Character List 3 Meet the Cast..4

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2 o o o o Character List 3 Meet the Cast..4 Pre-Show Questions...6 Clay Sculptures Activity Playing With Sound Activity. 9 Say It in That Way Activity...11 Bus Activity**...13 Vocabulary.. 14

3 Pamela Our heroine. A vivid imagination, prone to daydreaming. It is her 11 th birthday. Aunt Louise Pamela s aunt. A glamorous and enthusiastic fashion designer. Kevin Pamela s father. A widower looking to connect with his daughter. Daniel Pamela s younger brother. 6 years old and looks like a mad scientist. Thomas - Pamela s older brother. Around 15 and extremely athletic looking. Concerned with his image. Lyndell A very attractive 38 year old woman. A physical trainer. Jessica - Lyndell s 16 year old daughter. Very close to her mother. Both are invested in exercise and healthy eating. Robert Aunt Louise s assistant. Very stylish and trendy. Bernie S. Gerry A Broadway producer. Hal Hitner A Broadway director, director of The Best Use of Feet. Harrison Roy - The Best Use of Feet s stage manager. Cy and Betty Songheim Authors of The Best Use of Feet. Jules Gels - The Best Use of Feet s lighting designer. Heidi Lee Lee - The Best Use of Feet s set designer. Billy Ivey Zippers - The Best Use of Feet s costume designer. Tiny La Tuna - The Best Use of Feet s choreographer. Mary Ethel Bernadette An actor, one of the stars of The Best Use of Feet. Nathan Hines Klines - An actor, one of the stars of The Best Use of Feet.

4 Sarah McKinley Austin Pamela Wesley J. Barnes Daniel/Jules Gels/Linzer Torte/Others Jeanine Bruën Ensemble Andréa Burns Mary Ethel Bernadette Mary Callanan Tiny La Tuna/ Messenger/Gladys/ Others Carolee Carmello Aunt Louise Nick Cearley Robert/Harrison Roy/ Others Erica Dorfler Lyndell/ Betty Songheim/ Countess Hillary Fisher Jessica/Heidi Lee Lee/ Others David Garrison Bernie S. Gerry Jacobi Hall Nick/Billy Ivey Zippers/Butler/ Others Howard McGillin Kevin/Nathan Hines Kline

5 World Premiere Michael Mulheren Hal Hitner Book by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winner Wendy Wasserstein and Tony Award-winner Christopher Durang Music by Tony Award-winner Cy Coleman Lyrics by Tony Award-winner David Zippel Directed and Choreographed by 10-time Tony Award nominee Graciela Daniele Elizabeth Ritacco Ensemble It s Pamela s birthday and, to celebrate, her eccentric and fabulous Aunt Louise is taking her to the big city to experience her very first Broadway musical! Blake Zolfo Thomas/ Cy Songheim/ Fredrich/Others

6 1. What s the best birthday gift you ve ever gotten? Who was it from? What made it so special? 2. What s the worst thing you could imagine happening to you on your birthday? 3. Is there an adult in your life that you particularly admire? What s special about them? What role do they play in your life? 4. There s talk in this play about wanting to be normal. Is there such a thing? What do you think normal is? 5. When you attend Pamela s First Musical, you will see the actors singing and dancing onstage - but who else is involved in putting up a big musical? List as many different jobs as you can.

7 Pre-Show Activity for: Grades 6-12 Appropriate for: Advisory, English, Drama, Visiting Teaching Artist Time: 30 minutes, broken into 3 10-minute activities Materials Needed: Chart paper Markers Alphabet Relay (10) Divide the class into 2 3 teams. Each team lines up several yards away from a piece of chart paper labeled with the alphabet. The student at the front of each line gets a marker. The object is to, as a team, come up with a word or phrase for each letter of the alphabet that relates to the theme. The theme is BROADWAY. Students take turns running to the chart to fill in a word or a phrase, in order. Although only one student may write, the rest of the team can call out suggestions. Words beginning with Ex are acceptable for X. Each student writes their word, returns to the line, hands off their marker to the next student in line, and then goes to the back of the line. Teams indicate they are finished by sitting in their lines. Once lists are complete, teams get one minute to read over their lists: they will be asked to defend their words, so they need to make sure everyone on their team understands what each word has to do with the theme. Gather as a group and post all the papers where everyone can see them. Ask each group to justify a couple of their words; choose ones you are curious about, don t understand, or think could be interesting to discuss. Open the questioning to the group let them ask about words they don t understand or words they want to know more about. Circle the words that more than one group chose. Double circle words all the groups chose.

8 Sculptures (10) With a volunteer: I am a sculptor, this is my clay. Clay doesn t move, clay doesn t speak, and clay stays in the shape I sculpt. Explain the clay s responsibilities: not to move, not to speak, and to stay in the position they are sculpted into. Explain the sculptor s responsibilities: to make sure their clay is not uncomfortable or embarrassed. Clay can be sculpted by physically touching, or by the sculptor showing the clay the position to take. The latter is recommended for changing levels, head positions, or facial expressions. Demonstrate the above. Point out: o Letting the clay know where they should look, since that s part of the overall image. o Thinking about the details: facial expressions, hands, etc. o Thinking about using different levels Divide group into partners. Partners decide who is A and who is B. If you are A, you are the sculptor. Your job is to create the absolute, perfect image of one of the words from the list one of the circled words. Try to think beyond the easy go symbolic, go metaphorical, go interesting. Side coach: encourage bigger shapes, more interesting shapes, Where do you want your clay to look? B s, remember your image. A s and B s trade, and B s become the sculptor, choosing a different word. Gallery Walk (10) One at a time, A s place their sculptures in the playing space. o Sculptors should note where other images are placed where does their image belong? Near? Far? Facing? Facing away? When all B s are in pace, discuss the resulting image. o What themes, images, or ideas do you see? o What stands out to you? A s and B s switch, and B s place their sculptures in the playing space. Broadway means more to Pamela, of Pamela s First Musical, than just the literal place. As you watch, think on which of these images might resonate with her.

9 Pre-Show Activity for: Grades 6-12 Appropriate for: Advisory, English, Drama, Music, Media Studies, Visiting Teaching Artist Time: minutes Materials Needed: Speaker Computer with internet access or student cell phones Smart/white board or chart paper Writing materials. Introducing the Scene (5-10) On the board or on chart paper, post the following: o The actor enters the room and shuts the door behind them. They drop their backpack to the ground, and sit on a chair. They notice a photograph on the far wall. The actor stands, walks to the photograph, looks at it, and then rips it in half. The actor returns to the chair and sits. Ask the students to brainstorm and jot down three pieces of music that would fit this scene. o If using student phones, ask them to use their phones to find music. When students have their ideas jotted down, discuss: o How did you decide what music to choose? o What kind of scene do you think this is? Playing the Scene (10-15) As for a student to share one of their music choices. o If on their phone, attach their phone to the speaker. o If not using phone, find a clip online (through YouTube, etc.) Ask for a volunteer to be the actor. Establish the space where is the door? The chair? The photo on the wall? Ask the actor to perform the scene with the piece of music, letting the music inform the way they move and the mood of the scene. Run the scene. For younger or more inexperienced classes, a third volunteer might narrate the scene the first several times, to give the actor onstage additional support/take the pressure off them to remember what to do.

10 Discuss: o What did we see? o How did the music impact the story? o What was the story? Optional: redo the scene to see it again, slow it down, take an extra moment somewhere, etc. Does anyone have a piece of music that s completely different? Redo the scene, with a new actor and a new piece of music. Discuss, including: What changed? What s the same? Continue, until a variety of musical selections have been explored. To solicit: o An angry song o A sad song o A happy or bouncy song o Music without lyrics To discuss: when music WITH lyrics is used to underscore, what happens? Talk about the way in which the words of the song become the script. Debrief (5) What was that like? Consider all the ways music and sound are used in film and in theatre. What kinds of things do designers need to consider? What are challenges designers for theatre face that is different than designing for film or television? Pamela s First Musical is a musical. How might a sound designer s job be different when the characters themselves are singing?

11 Pre or Post-Show Activity for: Grades 6-12 Appropriate for: Advisory, English, Drama, Visiting Teaching Artist Time: 25 minutes Materials Needed: none Please, No (10) Divide students into pairs. Ask students to decide who is A and who is B. Partners have a conversation, but the only thing A can say is please, and the only thing B can say is no. Let the conversations run for a few minutes. Stop the class and ask for a pair to volunteer to let the class watch them for a few moments. Watch one pair for a few rounds. Debrief: o What was that like? o How did you notice the way you spoke the words changing? o What strategies did you end up trying? o Did you find yourself adding physicality to your words? How? Emphasis Phrasing (10) Class stands in a circle. Ask students, one at a time, to speak a phrase to the person on their right. Each student must emphasize one specific word of the phrase. When all possibilities have been spoken, introduce a new phrase, until all students have had a chance (or two) to go. Phrases: o I will always love you. o That was not my fault. o She is usually right about that. o I never thought I would hurt you. o Let me go home now, please. (More on next page)

12 Each student speaks a phrase to the person on their left, but in a tone that conveys something the words do not. For this round, each student goes once, with the same phrase. Point out that there is more than one way to be threatening, flirty, etc. Phrases: o Please close the window. (threatening tone) o I brought you a snack. (hurt tone) o Change the channel, please. (flirty tone) Debrief (5) In Pamela s First Musical there s a moment where Pamela says, Sometimes it s how you say a word that makes it important. In this activity, how did the phrase change with each person? What situations can you think of where changing the emphasis of a word can change the meaning? How might this impact the job of a director? An actor? A playwright?

13 Bus Activity for: Grades 6-12 Materials Needed: Discussion Questions below Discuss with a partner: Imagine that, for your birthday, you could get any physical present you wanted. What would it be? If, for your birthday, you could do any experience you wanted, what would it be? Imagine you have two days for your birthday experience. You can go anywhere, with anyone, and do anything. How do you use those two days?

14 Mentor An experienced, trusted advisor, often older Unique Unlike anything else Eccentric Unconventional, slightly strange In sync Working well together Nemesis long-standing enemy or rival Aristocracy The highest societal class Spastic Affected by muscle spasms or twitches Detour A roundabout way taken to avoid or visit something Frock Dress Expertise Expert skill or knowledge Marabou Certain kind of feather Hallucination A vision or experience of something not really there Widower A man whose spouse has died Exceptional Unusual or outstanding Imposition An unfair or unwelcome demand Subtle Delicate and understated Overture The music at the beginning of an opera or musical Distinctive Special and unique Reconciliation The restoration of friendly relations