Download The Monster Who Ate My Peas

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Dear Teacher/Parent:
We have included the following study guide from ArtsPower to help make your students’ theater
experience with The Monster Who Ate My Peas as meaningful as possible. For many, it will be their
first time viewing a live theatrical production. We have learned that when teachers discuss the play
with their students before and after the production, the experience is more significant and long-lasting.
Please use this study guide as inspiration for creating your own activities and areas for discussion.
We hope you and your class enjoy the show!
About Lebanon Opera House Youth Education Series
Each year, LOH presents a series of events for school children in the Upper Valley community. Made
possible by support from the series’ sponsors, the YES! events provide many of the community’s
school children with their first exposure to live performances. The series features school-day
matinees by national touring companies that specialize in shows for young and family audiences.
About ArtsPower
ArtsPower's twofold mission is to provide young people, many for the very first time, with the
unforgettable opportunity to experience the transporting power of outstanding theatre that entertains,
stimulates, and educates; and to enhance “character education” among young people by creating
theatre that fosters sound moral development, encourages self-expression, ignites the desire to read,
and advances their development as productive members of society.
Celebrating our 29th anniversary in 2014, ArtsPower is one of America’s preeminent nonprofit
producers and presenters of professional theatre for young and family audiences. With over 500
performances annually, ArtsPower has amassed an audience of more than 13 million people in 49
states.
ArtsPower is led by Founding Co-Directors Gary W. Blackman and Mark A. Blackman. Greg Gunning
serves as Artistic Director and resident playwright. Karen Bibbo is Company and Production Manager.
Please review this common theater etiquette with your
class before attending the performance.
Do:
Arrive at Lebanon Opera House early.
Use the restroom before the performance.
Turn off cell phones, alarms, and other electronic devices.
Wait for your school or group to be dismissed.
Keep your feet on the floor.
Show your appreciation of the performers by applauding.
Stay with your group or school at all times.
Watch and listen closely to the performers.
Don’t:
Stand in the aisles.
Put your feet on the seats or balcony railing.
Talk, sing, hum or fidget.
Take pictures or record the actors during the performance.
Leave the theater during the performance.
Kick the seat in front of you.
Eat, drink or chew gum in the theater.
Leave your seat before the performers have taken their curtain call.
Enjoy the show!
Name _______________________ School ____________________________________
(Optional)
(Optional)
What grade levels attended the performance? ___________________________
Was the performance appropriate for this grade(s)?
Yes
No
Did this performance fit in with your curriculum?
Yes
No
Was the post-show discussion valuable to your students? Yes
Was the study guide helpful?
Yes
How would you rate the entertainment quality of the performance?
No
No
Outstanding
Above Average
Average
Below Average
Outstanding
Above Average
Average
Below Average
Very Challenged
Challenged
Not Challenged
Above Average
Average
Below Average
How would you rate the educational quality of the performance?
To what extent were your students challenged by the content of this performance?
How did this program compare to similar programs you’ve attended in the past?
Will you bring your students back to another YES! performance?
Yes
What types of shows would you like to see us present in the future?
Music
Non-musical Theater
Literature based
Dance
Puppetry
Multicultural
No
Musical Theater
Historical
Other _________________
How did you hear about the Youth Education Series?
LOH Website
Mailing
LOH Brochure
Poster
Newspaper
Teacher
Enrichment/Arts Coordinator
Additional Comments:
E-mail
Radio
Parent
Other _________________
Please return your evaluation to:
Lebanon Opera House | PO Box 384 | Lebanon, NH 03766
Evaluations can also be completed online at www.lebanonoperahouse.org/yesloh/
A Note to Families
Dear Family,
Today, Lebanon Opera House presented ArtsPower’s The Monster Who Ate My Peas to your
child’s class. This performance was made possible by generous support from our underwriters and
sponsors:
Hypertherm HOPE Foundation, The Valley News, and Gnomon Copy.
Below are a few questions that might help initiate a conversation about your child’s experience at
the performance. For more information about The Monster Who Ate My Peas, including suggested
reading and other performance related activities please download a copy of our study guide at
www.lebanonoperahouse.org/yesloh/
What type of performance did you see? (Music, theatre, etc.)
What was the performance about?
What was your favorite part of the performance?
What did you learn from the performance?
How did the performance make you feel?
If you could be one of the performers/characters, which would you choose and why?
Draw a picture of your favorite moment in the performance:
Series Sponsor:
2015/2016 Programs
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia in
GOODNIGHT MOON AND THE
RUNAWAY BUNNY
Friday, October 16, 2015 // 10am
Recommended for Pre K – grade 2
ArtsPower in
ArtsPower in
THE MONSTER WHO ATE MY PEAS
Wednesday, February 10, 2016 // 10am
Recommended for Pre K – grade 3
Enchantment Theatre Company in
FROM THE MIXED UP FILES OF
MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER
PETER RABBIT TALES
City Center Ballet in
Theatergroep Kwatta in
Friday, November 20, 2015 // 10am
Recommended for K – grade 6
CLARA IN CONTEXT
Friday, December 4, 2015 // 10am
Recommended for grades 4 - 8
Theatreworks USA in
LOVE THAT DOG
Wednesday, May 11, 2016 // 10am
Recommended for grades 2 - 6
Theaterworks USA in
FREEDOM TRAIN
Tuesday January 19, 2016 // 10am
Recommended for grades 3 - 9
Media Sponsor:
Thursday, April 21, 2016 // 10am
Recommended for Pre K – grade 4
Lodging Sponsors:
CURIOUS GEORGE:
THE GOLDEN MEATBALL
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 // 10am
Recommended for Pre K – grade 3
Printing donated by:
Study Buddy
Table of Contents
Teacher Information…Page 2
From Page to Stage….Page 3
Actors as Characters…Page 4
Creating Theatre.……..Page 5
Words, Music, and
Sets………………..………Page 6
Create Your Own
Monster…………….......Page 7
Let Us Know What
You Think!.................Page 8
ArtsPower National
Touring Theatre
Gary W. Blackman
Mark A. Blackman
Executive Producers
The Monster Who Ate My Peas
Based on the book
THE MONSTER WHO ATE MY PEAS
by Danny Schnitzlein
Illustrated by Matt Faulkner
Published by Peachtree Publishers,
2010
Presented under an agreement with
Peachtree Publishers.
All rights reserved.
Book and Lyrics by Greg Gunning
Music by Richard DeRosa
Costume Design & Construction by
Fred Sorrentino
Set Illustrations by
Dan Helzer/Blitz Design
Based on the book by Danny Schnitzlein with illustrations by Matt Faulkner
ArtsPower
●
9 Sand Park Road
●
Suite 6
●
Cedar Grove, NJ 07009-1272
●
973.239.0100
●
www.artspower.org
2
Study Buddy
Teacher Information
This study guide is designed to help you and your students prepare for, enjoy, and discuss ArtsPower’s musical play,
The Monster Who Ate My Peas. This guide contains background information and cross-curricular activities to complete
both before and after the performance. You may reproduce and distribute this Study Buddy to your students.
Please read this page about ArtsPower’s musical to your students before attending the performance.
The main characters appear in boldface type.
What Happens in
The Monster Who Ate My Peas?
The Monster Who Ate My Peas is a musical based on the book by author Danny Schnitzlein and illustrator Matt
Faulkner published in 2010.
Danny is a boy with a problem: he hates eating peas. Although Danny lives happily with his Mom, Dad, and pet dog
Ralph, his parents demand that Danny eats his peas at the dinner table. Danny refuses and says, “I would rather eat
dirt !” As much as he wished for those peas to disappear from his plate, nothing happened.
One night at dinner, Danny repeats his wish for the peas to go away. Just then, as if somebody had heard his wish, a
Monster appears. The Monster didn’t really scare Danny. In fact, the Monster told Danny that he could “help kids like
you,” by eating all the foods that most “small stomachs” don’t like.
But the Monster wasn’t going to eat Danny’s peas for nothing. He demanded something that Danny had as payment
each evening when he returned to eat the peas. But Danny was never happy to give the Monster any of his stuff. The
Monster forces Danny into making a very difficult decision by demanding he hand over his most valued possession.
Will Danny be able to save the one thing that is most important to him by eating his peas and sending the Monster
away forever?
How to Be a Good Audience
In order to be a good audience member, remember to:
 Listen quietly
 Pay attention to the things the actors say and do — some things might make you happy, and some might be funny.
Feel free to laugh at things you think are funny!
 Be respectful of the actors and your fellow audience members by not talking during the performance, unless you are
requested to do so by the actors onstage.
 If you enjoy the play, applaud at the end.
 Please sit quietly and do not whisper or move around a lot during the show. You and the actors are in the same
room, and noise from the audience could distract them.
3
Study Buddy
From Page to Stage
ArtsPower National Touring Theatre produces literaturebased musicals and plays that tour to regional theatres, cultural
centers, university auditoriums, and schools throughout the
United States. “Literature-based” means that each book we
choose to produce provides the story for the musical. Some of
the book’s characters, settings, and events remain the same in
the musical. Some change.
Because reading a book is different than seeing a live
performance on stage, the playwright, or the person who
writes the lines that the actors speak, must change parts of the
story or bring new qualities to the characters that are not found
in the book. In other words, the playwright adapts the book
into a musical play, or changes parts of it to turn the words on
the page into a live performance.
Learning Activity
COMPARE IT!
Before the performance, read THE MONSTER
WHO ATE MY PEAS. After the performance,
compare and contrast the characters, settings, and
events in each version.
What Is a Musical?
Please read this to your students before
attending the performance.
A musical is a story told through spoken words
and songs by live actors onstage. The spoken
words are called lines. The words that are sung
are called lyrics. The music that was composed
just for this show has been recorded. This music
is called the show’s soundtrack. For this
performance, the soundtrack has been recorded
on to a CD which is operated by the stage
manager.
The musical The Monster Who Ate My Peas is
presented onstage with actors who play some of
the characters found in the book. The actors
wear costumes and perform in front of their
set.
ArtsPower National
Touring Theatre
Please read this to your students before
attending the performance.
Why is ArtsPower called a national touring theatre?
Learning Activity
TALK ABOUT IT!
Look at the list of the people who create theatre on
Page 5. Which job would you like? Why?
The four actors and one stage manager:
● present performances all over the United States.
● pack the set, costumes, and sound equipment in
their van.
● set up, change, and pack the set.
● take care of costumes and props — objects
such as a soccer ball, the garbage can, and
other things handled by the actors.
● stay in hotels when they travel.
● sometimes present up to 10 performances in a
week.
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Study Buddy
Actors as Characters
In the theatre, actors who play characters tell the story
on stage. In The Monster Who Ate My Peas, four
actors play a total of six characters or roles.
Doubling
Cast
Two of the actors in The Monster Who Ate My Peas
play more than one role. This is called doubling. The
actors who double must change their voices and body
movements when taking on their other character. You
will know that actors are doubling — have become new
characters — when he or she changes the ways he or
she speaks and moves.
Danny
A young boy
Dad/Monster
Danny’s Dad
who doubles as the
Monster
During rehearsals, the director worked with actors
who double to change characters by having them:
Mom/Narrator
● seem younger or older
● speak differently
● move their bodies differently
Danny’s Mom
who doubles as the
Narrator
Ralph
Learning Activity
Danny’s dog
DELIVERING LINES
Learning Activity
“Oh, Danny. Don’t forget. Eat your peas!”
Try speaking these lines as a:
1) young boy
2) a cranky old man
3) a teenaged girl
4) a nervous actor
WHO IS DANNY?
During the performance, look for the changes the
actors make when they double.
SCARED
TOO DRAMATIC
ANGRY
HAPPY
ANNOYED
BRAVE
Why do you think traveling theatre companies
like ArtsPower have actors double in roles?
After you have seen the performance, talk
about the words below that you think
describe Danny:
5
Study Buddy
Creating Theatre
Please read this page to your students before attending the performance.
Creating a musical theatre production like The Monster Who Ate My Peas takes a lot of time and creative energy
from a group of people.
Many people work together to turn a book into a musical. Changes and additions are developed by the theatre company,
ArtsPower National Touring Theatre, that help transform the book into an hour-long musical.
● The playwright writes lines that the actors speak.
● The composer writes the music.
● The lyricist writes the words to the songs that the actors sing.
● The actors audition for parts and memorize
lines and songs.
● The designers create sets, costumes, and lighting.
● The director rehearses the actors and
makes artistic decisions.
● The stage manager oversees all backstage
elements of a show.
● The producers raise the money to create
the show and manage all aspects of the
production and its tour throughout the
United States.
The Creative Team
Author Danny Schnitzlein
received the Young Hoosier Book
Award for The Monster Who
Ate My Peas and was nominated
for reader’s choice awards in five
states. Danny also writes scripts
and songs for children’s
educational television. He enjoys
playing guitar and ukulele,
reading, painting, and movies.
www.dannyschnitzlein.com
Playwright, lyricist, and
director Greg Gunning, who
is also ArtsPower’s Artistic
Director, has written or cowritten the books (or dialogue)
to all of ArtsPower's theatre
productions. Greg’s script for
Lily’s Crossing, based on the
Newbery Honor book by Patricia
Reilly Giff, is included in “The
Signet Book of Short Plays,”
compiled by Penguin Books.
Illustrator Matt Faulkner has
written and illustrated a number
of children's books. In addition,
he is a contributing illustrator to
such national periodicals as The
New York Times, The Wall Street
Journal and Forbes. Matt teaches
illustration at the Art Academy
University in San Francisco.
www.mattfaulkner.com
Composer and arranger
Richard DeRosa is presently an
associate professor and director
of jazz composition and arranging
studies at the University of North
Texas. Richard has composed and
orchestrated the scores to all but
three ArtsPower productions.
http://jazz.unt.edu/derosa
6
Study Buddy
Words, Music, and Sets
Please read this page to your students before
attending the performance.
Lyrics
There is no musical without music and lyrics. Lyrics are the
words to the songs. Playwright Greg Gunning wrote the
lyrics to all the songs in The Monster Who Ate My Peas.
What do these lyrics that Danny sings tell you about his
character?
Music
Richard DeRosa is the composer who wrote and
arranged the music for The Monster Who Ate My
Peas. Richard used an electronic keyboard and
synthesized music – sounds generated by a special
computer – to record the soundtrack. During the
performance, the actors sing live to the prerecorded
soundtrack on CD that the stage manager operates
from off stage.
My parents keep saying:
“Danny, please eat your peas.”
But even the sight
Makes me weak in the knees.
I could die if I eat them.
I keep telling them – please,
No way,
I just can’t eat those peas.
Learning Activity
GOOD LISTENING!
When you attend the performance, listen to the
music throughout the show.
● Did all of the music you heard have lyrics to it?
● Did you sometimes hear music when the actors
were talking but not singing?
● Did the music and lyrics help to tell the story?
Sets
Sets are pieces of scenery that help identify places
and locations during the show. You will see the
actors moving the set pieces (including the three
rolling flats represented to the right) around the
stage throughout the musical. This signifies time
passing or moving to a different place or scene.
Theater is live, so the actors must make time pass
by using their imaginations and telling the story to
you. It’s up to you to use your imagination and
play along with the actors. That way, you’ll
understand the story together.
Set illustrations by Dan Helzer/Blitz Design
7
Study Buddy
Create Your Own Monster
Can you draw your very own monster in the box below?
8
Study Buddy
Let Us Know What You Think!
After you see The Monster Who Ate My Peas, use the space below to write to us OR send us a picture showing your
favorite part of the performance. Please send them to ArtsPower, 9 Sand Park Road, Suite 6, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009.
You may also visit us online at http://www.artspower.org and click on “Contact Us.” Thanks!
Your school
School’s city and state
Date
Dear ArtsPower,
I saw The Monster Who Ate My Peas at:
Here’s what I enjoyed about the performance:
Here’s why:
Here’s what I would change about the performance:
Here’s why:
From,
Your Name: