Rudolf Steiner's Mystery Dramas

Rudolf Steiner completed four plays intended to follow the initiation journeys of a group of fictional characters through a series of lives. These plays were intended to be modern mystery plays. Steiner apparently outlined the plot of a fifth play to be set at the Castalian spring at Delphi, but due to the outbreak of First World War, this remained an unfulfilled project.

The titles of the four plays are:

• The Portal of Initiation - World premiere on 15 August 1910, at the Schauspielhaus in Munich.
• The Trial of the Soul - World premiere on 17 August 1911, in the Gardener's Place Theatre in Munich.
• The Guardian of the Threshold - World premiere on 24 August 1912, in the Gardener's Place Theatre in Munich.
• The Soul's Awakening - World premiere on 22 August 1913, at the National Theatre in Munich.

Anthroposophy and artistic creation

In these four plays. Steiner intended to show how spiritual development might manifest in a freely formed, but karmically-knit group of people. The experiences of the main characters of the play, particularly Johannes Thomasius, Capesius and Strader, to represent three different aspects of the path of initiation. "differing according to the karma of the respective individualities."

Steiner described his process of artistic creation as "images [that] grew like the leaves of a plant."

Genesis of the characters

In 1907, at the Munich Theosophical Congress, Rudolf Steiner had directed a play by Édouard Schuré, "The Sacred Drama of Eleusis". Two years later, Steiner staged Schuré's "The Children of Lucifer". At this time, Steiner was looking for a spiritual content and artistic form that could reflect what he believed to be a new age in human consciousness. He based his first play on Goethe's "Tale of the Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily". In his first draft of the play, the names of the characters were those of the characters in Goethe's tale, but in the course of his work, he replaced the fairytale characters with characters of his own imagination. The following table shows the names from Goethe's fairy tale and the characters these turned into in this first drama:

Goethe’s fairy tale	Steiner’s character
Lily	Maria
Young Man	Johannes Thomasius
1st Irrlicht	Capesius
2nd Irrlicht	Dr. Strader
King of the Will	Romanus (Bronze King)
The old man with the lamp	Felix Balde
King of Feeling	Theodosius (Silver King)
Snake	The other Mary
Wife of the old man	Felicia Balde
1st Maiden	Philia
2nd Maiden	Astrid
3rd Maiden	Luna
Giant	Gairman (Gold King)
Canary	Child
Mixed King	Retardus
The Hawk	Theodora
Hierophant	Benedictus
The Macrocosm	The Spirit of the Elements
Man	Estella
Wife	Sophia

The characters of Helena and Lucifer have no precedent in Goethe's fairy tale and were to be played by the same actress.

Rehearsals

Few actors who were involved in the first performances of the Mystery Dramas, were trained actor. The Steiner appeared not so important; was much more significant that within this tight-knit community grew a very special community spirit that Steiner has described as an example of the anthroposophical work, perhaps for the human interaction at all:

"He who has seen such performances, perhaps does not always think the fact that it takes a long time what last sight presents itself in a few hours, really stands on the stage. And the way how our dear friends here in this place worked together to bring the work into being, they may be referred to again and again for the anthroposophical work, perhaps also for the human interaction as a model in a certain sense. Especially because it would oppose a real anthroposophical sense, in this work in any way to command. As progress is only possible if the individual friends with their hearts are full of it, in a very different manner than could ever be the case on a similar artistic field. And this full-while-being, not only in the few weeks that are available to us to prepare for the performances, but this full-while-being, this free cordial interaction, it took years to pass." (Ref : GA 122 S 16)

The text of his dramas began to write down Rudolf Steiner frame by frame immediately before the start of rehearsals. "It would be nonsense," he said, "to write a drama before it is a performance." And so he wrote late into the night, nor the text that should be practiced in each case the next day. Something similar must have made Shakespeare and his theater troupe. Rudolf Steiner proves to be a brilliant theater practitioners. Plenty of sleep could not find Steiner at that time and was often his bed untouched, but he was always in a fresh, lively mood. Alexander Strakosch wrote:

"Rudolf Steiner days and - as mentioned - even the nights were filled with intense activity, but it was not that scary excess of work and worry, as in recent times, but there was to him the harmonious exhilaration, which confers artistic creation if it can unfold acting. He was not forced from the outside by people or circumstances or oppressed by worry. All were eager to carry out his instructions to follow his suggestions." (Ref : Strakosch)

Of course, had to Rudolf Steiner, before he could write the plays, design a basic concept, which the action should follow, but the actual text originated from the direct experience of the rehearsals. Initially, the performer had the texts that were neatly written legibly in pencil, write off even more. Maximilian Gümbel-Seiling wrote in his memoirs to the rehearsals with the Munich mystery plays:

"In the morning appeared Dr. Steiner and read us each from his notebook the newly created image before. Sometimes we wrote for this magazine itself from our roles. The pencil writing was clear and distinct.Soon, Dr. Elizabeth Vreede underwent the trouble to write off the final scenes for us on the typewriter. He read with restrained pathos, but clearer characterization. During rehearsals, he was frugal hints. He rarely did it before us on stage. But then you got the impression of a specific personality and noticed that it gave him pleasure to give his characters posture, tone, gesture." (Ref : Seiling)

Later, the whole was more professionally organized by an apprentice printer on time by 5 clock in the morning picked Rudolf Steiner's template and customize practically still wet signatures handed in time for the start of rehearsals. How then proceeded rehearsals, it was Alice rock in her memories of the rehearsals for "The Soul's Awakening painted a vivid picture":

"At 10 clock in the morning all participants met in the sample space a. First, Rudolf Steiner read with strong intonation and dezidiertem Emphasize the rhythm the night New Weathered before. Then he handed the still-pressure wet text to the support of the different roles and let him read so often and play until the various people had coordinated. He led the work in such a way that he never broke the players and the "improved", but the same scene over and over again auditioned and auditioned with all facial nuances and play as often left until it was satisfied with the actors is essential to him seemed about to send the mood, the atmosphere of an image -. mightily it looked like he read the two images in the realm of spirit He imagined while reading in a chair and swinging rhythm of the verses. felt the listener supported in the cosmic space. The soil was a quasi gently pulled out from under their feet, while the pentameter with tremendous force, greatly elated while then poured in bright conditions." (Ref : rock)

The same reports also Oskar Schmiedel of the samples to the " Portal of Initiation ":

"A particularly strong impression did when Dr. Steiner played for individual roles, he did so with a histrionic art and power that made it difficult for the players to reasonably comply in their own representation is very memorable to me for example.. as Rudolf Steiner played for the scene in which Strader stands in front of the painted image of Thomasius Capesius. With a forcefulness played Rudolf Steiner that all of us, we were able to see this, were shocked and a deep silence prevailed after a long time in the hall". (Ref : Schmiedel)

That by the gradual process of developing the dramas of rehearsal to rehearsal and could be no ready-made production concept is clear. If even the drama itself originated from day to day, so had to outgrow itself directly from the living specimens events even more direct. The artistic inspiration for the piece himself and for his dramatic conversion on the stage here flows from a source that is opened by the joint action and perception during rehearsals.In this sense, the actors, the actors, the stage painters and other helpers are quite active creative mitbeteiligt at the conclusion of the work, which was eventually brought on the stage. Through active community of people always higher spiritual forces may reveal than is possible by an individual - even if he is a high initiate. This does not diminish the power of Rudolf Steiner, but on the contrary only gave him the opportunity to fully exploit its capabilities.

Thus, this work could succeed, it required a special inner attitude of the performers:

"In everything that is mentioned here, we see not a Consummate, but something that is the beginning of a want, and we would like to like that one it by all that is wanted, what can not be already done now, ersieht, as you can imagine the further shaping of art is why we have of such infinite importance that the internal dramatic design is only in the hands of actors who seek spiritual knowledge, because I want to - not from personal inclination but because I have to - do not speak a single word in this our dramatic things on the stage of an other-minded people, and if that word would also talked with the highest artistic perfection and with the utmost artistic refinement of current linguistic stage technology because something. all else is wanted as this outer stage technology. That which is now called art is not wanted. But wanted is that in every soul that stands up and participate, the heart of spiritual heat out is the fact that such a breath through the whole more or less good representation is that we are experiencing mental heat as art, art as a spiritual heat up there. Therefore everyone who participates in this our inaugural undertakings of Munich cycle would have to have the feeling: there's not a word, not by being spoken, is at the same time vicarious depths of his soul by the performer. This causes in some respects those artistic chastity, who likes who does not want to feel spiritually feel as dilettantism, but the beginning of something what is to come, the of something that, beginning once as an artistic truth in the deepest will feel in geistigstem sense of the word, imperfect, and initially it may confront you today." (Ref : GA 129, S 26)

Reincarnation and karma

For the first time in dramatic poetry, Rudolf Steiner in his dramas presents the driving forces of destiny events, openly and consistently on the stage. The success of the characterizing people towards the inevitability of fate, has always been the main nerve of tragic poetry, and Steiner's characters also remain true to these causes, which are ultimately enigmatic. Rudolf Steiner was the background of the fate complications to their true causes, namely karmic entanglements in former lives on earth, returning and brought dramatically to display in the present for the characters on stage. This is a critical and necessary impetus for the progress of dramatic art, even if it may take long time until it is taken up more widely by the public.

Lectures

Lectures on The Portal of Initiation:

• Rudolf Steiner: The Secrets of the Biblical Creation Story, GA 122, lectures in Munich from 16.8 to 21.08, 1910.
• Rudolf Steiner: The Gospel of Matthew, GA 123, lectures in Bern 2.9, 5.9, 10.9 and 12.09, 1910.
• Rudolf Steiner: Answers to World and Life Issues through Anthroposophy, GA 125, lectures on 09.17.1910 Basel and 10.31.1910 Berlin.
• Rudolf Steiner: From Jesus to Christ, GA 131, lecture from 13.10.1911 in Karlsruhe.

Lectures on The Trial of the Soul:

• Rudolf Steiner: The Mission of the New Spirit Revelation, GA 127, lecture on 19.12.1911 in Berlin.
• Rudolf Steiner: Wonders of the World, GA 129, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 10th, lectures in Munich.

Lectures on The Guardian of the Threshold:

• Rudolf Steiner: Initiation, Eternity and the Passing Moment, GA 138, Lectures on 28.8. and 30.08.1912 in Munich.
• Rudolf Steiner: The Value of Thinking for Sound Human Understanding, GA 164, lecture on 19.09.1915 in Dornach.

Lectures on The Soul's Awakening:

• Rudolf Steiner: The Secrets of the Threshold, GA 147, lectures on 24, 27, 28 and 30, August 1913 in Munich.
• Rudolf Steiner: Mystery centers of the Middle Ages, GA 233, lecture on 05.01.1924 in Dornach.

Music

Adolf Arenson composed the original music to accompany the four plays. Later productions had music by Elmar Lampson and Pedro Guiraud.

References

• Christian Clement: The birth of the modern mystery drama from the spirit of Weimar. On the Relevance of Goethe and Schiller in the dramaturgy of Rudolf Steiner. Logos Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-8325-1645-1
• Alice Rock: Memories of Munich samples to the mystery plays in the News Journal 1929 No. 38 and No. 39 and 1950 30 and 31.
• Max Gümbel-Seiling: With Rudolf Steiner in Munich and some memories of the mystery plays in Munich, from "Messages from the Anthroposophical work in Germany" no. 7, March 1949
• Wilfried Hammacher: The premiere of the Mystery Dramas by Rudolf Steiner, Publisher at the Goetheanum, Dornach 2010 ISBN 978-3-7235-1379-8
• Wilfried Hammacher: Introduction to Rudolf Steiner's Mystery Dramas, published at the Goetheanum, Dornach 2009 ISBN 978-3-7235-1360-6
• Wilfried Hammacher: Content reproduction of the four mystery plays Rudolf Steiner, Publisher at the Goetheanum, Dornach 2000 ISBN 3-7235-1086-8
• Wilfried Hammacher: The basic elements of the language and Drama Art by Rudolf Steiner, Publisher at the Goetheanum, Dornach 2005 ISBN 978-3-7235-1241-8
• Wilfried Hammacher: Short Guide to the Mystery Plays, published at the Goetheanum, Dornach 1995, ISBN 978-3-7235-0888-6
• Oskar Schmiedel: Memories of the samples to the mystery plays in Munich in the years 1910 - 1913 in "Messages from the Anthroposophical work in Germany" no. March 7, 1949
• Rudolf Steiner: How to Know Higher Worlds, GA 10 (1904/05)
• Rudolf Steiner: Four Mystery Dramas, GA 14
• Rudolf Steiner: Drafts, Fragments and Paralipomena to the Four Mystery Dramas, GA 44
• Rudolf Steiner: Natural and Spiritual Beings - Their Work in our Visible World, GA 98
• Rudolf Steiner: Theosophy of the Rosicrucians, GA 99, ISBN 3-7274-0990-8 [1]
• Rudolf Steiner: Humanities and Anthropology, GA 107, ISBN 3-7274-1070-1 [2]
• Rudolf Steiner: Inner Development Impulses of Humanity. Goethe and the Crisis of the Nineteenth Century, GA 171, ISBN 3-7274-1710-2 [3]
• Rudolf Steiner: History Symptomatology, GA 185, ISBN 3-7274-1850-8 [4]
• Rudolf Steiner: The Art of Recitation and Declamation, GA 281 (1 967) [5]
• Alexander Strakosch: Life Paths with Rudolf Steiner.

External links

• - I. The Portal of Initiation as a PDF document
• - II Examination of the soul as a PDF-Document
• - III. The Guardian of the Threshold as a PDF document
• - IV The Soul's Awakening as a PDF-Document