Matt Dornemann History of Theatre II Springs Awakening: Hans & Hanschen

After rehearsing for the musical Spring Awakening for five weeks portraying the role of Hanschen; and then reading Frank Wedekinds play Springs Awakening a few times, I have noticed some very distinct differences between the character Hanschen in the musical, and the original character Hans whom he was based on. Mostly they are textual and mood differences but some differences also stem from directorial and personal choices I made with the role. First off from a more general note in the musical, it is strongly implied that Hanschen does not like the character of Moritz. In the scene where Moritz has just snuck into the headmasters office to see if he has passed his middle term exams Hanschen eagerly asks Moritz if he got caught, and when he discovers that Moritz did not get caught his disappointment shows as he promptly reminds Moritz that he has only passed the middle term exams and needs to be more concerned about the final if he wants to be promoted. This response stemmed from a dislike that Hanschen has for Mortiz, which we constructed by textual evidence, directorial and personal actor choices. Hanschen is all about working the system, and being organized and smart, and playing the hand he has been dealt in the best way he can. Moritz is quite the opposite; disorganized, spacey, and he lets his emotions control him, Hanschen doesnt have time for such foolish antics. In the play Springs Awakening, during the school yard scene, Hans congratulates Moritz for getting

through and expresses mutual joy that he did not get caught. In regards to Moritzs death, in the musical during Moritzs funeral Hanschen seems sad, but later in the scene with Ernst, he almost pokes fun of the fact that Moritz could not handle the status quo and thus committed suicide, where as in the play during the funeral scene Hans expresses deep remorse for Moritz death, referring to him as a friend and even blaming some of the other boys for bulling him; this is different from the musical where Hanschen often comes off as more of a bully then most of the other boys. Another scene in the musical regarding the character Hanshen that is portrayed differently from the original play is the Scene between Hanschen and Ernst. In the play Springs Awakening, this scene is looked upon as one of if not the most honest scene in the play where the love between the characters is mutual. Ernst is clearly more naive than Hans but they have mutual attraction and love for each other and while reading this scene you never really get the feeling that Hans is taking advantage of Ernst. In the musical however, it is very clear that Hanschen is taking complete advantage of Ernst and his naive nature. A directorial choice we made in regards to Hanschens sexuality was that he stays open and available to whatever he can get; he takes advantage of what he knows he can get off on, and Ernst is his perfect pray. Textually speaking in the musical Hanschen does not reciprocate the love to Ernst as directly stated when Ernst says: I love you Hanschen, as I have never loved anyone before to which Hanschen replies: And so you should. This exchange generates one of the bigger laughs in the show, but it steers the scene in a very different direction from how it is portrayed in Wedekinds

original text. Also the original stage direction of kiss on the mouth is often developed into a dirtier and less romantic stage picture in the musical. Overall I found it very interesting bringing a character to life from a script adaptation written in 2006, while also reading the original text written over 100 years prior. There were plenty of similarities between Hans in Springs Awakening and Hanschen in Spring Awakening the musical, but what I found most interesting about the development of the character was the differences in his personality and the differences in the dialogue. Overall it was a very rewarding experience reading the same story developed in such different and brilliant ways and having the opportunity to bring one of these characters to life.