Exploring Theatre: The Cat in the Hat

Resource pack

Dr Seuss’

The Cat in the Hat Make a Hat Instructions 1. Get a long strip of card

and make sure that it fits

around your head.

2. Decorate the card. You

could decorate your card

with stripes – but it doesn’t

have to be.

3. Tape the two ends of the

card together so that it fits

around your head and makes

a tube.

4. Make a brim for the hat

by placing the tube on

another piece of card and

drawing round it. Draw some

tabs inside the circle.

5. Cut out the inside of the

circle – leave the tabs. Bend

the tabs upwards and fix to

the inside of the tube.

Dr Seuss’

The Cat in the Hat Make a Set Model Instructions

1. Get a shoe box (or cereal box

with one of the big sides cut out).

Hold it facing towards you as if you

are looking into a theatre and start

to imagine how your scene will

look.

2. On a piece of paper create the

floor for your scene and stick to one

side of the box.

3. Next make your ‘cyclorama’ (the

cloth or paper at the back of the

scene) and fix to the bottom of the

box.

4. Now make models of any

furniture or objects out of card or

other materials and place them in

the set.

5. Every model needs to show how

an actor relates to the staging. Draw

the characters on thin card. Cut

each of them out and push them

into a small piece of blue tack so

that they stand up.

6. Once your design is complete shine a torch or a lamp onto it. You could try

holding different colours of acetate over the light to see how it changes the

mood.

Dr Seuss’

The Cat in the Hat Set Model Images Set model/design by Vicki Mortimer

Dr Seuss’s

The Cat in the Hat Production photographs of characters

The Cat in the Hat

© Stephen Cummiskey

The Fish in a Pot

© Stephen Cummiskey

The Boy

© Stephen Cummiskey

The Girl

© Stephen Cummiskey

Thing 1 and Thing 2

© Stephen Cummiskey

Dr Seuss’

The Cat in the Hat Make a fish sock puppet

1. Start by putting sock on your hand

and making it ‘talk’ by moving your

hand like a crab’s claw.

2. Make the eyes. You can colour in

round stickers or use some ‘googly’

eyes. You could put the stickers or

googly eyes onto small pompoms.

Stick the pompoms onto the sock

where they eyes should go.

3. Make some fins and a tail out of

card/felt. Stick or sew them on to

your fish.

4. Once you have made your fish, try

acting out some little scenes?

Can you make your fish swim? Can it

jump out of a bowl and land again,

splashing in a pot? Can you make it

balance on someone’s head? Can you

make a fishy voice and talk to other

children/other fish?

Onomatopoeic Words

Bang Crash Rustle

Bash Creak Sizzle

Beep Croak Slash

Blah Crunch Slip

Blare Drip Slither

Bling Fizz Smash

Boing Flick Snip

Boink Flip Splash

Boo Flutter Splat

Boom Groan Splosh

Bubble Gurgle Squeak

Bump Hiccup Squeal

Chuckle Jingle Squelch

Clap Ooze Squish

Cough Pitter-patter Thud

Clang Plop Thwack

Clash Pluck Tinkle

Clatter Pop Trickle

Click Rattle Vroom

Clip-clop Ring Whack

Once you have completed the lessons, why not watch the NT production of The Cat in the Hat?

NT Learning have copies of the DVD available for schools to borrow.

Please email primary@nationaltheatre.org.uk if you wish to borrow a copy.

If you wish to buy a copy from our bookshop then please visit

shop.nationaltheatre.org.uk Price £4.99