Your passport to culture Teacher s Resource Guide 2011 2012 Snowflake Gale LaJoye Generous support for SchoolTime provided, in part, by just imagine
CONTENTS On Stage The story behind Snowflake In the Spotlight Meet Gale LaJoye Did You Know? The genesis of mime Theater Talk A Snowflake glossary In the Classroom Teaching Science Through Theater and other activities More Resources Related readings and other media Foundation 3 4 5 6 7 8 The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Arts Education Department presents the 15 th season of the Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series. Teacher s Resource Guide This resource guide will help you prepare your class for an enriching experience at our SchoolTime Performance. The guide provides discussion ideas, activities and reading resources that can promote arts literacy in your classroom. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this guide to any class attending a 2011-2012 SchoolTime Performance (all other rights reserved). You can find additional resources online at njpac.org/artseducation/schooltime/resourceguides. NJPAC Arts Education At NJPAC, our mission is to join with parents, teachers and community to cultivate an appreciation of the arts in all children of New Jersey. We believe the arts provide an effective means of knowing and learning that helps children find the self-esteem, poise and confidence they need to succeed in every facet of life. Our innovative programs are designed to engage the artist in every child: In-School Residencies Bring the joy of dance, music and theater directly into your classroom with teaching artists who create stimulating performing arts experiences that engage students imaginations and encourage their creative self-expression. Kid Power! Through energy efficiency and conservation, kids can help preserve our planet s rich natural resources and promote a healthy environment. TIP OF THE DAY Give garbage a second chance In Snowflake, the title character transforms discarded objects into useful creations. The most commonly recycled item in the U.S. an aluminum can can be back on the shelf, good as new, in 60 days. Recycling a single can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours! Reduce clutter in the classroom by turning a trash can into a treasure chest for arts and crafts scraps and other leftover materials. Students can select several items to recycle into jewelry, pictures or sculptures. Made possible through the generosity of the PSEG Foundation. SchoolTime and FamilyTime Performances Open your students eyes to the worlds of music, dance, storytelling, theater, and puppetry through professional stage productions. Arts Training Programs Students express themselves through after-school study of acting, dance, instrumental music, vocal music, and musical theater. Teaching artists with professional performing arts experience mentor the students at NJPAC s Center for Arts Education. visit NJPAC.ORG Find additional resources online at njpac.org/artseducation/schooltime/resourceguides. 2 Snowflake njpac.org
On Stage Snowflake speaks to the heart with eloquent silence By Sandi Leibowitz Snowflake, a one-man show starring and created by Gale LaJoye, uses mime to introduce audiences to a whimsical world envisioned by a homeless man. The title character returns at the end of the day to an alleyway next to a Goodwill store, where he uses his imagination to interact with and transform objects discarded by others. He has a ski adventure, plays badminton with strangers on the other side of the wall, and creates friends who help dispel his loneliness. Rather than depicting a life built of limitations, LaJoye reveals Snowflake s inner world, enriched and enlarged by his imagination. The show and its protagonist were inspired by Don Stenglein, a street dweller LaJoye encountered in his hometown of Marquette, Mich., on Christmas Eve, 1989. La Joye wondered what life in general and Christmas time in particular might mean to this man, known in the neighborhood as Snowflake. I began to imagine a character, LaJoye says, who out of his loneliness created a world of his own.... It was at that moment I decided to create a performance portraying Don as the unique individual he was. LaJoye has enacted Snowflake since 1990 in more than 1,500 performances throughout the world, including Set in a vacant lot separated from society by a fence, Snowflake takes audiences into a magical world he has created for himself with discarded objects. The Citizen Journal, St. Louis Canada, Scotland, Australia, Mexico, Japan, and China. In Japan alone, he toured Snowflake to 320 cities. At one performance in Marquette, the real Snowflake attending Without saying a word, Gale LaJoye, as Snowflake, teaches about the power of human kindness. as guest of honor gave LaJoye a thumbs-up. Stenglein died several months later. While Snowflake is essentially a humorous show, it also explores the profound depths of the human experience by tackling the important topic of homelessness in a way that even children can understand: through empathy with a single character. LaJoye uses the international language of mime to illustrate themes especially appropriate for the Christmas holiday season, when the focus on material things often outweighs the true values of love and compassion. Sandi Leibowitz, a former high school English teacher, is a K-5 school librarian in Lodi, N.J. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in Highlights and Cricket magazines. For more about Snowflake, click to lajoye.com. Snowflake njpac.org 3
In the Spotlight An actor receives a gift to share from a destitute man Gale LaJoye hails from Marquette, Mich. While enrolled in college for pre-law, he was required to take either a course in humanities or an introduction to theater. He chose the latter because, he says, it sounded easier. To his surprise, he discovered a love of drama and, encouraged by enthusiastic responses to his performances, soon switched majors. After college, he continued to perfect his theater skills by focusing on non-verbal communication and physical humor and by immersing himself in pantomime and the Japanese art of Kabuki. In 1973, LaJoye joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, mastering the art of gesture, silent communication and poignant short-story telling. Within four years, he became Boss Clown, one of the highest honors in the circus tradition. Over the next two years, he was promoted to Advanced Clown and Master Clown Instructor. LaJoye s life was profoundly changed in 1979. A car accident left him with a broken neck and paralysis of his right side. Doctors informed him that he would never walk again. However, LaJoye was determined to regain his mobility. Three years of surgery and physical rehabilitation plus a positive attitude and sense of humor to help him heal emotionally enabled the artist to accomplish his goal. After regaining his balance and the ability to perform physical stunts in the early 1980s, LaJoye returned to the career he loved. He produced the critically acclaimed Too Foolish for Words, which toured worldwide. In 1990, he created Snowflake and has performed it internationally ever since. Reviewers have compared LaJoye to the great mime/clown artists of the 20th century, such as Red Skelton, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. He is currently at work on a new production about bullying. S.L. Gale LaJoye, as Snowflake, is silent. But the character s heart whispers louder than the fiercest storm. Ventura County Star Gale LaJoye has performed the role of Snowflake thousands of times around the globe. 4 Snowflake njpac.org
Before human language developed, people used gesture to express themselves. In early civilizations, mime, along with dance, became an integral part of religious ceremonies. Mimes in ancient Greece performed short, improvised comic scenes of everyday life or political commentary. They acted to musical accompaniment in the streets or introduced plays. Full-faced masks helped them create often stereotypical figures known as stock characters. In the first century B.C., the Romans created a new mime form for the upper classes, performed in theaters or private homes. A solo pantomimist changed masks to play all the parts, while a singer or chorus chanted a drama or love story based on myth. Gesture was considered such an important aid to speech that children of nobility and even emperors studied pantomime. Medieval traveling jongleurs forerunners of the court-based jesters mimed improvised comic scenes as part of a repertoire that included music, juggling, acrobatics, animal acts, and magic. Mime prospered throughout Renaissance Italy, where it could be readily understood, regardless of a region s dialect. It reached new heights in commedia dell arte with professional troupers who improvised comic plays according to loosely planned scripts. Commedia artists wore masks to portray stock characters such as Arlecchino, the foolish servant; Pantalone, the jealous husband; Pedrolino, the lazy buffoon; and Colombina, the quick-witted maid. Commedia troupes traveled throughout Europe, becoming especially popular in France. While the art form declined in the 18th century, mimes now without masks persisted in French theater. Pierrot (French for Pedrolino) succeeded Harlequin (Arlecchino) as the protagonist. In 1811, pantomimist Jean- Gaspard Deburau transformed Pierrot from a lout into a poetic, melancholy figure. His clearly developed stories elevated mime from slapstick to art. Silent movies became the most popular form of entertainment from 1895 through the 1920s. Since film was incapable of synchronizing sound with movement, actors relied on gesture and motion. Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd were masters of physical comedy, while Charlie Chaplin added pathos to slapstick to create art with universal appeal. In 1920s Paris, Jacques Copeau trained actors in mime so they would use their bodies more expressively. Student Étienne Decroux considered it a serious art form and opened a school exclusively for mime. His works did not use music, costumes, props, or texts. With Jean- Louis Barrault, Decroux created the basic techniques still used today. Influenced by silent film, as well as Barrault, Marcel Marceau developed the modern concept of mime in the 1940s. Using whiteface, he popularized mime in solo acts of fluid, stylized Did You Know? Golden silence: the art of mime movements based on classical exercises. His most famous character was Bip, a misunderstood innocent. Today many postmodern groups, such as Mummenschanz, perform abstract mime, which eliminates narrative. The word clown originally meant country bumpkin. Comedic portrayals of oafs in Elizabethan drama gave rise to the current definition. Shakespeare wrote many roles for William Kemp and Richard Armin, who specialized in playing these parts. There are three main types of clowns. The first is the whiteface, derived from the French Pierrot. The circus clowns of the 1800s were mostly this type. Heirs to the medieval jester, they are often sharpwitted and satirical. The second type is the auguste. This is the typical bumbling clown with red nose, outlandish wig and exaggerated makeup. The auguste s buffoonery serves as a source of exasperation for the whiteface clown. The third is the character clown, who portrays a specific profession or lifestyle, such as Carol Burnett s washerwoman or the Keystone Cops. A common subset, the tramp or hobo, appeared after the Civil War, when many homeless were searching for work. Famous examples include Chaplin s Little Tramp and Emmett Kelly s Weary Willie. Whether they use speech or rely on mime alone, all clowns share a simple goal: making people laugh. S.L. Snowflake njpac.org 5
Theater Talk Here is a glossary for Snowflake attitude a frozen pose used by clowns to accentuate an emotion or intention. clown a buffoon or jester who is funny, but also vulnerable and tragicomic and typically entertains in a circus. comedy a story or play treating characters and situations in a funny or amusing way. dialogue a conversation in a play between two or more characters; monologue is speech by one character. gesture a movement of the body, hand or arm to express an emotion or intention. improvisation a performance or scene created on the spur of the moment, not memorized according to a set script. mime 1. actions or gestures without words used as a means of expression (also called pantomime); 2. the person who performs mime. monologue a speech by one actor alone on stage, which often reveals the inner thoughts and feelings of the character that he or she is portraying. props items used on stage to help create a sense of place, such as a chair or rowboat; objects used by a character on stage, such as a ball, flashlight or sandwich. scenery painted canvas mounted on wooden frames, drops, cutouts, etc., used to represent a place or environment where the action happens. script the written text detailing what happens, including what is to be said, during a play or performance. set the arrangement of scenery and props on stage. setting the place or mood in which a play takes place. slapstick an exaggerated type of physical comedy marked by falls and pretend violence, such as bopping heads on door jambs, falling on banana peels and tweaking the nose. solo a performance done by a single performer alone. stock character a fictional type of personality recognizable to or associated with a particular culture, often a stereotype. 6 Snowflake njpac.org In this scene from Snowflake, Gale LaJoye combines props, comedy and attitude.
In the Classroom Before the Performance 1. Younger students: Read aloud Antoinette Portis Not a Box and/or Not a Stick. Ask students to discuss what the rabbit is doing. If students do not come up with the words making believe, pretending or using his imagination, steer them in this direction. Ask students to act out some of the activities in the story, such as pretending to fish or drive a race car. Make sure they understand that when using invisible props, they need to have a real sense of the size, weight and dimensions of the props and the ways they change through interaction (for example, biting into a juicy apple produces spray). (1.1) * 2. Mimed stories rely on the artist to convey the character s emotional state. Have students practice basic facial expressions to indicate emotion, such as happy, sad, angry, goofy, surprised, pained, confused, excited. Prompt them by saying, Show me how you would feel if...... your brother/sister broke your favorite toy... you just won the lottery... your best friend broke his/her arm Now have them use their bodies to portray these emotions. (1.1) After the Performance 1. Ask students to write a creative story about the Snowflake character not seen onstage his past or his future. They might consider: What did he do for a living before he became homeless? Did he have a family? What happened to him to make him live on the streets? What do you think he would do if someone gave him $1 million? What would he do if he found an injured dog? Make sure students are creating a story that goes before or beyond the performance. Like all stories, it should have a beginning, a middle and an end. (1.1) 2. Professional clowns develop extremely comprehensive characters. Have students develop their own clown personality and write a detailed biographical sketch about it, including: Which of the three types of clown are you? What are your character s profession, gender, hobby, social class, favorite foods, favorite colors, weaknesses, and strengths? What is your secret dream or goal? What kind of makeup and/or costuming would you use? (1.1, 1.2, 1.3) * Number(s) indicate the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standard(s) supported by the activity. Teaching Science Through Theater (Grades K-6) By Sharon J. Sherman, Ed.D. Integrating science and theater in the elementary grades not only enables students to connect these disciplines but provides a creative way to attain understanding through engagement. In science class, children study matter and energy transformations. They learn that all organisms transfer matter and convert energy from one form to another. Students usually observe a variety of plants and animals in natural settings at a zoo or botanical garden or turn to digital or video resources. As young scientists, they grow plants from seeds in their classrooms, recording plant height, amount of leaves and conditions for growing. They keep these observations in science notebooks and carefully analyze the data (Science Standard 5.3.2.B.1). Next, students learn about animals and how creatures meet their needs for food and water. They identify animals characteristics, including the unique structures and behaviors that enable them to obtain food. Theater is brought into the science classroom when students create and perform short plays. Tell them a local zoo is sponsoring a children s series with the theme, Care and Feeding of Animals, and they have been asked to participate. As they write their plays, they should use voice, movement and facial expression to tell their stories. Students in later grades continue to develop their understanding of matter and energy transformations. Now they identify sources of energy (food) in a variety of settings: farm, zoo, ocean, and forest. They learn that almost all energy and matter can be traced to the sun (Science Standard 5.3.4.B.1). Once again, you can bring theater into the classroom by having the students write plays about different ecosystems. Divide students into groups and let them select one of these environments: marsh, pond, field, forest, farm, zoo, school, or backyard. Ask them to write about the organisms that live in the ecosystem and describe the habitat and food chain. As a culminating activity, the entire class can compare and contrast life in each ecosystem. Sharon J. Sherman, Ed.D. is Dean of the School of Education and Professor of Teacher Education at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ. The Teaching Science Through the Arts content of this guide is made possible through the generous support of Roche. visit NJPAC.ORG Find additional resources online at njpac.org/artseducation/schooltime/resourceguides. Snowflake njpac.org 7
More Resources Books for Students Bunting, Eve. Fly Away Home. Clarion Books, 1993. Andrew and his father live in an airport. Picture book. Grades K-3, older with classroom discussion. Burgess, Ron. Be a Clown!: Techniques From a Real Clown. Williamson Publishing, 2001. Grades 4-5. Website for Students clown-ministry.com. Includes an extensive Clown Resources page, Clown History and Clown Skits, encouraging students to develop their own makeup and clown routines. Videos for Students The Best of Chaplin. Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, 2008. Silent Greats: The Ultimate Collection. St. Claire Entertainment, 2007 Books for Teachers Fife, Bruce, Tony Blanco, et al. Creative Clowning. Piccadilly Books, 1998. Kipnis, Claude. The Mime Book. Meriwether Publishing, Ltd., 1974. Website for Teachers http://members.tripod.com/kiko_mime/ history/html. The history of mime. Acknowledgments as of 8/22/11 NJPAC Arts Education programs are made possible by the generosity of: Bank of America, The Arts Education Endowment Fund in Honor of Raymond G. Chambers, Leon & Toby Cooperman, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Anonymous, McCrane Foundation, Merck Company Foundation, Albert & Katharine Merck, The Prudential Foundation, The PSEG Foundation, Marian & David Rocker, The Sagner Family Foundation, The Star-Ledger/Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Verizon, Victoria Foundation, Wells Fargo, John & Suzanne Willian / Goldman Sachs Gives and Women s Association of NJPAC. Additional support is provided by: Advance Realty, C.R. Bard Foundation, Becton, Dickinson & Company, The Frank and Lydia Bergen Foundation, Allen & Joan Bildner, Bloomberg, Ann & Stan Borowiec, Jennifer Chalsty, Chase, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Edison Properties, Veronica Goldberg Foundation, Meg & Howard Jacobs, Johnson & Johnson, The MCJ Amelior Foundation, The New Jersey Cultural Trust, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Novo Nordisk, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Pechter Foundation, PNC Foundation on behalf of the PNC Grow Up Great program, The Provident Bank Foundation, E. Franklin Robbins Charitable Trust, Roche, TD Charitable Foundation and The Blanche M. & George L. Watts Mountainside Community Foundation. One Center Street Newark, New Jersey 07102 Administration: 973 642-8989 Arts Education Hotline: 973 353-8009 artseducation@njpac.org Writer: Editor: Design: Sandi Leibowitz Linda Fowler Pierre Sardain 66 Creative, Inc. 66Creative.com NJPAC Guest Reader: Jamie M. Mayer NJPAC Teacher s Resource Guide Review Committee: Judith Israel Mary Lou Johnston Amy Tenzer Cover photo of Snowflake by Andy Gregg Copyright 2011 New Jersey Performing Arts Center All Rights Reserved visit NJPAC.ORG Find additional resources online at njpac.org/artseducation/schooltime/resourceguides. For even more arts integration resources, please go to Thinkfinity.org, the Verizon Foundation s signature digital learning platform, designed to improve educational and literacy achievement. William J. Marino.....Chairman John Schreiber...........President & Chief Executive Officer Sandra Bowie......Vice President of Arts Education Sanaz Hojreh.........Assistant Vice President of Arts Education Chamie Baldwin Graff.......... Director of Marketing, Arts Education Caitlin Evans Jones..... Director of In-School Programs Jeff Griglak...........Director of Arts Training Constance Collins.......Administrative Assistant and Office Manager for Arts Education Laura Ingoglia..........Editor of Teacher s Resource Guides Linda Fowler............Editor of Teacher s Resource Guides 8 Snowflake njpac.org