Undin?l?
"The Little Mermaid"
There are probably few adults and children in the world who do not know the stories of Hans Christian Andersen. They differ from others in that here one can always be sure to find the eternal values in life: truth, beauty, love, friendship, dedication. Each and every person can find his or her own meaningful and educational elements.
There are many legends about mermaids. If sailors saw mermaids diving in the waters nearby, it was thought to be a bad sign. It could mean a storm, the ship could have an accident, all the sailors could even die.
It is said that mermaids are crafty, that they sing beautifully, tempt sailors and invite them to behold the treasures of the sea, but the first chance they get they will grab them and drag them down to the bottom. Andersen poeticized the image of the mermaid and wrote a wonderful story about a dedicated mermaid's life.
This is a very sad story, ending with hope, a story which teaches knowledge, strength of spirit and love. My father read many of Andersen's tales to me when I was a child. My all-time favorite was "The Little Mermaid." Whenever he reached the part where the Little Mermaid jumped into the sea and became nothing but foam, tears would roll down my face and such a heavy, burning pain would squeeze my chest that I couldn't even listen to the real ending of the story. It was only much later that I understood the real meaning of Andersen's Little Mermaid, that a person is always rewarded for a good deed. Sooner or later, a person receives what is coming to him or her, whether it be for good or for bad deeds. Andersen's story is written so theatrically, so consistently, I got the idea that puppets could present all the Eternal Truths of the story by simply using the original tale, shortened a bit, without having a script.
The audience is influenced by correct visual, audio and emotional-spiritual ammunition. All these elements are equally significant in reaching the strong end result.
I am very pleased to have found colleagues who supported the idea and helped execute it.
The outstanding music written for the performance, which at first seems to be the monotone sound of waves, has its own musical drama and further fortifies Andersen's main theme. The wonderful two-dimensional paper and feather marionettes, the sisters' theater, help portray the story of the Little Mermaid in a touching and subtle manner.
One of the most impressive performances took place in Chicago at the center for handicapped children "Saulute". Children from Lithuania are brought here to prepare for extremely difficult major surgery. Before the play they were very interested in all the preparations for the performance, they attempted to help out, they asked many questions about puppets and how they are controlled. There was an overwhelming emotional response from children who had complex physical problems. They were able to forget their misfortune for that short hour and fully lose themselves in the beautiful story of The Little Mermaid.
In 1997 I was invited to show the performance at the "Bread and Puppet" festival in Glover, Vermont.
It was included in a two-day repertoire of the festival.
Even though the story of the Little Mermaid is known throughout the world, I was worried about how the audience would accept it shown in an entirely foreign language. Even though the performance was acted out with no changes,
Even though the story of the Little Mermaid is known throughout the world, I was worried about how the audience would accept it shown in an entirely foreign language. Even though the performance was acted out with no changes,
silence and laughter came at the right moments. There was no language barrier.
After the performance members of the audience thanked me, and many wanted to get more details of the "non-Hollywood-like" ending of the story, one that differs from that most often presented to American audiences. The sad and tragic, although hope-filled ending of Andersen's original story forces children and adults alike to think about the meaning of a person's life, and the eternity of good deeds.
This page last updated on 01/06/00