Flynn Student Matinees

Transcription

1 Encore! Four Short Stories Study Guide Flynn Student Matinees

2 Welcome to the Flynn Student Matinee season! Today s scholars and researchers say creativity is the top skill our kids will need when they enter the work force of the future. We at the Flynn couldn t agree more, and we salute YOU for valuing the educational and inspirational power of live performance. By using this study guide and the Words Come Alive! Performance Activities you are taking an even greater step toward implementing the arts as a vital and inspiring educational tool. [Please note that in an effort to make this guide even more user-friendly all of the internet links provided are live and you may now click to any section of the guide from the table of contents (at right).] We hope you find this guide useful and we hope you will take a moment with your class after the performance to fill out the response forms at the back of the guide. Your feedback is a necessary part of keeping the student matinee series fresh and relevant. Enjoy the show! -Education Staff VT Standards: Seeing any Student Matinee at the Flynn and reflecting upon the experience afterward addresses the following standards: Critique (1.14) Aesthetic Judgment (5.4) Point of View (5.5) Audience Response (5.7) Seeing this particular performance and doing any of the activities in this study guide or having a companion workshop also addresses: Reading Comprehension (1.3) Students read for meaning, demonstrating both initial understanding and personal response to what is read. American Literature (5.9) Students interpret contemporary and enduring works of American literature, and understand how important themes of American experience have developed through time. Literary Elements and Devices (5.11) Students use literary elements and devices including theme, plot, style, imagery, and metaphor to analyze, compare, interpret, and create literature. About the Performance The Company 3 The Production 3 Further Exploration 3 About the Stories & Authors The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Washington Irving & Further Exploration The Monkey s Paw and W.W. Jacobs & Further Exploration The Necklace and Guy de Maupassant & Further Exploration The Tell-tale Heart and Edgar Allan Poe & Further Exploration The Raven & Further Exploration About the Art Form Theatre: History 9 Elements of Theatre: Glossary of Terms Etiquette for Live Performance Words Come Alive! Activities Tableaux 12 Improvised Dialogue 13 Speaking Lines 13 Thank you! The Flynn Center gratefully acknowledges the support of the Forest and Frances Lattner Foundation, Bari and Peter Dreissigacker and the Vermont Community Foundation, the Lintilhac Foundation, the Golub Foundation, the Walter Cerf Community Fund through the Vermont Community Foundation, Comcast, and an incredibly generous anonymous donor. Special thanks to Bruce and Ruth Ann Beers for sponsoring this matinee. Build a Place 14 Sound Effects 14 General Information & Feedback The Flynn Center 15 Teacher Response Form 16 Student Response Form 17 Handout for Parents 18 2

3 The Company Chamber Theatre Productions has been creating quality live theatre for young audiences for over 30 years! The company specializes in the dramatization of literature. Using special effects and period sets and costumes, CTP produces original adaptations of some of the greatest works in the English language. What is Chamber Theatre? Chamber theatre is a type of theatre which creates live stage performances by adapting works of literature. These adaptations put the emphasis on the original text of the story rather than relying too heavily on props, set, etc. However, as the productions do aim to stay true to the original story, you will see realistic, period costumes, props, and set (such as there are). One of CTP s main artistic features relies on a format that speaks from the narrator s point of view, and the narration often occurs in inventive and creative ways. Sometimes the narrator becomes the principal character; sometimes the narration is shared between characters; sometimes the narrator leaves the action and becomes a non-participant. Each variation enhances the artistic interpretations of the stories being told. The Production With Encore! the nationally acclaimed Chamber Repertory Theatre brings us four exciting dramatizations of classic literature, highlighting the distinctive styles of several well-known authors. The five diverse works (by Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, W.W.Jacobs, and Guy de Maupassant) are woven together with an innovative use of sets, costumes, lighting, and sound effects to form an intricate tapestry of suspense, drama, and even comedy. This unique, fullystaged production is designed to inspire discussion of the many elements found in great writing. Be prepared for a brief pause between each story, as the cast and crew reset the stage for the next piece. Further Exploration... The chamber format poses some unique production challenges. For one thing, trying to create the settings for four or five different stories on one stage in the same amount of time as most productions would use to create one story is quite a feat. Also, the chamber repertory style means that a handful of actors have to be able to play a wide array of characters to fill the roles in each of the stories. Furthermore, this type of production challenges an audience to shift from one story to another quickly and to accept changes in style and tone. Post-show Discussion: How was watching this performance different for you as an audience member compared to watching a more traditional play which tells a single story over the course of an hour? What shifts did you find you had to make? Was it difficult to switch from one story to the next? Why or why not? How did the actors portray so many different characters in such a short amount of time? What did you notice about their physicality and/or their vocal qualities? How did their character choices help or hinder your ability to shift to different stories? What did you notice about the set, lights, sound, costumes, and props in each of the stories? Which aspects stood out to you? How did these aspects of the show help you understand the stories? How did they help you to understand the various times and places of the different stories? How were they used to indicate mood or tone of each of the tales? Were they different than what you expected or imagined when you read the stories? 3

4 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow a young schoolmaster from Connecticut named Ichabod Crane has recently relocated to the small Dutch settlement town in New York known as Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod Crane is a somewhat comical character, outwardly gangly and socially awkward but nevertheless he has a rather high opinion of himself and sets his sights on wooing the beautiful and flirtatious Katrina Van Tassel, daughter of a wealthy farmer in the village. Crane endears himself to the residents of the town with his singing and his love of listening to their fantastic tales of ghosts and superstitions. Ichabod is particularly thrilled by the tale of the slain Hessian soldier who is thought to ride through this land, a headless horseman, looking for his lost head. One member of the town is not a big fan of Ichabod, the town bully Brom Bones who has his sights on Katrina Van Tassel as well. At the harvest party, Ichabod announces his intentions to Katrina and she rejects him. Humiliated, Ichabod makes his way home but the ghost stories have him on edge and he begins to hear and see things in the woods. He becomes convinced that he is being chased by the headless horseman and he and his horse race through the darkness, desperately trying to outrun the specter. Ichabod disappears without a trace and becomes another story that the villagers share with one another in front of their hearthstones. The story is left open to interpretation. Was Ichabod Crane killed that night or did he run away? Was he really chased by the headless horseman, or by a jealous Brom Bones playing a trick on him? Whatever the pursuer s form, it was Ichabod's last ride. Washington Irving ( ) Washington Irving was an American short story writer, essayist, poet, travel book writer, biographer, and columnist. He has been called the father of the American short story and is best known for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, both of which are regarded as some of the very best short stories in American Literature. Irving was born on April 3, 1783 in New York City, the youngest of 11 children. His father was a successful merchant and deacon of the church and the Irving family developed a reputation for being generous and charitable. Washington (named in honor of George Washington) was born sickly but was nevertheless a mischievous child and an adventurous young man who enjoyed the company of others and exploring new places as an adult he developed quite a love of travelling especially in Europe. He also developed a love of books early on, one of his favorites being Defoe s Robinson Crusoe. As a young man he earned a law degree but practiced only briefly. Irving's career as a writer started in journals and newspapers. He contributed to Morning Chronicle ( ), which was edited by his brother Peter, and collaborated on a short-lived but popular semi-monthly periodical with his brother William and James Kirke Paulding in The periodical was called The Salmagundi Papers; or, the Whim-Whams and Opinions of Laucelot Langstaff, Esq. and Others. It included satirical and tongue-in-cheek articles about politics, society, and culture. In between writing and working in the law office, Irving travelled throughout Europe. His first trip in 1804 was brought about because of his poor health he was headed to a spa in France but it ended up sending him on a two-year adventure through many European countries. He went back to Europe to visit his brother in England in 1815 and this trip turned out to be a 17-year stint of travels through the continent. During this time he turned to writing again as a means of income and it was here that he wrote his two most famous short stories along with many other tales. His stories were wildly popular both in America and Europe and earned Irving the praise of Charles Dickens, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, and Sir Walter Scott! In 1832 Irving returned to America and settled down in a farmhouse in Tarrytown, New York. From here he continued to write short stories, essays, biographical works, and travelogues. His final work was a book about his namesake, Life of George Washington (1859). Further Exploration... Otfinoski, Steven. Nineteenth-century writers. New York : Facts on File, c1991. Contains profiles of ten nineteenth-century American literary authors, from Washington Irving to Stephen Crane, and assesses their work and its significance for American life and culture. 4

5 The Monkey s Paw In The Monkey s Paw, WW Jacobs challenges the reader to decide whether supernatural powers or mere coincidence can explain what happens. A mother, father and their only son come into possession of a magical monkey's paw which will grant them three wishes. They are duly warned that the wishes might turn against them, and so they wish for just a small sum of money. The very next day they learn that their son has been mangled and killed in a machine at the factory where he works. As compensation for his death, the factory offers them the exact sum of money they wished for on the Monkey s Paw! With two wishes left, they hastily wish for their son to come back to life and the mother waits up for her son s return on a stormy night. As they hear their son s approach through the front gate, the father suddenly realizes that though their son might come back to life, he will return in his mangled form since they did not explicitly wish for him to return healthy and whole. Wishing to spare his wife the anguish of seeing their son this way, he quickly grabs the monkey's paw, and uses their final wish to ask that their son be returned to the peace of the grave. The mother flings open the front door to find no one there. Further Exploration... W.W.Jacobs ( ) William Wymark Jacobs was born on September 8, 1863 in Wapping, London, England. He was the eldest in a large and poor family. His mother died when he was quite young and his father worked as the manager of a South Devon wharf. Young Jacobs spent a good deal of time with his siblings playing among the wharves and observing the comings and goings of the steamers and their crews. W.W. as his friends called him, was a shy and quiet boy. He attended a private school in London and then Birkbeck College. From there he became a clerk in the civil service and then the savings bank department where he worked until Around 1885 he started submitting anonymous works to be published and in the early nineties Jacobs had some of his stories published in the illustrated satirical magazines The Idler and Today. The Strand magazine also published some of Jacobs works.. In 1896 Jacobs' first collection of short stories, Many Cargoes, was published. This was followed in by a novelette titled The Skipper's Wooing in 1897 and then in1898 he published another collection of short stories, Sea Urchins. By 1899 Jacobs felt confident that he could earn a living through his writing and he resigned from the civil service. He married suffragette Agnes Eleanor in 1900 and with Agnes he raised two sons and three daughters. Jacobs went on to publish two more novelettes and many more short stories including his most famous, The Monkey s Paw. He is known for his exceptional talent for devising characters and satirical situations and The Monkey's Paw has been adapted for stage and screen many times. Research and discussion: In The Monkey s Paw, the family is visited by an old friend, Sergeant-Major Morris, who has spent some 21 years in India. The story was published in 1902 have students research the circumstances and relationship between India and Great Britain during this time. Here s a link to get them started: (you will have to cut and paste this link into your browser) What might explain the Sergeant-Major s presence in India for 21 years during this era? Coincidence or Fate/Action and Reaction: Jacobs story asks the reader to consider the idea of fate or consequence. Perhaps the monkey s paw is less of a magical talisman and more of a reminder that for every action we take there will be consequences both good and bad. Ask students to consider these ideas. Did the Whites son die as a part of the fulfillment of their wish on the monkey s paw or was this merely a cruel coincidence? How much of our lives is decided by fate or unseen forces and how much is under our own control? 5

6 The Necklace The story of The Necklace revolves around a young woman who, though born to the working class and married to a working class gentleman, always feels that she rightfully belongs to a life of luxury and status. Her husband acquires an invitation to a prestigious ball in the hopes that this will be a treat for his wife but when he announces the invitation to his wife she bursts into tears complaining that she has nothing to wear to such an event and would rather not go at all then look shabby next to the wealthy women at the ball. The husband offers to give her the money for a new dress he has set aside 400 francs to reward himself with a hunting trip later that season and he gives her this money for a dress instead. Mathilde purchases a dress but as the ball approaches she is anxious and gloomy. Her husband confronts her and learns that she is worried that she does not have any jewels to wear to the ball. Mathilde s husband suggests that she ask to borrow some adornment from her wealthy friend Jeanne. With that Mathilde rushes to her friend to ask to borrow some jewelry. Jeanne is happy to loan her a beautiful, sparkling, necklace and Mathilde proudly wears it to the ball. The evening is a complete success, Mathilde is fawned over at the ball as one of the great beauties of the evening and she leaves the ball walking on air. When she returns home she removes her cloak in order to get one last look at herself in the mirror in all her glory. Much to her dismay, she discovers that the necklace is gone! The husband and wife search far and wide but cannot recover the missing necklace and unwilling to admit to her friend that she has lost the precious jewelry, Mathilde and her husband seek out an identical necklace to purchase. They find one which appears to be identical and convince the jeweler to sell it to them for 36,000 francs. This is far more money than they have and they are forced to borrow thousands and thousands of francs in order to pay for the necklace. Over the next ten years, husband and wife work hard at many jobs in order to pay off these debts. Finally, at the end of these long years, the debts are paid and Mathilde decides to come clean to Jeanne about the necklace. Her friend is shocked and explains to Mathilde that the lost necklace was nothing but costume jewelry and nowhere near the worth of the real diamond necklace that replaced it! Further Exploration... The Necklace can be considered a morality tale, exploring the basic ideas and consequences of pride, vanity, and deceit. Ask students to think of other stories that might be categorized as morality tales. What do they have in common? What is interesting about a story that explores a particular moral? Writing Activity: Provide students with a common adage (e.g. pride goeth before the fall or honesty is the best policy ) and then give them 10 minutes or so to write a free form, stream of consciousness exploration of this moral. After the ten minutes of writing, encourage students to look for patterns in their exploration or recurring ideas what parts of the moral seem most interesting or personal and how could they build a story around those ideas? If time allows students might expand these writings into more formal morality tales. Guy de Maupassant ( ) Guy de Maupassant was a French author in what is known as the naturalistic style. He is generally thought to be the greatest short story writer of France. Guy de Maupassant began to study law in Paris in 1869 but about a year later, at the age of 20, he left his studies and volunteered in the army during the Franco-Prussian War. Between 1872 and 1880 Maupassant was a civil servant at the ministry of maritime affairs and then the ministry of education. Maupassant s debut as a poet came in 1880 with the publication of Des Vers. That same year he published in an anthology which was edited by the great French master, Emile Zola. This story,boule De Suif (Ball of Fat) is thought to be Maupassant s masterpiece. Guy de Maupassant was extremely prolific in the 1880 s writing some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. His focus was on everyday situations and people and what those situations revealed about the human psyche. His tone was a mixture of objectivity, control, and even humor. Maupassant also seemed interested in the theme of mental disorders and while this may have something to do with his own increasing struggles with mental illness due to his ongoing battle with syphillis which he contracted in his 20 s. However the theme is present even in his first collection of works which were published at the height of his health so it is clear that Maupassant held a deep fascination for troubles of the mind from his earliest years as a writer. Guy de Maupassant was committed to an asylum in January, 1892 after an attempted suicide. He died in the asylum in July, 1893, leaving behind an impressive body of work and a legacy of iconic French story-telling. =6=

7 The Tell-Tale Heart Edgar Allan Poe ( ) The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe is a masterpiece of suspense and an early example of what today might be called a psychological thriller. The narrator of the tale details for us his obsession with what he calls the evil vulture eye of an otherwise unoffending, kindly old gentleman living in the house. The narrator is haunted by the man s eye and resolves to murder the old man thus ridding himself of the eye. He plans the murder carefully so as to be undetected. For seven nights, the murderer enters the old man s room at midnight but each time, the man is sleeping, the eye is closed, and so the motive for the killing does not present itself. On the eighth night, however, the old man awakens suddenly and as soon as our narrator sees the eye the murder occurs, and the killer hides the body under the floor and cleans the room of all evidence of the crime. A short time later, the killer receives a visit from investigators into the disappearance of the elderly gentleman. They are unable to find any clues but the murderer s guilty mind begins to play games. Our narrator detects a rhythmic pounding which becomes increasingly louder and louder. Believing it to be the beating heart of the victim, pounding underneath the floorboards, the murderer confesses the crime. Poe often explored the idea of madness versus sanity and the tension between calculated rationality and unconscious behavior. The Tell-Tale Heart is perhaps one of the best examples of this exploration. = Poe s works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. A versatile writer, Poe is best known for his short stories and poetry but he made his living as a literary critic and theoretician. Poe s legacy is one of haunting poetry and thrilling tales of psychological turmoil and conflict. He virtually created the modern detective story and he perfected the psychological thriller. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, Within three years he had lost both of his parents to tuberculosis and he was taken in by a tobacco merchant, and his wife, John and Frances Allan in Richmond, Virginia. Edgar s siblings were taken in by other families. Mr. Allan wanted Edgar to grow into a Virginia gentleman and businessman but Poe dreamt of becoming a writer and idolized the British poet, Lord Byron. These diverse goals would cause a great rift between the two men in later years. Poe s early adulthood was a mixture of sorrows and triumphs. His first book was published when he was just 18 and he published two other books shortly thereafter but at the same time he suffered a humiliating break up, the death of his adopted mother Frances Allan, a strained and ultimately estranged relationship with his adopted father John Allan, and extreme poverty. In his twenties, Poe moved to Baltimore where he lived with his Aunt Maria Clemm who became a sort of mother figure for him. He also became very close with her daughter Virginia Clemm and he began to see some of his short stories published. He was offered an editorial position back in Richmond for the publication known as the Southern Literary Messenger and in 1836, he helped his aunt Maria and her daughter move to Richmond where he married his 13 -year old cousin, Viriginia. Poe became dissatisfied with work at the Messenger and went to New York and Philadelphia in search of magazine work. He continued to write stories and even published a novel and sold articles to various magazines. Making a living as a writer was difficult but he seemed to find solace in his home with his young wife and in 1845 he became a household name with the publication of his famous poem The Raven. In 1847 tragedy struck when his young wife Virginia died of tuberculosis at the age of 24. Poe was devastated and it seems never fully recovered from the loss. Just two years later, Poe was found in a bar room, delirious and in poor health and was taken to a hospital where he lived out his last days far from home and among strangers. He died on October 7, Though Poe s life was plagued with personal tragedy, health issues, and financial woes, he nevertheless left behind an impressive body of work. His writing has been some of the most influential both in America and abroad and his style is immediately recognizable. His place in history and his important contribution to the canon of American Literature is unmistakable. Further Exploration...Different Interpretations One of the most intriguing aspects of CRT s interpretation of this tale is that a woman plays the part of the murderer. Most people when reading the story, assume that this character is a man even though nowhere in the tale is it stated that this is so. Perhaps this is simply because the author is male and the story is written in the first person narrative...or perhaps there are other reasons for this assumption. How is our understanding of the story and the protagonist affected based on the murderer s gender? Do we relate differently to the character? Do we expect a different outcome from different genders? Do you think Poe intended for this character to be male, female, or ambiguous? Could it be that Poe left the gender of this character a mystery on purpose? Was Poe creating a story whose impact could be changed simply depending on which gender the reader pictures for the killer? 7

8 The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. "'Tis some visiter," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door Only this and nothing more." Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor. Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow sorrow for the lost Lenore For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore Nameless here for evermore. And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain Thrilled me filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating "'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; This it is and nothing more." Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, "Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you" here I opened wide the door; Darkness there and nothing more. Further Exploration...Interpreting poetry On the left are the first four stanzas of Poe s famous poem, The Raven. The Chamber Repertory Theatre will present a fully-staged version of this poem as part of Encore! How can a poem become a dramatic work? Looking at these four stanzas ask students to consider the following: Do you get a sense of the character in this poem based on these stanzas? Can you picture the setting of this poem/ story? How do repeated words and repeated rhythms in this poem help to communicate the mood or tone? Do you get a sense of the history or backstory of the character in this poem? Students may try their hand at poetry recitation choosing to recite one or two stanzas how many different interpretations can be found? Can the rhythm of the poetry be used or ignored to create different interpretations? Further Exploration...Resources A really cool interactive website, fun format, easy for students to navigate includes video and audio to help introduce new readers to Poe the person, the writer, and the work. Students will learn about and explore Poe s life story, influences on his work, his contributions to American literature and much more! Howarth, William L. Twentieth century interpretations of Poe's tales; : a collection of critical essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., : Prentice-Hall, [1971]. A collection of critical essays and commentary on Poe's tales. Meltzer, Milton. Edgar Allan Poe : a biography. Brookfield, Conn. Examines the troubled life of the nineteenth-century writer whose poetry and short stories broke new ground in American literature. Kent, Zachary. Edgar Allan Poe : tragic poet and master of mystery. Berkeley Heights, NJ : Enslow, c2001. Examines the life of the writer whose work remains among the most memorable in the history of American literature. Just for fun... Poe s most famous work has been spoofed and presented in a wide variety of genres (and continues to be a great source of interest). Watch this wonderful spoof of The Raven as appeared on an early Halloween episode of The Simpsons! 8

9 The Art Form: Theatre The essence of theatre is captured in the words of modern-day playwright Terrence McNally, Theatre is the art form most like life as I have so far experienced it. Unlike television or film, theatre is a living, breathing entity. There are many of reasons why human beings create theatre, among them: to escape the realities of the world, to keep important stories alive in our collective consciousnesses, to teach lessons, and to find or create meaning in events that are difficult to understand. We attend the theatre to be entertained, educated, enlightened, and transported. Many of these reasons have always held true, but theatre has undergone much change to become what it is today. Rites and Rituals: In primitive cultures, performance grew out of a desire to please the gods, or other mystical powers that were thought to control events crucial to survival. Societies learned and performed ritual dances and dramas in order to feel some measure of influence over their health, the weather conditions, and success in hunting, farming, and warfare. Over time, our ancestors began to use drama as an educational tool as well, enacting their tribal histories and the legends of their gods in order to teach the youngsters, as well as honoring and commemorating the dead. These rites and ceremonies gradually developed into formalized dramatic festivals, and spread across the globe. It s Greek to me! The word theatre comes from the Greek Theatron or seeing place. Greek drama originated with the dithyramb, a choral hymn sung to the god Dionysius by a lead singer and a chorus. In 534 B.C, a lead singer named Thespis introduced an extra character to the chorus, establishing dialogue. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides the famous Greek dramatists continued the tradition adding second and third actors, and drama as we know it was born. These three, and the comic playwright Aristophanes, wrote about important philosophical and political ideas. In fact, theatre was considered such an important public forum in ancient Greece that all citizens were required to attend performances! All Roads Lead to Rome In Roman times, theater gained popularity as entertainment, and audiences flocked to see both comedy and tragedy in big open-air theatres. Many modern television shows and movies, as well as many of Shakespeare s wellknown works, are based on the hilarious stories of mistaken identity and fast thinking dreamed up by Plautus. As the Roman Empire expanded however, theatre declined, and the old theatres were used for the more bloodthirsty gladiatorial contests and spectacles. As entertainment, theatre was not as popular during the early years of Christianity, but it made a comeback in the Middle Ages as a form of moral instruction. Religion played an important role in public and private life, so there was very little audience for secular (non-religious) theatre. Though some wandering minstrels and folk plays endured, nearly all theatre took the form of religious pageantry, teaching moral lessons to largely illiterate audiences. This is how Mystery, Miracle, and Morality plays were born. Brush Up Your Shakespeare By Elizabethan times, theater was no longer associated with the church. Instead, royal patrons and large enthusiastic audiences supported the art form, now so popular that many competing companies presented plays. Not everyone approved of the theatre, however. In London, theatres were built on the South Bank of the River Thames, the bad part of town, along with the bars, bear-baiting pits and other lowly amusements. Men and boys played all the roles because the stage was considered too scandalous for women. It was in this world, in the 16 th and 17 th centuries, that William Shakespeare wrote and performed his many plays. And Now Presenting Since Shakespeare s time, theatre has undergone a number of evolutions. In the 18 th century Neoclassicism ruled. The 19 th century introduced Realism and Naturalism to the stage, as playwrights, actors, and directors tried to depict life as it is ordinarily lived. Gas lighting finally permitted evening performances. The 20 th and 21 st centuries have seen much merging of styles. There s been the birth of Vaudeville and the Broadway musical, as well as the more experimental Absurdist, Expressionist, Symbolist and Postmodern theatre. Proscenium stages have become the norm, and advances in technology of lighting, sound, and scenic design have changed the face of modern theatre. One thing remains constant however: theatre is still evolving. Medieval Times 9

10 Elements of Theatre Apron The part of the stage that is in front of the curtain and proscenium. Auditions The process in which an actor parades his talents before a production team, in order to win a part in a show. Backstage The parts of the theater the audience never sees, including the wings and the dressing rooms, behind and to the sides of the stage. Blocking The arrangement of the performers movements onstage, with respect to each other and to the set. Border A horizontal strip of drapery, usually black, used to block the audience s view of lighting instruments or other items hanging above the stage. "Break a leg!" The good luck wish for a performer before a show. There are many theories behind the history of this term. Some say the tradition dates back to ancient Greece when it was believed that evil spirits inhabited theatres and would cause the opposite of one s wishes to happen. Others claim that during Elizabethan times, when audiences both clapped and stamped their feet in response to a good performance, an audience member broke his leg from stamping so enthusiastically, and now we wish each other the kind of performance that would cause someone to clap or stamp that hard. Still others say that bend one s leg and break one s leg were phrases that meant to take a bow. (Bows in Elizabethan times were executed with a bent or broken - knee.) Thus the wish is for a performer to have to take an extra bow. Choreographer The person who creates dances and teaches them to the performers. Company All the performers involved in a production. Crew The backstage team responsible for carrying out the technical parts of a production, like the lighting, sound, set, and prop movements. Critic A person who writes opinions about the quality of performances. Curtain Call The bows by performers at the end of a production. Director The person with the overall vision for the production, who creates the blocking, and helps the performers to fully realize their characters. Downstage A stage direction that means the front of the stage, toward the audience. The words downstage and upstage come from a time when stages were angled ( raked ) so that the front of the stage actually was lower down than the back. Drop A large piece of fabric hung at the back of the stage, usually to serve as the back of the scene. (Thus backdrop. Fly Loft The area above the stage that conceals curtains, drops, and other scenery out of sight of the audience by means of ropes and pulleys. In the Flynn's MainStage, the actual height of the roof over the stage is more than twice the distance between the floor of the stage and the top of the red velvet curtain, because of the fly loft. Green Room A room backstage where performers can wait or relax. Before electricity, lime was used in stage lighting. At this time, the sitting room was just to the side of the stage and consequently the ambient glow of the limelight caused the waiting actors to appear green. The Flynn's MainStage green room is actually on a separate floor downstairs from the stage. House The part of the theater where the audience sits. A full house refers to a performance in which all seats are full. To "paper the house" is to give away many free tickets to a show. Legs Strips of drapery that hang vertically along the sides of the stage, obscuring the wings from audience view. Ovation Prolonged fervent applause. Pit The floor of the house in a theatre. The Flynn has a pit that can raise up to extend the apron, or descend to keep the orchestra below audience level, so that they do not block our view. Props Objects used by performers onstage. Props can be as small as ice cubes or as large as furniture. Proscenium The arch or frame that surrounds the stage opening. The term also refers to the physical layout of the Flynn's MainStage, in which audience members all face one direction, towards the stage. FlynnSpace is not (and does not have) a proscenium. Run The number of days, weeks, months, or years that a show is performed continuously. Its running time is the length of time it takes to perform the show. Stage Manager The supervisor of both actors and crew. Once the show has opened, the stage manager is in charge, and responsible for everything happening as planned. Tech Director The person who directs technical aspects of the production, like lights, sound, & special effects. Thespian A synonym for actor, derived from Thespis, who is considered the first actor. Upstage The back of the stage. Wings The areas offstage to the left and right of the stage. 10

11 Etiquette For Live Performance Because of the vital importance the audience plays in live performances, we suggest that you discuss the guidelines below with your students before bringing them to see the show. Unlike television or movies, live events depend very much upon the contribution of the audience. Some performers feel that the quality of the audience is 90% of what determines the quality of the show! The more the audience gives to the performer, the more the performer can give back to the audience. The performer hears the audience laughing, senses its sympathy, and delights in the enthusiasm of its applause. A good live performance is nothing less than an intense communication between audience and performer. Furthermore, each audience member affects those sitting near him or her, in addition to the performers onstage. Give your energy and attention to the performers. Laugh when you think something the performer is doing is funny. Clap after a song or section you particularly enjoyed. Your response really matters to the performers. If you are bored, think to yourself about what would make the show more interesting for you and remain quiet, so as not to distract the performers or the people around you. New Etiquette for New Technology Cell phones, blackberries, mp3 players and other devices with lit screens and ringtones have made it necessary for all of us as audience members to broaden our definition of live performance etiquette. Using a cell phone or ipod during a performance is like tickling a porcupine...it just shouldn t be done! Even a quick check of the time on a lit screen is incredibly distracting to others in the audience, and disrespectful to the performers onstage. Please be sure to turn all devices COMPLETELY OFF before entering the theater and THANKS! At the end of the show, clap to show respect for the performers time and energy. If you were disappointed in the show, clap softly; loud expressions of disapproval are not appropriate. If you think the show was fabulous, give the performers a standing ovation! Unlike in movie theaters, eating, drinking, and chewing gum are not okay. These activities create noises and smells that distract other audience members and soil the very elegant environments in which live performance occurs. Talk only before and after the performance. By all means, talk to your friends while you are waiting for the show to begin. And talk after, compare your favorite parts. But when the lights go down in the house and up on the stage, it s time to stop talking and start watching. Check out the lighting, props and costumes, watch for the choices that went into everything you see onstage. Talking during the show will cause you and the people sitting near you to miss these moments that you can t witness again. There are no pause buttons, rewind options or volume controls in live performance. What you miss cannot be recaptured! Enjoy the Show! 11

12 Words Come Alive! Activities== Why do these activities? Giving students the opportunity to actively explore a few of the decisions made by the creative team producing the show helps them become more attentive audience members. They will approach the performance with keen curiosity, watching the artists choices and often comparing those choices to their own. For this reason, it s best to do these activities before the show. If it s impossible to do these exercises beforehand, doing them after the show can still help the students deepen their insights into how the show came together and further analyze the company s choices. Want a Flynn teaching artist to help prepare your students for the show? Companion workshops are available for each student matinee, either at your school or in a Flynn studio, at the cost of $100 per workshop. 25 students max. For more info, contact schoolprograms@flynncenter.org., Want to know more ways to help ideas come alive in your classroom? These activities are drawn from the Flynn s signature professional development program called Words Come Alive! The structures below are but a few excerpted from the book Words Come Alive!: Strengthening Reading Comprehension with Drama and Movement, published by the Flynn Center, c2002, To order your own copy for $15, contact schoolprograms@flynncenter.org, First things first...read the stories! We strongly encourage the students reading the stories before -- or after -- seeing the play. This way they gain insights into the challenges of adapting literary works to the stage. Discuss: What is the difference between a written story and a play? What makes a story a good one to perform? Tableaux: Key Scenes The playwright makes decisions about what parts of the story to include in the play, which characters to feature, and how the action and dialogue will progress. Invite students to imagine they are a team of professional writers hired to create a short play from one or more of the stories. Ask them to decide what scenes they will choose to include, considering: What critical action needs to happen in the beginning, middle and end of the story in order to maintain the story s original message? What characters must be present in the scenes? Invite students to spread themselves throughout the room and to make still, silent shapes with their bodies to represent a main character in the beginning of the story. As you count Five, four, three, two, one. have the students slowly transform into a second shape variation to represent the middle of the story, and then a third for the ending. Then choose one student to re-create one of the shapes s/he just made and invite others to look at this sculpture. Ask for a volunteer to come up and make a shape representing another character in the same scene. Continue adding the rest of the characters until you have a complete tableau or frozen picture of the scene. Now that you have modeled what a tableau is, invite the students to work in groups to create tableaux representing the beginning, middle, and end of the story as they see fit. After a few minutes, invite groups to perform their tableaux for each other and compare their choices. Ask students: How did you choose which scenes to include? What details from the written story were represented in the tableaux? What details seem less important? Why? 12

13 Performance Activities== Improvised Dialogue From the scenes represented in the students tableaux, pick one in which no dialogue is written in the short story. Then divide the students into pairs and assign each a character to play. At a given signal, ask them to improvise dialogue for those characters. After a minute or so, ask them to switch roles and either continue the conversation or start another. Ask for volunteers to share their dialogue. A few examples will provide you with a fine demonstration of the infinite number of options available to a playwright when adapting a short story into a work for the stage. Ask students: How did you choose what to say? What ideas from the story were you trying to convey? What lines did you think were your best? Speaking Lines: Showing Character with Voice and Gesture The actors in Encore! play more than one role and thus have to make clear vocal and physical choices to distinguish one character from another. Encourage students to read the following lines from the featured stories aloud, and all at the same time, in order to explore possibilities. Then encourage them to add gestures as they say the lines and to consider changing the way they are sitting or standing. Then ask for volunteers to perform their ideas. As each interpretation is performed, ask the rest of the class to echo or imitate them. Repeat this process several times before moving on to another character. Compare and contrast the different character interpretations. The Tell Tale Heart Option 1 Old Man: Who s there? Option 2 Narrator: I admit the deed! Tear up the planks! The Raven Option 1 Narrator: Only this and nothing more. Option 2 Narrator: Prophet! Thing of evil! Monkey s Paw Option 1 Mrs. White: Monkey's paw? Option 2 Sergeant-Major: That's how I got the paw. Option 3 Old Man: I wish for two hundred pounds. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Option 1 Ichabod Crane: Spare the rod and spoil the child. Option 2 Brom Bones: I ll double the schoolmaster up, and lay him on a shelf of his own schoolhouse. The Necklace Option 1 Wife: I have no gown. Option 2 Madame Forestier: Choose, my dear. Option 3 Husband: What is the matter with you? Ask students: If you were an actor preparing to play the role of, what is one specific gesture, or vocal tone you have discovered that you d incorporate into your performance? Why? 13

14 Performance Activities== Build a Place Decisions of a Set Designer Set designers decide what will be used on the stage to communicate to the audience the location of the story. For a touring production, they must design this set so it can be easily and quickly broken down and transported from one theater to the next. Ask students to choose a setting in one of the stories, and then brainstorm with the class things that define that setting. Encourage the students to strive for detail, making a realistic space. Then, with students, decide where in the classroom you will re-create this setting, and determine the set s boundaries within that space. Ask for a volunteer to begin to build the place in the class s collective imagination, by bringing (in pantomime) one of the things from the brainstormed list into the space and placing it in an appropriate spot. Once delivered, have the class guess what the object is, and to comment on what they know of its size, weight and texture. Ask a second student to bring in another object. Students may have a volunteer help them if an object is heavy. As each successive object is placed, encourage students to work around each as if it were real. Ex: Avoid stepping where the table is or hanging a picture where a window was placed. To encourage their imaginations to deepen, ask the students to describe what they see. For example, if they could describe a chair in the room, what color is it? What material is it made of? Are there any stains, cracks or rips? Is there bubble gum stuck to the bottom of the seat or words carved into the back? Once the setting is filled out, point out that part of the magic of a theatre is that audiences are invited to use their imaginations (as they just have) to envision that which is not actually seen. Divide students into groups to become companies of theatrical set designers. Ask each company to limit the actual pieces in the set to only a few items. Encourage them to chose items that spark the audience s imagination to add more in their minds eyes. (Example: A couch and chair could signify a living room. Audience members imagine rugs and pictures on the walls, plus windows and doors.) Compare and contrast each company s decisions. Remind them to notice the set decisions of the Chamber Repertory Theater as they built Encore! Ask students: How are movie sets different from theater sets? What types of things are best imagined in theater sets? Why? Sound Effects The Decisions of a Sound Designer Brainstorm with the students a list of sounds that they could imagine hearing if visiting a setting from one of the stories, like the nighttime woods in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow or the room in A Tell Tale Heart. Ask for volunteers to make the sounds, using their voices, bodies or any helpful objects. Then establish signals to begin and end the sounds and set the volume. Rehearse together. Then record the results, and as a group, critique the impact of the soundscape. If time, make changes to increase its effectiveness. Ask students: How do sounds affect your imagination? What sounds were most effective in enhancing the story s mood? Why? 14

15 The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts On November 26, 1930, the Flynn Theatre opened its doors. People swarmed to see Vermont s newest and biggest entertainment palace. The entrance had exciting, new art deco designs on the walls and the lighting fixtures, still visible today. Art deco took its inspiration from Aztec and Mayan ruins, recently discovered, from nature, and from electricity, newly arriving in Vermont. Encourage your students to look for designs that reflect these sources. The new entertainment complex built at a cost of $500,000 was the brainchild of entrepreneur (and theater namesake) John J. Flynn and his investors in Queen City Realty. The original plan was to create a stage for visiting vaudeville troupes companies with a variety of acts by comedians, singers, and dancers. But after building the largest proscenium in the state with a sophisticated fly system for set changes, John J. Flynn recognized the public s growing interest in talkies films where you could hear the voices and therefore opened the Flynn as a movie theatre instead. Because the old silent films had live music, a Wurlitzer organ was installed and played by local musical legend Art Brown between the short films and feature films. Often the words of the songs appeared on the screen accompanied by a tiny bouncing ball, to encourage the audience to sing along. Though the organ is long gone, the organ grills are still there. Encourage your students to find them. In 1981, the Flynn Theatre re-opened its doors as a performing arts center. By then movie theaters of the Flynn s size were no longer financially viable. Instead, movies were being shown at multiplex cinemas with many screens. The Flynn Theater would no doubt have been demolished like hundreds of others across the country if it did not have remnants of the stage and fly system from the vaudeville era. But when Lyric Theater Company, founded in 1974, performed a musical on the Flynn stage, people woke up to the potential of this important resource. Dedicated community activists (among them Andrea Rogers, the Flynn s executive director since 1981), raised the money to purchase and restore the then-faded Flynn Theatre to its original luster. Upon re-opening, the Flynn began showcasing local groups as well as artists of national and international renown. Today, the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts not only houses its original Main Stage but also FlynnSpace, a black box theater below ground, and enjoys a national reputation for its innovative presentations in both venues. In 2000, we added two studios to provide theater, dance and music classes to children, teens and adults. Our educational outreach extends beyond the Flynn with workshops in schools for teachers and students. Where would we be without this vital community resource? This guide was written & compiled by the Education Department at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts with some materials provided by CRT. Permission is granted for teachers, parents, and students who are coming to Flynn shows to copy & distribute this guide for educational purposes only. 15