“The Portal of Initiation”

Conference at Spring Valley, NY — August 12-16, 2009

by Joan deRis Allen, Kimberton Hills, PA

Where in the world is it possible to see an uncut performance in English of The Portal of Initiation, with superb eurythmy (bottom right), ingenious stage sets, costumes, makeup, lighting, even the first steps towards intriguing new music composed specially for this performance (left)? On Saturday, August 15, 99 years to the day after a Rosicrucian mystery was first presented to a circle of almost 800 theosophists at the Schauspielhaus in Munich, this mystery drama by Rudolf Steiner was performed for more than 150 people in the Threefold Auditorium in Spring Valley, NY. Folks had come from as far as Western Australia, and all generations from age 10 to 90 were there. Some had never seen or read a Steiner mystery drama, others knew them intimately. Together with the cast for this one magical day we formed a community participating in what ranged from dramatic destiny situations in the twenty-first century to imaginative scenes in supersensible realms, at times taking on the nature of a sacred ritual. What an incredible event! More than anyone else, Barbara Reynold made all this possible. She already saw the plays in Germany at age 18, and for more than two decades has produced all four of them in English. This spring she conceived the idea of a five-day summer festival to explore in depth the origins, development, and profound wisdom contained in this dramatic work.

On the first evening we were treated to an artistic portrayal of Goethe’s fairy tale of The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily, performed by Glenn Williamson and Laurie Portocarrero. At the opening of the first Goetheanum in 1920, Rudolf Steiner said “it is actually so that the Goethe fairy tale is the archetypal seed of this anthroposophical movement.” The following days offered presentations by people who have spent much time studying and working with the four plays, as well as conversation groups, artistic exhibitions, and lively sharing. We saw much of The Portal twice: on Thursday evening the prelude (right) through scene three, and on Friday afternoon scenes four through seven, with a dash of scene eleven in the evening, with Barbara’s brief but lively and insightful introductions. It was a tremendous gift to see the entire play then on Saturday, and many of us took in important details and subtleties missed in the first viewing. Steiner said several times that if anthroposophists had deepened their understanding of his mystery dramas, the thousands of lectures that he gave subsequently would not have been necessary, as “all of anthroposophy is contained in my mystery dramas.”

We participants in this festive conference felt deep gratitude to the performers and contributors, to the caretakers of the auditorium, to those who hosted and fed us, including the outstanding new chef in the Threefold Café, and especially to Barbara for her vision, perseverance, and contagious enthusiasm. We can only hope that further such gatherings will follow, enabling others to discover the riches contained in these plays.

by Laura Langford-Schnur

From Laura, a musician—with the privilege of being involved yet viewing it as audience from the back of the auditorium.

Highly professional quality of performance, very uplifting and inspiring; but more than that. Deep soul stirring. Utmost seriousness of every moment and smallest details of life.

Dissolving of usual “importances.” Being touched in spiritual essence.

Deep reverence for Spirit. Being drawn forward to spiritual goals of mankind; dropping away so much of the trivialities of ordinary life.

And an experience of a high canopy of spirit presence enveloping both stage presentation and audience as one.

Preparing The Portal of Initiation

by Vanessa Underwood

It was quite a moment, the day in mid-July when some fifteen of us met in the side room of the Auditorium in Spring Valley, NY, ready to work together on the 99-year-old play The Portal of Initiation. I had always found these plays hard to relate to when read, even aloud: now we were on a journey of discovery that was to last five weeks. Gradually the social connections formed, we ate meals together, met at the Co-op, and found the delicious swimming-pool. All the while the work went on. I was to play the part of Luna, the soul force connected to the will. I learnt that the text given to these forces teaches the voice by its very structure how to deliver the lines: the delivery develops with every practice. In addition I was working with ‘my own’ eurythmist at least every other day. This laid a fundamental structure, and then the task was to find freedom for the movement of the thought within that structure, to let it live. It was both artificial, in that it was pre-formed by being written down, and yet a living being when it was spoken aloud and was moved by a eurythmist.

It happened that we actors speaking the three soul forces were all from the same speech training at Artemis in Sussex, UK, and this provided a sheath for our work together: methods already laid down for us, and a certain style that bound us together. During the day, we would all try to watch scenes we were not in so as to get a sense of the whole play—so that its meaning gradually could speak to us. It was indeed an education in anthroposophy.

Photos courtesy of Maria Ver Eecke, Gino Ver Eecke, Barbara Renold, Hsin-Shih Lai.