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Chamber Theatre Productions
CLASSICS! Teacher Guide
Chamber Theatre utilizes a dramatic form that relies on the narrator’s point of view. One of the artistic
features of Chamber Theatre is that the narration can occur 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. The “chamber” format poses other unique
production challenges for theatre as well. It uses limited space for many settings, few actors for many roles,
and challenges the audience to shift attitude from serious to frivolous.
Classroom Activities
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Group Reading Assignment: If the entire class cannot read all of the stories, you might break the
class into groups and assign one story to each group. Ask students to provide details and insights
into the work. You may choose to direct each group in a further study of history, biography of the
author, literary genre, main ideas and themes, etc.
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Play Production: Have your students act out their own version of one of the stories. Designate or
allow students to choose roles such as actors, playwrights, costume and set designers. You may
split your class into groups so that all of the stories can be presented, or have the entire class work
with their favorite story.
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Journal: Ask students to choose a character from one of the stories and ask them to write a
“journal” entry as that character. Give them the choice of writing in the time before, during, or
after the story takes place. Ask them to be clear about their choices, using words to describe the
setting, actions, and feelings of the character.
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Theatre Review: Have your class write a review of the production. You may ask them to write
individual or group reviews using a common rating scale, or have a classroom discussion or panel.
Ask them to review the plays in categories such as costumes, special effects, stage adaptation,
characters, etc.
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“Page to Stage” Critique: Have your students think about the differences between reading the
stories and seeing them onstage. What did they think worked well? Did they see any changes
between the original text and what Chamber Theatre presented onstage? Did they think that these
changes enhanced the experience? Are there challenges to adapting these stories, and how did
Chamber Theatre address these issues?
Viewing Activities for All Short Stories
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How do the stage set and props establish the environment of each story including time, place and
mood?
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Notice the various ways character and personality are established onstage, either through
references by the narrator, actions that the character performs, body language or the way
characters move onstage.
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How does the role of the narrator function in each story? Notice if he or she is a character in the
story, a bystander, or a combination of the two.
•
Look for ways the actors make the audience believe that settings have changed or that time has
passed. What stage effects are used to make these changes believable for the audience?
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Are there instances where humor is found in the dialogue versus the action of the characters?
How do the actors’ physical gestures embellish the humor?
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Several of these stories include a “twist ending.” What techniques are used by the authors and/or
director to lead you down a different path so that the ending is a surprise?
The Fall of the House of Usher
by Edgar Allen Poe
In this tale of mystery and psychological terror,
Roderick and his twin sister Madeline, the last of
the Usher family, suffer from a mysterious
malady in which all of life's normal pleasures
become painful to them. Roderick summons his
boyhood friend who becomes witness to the
ultimate downfall of the House of Usher. Poe
draws parallels between the family and the
house, showing them as intertwined and locked
together in fate, challenging us to decide what is
imaginary and what is real. He confronts us with
our ultimate fear; the possibility that what is
mysterious and fantastic might also be true.
The Ransom of Red Chief
by O. Henry
Two scoundrels named Bill and Sam kidnap the
only son of a country banker to collect a ransom.
However, the kid is not as innocent as he first
appears, and it is soon apparent that he is no match
for his kidnappers. Playing an Indian by the name of
Red Chief, the boy is thrilled to be hiding out in a
cave in the wilderness. He continuously terrorizes
the two ruffians for attention and adventure. Bill and
Sam write a ransom letter, however the boy’s father
makes a counter-offer they can’t refuse. He agrees
to take his son back, but only after the kidnappers
pay him to do so!
Short Story Vocab: melancholy, superstition,
mystic, sullen, morbid, ghastly, hysteria,
munificent, phantasm, dissolution, impetuous,
asunder, tarn, quaver, insufferable, antiquity,
vivacious
Post-Viewing Questions: 1) How does the
author describe the house? How does this
description parallel the symptoms of the disease
which afflicts Roderick and Madeline? 2) What
language and special effects are used in the play
to show that the house is alive? 3) The narrator
reads a mythic adventure to Roderick during the
climatic scene. How does this “story within a
story” relate to what is happening to Roderick?
4) What elements of staging the play substituted
for any missing language from the story to create
a unified, pervasive mood? 5) In the play, the
“disease” is contagious and infects the narrator.
Does this influence what you think about the
narrator’s escape?
Short Story Vocab: apparition, lackadaisical,
affection, collaborated, concealed, scheme, dote,
palatable, surreptitiously, renegade, proclivities,
impudent, prominent, complexion, appealing,
dastardly, ineffable
Post-Viewing Questions: 1) What do you think of
Bill and Sam? Are they true criminals or are they
just looking for an easy way to make some cash?
Why do you think Bill and Sam choose this
particular boy to kidnap? 2) What does the character
of Red Chief represent? What does Red Chief mean
to the boy playing him? 3) Were you surprised by
the author’s “twist ending?” Why or why not?
4) How did language and movement contribute to
the actors’ characterization of their roles? 5) How
was the stage set used to establish the environment?
6) How was humor added to the staging of the story
beyond the original text? 7) Did your opinion of Bill
and Sam change after seeing the play versus reading
the story? Why or why not?
The Lady or the Tiger?
by Frank R. Stockton
King Sardis, a half-barbarian patriarch, has
devised a justice system in which criminals are
to stand in the center of the arena and choose
between two doors. Behind one door awaits a
ferocious tiger and behind the other awaits a
beautiful maiden. When the King sentences his
daughter’s lover, the heroic Captain Orn to the
fate of the arena, Princess Litzka desperately
conspires to discover what lies behind each door.
As she signals her lover to choose one door over
the other, we question her intentions and her
decision. She despises the lady who waits for
Orn behind one door, yet does not want to be
responsible for leading him to his death. Will
Princess Litzka choose to save Orn’s life, or will
jealously take over and allow her to sacrifice
him?
The Open Window
by Saki (H.H. Munro)
This sparse tale follows Frampton Nuttel to the
English countryside to call upon some
acquaintances of his sister and to recover from
frayed nerves. He is met by Vera who recounts
how her aunt has never recovered from the tragic
day that her husband and brothers went hunting
and never returned. She explains how her Aunt
leaves the French windows open as she expects
that they could appear out of the mist at any
time. Her aunt arrives only to distress him
further, saying her husband and brothers had
gone hunting only that very morning. As the
ghostlike hunting party is spotted through the
open window, Mr. Nuttel hastily departs. Vera
invents an explanation – Mr. Nuttel must have
been scared by the hunting dog.
Short Story Vocab: barbaric, valor, savage,
anxiety, devious, reveries, hesitation, genial,
exuberant, fervent, tribunal, aesthetic, chance
Post-Viewing Questions: 1) Do you think the way
the king treats his subjects is fair? Would you
consider their actions criminals? 2) Define the words
“barbarian” and “civilized.” Although the king prides
himself on developing a “refined and cultured”
civilization, in what ways is his justice system
barbaric? 3) How does the author explore the ideas
of choice, justice and fate? 4) This story is often
referred to as a fairy tale. What elements of the story
are similar to other fairy tales you have read? 5)
What does Princess Litzka’s behavior reveal about
her character? Do you think her family history or role
in society has influence over how she behaves? How
does her behavior challenge this particular society’s
perception of women? 6) Which door do you think
Princess Litzka directed Orn to open? Write an
ending to the story based on this belief.
Short Story Vocab: regret, nerve, retreat,
treacherous, ghastly, coincidence, self-possessed,
habitation, delusion, sympathetic, sufficient,
endeavored
Post-Viewing Questions: 1) Vera and her aunt
tell two very different stories about what
happened to the hunting party. Who do you
believe? Who does Mr. Nuttel believe? Why? 2)
What is Vera’s motive for telling Mr. Nuttel
about the death of her uncle? 3) What does the
last line of the story reveal about Vera’s
character? How does this relate to the meaning
of her name (truth) ? 4) How did the actor
playing Mr. Nuttel physicalize the character’s
“nervous condition?” How does this add humor
to the story? 5) How are the lighting and sound
effects used to create mood? Does the mood
ever change within the play? How?
The Most Dangerous Game
by Richard Connell
After falling off a yacht in the dead of night,
Rainsford finds himself on an island and taken in
by the hunter Zaroff. It is not long into his stay at
the luxurious island chateau that Rainsford learns
of Zaroff’s most recent hunting fancy. Bored with
hunting other game, Zaroff has taken to luring
ships into a false channel near his island by night
and drawing sailors to his lair. Comfortable and
well-fed, he then offers his guests a choice: engage
in a game of the hunt, or submit immediately to the
wrath of his servant. Rainsford is given the choice
as well, to be hunted or to die. After three days of
harrowing adventure in the jungle, Rainsford
ultimately wins, conquering Zaroff unexpectedly.
Richard Connell’s title poses the fundamental
question: Is man the most dangerous game to hunt
or is hunting the most dangerous game man can
play?
Short Story Vocab: superstition, dread, mystified,
mirage, chateau, instinct, civilized, impulse,
quarry, braggart, inevitable, palpable, realist,
tangible, droll
Post-Viewing Questions: 1) What are the rules of
Zaroff’s game? Does anyone break the rules?
How? 2) In what ways can the word “game”
referred to in the title be interpreted? Does one or
another interpretation fit better with the events of
the story? 3) Did Rainsford beat Zaroff, or did
Zaroff’s overconfidence bring about his own
defeat? What evidence supports your position? 4)
This adaptation is particularly difficult to stage
because it requires many locations and events.
How did the use of the stage and lighting effects
help to solve this problem?
Theatre/Literary Vocabulary
Actor – An individual playing a character onstage
Antagonist – Character working in opposition to the main character
Backlight – To illuminate from behind, often used to create a special effect
Blocking – Stage movement and positioning of the actors onstage
Character – A role played by an actor
Costume – Clothing worn by an actor onstage to create the appearance of a particular character
Critique – An artistic review
Dialogue - Words spoken by the actors
Diction - Clarity of the words spoken by the actors including style and quality
Effects – Technical elements of a theatrical production, such as lighting and sound
Foreshadowing - Hinting at future events
Gesture – Movement such as a shrug or wave that an actor uses as a means of expression
Irony – When the outcome of a series of events differs from the expected result
Metaphor - A figure of speech in which one word or idea is used in place of another to denote similarities
Monologue – A speech made by one actor onstage
Mood – The overall feeling of a play or story
Plot – The main plan or story of a literary work
Props – Any object handled by an actor onstage
Protagonist – The main character of the story
Reversal – A sudden change in action or outcome
Role – A character written by the playwright
Scrim – A special backdrop which can appear both opaque and transparent, depending upon how the light hits it.
Script – The written dialogue and stage directions of a play
Set – The environment of the play onstage including scenery and furniture
Setting – Where the story takes place
Stage – The part of a theatre space where the actors perform, often elevated from the audience
Soliloquy – A narrative given by a character, usually reflective in nature when the character is alone onstage.
Tension - The dramatic balance between opposing forces and elements
Theme – The main subject or idea of a literary work
Voiceover – A narrative heard from a sound effect rather than from the actors on stage
Additional student worksheets and activities may be found at our website: www.chambertheatre.com.