THEATER IN MEDIAS RES

ACTOR THOMAS WALDKIRCHER ON THE ROLE OF THE PILOT IN THE LITTLE PRINCE

To play the Little Prince, you have to make yourself completely permeable as an actor. He is such a delicate character who has such a big story to tell. It is a balancing act. In fact, it is exactly as Exupéry must have experienced it when he crashed in the Sahara desert: the little prince is an apparition, a precious encounter with his inner self, his self. A shimmer in the desert or a morning mist that disappears again with the slightest breath of wind or the smallest wrong note, and then I would have missed everything that I could experience and learn from him because I was not careful enough with him. And for me, all of that lies in the prince's first appearance. It is not a normal stage appearance, but the little prince appears, is simply there and has always been there.

Everyone in the hall, in front of the stage, on and behind the stage must virtually hold their breath, feel the transience of this moment almost physically and, from the very first moment, enter this world, this insight into the soul that Exupéry allows us. Otherwise the little prince will simply disappear again and the pilot's naked fight for survival would be all that would be left.
But all of us who love this little prince want more - and I see it as my task in this role to understand this and to take a step back completely in order to enable everyone in the room to be with their little prince.

If I can do that, then I can face Antoine de Saint Exupéry with a clear conscience.

Yours, Thomas Waldkircher