Life Doesn’t Frighten Me -Vienna

A performing arts group in Vienna, the capital city of Austria, plunges into the adventure of fighting fear! Based on the poem ‘Life doesn’t scare me’, the intergenerational ensemble develops a production in which it confronts itself with the dangers, horror, and craziness of daily life.

Three adults and five young people between the ages of 13 and 17 embark on a dance-musical search for remedies against fear.

The famous poem by the American writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou is the humorous, serious, and rhythmic starting point of this search. With poetic texts and expressive musical images, they speak of being different, being afraid, being alone, and being together.

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They stand against the monster under the bed, against the shadows on the wall, against the fear that befalls us when we look at the crises of this world.

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This world is trying to scare me, too, now, and I wish I could visit the theater in Vienna and watch the performance.

I wish many modern theater groups all over the world, at least in the parts that are not involved in any war, would realize that children, teenagers, and young adults right now must be frightened. It’s up to us to assure them that it all will be alright.

I believe we, the older generation, have a duty not to let them fear alone.

Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Bad dogs barking loud
Big ghosts in a cloud
Life doesn’t frighten me at all

Mean old Mother Goose
Lions on the loose
They don’t frighten me at all

Dragons breathing flame
On my counterpane
That doesn’t frighten me at all.

I go boo
Make them shoo
I make fun
Way they run
I won’t cry
So they fly
I just smile
They go wild

Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

Tough guys fight
All alone at night
Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

Panthers in the park
Strangers in the dark
No, they don’t frighten me at all.

That new classroom where
Boys all pull my hair
(Kissy little girls
With their hair in curls)
They don’t frighten me at all.

Don’t show me frogs and snakes
And listen for my scream,
If I’m afraid at all
It’s only in my dreams.

I’ve got a magic charm
That I keep up my sleeve
I can walk the ocean floor
And never have to breathe.

Life doesn’t frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.

Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

Life goes on, with or without fear.

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The poem ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’ is a powerful manifesto of self-empowerment and overcoming fear. It describes a series of scenes and situations that might be threatening or intimidating—whether involving monsters, shadows on the wall, wild animals, or the unknown. Yet, in every instance, the text emphasizes that these things hold no fear for the speaker.

It is both a poem of empowerment and a call to courage; it celebrates the indomitable spirit and the inner power to face life’s challenges.

The poem was created in collaboration with the painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. Basquiat created a series of illustrations for this poem, which were published in 1996 in a book titled “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me.”

‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’ celebrates the power of inner strength and the courage to face life’s adversities. It’s a timeless message that has inspired and touched many people.