by Nemsie Gonzalez
When looking at theater, you may often think to yourself, “what is the point?” Theater is a longstanding art form that works to not only engage the audience through storytelling, but further helps us to learn and grow while establishing relationships with the audience to show that we are not alone. Many of us struggle to remember the importance of theater and it is not until we see a work of art that truly touches us, that we’re able to understand its beauty. Morgan Hunter’s Meine Liebe, I don’t verstanden accomplished all that and more. The story follows the journey of a student studying German, following their development as they grow up over the years. In this comedic stage reading we watch the unnamed student struggle, persevere and reach the depths of desperation only to come out stronger having remembered why they started their language journey in the first place.
As they attempt to establish fluency and learn as much as they can, we learn that things may not be as easy as they seem and enthusiasm is a hard component to maintain. Language learning is revealed to be more about grammar and history than practical conversational skills, and the structure and speed required in the classroom begins to weigh down our student.
For those who are actively learning languages, this sentiment hits home. Emma Anderson ’26 gave their thoughts on the play, “I thought Morgan did an excellent job exploring the personal struggles of language learning while also addressing some of the larger institutional issues–particularly the limitations of language learning in a classroom setting and the frustrations that come with that from both the student and educator point of view.” Anderson is referring to the comedic relationship held between the teacher and the student who have an impactful scene where the two characters argue over the best ways to establish learning. In it we are reminded that despite our frustrations, we must continue to humanize our language professors.
While the comedic aspect of the play, displayed by its colorful characters and their relationship to one another, provide the audience with a deeply pleasurable experience finding reprieve between the moments of frustration and isolation experienced by the student, the play’s true strength finds itself in its ability to address these intense feelings without creating an overly heavy atmosphere.
Doug Slovenkay ’27 who plays Multi the Emu, an eccentric teaching bird, recognizes the difficulty of this task, “Given that there is nothing inherently funny about frustration and anger, I suppose that posing these emotions in a comedic manner was the most difficult part of the experience, although Morgan’s script was excellent and made this as easy on us as possible.”
These aforementioned frustrations faced by the student ultimately lead to the student struggling to feel accomplished with their language milestones, falling victim to burnout, and ultimately experiencing deep feelings of isolation and failure. For those who struggle with language learning, the scenes demonstrating these frustrations allow the audience to gain some reprieve watching the student learn to make sense of their feelings.
For the writer and director Morgan Hunter ’25, this is one of the main purposes of the play. Hunter wanted Miene Liebe to “become a way to unite so many people who feel so alone,” and is able to do so through their ability to create catharsis for the audience and remind them “these years haven’t been in vain, language learning or beyond. That what they are doing is worthwhile, despite what academia may try and convince them.”
Overall, the play works to encourage and support all academics in all their struggles. Despite the speaker’s feelings of linguistic stagnation, growth and development can be seen throughout the student’s journey. This growth is acknowledged through the students’ change in title and is furthered by outside observers, reminding us that even when we can’t see it, we are moving forward little by little while arguing that we should qualify success differently.
Thank you Alpha Psi Omega, Morgan, Lily, Amelia, Jemella, Jess, Sophie, Doug and Claire for putting on such a memorable piece. As a struggling Spanish speaker, this play meant a lot to me. Thanks for advocating for all of our success!