Spring Awakening Insight: Awaken your Inner Flame!

Marelyn Aguirre and Andrea Garcia|March 17, 2017

(Marelyn Aguirre/ Lincoln Lion Tales)

On March 23th, Lincoln High School’s drama program will be performing the famous musical, Spring Awakening! Originally, a German play created by Frank Wedekind, in 1891. The play is based on a group of teenagers being enlightened about teenage sexuality. It goes into depth about erotic fantasies and sexual awakenings of adolescents, which makes it tricky for high schools to perform. Spring Awakening was Frank Wedekind’s first successful play and it first premiered on the 20th of November in 1906. It reveals the intimate realization that teenagers encountered in the early 1900s and now our drama program here at Lincoln will be performing it with discretion, a 2000s version!

Students participating in Spring Awakening are thrilled to be performing in the school production. A student acting as Martha Bessel, Emily McCormick, stated “I’m really excited to share a show that I personally really love with my school and my community, and i’m excited to share it’s message.” As Emily previously claimed with enthusiasm, Spring Awakening is not just a play about teenagers and their sexual encounters, it obtains a grand message that makes up the entire point of the play. Emily later on expresses how she worries how people may misunderstand the message and rebel, “However I am nervous of people’s reactions, because it is quite controversial. I’m afraid people will think it’s unnecessarily intense, and dismiss the whole point of the show.” The play, Spring Awakening, will be performed in front of parents of students and students, it may create a controversy in the crowd. Parents may become upset due to the intense scenes and not want their children participating or witnessing the school production of Spring Awakening. Therefore, the play was costumed to make the play more “family friendly; As Emily commented, ” We have changed the staging so that it is more implicit, and the choreography let’s the audience know whats happening without shoving it in their face.”

There are a total of thirteen actors in this Spring Awakening production. They are all filled with joy to be participating in such an exquisite play. Actors and actresses are stated down below. (this information was obtained from a press release that Mr. Manthe, the director, shared with us.)

Director: August Manthe

THE GIRLS

Emily McCormick: Martha Bessel

Kira Wheeler: Thea

Emma LeFever: Ilse

Janal Malate: Wendla

Jena Rothenberger: Anna

THE BOYS

Josh Michelberg: Melchior

Tahv Demayo: Moritz

Owen Heckman: Hanschen

Dravin Ramirez: Ernst

Emilio Fuentes: Georg

Fabian Rodriguez: Otto

THE ADULTS

Julia Garcia Smith

Dimitri Charitou

Descriptions of characters in Spring Awakening:

Resource: http://www.gradesaver.com/spring-awakening/study-guide/character-list Millman, China. Berkow, Jordan ed. “Spring Awakening Characters”. GradeSaver, 30 April 2008 Web. 16 March 2017.

Girls

Martha Bessell is a girl that attends school with Wendla, she is Wendla’s friend. Martha is said to be sexually and physically abused by her father.

Wendla grew up around Moritz and Melchior (characters also in play), she is daughter of Ms. Bergmann.

Thea, is also a friend of Wendla.

Ilse is a friend of Wendla. She left high school to become an artist’s model.

Anna is friends with Thea, Wendla, and Martha.

Boys

Melchior is a “perfect boy”, friends with Wendla and Ilse. Also son of Mr. and Mrs. Gabor.

Moritz the opposite of Melchior, yet they seem to be bestfriends. He is son of Rentier Stiefel.

Hanschen is friends with Melchior and Moritz.

Ernst is also a friend of Melchior and Moritz.

Georg hangs out with Melchior and Moritz.

Otto also is a classmate of Moritz and Melchior.

Spring Awakening performance days and hours: