What will you discover?

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1 Season Play Guide Our Mission to Schools, Teachers and Students The mission of Lexington Children s Theatre s Education Department is to provide students of all ages with the means to actively explore the beauty, diversity, complexity and challenges of the world around them through the dramatic process. We strive for young people to develop their own creative voice, their imagination and their understanding of drama and its role in society. On Tour Spring 2016 On our Stage: January 26-29, 10:00am & 11:45am Program Review Information Not only does our programming align with KCC Standards, but this Play Guide as a whole is aligned with the KY Arts and Humanities Program Review under the following demonstrators: Demonstrator 2: a,c,d Demonstrator 3: a,b,d Demonstrator 4: d This play guide is sponsored by What will you discover? Dear Educator, 418 West Short Street Lexington, KY FAX Lexington Children s Theatre is proud to be producing our 77th season of plays for young people and their families. As an organization that values the arts and education, we have created this Play Guide for teachers to utilize in conjunction with seeing a play at LCT. Our Play Guides are designed to be a valuable tool in two ways: helping you prepare your students for the enriching performance given by LCT s performers, as well as serving as an educational tool for extending the production experience back into your classroom. We designed each activity to assist in achieving the Kentucky Core Content (KCC) and to integrate the arts with your core curricular subjects. Teachers are important voices at LCT. We rely heavily on your input. If you have comments or suggestions about our Play Guides, show selections or any of our programming, your thoughts are greatly appreciated. Please respond to the Teacher Response form following a performance. We are thrilled that you rely on LCT to provide your students a quality theatrical experience, and we hope this resource aids you in extending our production into your classroom. LCT s Education Department

2 Play Synopsis Puss is a good for nothing cat or so she is told. When it comes time for three brothers to divide their father s estate, the eldest, Jacques gets the mill, Marc gets the donkey and Henry, the youngest, is left the worthless cat. Puss sets out to prove herself to Henry and the rest of the world. She promises Henry that all his wishes will be fulfilled, if he believes in her. Without other options, Henry enters a partnership with Puss. Puss first request: boots. The Cobbler gives them the boots and clothes when Puss and Henry promise to retrieve what the Cobbler is owed from the magical, tyrannical Ogre who makes all the people pay him patronage. Puss knows he must win the King s favor to succeed. Puss catches a rabbit, the King s favorite delicacy, and uses it to gain an audience with the King. Puss invites the King to his master s (the Marquis of Calabas a.k.a. Henry) estate. The King delightfully accepts. When Puss tells Henry of his success, Henry is horrified! He doesn t have an estate! He is not a Marquis! What has Puss got them into? Puss tells Henry to trust him and go jump in the pond as the King s carriage is headed their way. Henry eventually agrees. The King happens upon Puss who is shouting that they ve been robbed of the Marquis clothes. The King provides clothing and requests that the Marquis joins them on the journey to his estate. Puss runs ahead to get things ready and figure out her plan. Puss must claim the Ogre s villa for the Marquis. On the way, Puss convinces the farmers and the peasants to tell the King that all the land he sees belongs to the Marquis. When Puss arrives, the Ogre decides to eat Puss, but not before Puss tricks him into transforming into a bear and an elephant. Just as Puss is about to be eaten, she challenges the Ogre to transform into something small. The Ogre s pride gets the best of him, and when he transforms into a mouse, Puss eats him! All is solved! The King arrives with Henry and the Princess and agrees to allow them to marry. Puss has proven herself to be a cunning cat and loyal friend. Your Role in the Play You may wish to have a discussion with your class about your upcoming LCT experience and their role as audience members. Remind your students that theatre can only exist with an audience. Your students energy and response directly affects the actors onstage. The quality of the performance depends as much on the audience as it does on each of the theatre professionals behind the scenes and onstage. Young audiences should know that watching live theatre is not like watching more familiar forms of entertainment; they cannot pause or rewind us like a DVD, there are no commercials for bathroom breaks, nor can they turn up the volume to hear us if someone else is talking. Your students are encouraged to listen and watch the play intently, so that they may laugh and cheer for their favorite characters when it is appropriate. At the end of the play, applause is an opportunity for your students to thank the actors, while the actors are thanking you for the role they played as an audience.

3 Before the Play ANIMAL ACTION! Puss is a cat played by a human with human qualities. Ask students to brainstorm a list of words that describe themselves: What are their talents? What makes them special? What do they like about themselves? Next, ask students to imagine themselves as an animal that could also fit their list of words. For example: Dog: Loyal, playful, loves food. Fish: Good swimmer, shimmery personality. Once students have identified their animal have them move around an open space as that animal. As you read the following text aloud, students will act out what you re saying with their bodies. You can also come up with your own narrative ideas for your students to explore! When I count to five you will become your animal. One, two, three, four, five! Now image your animal waking up from a long winters nap. They stretch their, paws or fins or claws up. They stretch them down. And suddenly you realize you are very hungry. You see food that you want! How does your animal get the food? Does it sneak up on it? Does is sniff it first? As I slowly count to five you are going to eat the food and be done on five. 1,2,3,4,5! Now you want to play! You look around the room. Are there other animals you want to play with? Are there animals you are scared of? Show me how you play! RHYME AWAY THE TIME Puss uses a rhyming song to tell the audience about parts of the play. Have students work in pairs to make up their own rhyme using a rhyming pattern. Here are some examples: AAA There once was a cat Who was very fat And loved to sleep on a mat. ABAB Roses are red Violets are blue It s all in my head But I love you! Rhyme Time Come up with lists of rhyming words with your students (cat, hat, fat, bat, mat, splat ) Finally have students write a short rhyme (1-2 stanzas) about their day so far KCC: WR-E-1.3, AH-E , AH-E RE-THINK, RE-IMAGINE, RE-DISCOVER! Many of your students may be familiar with the 2011 Antonio Benderas movie Puss in Boots. Talk with your students about different versions of stories, and how the play they are going to see is a different version than the movie. (For more information: see the article in this play guide.) Next, have students choose a favorite fairy tale character. Challenge them to put that character in a new adventure by drawing a three panel comic strip with a beginning, middle and end. KCC: WR-EP 1.1.2, WR-EP 2.32

4 Your Confident Clothing COPY PAGE Puss is not just a cat. She is a smart, clever, and trustworthy cat! She s feels great in her fancy boots, vest and hat. What clothes make you feel great? Color in yourself wearing the outfit, costume, whatever that makes you feel confident and great about who you are!

5 Tracing the Tail: Puss in Boots Today when people think of Puss in Boots, many picture the spunky cat assassin from DreamWorks Shrek 2. Although there are definitely some similarities between this Puss and the original fairytale, the storylines are completely different. In fact, Puss in Boots has been around for centuries before this movie. Puss, otherwise known as Master Cat or sometimes even The Booted Cat, was first created by Italian author Giovanni Francesco Straparola in the mid 1500 s. But Puss popularity came more than a hundred years later when in 1697 he was featured in Charles Perrault s collection, Histoires ou contes du temps passé ( Stories or Fairy Tales from Past Times with Morals ). Other popular titles found in this collection include: Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper, and The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood. In The Master Cat, or, Puss in Boots, Puss used his intelligence and skills in trickery to help his poor master gain fame and fortune. Puss in Boots is widely known as a cunning, quick-thinking cat. But the character hasn t always been portrayed this way. For instance, in Straparola s piece Facetious Nights from 1553, Puss (who is actually a fairy disguised as a cat) takes pity on his master and offers to help him. Puss proceeds to assist his master by sucking up to the King of Bohemia in order to get closer to the royal family. After accomplishing this and acquainting his master with the King s daughter (similarly to the story in the play) Puss does not really help acquire a house for his master, but comes across it by happy coincidence. The King of Bohemia dies, leaving the castle open to Puss s master and his new wife. This differs from the play and Perrault s stories significantly. In these versions, Puss is able to acquire a house for her/his master by using his cleverness to take advantage of others. Puss truly became the mischievous character that he is today through the influence of the Somadeva, a collection of Indian folk tales from the 11th century that contained many different types of stock characters, specifically the helpful animals. Inspired by these stories that highlighted different types of animals using trickery and riddles, Perrault was able to reinvent Puss s character from being a character that relies more on luck to assist his master, to an able-bodied cat who manipulates others using clever wordplay, just like she is in this play! In addition to the stage and screen, Puss in Boots also appears in the third act of Tchaikovsky s The Sleeping Beauty ballet as The White Cat. He has even made his way into an episode of Pokémon (though very loosely based on any of the actual Puss in Boots storyline) where a Meowth who wears boots saves the main character and his team of friends. Although there are are many different adaptations of this fairytale (even more than listed above!) the play is a wonderful culmination of pieces from each, with a few new elements added to keep it both modern and entertaining!

6 Extend the Experience A LESSON IN LYRICS Throughout the play, Puss sings her favorite song and adapts it to fit the situations around her. In this activity, students will take the song continuously sung by Puss and change the verse to fit situations in their classroom or surroundings, just like Puss does! The verse follows an ABAB rhyming pattern. Just like a haiku, each line should have a certain number of syllables: Students can work in groups or you can create the song together as a Verse: class! Chorus: Ah-dee-doo-ah-dee-doo-dah-day Ah-dee-doo-ah-dee-da-aaay She whistled and sang til the green woods rang (10) for she longed for a fine home to stay (9) A boy was left his father s yellow cat. (10) He left his town to discover. (8) He brought the cat a silken hat (8) For he had dreams of a lover. (8) KCC: WR-EP-2.3.2; WR-EP FAIRY TALE WITH A TWIST Many different versions of Puss in Boots exist throughout time; in this activity, students will work together to re-imagine the story again, but with one important twist! Before having the students break into groups of 5-6, talk through the important plot points that mark the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Then, have students draw a surprise twist out of a bucket/bowl. STORY SEQUENCING To reflect on the story we saw onstage, discuss the beginning, middle, and end plot points in Puss in Boots. Have students break up into groups and assign them either beginning, middle, or end. Each group will then work together to create a frozen image of an important moment from their section of the play. After giving them approximately five minutes to create, have the groups share their frozen images to the class. Ask the student audience if they can tell which event the group portrayed and where that event falls on the story line. After each group has shared their scene, try putting them in sequential order and see if they tell the entire story! KCC: RD-EP-2.0.5; AH-EP Twists can include a different setting (in NYC or the moon), a different time (in the Prehistoric era or 100 years in the future), or a change in character (instead of a cat, Puss is a horse or pig). Students will then create a 1-2 minute scene telling their new version of Puss in Boots. Give students approximately 10 minutes to discuss and rehearse their scene, ensuring that everyone has at least one line. KCC: EP-2.0.2; RD-EP-3.0.4; AH-EP-1.3.3

7 Puss in Boots Mad Libs COPY PAGE Have your students give words to fill blanks in the story. Feel free to do this activity as a class or have your students partner up and take turns choosing words for each segment before reading out the story! MATTERS OF INHERITANCE: Three met to discuss their inheritance. I m the oldest, so I get the! Well, I m (family members) (expensive noun) The next oldest, so that means I get. What does that leave me with? said the youngest. (animal) That means you get the. The others laughed. Little did anyone know that it was actually a (small animal), named Puss. (verb-ing) (same small animal) GETTING CLOTHED: Puss and her friend were ready to set off to, but first, Puss needed some (place) (adjective) clothes. I m not just a cat, she said. I need to help me on my way! (verb-ing) (clothing item) Her friend got it for her, but it wasn t enough. These are, but I also need! (adjective) (clothing item) Oh! And a. Is that ALL? asked her friend. (clothing item) PUSS MEETS THE KING: Now that Puss had her, she was ready to move on with her plan. She knew that the King (clothing item) loved food, so she wanted to make him a meal. She hid in the, (adjective) (location) waiting for a to come along so she could catch and prepare it into a meal. (animal) (adjective) THE OGRE: Out in the kingdom lived a, ogre. The ogre oppressed the subjects and (adjective) (adjective) demanded they give him a portion of their. He had magic powers and could transform (noun) himself into animals. Clever Puss met him and asked him to prove it and turn into a. He (animal) did! Puss was. That is impressive, but what about a? The ogre transformed (describing emotion) (animal) himself again, and Puss pounced and gobbled him right up! KCC: RD-EP-1.0.2

8 Suggested Reading Puss in Boots by Charles Perault and Fred Marcellino The adventures of that rascal, Puss, and his master, the miller s son, are portrayed in a lavish series of illustrations that range from sumptuous grandeur to comedy both boisterous and sly. The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault: Ten Short Stories for Children by Charles Perault Discover more of Charles Perault s original fairy tales. Anansi and the Talking Melon by Eric Kimmel A clever spider tricks Elephant and some other animals into thinking the melon in which he is hiding can talk. Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa by Gerald McDermott Zomo the rabbit, a trickster from West Africa, wants wisdom. But he must accomplish three apparently impossible tasks before Sky God will give him what he wants. Is he clever enough to do as Sky God asks? LCT Teaches in your School! Let LCT s professional artists bring their extensive experience into your classroom. An LCT residency program is designed to offer young people the opportunity to learn in a dynamic, fun and challenging way. LCT tailors a residency to the needs of your students, curriculum and budget. We offer residencies that range from a single visit to a month-long intensive program. Performance Workshops - Two-week intensive unit culminating in a performance. LCT provides all scripts, costumes, props and scenery. Empathy in Action - This residency is a week-long residency with a focus on anti-bullying and tolerance. Playwriting - Students will work to develop their creative writing skills through an interactive writing program. Science and Art - Students can explore a variety of scientific concepts using drama. Experience the wonders of nature, animals, bugs, weather, plants, recycling, or the rainforest through the use of roleplay, movement and pantomime. Call x233 or x226 TODAY!