungDerDinge celebrated its premiere on 28 November 2024 at the FELD Theater für junges Publikum.
A small, elongated room. The audience stands are situated on the long side. On one of the short ends is a podium with a small stage, where the band plays with drums, guitar, and piano. Opposite is a second small stage with chairs positioned next to each other like on a game show.
The five performers from Frl. Wunder AG put on an interactive show, with a “young” and “old” audience in the stands, on the topic of dissonance. Dissonance: “An unpleasant combination of musical sounds; a mingling of sounds that strike the ear harshly”, according to Webster’s. But how do you explain that to an audience whose youngest viewers are 10 years old? The performers sing, sometimes in unison and sometimes dissonantly. The audience on one side claps loudly and then as quietly as it can while the other side excitedly cheers or anxiously mumbles to themselves. All vacillating between harmony and dissonance. It becomes audible how pleasant and catchy harmony feels and how unusual dissonance sounds in song. And on and on the dissonance goes between the stands and the stages, between the audience and the performers, between “young” and “old”.
The older we get, the more aware we are of the dissonance in our lives. Or rather, how much dissonance we navigate. That’s probably because the older we get the more responsibility we have and thus the more decisions we have to make. Dissonance! A big word that the young audience should tackle.
But how many adults can explain the term dissonance? EIGENTLICH ABER playfully explains it. And this is the performance’s great strength: it is about discovering together and communicating at eye level. The group sings, plays as a band, and shares stories from their everyday lives. Tidy up or leave it be? Play or get the job done? Vegan or animal-based food? These are questions that adults ask themselves . What questions do children actually ask themselves? What do they have to choose? What do they want to choose?
Do these questions make it more a therapy session for adults than a piece for children? A realization of one’s own dissonance. A confirmation that we alone cannot save the world. But also that we can not do nothing. “Must and can”, another dissonance.
After the adult performers explain with “truth or dare” which dissonances they are putting to the test, it’s time to practice decision-making. Everyone is invited to get on stage and decide. This is much easier for the younger audience. Never again vote or pet a dog? Never again eat meat or chocolate? The “grown-ups” of course justify themselves, while the “kids” casually state their opinions. Who’s learning from whom? The piece is an apology and a justification for the fact that adults aren’t always perfect. Yet their responsibility has a significant effect on their children’s lives. But how do we deal with this? How can this dissonance be resolved in harmony? Because so long as we simply continue to justify ourselves, the dissonance will remain. So long as we simply persist in preceding our words with the subjunctive, “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve”, we will remain conflicted and unable to take active action. How can children actually be empowered with the ability to make decisions and act later on? These questions remain open at the end of the piece as food for thought for both parents and children.
English translation by Melissa Maldonado
EIGENTLICH ABER by Frl. Wunder AG & DieOrdnungDerDinge was presented at the FELD Theater für junges Publikum from 28 November to 1 December 2024.
