song from the sea

2009 / 2010 EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH SPONSORS

Syracuse Stage is committed to providing students with rich theatre experiences that connect to and reveal what it is to be human. Research shows that children who participate in or are exposed to the arts show higher academic

achievement, stronger self-esteem, and improved ability to plan and work toward a future goal.

Many students in our community have their first taste of live theatre through Syracuse Stage’s outreach programs. Last season more than 35,000 students from across New York State attended or participated in the Bank of America Children’s Tour, Backstory performances, Lockheed Martin Project Blueprint, artsEmerging, the Young Playwrights Festival, and our Student Matinee Program.

We gratefully acknowledge the corporations and foundations who support our commitment to in-depth arts education for our community.

STUDENT MATINEE PROGRAM

BANK OF AMERICA CHILDRENS TOUR

LOCKHEED MARTIN PROJECT BLUEPRINT

GENERAL EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH SUPPORT

John Ben Snow Memorial Trust

Photo: Jamie Olen and Nowani Rattray in The Bank of America Children’s Tour production of A Thousand Cranes (2008). Photo by Michael Davis.

CONTENTS

4. PRODUCTION INFO 8. A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR 5. TEACHING THEATRE 9. ABOUT THE PLAY 11. KEY ISSUES 13. CONTEXT 15. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Research shows that students who participate in or are exposed to the arts show higher academic achievement, stronger self-esteem, and an

improved ability to plan and work toward a future goal.

The Bank of America CHILDREN’S TOUR brings high-energy, interactive, and culturally diverse performances to elementary school audiences.

The BACKSTORY Program brings history to life, as professional actors portray historical figures in classrooms and other venues.

Lockheed Martin PROJECT BLUEPRINT merges scientific discovery and the arts in classrooms and other venues.

artsEMERGING takes students on an in-depth exploration of our mainstage season using a multi-cultural, multi-arts lens.

The YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL challenges students to submit original ten-minute plays for a chance to see their work performed at Syracuse Stage.

Timothy BondProducing Artistic DirectorSyracuse Stage and SU Drama

820 E Genesee StreetSyracuse, NY 13210

www.syracusestage.org

Director of Educational Outreach Lauren Unbekant (315) 443-1150

Group Sales & Student Matinees Tracey White (315) 443-9844

Box Office (315) 443-3275

Artistic Office Reception (315) 443-4008

Office Fax (315) 443-9846

Syracuse Stage is Central New York’s premiere professional theatre. Founded in 1974, Stage has produced more than 220 plays in 36 seasons including numerous world and American premieres. Each season, upwards of 90,000 patrons enjoy an exciting mix of comedies, dramas and musicals featuring leading designers, directors and performers from New York and across the country, supported by a full-time and seasonal staff of artisans, technicians and administrators.

Find us on:

THE SONG FROM THE SEA CLASSROOM STUDY GUIDELauren Unbekant, Chief Editor

Editing, Design and Layout by Adam ZurbrueggCover Design by Brenna Merritt

PRESENT

THE BANK OF AMERICA CHILDREN’S TOUR

BY

MIKE KENNY

DIRECTED BY

LAUREN UNBEKANT

SCENIC & COSTUME DESIGN BY

KATRIN NAUMANN

PUPPETS BY

GABRIEL Q

SOUND DESIGN BY

JONATHAN HERTER

STAGE MANAGER

KAYLIANE BURNS

FEATURING

JOSH / DANIEL BURNSELSIE / MUM / SARA ORRGRAN / CHELSEA ROLFES

Produced by special arrangement with Plays For Young AudiencesA partnership of Seattle Children’s Theatre and Children’s Theatre Company - Minneapolis

Supporting the arts is a main priority of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, which is why we are so excited to partner with Syracuse Stage on this exciting project. Through innovative programs such as this one, we can effectively encourage the children in our community to embrace the arts at an early age. Bank of America is pleased to support such an important program and hopes children throughout the greater Syracuse area will take full advantage of it.

SYRACUSE STAGE THE SONG FROM THE SEA STUDENT STUDY GUIDE

TEACHINGTHEATRE “Theatre brings life to life.”

Zelda FichandlerFounding Artistic Director

Arena Stage, Washington DC

When the first cave-dweller got up to tell a story, theatre began. Almost every culture has some sort of live performance tradition to

tell stories. Television and film may have diminished the desire for access to theatre, but they have not diminished the importance.

Live theatre gives each audience member an opportunity to connect with the performers in a way he/she never could with Tom Cruise or Lindsay Lohan. The emotions can be more intense because the events are happening right in front of the audience.

In the classroom, theatre can be an effective teaching tool. The New York State Teaching Standards value student opportunities to observe and participate in theatrical performances, both in traditional settings and classroom exercises. Throughout this Study Guide, you will find activities relating to The Song from the Sea that fulfill NYS Standards in The Arts, English Language Arts, and Social Studies.

In many ways, a classroom teacher is much like an actor on stage — with an audience (students), a script (lesson plan), props (visual aids), and scenery (the classroom itself ). Both theatre and teaching rely heavily on the interplay between performer and audience, each feeding off one another’s energy and responses. The roles are reversed when a student is asked to read aloud from a text, present materials to the class, or improvise a scenario to reinforce understanding of a topic. Thus, theatre provides both an opportunity to teach, and the means to do so.

We at Syracuse Stage hope that this Study Guide will help you discover a multitude of possibilities for integrating The Song from the Sea into your lesson plans. We encourage you to delve into this story with your students: examining not just the story and its themes, but also the manner in which it is told — the casting, visual design, sound design, movement and choreography, and dialogue. If we can be of any further assistance toward this end, please feel free to call our Education Department at (315) 443-1150.

Audience

A few reminders...

BE PROMPTWhether the performance is in your building or ours, give your students plenty of time to arrive, find their seats, and get situated.

RESPECT OTHERS’ SPACERemind your students not to bump/kick the people around them, or their chairs.

GOOD NOISE, BAD NOISEInstead of instructing students to remain totally silent, you should discuss the difference between appropriate respons-es (laughter, applause, par-ticipation when requested) and inappropriate noise (talking, cell phones, etc).

STAY WITH USPlease do not leave, or allow students to leave, once a per-formance has begun, except in absolute emergencies.

Etiquette

5


TEACHINGTHEATRE

Any piece of theatre comprises multiple art forms. As you explore The Song from the Sea with your students, examine the use of: WRITING(see below) VISUALART/DESIGN(see next page) MUSIC/SOUND DANCE/MOVEMENT

How are each of these art forms used in The Song from the Sea? Why are they used? How do they help to tell the story?

INQUIRY NYS STANDARDS: ARTS

1.

2. Most (but not all) plays begin with a script — a story to be told and a blueprint of how to tell it. In his famous treatise, The Poetics, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle outlined SIX ELEMENTS OF DRAMA that playwrights are mindful of to this day:

PLOT

THEME

CHARACTER

LANGUAGE

MUSIC

SPECTACLE

What is the story line? What happened before the play started? What does each character want? What do they do to achieve their goals? What do they stand to gain/lose?

What ideas are wrestled with in the play? What questions does the play pose? Does it present an opinion on those questions, or leave it to the audience to decide?

Who are the people in the story? What is their relationship to one another? Why do they do what they do? How do their ages/status/etc affect them?

What do the characters say? How do they say it? When do they say it? Do they speak to one character differently than another? Why?

How do music and sound help to tell this story?

What visual elements support the play? This could include: puppets, scenery, costumes, dance, movement, and more.

At its core, drama is about characters working toward goals and overcoming obstacles. Ask students to use their bodies and voices to create characters who are: very old, very young, very strong, very weak, very tired, very energetic, very cold, very warm. Have their characters interact with one another. Give them an objective to fulfill despite their environmental obstacles. Later, recap by asking how these obstacles affected the character and the pursuit of his/her objectives.

ACTIVITY NYS STANDARDS: ARTS, ELA

6


TEACHINGTHEATRE 3.

Most plays (including The Song from the Sea) utilize designers to create the visual world of the play through scenery, costumes, lighting, and more. These artists use the following ELEMENTS OF ART to communicate information about the world within the play and its characters.

LINE

SHAPE

FORM

SPACE

COLOR

TEXTURE

can have length, width, texture, direction and curve. There are 5 basic varieties: verticle, horizontal, diagonal, curved, and zig-zag.

is two-dimensional and encloses space. It can be geometric (eg. squares and circles), man-made, or free-form.

is three-dimensional. It encloses space and fills space. It, too, can be geo-metric (eg. cubes and cylinders), man-made, or free-form.

is defined and determined by shapes and forms. Positive space is enclosed by shapes and forms, while negative space exists around them.

has 3 basic properties: HUE is the name of the color (eg. red, blue, green) INTENSITY is the strength of the color (bright or dull) VALUE is the lightness or darkness of the color

refers to the “feel” of an object’s surface. It can be smooth, rough, soft, etc. Textures may be ACTUAL (able to be felt) or IMPLIED (suggested visually through the artist’s technique).

Whether your students are observing a piece of visual art, like a painting, or a piece of performance art, like a play, allow them first to notice the basic elements, then encourage them to look deeper into why these elements are used in a particular manner.

1. What do you see? Line, shape, form, etc.2. What else do you see? A chance to look deeper3. What’s going on? What is happening in the artwork?4. Why do you say that? What evidence do you have?

INQUIRY NYS STANDARDS: ARTS, ELA

Woman and Bird Before the Moon (1944) Joan Miro

Three Musicians (1921) Pablo Picasso

7


Lauren UnbekantDirector of Educational Outreach

Sincerely,

Dear Educator,

It is my pleasure to present The Song from the Sea, a spellbinding fantasy tale of Josh, a young English boy who through the busyness and noise of his everyday life hears a mysterious, beautiful sound calling him toward the sea.

This lovely tale reminds us of the importance of listening to one another, a task not easily accomplished in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Through his imagination and a grandmother’s encouragement, Josh is able to make sense of his world and express his feelings to the people that matter most in his life: his family.

I encourage you and your students to dive into the ocean of possibilities with your whole imagination.

ALETTERFROMTHEDIRECTOR

8


ABOUTTHEPLAY:

STORY&ISSUES ABRIEFSYNOPSIS

We recommend carefully selecting how much background information you share with the class prior to the performance. Let them experience as much as possible with an open mind.

ABOUTTHEPLAYWRIGHTMike Kenny has written over sixty plays, most of which are for young audiences and many for audiences and actors with special needs. He was named one of the UK’s top ten living playwrights by The Independent, and has won numerous awards, including the Writers’ Guild of Britain’s Best Children’s Play (Stepping Stones) and the Arts Council of England’s first Children’s Award for Playwriting. His plays are performed regularly throughout the UK and across the world.

Other children’s plays by Mike Kenny: The Gardener, Diary of an Action Man, Stepping Stones, Stuck, Sink or Swim, Flags and Bandages, and many more.

After the performance, ask your students what the play was about. They will likely begin with the most basic plot elements. Using their responses, ask leading questions to coax them toward the deeper meanings (like examining a painting, p. 7). Now, can they identify the SIX ELEMENTS OF DRAMA (p. 6) in The Song from the Sea?

INQUIRY NYS STANDARDS: ARTS, ELA

The Song from the Sea centers around Josh, a six-year old boy who lives in “a very noisy house in a very noisy street in a very noisy city.” As he struggles to be heard by his mother, grandmother and older sister, Josh hears a faint but beautiful song calling him toward the sea.

KEY ISSUES IN THE PLAY:

•Relationships with our families and the world around us

•Trust in others and in ourselves

•Confidence to share our inner thoughts and feelings

•Listening to others and to the world around us

•Imagination, fantasy, and wonder

Photo: Plays for Young Audiences

9


10

ABOUTTHEPLAY:

VISUALDESIGN

How would your students use scenery and props to create a British beach town? What do they know or imagine about England? The beach? Have them draw color “renderings” of their scenery and present it to the class. For an added challenge, ask how they’d change between interior and exterior settings. Now, how would they design costumes for a young boy, mom, and grandma?

ACTIVITY NYS STANDARDS: ARTS, ELA, SOCIAL STUDIES

SCENICDESIGNTo take The Song from the Sea from page to stage, designer Katrin Naumann has the challenge of designing both scenery and costumes. Her task: to bring a small beach town in England into your school! Also, the playwright sets his play inside and outside Josh’s house. One stage direction even says, “The sea flowed in through the window, and the walls floated away.” As if that weren’t enough, all of our scenery, costumes, props, sound equipment, and actors must quickly come apart and fit into our touring van!

Our scenery consists of three rolling panels that represent interior walls on one side, and when turned around imply the seaside. This is a modern twist on an old theatrical trick. The ancient Greeks often painted scenery on large tri-angles called periaktoi (pair-ee-ak-toy). Each of its three sides represented a different location.

Props (or, properties) are scenic elements that are handled or used by the actors: furniture, umbrellas, remote con-trols, etc. To complete the scenic transformation between home and sea, many of these household props will become sea creatures later in the play!

COSTUMEDESIGNKatrin Naumann’s second responsibility comes with a whole new set of challenges: to create distinctly British clothing that American children can relate to, and to make three college-aged actors appear to be a young child, a middle-aged woman, and a senior citizen!

Pictured at right are the initial costume renderings for The Song from the Sea (note that specific details may change throughout the process). We’ll be working with a bold pal-ette of saturated primary colors and a strong emphasis on line and shape (see p. 7).

PUPPETDESIGNTo create the magical underwater sequences of The Song from the Sea, we’ll once again be working with artist Gabriel Q, who designed beautiful masks and an elaborate crane puppet for last year’s A Thousand Cranes (pictured left, photo by Michael Davis).

We’re keeping the specifics of this year’s design a secret for now, but you can see other samples of Gabriel’s work at www.gabrielq.com or www.fantasytechnicians.com

11


KEYISSUE:LISTENING

LISTENINGis essential to communication, and is perhaps the most basic courtesy we can show to others. We hear thousands of things daily: car horns, ringing phones, crying babies — but how much do we actually listen? Hearing is a physical attribute, but listening is a skill that can (and must) be developed, especially at a young age.

In The Song from the Sea, Josh’s sister and mother do not listen to him. The sounds of headphones and vacuum cleaners drown out his voice. Even his grandmother, who does listen to Josh, is unable to hear the song of the sea. She says, “You have young ears. Maybe my ears are too old and too tired.”

The most basic purpose of listening is to receive information: facts, opinions, perspectives, instructions, etc. Once information is received, it can be processed and relayed to others who, in turn, listen. In this sense, listening is the first and most crucial step in the act of communication.

Ask your students, “Do you ever feel that you’re not being listened to? How does it make you feel? Do you ever notice yourself not listening when someone is speaking to you? Why is it important to listen to others? How can we become better listeners?”

INQUIRY NYS STANDARDS: ELA

Divide the class into pairs, each consisting of “student A” and “student B.” Ask all the A’s to think of a brief story: something they did or something that happened to them. A then tells the story to B, who must listen without interrupting. B will then relay the same story back to A, who must not interrupt but may afterward determine how much information was correctly retained. Reverse the roles and repeat.

ADVANCED VARIATIONS:- This activity may be done in groups of three, where A tells the original story, and both B & C must work together to re-tell it. Thus B & C must also listen to each other, and should be instructed not to interrupt or talk over one another.- This activity may also be done by instructing B to create details to add into A’s original story. For instance, A might say, “I rode the bus to school...” which B might re-create as, “I rode the yellow school bus down Main Street to the big brick school...”


Divide the class into groups of 3: A, B, and C. Student A has an exciting piece of news to share with B & C (you may choose to give the news to A, or have him/her invent it). Unbeknown to A, B & C have been instructed to ignore A: changing the subject, talking over him/her, etc. A should try to find new ways around this obstacle, and B & C should continue to thwart A’s efforts. Switch roles until everyone has been ignored. Later, recap with the students, asking how it felt to be ignored and to ignore.


12

plays a vital role in a child’s development, attitude, and perspective. Within a family structure, a child learns the most basic social skills: communication, kindness, love, support, and more. Yet within families, challenges inevitably arise. Conflicts must be resolved, differences of opinion must be met with compromise, time must be thoughtfully shared, perspectives and responsibilities must be understood.

KEYISSUE:

FAMILY


FAMILY

When speaking to your students about family, remember that each family is unique. Some children may be raised by a single parent, or a grandparent, aunt, or uncle. Perhaps a child lives in foster care, or with a non-blood relative, or a family friend. People outside the home may be considered family: mentors, teachers, close friends, or even pets! When students encounter family structures that are different from their own, they should be encouraged to respect and appreciate those differences.

1. Ask students: “What is a family? What are the basic ingredients (ex. love & caring)?” Share that some families may have: two parents, one parent, grandparent, foster parents, etc, but that none is better than another.

2. Ask the students to draw their own family tree. It can be quite simple, with each family member represented by a leaf. On that leaf, they may draw a picture of that family member, and list his ot her traits (ex. funny, athletic, artistic).

3. You may want to display each family tree on a wall, creating a “family forest” for your class.

ACTIVITY: FAMILY FOREST NYS STANDARDS: ARTS, ELA, SOC STUD

1. After watching The Song from the Sea, ask your students about the communication issues within Josh’s family. “Did Josh’s mother listen to him at the beginning? Did his sister? How did it make Josh feel? How did he react?”

2. Ask the students how they would feel in Josh’s situation. Do they ever feel ignored within their family? How are these issues resolved in their home?

3. Explain that when these types of problems happen, it is best for the people who are upset to communicate with each other. Explain that communication means listening, sharing, and looking for a solution/compromise.

INQUIRY: FAMILY FRICTION NYS STANDARDS: ELA, SOC STUD

These activities were adapted from PBS Teacher Resources. To view more, visit: www.pbs.org/teachers

1. In The Song from the Sea, Josh shares a wonderful experience with his grandmother. Ask your students about elders in their families. What fun times have they shared with them? If their elders have passed away, do they have memories of those people? Have they heard stories from other family members about those elders?

2. Discuss the different “treasures” you can find by talking to your elders: family history, world history, photographs, stories, etc. Brainstorm different questions they can ask their elders to “dig” for these “treasures” about their childhood, schooling, interests, jobs, etc.

3. Each student chooses an elder (or other family member) to interview. The students ask to borrow photos or other mementos, which are put inside their “Family Treasure Chest,” (a shoebox, perhaps, that the students can decorate however they like).

ACTIVITY: FAMILY TREASURES NYS STANDARDS: ARTS, ELA, SOC STUD


CONTEXT:DOLPHINS

13

DOLPHINSARE...

FRIENDLY

“To the dolphin alone, beyond all other, nature has granted what the best philosophers seek: friendship for no advantage.” - Plutarch, ancient Greek essayist

This is the true story of Nari and Echo. At the Tangalooma Island Resort in Australia, a pod (group) of wild dolphins arrives each night to greet the resort’s guests. They are so familiar to the resort staff that each dolphin has a name, and can be recognized by his/her markings and personality. One night in February, 2009, two dolphins were missing: Nari and Echo. When they finally arrived, Nari was badly injured from a shark attack. Echo had helped his friend swim the whole way for help. Veterinary experts took Nari in, stitched his life-threatening wounds, and nursed him back to strength. The whole time, Echo stayed close to the shore, singing and calling for Nari using a unique language. When Nari was released into the sea, the two friends swam off together, singing all the way.

For centuries, fisherman have claimed that wild dolphins swim alongside their boats, sometimes helping by chasing fish right into their nets. Dolphins have even been known to save drowning humans, which might be how mermaid legends began. The more we study dolphins, the more we learn that dolphins are incredibly social animals. They never swim alone, and if they are kept by themselves for too long, they usually fall very ill. Dolphins need friendship just like humans do.And dolphins aren’t just friendly — they’re funny, too! Between performances at Sea World, dolphins love to play pranks on the staff like hiding equipment underwater or splashing people as they walk by.

Remember how Echo sang to Nari while they were apart? Dolphins speak and sing to each other in a complex language of squeaks, clicks, and growls. When swimming with their pod, they use this language to stay together and avoid obstacles like underwater rocks. If their sounds bounce off an object, they know they will need to swim around it. This is called echolocation. Scientists use underwater microphones to record and examine dolphin songs, in hopes that we might someday understand their unique language. One fun fact they’ve learned is that all dolphins speak the same language — even dolphins from opposite sides of the world!

But can humans and dolphins understand each other? In a way, yes! In fact, the dolphins might be smarter — they seem to understand us better than we understand them. Many dolphins can respond to verbal commands (spoken instructions), and some can even mimic human speech patterns! Someday, dolphins and humans may really be able to sing the same song!

Sources:The Brisbane Times [www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news]

Macquarie University of Sydney, Australia [http://clas.mq.edu.au]National Center for Voice & Speech [www.ncvs.org]

TALKATIVE


CONTEXT:FROMTHE

SEAUNDERTHESEA,

This is essentially a creation myth. For as long as there have been people, there have been stories that speculate how the world began, or how people came to inhabit it. Curiously, societies separated by thousands of years and thousands of miles often share remarkably similar creation myths. One common theme is the importance of animals in these tales.

Using some of the website listed in the “Additional Resources” section of this Study Guide, what can your students find about the following creation myths? How are they similar or different from the story told to Josh? Perhaps they can present or act out their myth for the class.

1. The Mandika people of southern Mali, in Africa 2. Cherokee Native Americans 3. Haida Native Americans 4. Iroquois Native Americans 5. The Korean tale of Hwang-ung, the Tiger, and the Bear 6. Any others you/they can find!

ACTIVITY NYS STANDARDS: ELA, SOC STUD

a long, long time ago (according to a tale told to Josh in The Song from the Sea), a curious dolphin stepped out of the water onto dry land, lost his way, and became the first human. If we listen closely enough, Josh is told, we can hear the dolphins singing for us to return.

The notion that all life began in the sea can also be found in the modern theory of evolution. The oldest fossils on earth date back to 1.8 billion years ago and are believed to be the remains of algea that floated near the surface of water.

Many scientists belive that about 480 million years ago, algea that washed to shore became the first multi-cellular living organisms to adapt to life on dry land. Plants thrived there because there was nothing yet to eat them.

As with plants, scientists speculate that animals, too, made the transition from sea to land. The first land animals were likely amphibians who could leave the water to escape predators, then return when the threat had passed. This would have been about 375 million years ago.

But the theory of evolution is not in complete agreement with the story told to Josh in The Song from the Sea. Instead, evolution suggests that sea mammals like dolphins and whales evolved from animals that made the reverse trip: from land to sea. Just as plants and animals came ashore to escape predators and find new food sources, many scientists believe prehistoric sea mammals returned to the sea for those same reasons. They may have began their journey like alligators and crocodiles, who can live and hunt either on land or in water.

14

SOURCES

ADDITIONALRESOURCES

&


ADDITIONALRESOURCES

TEACHING LISTENING & COMMUNICATION SKILLS Little Ones Reading Resource www.littleonesreadingresource.com/teaching-children-listening-skills.html National Capital Language Resource Center www.nclrc.org/essentials/listening/stratlisten.htm One Stop English www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?catid=59653 Public Broadcasting Service - Teacher Resources www.pbs.org/teachers ProTeacher.com www.proteacher.com/070001.shtml

TEACHING THEATRE/ARTS ArtsWork.com http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/teachers/resources/theatre1.htm ChildDrama.com http://www.childdrama.com/lessons.html Educational Theatre Association http://www.edta.org/publications/teaching.aspx Kennedy Center http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3917/ Viola Spolin http://www.spolin.com/

BRITISH GEOGRAPHY & CULTURE British Life & Culture http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/ EveryCulture.com http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/England.html Geography of England http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112187/england_geography.htm InfoPlease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108078.html

15

Picasso at the Lapin AgileBy Steve Martin

WHEN: October 14 – November 1 RECOMMENDED FOR: Grades 8+

WHY: OK. OK. 1904. Paris. Einstein walks into a bar. No. No. Wait. Picasso walks into a bar. No. Hold on. Picasso and Einstein walk into a bar. Yeah! Then what? Then Charles Dabernow Schmendiman walks in, too. Who? Exactly. Then what? Laughter, comedy, absurdity and some delightfully zany musings on the nature of art, science and the twentieth century, as only Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin) could render them. Plus a royal visit.

Little WomenMusic by Kim OlerLyrics by Alison HubbardBook by Sean HartleyBased on the novel by Louisa May Alcott

WHEN: November 24 – December 27 RECOMMENDED FOR: Grades 3+

WHY: What we cherish most—family, sacrifice, determination, hope and love—never goes out of style. All of Louisa May Alcott’s classic characters are here: warm and loving Marmee, vivacious Amy, sweet and dreamy Meg, tender-hearted Beth, handsome and charming Laurie, Aunt March, Professor Bhaer and of course the passionate and funny Jo. Brimming with 20 beautiful songs, this new musical captures all the struggle, romance and deep emotions of Alcott’s beloved tale. Celebrate your holidays with the March family.

This Wonderful LifeA one-man stage adaptation of It’s a Wonderful LifeWritten by Steve MurrayConceived by Mark Setlock

WHEN: December 10 – January 3 RECOMMENDED FOR: Grades 5+

WHY: Because every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings. Visit Bedford Falls this holiday season for a charming stage telling of Frank Capra’s Hollywood classic. One brave actor plays 32 characters including George Bailey, Clarence, Mr. Potter, Mary, Martini and Zuzu to bring everyone’s favorite family holiday charmer to wonderful life. Hee-haw.

The PriceBy Arthur Miller

WHEN: January 27 – February 14 RECOMMENDED FOR: Grades 9+

WHY: It’s flat out great drama the way only a modern master like Arthur Miller can write it. From the author of American classics such as All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible, Miller’s The Price is taut, truthful and deeply engaging, and belongs with the best of his plays. In an overstuffed attic apartment, two long-estranged brothers, one a cop, the other a doctor, agree to meet to sell off what remains of their deceased father’s furniture and find themselves in an emotional renegotiation of the past. Regrets, resentments and recriminations expose the high price each has paid for lost opportunities and lessons learned. A drama of redemptive power.

Lookingglass AliceBy David CatlinBased on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glassby Lewis Carroll

WHEN: February 24 – March 14 RECOMMENDED FOR: Grades 1+

WHY: In your wildest imaginings, you’ve never imagined Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass like this! Staged with endless wit, astonishing physicality, breathtaking aerial acrobatics and theatrical daring, Alice, The Mad Hatter, Humpty Dumpty, the Cheshire Cat, Tweedledee and Tweedledum and all of Lewis Carroll’s enchanting characters come to dizzying-ly, playful, gravity-defying life in a circus-like spectacle sure to amaze kids and adults alike.

Almost, MaineBy John Cariani

WHEN: March 24 – April 11 RECOMMENDED FOR: Grades 9+

WHY: Because it’s all about love, and like love, it is never what you expect. Meet the people of Almost, Maine, a tiny town so far north Vermont is considered the South. One winter night with the aurora borealis creating celestial enchantment, eight couples fall under the spell of that funny little unpredictable thing called love. By turns touching, comic, warm, gentle and altogether surprising, Almost, Maine is a funny Valentine of a play that will make you smile with your heart.

August Wilson’s Fences WHEN: May 5 – 23 RECOMMENDED FOR: Grades 8+

WHY: Because a true classic always speaks to us anew. Pittsburgh, 1957. Troy Maxon, ex-ballplayer, complicated African American family man and garbage collector, has lived a life of diminished hopes and abandoned dreams. Now Troy’s talented son, Cory, has hopes and dreams of his own. Will Troy allow his bitterness about the past to poison his son’s promising future? With a view toward a better future, August Wilson’s Fences first posed this dramatic and necessary question 25 years ago . . . and it hits us as hard today.

Laur

en H

irte

in Lo

okin

ggla

ss A

lice

, Pho

to: T

. Cha

rles E

ricks

on

09/10 S E A S O NT i m o t h y B o n d , P r o d u c i n g A r t i s t i c D i r e c t o r

song from the sea

Documents