Internationally Renowned Puppeteer Uwe Spillman Set to Perform in Morristown and Holmdel during National US Tour February 1, 2014

The non-profit German School of Morris County  (www.glsmc.org)

and German School of Monmouth County 

(http://www.germanschoolmc.org) will co-host the only New Jersey

performances of international, award-winning puppeteer Uwe Spillmann, who will

bring his original fairy tales from his native town of Eberholzen, Germany to

New Jersey, during his national US tour. 

Performances are scheduled for Saturday, February 1 at 10:00

am and 11:00 am in Morristown at Morristown Beard School, 70 Whippany Road

Morristown, and  at 4:00 pm at The German

School of Monmouth County, 112 Middletown Road, Holmdel, NJ.  All performances, which are presented for

English and German speakers, are free and open to the public.  Donations would be appreciated.

“Uwe’s visit in 2011 was a hit with all our students and

we’re thrilled we can bring him to two locations in New Jersey this winter,

says Principal Michaela Greco. “Our schools not only teach a language but bring

cultural events for the community to enjoy.”

Traditional Characters Tell

Modern Tales

Mr. Spillmann, known as “Der Kiepenkasper” writes original

fairy tales and creates his own puppets including the traditional fun-loving

Kasperle, funny pirate and bad witch that delight and enchant children. In

Spillman’s theater, the children participate by waking up the puppets from

their wicker basket (Kiepenkaste) to start the show. Mr. Spillman sounds the

start of the story with his small wooden clarinet.  In the story of the Three Feathers, Kasper

needs the children to help him “undo” the magic tricks he learned from a

witch.  In his Trip to Pirate Island, he

outwits a silly pirate who steals his gong. Spillman notes that in his

experience all children, even those without any German knowledge, understand

the plays and participate as the stories unfold.

According to childhood development experts puppets helps

children express themselves, work out their fears and worries and deal with

difficult situations through the carefree world of make-believe and

role-playing skits.  Each performance

ends with a meet and greet with Mr. Spillman and his friends.

Puppetry a Theater Tradition

Since Medieval Times

Long before the characters from the Muppets, there were puppets

that performed slapstick comedy.  Kasper

- from ancient Persian - means “keeper of the treasure,” dates to the beginning

of Christianity and is believed to have been named after Casper, one of the

three Magi who visited the Christ Child. 

The character also appeared in early mystery plays of the medieval

Church.

Kasperltheater emerged in the 1700s and soon became

synonymous with puppet theaters throughout southern Germany and Austria that

featured Kasper, his friends Gretel and Seppel, and a varied cast of characters

that usually include grandma, king, princess, witch, devil, robber, policeman,

wizard and crocodile.    A more

child-like version of Kasper appeared in Munich in 1858 to tell stories of good

and evil and to beat the evil devil, witch and crocodile.

Contact info@germanschoolmc.org for more

information about the performances.