THE VOICE OF ANNE FRANK

Mirenka Cechová, as “Anne Frank” Nancy Jo Snider, cellistMartin Spetlik, lighting design/technical artist

Petr Bohac, director Spitfire Company, CZ

BEHIND THE FOUR WALLSOriginally from the Czech Republic, Mirenka Cechová is an international, award-winning artist and a renowned authority on movement and theater. She holds a Ph.D. in physical theater direction and mime from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and is a founding member of three separate theater and movement companies.

American University music director and cellist Nancy Jo Snider is an international performer in her own right who met Dr. Cechová when the dancer was a visiting Fulbright Scholar at AU. Snider also frequently performs with many Washington-area based ensembles. During the performance, she supplies sound effects and musically comments on the action from an elevated platform.

WHAT TO WATCH AND LISTEN FOR…■ How the cello takes on the almost symbolic “voice”

of Kitty during the opening moments of call and response between Anne and the cellist, but also creates an emotional connection with other figures in the story

■ The music reflecting the contrast between Anne’s fight with her mother and the calmness of Anne’s interactions with her father

■ Anne’s movements, which are often simple, imaginative, or silly, just like those of any teenage girl

■ The dance movements that occasionally echo those of a bird like the “caged” creature Anne describes

WHAT TO THINK ABOUT…Otto Frank frequently said of Anne’s diary, “I hope Anne’s book will have an effect on the rest of your life so that… you will work for unity and peace.” What impact did today’s performance have on you? What did Anne’s story mean for you personally? What actions, if any, will it inspire you to take?

Cuesheet P

ER

FO

RM

AN

CE G

UID

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David M. RubensteinChairman

Deborah F. RutterPresident

Darrell M. AyersVice President, Education

The Voice of Anne Frank is made possible by Kaplan, Inc.; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Education and related artistic programs are made possible through the generosity of theNational Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge

Cuesheets are produced by ArtsEdgE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education

The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2014 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

During World War II, millions of Jewish citizens suffered immense discrimination, terrible torture, and worse. In order to escape such a fate, some families made the painful decision to go into hiding—sometimes for years at a time. The Franks and their young daughter Anne were among them.

MAR

TIN

MAR

ÁKˇ

Anne Frank was a witness, a writer, a symbol of the countless lives affected by the Nazi invasion, and a celebrated reminder of the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable horror. And yet, she was also a daughter, a sister, a student…in other words, a real and recognizable teenage girl.

Told through dance, music, spoken text, sound effects, and lighting, The Voice of Anne Frank presents a unique view of Anne as a bright and vivacious thirteen-year-old. Creator Mirenka Cechová uses movement combined with words inspired by Anne’s famous diary to explore Anne’s everyday thoughts, feelings, and experiences as she shared them with “Kitty,” the imaginary friend to whom the journal entries were addressed.

The performance is divided into eight scenes, which, though they don’t always tell Anne’s story chronologically, begin with her entering her new, stifling hiding place (referred to as “the annex”) and end with her family’s arrest. Watch for these eight sections, entitled: Walls, Scene with Mother, Dresses, The Last Supper, Bombs, A Dream, Love, and Conclusion.

THE PEOPLE IN THE ANNEXThough the story is told through Anne’s eyes, occasionally you’ll hear Anne assume the personalities of other people. These “characters” represent the seven roommates hiding with her in the annex. They include:

Otto Frank or “Pim,” Anne’s father

Edith Frank, Anne’s mother

Margot Frank, Anne’s sister

Mr. Van Daan (Mr. van Pels)*, Mr. Frank’s former colleague

Mrs. Van Daan (Mrs. van Pels), his wife

Peter Van Daan (Peter van Pels), their son

Mr. Dussel (Mr. Pfeffer), a family acquaintance

“Ifeellikeasongbirdaftersomebodyhasbrokenitswings

thatkeepsbumpingintothebarsofitscrampedcage

intotaldarkness.”— Mirenka Cechová as Anne Frank

ANNE’S STORY Though born in Germany, Anne Frank immigrated to the Netherlands with her Jewish family after Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. Anne enjoyed a few relatively normal years there, but everything changed in 1940 when Nazi forces invaded her adopted country and the Dutch surrendered to German rule. Anne, like all Jewish children, was now forced to go to a special school. She could not use public trains or ride her own bicycle. She could not use the local swimming pool or participate in any public sporting activity. And she could not be seen inside a Christian home.

As restrictions tightened around the Jewish community and more and more Jews lost their jobs or were called up to report to grueling work camps, Anne’s parents tried to leave the Netherlands. When these attempts proved unsuccessful, they decided to go into permanent hiding in a small annex building on the company premises of her father’s own business. Hiding began in July 1942 and would require the family never to go outside. Anne was only thirteen.

“KITTY”Given to her as a birthday present just a few weeks shy of her move to the annex, Anne’s journal became a constant source of comfort and escape for her during her two years in hiding. In the diary, she poured out her personal hopes and private observations about life. Her playful messages to “Kitty” remind readers that Anne was, first and foremost, a young girl anxious to learn new things and to find a purpose in life.

Anne made no secret of the fact that she wanted her diary to be published after the war, but, tragically, she died at a concentration camp in 1945 before she could make her dream reality. Her father, the lone survivor from Anne’s annex, was able to fulfill her wishes in 1947.

*Note: Some real-life names were changed when Anne’s diary was published. The names in parentheses are the actual historical names of the people you will learn about onstage.

AboutthePerformance

MAR

TIN

MAR

ÁKˇ

Anne Frank was a witness, a writer, a symbol of the countless lives affected by the Nazi invasion, and a celebrated reminder of the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable horror. And yet, she was also a daughter, a sister, a student…in other words, a real and recognizable teenage girl.

Told through dance, music, spoken text, sound effects, and lighting, The Voice of Anne Frank presents a unique view of Anne as a bright and vivacious thirteen-year-old. Creator Mirenka Cechová uses movement combined with words inspired by Anne’s famous diary to explore Anne’s everyday thoughts, feelings, and experiences as she shared them with “Kitty,” the imaginary friend to whom the journal entries were addressed.

The performance is divided into eight scenes, which, though they don’t always tell Anne’s story chronologically, begin with her entering her new, stifling hiding place (referred to as “the annex”) and end with her family’s arrest. Watch for these eight sections, entitled: Walls, Scene with Mother, Dresses, The Last Supper, Bombs, A Dream, Love, and Conclusion.

THE PEOPLE IN THE ANNEXThough the story is told through Anne’s eyes, occasionally you’ll hear Anne assume the personalities of other people. These “characters” represent the seven roommates hiding with her in the annex. They include:

Otto Frank or “Pim,” Anne’s father

Edith Frank, Anne’s mother

Margot Frank, Anne’s sister

Mr. Van Daan (Mr. van Pels)*, Mr. Frank’s former colleague

Mrs. Van Daan (Mrs. van Pels), his wife

Peter Van Daan (Peter van Pels), their son

Mr. Dussel (Mr. Pfeffer), a family acquaintance

“Ifeellikeasongbirdaftersomebodyhasbrokenitswings

thatkeepsbumpingintothebarsofitscrampedcage

intotaldarkness.”— Mirenka Cechová as Anne Frank

ANNE’S STORY Though born in Germany, Anne Frank immigrated to the Netherlands with her Jewish family after Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. Anne enjoyed a few relatively normal years there, but everything changed in 1940 when Nazi forces invaded her adopted country and the Dutch surrendered to German rule. Anne, like all Jewish children, was now forced to go to a special school. She could not use public trains or ride her own bicycle. She could not use the local swimming pool or participate in any public sporting activity. And she could not be seen inside a Christian home.

As restrictions tightened around the Jewish community and more and more Jews lost their jobs or were called up to report to grueling work camps, Anne’s parents tried to leave the Netherlands. When these attempts proved unsuccessful, they decided to go into permanent hiding in a small annex building on the company premises of her father’s own business. Hiding began in July 1942 and would require the family never to go outside. Anne was only thirteen.

“KITTY”Given to her as a birthday present just a few weeks shy of her move to the annex, Anne’s journal became a constant source of comfort and escape for her during her two years in hiding. In the diary, she poured out her personal hopes and private observations about life. Her playful messages to “Kitty” remind readers that Anne was, first and foremost, a young girl anxious to learn new things and to find a purpose in life.

Anne made no secret of the fact that she wanted her diary to be published after the war, but, tragically, she died at a concentration camp in 1945 before she could make her dream reality. Her father, the lone survivor from Anne’s annex, was able to fulfill her wishes in 1947.

*Note: Some real-life names were changed when Anne’s diary was published. The names in parentheses are the actual historical names of the people you will learn about onstage.

AboutthePerformance

THE VOICE OF ANNE FRANK

Mirenka Cechová, as “Anne Frank” Nancy Jo Snider, cellistMartin Spetlik, lighting design/technical artist

Petr Bohac, director Spitfire Company, CZ

BEHIND THE FOUR WALLSOriginally from the Czech Republic, Mirenka Cechová is an international, award-winning artist and a renowned authority on movement and theater. She holds a Ph.D. in physical theater direction and mime from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and is a founding member of three separate theater and movement companies.

American University music director and cellist Nancy Jo Snider is an international performer in her own right who met Dr. Cechová when the dancer was a visiting Fulbright Scholar at AU. Snider also frequently performs with many Washington-area based ensembles. During the performance, she supplies sound effects and musically comments on the action from an elevated platform.

WHAT TO WATCH AND LISTEN FOR…■ How the cello takes on the almost symbolic “voice”

of Kitty during the opening moments of call and response between Anne and the cellist, but also creates an emotional connection with other figures in the story

■ The music reflecting the contrast between Anne’s fight with her mother and the calmness of Anne’s interactions with her father

■ Anne’s movements, which are often simple, imaginative, or silly, just like those of any teenage girl

■ The dance movements that occasionally echo those of a bird like the “caged” creature Anne describes

WHAT TO THINK ABOUT…Otto Frank frequently said of Anne’s diary, “I hope Anne’s book will have an effect on the rest of your life so that… you will work for unity and peace.” What impact did today’s performance have on you? What did Anne’s story mean for you personally? What actions, if any, will it inspire you to take?

Cuesheet P

ER

FO

RM

AN

CE G

UID

E

David M. RubensteinChairman

Deborah F. RutterPresident

Darrell M. AyersVice President, Education

The Voice of Anne Frank is made possible by Kaplan, Inc.; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Education and related artistic programs are made possible through the generosity of theNational Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge

Cuesheets are produced by ArtsEdgE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education

The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2014 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

During World War II, millions of Jewish citizens suffered immense discrimination, terrible torture, and worse. In order to escape such a fate, some families made the painful decision to go into hiding—sometimes for years at a time. The Franks and their young daughter Anne were among them.