Download Theatre Arts Activity Guide

The
National
Children’s
Theatre
Theatre Arts Activity Guide
Giant Steps Towards Understanding
An alliance between
imagination stage and
The National Theatre
Explore the
multi-disciplinary
and creative
process of bringing
characters and
stories to life on
stage and in the
classroom.
Theatre
Arts
Activity
Guide &
The Play
in Process
Video
Students can participate
in strategically designed
activities, and enjoy a
one-of-a-kind theatrical
experience.
Teachers will find
cross-curricular
connections to Common
Core, Next Generation
Science Standards,
and DCPS curriculum
focusing on subject
specific 3rd-5th grade
standards including
Theatre Standards.
Theatre Arts Activity Guide is produced by Learning through Theatre, DC
A New Partnership between The National Children’s Theatre, DC Public Schools, and DC Public Charter Schools
Theatre Arts Activity Guide
Giant Steps Towards Understanding
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE:
Discover GIANT ways to spark
curiosity and integrate arts into
the third through fifth grade
curriculum! By engaging in arts
integrated activities, you and
your students can find unlimited
ways to use the arts to explore
and express understanding in
many areas of study.
This activity guide is designed
to be used in the classroom
with minimal supply needs in
conjunction with The Play in
Process: Pre-Production to
Performance video, and The
National Children’s Theatre’s live
production of The BFG.
In this guide, you will discover
little ways to make a GIANT
impact by integrating arts
into the third through fifth
grade curriculum. This guide
is broken down into four
sections represented by the
giant characters from the stage
adaptation of Roald Dahl’s
The BFG.
Students are challenged
to Explore & Create in
pre-performance and postperformance activities from
each content area to outsmart
the giants. Each investigation
highlights standards for each
content area.
Students are encouraged to
incorporate the knowledge and
skills used by theatre artists
highlighted in the CONTEXT
FOR EXPLORATION in each
section. Choose your own
adventure and pick the subjects
and activities that you and your
class are most interested in!
The Fleshlumpeater & Bloodbottler
English Language Arts p. 2-4
Pre-Performance Investigation
GIANT News
The BFG
A Super-sized Story
of Courage, Dreams,
and Friendship!
Post-Performance Investigations
GIANT Opinions
GIANT Imaginations
The Bonecruncher
Math
p. 5-8
Pre-Performance Investigation
GIANT Problems
Post-Performance Investigation
GIANT Measurements
The Meatdripper
Social Studies p. 9-10
Pre-Performance Investigation
A GIANT World
Post-Performance Investigation
GIANT Adaptations
The Gizzard Gulper & The Child Chewer
Science
p. 11-13
Pre-Performance Investigation
GIANT Discoveries
Post-Performance Investigation
A GIANT Process
Activity Guide
Grades 3-5
Objectives:
RESOURCES
p. 14-21
Excerpts from The BFG How to Write a Critique for a Theatrical Performance
Costume Line Plot
Glossary of Theatre Terms from
The Play in Process video
Theatre Etiquette & List of Funders
GIANT FUN FOR EVERYONE!
Pre-performance sharing!
We at Imagination Stage would love to see your students’ work! Send any GIANT news
stories (See Pre-Performance English Language Arts Investigation: GIANT News) that you
would like to share to [email protected]. We may share student’s work via
social media, or on our website. We may even invite a few students to come on stage to
share their news stories with the audience before the show begins!
Through pre-performance
and post-performance
activities, teachers and
students will be able to:
• Articulate the creative
and collaborative
processes involved in
producing a dramatic
work.
• Describe connections
between the dramatic
work and the curriculum
for third through fifth
grade.
The Fleshlumpeater
& Bloodbottler
English Language Arts
GIANT News
Checking Prior Knowledge:
What are ways
people communicate
and share ideas?
Defining the Problem:
What do actors
communicate?
Explore & Create:
Breaking News Stories!
THE GIANTS ARE COMING!
In the National Children’s
Theatre production of Roald
Dahl’s The BFG, there is a GIANT
problem. At night Giants
roam about the world and eat
children! Imagine the Giants
have come to modern day
Washington DC, or the early
American settlements, or even during the westward
expansion! Challenge your students to take on
the role of someone who would be responsible
for sharing news of the Giants with others in the
designated setting. Are they a news reporter on the
television or radio? A settler who passes news along
by word of mouth? A journalist? Are they sending
news via telegraph? Are they a rider on the Pony
Express? Students will then use the 5 W’s (who,
what, where, when, why) to begin to think like their
chosen character and write a news story to share
with the class in character conveying important
facts. As actors, students then take on the role of
‘reporter’ as they perform their news story reading
and delivering their lines in character.
Pre-Performance
investigation
English Language Arts Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine and convey complex ideas and
information clearly and accurately through the
effective selection, organization, and analysis
of content.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which
the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.6
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and
communicative tasks, demonstrating command
of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Theatre Standards:
Perform- Perform and participate
in theatre improvisations and
dramatizations to learn acting and
scriptwriting fundamentals
Interconnect- Apply theatrical
concepts to construct meaning and
understanding in other subject areas
Context for Exploration: The Actor
The job of an actor requires more than learning and
delivering lines. An actor tells a story. In order to tell
a great story, actors must create interesting characters,
which requires actors to interpret the story. Actors
begin character work by answering five important
questions- Who? What? Where? When? Why? For
example: Who are the characters? What do they want?
Where does the story take place? When does the story
take place? Why do the characters want what they
want? These questions are known as the five W’s of
character and story and are often referred to as given
circumstances. Actors also answer a bonus questionHow? How do the characters get what they want? To
learn more about the actor’s process in The BFG watch
The Play in Process video.
Assessing Our Learning:
In what ways do actors convey complex ideas
and information?
We would love to see your students’ work! Send any and all GIANT
news stories to [email protected].
English Launguage Arts • pre-performace investigation
2
The Fleshlumpeater
& Bloodbottler
English Language Arts
English Language Arts Standards:
GIANT Opinions
Checking Prior Knowledge:
What is your opinion of the National Children’s Theatre
production of The BFG?
Defining the Problem:
How does a theatre critic express their opinions clearly
and persuasively?
Explore & Create: A Review
Individually or in small groups, ask your students to write
a review of what they saw. Each student or small group
could write one paragraph to contribute to a group or class
critique. Guide students to use How to Write a Critique for a
Theatrical Performance included in the Resources section of
this guide (pg.19).
Encourage your students to share their experience on
school’s website or in the school or class newsletter. You
may also send any GIANT opinions you’d like to share to
[email protected], and we’ll not only
share your student’s work via social media and our website,
but we may also select a few to submit to area critics for
publishing on their websites!
Assessing Our Learning:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1
Write arguments to support claims in
an analysis of substantive topics or texts
using valid reasoning and relevant and
sufficient evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in
which the development, organization,
and style are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1
Prepare for and participate effectively in a
range of conversations and collaborations
with diverse partners, building on others’
ideas and expressing their own clearly
and persuasively.
Theatre Standards:
Respond- Analyze, critique, and respond
to theatre and dramatic media.
Interconnect- Apply theatrical concepts
to construct meaning and understanding
in other subject areas
Context for Exploration:
THE THEATRE CRITIC
What is the job of a theatre critic?
“ all ages!”
“A savory treat for
~The Washington Post
!”
“Enchanting...
endearing!”
~DC Theatre Scene
Post-Performance
investigation
“Magical triumph
first-rate stunning!
VERY highly recommended!”
Theatre critics attend performances to evaluate
them and share their opinions with their readers.
Their opinions are often based on a deep
knowledge and understanding of theatre. Readers
then use this information to determine whether or
not they would like to see a given performance.
Criticism is not meant to be negative; rather it
weighs the successes with the challenges of a
given performance allowing potential audience
members to draw their own conclusions. Guide
students to read reviews from DC Theatre Scene,
Maryland Theatre Guide, Broadway World, DC
Metro Theater Arts, and The Washington Post.
~Broadway World
Absolute must-see!”
~DC Metro Theater Arts
English Launguage Arts • post-performace investigation
3
The Fleshlumpeater
& Bloodbottler
English Language Arts
GIANT Imaginations
Checking Prior Knowledge:
What style of writing would you use to share
imagined experiences such as dreams?
Post-Performance
investigation
English Language Arts Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined
experiences or events using effective
technique, well-chosen details and wellstructured event sequences.
Defining the Problem:
How can we incorporate sound into a narrative to
help illustrate the details of events?
Explore & Create: Soundscape
Begin exploring the concept of soundscape by guiding
students to choose a setting. Guide students to make
a list of all of the sounds they may hear in the given
environment. The educator takes on the role of the
conductor assigning each student to a sound. Students
will create the sounds they may hear in the setting using
only their voices. Have students layer sounds one at a
time. Play with the volume, tempo, and duration of
sounds to create the distinct soundscape of the chosen
setting.
Once students understand the idea of soundscapes,
challenge the students to create ‘dreamscapes’. In the
National Children’s Theatre production of The BFG, the
BFG talks about how he can hear a “dream’s special
music.” Ask the students to imagine what dreams the BFG
might bring them and to write down a dream they’ve
had. Then ask them to think of instrumental music or
sounds that they could use to underscore their dream.
Students can even be challenged to create sound from
found objects. This will become a soundscape helping
to immerse the listeners into the world of the imagined
dream. Students can work as sound designers and record
their soundscapes. Students can then work as performers
exploring how the music makes them feel and move as
they share their dreams with the class underscored by
their chosen soundscape.
Assessing Our Learning:
How did the use of sound improve the narrative?
Theatre Standards:
Perform- Perform and participate in theatre
improvisations and dramatizations to learn
acting and scriptwriting fundamentals
Create- Design and manage theatrical
environments for formal and informal
dramatizations
Interconnect- Apply theatrical concepts to
construct meaning and understanding in
other subject areas
Context for Exploration:
THE SOUND DESIGNER
Sound designers use sound, whether recorded or
produced live, to help create the world of the play.
Sound designers create soundscapes to establish the
setting of a play and illustrate what is happening in the
story. These soundscapes can include anything from
real to imagined sounds and music. Sound designers
may use sound effects help to establish place. Sound
designers may use music to create mood. In the
National Children’s Theatre production of The BFG,
the sound designer composed music to underscore the
action of the play. Sound designers also manage the
sound systems in theatre spaces to amplify sounds. To
learn more about the sound designer’s process on The
BFG watch The Play in Process video.
English Launguage Arts • post-performace investigation
4
The Bonecruncher
math
Pre-Performance
investigation
GIANT Problems
Checking Prior Knowledge:
What are the parts of a story?
What strategies and properties can you use
to solve math problems?
What do stories and word problems
have in common?
Defining the Problem:
How can we illustrate word problems
using our bodies?
Explore & Create:
Word Problem Tableaux
A tableau (plural: tableaux) is the physical creation of
a frozen, silent picture using the body to illustrate a
moment in a story. Tableau is an excellent storytelling
device and can be used to portray a clear beginning,
middle, and end. Explain that students will use their
bodies to illustrate different parts of a frozen picture,
adding parts of the picture one at a time. A tableau can
be based on a an illustration from a book, representing
a key plot point of the story. Once given the prompt,
one student will create the first piece of the picture. One
at a time, other students will “add on” to the picture to
create a full picture. Once the tableau is created, capture
a real or imaginary picture of the scene, freezing it in
time and space. Each participant can then be called
upon to animate the picture with a simple, stationary
body movement and/or a single line of dialogue to bring
the picture to life. Ask the students who are still in their
seats: What do you see? How do you interpret what is
happening? What would you like to know about what is
happening? What might you change to make the picture
clearer? What would you title this tableau?
Mathematics Standards:
Mathematical Practice
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 Make sense of
problems and persevere in solving them.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP2 Reason abstractly
and quantitatively.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 Construct viable
arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with
mathematics.
Number and Operations in Base Ten
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.NBT.A.2
Fluently add and subtract within 1000
using strategies and algorithms based on
place value, properties of operations, and/
or the relationship between addition and
subtraction.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.B.4
Fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole
numbers using the standard algorithm.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.5
Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers
using the standard algorithm.
Theatre Standards:
Perform- Perform and participate in theatre
improvisations and dramatizations to learn
acting and scriptwriting fundamentals
Interconnect- Apply theatrical concepts to
construct meaning and understanding in
other subject areas
cont’d next page
Mathematics • pre-performace investigation
5
The Bonecruncher
math
Pre-Performance
investigation
GIANT Problems cont’d
Model the role of the director in staging a familiar story.
Block three tableaux, using the students to illustrate the
beginning, middle, and end of a chosen story. Draw
inspiration from story illustrations to help craft the
tableaux. The begging tableau should set up the story,
introducing the characters and setting. The middle
tableau should highlight the problem. The end tableau
should show how the problem is solved.
Once students understand how to use tableaux as a
storytelling device, as a class or in small groups have
students create word problem stories with a clear
beginning, middle, and end while also highlighting the
problem and solution.
SEe word problem Tableaux examples
on next page
Select one student to act as the director to stage and
block three tableaus with their classmates to illustrate
the word problem. Students may need to incorporate
costumes, props, or even puppets, to help demonstrate
their story.
Context for Exploration:
THE DIRECTOR
A director provides the unifying vision for a
performance to communicate a clear central
message. Directors lead the collaborative process
guiding all aspects of staging a production.
The director is not necessarily responsible for
all decision making, working instead to help
everyone make cohesive decisions. Directors often
make suggestions to help clarify choices on and
off stage. The director’s process starts well before
the production with research. Before rehearsals
begin directors are engaged in production
meetings where artistic decisions are made in
terms of aesthetics. Once the rehearsal process
begins, directors are primarily responsible for
leading the actors through the rehearsal process
to encourage actors to make thoughtful choices to
illustrate each moment. Directors are responsible
for blocking, or guiding actors where to stand and
when and how to move on stage. To learn more
about the director’s process for The BFG watch The
Play in Process video.
Students present tableaux one at a time. With each
tableau, ask the students who are still in their seats to
share what they see before activating the frozen picture
with movement and dialogue.
Before sharing the final tableau representing the solution,
have the students solve the problem. Students should
provide justification for their thinking.
After sharing the final tableau, have the directors evaluate
the tableau and offer suggestions to help make it clearer.
Assessing Our Learning:
How does using tableau help us
solve word problems ?
Mathematics • pre-performace investigation
6
The Bonecruncher
math
Pre-Performance
investigation
GIANT Problems cont’d
word problem Tableaux examples
1) Once upon a time there was a friendly giant who caught
sweet dreams to bring to children all over the world. With one
swipe of his net he caught 7 golden phizzwizard dreams. With
another swipe of his net he caught 9 pink dinghummer dreams.
How many children will be getting sweet dreams tonight?
Tableau A+ Tableau B = Tableau C
2) Once upon a time there were 5 giants looking in at 11
Swedish children asleep in their beds. Some giants are friendly
and bring sweet dreams while others are nasty and steal
children to gobble them up. These giants were the nasty kind.
They liked the Sweden Sour taste of Swedish children best. They
each reached in the window and grabbed one of the sleeping
children. How many children were left to call for help?
Tableau A -Tableau B = Tableau C
3) Once upon a time there was a friendly giant who ate
disgusterous snozzcumbers and 5 nasty giants who ate children.
The friendly giant gave each of the giants 12 snozzcumbers
hoping that it would spoil their appetite for children. The
nasty giants took one bite and found it so disgusterous they
threw all of the snozzcumbers at the friendly giant. How many
snozzcumbers were thrown?
Tableau A × Tableau B = Tableau C
4) Once upon a time there was a friendly giant and his little
friend Sophie. The friendly giant liked to drink frobscottle that
came in giant bottles that held 128 ounces of the delicious
fizzy drink! The friendly giant liked to share his frobscottle with
Sophie but Sophie was so little she could only drink 1/8 of a
bottle! If the friendly giant and Sophie shared an entire bottle of
frobscottle, how many ounces would Sophie drink? How many
ounces would the friendly giant drink?
Tableau A ÷ Tableau B = Tableau C
Mathematics • pre-performace investigation
7
The Bonecruncher
math
Post-Performance
investigation
GIANT measurements
Checking Prior Knowledge:
How is length measured?
What makes the most accurate
measurements?
What is a line plot used for?
Defining the Problem:
How might a costume designer
use measurements and a line plot
to create costumes?
Explore & Create: Costumes
Using the National Children’s Theatre production of The
BFG as inspiration, guide students to imagine a re-telling of
the story. Guide students to create a sketch for a costume
for a new character. In small groups, students will take
measurements of each other to help determine how
many of each size garment must be shopped or pulled.
Students can create tape measures from long strips,
approximately five feet long, cut from a roll of paper.
Using a ruler, students can mark inches, half inches, and
quarter inches. Students should measure each other from
the top of their head to the floor. Students can plot these
measurements the line plot provided in the Resources
section of this guide (p.20) to determine how many of
each size needs to be shopped or pulled.
Extension Activity: Guide students to pick what types of
fabric they would need to create a costume and find out how
much fabric they will need in order to construct a costume for
each member of the group. For a shirt, measurement is taken
from the top of the shoulder to the waist. For pants or a skirt,
measurement is taken on the out-seam, or outside of the leg
from the waist to the floor or the desired length of the garment.
For a dress or body suit, measure from the top of the shoulder
to the floor or the desired length of the garment. To determine
the amount of fabric needed to construct each garment, the
length should be doubled. Students can then add the amounts
together to figure out how many feet or yards of fabric they need
in total.
Assessing Our Learning:
How does creating costumes help us better
understand measurements and line plots?
Mathematics Standards:
Measurement and Data
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.B.4
Generate measurement data by measuring
lengths using rulers marked with halves and
fourths of an inch. Show the data by making a
line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked
off in appropriate units—whole numbers,
halves, or quarters.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.B.4
Make a line plot to display a data set of
measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4,
1/8). Solve problems involving addition and
subtraction of fractions by using information
presented in line plots.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.B.2
Make a line plot to display a data set of
measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2,
1/4, 1/8). Use operations on fractions for this
grade to solve problems involving information
presented in line plots.
Theatre Standards:
Create- Apply theatrical concepts to construct
meaning and understanding in other subject
areas
Interconnect- Apply theatrical concepts to
construct meaning and understanding in other
subject areas
Context for Exploration:
THE costume DESIGNER
Costumes include anything that is worn by an actor
such as clothing and accessories to help tell us who
the characters are. Costume designers are artists who
create costumes. They collaborate with other members
of the production design team in addition to the hair
stylist, wig master, and make-up artist for a given
production. Costume designers must also understand
costume construction including patterning, draping,
different kinds of textiles or fabric, and fashion history.
Costumers engage in a design process including analysis
of the text to form the foundations of an artistic vision,
collaboration with the production design team, research,
preliminary sketches, choosing a color palate, and
final sketches. Once the design process is complete,
costumes must be shopped (bought), pulled from
storage, or constructed and built. Costume construction
includes taking measurements of all the actors in order
to create patterns and procuring enough fabric.
Mathematics • pre-performace investigation
8
The Meatdripper
social studies
Pre-Performance
investigation
A GIANT world
Checking Prior Knowledge:
What clues might you see on stage to tell you where
and when the story takes place?
Defining the Problem:
How can we use our knowledge of geography and
history to help create the world of a play?
Explore & Create: Scenery and Props
Individually or in small groups, challenge students to
adapt familiar stories to geographical areas that are being
studied in class in order to conceive and design scenery
and props for a staged version of their chosen story.
Perhaps Little Red Riding Hood visits her Grandmother
in DC, or The Billy Goats Gruff cross the bridge to the
Great Plains, or The Three Little Pigs build their houses
in different geographical
regions in the United
States. Guide students to
create a concept board by
finding images to represent
the scenery and props for
their story. These images
can be collected and
displayed on a poster or
in a journal. Ask students
to create renderings for scenery and props by sketching
their designs. Provide opportunities for students to share
their concepts and designs with the class, explaining
and providing justification for their choices related to the
chosen environment and geography for their story. Ask
student to compare and contrast their concepts.
Assessing Our Learning:
How does using what you know about history
and geography help you make decisions about
appropriate scenery and props?
Social Studies Standards:
3.1: Students use cardinal directions, map
scales, legends, and titles to locate places
on contemporary maps of Washington,
D.C., and the local community.
4.2: Students describe the legacy
and cultures of the major indigenous
settlements, including the cliff dwellers
and pueblo people of the desert
Southwest, the triple alliance empire
of the Yucatan Peninsula, the nomadic
nations of the Great Plains, and the
woodland peoples east of the Mississippi.
5.12: Use geographic tools to locate and
analyze information about people, places,
and environments in the United States.
Theatre Standards:
Create- Design and manage theatrical
environments for forma l and informal
dramatizations
Interconnect- Apply theatrical concepts
to construct meaning and understanding
in other subject areas
Context for Exploration:
THE SCENIC DESIGNER
AND THE PROPS MASTER
The Scenic Designer and the Props Master work
“behind the scenes” to help create the world or
environment of a play that we see represented on
stage. Scenery and theatrical properties help an
audience understand the setting (where a story takes
place) of a play or musical. Scenery includes curtains,
backdrops, flats, and platforms that are built and
painted to represent the landscape and shelter in an
environment. Sometimes digital images and video are
projected onto the stage to create the environment.
Theatrical properties or “props” include portable items
that characters use on stage and are appropriate for a
given environment.
Extension Activity:
Once students have established a clear concept, allow students
to create a scale model of their set, or a scale blueprint for
a given performance space. Map out a stage area in your
classroom using tape to define the performance space on the
floor. From this defined stage space, students can use graph
paper to create scale ground plans of their scenic designs.
social Studies • pre-performace investigation
9
The Meatdripper
social studies
Post-Performance
investigation
GIANT adaptations
Checking Prior Knowledge:
Where and when did the National Children’s Theatre
production of Roald Dahl’s The BFG take place?
What clues were there?
Defining the Problem:
How does adapting a play to a new setting help
communicate information specific to a given place
and time?
Explore & Create:
A Giant Adaptation
First have students read the excerpts
from the National Children’s Theatre
production of The BFG included in the
Resources section of this guide
(pg. 14-18). Using the excerpts from
The BFG as inspiration, challenge
the students to adapt the scene.
Students should choose the setting
for their adaptation based on what they are studying
in Social Studies. As a class, guide students to make
a list of possible characters. Does the Queen become
Barack Obama? Perhaps the Queen becomes George
Washington during the American Revolution or
even Lincoln during the Civil
War. Students could even be
challenged to reimagine the
scene at The National Theatre
in DC, incorporating the history
of the theatre. In small groups,
help students create, write, and
then present their adapted scene
highlighting the area of study.
Social Studies Standards:
3.2: Students understand the basic
structure of the Washington, D.C.
government.
4.8: Students explain the causes of the
American Revolution.
5.5: Students summarize the causes and
consequences of the Civil War.
Theatre Standards:
Perform- Perform and participate
in theatre improvisations and
dramatizations to learn acting and
scriptwriting fundamentals
Interconnect- Apply theatrical concepts
to construct meaning and understanding
in other subject areas
Context for Exploration:
THE Playwright
Playwrights are writers who specifically write works
that are to be performed by actors. Playwrights
may write original works where they must imagine
a unique setting, characters, and problem that
communicate a central message or they can adapt
familiar stories for the stage. Playwrights decide
what the central message of a play will be and
provide details in the text from which the actors
draw inspiration. The National Children’s Theatre
production of The BFG is a new adaptation by a
playwright from the original story by Roald Dahl.
Adaptations require playwrights to translate the
central message and key details from the original
story in a way that will work best on stage.
Assessing Our Learning:
How did adapting
the scene from The
BFG help you better
understand what
you are studying in
Social Studies?
social Studies • pre-performace investigation
10
The Gizzard Gulper &
The Child Chewer
Science
Pre-Performance
investigation
Science Standards:
GIANT Discoveries
Checking Prior Knowledge:
3rd Grade- How do magnets work?
4th Grade- What are some clues that help us know
that energy is transferring from place to place?
5th Grade-Why are some stars brighter than others?
Defining the Problem:
3rd Grade- How could you incorporate magnets
into a puppet design?
4th Grade- What evidence can you see on stage of
energy traveling from place to place?
5th Grade- How might a
lighting designer create
constellations on stage?
Explore & Create:
Puppets & Stage lighting
Grade 3: Provide students with
materials to create puppets, weather
sock puppets, stick puppets, paper bag puppets, finger
puppets, string puppets, or even shadow puppets.
Challenge students to incorporate the use of magnets to
help improve the puppet design. How could a puppet
make use of a magnet to pick something up, or eat
something, or make something move away? Could
magnets be used to connect different pieces of the puppet?
Grade 4: Guide students to experiment with light
sources and electrical currents in order to help create an
environment or mood for a chosen story.
Grade 5: Have students imagine a story that includes
a star-filled sky. Encourage students to act as lighting
designers to bring the night sky to life on stage. Guide
students to experiment with light sources
to re-create a star filled sky or specific
constellations paying specific attention to
the relative distance of the light source.
Assessing Our Learning:
How did exploring puppetry and
lighting help us make discoveries
about magnets, energy, or stars?
3-PS2-4. Define a simple design problem that
can be solved by applying scientific ideas
about magnets.
4-PS3-2. Make observations to provide
evidence that energy can be transferred from
place to place by sound, light, heat, and
electric currents.
5-ESS1-1. Support an argument that
differences in the apparent brightness of the
sun compared to other stars is due to their
relative distances from the Earth.
Theatre Standards:
Create- Design and manage theatrical
environments for formal and informal
dramatizations.
Interconnect- Apply theatrical concepts to
construct meaning and understanding in
other subject areas.
Context for Exploration:
THE LIGHTING DESIGNER & THE PUPPETEER
Initially stage lighting was used to increase visibility
on stage so that audiences could better see the actors.
Candles, chandeliers, and even gas-lamps were used
before electricity was discovered. Modern stage
lighting makes use of different types of stage lighting
instruments or fixtures. The intensity of the light is
determined by the number of fixtures, lamp power, the
distance from the stage, the size of the light beam, the
power level (changed with dimmers), and color. Light
color is changed by adding color gels to the instrument
in the path of the light. Lighting designers work with
other members of the production design team to help
create and define the setting as well as mood.
Puppets are often used to represent characters on
stage. Puppeteers bring puppets to life using their
hands, strings, wires, rods, light, and even robotics
and electronics. Sometimes multiple puppeteers
work together to operate a single puppet. Puppetmakers engage in the design process in
order to determine how best to create
puppet characters to serve the needs
of a live-stage production. Puppets are
used in the National Children’s Theatre
Production of The BFG to solve a problem
that is unique to adapting this story to
the stage. How do you bring Giants to
life on stage?
Science, Technology, and Engineering • pre-performace investigation
11
The Gizzard Gulper &
The Child Chewer
Science
Post-Performance
investigation
Science Standards:
A GIANT Process
Checking Prior Knowledge:
What are some inventions that reduce the impact of
weather related hazards?
How do animals receive, process, and respond to
information?
How does matter move through an ecosystem?
Defining the Problem:
How can we use movement to illustrate science
concepts?
Explore & Create:
Choreography
Get the students moving! Begin by freely walking about
the space. You may even want to play some music. Slowly
begin to introduce different ways of moving, and guide
students to respond using their bodies.
3-ESS3-1. Make a claim about the merit
of a design solution that reduces the
impacts of a (weather-related) hazard.
4-LS1-2. Use a model to describe
that animals receive different types of
information through their senses, process
the information in their brain, and
respond to the information in different
ways.
5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe
the movement of matter among
plants, animals, decomposers, and the
environment.
Theatre Standards:
Create- Design and manage theatrical
environments for formal and informal
dramatizations
Interconnect- Apply theatrical concepts
to construct meaning and understanding
in other subject areas.
Explore different ways of movement:
Run
Jump
Rise
Bend
Roll
Walk
Leap
Fall
Push
Crawl
TipToe
Twist
March
Shake
Wiggle
Gallop
Kick
Lunge
Stretch
Prance
Skip
Spin
Float
Swing
Strut
Hop
Sway
Balance
Fly
Reach
Context for Exploration:
THE Choreographer
Choreographers are responsible for creating of
movement on stage from dance to stage combat.
They are responsible for helping performers
shape the physical actions of a performance.
Choreographers look at the quality of movement
in terms of size, level, direction, pathway, speed,
weight, and energy helping to illustrate space,
shape, time, emotion, and story.
Science, Technology, and Engineering • pre-performace investigation
12
The Gizzard Gulper &
The Child Chewer
Science
Post-Performance
investigation
A GIANT Process cont’d
Once students have explored different ways of moving,
have them explore different qualities of movement.
Explore different qualities of movement:
SIZE
big, medium, small
SPEED
fast, medium, slow
LEVEL
high, middle, low
WEIGHT
heavy, light
DIRECTION
forward, backward, up, down
ENERGY
sharp, smooth, shaky, swingy
PATHWAY
curved, straight, zig zag
After students have had time to explore movement, have
the students work in small groups to create a movement
piece to illustrate a concept they are studying in Science
class. Explain that students will use their bodies to create
a solution to a weather hazard, demonstrate how animals
receive, process, and respond to information, or illustrate
the movement of matter in an ecosystem. They may even
choose to incorporate music into their choreographed
piece to further illustrate the concept.
Assessing Our Learning:
How did using movement help you
better understand science concepts?
Science, Technology, and Engineering • pre-performace investigation
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resources
EXCERPTs
The National Children’s
Theatre Production of
Roald Dahl’s The BFG
ACT 2 Scene 1
In The Bedroom of the Queen of England
SOPHIE: Carefully holding Sophie, the BFG crept along the wall of the Palace, peering into the upstairs bedroom
windows. Suddenly, through a crack in the curtains, they saw, in the moonlight, a sleeping face, a female face that
Sophie had seen on stamps and coins and in the newspapers all her life. With great care, the BFG raised the Queen’s
bedroom window, and then… (THE BFG THEN TAKES THE TRUMPET AND BLOWS THE DREAM INTO THE WINDOW.)
SOPHIE: Then the BFG placed Sophie inside the window, behind the curtains… closed the window, and, waving
goodbye and good luck to Sophie, strode into the garden and hid among the trees.
QUEEN: (TALKING IN HER SLEEP) Oh no! No! Don’t! Someone stop them! Don’t let them do it! It’s horrible! Please
stop them! It’s ghastly! No! No! No! (SHE DRIFTS BACK TO SLEEP.)
MARY: (ENTERING) Good morning, your Majesty. Your early morning tea.
QUEEN: Oh Mary! I’ve just had the most frightful dream! It was awful!
MARY: Oh, I am sorry, ma’am. But don’t be distressed. You’re awake now.
QUEEN: I dreamt, Mary, that girls and boys were being snatched out of their beds at boarding-school and were being
eaten by the most ghastly giants! The giants were putting their arms in through the dormitory windows and plucking
the children out with their fingers. It was all so… so vivid, Mary. So real. Mary! What is it? (SUDDENLY MARY DROPS
THE TRAY WITH A CLATTER.) Mary!
MARY: Sorry, your Majesty…
QUEEN: I think you’d better sit down at once. You’re as white as a sheet. You mustn’t take it so hard, Mary, just
because I’ve had an awful dream.
MARY: That … that isn’t the reason, ma’am … (SHE REACHES FOR THE NEWSPAPER.) Look ma’am! Look at the front
page! The headlines!
QUEEN: (UNFOLDING THE NEWSPAPER) Great Scott! (SHE READS.) ‘Children vanish mysteriously from boardingschool beds. Bones found underneath dormitory windows!’ Oh how ghastly! It’s absolutely frightful! Those poor
children!
MARY: But ma’am … don’t you see, ma’am …
QUEEN: See what, Mary?
MARY: Those children were taken away almost exactly as you dreamt it, ma’am.
QUEEN: Not by giants, Mary.
MARY: No ma’am. But the rest of it. You dreamt it and… and… and it’s happened. For real! Ooh, it’s spooky, ma’am.
That’s why I came over all queer.
QUEEN: I’m coming over a bit queer myself, Mary.
MARY: It gives me the shakes, ma’am, when something like this happens, it really does.
QUEEN: I did dream about those children, Mary. It was clear as crystal.
MARY: I’m sure you did, ma’am.
QUEEN: I don’t know how giants got into it. That was rubbish.
MARY: Shall I draw the curtains, ma’am? Then we shall all feel better. It’s a lovely day.
QUEEN: Please do.
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resources
EXCERPTs
The National Children’s Theatre
Production of
Roald Dahl’s The BFG
MARY: (MARY CROSSES TO THE WINDOW AND DRAWS THE CURTAINS. SOPHIE IS REVEALED.) Aaaaaaaah!
SOPHIE: Please, I…
QUEEN: I don’t believe it. I simply don’t believe it.
MARY: I’ll take her out, ma’am, at once.
QUEEN: (SHARPLY) No, Mary, don’t do that. Tell me, is there really a little girl in a nightie by the window, or am I still
dreaming?
MARY: You’re wide awake, ma’am, and there’s a little girl in a nightie by the window, though heaven only knows how
she got there.
QUEEN: (REMEMBERING) But I know how she got there. I dreamt that as well. A giant put her there.. Little girl, am I
right?
SOPHIE: Yes, your Majesty.
MARY: Well, I’ll be jiggered. It can’t be true!
QUEEN: And your name is … (SOPHIE GOES TO SPEAK.) Don’t say it! Mary, come here. (MARY GOES TO THE QUEEN
AND LEANS IN TO HEAR HER.) Her name is … (SHE WHISPERS IN MARY’S EAR)
MARY: Impossible, ma’am, how could you know that? (CROSSING TO SOPHIE) What’s your name, girl?
SOPHIE: My name is Sophie.
MARY: Aaaaaaah!
QUEEN: Told you. Come here, Sophie. Sit down, dear. Are you real?
SOPHIE: Yes, your Majesty.
QUEEN: And did a giant really bring you here?
SOPHIE: Oh yes, your Majesty. He’s out there in the garden now.
QUEEN: Is he indeed? In the garden?
SOPHIE: He’s a good giant, your Majesty. The Big Friendly Giant. You needn’t be frightened of him.
QUEEN: I’m delighted to hear it.
SOPHIE: He is my best friend.
QUEEN: How nice.
SOPHIE: Shall I call him for you?
QUEEN: (AFTER A PAUSE) Very well.
(SOPHIE JUMPS OUT OF BED AND RUNS TO THE WINDOW. MARY CROSSES TO THE QUEEN.)
MARY: Is this wise, ma’am?
QUEEN: Slippers, Mary. (MARY GOES TO FETCH THE SLIPPERS AND NIGHTGOWN, AS THE QUEEN GETS OUT OF BED.
MARY THEN HELPS THE QUEEN GET DRESSED.)
SOPHIE: (CALLING FROM THE WINDOW) BFG! Her Majesty the Queen would like to see you. (PAUSE. MARY AND THE
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resources
EXCERPTs
The National Children’s Theatre
Production of
Roald Dahl’s The BFG
QUEEN LOOK AT EACH OTHER, NOT REALLY EXPECTING ANYTHING TO HAPPEN.)
QUEEN: I don’t see any giant.
SOPHIE: Please wait. (STILL NOTHING HAPPENS.)
MARY: Shall I take the girl away now, ma’am? (SUDDENLEY, A VOICE IS HEARD. IT IS THE BFG.)
BFG: (OFF) Your Majester, I is your humbug servant. (THE BFG APPEARS IN THE WINDOW. MARY FAINTS, UNSEEN BY
THE QUEEN.)
QUEEN: (TAKING THINGS IN HER STRIDE) We are very pleased to meet you. Mary, ask Mr. Tibbs to prepare breakfast
for our two visitors. In the ballroom, I fancy. (PAUSE) Mary? (SHE TURNS TO SEE MARY, FLAT OUT ON THE FLOOR) Oh.
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resources
EXCERPTs
The National Children’s Theatre
Production of
Roald Dahl’s The BFG
ACT 2 Scene 2
In the Ballroom of the Palace. Breakfast is Served.
BFG: By goggles, your Majester, this stuff is making snozzcumbers taste like swatchwallop.
QUEEN: I beg your pardon?
SOPHIE: He has never eaten anything except snozzcumbers before, your Majesty. They taste revolting.
QUEEN: They don’t seem to have stunted his growth!
BFG: Where is the frobscottle, Majester?
QUEEN: The what?
BFG: Delumptious fizzy frobscottle! Everyone must be drinking it. Then we can all be whizzpopping happily together!
QUEEN: What does he mean? What is whizzpopping?
SOPHIE: Excuse me your Majesty. BFG, there is no frobscottle here and whizzpopping is strictly forbidden.
BFG: What? No whizzpopping? No glumptious music?
SOPHIE: Absolutely not.
QUEEN: If he wants to make music, please don’t stop him
SOPHIE: It’s not exactly music…
BFG: Listen, I can whizzpop perfectly well without frobscottle if I is trying hard enough.
SOPHIE: No! Don’t! Please!
QUEEN: When I’m up in Scotland, they play the bagpipes outside my window while I’m eating. (TO THE BFG) Do play
something.
BFG: I has her Majester’s permission! (AFTER A MOMENT’S CONCENTRATION, HE LETS OUT A LARGE WHIZPOP.
EVERYONE IN THE ROOM REACTS, UNSURE OF WHAT HAS JUST HAPPENED.) Whoopee! How’s that, Majester?
QUEEN: I think I prefer the bagpipes! Now, to business. Sophie, you have told me of your visit to Giant Country and of
the Giants’ ghastly night-time children-eating raids. But before we decide what is to be done, I must confirm the facts.
Big Friendly Giant, last night your … er … colleagues raised England. Where did they go the night before?
BFG: I think, Majester, they was galloping off to Sweden. They is liking the Sweden sour taste.
QUEEN: Right. Mr. Tibbs, the telephone (MR. TIBBS BRINGS THE PHONE TO THE QUEEN. )Thank you. (SHE PRESSES THE
DIALING BUTTONS AND WAITS.)
QUEEN OF SWEDEN: Hallo, Queen of Sweden here.
QUEEN: Good morning, it’s the Queen of England. Is everything all right in Sweden?
QUEEN OF SWEDEN: Everything is terrible! Two nights ago, twenty-six of my loyal subjects disappeared. My whole
country is in a panic.
QUEEN: They were eaten by giants. Apparently they like the sweet and sour taste of Swedes. So says the BFG.
QUEEN OF SWEDEN: I don’t know what you are talking about. It’s hardly a joking matter when one’s loyal subjects are
being eaten like popcorn.
QUEEN: They’ve eaten mine as well.
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resources
EXCERPTs
The National Children’s Theatre
Production of
Roald Dahl’s The BFG
QUEEN OF SWEDEN: Who’s they, for heaven’s sake?
QUEEN: It’s been a rough morning. First I had a horrid nightmare, then the maid dropped my early morning tea and
now I’ve a giant on the piano.
QUEEN OF SWEDEN: You need a doctor quick!
QUEEN: I’ll be all right. I must go now. Thanks for your help. That proves it. Mr. Tibbs, summon the Head of the Army
and the Head of the Air Force immediately. (MR. TIBBS BOWS AND CROSSES UPSTAGE TO THE PLATFORM. IMMEDIATELY,
THE HEADS OF THE ARMY AND AIR FORCE, IN FULL MILITARY UNIFORM, ENTER, NOT SEEING THE BFG.)
QUEEN: Good morning, gentlemen.
HEAD OF THE ARMY: What ho, your Majesty!
HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE: Toodle pip, your Majesty!
QUEEN: We have a job for you.
HEAD OF THE ARMY: Jolly good show, your Majesty!
HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE: Whizzo prang, your Majesty!
QUEEN: Now, you’ve read about the disappearing children?
HEAD OF THE ARMY: Jolly bad show, your Majesty!
HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE: Bally disgrace, your Majesty!
QUEEN: (SHE STANDS. SOPHIE COPIES HER) They were eaten.
HEAD OF THE ARMY & HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE: (SCANDALIZED) Eaten?
QUEEN: By giants. PAUSE.
HEAD OF THE ARMY: Hold fire, your Majesty!
HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE: Giants?
HEAD OF THE ARMY: No such fellas, your Majesty!
HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE: Except in fairy tales.
HEAD OF THE ARMY: Except in fairy tales.
HEAD OF THE ARMY & HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE: (TOGETHER) Ha, ha, ha, ha ha!
HEAD OF THE ARMY: Jolly good joke, your Majesty!
HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE: Not April the First, is it?
HEAD OF THE ARMY & HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE: (TOGETHER) Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
QUEEN: Gentlemen, allow me to present the Big Friendly Giant. (SHE INDICATES BEHIND THEM).
HEAD OF THE ARMY & HEAD OF THE AIR FORCE: (TOGETHER) Big Friendly Giant! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! (THEY TURN IN A
CIRCLE AND SEE THE BFG) Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
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How to Write a Critique for
a Theatrical Performance
Remember to:
1. Write about what you observed or noticed &
back up all your opinions with valid reasons.
A critique is an evaluation of a performance or show. It should
contain five paragraphs. Each student or small group could write
one paragraph to contribute to a class critique. Students may jot
their notes in the boxes provided on this page.
2. Be objective, fair, and sincere.
3. Evaluate the entire production.
4. Be constructive. Indicate good points along
with those you felt needed improvement.
Paragraph 1—The Basics
Include the answers to the five Ws:
Who: the playwright, director(s), and actors
What: the title of the play
Where: the name of the theatre
When: when did you see it?
Why: the basic theme of the show
W
Paragraph 2—The Plot
Briefly summarize the plot of the show:
W
W
W
W
How well did the story work?
Was it interesting, entertaining?
Paragraph 3—The Acting
Reactions to the performers playing the characters in the play:
Use their real names and character names.
Were they believable?
Did they stay true to the character?
Paragraph 4—The Design
Lights: Did they convey appropriate mood,
emphasis, and brightness?
Sound: How did the sound effects and
music contribute to the show’s mood?
Costumes and Makeup: Did they
accurately reflect the characters’ traits?
Set: Did it establish a definite mood and
time period for the play?
Could you tell where the play took place
immediately, or did it take a bit of time?
Paragraph 5—The Reaction
Lights:
Sound:
Costumes
& Makeup:
Set:
What is the play’s effect on the audience?
What is the play’s effect on the audience?
Was the audience interested?
What was your opinion of the show as a
whole?
Send your students’ critiques to [email protected].
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costume
line plot
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resources
Glossary
The National Children’s Theatre
Production of
Roald Dahl’s The BFG
GLOSSARY of THEATRE TERMS
from The Play in Process video
Dialect- A particular form of a language that is peculiar to a
specific region or social group.
Pre-Production- Work done on a production before the rehearsal
process begins.
Rehearsal- The practice of a play before performances begin.
Blocking- The precise staging of actors in order to facilitate the
performance of a play. Where actors stand on stage and when and
where they move on stage.
Text Work- Gathering information from the text about characters
and the world of the play and making decisions about what
characters do and say.
Tech (Technical) Rehearsal- Incorporates the technical elements
of a production including scenery, lighting, sound, costumes, and
props into the rehearsal process in preparation for a live audience.
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Theatre Etiquette
Funders
Etiquette: Rules of good behavior, decorum, propriety, manners…
We appreciate the generous
support of inaugural contributors.
A field trip is a great chance for your students to learn how to be
“conscientious audience members!” Please review these rules of
theatre etiquette with your class before coming to see the play.
Washington Post (In-Kind)
Anonymous
• Please be on time! Plan to arrive 15 to 20 minutes before the start
of the play.
DCCAH - Innovate Grant
• Don’t forget to use the restroom and have a drink of water before
entering the theatre.
PEPCO
• Please remember to turn off your cell phone or any other devices
that might make noise during the show.
Exelon
• Please be seated when you see the lights dim before the show—
that is a signal that the show is about to start!
• Please remember that the seats in the theatre are for sitting; try
to refrain from kicking, bouncing, standing, or putting feet on
the seats.
• Please do not stand or sit in the aisles—many times actors will
make entrances through the audience and cannot get to the
stage if you are blocking the way. It is also a fire hazard.
• Please remember that absolutely no food or beverages are
allowed in the theatre.
JBG/Jacobs Family
National Theatre Group
Mara Strock
FedEx
Les Crooks and Jackie Heitman
Prince Charitable Trust
Bernstein Companies
Special Thanks
• Please remember that live performances may not be recorded:
cameras and video equipment are not permitted in the theatre.
Most importantly, please remember that the actors on the stage
(unlike in the movies or on TV) know that you are in the audience
and they can hear you!
• Please do not talk during the show—even in a whisper. It is
distracting to the actors and other audience members.
• Please save questions and comments for the end of the show.
• Please DO laugh when you find something funny—then the
actors know they are doing their job.
• Please DO applaud at the end—actors enjoy knowing you had a
good time at the performance.
The DC Collaborative, in
partnership with its
members, advances access
to learning opportunities
in the arts and humanities
for all DC public and public
charter school students.
The BFG Photo credits:
Margot Schulman
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