Study Guide Mar 29 - Apr 22, 2018 Dramatized by Joseph Robinette From the story by C.S. Lewis
Student Preparation Before the Show Talk with your students about The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. Familiarize them with the book series and movie; how are they different and how are they similar? Introduce the show which is a play with just dialogue, no music or dance. What elements from the books and movies do your students expect to see in the performance? Facilitate activities from the study guide to engage your students in the themes, content, and background of the story and to get excited for the performance. Discuss theatre etiquette with your students using the tips below. Theatre Etiquette Live theatre is very exciting and maybe a new experience for many audience members. Here are some guidelines to help our audience members have the best possible experience: Arrive on time. For the safety of the actors and the audience, please stay seated for the performance. Visit the restroom before the performance begins The use of electronic devices (including cameras and recording devices) is strictly prohibited. Please do not talk to your neighbor during the performance. If you like something that you see, you may clap or laugh - it shows the actors that you like what they are doing! 2
About the Book About C.S. Lewis About the Show The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first book published in the Chronicles of Narnia Series. There are seven books in this series, all written by author C.S. Lewis. The inspiration for this book started when he was a teenager, when he often had images of a Faun carrying and umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood, then one day he decided to write a story about these images. To help complete this vision Lewis drew on Greek, Roma, and Norse mythology; Irish and British fairytales; German folklore; and Arthurian romance. It was a long process, as it took ten years to write, however, it was worth it. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was included in TIME magazines ALL-TIME 100 Novels, and was listed ninth on BBC s The Big Read. 100 million copies have been sold and the story has been translated into 47 foreign languages. The story was so entertaining it was also adapted for TV, stage, radio, and the big screen when it was made into a movie in 2005. Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1898. He attended Oxford University where he was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature. While at Oxford he met fellow peer and writer, J.R.R Tolkien. In 1954, he was elected to become the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University and continued to hold this position until he retired. When Lewis was younger, he aspired to be a poet, however, after he published a few poems under the name Clive Hamilton, he did not have much success. Fortunately, he found success in writing novels and he wrote more than 30 books, which include Surprised by Joy, The Dark Tower, and Of Other Worlds. His books were so loved and respected that he was featured on the cover of TIME magazine for the September 1947 issue. 3
What's Involved In Putting On A Show? Putting on the Show Performances at Columbus Children s Theatre are a result of groups of people working together. Many people know and understand what an actor is the people on the stage telling the story. But did you know there are many more people working hard behind-the-scenes to make the performance happen? Below are just a few of those people, The Director Responsible for the overall concept of the show they guide a vision to create a world on stage in which the show may exist. Works with the actors to help them interpret their character and move on stage. Works closely with designers in planning the sounds, lights, scenery, costumes, props, - basically, everything you see on the stage. The Designers Work with the director and with each other to create the look of the lights, scenery, costumes, make-up, sound and special effects. They make the world on stage come to life. The Stage Manager Organizes every aspect of the production schedules, resources and communications. In charge of making everything run smoothly from rehearsal to performance. Guarantee the same great performance every single time, whether you attend a show during the school day, or with your family in the evening or on the weekend. The Crew There are a lot of different crew people. Some help build the scenery, costumes, and props you see on the stage, and some are working backstage during the show helping actors change costumes, moving pieces of scenery on and off, or operating the lights and sound. The Cast Cast is what we call all of the actors who are on stage performing the characters in front of the audience. The Audience This is where you come in! The show you see would not exist without you. The hard work everyone puts in to create a show is all meant to share a story with you. 4
Unscramble the letters below to spell a word relating to the play by using the hint in parentheses. Vocabulary SNWO (weather) RADWEBOR (furniture) AINNRA (place) UAFN (Lucy s friend) NOLI (animal) RNLEICHD (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) EBEARV (animal) THCIW (person) TWENIR (season) NROHTE (a place to sit) STRECE (something hidden) 5
Imagine you slipped through a secret passage into another world. What does it look like on the other side of the passage? Are there plants? Animal? Do you meet anyone? Write about what happens and how you get back. Writing 6