Comments - The little earth bird
Was ist denn bitte schön ein Erdvogel?
“That can't be true!” - “I've never heard of such an animal!”
The children are arguing heatedly.
“Sometimes there are things that you think are impossible,” replies the teacher.
“Dreams and desires often lie dormant in your heart for a long time and must mature until one day they are big enough
to make their way to the light.”
The same is true of the little earth bird, played with child-friendly sensitivity by Maike Jansen. Mother Mole, the cow, the rooster and not forgetting the cheeky fly, who Stefan Ferencz brings to the stage in a witty and always individual way, smile at the little mole's wish: "You want to be able to fly? That's not possible!"
The acting duo has been on stage together since 2004 and organizes everything from arrangements, props, acquisition to lighting. With clear gestures and a childlike joy in acting, the two captivate audiences both large and small. And should the young audience comment on or imitate the scenes a little too loudly,
take it with a simple “Oops!”
Here it becomes clear how the duo’s performance differs from many other children’s theatres:
They don't want to educate or model their audience. They don't want to just grasp what they see and tick it off in their heads as "gotten". Instead, they want to enable the audience to have a holistic encounter with their head and heart. This sometimes takes a little patience and time.
For example, to experience how long rumination takes and that funny noises can be heard while doing so.
“How did you do that?” a child asks Stefan, impressed, after he has completed the task.
“I use what I have.”
Similarly, the owl encourages the little mole to think about his own abilities when fulfilling his deepest desires. “You have ears, they help you fly!”
The children of the Blumenauer Straße primary school in Munich definitely learned one thing this morning:
That you have to recognize and use your inherent talents and abilities.
And: that dreams come true if you believe in them strongly enough.”
Heike Spreter von Kreudenstein, religious education teacher at Blumenauer Straße 11 School, Munich
HEPPENHEIM
“Starkenburg Echo”
19.10.2023
Children take off with a small earth bird
The play in the Saalbau cinema delights all age groups.
Story of a young mole also has a lesson at the end
By Astrid Wagner
Burrowing through dark, damp underground passages for a lifetime is not everyone's cup of tea. And certainly not for the little mole. He wants to fly. And he won't let anyone talk him out of this dream. Many children found out on Sunday afternoon in the Saalbau cinema in Heppenheim how the stubborn earth dweller actually reaches his goal. The mobile theater "Pohyb's and Co." performed the story "The Little Earth Bird" based on the children's book of the same name by Oliver Scherz and Eva Muggenthaler to kick off the children's theater series from Forum Kultur.
The youngest visitors were not yet two years old, but it was still as quiet as a mouse when actress Maike Jansen ran through the hall playing the flute and finally walked onto the stage. Above the large molehill, a paper airplane flies merrily through the air, while deep down in the earth, Mama Mole, played by Stefan Ferencz, not only resolutely cleans the underground apartment, but also tries to get rid of her son's nonsense. "Mama, I want to fly," says the little mole firmly.
"But we're not flying," replies the mother and, after a long back and forth, ends the discussion with a harsh "Basta!".
The beginning was already symbolic of the next hour: quiet tones and thoughtful moments alternated with hilarious scenes, delicious pantomime, simple dialogues and sparse but fitting costumes.
It is a play full of poetry that appealed to the adults in the hall just as much as to the very young visitors. The little earthling does not let himself be put off, does flying exercises, digs his way up to the sun, marvels at and envies butterflies and birds. But no matter how he waves his arms, he does not take off.
None of the animals he meets encourage him: the ruminating cow, portrayed in a side-splitting manner by Ferencz, doesn't understand at first why the little mole, who now calls himself an earth bird, wants to fly: "Why?" she moos. "Look at me: I'm eating in the front and a pat comes out the back. It's a miracle. "Why do I need to fly?" A cow pat is a pretty stinking miracle, as the mole notes.
The fight between two flies with tea-strainer eyes over the smelly object of desire is delicious.
But these two also laugh at the mole when they hear about his dream.
And so the little mole meets one animal after another: the proud rooster, the big stork. But only the wise owl can help the little mole, who is slowly becoming resigned. "Why don't you fly with your ears?" she asks him, makes him close his eyes and listen to the wind. And the power of imagination finally makes possible what had seemed increasingly unattainable: the little earth bird feels the wind caressing the grass, rustling the leaves of the trees and suddenly he takes off in his thoughts, letting his imagination run wild.
Nothing is impossible if you believe in it. "Yippee!" says a little boy in the audience quietly, "now he's done it, even though everyone said it couldn't be done." And that is exactly the essence of this piece, which is played with such sensitivity and ease: dreams can come true if you believe in them and are prepared to take unconventional paths.
Hey pohybs,
We went to the theater in Hüttisheim as a family today. Admittedly, for the first two minutes we thought you were somewhere between weird, strange and not quite right in the head.
But what we were able to see and experience was unbeatable. The "cow" was so amazing... my wife laughed for minutes until she cried. I have no idea when I last saw her like that.
Our daughter was thrilled from start to finish.
The cow pat bullfight, the stork and, to top it all off, the eagle owl, where there were so many nuances to discover...
THANK YOU for that and for allowing us to discover this form of art :-) and THANK YOU for being so approachable and authentic.
Many greetings and all the best,
Jürgen, Marion and Alea
The production
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... children's theatre to take offListenelement 1... Even if the earthy mole mother - Stefan Ferencz in wonderful contrast - simply brushes it off. A mole that wants to fly? What nonsense. We have shovels. Period. But this enchanting mole child is not irritated. By nothing and no one. Then just an earth bird. It is a masterpiece that Pohyb's and his ilk have staged here. Children's theater that takes off. Lively and cheerful. The little mole is also on the move, asking questions and meeting pilots and non-pilots who try to talk him out of his idea - no! It is his vision. It is thrilling how Stefan Ferencz captures the nature, the typicality of the animals that he portrays in a clownish, animated and perfectly mimed way. He chews his cud as if he would do it in real life, acts like a stork strutting in the truest sense of the word, or behaves so owlishly that it would seem as if he himself were about to float through the forest. You can safely take advice from this owl - which is what the little mole does. And when Maike Jansen lets him hear the wind, the audience hears him too - and when he flies, everyone knows that this flying takes him much further than airplanes! C. Roeder, Plastic Theater Hobbit
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The little mole prefers to be a bird ... audience melts awayListenelement 2EPPELHEIM. The little mole had only one goal: "I want to fly!" He repeated this sentence over and over again. His mother shook her head in incomprehension and brought her offspring back down to earth with clear words: "We live underground - we can't fly!" But the little earth dweller was not so easily dissuaded from his idea. When he stuck his nose out of his molehill, he looked enviously at the butterflies and paper airplanes that were floating merrily through the air above his head. Then the little mole made a decision: he absolutely wanted to become an "earth bird". He immediately began flying exercises. But that didn't really work. So he set out and asked various animals what it was like to fly. He met flyers and non-flyers and finally got the crucial tip about how moles could fly too. The story about longing and fantasy that the mobile children's theater "Pohyb's and Co." brought to the city library for children aged four and over was absolutely delightful. The play "The Little Earthbird" by Oliver Scherz and Eva Muggenthaler was about the power of dreams and was both a poetic and funny story about longings, wishes, goals and the power of imagination. The two actors Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz knew how to captivate both young and old audiences in no time. The two have been together as an acting duo since 2004 and are a well-rehearsed team. They travel with their plays in Germany and abroad. Their goal is to create theater using simple means and acting skills and to stimulate the imagination of their audience with their stories. The two of them slip into their roles with skin and hair. When Maike Jansen practices flying as a mole child with a childlike voice and squeaking sounds, the audience melts. And when Stefan Ferencz, who also plays the strict mole mother, transforms himself into a chewing cow or another animal, the audience is full of enthusiasm and admiration for this wonderful transformation and performance. Schwetzinger Zeitung (sge)
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Organizer commentListenelement 4"Congenial in form and sign language ..." (Idstein) A bird? A mole? An earth bird? In any case, a mole child that has its own ideas and dreams about life and its own form of existence and thus the ability to move. It is laughed at and not taken seriously by its environment because it thinks it wants to and can fly. But it holds on to what it longs for and tries to make it happen with all the means at its disposal. Congenial in form and sign language, figuratively and pantomimically implemented by Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz, the Pohyb's and co. Children's theater at its finest, which impresses children and adults alike and has a long-lasting effect with its images. C. Barthels, Idstein
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About the flying moleGUSTAVSBURG. Children were delighted by the latest performances of "The Little Earthbird". The theater duo "Pohyb's and Co." performed it three times at the Burglichtspiele. The mole manages the impossible... The actors, mimes and clowns Stephan Ferencz and Maike Jansen from the mobile theater "Pohybs and Co." brought the story, written by Oliver Scherz and Eva Muggenthaler, full of humor and poetry, to Gustavsburg for a total of three performances. It is about a little mole (Maike Jansen) who refuses to accept that he cannot fly. Against the resistance of Mama Mole (Stephan Ferencz) and against the advice of the many other animals in the meadow, the little mole finally manages the impossible. A large box that opens to the front - that is all Stephan Ferencz and Maike Jansen need for a performance of "The Little Earthbird." The rest is made up of noises, gestures, looks, the simple playing of the flute and the involvement of the audience. They always react to cheeky comments from their young audience. But as a rule the boys and girls are already captivated by the performance - and who wants to tell children to be quiet? But the adults also enjoyed the adventures of the little earth bird. The parable about making dreams come true and about what imagination can do always makes you smile. Of course there is a lot of childishness in Stephan Ferencz and Maike Jansen, who stumble across the stage, who twist their faces into grimaces and who sometimes just don't understand the world - just like children sometimes do. Rüsselsheimer Eche (rke)
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How the mole becomes an "earth bird""Abracadabra", you can fly now Weinheim. At the IG Waid children's theater, "The Little Earth Bird" was performed by pohyb's and co. This piece is not yet as well known as Gruffalo, Frederick, Friends or Sams, which were brought to the stage in previous years by the two actors, Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz. But once again the two thrilled children and parents. The idea of the little mole who absolutely wants to learn to fly was implemented in dance, pantomime and wordplay. On his journey to learn to fly, he met the smacking cow, the proud rooster and the wise owl, whose typical character traits were effectively portrayed with minimal means. The children cheered him on with shouts. And when a little girl kept calling out to him "Abracadabra, you can fly", it was clear to everyone: The little mole was now an earth bird and would manage to fly above the clouds with his imagination. Rhein Neckar Zeitung
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Encouraging story about dreams, goals and the power of imaginationChildren's theatre to take off Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz will be telling an encouraging story about dreams, goals and the power of one's own imagination in the "little earth bird" at the Kulturhaus on Saturday. Kehl: Moles actually live underground and cannot fly. But this fact will not stop the little mole, presented on stage by Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz from the mobile theatre "pohyb's and consorts" on Saturday afternoon at the Kehl Kulturhaus, from pursuing his dreams. "I want to fly" he says and sets his mind on becoming an "earth bird". His assigned place Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz's play "The Little Earth Bird" is a wonderfully poetic and witty story about an animal protagonist who simply does not want to accept spending his life digging his way through his tunnels deep underground. The story for children aged three and up, published in 2013 as a picture book by Oliver Scherz and Eva Muggenthaler, is primarily about the power of fantasy and the longing to be able to use it to cast off the shackles of one's own existence. Maike Jansen and Stefan Ferencz bring the story to the stage with simple means and a wonderfully clownish gesture. The two actors, who used to be part of the ensemble of the pantomimic mask theater "Familie Flöz", which Stefan co-founded at the time, convince with impressive body language that constantly gives rise to new characters. The little velvety guy, played by Maike Jansen with great ease and grace, digs his way to the surface of the earth and listens to the birds. He tries to catch a butterfly and stands in amazement in front of the flowers that are simply being eaten by a large cow. She does not understand why the little mole wants to fly. She chews her grass and lets a pat splash, over which two flies fight. While wandering around, the little mole also meets a rooster who jumps wildly from the dung heap and, despite his wings, does not really take off into the clouds. Unsuitable equipment The mole ultimately has to realize that his shovels are suitable for digging and burrowing in the earth, but ultimately not for flying. But he discovers the power of imagination, which creates images in his head and allows the little mole to climb up into the clouds, trusting in his own dreams. With their performance, which was postponed several times due to Corona, Jansen and Ferencz are following up on their first guest appearance in Kehl, which took place several years ago, and enchant their young and old audiences with an intense hour. With this amusing spectacle, they also put the finishing touches to the city's family series "Look!" Kehler Zeitung/Mittelbadische Presse from May 9, 2022 by Jürgen Haberer
