Going to a Show AT THE Milwaukee Youth Arts Center
In partnership with I am going to see a First Stage show at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. I am going to see the show with 2
Watching a play is like watching TV or a movie, except people are on stage in front of us. They are called actors. They can see and hear me too. I can t turn the channel or turn the volume up and down. 3
A play is made up of many interesting things. COSTUMES SCENERY SOUND LIGHTING 4
When we drive to the arts center, we will park in the parking lot or on the street. We may need to wait in line to pick up our tickets. When we are waiting, I can stay with my family or teachers. 5
Once we have our tickets, we will go down the long blue hallway into a large and colorful commons area. There are bathrooms in the commons area. If I need to, I can use the bathroom before we go to our seats. 6
Someone will show us where to sit. 1. I can sit on the floor if my parents or teachers say it s OK. 2. I can sit on the risers with my family or class. The audience area is for all of us. The stage is for the actors only. 7
When I am in the theater waiting for the show to start: 1. I can talk to my family or friends. 2. I can take a short break in the lobby. 8
There will be a lot of people in theater and it may get noisy. If it gets too loud: 1. I can bring headphones if I want. 2. I can put my hands over my ears. 3. I can leave the room and take a short break in the lobby. I can come back when I am ready. 9
During the show: 1. I can watch and listen to the actors quietly. 2. I can applaud if I like something. 3. I can hold things in my hand that make me feel comfortable. If I need to talk: 1. I can talk quietly to my family or teacher. 2. I can write down what I want to say. 3. I can leave the room. 10
After the show there will be a talkback. The talkback is a chance for me to ask questions. 1. I will raise my hand to show that I want to ask a question. 2. I will wait for the leader to call on me to ask my question. 3. I don t have to ask a question if I don t want. I can ask different kinds of questions: 1. I can ask questions about the show. 2. I can ask questions about the scenery, costumes, lights, or sound. 11
After the show is finished, I will leave the theater with my family or class. 12
Meet the characters in THE VERY HUNGRY CREATED BY JONATHAN ROCKEFELLER SHOW 13 TM BASED ON ERIC CARLE S BOOKS
These are the Narrators. They help to tell the stories in the play. 14
This is The Artist. The artist paints animals of all different sizes and colors. All of the animals in her paintings come to life! She is a good artist. 15
This is Mrs. Seahorse. Mrs. Seahorse is Mr. Seahorse s wife. She likes to wiggle and flip. She needs help laying her eggs. 16
This is Mr. Seahorse. Mr. Seahorse is Mrs. Seahorse s husband. He helps her by carrying her eggs in a pouch on his belly because he loves her. 17
This is Mr. Stickleback. Mr. Stickleback is taking care of eggs for his wife. Mr. Stickleback takes care of his eggs in a nest. 18
This is Mr. Tilapia. Mr. Tilapia is also taking care of eggs for his wife. He carries the eggs in his mouth so he is not able to talk. 19
This is Mr. Kurtus. Mr. Kurtus is also taking care of eggs for his wife. Mr. Kurtus carries his eggs on his head. He is very clumsy. 20
This is Mr. Pipe. Mr. Pipe is also taking care of eggs for his wife. She laid her eggs along his belly. 21
This is Mr. Bullhead. Mr. Bullhead is Mrs. Bullhead s husband. Their eggs have already hatched, so Mr. Bullhead is babysitting. He is very proper. 22
This is the Little Firefly. The little firefly is very lonely. He is trying very hard to find other firefly friends. 23
This is the Man. He is concerned about the sounds he is hearing. 24
This is the Girl. She is also concerned about the sounds she is hearing. 25
This is the Very Hungry Caterpillar. He is growing very quickly, so he is very hungry! He LOVES to eat. He turns into a beautiful butterfly. 26
This is the Stage Manager. She uses computers to make the sound and lights happen. 27
THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW is a play. The characters will speak to tell the story. There will be background music playing to help tell the story. 28
THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW uses puppets. You will see the puppets and actors at the same time. The actor s job is to provide the voice and movements of the puppet. 29
What happens in the play? THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW is an adaptation of 4 different books written by Eric Carle. Those books are called The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, Mister Seahorse, The Very Lonely Firefly and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Reading these books before attending the play will help you know what to expect! Moments that are surprising or loud are underlined and bolded. Our story begins with four books on the stage. These are the books written by Eric Carle! One by one, children come out and begin to read the books. STORY 1: THE ARTIST WHO PAINTED A BLUE HORSE The artist paints animals of all different sizes and colors. The artist uses a big easel, paint brush, and canvas to paint her pictures. She paints: a blue a blue horse! A red a red crocodile. The red crocodile comes to life! She likes to snap her jaws. A yellow a yellow cow. The yellow cow comes to life! He is very slow. A pink a pink rabbit. The pink rabbit comes to life! She moves quickly and hops very high. A green a green lion. The green lion comes to life! He has a big mane and claws and likes to peek his head out to see the artist. An orange an orange elephant. The orange elephant comes to life! He has a long trunk. A purple a purple fox. The purple fox comes to life! She is very sneaky and likes to jump high in the air. A black a black polar bear. The black polar bear comes to life! He walks very slow and likes to stretch. And finally, a polka-dotted donkey! The polka-dotted donkey is very silly. He tries to trick the artist with hide and seek! He also loves to dance. She is a good artist. STORY 2: MISTER SEAHORSE The ocean appears with bubbles! A narrator enters to tell us the story of Mister Seahorse. Mr. and Mrs. Seahorse drift gently through the sea when Mrs. Seahorse begins to wiggle and twist. She is pregnant and it is time for her to lay her eggs. Mr. Seahorse asks to help, so Mrs. Seahorse puts her eggs into a pouch on Mr. Seahorse s belly. Mr. Seahorse promises to take good care of the eggs. Mr. and Mrs. Seahorse love each other very much. Mrs. Seahorse leaves and Mr. Seahorse passes by a group of four trumpet fish hiding in the reeds. They swim quickly. Next, he meets a fish named Mr. Stickleback. Mr. Stickleback has just built a nest for his wife who is also pregnant. He is taking care of her eggs, just like Mr. Seahorse. Mr. Seahorse thinks Mr. Stickleback is doing a good job. Mr. Seahorse says goodbye to Mr. Stickleback and passes by a lion fish hiding in the coral reef. Next, Mr. Seahorse meets Mr. Tilapia. He is ALSO taking care of his wife s eggs! But Mr. Tilapia carries the eggs in his mouth so he cannot speak to Mr. Seahorse. Mr. Seahorse says goodbye to Mr. Tilapia and passes by a pair of leaf fish hiding in the seaweed. The leaf fish are very direct and sharp in their movements. Then he meets ANOTHER fish! This fish s name is Mr. Kurtus and he is carrying eggs on his head. He is very clumsy and has a hard time balancing the eggs. Mr. Seahorse lets him know he is doing a good job. Mr. Seahorse drifts by a stonefish hidden behind a rock. He is a big and grumpy fish. Then he meets Mr. Pipe. Mr. Pipe is a very long fish. Mrs. Pipe laid her eggs along his belly and he is taking care of them. Finally, Mr. 30
Seahorse meets Mr. Bullhead. Mrs. Bullhead laid her eggs, the eggs hatched, and now Mr. Bullhead is babysitting! His baby fish move very quickly. Then it was time for the seahorse babies to be born! Mr. Seahorse wiggled and twisted and the babies tumbled out of his pouch and swam away. One baby tried to get back in the pouch, but Mr. Seahorse let her know that even though he loves her, it was time for her to be on her own. Mr. Seahorse gave the baby kisses and the baby swam away. STORY 3: THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY. Fireflies flashing their lights appear. A narrator enters to tell us the story of The Very Lonely Firefly. As the sun set, a little firefly was born. But he was lonely, so he flashed his light to try to find other fireflies. The firefly saw a light, but it was just a lightbulb lighting up the sky. The Man was using the lightbulb to check on the crashing noises he was hearing. The firefly saw all sorts of lights, but none of them were fireflies. He saw the Girl holding a candle. She was curious about the dog and cat noises she was hearing. He also saw the Man holding a flashlight, and the Girl holding a lantern, but still no fireflies. He saw several other lights and flew towards them! But they were the eyes of a rowdy dog, cat, and owl. The firefly also saw car headlights, and fireworks sparkling, glittering, and shimmering in the night! But when all was quiet, the firefly went searching for other fireflies again. And he finally saw a group of fireflies flashing their lights! Now the firefly wasn t lonely anymore. He felt happy. STORY 4: THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR A narrator enters to tell us the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf until one Sunday morning when POP! The egg hatched and out came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar. He was a very curious caterpillar who liked to explore his surroundings. Rocks appear onstage. On Monday he ate through one apple. But he was still hungry. On Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry. On Wednesday he ate through three plums, but he was still hungry. On Thursday, he ate through four strawberries, but he was still hungry. On Friday, he ate through five oranges, but he was still hungry. On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon. The caterpillar felt so excited about all of the food that he ate, that he had a dance party! But that night, he had a stomachache. He did not feel very good. The next day was Sunday again. The caterpillar ate through one nice green leaf, and after that he felt much better. He felt so much better that he burped! Now he wasn t hungry anymore - and he wasn t a little caterpillar any more. He was a big, fat caterpillar. He built a small house, called a cocoon, around himself. He stayed inside for more than two weeks. Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out and he was a beautiful butterfly! Our story ends with the children returning the Eric Carle books we saw at the beginning of the play. They really liked those books. 31
The End. 32