Download Lend Me A Tenor The Musical Study Guide

Pacific Conservatory Theatre
Student Matinee Program Presents
MUSIC BY Brad Carroll
BOOK & LYRICS BY Peter Sham
Based on the play by Ken Ludwig
Generously sponsored by
Judge and Mrs. Jed Q. Beebe
Brad & Jacqui Hinds
The McLaughlin Clan
A STUDY GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS
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Welcome to the Pacific Conservatory Theatre
A NOTE TO THE TEACHER
Thank you for bringing your students to PCPA. Here are some helpful
hints for your visit to the Marian Theatre. The top priority of our staff is to
provide an enjoyable day of live theatre for you and your students.
Use the study guide to prepare your students prior to the performance.
Each study guide has grade level notations that will help you navigate to
material you can use in your curriculum.
SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDENT ETIQUETTE
Note-able behavior is a vital part of theater for youth. Going to the theater is
not a casual event. It is a special occasion. If students are prepared properly,
it will be a memorable, educational experience for all.
1. Have students enter the theater in a single file. We suggest you have one
adult for every ten to fifteen students. Our ushers will assist you with
locating your seats. Please wait until the usher has seated your party before
any rearranging of seats to avoid injury and confusion. While seated,
teachers should space themselves so they are visible, between every ten to
fifteen students. Teachers and adults must remain with their group during the
entire performance.
2. Once seated in the theater, students may go to the bathroom in small
groups and with the teacher’s permission. Please chaperone younger
students. Once the show is over, please have students remain seated until
the lead instructor / chaperone dismisses your students.
3. Please remind your students that we do not permit:
• food, gum, drinks, backpacks or large purses
• disruptive talking.
• disorderly and inappropriate behavior (stepping on/over seats,
throwing objects, etc.)
• cameras, radios, cell phones, cameras, tape recorders,
electronics games or toys. (Adults are asked to put cell phones on
silent or vibrate.) In cases of disorderly behavior, groups may be asked
to leave the theater without ticket refunds.
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4. Teachers should take time to remind students before attending the show of
the following about a live performance:
Sometimes we forget when we come into a theatre that we are one of
the most important parts of the production. Without an audience there
would be no performance. Your contribution of laughter, quiet attention
and applause is part of the play.
When we watch movies or television we are watching images on a
screen, and what we say or do cannot affect them. In the theatre the
actors are real people who are present and creating an experience with
us at that very moment. They see and hear us and are sensitive to our
response. They know how we feel about the play by how we watch and
listen.
An invisible bond is formed between actors and a good audience, and it
enables the actors to do their best for you. A good audience helps make
a good performance.
5. Photographs and / or recording of any kind is forbidden in our theatre.
However, there will be a very special “Photo Opportunity” display for you
and your students in our lobby. Feel free to take a many pictures in our
“photo op” corner as you’d like.
The Education and Outreach department of PCPA welcomes you as a
partner in the live theatre experience from the moment you take your seats.
We hope that your visit will be a highlight of your school year.
George Walker as Tito and Joe Ogren as Max
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Lend Me A Tenor - The Musical
Production Team and Cast
Director: Brad Carroll
Choreographer: Katie Wackowski
Musical Director: Paul Marszalkowski
Scenic Designer: Jason Bolen
Costume Designer: Eddy L. Barrows
Lighting Designer: Tim Thistleton
Sound Designer: Elisabeth Weidner
Stage Manager: Ellen Beltramo*
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CAST OF CHARACTERS
Bernie Guter……………………………………………………Matt Koenig
Max Garber…………………………………………..…………...Joe Ogren
Henry Saunders…………………………………………………..Erik Stein*
Opera Guild Ladies………………………………………..……Kitty Balay*
Meami Maszewski
Vivian Vaeth
Diana Divane…………………………………...………...…Karin Hendricks
Maggie Saunders…………………………………………Caroline Whelehan
Tito Mirelli……………………………………….……......…George Walker
Maria Merelli…………………………………………….……Bree Murphy*
Ensemble …………………………………….…………Christian Arteaga
Blake Brundy
Tyler Campbell
Mandy Corbett
Leo Cortez
Annali Fuchs
Katie Gucik
Mitchell Lam Hau
Adam Mantell
Antwon D. MasonJr.
Skye Privat
Tim Stewart
Katie Wackoswki
* Actor’s Equity Association
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HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDE
The Study Guide is a companion piece designed to explore many ideas depicted in
the stage production of Lend Me A Tenor The Musical. Although the guide’s intent
is to enhance the student’s theatrical experience, it can also be used as an
introduction to the elements of a play (in this case a musical play or play with
music), and the production elements involved in the play’s presentation. Although
many students are familiar with the general storyline, this specific stage adaptation
presents a wealth of new questions for this generation to answer. The guide has been
organized into three major sections:
• Elements of the story
• Elements of production
• Resourses and Activities
Teachers and group leaders will want to select portions of the guide for their specific
usage. Discussion questions are meant to provoke a line of thought about a particular
topic. The answers to the discussion questions in many instances will initiate the process
of exploration and discovery of varied interpretations by everyone involved. This can be
as rewarding as the wonderful experience of sight and sound that Lend Me A Tenor The
Musical creates on-stage.
It is recommended that the original Broadway cast recording, available on either
iTunes Download or compact disk, be used in conjunction with discussion of the
musical elements. The lyrics and musical arrangements aid in discussion of various
aspects of the production.
Caroline Whelehan as Maggie and George Walker as Tito
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ELEMENTS OF THE STORY
The Characters of
Lend Me A Tenor - The Musical
Henry Saunders: Executive director of the Cleveland Grand Opera House,
Saunders is a man who gets things done, one way or another.
Max Garber: Assistant to Saunders, and in love with Saunders’s daughter
Maggie, Max has much more talent than is apparent.
Diana Divane: Diva of the Cleveland Opera House, Diana has a “thing” for
the great Il Stupendo, Tito Merelli.
Maggie Saunders: Saunders’s daughter, Maggie is attracted to Max, but
isn’t sure she is love. She, instead, says she needs “a fling.”
Bernie Guter: The Stage Manager for the Cleveland Grand Opera.
Maria Merelli: Wife to Tito, Maria is suspicious of her husband’s fidelity;
still, she can’t give him up.
Tito Merelli: “Il Stupendo,” a world-famous opera star.
Karin Hendricks as Diana and Joe Ogren as Max
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A SYNOPSIS OF THE STORY
The play begins on the final rehearsal before the Gala performance at the
Cleveland Grand Opera’s opening of Pagliacci, starring the world-famous tenor, Tito
Merelli, “Il Studpendo”. Unfortunately, Tito Merelli is three hours late with no sign of his
whereabouts. Henry Saunders, the opera’s executive director and his personal assistant
Max Garber are in a panic, desperately trying to come up with a solution to the missing
opera star (“Where The Hell Is Mereli?”).
Meanwhile, Maggie Saunders, Henry’s daughter, has transformed the Cleveland
Hotel Ballroom into a shrine to “Il Stupendo”, where the Gala reception is to be held.
Max enters and insists Maggie shouldn’t get her hopes up, because Merelli might not
show. Maggie believes otherwise and has additional plans concerning Merelli (“I Need a
Fling”).
Saunders rushes in after receiving news that President and Mrs. Roosevelt will be
attending the Gala performance. Desperately, Saunders turns to Max for an idea. Max,
who fancies he is something of an opera singer himself, offers a solution (“How ‘Bout
Me?”). After the song Saunders and Max are told Mr. and Mrs. Merelli have finally
arrived, and they rush to make them welcome.
In the Lobby of the Cleveland Hotel, the staff, the media and the opera guild greet
the Merelli’s with a royal welcome (“For the Love of Opera”). However, once the
Merelli’s arrive at their suite, it becomes painfully clear that Tito is in questionable shape
to perform. He is suffering from a terrible stomachache and is at odds with his wife over
his preoccupation with women. Meanwhile, Maggie,Saunder, dressed as a hotel maid,
sneaks into the suite’s bedroom, in search of Tito Merelli, but is startled when Maria
storms into the bedroom. In a panic Maggie hides in the closet. Before Saunders exits to
ready the opera company for the GALA, he makes sure Max is up to the task of
babysitting Il Stupendo and getting him to the performance on time. When Max and Tito
are alone it is decided they should have a drink to settle Tito’s stomach. Max considers
slipping a Phenobarbital into Tito’s drink to help calm and make him well.
Tito enters the bedroom to fetch a bottle of Chianti, and discovers Maria is still
upset with him. He approaches her to comfort his wife with memories of when they were
young and in love, but his efforts are to no avail (“Facciamo l’amor”). After yet another
row with Maria, Tito returns to the sitting room to have a drink with Max, which the
latter has spiked with a triple dose of the Phenobarbital. In the bedroom, Maria discovers
Maggie hiding in the closet. In a rage Maria boots Maggie out of the suite and goes about
composing a note resolving to leave her husband for good (“The Last Time”). Maria
leaves the note on the bed for Tito and angrily departs.
Now alone, Max and Tito share a drink and come together to form a common
bond of admiration, friendship, and respect. Max reveals to Tito how his self-doubt
stands in the way of his desire to be a singer. Tito helps Max to find his voice and
conquer his fear (“Be Youself”).
Soon, Tito, somewhat dazed after ingesting a triple dose of tranquilizers, which he
has unwittingly mixed with a large amount of Chianti, finds Maria’s note and threatens to
kill himself. His tirade is finally calmed by Max who sings him tenderly to sleep with the
notion that Maria will be (“Back before You Know It”).
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It is now 6:15 pm and time for Tito to prepare for the GALA performance. When
Max tries to rouse him from his sleep, Tito appears to be lifeless. Max finds Maria’s note
on the bed and comes to the conclusion that Tito has committed suicide! Saunders comes
up to the suite and he and Max realize the company could collapse unless it can find a
way for the “dead” singer to deliver the performance of his life. Saunders turns to Max as
a possible replacement to play Pagliaccio (How ‘Bout Me? Reprise). Max reluctantly
agrees and exits to get into the iconic clown costume, as Saunders prays for a miracle.
Just then the opera guild ladies, followed by the opera cast members, enter asking
where Merelli is (Act One Finale). Saunders assures them he’s on the way. Max, now
dressed in full Pagliaccio clown makeup enters from the bathroom and nervously pounds
on the connecting door. The crowd freezes in anticipation of seeing Il Stupendo.
Saunders joins an extremely reluctant Max in the bedroom, and proceeds to warm him
out of his cold feet by opening the connecting doors and exposing him to the crowd
waiting in the sitting room. With a call to “places” from the stage manager, everyone
hurries to the stage. Max takes a moment to review what Tito taught him to conquer his
fears and triumphantly walks out of the room to go to the stage. Suddenly the real Tito
bolts upright on the bed with a loud cry; “Maria!!”. End of Act I.
Act II opens with the final moments of Paglicacci on the Cleveland Opera stage.
Max as Canio delivers the fatal blows to Nedda and Silvio as the opera comes to an end.
The applause for Max’s performance is deafening, and he is relishing every bit of it.
When the work lights come up. Back stage the company bursts into congratulations and
admiration (Il Stupendo). Max is drunk with success and Saunders has a time trying to
get him back to the suite. When everyone has finally exited, two policemen enter in
search of a clown, claiming to be Tito Merelli, who was trying to break into the opera
house during the performance.
Back in the suite, Max is able to finally relax and takes in the success of his
monumental deception. Maggie knocks on his door, and Max, with confidence and
swagger, lets her enter the suite. In a bold move, Max (as Tito) flirts with Maggie and
tells her, when he was singing to Nedda in the opera, he was thinking of Maggie leaving
her completely smitten (Lend Me A Tenor), ending in a passionate kiss. Another knock
on the door interrupts them. It is Saunders. Max helps Maggie exit the room unnoticed by
her father as Saunders reflects on how their plan went off without a hitch, and asks Max
for one more favor. To have a picture taken with “Tito” and President Roosevelt. Max
agrees but suddenly finds his stomach is turning from the shrimp he ate at the gala
reception.
As Saunders exits, Tito bursts through the bedroom door in a state of panic,
dressed as Paglicaccio. Hearing the sound of police sirens he ducks into the closet. As
Max makes his way to the bedroom he realizes that Tito’s body is no longer on the bed
where he left him. Flabbergasted he runs off in search of Saunders for help. Slowly the
closet door opens and Tito emerges. Confident that he is safe, he begins to pack his bags.
Just then Diana, the ambitious lead soprano who played Nedda, enters the sitting room.
She heads straight for the bedroom where Tito, though surprised to see her, is
immediately swayed by her revealing dress. Tito, not knowing who she is, mistakenly
believes she might be a “working girl”. Diana makes quick efforts to “audition” for Tito
with hopes that he will help her get noticed in the opera circuit (May I Have A
Moment?).
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Maggie then knocks on the sitting room door. Thinking she’s there for an
autograph, Tito lets her in as Diana returns to the bedroom to wait. As Tito searches for a
pen, Maggie removes her dress and lunges into Tito’s arms. Suddenly there is another
knock on the door. It’s Saunders. Maggie hides from her father in the kitchenette and Tito
opens the door for Saunders, who is now, also dressed in the Pagliaccio clown costume.
Tito has no idea it’s Saunders and everything they speaks of is a complete puzzle to Tito
leaving him hopelessly confused. Seeing Maggie’s clothes on the floor Saunders becomes
aware they are not alone.
Max then enters the bedroom, still dressed as Paglaccio. He hears the voices in
the sitting room and goes to the connecting door to investigate. Saunders enters the
bedroom pushing Max behind the door, completely unaware that Tito has been left in the
sitting room. He now engages the real Max in the conversation.
What ensues through out the next scene is a riotous and unpredictable explosion
of mistaken identities between three clowns, three women and what is presumed, one
missing body. As unrequited loves between Max, Maggie, Saunders and Diana are
serendipitously resolved, each character gets what they most desire (Il Stupendo Reprise).
Meanwhile, the Gala reception is about over in the Grand Ballroom. But the
evidence of damage done by the tainted shrimp is everywhere. The two police officers
are still searching for the suspected Tito Merelli impostor. But the real Tito Merelli, now
back in his street close is spotted trying to leave the hotel and a chase ensues.
Back in the Penthouse Suite the lovemaking is over, and the pair of couples in
separate rooms begin to feel the twinge of regret over their fraudulent actions. Alone for a
moment, Max ponders the depths that his deception has taken him (Knowing What I
Know). Maggie and Diana enter the sitting room at the same time, only to assume that
Tito has been playing them both. Enraged, both women advance on Max, but he eludes
them by hiding in the closet before they can catch him. Suddenly the sitting room door
opens and Maria enters to give Tito one more chance (The Last Time Reprise).
The three women now confront each other over the same man, Il Stupendo. But
Maria makes it very clear to Diana and Maggie that she is “his wife” and will be the one
to kill him with her bare hands. The real Tito Merelli runs in after being chased by the
police, and the Gala guests. Upon seeing Maria he falls to his knees and the two instantly
make up with each other.
Saunders enters, now dressed in his tuxedo, in time to hear that the “Tito
impostor” has locked himself in the closet. He tries to defuse the situation, but to no
avail. Max comes out with his hands ups and begins to explain to the crowd that he was
the Tito impersonator (Finale Part I- Knowing What I Know Reprise).
After Max confesses, Maggie and Diane come to realize the implications of who
they made love to. Saunders immediately disassociates himself from Max but Tito
quickly stops him in his tracks insisting that he double his salary to $20,000 and to give it
all to Max. Saunders begrudgingly agrees. Diana is so taken by this that she admits to
Saunders he was the man that tamed her. Maria and Tito agree it is time to settle down.
And Max proposes to Maggie, agreeing to be married that same night (Finale Part II- Be
Youself Repirse). End of show.
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ABOUT PCPA’S PRODUCTION OF
LEND ME A TENOR – THE MUSICAL
Lend Me A Tenor The Musical unfolds into a riotous and unpredictable explosion
of mistaken identities, fulfilled dreams and renewed love. This brand new musical
comedy is based on the Tony award nominated play by Ken Ludwig.
Lend Me A Tenor The Musical was first performed at the Utah Shakespeare
Festival in 2007. It moved to London with a two-week out of town tryout in 2010. It
opened on London’s West End at the Gielgud Theatre in 2011 and was nominated for a
Laurence Olivier Award.
Music composer Brad Carroll and Peter Sham (book and lyrics) were in residence
at Utah Shakespeare Festival in 2006 when they were commissioned to write a musical.
After a lot of the kicking around of ideas, mostly looking for stories in public domain and
comedy, Sham was struck with the notion of contacting Ken Ludwig and asking for the
rights to musicalize his play Lend Me A Tenor. While initially it seemed like a random
long-shot of an idea, it actually made perfect sense, Ludwig’s play was one of – if not the
– most popular comedies in the country having played in most every regional theatre in
the country over the course of two decades. After a brief mulling–over by Ludwig, he
granted the rights and Utah Shakes (after seeing a partial script and one workshop),
committed it to their following season. The musical created a fair amount of excitement
from New York producers who wanted to move the project forward with more
workshops and development. It became evident to the writers that it would be more
expedient to take it to London, though as it turned out, it still took five years to get to the
next step.
Initially, the musical opened with a big production number and the entire chorus
on stage singing “Otello.” Brad Carroll said he’d always thought they were giving it all
away before they’d even begun. That was one in a series of changes, tweaks and
compression of scenes that the play went through during, and after, it’s tryout at Theater
Royal Plymouth and then the premiere at the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End.
“The biggest change we’re making for this production,” said Carroll. “The opera
within the play is no longer Otello, it’s Pagliacci, because of the sensitivity in the world
right now regarding ethnic diversity and casting.” In the 230 year tradition of Giuseppe
Verdi’s Otello, the character of Othello has been a white man in black face. And that
would not be appropriate today. Interesting to note however, continuing the black face
tradition in the play hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm for any of the 16 productions of
Lend Me A Tenor The Musical that have been staged throughout Europe over the last few
years.
The conceit, explained Carroll, is that there has to be some sort of mask to
disguise the identities of three men. “In Pagliacci he’s wearing the white mask of the
clown as opposed to the ‘black mask’ of the Moor.” Carroll said that the reworking was
minimal; involving rewriting just two pieces of music and rewriting about 24 lines of
dialogue. “And, I think the overall effect will not be diminished. It might even be funnier,
because it’s now three clowns running around!” With all the changes since it’s first tryout
in Utah 10 years ago, the script for it’s West Coast premiere will most noticeably be
different with most of act two having undergone a major make over.
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About the Playwrights
Peter Sham, Brad Carroll, and Ken Ludwig
By Rachelle Hughes
Friendship, creativity, and trust between original playwright Ken Ludwig
and Lend Me a Tenor: The Musical co-creators—librettist Peter Sham and composer
Brad Carroll—launched the 2007 Utah Shakespeare Festival’s world premiere of the first
musical based on Ken Ludwig’s hit Broadway comedy, Lend Me a Tenor.
Lend Me A Tenor is the most produced contemporary comedy in the world,” said
Sham. So it was an enormous surprise to the Sham and Carroll team that in the years
since its debut on Broadway they were the first to approach Ludwig about doing a
musical adaptation of this well-loved play.
Ken Ludwig was born in York, Pennsylvania and started his education at
Haverford College where he wrote his first theatrical works produced before a theatrical
audience. But Ludwig then headed in a non-theatrical direction and attended Harvard
Law School where he earned his J.D and Cambridge University where he finished his law
education. He practiced law for a time and still remains “Of Council” at the firm of
Steptoe and Johnson. Ludwig did not ignore his love of theatre during his education and
he studied both Shakespeare and musical theatre. One of his mentors includes Leonard
Bernstein (“Ken Ludwig,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Ludwig, February 3, 2007).
Deciding to focus his energy on theatre paid off for Ludwig. As Sham says, “He’s
one of the really big playwrights.” His works which have received international acclaim
and a bevy of awards, including Tony awards, the Laurence Olivier award, two Helen
Hayes awards, Drama Desks Awards, and the Outer Critics’ Circle Award include Crazy
for You, Moon over Buffalo, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Leading Ladies, Be My
Baby, Shakespeare in Hollywood (commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company),
and Treasure Island. For television, he co-wrote the 1990 Kennedy Honors for CBS and
a television pilot for Carol Channing. For film he wrote All Shook Up for Touchstone
Pictures and Frank Oz. His most recent project is a stage adaptation of the George and Ira
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Gershwin film An American in Paris, which he is working on now. Ludwig lives in
Washington D.C. with his wife Adrienne George and his two young children. Ludwig
met Sham for the first time when Sham invited him to a production of Lend Me a
Tenor at the Eichelberger Performing Arts Center in Hanover, Pennsylvania, where Sham
was the artistic director. That invitation five years ago was the beginning of a friendship
that endures today.
In 2004, Sham and Carroll became collaborators for the first time when they
conceived the idea of A Christmas Carol: On the Air in the most unlikely of places, the
Festival parking lot. They pitched their idea to the Festival producers who had been
looking for a way to expand into the holiday season. “From the first day we pitched the
idea to the opening night was ten weeks in developing the piece” said Carroll. “That first
year it hit some nerve in the community. Now people come from all over to see the
show.”
The success of A Christmas Carol: On the Air created the foundation for what
would become the beginning of what Carroll and Sham see as a lifelong collaboration on
other projects. But Carroll and Sham had cemented their friendship long before they
started creating projects together. They first worked together on the 2002 Festival
production of Man of La Mancha directed by Carroll. Sham was an actor in the play.
Carroll explains they “quickly became fast friends because we have the same
sense of humor, irony, and many other things.”
Sham is quick to add they also have the “same sense of gossip.” Sham also points
out that they make such an excellent team because they are honest with each other and
they are not afraid to bruise each other’s egos. “With us the project is always the most
important thing. It’s all about the play,” he said.
So when the talented pair and the Festival to write and produce a musical to
premiere at the Festival they were anxious to work together on a new project. When
Sham told Carroll he was going to call his friend Ken Ludwig and ask if they could
revamp his famous Lend Me a Tenor into a musical, Carroll said he thought his partner
was crazy. The next day Ludwig e-mailed him back with the unexpected answer, “Hmm!
Never thought about it.” Ludwig e-mailed them back within the next couple of days and
said “ Let’s do it.”
“What we are really excited about is that he gave us free reign.” Ludwig once told
Sham that because of its financial success he never really had to work again after Lend
Me a Tenor. Although, Ludwig refuses to rest on his laurels, Lend Me a Tenor has been
his greatest success. And yet, he told Carroll and Sham they could do whatever they
wanted with the new musical.
“When someone gives you that luxury, you honor the work even more,” said
Sham. “He trusted us when he didn’t really have any reason to trust us except for
friendship. That really says what kind of a person he is.”
In 2004 the Carroll/Sham team began working on the project which they
presented as a staged reading in May 2006 at the Festival. The initial readings have
already received rave reviews including support from Ludwig, who says, “The music is
terrific. The lyrics are fabulous. [Peter and Brad] have done a most incredible job. This is
first rate—home run.”
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Sham and Carroll are already brainstorming for future products. And although
they make a great team, they have their own personal achievements that have brought
them to their recent run of success.
Carroll is the composer/arranger of the new opera-theatre piece, Cio Cio San, as
well as the author/composer of The Emperor’s New Clothes commissioned for
Shakespeare Santa Cruz in 2003. His other produced musicals include Across the River,
Togetherness, Christmas Is . . . A Musical Memory, and a new musical treatment of
Robin Hood. Carroll has created musical scores for dramatic productions
including Cyrano de Bergerac, King Lear, As You Like It, Death of A Salesman, and To
Kill a Mockingbird. He has worked as a writer, director, and musical arranger for Walt
Disney Entertainment, and his arrangements/ orchestrations have been performed by the
San Francisco Symphony and the Boston Pops.
Sham is the playwright of the musicals Toyland and It’s a Dog’s Life: Man’s Best
Musical; the screenplays After the Wizard and Hag and the Playhouse; and the
plays Moby Dick and A Christmas Carol: On the Air, a “1940s radio show” version of the
Charles Dickens classic written with Brad Carroll and produced at the Utah Shakespeare
Festival the past three Christmas seasons. He also recently finished a collaboration with
William Peter Blatty, adapting the award-winning screenplay The Ninth Configuration,
for the stage under the title of the original novel, Twinkle, Twinkle, “Killer” Kane. He is
currently teaching in Southern Utah University’s college of Performing and Visual Arts.
He has also been an actor the Utah Shakespeare Festival for the past ten years.
Caroline Whelehen as Maggie, Joe Ogren as Max
and Karin Hendricks as Diana
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ELEMENTS OF PRODUCTION
When you examine theatre as an art form, you discover that there are certain
elements that are present. Whenever a theatre event takes place without them,
the event would cease to be theatre. “Design” is a key element. Design elements
are the driving force that makes the play “believable” and allows the audience
to lose themselves in the story.
The design aspect of the production includes visual aspects of design such as
scenery, props, costumes, wigs, make-up, and lighting. Sound is a non-visual
aspect of design. In the production of Lend Me A Tenor – The Musical, these
elements contribute immeasurably to the pleasure of viewing the production.
Sets
Like the costumes, the set also presents visual information to the audience. A stage
setting establishes the locale and period in which the play occurs. Is the location an
Opera House? A Hotel Suite? A Ballroom? Is the time period the “Roaring
Twenties”? Is it in the 1960’s in the United States or in the 1960’s in China? The
setting also tells the audience what kinds of characters the play is about. If the
scenery depicts a farmhouse porch, it suggests the play is about an ordinary rural
family. A set design can also indicate whether the play is realistic or non-realistic,
both in the way the elements of design are visually presented and how they move
in and out of view of the audience.
The element of scenic design is a very important element in the staging of Lend
Me A Tenor – The Musical. The scenery works together with all production and
performance elements to create artistic consistency throughout the play. For
example, the stone grey tiles of the main floor design are consistent with the pre-art
deco walls of the opulent opera house. When we shift into the Hotel Suite, the
mood of the play becomes more fanciful with the ombré tones of the blue walls
and the introduction of several doorways and entrances. This mood is reflected in a
change of lighting consisting of bright, inviting colors and use of practical lighting
with lamps and wall sconces, that elicit a sense of a five star hotel.
Discussion Section:
The mood of the play begins in a very busy, upbeat way. At what point does the
mood begin to change? How is the mood expressed through the change of the set?
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The set of the Opera stage is large and grandiose with curved arches, a bright red
curtain and suggests a production is about to have a grand opening, etc. What does
such visual information tell you about the place and characters in this setting?
Set changes need to be made quickly and efficiently. Sometimes this requires that
changes be made in full view of the audience. In Lend Me A Tenor – The
Musical, this smooth transition from place to place reinforces how the story takes
place in the theatrical world of an Opera company. What staging technique was
used for telling the story and change locations at the same time?
How did the visual aspects of light, color, line (vertical, horizontal, circular,
etc.) and texture (smooth, rough, etc.) affect the mood of the musical staging
for the big numbers in the show? Were the changes in keeping with the
overall artistic concept of the play?
Lend Me A Tenor – The Musical scale model of approved set design.
Set Designer, Jason Bolen
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Elevation drawings are an important part of the final design presentation.
Design Elevations allow the Production Director to have a final say in the
way they envision their staging, and to insure the design is enhancing the
story. Also, scenic painters will use these “color elevations” as a guide when
recreating the design at full scale. These elevations will also be a reference
point for the Technical Director, the carpenters, welders, drafters and the
Scene Shop at large when building the set.
Floor painter’s elevation from scale model. Set Designer, Jason Bolen
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Wall elevations and Sitting Room Color Study from scale model.
Set Designer, Jason Bolen
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Costumes
The clothes, or costumes, that the performers wear communicate information to the
audience abut the character. The costume not only includes the clothes but the make-up,
hairstyles and wigs that the character wears as well. All work together so that when a
character walks on stage, the audience immediately knows something about the character.
The clothes tell us if the character is male, female or, in Lend Me A Tenor – The
Musical, members of the Cleveland Opera or Hotel Staff. The clothes also indicate the
nature of characters in the play: Their stations in life, their age, occupations and
personalities. Clothes indicate the historical period the play as well as the locale in which
the action occurs.
The costumes also need to meet the needs of the individual performer, making it possible
for an actor to move or dance freely, make a quick change from one costume to another,
or to make a change on stage in front of the audience.
Discussion Section:
•
How did the Tito’s costume tell you that he is a world famous opera star?
•
How did Max’s costume tell you he was an Assistant Mr. Saunders?
•
At one point in the play, three actors are wearing the exact same costume which leads
to the plot device of “mistaken identity”. What did these costumes add to the humor
of the situation? How different was each actor in the same costume that allowed the
audience to follow “who is who”?
•
How do the costumes reflect a time period and place?
•
Costumes also should indicate something of the personality of the character. What are
the personality traits of Saunders? How is that reflected in his costume?
•
Examine the costume designs of Maria and Maggie. By looking at the colors, line and
fabric, explain how the costumer indicated that there was a contrast between these
two characters.
•
Write down a list of adjectives that would describe the character of Max. Using a
picture of Max’s costume, how are the adjectives expressed through the design?
Compare his costumer to that of Tito Merelli’s.
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Costume design for Max in Act I. Costume Designer, Eddy L Barrows.
20
Costume design for Tito in Act I. Costume Designer, Eddy L Barrows.
21
Costume design for Max, Saunders and Tito in Act II.
Costume Designer, Eddy L Barrows.
22
Costume design for Maria in Act I. Costume Designer, Eddy L Barrows.
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RESOURCES AND ACTIVITES
A Brief History of Opera
Born in Italy more than 400 years ago during the Renaissance, opera—a
combination of vocal and orchestral music, drama, visual arts and dance—has been
inspiring people for ages.
In Florence, a small group of artists, statesmen, writers and musicians known as
the Florentine Camerata decided to recreate the storytelling of Greek drama through
music. Enter Jacopo Peri (1561–1633), who composed Dafne (1597), which many
consider to be the first opera. It was inspired by the ideals of the Camerata and tells the
story of Apollo’s pursuit of the nymph Dafne. From that beginning, two types of opera
began to emerge: opera seria, or stately, formal and dignified pieces to befit the royalty
that attended and sponsored them, and opera buffa, or comedies.
By the Baroque era (1600–1750), opera had taken Europe by storm and was a
spectacular, expensive affair full of florid arias and ornate stage sets with moving parts.
One of the greatest composers of Italian Baroque opera was a German who lived most of
his life in London—Georg Frideric Handel (1685–1759). This period also saw the rise of
castrati—male singers who were castrated as boys to preserve their soprano voices. The
few who survived and made it to the top were the singing stars of the 17th and 18th
century. Today those roles are sung by countertenors, or by women.
Opera content began to change in the Classical period (1750–1830). This was
brought about by the social movement known as, “The Enlightenment”. There were less
elaborate musical forms and more realistic plots.
The ultimate Classical opera composer was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–
91). Take his The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), a farce where servants
ultimately outwit their aristocratic masters, based on a play by French writer
Beaumarchais. It’s fast, irreverent and funny, but also full of stunning music. Mozart was
also a master of high drama, as seen in his masterpiece Don Giovanni.
Opera continued to flourish, and got bigger, louder and longer during the
Romantic period (1830–1900). Grand opera was suddenly all the rage. One important
style during this time was the Italian bel canto movement (literally meaning “beautiful
singing”), which was all about vocal brilliance and ornamentation bolstered by a simpler
harmonic structure.
Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) had a particular talent for ebullient comedy and
unforgettable melodies—like his The Barber of Seville (Il Barbiere di Siviglia). However,
many bel canto composers enjoyed a good tragedy—often making their heroines go mad
via a thwarted love affair. It was a good excuse to indulge in lengthy and elaborate vocal
display. The most famous ‘mad scene’ occurs in Gaetano Donizetti’s (1797–1848) Lucia
di Lammermoor, where the heroine, coerced into marriage, murders her husband on their
wedding night and then spectacularly loses her mind.
The best-known opera of the 19th century—and possibly the most popular of all
time—is French composer Georges Bizet’s (1838–75) Carmen. It’s for good reason—the
story of a Gypsy woman who values her free-spirited life above all, and the soldier who
becomes obsessed with her, is packed with catchy melodies.
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The late 19th century was dominated by two giants of opera: Italian Giuseppe
Verdi and German Richard Wagner, both born in 1813. Verdi, whose operas
include Rigoletto, Il Trovatore and Aida wrote in a tuneful and dramatic style. Verdi
understood the human voice and the internal processes behind the characters he created.
Perhaps his most popular opera is La Traviata, which tells the story of Violetta, a
beautiful courtesan who is fatally ill with tuberculosis.
Meanwhile, in Germany, Wagner singlehandedly changed the course of opera
with his huge ambition and talent by introducing new ideas in harmony, the use of
leitmotifs and expanded use of the orchestra and operatic structure. Probably his bestknown music is his 15-hour, four-opera Ring cycle: Das Rheingold, Die
Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. Wagner was a significant influence on the
music world, particularly for composers Gustav Mahler, Anton Bruckner, Jules Massenet
and Richard Strauss—whose operas Salome and Der Rosenkavalier, characterized by
their virtuosity in orchestral writing and tone color, are steeped in Wagner’s lateRomantic style.
The early 20th century was dominated by another Italian with a fluent gift for
melody, Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924). He wrote hugely popular works in the Italian
grand opera tradition (usually featuring the tragic death of the heroine) with a new
emphasis on realism—known as verismo—including La Bohème, Tosca, Madama
Butterfly and Turandot.
20th century politics clashed with art in the 1934 opera by Dmitri
Shostakovich, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District; so disturbingly, brilliantly dramatic
it was condemned by the Soviet government. In the U.K., Benjamin Britten proved
himself one of the masters of opera with his 1945 debut Peter Grimes. Set on the Suffolk
coast, it’s the story of a difficult, outcast fisherman, his mistrustful neighbors and the sea
that dominates their lives. Politics and opera come full circle with one of the most
successful and engaging works of the late 20th century: John Adams’s Nixon in
China (1987), based on Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China to meet Chairman Mao in
1972.
One of the most controversial operas of recent years is British composer Mark
Anthony Turnage’s Anna Nicole, based on the life of Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith.
What may seem a bizarre contemporary choice of subject in fact reveals itself to be a plot
in the best grand operatic tradition, featuring a larger-than-life heroine with a tragic life
story and sharp social commentary on the price of fame.
It seems that as long as there is a story to tell and ideas to be aired, opera will
flourish. It is, after all, simply a heightened, multi-sensory means of making sense of the
painful, glorious, complicated truths about the human condition.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF STAGE MUSICALS
Musicals began to emerge as modern Western theatre in the 19th century. They’re
commonly shows that integrate a story with music, range from 30 minutes to three hours
and are presented in two acts. They differ from opera by being sung in the audience’s
native language and generally incorporating acting, dancing and singing equally. In opera
singing is the priority, operas generally employ singers not actors.
Musicals originated in ancient Greece where music and dance were included in
light comedies and tragedies. The Romans continued this tradition, also introducing a
form of tap shoe to make their dance steps more audible in auditoriums. By the Middle
Ages musicals mostly consisted of travelling minstrels and performing troupes offering
singing, slapstick comedy and musical morality plays of which little is known. In the
Renaissance period musicals evolved into Commedia dell’Arte, Italian masked theatre
based on sketches. Court masques involving music, dancing and singing were introduced
in the Tudor period, and William Shakespeare and Ben Johnson both wrote plays which
included masque-like sections. Musical opera evolved from masques which was very
popular until the death of Charles 11 in 1685.
Comic operas and ballad operas, like John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera (1728)
became popular in the 18thcentury. Ballad operas typically contained spoof lyrics which
were written to popular tunes. Comic operas, like Michael Balfe’s The Bohemian
Girl (1845) were happy and original musicals, normally with romantic overtones.
Music halls, melodrama, burlesque, vaudeville and operette also developed during the
18th century. One of the earliest British music halls, Weston’s music hall, evolved from
operette. Music halls were incredibly popular during the industrial revolution and
both Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin began their careers there.
Operette was introduced by the French composer Herve in 1850. The most
significant composer of operette was Jacques Offenbach, Gilbert and Sullivan’s musical
theatre, can be traced back to him.
Gilbert and Sullivan were the first authors in Britain to write musical stage
works (1871 to 1896). They combined humour, acting and music and were similar to the
musicals we love today. Gilbert wrote the words and Sullivan wrote complimentary
music. Pirates of Penzance (1879) and HMS Pinafore (1878) are two of their more
famous works.
Meanwhile, in America, Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart were doing their bit
towards the evolution of modern musicals. Harrigan and Hart collaborated just after
Harrigan’s first stage performance in 1867. They acted and David Braham, a London
born musical theatre composer, wrote the corresponding music. Their plays were
Vaudeville sketches of lower class workers which audiences, typically lower and middle
class citizens, could relate to and loved. Vaudeville sketches, performances consisting of
several unrelated acts such as comics, singers and acrobats were different from variety
shows, also popular in the period, because they were aimed at families. Variety shows
tended to consist of chorus girls, dancers and comics.
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Minstrel shows were also introduced around this time. These now carry some
racial stigma because white and black actors performed with black faces nevertheless, at
the time, they were popular.
Broadway as we know it was introduced in 1866 with the show, The Black Crook,
a production put on William Wheatley for, at the time, the unheard of amount of $25,000.
In the 1900’s George M. Cohan, an American entertainer known before WW1 as “the
man who owned Broadway” and Victor Herbert, an Irish born cellist and composer, gave
musicals the distinctive style that we know today.
However, the American Musical, as we know it today, evolved steadily
throughout this period and the twentieth century. The concept of using dialogue and song
together to tell the story was first introduced in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s famous
musical adaptation of Edna Ferber’s Showboat premiering in 1927 and Oklahoma!
(adapted from the play Green Grow The Lilacs in 1943. Oklahoma! Broke new ground as
well, by introducing “the dream ballet” to the story telling through musical theatre. In the
1950s, iconic musicals based on literature such as The King and I (1951) (
Anna and the King of Siam), Bernstein and Sondheim’s West Side Story (1957) (Romeo
and Juliet) and My Fair Lady (1956) (Pygmalion) entered Broadway.
Concept musicals emerged in the 1960s, they are typically musicals which put
significance on the statement rather than the narrative. Cabaret (1966) is thought to be a
concept musical.
However, by the 1980s the big staged musicals were becoming more fashionable
and French musical Les Miserables (1985), Miss Saigon (1989) and Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s Phantom of the Opera (1986) were introduced. At present big Broadway
musicals seem to be growing in popularity with the Lion King (1997), The Book of
Mormon (2011), Hamilton (2016) being highly successful favourites.
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The Origins of Farce
Stemming from the French word meaning ‘stuffing,’ or ‘padding’, farce has been a
source of theatrical comedy entertaining audiences for generations. The first farces were
short comic sketches to pad the short breaks in long, often very sombre plays – a welcome
respite from five hours of serious drama. These farces were usually performances of one act
in length but towards the end of the 18th century, any piece that closed a play bill was labelled
as farce and soon the definition of this comic genre became blurred until actor manager,
David Garrick began to revolutionize farce on stage.
18th century farce often revolved around the arranged marriages of the old school
and the romantic love-matches of the new, thriving on social upheaval. These stock plotlines
and stock characters were being developed throughout European Theatre at this time. In
Renaissance Italy, a very physical and acrobatic style developed, incorporating old
performance traditions that dated from the Roman Empire and the comedies of
Plautus. This became known as Commedia dell’ Arte. The professional touring troupes of
Commedia performed outdoors at fairs and markets on makeshift stages. The style was
broad, exaggerated, burlesqued, as it had to be to be seen and heard over the noise of a
market fair. The dialogue was improvised around a short sketch whilst the physical action
was a series of well-rehearsed, often acrobatic comic moments.
The early Commedia characters have evolved and adapted over the years but their
foundation is still very strong an apparent even in contemporary comedies
By 1650, the travelling troupes practicing Commedia had infused French culture too,
but plays were no longer improvised and the literary side of farce began to be emphasized, as
the actors switched languages from their native Italian to French. This influenced many farce
writers from Moliere to Marivaux, to Goldoni who began to establish farce as we know it. The
plays were now being sponsored by the nobility, were performed indoors and audiences had
to buy a ticket. Entertainment in eighteenth-century Paris was far more than mere lighthearted diversion and socializing. The public’s subliminal search for sex, pathos, brutality,
and absurdity through entertainment was often satisfied through this theatrical genre and
shows how the lower classes often used entertainment to mock the elite
By the end of the 17th Century, France had developed the two principal styles of
comedic farce that we still have today: the older Italian style, very broad and physical and
acrobatic, and the newer French style, where the acrobatics are verbal, and quick wit
dominates over slapstick. This amalgamation continued to evolve until the end of the 19th
century. By this time, farce had become an established genre in the theatre world.
Eugene Labiche and Georges Feydeau were playwrights that flourished in the genre.
Later Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, whose plays are indebted to another inheritor of
Commedia – the British music hall.
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The fashion of criticizing and laughing at the political establishment was seeping into
British theatres at this time as well, but of course, did not go on forever. The Walpole
administration initiated the infamous Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737 heavily censuring
British stages. After the Act had been passed, all plays were censured and adapted before
they could be staged in one of the only two ‘licensed’ playhouses, Drury Lane Theatre or
Covent Garden Theatre.
Then, in the 1920s, suddenly a new form of farce, the bedroom farce, began to
emerge. This brought the comedy of too many doors, hidden onlookers and lots of sexual
innuendo to match the new morality, (or lack thereof) of the Jazz Age. Many argue that this
was mainly due to one particular playwright; Ben Travers. His famous series at the Aldwych
Theatre: Rookery Nook, Turkey Time, Thark, A Cup of Kindness, A Cuckoo In The Nest, these plays
set the tone for British farce for the next 50 years, including Alan Ayckbourn, Noel Coward
and many more whose performance style and rehearsal techniques we have drawn upon
whilst preparing our production.
Exerpte from Bermel, Albert, (1990) Farce: A History fromAristophones to Woody Allen,. Carbondale:
South Illinois University Press.
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Topics For Discussion
The function of the exposition is to acquaint the audience with the characters in such a
way that the audience becomes concerned with what happens to them. In Lend Me A
Tenor The Musical, the audience learns about all the major characters in the story though
exposition revealed both in dialogue and action, and also through song. Identify the
following moments of exposition in the musical.
— An action that showed Henry Saunders is desperate to keep his company
afloat.
— An action that showed that Max is his assistant
— Dialogue that revealed that Tito and Maria Mirelli are having marital problems
— A song that expressed what the opera company thinks of Tito Mirelli
•
Is there a subplot in Lend Me A Tenor The Musical (a story within a story)?
•
The character of Maggie Saunders is important to Lend Me A Tenor-The Musical.
What function does she serve in advancing the plot?
•
Compare this story with other works that involve a jealous spouse, a person that
disguise themselves in order to do something nobody would expect them to do, a
desperate person that needs to make big changes to survive i.e. Othello,
Victor/Victoria, Shrek, etc.
MUSIC AND SOUND
A design element that is not visual is sound. Sound effects include special effects like
thunder, the sound of wind and falling rain. Incidental music that was frequently played
to underscore the action of the play, setting a tone or mood for the action, is also
considered a sound effect. The performers also wore body microphones so that their
voices could easily be heard by everyone in the large auditorium. Augmentation of stage
voices is actually more difficult than it appears and the task falls to the sound designer.
Discussion Section:
• Listen to the music from Lend Me A Tenor-The Musical. Which instruments
signal different characters, moods or feelings? Which instruments were used to
express sorrow, laughter, mystery, excitement, happiness, terror, love, loneliness
or frustration?
• Chart the musical program of Lend Me A Tenor-The Musical. Pick a character
and show how a particular song reveals his/her deepest desires. Do specific songs
focus on specific character?
• Do the songs move the story ahead? How?
• Do some of the characters sing their thoughts and feelings? What do they sing
about?
• Are there any comedy songs in the play? Why are they funny?
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THEATRE, THE COLLABORATIVE ART
Ultimately, theatre is a collaborative art. All of the production elements that have been
described above must be coordinated and brought together to create an artistic, cohesive
whole. The work of the actors and musicians must be coordinated with scene changes,
lighting and sound cues, costume changes, make-up, and special effects experts in an
attempt to create the illusion of the world of the play. The actors, are only a part of the
creative team that brings a single production together.
Below is a list of the different kinds of expertise that nurtures the development and
execution of a musical like Lend Me A Tenor-The Musical.
producer
lyricist
composer
musical director
musician
casting director
production manager
choreographer
costume designer
set designer
lighting designer
actor/understudies
stage manager
company manager
wig designer
craft master
deck crew
carpenter
cutter / draper
electrician
sound operator
props master
dresser
tailor
rehearsal pianist
director
sound designer
accountant
marketing manager
house manager
publicity manager
group sales manager
special effects designer
box office manager
merchandise manager
assistant stage managers
scenic painter
publicity
Discussion Section:
• Identify two duties associated with each of the positions listed above.
•
Use the Lend Me A Tenor-The Musical program to identify the individual/s who
served the positions listed above. In how many cases are there more then one person
listed?
•
Smaller companies with smaller financial resources do not provide all the
employment opportunities listed above. Identify those positions that are always most
essential to the staging of a play.
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ACTIVITIES
The following activities are designed to aid you in exploring theatrical concepts. These
can be modified in numerous ways to suit the needs of your classroom and the ages of
your students. The first group of pre-show assignments are easy ideas to get students
thinking before they go on a field trip and to keep them focused while they are in the
audience. The next group of activities are intended for classroom applications to reinforce
curriculum in various areas. It is up to individual teachers to select what is relevant for
their particular students.
A) PRESHOW PREPARATORY ASSIGNMENTS
1. Before the show starts, look at your program, paying special attention to the cast
pictures. In the opening ensemble number look closely at the various faces and pick
out a particular member of the chorus that you noticed in the program. Maybe have
some of your friends look for another person in the ensemble case. As the show
progresses, keep watching for your selected cast member as they appear in various
costumes. Whenever there is a really big dance number, you may be surprised at all
different “looks” that can be created for the same people.
2. Think about the clothes you wear today. How are they different from garments used
in other times and places? Look for unusual garments or accessories in the theatrical
costumes. How do these add to the feeling of the show?
3. Think about a theatre building and what functions must take place inside. Make your
list of what you would expect to find there. Consider the public areas as well as
backstage. Don’t forget very practical things like directional signs, bathrooms,
storage areas. What are other nice things you might like to find, such as large waiting
areas, fancy lighting fixtures, and comfortable seating. Compare your before and after
lists once you have visited your local theatre.
B. A REAL YARN!
Objective:
Develop concentration, listening skills, encourage storytelling skills, foster
group cooperation.
Activity:
Seat the students together in one large circle. The teacher begins the
activity by introducing an idea for a story (exposition), setting the place
and introducing a character. As the teacher begins to tell the story, he/she
unwinds a ball of yarn. When he/she comes to a knot in the yarn, the
teacher stops his/her storytelling, and passes the ball of yarn to the student
on his/her right. The student picks up the story where the teacher left off,
adding details and action to the story until she/he comes to a knot in the
ball of yarn. The yarn and the story are passed along the circle until the
story of the ball of yarn reaches an end.
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Evaluation: Examine the story that was passed around the circle for elements of
exposition, rising action, climax, etc. Which elements made the story
exciting? Which elements are omitted? What could have been added to
make the story more interesting? Replay.
Preparation: A large ball of yarn with knots randomly added.
C. PICTURE THIS
Objective:
Develop a personal interpretation of art, foster storytelling techniques.
Activity:
Show the class a painting by a well-known painter. Choose a painting that
allows for story exploration. (Give examples.) Ask the students for their
interpretations of the painting. Why do different people see things
differently?
Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a copy of the picture.
Tell each group that they are to create a short story about the picture.
Where does the story take place? Who is in the picture? Encourage the
students to think creatively. Have each group choose a spokesperson who
will share the group’s interpretation of the picture with the rest of the
class.
Evaluation: What did the interpretations have in common? What was different? How
did each of the stories incorporate the elements of plot?
D. TV INTERVIEW
Objective:
To learn to form character and character motivations by using physical
movement and emotional motivations.
Motivation: Discuss how all the characters in the play need an appropriate and clearly
defined motivation for all actions. Identify the wants/needs of important
characters in Lend Me A Tenor-The Musical.
Presentation: Have a student assume the role of a TV interviewer (i.e. Jimmy Fallon,
Ellen DeGeneres, etc.). Have another student assume the role of the Max,
Tito, Saunders, Maggie, etc. Have the TV interviewer ask questions of the
characters that reveal what each wanted. Allow the class to ask questions
of the characters from the floor which challenge the motivations of the
characters.
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E. EXCHANGE CHARACTERS
Objective:
Incorporate movement and dialogue, listening skills.
Motivation: Discuss with the class the relationships that developed between characters
in the play, i.e. Max and Tito; Maria and Tito; Diana and Saunders; Max
and Saunders. What did the pair have in common? How did they differ?
Presentation: Divide the class into pairs. Give each group a pair of characters from the
play. Present them with a conflict. Each person decides which character
she/he is to portray. Begin the playing, and midway begin to exchange
roles, not immediately, but gradually. At the end of the activity they will
have completely reversed roles.
Example:
Max and Tito are camping in the forest. Max is frightened and wants to
return home. Max wants Tito to build a fire and start cooking the dinner.
Begin the scene and midway exchange role
Karin Hendricks as Diana and George Walker as Tito
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