"ANTI-PULLY WEEK" "Anti-pully week?" "You misspelled it." "Do you know the story of the bumblebee?" "The bumblebee is too heavy to fly." "It has a very dense body and tiny wings." "But it doesn't know it." "No one told it it's too heavy to fly, so it just does." "Esben and Stine are, as you well know, dyslexic." "Every day they're told that they can't fly." "Now we have two weeks with the anti-bullying theme." "Two entire weeks of celebrating the individual, even if you're dyslexic." "So you won't say it's wrong?" "Every day of their lives, we've told our bumblebees that they can't spell." "And every time they've crashed to the ground." " I want to see them defy gravity." " Watch out!" " This will be great." " Yeah." "Just say so if you want me to stop." "Don't mind them." "Have you seen Christopher?" "He's picking flowers." "Yeah, he's, like, totally girly." " It looks really good." " Thanks, Hjørdis." " Hi, Gert." " Hi, Hjørdis." "I brought my trumpet." "I thought I'd puff on him for our play." "Blow." "On It." "Blow on it." "I'm never going to learn it." "Have a seat." "I'll go over the plan with you." "Helle has given us free rein." "Our show just has to tie up the bullying theme." "I'll direct." "And you're in charge of music." "And eight students have volunteered for the troupe." " What children have volunteered?" " These kids." "Ja, ja, ja." "Yeah, they're all really bad." "That doesn't matter." "It's just supposed to be fun and laid-back." " In true Danish fashion?" " Exactly." "Helle, is everything alright?" "She's bloody coming." "No!" "Now I'm swearing." "I have to stop that." " Who's coming?" " The Crown Princess." " She's agreed to visit." " Fantastic!" " It is fantastic." " Why is she coming?" "She's patroness of The Mary Foundation Against Bullying, so I invited her." " Now she's coming to see your show." " Ach du lieber..." "The children will be happy." "That is such a positive signal to send." "They're just ordinary kids without any special talents..." "They're not very good, but even so, a princess is coming to watch them." "Well, yes, but also no." "Some of them must be talented." " Nein, they're just awful." " Oh." "Who signed up?" "Give me the list." "Bo from fourth grade." "Is it the same Bo?" "Christopher." "Johanne." "Isn't she deaf?" " Deaf people can sing too." " Just not very well." "This won't do." "Mary's coming." "We need to put on a show that's worthy of a crown princess." "The Danish way, nicht mehr." "No, let me have a look at the list." "One of them is bound to have some talent." "Theatre." "You can hear it, and you can see it, and you can taste it." "You can't taste it." "You can feel it." "Together, we'll make Crown Princess Mary feel it throughout her body." "Laugh." "Cry." "Get goosebumps." "Together, we'll put on Rødovre's greatest anti-bullying show ever." "Are you with me?" "Are you with me?" "Great." "Why don't we introduce ourselves?" "Yes, you, what's your name, and why did you sign up?" "My name is Bo." "I like being told stories while I'm chilling out and eating some candy." "In this case, we're telling the story." "I like that too." "Making up a story while I'm chilling out and eating some candy." "A true storyteller, huh?" "Sounds good." "How about you two?" "Her name is Johanne, and I'm Malajka." " You can hear, right?" " She wears a hearing aid." "And why do you want to act?" "She wants to get better at talking with her body, so others understand her." "And how about you?" "I don't know." "Johanne is my only friend, so I came along." "Splendid idea." "We're pleased with that." "How about you?" "Hey, hello." "That's great, but before we dress up, let's introduce ourselves." "I'm Christopher, and I'm in first grade." "Brilliant, Christopher!" "And why do you want to act?" " Hjørdis, can I see you for a moment?" " Of course." " Why don't you warm up with a song?" " Of course." "Children, you know The Scorpions, right?" "Hjørdis, maybe your acting troupe would benefit from some added resources." "Great, we could get lighting and..." "No, I was thinking more of human resources." "Musically gifted resources." " You mean other students?" " Precisely." "But it doesn't matter if they're good or bad." "The point is that everyone is OK." "If they're all OK, let's use the good students." "Not to do so would be a form of bullying." " So I've contacted Abildgård School." " But why?" "They have good musical line with talented children." "But Mary is coming to meet our students." "Theirs, ours, yours, mine." "Why the xenophobic style of rhetoric?" " Yes, but..." " Hjørdis!" "I can't discuss it now." "She will be here in two weeks." "It's messy and looks like an ugly, old public school." " It is a public school." " You know what I mean!" "I've made up my mind." "We're welcoming four new students." "They'll be here for two weeks, and they're in your theatre troupe." "Alright?" " Maybe it's all for the best, Hjørdis." " How so?" "Think of the children." "It can be hard, getting up on stage without any talent." "This might take you by surprise, but I know a thing or two about insecurity." "Really?" "I was 13 years old." "We were putting on a play, and my teacher decided to draw for the roles." "I got the lead part, playing the princess." "It made me so happy." "I practised day in, day out." "I was really looking forward to getting up on stage." "But after our dress rehearsal, the other girls came over." "They had been talking." "They didn't think the princess should be, you know, chubby." "No." "They didn't believe the prince would fall in love with her." "They asked me if I was out to ruin the play." "And of course I wasn't." "So what did you do?" "I gave the role to Bettina." "But I got another really cool part as the princess' mule." "That was so much fun." "That was my line." "It was obviously a great performance, and your heart was in it." "Thank you, Gert." "Come on, the new children are arriving." "The elite children." "Well, let's bid our new arrivals welcome to Islevgård School." " What have you acted in?" " What do you mean?" "Have you done musicals, fashion shows, commercials?" "Have you done anything?" "I've been to weight loss camp!" "Different backgrounds are good." "That way you can learn from each other." "So Gert and I thought that we'd split you into pairs." " A good and a bad student?" " That's just one way of saying it." " And the other?" " Shut up, Freja." "No." "To do my best, I need to know what I'm in for." " What experience do you have directing?" " I'm a school teacher." "I'm a pro, and I won't be humiliated by singing with the special ed class." "Certainly not with an amateur director." "You might perform better if you helped your classmates." "They're not my mates." "They're a bunch of worthless freaks." "You know nothing about acting, so just let us put something together." "Or you can ruin the show by pretending to be a director." "It's your call." "Good." "Let's get started." " What will we do now?" " We'll figure something out." "Let's go." "August, are you coming?" "If it isn't the theatre fag." "Stop that!" "Idiot!" "Are you OK?" " Are you OK, Christopher?" " Yes." "Nothing." "Hjørdis!" "I just went to hear the new students sing." "Fantastic!" "Good job!" "Thanks, but it wasn't me, it was Freja." "They wanted to do it themselves." "I know it's not what you wanted." "But in this way, it's a special occasion." "It's just... our own students aren't a part of it now." "They wanted to act." "Now they're spectating." "We'll find something else." "The theatre is all about cooperation." "Everyone matters." "Some are on stage, others are behind the curtains." "There are tickets to check, light and sound and cleaning." "How is that acting?" "I know, but this is how it turned out." "But I also know you can soften the blow for the other students." "You're a good teacher." "You are." " Your dancing seems dead." " I'm done with this." "Leave me alone." " Just follow the routine we practised." " August!" " What's up?" " I'm leaving." "Now that August is gone, me and Jasmin will take over his dance, right?" " What just happened with August?" " He couldn't handle the pressure." "Who cares anyway?" "He's not very good." "Let's take our places." "Alright, listen up." "I had a talk with Helle." "I found another really fun job for us to do, while the others are rehearsing." "Not just the stage is a stage." "The entire world is a stage." "That's why you can do theatre in a ton of different places." "Like out in the aula." "How is that acting?" "Hjørdis." "You can paint a sign where you act like you're a boy that really likes to paint a sign." "Come now, children, let's get to work." " It's gonna be so much fun." " Yes, it will be Spaß." "I know you're saying all that, so we won't get sad." "But I promise, I won't tell the others." " Let's go." " Three, four..." "She's good." " She sure is." " But she's not a real princess." "No, she isn't." "I'll be right back." "What are you listening to?" "Very..." "loud." "It's hard drowning out Freja." " I went to this school before." " Here, at Islevgård?" "Until the third grade." "They discovered my talent for dancing, so I transferred." " They really nurture creativity well." " I guess so." " Did you argue with your friends?" " We're not friends." " Was that why you left?" " No, I don't care." "When I went here, we put on a play on the main stage." "That was the most fun I ever had." "Everything is so serious over there." "Every time we're about to perform, it's like I can't breathe." "So usually I don't sign up for anything." "I just mind my own business." "Why'd you do it this time?" "I wanted to see if it's still nice here." "And is it?" "Until we showed up." "Come on." " Where are we going?" " To put on a show." " We should start earlier..." " Excuse me." "We're putting on an anti-bullying show." "Stop bullying the others or leave." "Helle said..." "Helle isn't directing this show and neither are you." "I am." "I can't take this seriously." "You're just gonna have to." "Otherwise, you're welcome to leave." "Come on." "Good luck humiliating yourselves." "Are you coming?" "No, I'm staying." "This would be the place for a dancer with stage fright." "My name is Hjørdis, and I refuse to play the mule again!" "And now I need to have a chat with Helle." " You what?" " I sent them home." " They weren't playing nice." " We have a visitor from the very top." " I'm the principal." " I won't direct." " Then I'll have to do it." " I'll quit my job." "You had better leave my office right now." "You're gonna be really, really busy rehearsing." " Do you understand?" " I understand." " Thank you." " I would hold my thanks if I were you." "Right." "Thanks." "Theatre." "You can hear it, you can see it, and you can feel it." "And not just when it's performed by the best." "It's just as powerful when everyone's doing their very best." "Then you feel it." "Helle, The Crown Princess and all the others." "But we have to work hard." "We have to rehearse everyday, take it seriously and we need to help each other to perform well." " What do you say?" "Are you in?" " Yes." " Are you in?" " Yes!" " Awesome!" " Let's get to it then."