LEARNING RESOURCE PACK 1 → CHARLIE PILGRIM (OR A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO TIME TRAVEL) By Sam O’Sullivan
→ AUDIENCE ADVICE Charlie Pilgrim (or A Beginner’s Guide to Time Travel) contains:
• Strobe lighting • Theatrical haze and smoke effects • Loud noises Visit atyp.com.au/productions and check signs at the venue for updated advice.
→ CURRICULUM LINKS Suitability: Stages 3 & 4 English: Text type: Dramatic Play, Australian Literature Drama: Contemporary Australian Drama, Theatre for Young Audiences Mathematics: Time, Measurement, Prediction, Problem-Solving
Stage 3
Stage 4
English EN3-1A, EN3-3A, EN3-5B, EN3-6B, EN3-7C, EN3-8D Drama
DRAS3.4
Maths
MA3-2WM, MA3-13MG, MA3-19SP
English EN4-1A, EN4-2A, EN4-5C, EN4-7D Drama
4.3.1, 4.3.2
Maths
MA4-21SP
Learning across the curriculum: Personal and Social Capability, Critical and Creative Thinking, Difference and Diversity, Work and Enterprise
→ ACTIVITY: TAKING CHANCES Creative Writing, Narrative Structures, Prediction, Probability Have you ever taken a chance without knowing for sure what the future held? Looking back, did you make the right decision? Could you ever have predicted how things turned-out? In Charlie Pilgrim (or A Beginner’s Guide to Time Travel), our heroes are faced with tough decisions with very serious consequences. Each time they must weigh-up the pros and cons and decide which path to take because, if they make the wrong choice, the future could end-up looking very different… 1. Think about a time you had a tough choice make. How did you feel? Nervous? Confident? How certain were you that the path you were about to choose would lead somewhere better or worse? Using this memory and the feelings it invokes as inspiration, write a short fictional story about a character who takes a chance. Make sure your story has an Introduction, Complication and Resolution. BUILDING-BLOCKS OF A NARRATIVE
Introduction: Introduces the hero’s world and a big problem that the hero wants to fix.
Complication: An event that challenges the hero and makes it hard for them to fix the problem.
Resolution: The hero overcomes their greatest trial and, as a result, fixes the problem.
2. On a separate piece of paper, brainstorm the possible outcomes of the characters’ choice OTHER THAN the outcome you wrote about. How might they have acted differently, and how would they be different as a result? Would the world around them be different? Would their relationships change? 3. Discuss with a partner the results of your brainstorm and compare the different outcomes you thought-up. BRAINSTORMING
A brainstorm is a great way to explore your ideas
quickly. You can do it however you like, but here’s an example of a common format. b
a
Idea 1
CENTRAL IDEA
a
Idea 2
b
→ SCIENCE-FICTION OR SCIENCEFACT? Writer Sam O’Sullivan had to brush-up on his science knowledge when writing Charlie Pilgrim (or A Beginner’s Guide to Time Travel). A lot of the science in the play is based on reality, but there’s also a lot of weird and crazy stuff that’s based on theoretical science - that is, scientific ideas which are not yet proven.
Below we sort the science-fact from the sciencefiction to help you better understand the ideas in the play. ANTI-GRAVITY DRIVE In the play: The device that protects Charlie’s lab from the harmful gravitational effects caused by the particle accelerator. In reality: While it may sound familiar from TV and movies, there’s no such thing as an AntiGravity Drive (yet!). Antigravity is a hypothetical force that opposes gravity, but it has never been proven to exist. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) In the play: Charlie’s super-intelligent computer assistant, TERI, is a machine that’s capable of thinking for itself, just like a human. In reality: Computer scientists around the world are working hard to create Artificial General Intelligence, machines like TERI that can think, learn and solve problems like humans can, but we’re not quite there yet. You can find simpler forms of AI in your daily life, however. Just ask Siri… DARK MATTER In the play: A volatile substance, like a liquid, produced by the anti-gravity drive to generate an anti-gravitational force. In reality: Dark Matter is the name given by scientists to a hypothetical form of matter we can’t perceive or examine with current technology, but which is thought to make up approximately 85% of the matter in the universe!
MOBIUS KICK In the play: The explosion of energy that propels The Mobius back in time. In reality: Unfortunately time travel is still a theoretical concept - meaning nobody has figured out how to do it. It may or may not ever be made possible, but it has undoubtedly captured the imaginations of hundreds of writers and thinkers over the years. Developments in particle physics may soon change the way we understand and measure time, but we’re probably a long way from owning our own Mobius! PARTICLE ACCELERATOR In the play: The ‘engine’ of Charlie’s time machine, the Particle Accelerator generates the energy needed to slow time to the point that time travel becomes possible. In reality: A particle accelerator is a scientific apparatus that is used in a branch of science called particle physics. It propels particles at nearly light speed so that physicists can measure them to better understand how they behave under extreme circumstances. The largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, is 27kms in circumference! QUARK-GLUON PLASMA In the play: Quark-Gluon Plasma (AKA Quark Soup) is generated by the particle accelerator and acts like fuel for The Mobius. In reality: A state of matter (like liquids, gasses or solids), made of the particles quarks and gluons, which exists at extremely high temperatures or densities. It can be artificially created in a particle accelerator, but is so unstable it only lasts for a fraction of a second before decaying into separate particles again.
→ ACTIVITY: WRITE A REVIEW Critical Reflection, Appreciating Drama Reviews are an important part of theatre criticism and a useful way to process your thoughts about a performance you’ve just watched. The best reviews give the reader a s e n s e of w h at wa s i m p a ct f u l a b o u t a performance balanced by the reviewer’s unbiased reflection on the relative success of all the elements of the production. Make sure your review includes: • The details of the performance (where, when and by whom) • A short, spoiler-free, synopsis of the plot • A description of the overall style and tone of the piece Provide your objective analysis of: • The mood and atmosphere that was created by the performers, direction and design elements (light, sound costume etc.) Were they effective in your opinion? • The performances given by the actors. • The appropriateness of the design elements and style of direction to the themes and genre of the play. • Your recommendation (or not) and an overall rating.
REMEMBER: When giving your personal opinion,
always try to justify it with examples from the performance and weigh it against your personal tastes.
Write your own review of Charlie Pilgrim (or A Beginner’s Guide to Time Travel) and email it to education@atyp.com.au. We’ll publish the best ones on our website!
AUSTRALIAN THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE Suite 302 52-58 William St, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011 e: education@atyp.com.au | Ph: 02 9270 2400 | Facebook: Join the group ATYP For Teachers Visit atyp.com.au and atypondemand.com.au for more resources and to watch our past productions