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COMMON CORE STANDARDSSpeaking and Listening: 1; 3; 4; 6Language: 1; 4

NEW YORK STATE STANDARDSThe Arts: 4ELA: 1; 4

BLUEPRINT FOR THE ARTSTheater: Developing Theater Literacy; Making Connections

This section is part of a full New Victory® School toolTM Resource Guide. For the complete guide, including information about the New Victory Education Department check out: NEWVICTORY.ORG/SCHOOLTOOLS

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A behind-the-curtain look at the artists, the company and the art form of this production.

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CLOSER LOOK AT THE GRUFFALO

• The New Victory is thrilled to welcome back Tall Stories, who previously presented The Snail and the Whale (2015), Snow White (2003) and The Gruffalo (2004)!

• Conceived in 1999 and premiering in 2001, Tall Stories’ magical, musical adaptation of the award-winning picture book has toured the UK, Europe, North America, Asia and Australia – including runs in London’s West End and at Sydney Opera House. Tall Stories is a nonprofit theater company that tours around the world, delighting audiences with their unique brand of physical storytelling and original music.

• Tall Stories was inspired by the work of Storybook Soldiers, an organization dedicated to helping British military personnel abroad record CDs of bedtime stories for their children back home.

• “The Gruffalo” was the biggest selling picture book in Britain during 2000. It became so popular that it has its own song!

Take a stroll with a mouse through the deep dark wood and you will be sure to find a journey unlike any other. In THE GRUFFALO, the audience joins Mouse on a courageous expedition through the deep, dark wood to find the finest nuts for dinner. Tall Stories has created an adventurous, musical adaptation of THE GRUFFALO, the award-winning picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Along the way, Mouse meets a wheeler-dealer Fox, an eccentric old Owl and a maraca-shaking, party-mad Snake! It’s not long before Mouse proves to everyone that it’s not impossible to do the impossible! All it takes is a little bit of smarts to scare these hungry animals with tall stories of the terrifying Gruffalo, but what happens when an imagined creature turns out to be real? No one can be absolutely sure. Once the journey begins, audiences are sure to get lost in the singing, laughing and scary fun!

[ ]Page-to-Stage

+ Theatrical Storytelling + A Brave Little Mouse

in the Deep Dark Wood=

THE GRUFFALO

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THE GRUFFALO FROM?

• The actors in this play pretend to be animals (and monsters!). Did you know that the world’s first public zoo opened in 1829 in London?

• BOO! The Tower of London is said to be haunted with several ghosts who were once residents, including Henry VI, Catherine (the fifth wife of King Henry Vlll), Dame Sybil who was the nurse of Prince Edward and even a grizzly bear that once lived in the tower.

LONDON, ENGLAND

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NORTHAMERICA

ATLANTICOCEAN

PACIFICOCEAN

INDIANOCEAN

LONDON

ASIAEUROPE

AFRICA

AUSTRALIA

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Prior to exploring THE GRUFFALO with your students, find out how much they already know about Page-to-Stage Theater and Theatrical Storytelling. In addition, allow them to explore the theme of bravery.

Have you ever been to the theater before? What was the title of the show?

What is your favorite story and why?

Have you ever seen one of your favorite stories become a movie or play? What was the story? What was it like to see it come to life?

Have you ever had to be brave before? When? What happened?

What do you need in order to feel safe?

WHAT DO YOUR STUDENTS KNOW NOW?

PAGE-TO-STAGE THEATERGo even deeper into the world of the play with page-to-stage! Page-to-Stage Theater is a technique often used to bring children’s literature to life. Artists work to capture the tone and spirit of the underlying material with respect for the original intent of the author. Through a collaborative design process, they incorporate many aspects of theatrical production, including character development, technical elements and storytelling to effectively connect with audiences.

THEATRICAL STORYTELLINGStorytelling is the art of creating a story with sound and movement while encouraging the audience to use their imagination. The actors are storytellers interacting directly with the audience. This relationship between audience and storyteller is what makes the art of storytelling unique. Set, sound and lighting are three design elements that can enhance a story to support the words spoken by the storytellers, establishing the mood of the world the characters inhabit and igniting the audience's imagination.

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UNIT PLAN BRAINSTORM

Check out these ideas for how to incorporate THE GRUFFALO into a unit plan! Then, implement specific recommended activities from this guide for each topic.

BEING BRAVE (SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT)COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Creativity and Imagination; Curiosity and Initiative; Self Concept and Self Awareness

Introduce your students to the idea of trying new things using THE GRUFFALO. When a student is brave and tries something new, give them a sticker on a chart! After a certain number of stickers, they can earn their very own copy of The Gruffalo (or another reward)! To help address the theme of bravery, we recommend the Creativity Page from the After section, Your Bravery Backpack.

BRINGING STORIES TO LIFE (ELA)COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Creativity and Imagination; Key Ideas and Details; Integration of Knowledge and Ideas; Theater/Dramatic Play

Use THE GRUFFALO as a launching point for bringing some of your favorite stories to life! Gather students in a circle and in the center of the circle, have them act out various parts of the book you are reading. They can take turns being the characters, and the setting and creating the sounds for each scene. As a launching point for this unit, do the Activate The Gruffalo and Paper Puppets activities in the Before section.

UNDERSTANDING THE STAGE (THEATER ARTS)COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Creativity and Imagination; Visual Arts; Theater/Dramatic Play; Dance/Creative Movement

Do various activities around stage directions (make it a game like “Simon Says”), create frozen stage pictures (tableaux) and design sets (use only cardboard boxes!) with your students to help them better understand stage pictures and set design. Check out the Animal Dance activity in the After section and have them perform and design it for the stage!