Paul McKay

Final Project—Spring Awakening

Directing Musical Theatre

My production of Spring Awakening explores the concept of seeking light out of

darkness. The concept of this production is displayed through every single element of the

production; from the musical expression, to the staging, to the props—all to tell the

incredible tale of a group of teenagers from turn-of-the-century Germany, who seek to

find their inner truths in a world of ignorance. Symbolically, the world of adulthood and

ignorance is represented by darkness, and the bright, passionate flames and experiences

of each teenager are represented by dim, but growing, lights that grow and become more

collective as the show progresses.

The show begins with Wendla Bergmann, wandering across a room of tables and

candles singing “Mama Who Bore Me,” filled with a sense of melancholy curiosity, as she

wonders where babies come from, as she becomes an aunt for the second time. Wendla

laments that her mother has given her “no way to handle things,” as she does not have a

basic understanding of puberty, sex, and womanhood; even as she transitions into

womanhood. As displayed from a scene presentation (see Appendix 1), seven tables are

used to represent the seven central experiences and themes of Spring Awakening: puberty

and coming of age, conception and pregnancy, incest, homosexuality, rape and sexual

abuse, lust and self-indulgence, and abortion. Each table holds a particular number of

candles, to represent the characters of Spring Awakening who experience and undergo

that specific experience (see Appendix 2).

 In the opening scene of “Mama Who Bore Me,” Wendla picks one candle off of the

coming of age table, used to represent her current experience and mood at this point of

the show. While directing, my blocking and staging called for Wendla to pick up the

candle when she sings “they light a candle and hope that it glows.” After the candle is

picked up, she places it on the ground in front of the chair in which her mother sits when

she asks her where babies come from. When the scene occurs, that one specific candle is

brought to the forefront of the scene, and then is left directly downstage for the rest of

the production, meant to represent the continuing light and legacy of the character their

experiences as the show continues. The symbolism of the candle is used throughout the

production, and is purposefully used in a very direct and literal manner in the opening

scene to guide the audience’s experience and understanding of the production. As each

character undergoes a specific experience, their candle gets placed downstage in the

forefront of the production.

By the end of the show, and after all of the characters have undergone their

incredible and heart-breaking experiences, all 18 candles are the brightest they’ve been,

and all the candles collectively light up a dark stage as the ensemble sings “The Song of

Purple Summer.” During this finale number, the characters realize that although small

and subtle as one, collectively, the candles light up the stage. This final scene is designed

to create imagery of a sky full of stars (see Appendix 3). Just one small star does not

draw attention, but together, the many stars of the sky and our universe illuminate the

night and darkness to create something more powerful that ourselves. This powerful

realization comes to full fruition when Melchior faces the ghosts of Moritz and Wendla in
“Those You’ve Known.” Although Moritz and Wendla are gone from this world, and are

distant from our own understanding, their legacy (and candles) are still illuminated, and

change the way we see our world and the sky above us. By use of the candles, the

characters realize that their experiences and collectively grown into one larger legacy

that will be left for the world to see (see Appendix 4).

As my research and study of Spring Awakening grew, there were particular, salient

themes that were evident which guided the formation for my concept for the show:

teenage angst in a world of ignorant adults, immense innocence from a lack of

knowledge and human experience, and exploring one’s own identity even if it goes

against the status quo. Spring Awakening shows everything that is wrong with society by

doing and undertaking everything that society says is wrong. This profound thought

helped me develop and explore the concept of seeking light out of darkness. While

developing my concept, I wanted to make sure that the growing light in a world of

darkness was represented on stage in every way possible. For example, while creating a

basic costume design, each teenager is to wear very bright-colored clothing that stuck

out on stage, and goes against what would be considered normal clothing for their

society. In contrast, each adult should wear all black, to quite literally represent the

darkness of their ignorant, and close-minded world (see Appendix 5).

Developing and undertaking this production concept of Spring Awakening was

truly magnificent, I feel that my concept could be beautifully and fully portrayed in an

actual production of the show. While researching and studying Spring Awakening, I was

deeply inspired by the profound lessons and artistry that can be found in each and every
scene of the show. Seeking light out of darkness could be directly related to every

element displayed in Spring Awakening, and can be used as a beautiful and artistic

metaphor to live by in our everyday lives.

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Appendix 1:

Appendix 2:
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Appendix 4:
Appendix 5: