e d i t i v i t c A u G y Anatole: Mouse Magnifique In repertory with Dickens s Davy Copperfield Book & Lyrics by John Maclay and Lee Becker Music composed by James Valcq Directed by Tom Story Based on the Books Anatole and Anatole and the Cat by Eve Titus February 9-March 24, 2019
Table of Contents Design and Characterization...3 Costume Character Traits...4 Transforming Set Design...5 Animal Transformation Detective...6 Our Class Receipe Book...7 My Family Receipe...8 My Family Recipe Art...9 Preshow Guide to Theatre...10-11 2
Lines of Inquiry: How do images provide opportunities for inferences? Focusing Question: How does a costume designer convey information about characters? Time Required: 15-20 minutes Design and Characterization Students look at drawings of the costume designs for characters in Anatole: Mouse Magnifique and make inferences about them. After the play, compare their inferences to what they learned about Anatole and the other characters from viewing the play. 1. Using the worksheet on page 4, ask students to describe what Anatole is wearing. 2. Ask students to make an inference about Anatole using the character trait bank to complete the statement I think Anatole is because he is wearing. 3. Repeat with Gaston, Duval, and Charlemagne. 4. After seeing the play, review your class s responses. Ask them which characters they had the correct inferences about and which ones were different than they expected. Left: Staff hard at work in the Imagination Stage costume shop! Bottom: Fabric samples and some tools of the trade. 3
Name: _ Costume Character Traits On this sheet you will see four costume renderings from Anatole: Mouse Magnifique by costume designer Kendra Rai. Look at the drawings and, using the character trait bank, make inferences about these characters. Based on their costumes, what do you think they are like? Character Trait Bank: Kind Brave Bossy Smart Honest Shy Selfish Caring Rude Hard-working Moody Harsh Polite Independent Lazy Lonely Proud Friendly Playful I think Anatole is (character trait) because he is wearing: I think Gaston is (character trait) because he is wearing: I think Duval is (character trait) because she is wearing: I think Charlemagne is (character trait) because she is wearing: 4
Transforming Set Designs Lines of Inquiry: How does one s perspective of an image change their point of view? Focusing Questions: Why does a set designer choose to make a rotating set? How can we use fractions to describe rotations? Time Required: 20-30 minutes In Anatole: Mouse Magnifique, the set designer chose to create a rotating turntable to illustrate Anatole s fast-paced world. Turn your classroom into your own turntable and use fractions to rotate objects, people, and stage pictures (or tableaux). 1. Start with 8 students standing in a circle. Practice rotating clockwise and counterclockwise. Then use fractions to give instructions for how far to rotate (e.g. 1/2 clockwise, 1/4 counterclockwise, 4/8 counterclockwise). Then switch until the whole class has had a chance to rotate. You may want to tape out or use polyspots to mark out the circle so you can be exact with your fractions and keep your circle intact. 2. Ask for 3-4 volunteers to one-by-one create a tableaux, or frozen stage picture, in the middle of the circle. The rest of your class will be the audience. Once your students have made their stage picture, ask someone from the audience to give a title or a caption to the image. Then ask your students to rotate their stage picture. How does rotating change what the image looks like? Have students come up with a new title or caption. Rotate again and get another title or caption. Repeat this process with a new stage picture. 3. Using the shapes below and the worksheet on page 6, students will cut out the shapes, rearrange them, and trace them in order to make a set design for the various locations in Anatole: Mouse Magnifique. Challenge your students to make their different settings look as distinct as possible even with the same shapes. Your set pieces to cut out: 5
My Name: Animal Transformation Detective You are the set designer for Anatole, but you only have a limited number of shapes to make your design. Cut out the shapes provided by your teacher and trace them on the stages below to make the sets for Anatole s house, Duval s Cheese Factory, and the Streets of Paris. How different can you make your sets using the same seven shapes? Anatole s House Duval s Cheese Factory Streets of Paris 6
Our Class Recipe Book Lines of Inquiry: How can poetry be used to describe food and taste? Focusing Questions: How does our food reflect our culture? Time Required: 20-30 minutes Throughout the play, Anatole tries many different cheese recipes, a food that he and his family eat very often. Bring in one of your favorite family recipes in order to create a class recipe book! 1. Have students bring in their own family recipes to create a class recipe book. A recipe must have: a. Name of Dish b. Ingredients List c. Step-by-Step Instructions 2. Once students have brought in their own family recipes, students will write a poem describing their recipe and the final product. What does it taste like? What does it look like? What time of day do you eat it? What else would you eat it with? Encourage students to use figurative language such as simile, metaphor, or onomatopoeia. 3. On the included worksheet, students may draw the inspiration for their recipe. This could be a parent or grandparent who makes the dish or a family tradition that this dish is a part of. 4. Paste the recipe and poem on one page together and compile all the pages until you have a full recipe book. 7
My Family Recipe My Name: Recipe Name: Ingredients List Instructions: _ 8
My Name: My Family Recipe Art Drawing: Draw the person or tradition that inspires this food (example: a family member or holiday) Poem: I smell I taste I see It is like a It makes me feel _ It is 9
PRE-SHOW GUIDE In the day or so before your class travels to Imagination Stage, share the following audience hints with your students. You can either read them aloud to your class or give each student a copy. When you return from the performance, review the list again. Which do they remember noticing or thinking about during the play? Audience Hints Anatole: Mouse Magnifique Actors who play more than one character. Look for Costumes that look half animal, half human. The lighting and set changing to bring us to a different location in the story. When the set rotates. Listen for French words and phrases. Musical theatre songs. When the melody changes in a song and when it repeats. How Anatole solves problems. Think about How animals and humans interact. What does it mean to be brave? 10
PRE-SHOW GUIDE This is a tool called a social story so that your students will know what to expect at the theatre. Hand it out to students so they may feel prepared and can follow along. A Day at the Theatre Bus I will ride on the bus from my school to Imagination Stage. Lobby Greeting I will enter the lobby and be greeted by Imagination Stage staff and ushers. I can say hello to them. I will stay with my teachers in the lobby. Bathroom If I need to go to the bathroom, I will let my teacher know and they can take me. I can go to the bathroom any time I need to during the show. Enter the Theatre When it s time to enter the theatre, there may be a line at the door. I will wait in line for my turn to go through the door. My Seat An usher will show me to my seat. During the show I will sit in my seat with my classmates. During the Show When the show begins, I will sit quietly. If the show is funny I can laugh. If the actors ask me a question I can respond. After the Show At the end of the show, I will clap to tell the actors I enjoyed the performance. I will wait patiently for my teacher to escort me out of the theatre. Leave the Building I will leave the building with my classmates and get back on the bus to my school. 11