Shepherd's Play
- What
- Shepherd's Play
- When
- 12/20/2012
- Where
- Eurythmy Room
The Shepherd's Play is performed every year in the Winter by the Faculty and Staff of Highland Hall as a gift to the students and community. This play, recognizing the miracle of life itself, is the second of three plays in the Oberufer Trilogy. Performances will be held on Thursday, December 20, in the Eurythmy room:
9:00 am: Kindergarten through 3rd grade
10:45 am: 4th through 7th grade
1:30 am: 8th through 12th grade
Join us in celebrating the season and rejoice in the blessings of our community!
Parents are welcome!
Performed by the talented Faculty of Highland Hall
Directed by Nita Davanzo
Oberufer is an island in the Danube, east of Vienna, close to the borders of Hungary. This island was settled by farmers from the Lake Constance region sometime in the 15th Century, and due to the relative isolation of island life, their traditions and folkways remained intact for centuries.
One of their traditions was to perform these plays each year. In fall, when the harvest was in, the players were chosen regardless of religious affiliation or status, and received their parts from an esteemed farmer who would direct the plays for years, and then pass this honorable responsibility on to his son. The songs and words were passed on by word of mouth for generations.
In the middle of the 19th century, a professor from Vienna, Karl Julius Schröer, who was researching folklore and regional traditions, discovered the Oberufer Plays. He was charmed and impressed by them and returned a few years later to write down as much as he could. Years later this professor became the teacher and revered friend of Rudolf Steiner.
Towards the end of the 19th century Professor Schröer spoke to Steiner about these plays. His enthusiasm and concern about the possible loss of such precious folkways touched Steiner, who quickly realized their beauty and proceeded to bring order to the sketchy script and the music. In 1910 the first revived performance took place in Berlin, Germany.
From then on, these plays have become part of the Christmas time tradition for many Waldorf schools all over the world. They were first translated by Cecil Harwood, from England, who tried to keep intact the medieval way of speaking.