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Max Jacob (born 10 August 1888 in Bad Ems; died 8 December 1967 in Hamburg) was a German puppeteer and the developer of the Hohnsteiner Kasper Theatre in the 1920s. Kasper Theatre, or
Kasperle Kasperle, Kasper, or Kasperl ( Bavarian German: ''Káschberl'', Swabian German: ''Kaschberle'', Swiss German: ''Chaschperli'') is a famous and traditional puppet character from Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, and Germany. Its roots date to ...
, is the German equivalent of
Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character w ...
, a traditional form of
puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performan ...
which has its origins in the Italian
commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charac ...
.


History

From an early age Max Jacob had been involved with the
Wandervogel ''Wandervogel'' (plural: ''Wandervögel''; English: "Wandering Bird") is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 to 1933, who protested against industrialization by going to hike in the country and commune with n ...
movement and was very interested in
folk arts Folk and traditional arts are rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community. They encompass the body of expressive culture associated with the fields of folklore and cultural heritage. Material culture, Tangible folk art includes ob ...
and folk traditions. When, in 1921, he saw a puppet show for the first time, he purchased his own puppets and gave a performance to an audience mostly made up of other friends of the Wandervogel movement. After this, he set up the Hartensteiner Puppenspiele, which was renamed Hohensteiner Puppenspiele when Jacob and many of his troupe moved to Hohnsteiner Castle in 1928, where they lived and worked together. Many audience members were also guests at the castle, which functioned not only as the troupe's home, but as a
youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ...
. The troupe, as well as craftsmen and -women involved in the construction of the puppets and the staging, began to transform the style of the Kasper theatre, changing it from a fairground show, with an emphasis on
slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...
humour and irreverent anti-authoritarianism, into a theatrical art with a pedagogical purpose. Jacob explained of Kasper that "Er tut das Moralische rein vorbildlich, er moralisiert aber nicht. Und dieses Vorbild nehmen die Kinder in sich auf" (He does what is moral simply by example, but he does not moralise. And the children internalise this example).Max Jacob, ''Wollt Ihr Kasper spielen?'', p. 21 In 1933, the troupe had to leave the Hohnsteiner Castle because the Nazis had taken it over and turned it into a
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...
. The troupe moved to a multi-family house, where they again lived and performed. The house became known as the Kasperhaus, and the troupe reconstructed it at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937) (more notorious for the other showpiece from
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
by
Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of ...
). They were awarded a Gold Medal. After this, the troupe began to make international tours, and to produce Kasper in different media (film, particularly
short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
, television, even radio). During the 1940s, the Hohnsteiner Puppenspiele entertained the troops, and functioned as ''the'' showpiece puppet theatre during the Nazi era. Many of Jacob's original troupe were killed in the war, or had left the troupe, so after the war Jacob and the remaining members – as well as some new additions such as the composer Irmgard Wassmann - began afresh with the Hohnsteiner Theatre in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
. During this post-war period, the troupe gave performances in prisoner of war camps, detention centres, and convalescent homes for former concentration camp inmates, and orphanages. Jacob retired from the puppet theatre in 1953 but remained close to the theatre until his death in 1967. In this time he attended conferences and seminars and in 1957 was selected as president of the international puppeteers association,
UNIMA UNIMA (''Union Internationale de la Marionnette'' - ''International Puppetry Association'') was founded in Prague in 1929 (the then Czechoslovak magazine Loutkář was UNIMA's first official journal in years 1929–1930). In 1981, the French pupp ...
. He held this position until his death. Puppeteers such as Friedrich Arndt,
Harald Schwarz Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold. It may refer to: Medieval Kings of Denmark * Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986) Kings of Norway * Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933) * Harald Greycloak (died 970) * Harald Hard ...
and
Erich Kürschner The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
continued the legacy of Jacob and the Hohnsteiner Puppenspiele.


Style

Max Jacob's Hohnsteiner Kasper differed from the earlier fairground Kasper in its moral intention to instil "values" into its younger audience members, and in its self-definition as a theatre form rather than a fairground entertainment. In contrast to the fairground Kasper, which had borrowed from the British
Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character w ...
stories that showed Punch throwing his crying baby out the window, beating his wife, as well as an array of authority figures, Jacob's Kasper was more childlike in character, as well as being wiser and on friendly terms with the policeman (Wachtmeister). Along with the slapstick element, Jacob's troupe removed bawdiness and smutty language. The Hohensteiner Kasper Theatre relied less on props and scenery than the earlier Kasper Theatre and instead used an assortment of curtains behind the figures. They also played in a room rather than on the traditional ''Spielleiste''. They also introduced music to Kasper theatre, provided above all by one of the Hohnsteiner troupe's later additions, the composer Irmgard Wesemann, who joined them in 1945. The music gave a prominent place to the accordion, which would be played from behind the stage while Kasper himself mimed a mini-performance.


Literature

* Max Jacob: ''Mein Kasper und ich'' (Autobiographie), Rudolstadt 1964. * Richard Schimrich: ''Das Handpuppen-Laienspielbuch der Hohnsteiner'', Reichenau 1942. * Herbert Just (Hrsg.): ''Mensch, Narr, Weiser - Puppenspieler'' (Festgabe zu Jacobs 70. Geburtstag), Kassel 1958. * Wolfgang Hensel, Gerd J. Pohl (Vorwort): ''Kaspers Weg von Ost nach West'' (mit einem ausführlichen Kapitel über Max Jacob und die Hohnsteiner Puppenspiele), Dettelbach 2008,


See also

*
Kasperle Kasperle, Kasper, or Kasperl ( Bavarian German: ''Káschberl'', Swabian German: ''Kaschberle'', Swiss German: ''Chaschperli'') is a famous and traditional puppet character from Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, and Germany. Its roots date to ...
*
Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character w ...
*
Commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charac ...
*
Puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performan ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacob, Max 1888 births 1967 deaths Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany UNIMA presidents