Enlarge image Consul General Wolfgang Drautz presents German teacher Paula Blum with prize check. German Honorary Consul for Colorado, Bernhard J. Bleise looks on from the far right. (© Hannah Weinstein) German students at Shining Mountain Waldorf School in Boulder, CO won 2nd prize for their production of Der Rattenfänger von Hameln in the German Agency for Schools Abroad’s fairy tale challenge. Consul General Wolfgang Drautz, accompanied by Honorary Consul for Colorado, Bernhard J. Bleise, recently visited the school to present the award certificate and prize check of $400.

Last spring, German students of any level, from “Saturday schools” to universities all over the United States, were invited by the German Agency for Schools Abroad to develop and perform in German theater productions of German fairy tales, 8-15 minutes in length, and submit live performances recorded on DVD by December 31, 2011.

The nationwide theater competition, “Raise the Curtain for German - Take the Fairy Tale Challenge, was organized by Gert Wilhelm, US representative of the German Agency for Schools Abroad, with an assist by the German government, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first publication of "Children’s and Household Tales" by the Brothers Grimm.

Enlarge image Consul General Drautz commends German students on their efforts in taking second prize in the Grimm fairy tale competition. (© Hannah Weinstein) Once twenty performances were selected from all the entries, a special YouTube channel “Märchenhaft” (“fairy tale-like”) was created to allow students and teachers — and a world-wide audience —to view and compare productions of Schneewittchen (Snow White), Die Sterntaler (The Star Money), Die goldene Gans (The Golden Goose), and many others. Then, a jury of five German education experts choose the four winners of the competition based on both theatrical and linguistic merits.

At Shining Mountain Waldorf School, the project was a group effort: Level 3 class German students, with the help of German teacher Paula Blum and Eurythmy teacher Thyria Ogletree, wrote the script based on the Brother Grimm’s The Pied Piper of Hamlin, designed the sets and chose the costumes. Joining them on stage, were the Level 1 German students and the 4th grade Eurythmy class. The overjoyed students will use the prize money for a cultural experience.

By inspiring young learners of German to study the challenging texts, and at the same time have fun staging the performances, the Grimm fairy tale competition was another unique way to foster and support German language instruction in the United States.

The complete list of winners of the Grimm Fairy Tale Competiton:

1st Prize ($500) Harford Christian School, Maryland: Der Rattenfänger von Hameln
2nd Prize ($400) Shining Mountain Waldorf School, Colorado: Der Rattenfänger
3rd Prize ($300) Deer Park High School, Texas: Schneewittchen
Audience Prize ($400) International School, Michigan: Die goldene Gans