Mouth Open, Story Jump Out

CUESHEET PERFORMANCE GUIDE

Mouth Open, Story Jump Out Presented by Battersea Arts Centre from England Conceived and created by Polarbear Co-Commissioned by Southbank Centre

Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

A Story About Telling Stories Storytelling is an awesome job. Our storyteller, Polarbear (who else but a storyteller would have such an extraordinary name?), thinks making up exciting tales is one of the coolest things you can do. And he can make up a story using pretty much anything. Got a dog with a funny name? He can create a story out of that. Got a brother who loves video games? Polarbear can make a story out of that, too.

But how did Polarbear get started? When was the first time he opened his mouth and a story came out? Was he always good at telling tales? Or were some stories too much for him to handle?

Journey with Polarbear as he takes you back to the day he started making up stories for fun, for fame, for friendship…and for his lost father.

About the Story The hero of this tale leads a pretty normal life. Nothing too boring, but nothing too out of the ordinary either. His big sister is a typical moody teen. His mom works as a nurse by day and sings along to the radio by night. And his dad?

His dad has a talent for playing games and spinning stories.

But one evening, all of that changes.

One night, while the house is asleep, Dad disappears without saying goodbye. No warning. No note. No explanation. Even worse: Nobody talks about it. When our hero tries to find out what happened, no one will give him any answers and, as the weeks pass, he sees little reminders of his dad around the house and gets more and more frustrated—until he can’t take it anymore.

And that’s where the story really gets going. Actually, it’s where two stories really get going, because today’s performance is really a story about telling a story.

When our hero arrives at school and realizes he forgot to do an important book report, he opens his mouth and makes up an excuse—a tall tale about international spies, secret codes, and much more—to fill the hole left when his father disappears. The tale sets off a “chain reaction” and the false story begins to spread. Will our hero be able to keep his make-believe tale under control or will his own personal life story take some unexpected twists and turns?

About the Characters Even though the performance has only one storyteller, you’ll meet several characters, including: A Young Boy Donna, his sister Mom Dad Friends, classmates and a teacher from the boy’s school

How to Tell a Story: The Do’s and Don’ts During the show, the boy learns a lot about the things you should and shouldn’t do if you want to be good at telling tales. Would you like to create your own stories for other people to enjoy? Here’s a list of “do’s” and “don’ts” to get you started: Do: n Use

your imagination—stories can be about anyone or anything!

n Ask

yourself questions like:

“Who?” (“Who is my story about?”)

“What?” (“What happens in my story?”)

“When?” (“When does my story take place?”)

(Hint: The more questions you ask yourself, and the more specific your answers are, the more believable and captivating your story will be.) n Say

things like you mean them.

n Always

look interested in what you’re talking about.

Don’t: n Make

up stories that might hurt or deceive someone in some way.

n Distract n Forget

your audience by fidgeting or giggling.

to have fun.

Inside Polarbear’s Classroom Some things to know and think about when you step into Polarbear’s world…

About the Storyteller…

As you’ve probably already guessed, our storyteller’s real name isn’t actually “Polarbear.” When he’s not on stage, he simply goes by Steven. Steven (his last name is Camden) is a writer, teacher, and performer from England. He’s been developing theater shows like this one for almost 10 years and he also leads workshops for kids and grownups who like sharing stories.

n the

storyteller’s accent (Polarbear comes from England, so some of the words he uses may sound a little different to your ears. There may also be some words you won’t recognize or that are used in an unusual way. For example, “football” which is our soccer, “jumper” which means sweater, and “Ribena,” a favorite juice drink in England.

n the

many little details Polarbear uses to describe his family, his friends, and his teachers.

n the

one piece of music that’s played at a key point in the performance.

n questions

Watch for… n specific

gestures or movements that Polarbear makes while telling his tale. Do these help you picture what’s happening in your head?

n Polarbear’s

“story wall.” Can you spot names and pictures of characters, famous people, or faraway places mentioned during the performance?

n the

“props” the storyteller uses, such as chairs, apples, markers, and pieces of paper.

n times

Listen for…

when you’ll have to participate in the story. Be ready to contribute your thoughts and ideas!

that are directed at you (the audience) versus questions that are just part of the story.

Think about… n The

boy’s story makes him very popular at school.

Have you done something to try and make yourself more popular? How did it make you feel?

n your

favorite types of stories. Are they about people that really lived and things that actually happened? Or are they completely fictional (made up)?

n the

“toothbrush” scene. There are many turning points (a moment in time that makes everything different than it was before) in the story. Can you think of a similar scene from your own life?

n other

ways to tell a story. There’s no wrong way to present a story to an audience. Can you name another storytelling method? (Hint: television, movies, theater, dance, and music.)

Explore More!

Go to KC Connections on ARTSEDGE artsedge.kennedy-center.org/students/ kc-connections Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided by The Clark Charitable Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

David M. Rubenstein Chairman Deborah F. Rutter President Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Funding for Access and Accommodation Programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. © 2017 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts