Final dct sleeping beauty ed guide

Denver Children’s Theatre Educational Resource Packet

denver children’s theatre mizel arts and culture center | 350 s dahlia st, denver co 80246 | 303.316.6360 | maccjcc.org

About the Mizel Arts and Culture Center (MACC) The MACC is a multidisciplinary arts center whose mission is to illuminate the human experience through creative and cultural programs in the performing, visual, and literary arts for the Jewish community and the community at large.

Programs: The Denver Children’s Theatre In School Arts Integration Workshops, The Wolf Youth Theatre Academy Youth and Adult Art Academy The JAAMM Festival (Jewish Authors Artists Movies and Music) The Denver Jewish Film Festival To learn more visit: maccjcc.org/workshops Or email Education Director, Emily MacIntyre, emacintyre@jccdenver.org

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Colorado Academic Standards Before Your Visit Reminders for Teachers The Role of the Audience About the Play Synopsis Meet the Characters The Playwright: Charles Way A Note from the Director Context and Meaning Making Ancestral Names Spinning Tales The History of Sleeping Beauty The History of the Spinning Wheel Try This! Activities, Prompts and Projects Questions to Explore Practice Theatre Etiquette Be a Great Friend and Encourager Interpretive Dance Riddle Me This SLEEPING CIRCLE Worksheets 100 Years from Now My Imaginary Friend Sleeping Beauty Crossword Additional Resources for Teachers to Explore Theatrical Process and Vocabulary

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FROM THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION Thank you for bringing your students to Denver Children’s Theatre’s production of Sleeping Beauty. We believe that providing pre and post show resources enhances students’ enjoyment of the play and allows a deeper understanding of the play’s themes.

The materials in this guide were developed broadly to connect with the curriculum for students in grades K – 6. Please adapt and share these crosscurricular activities with fellow teachers, and feel free to reach out to us with feedback and questions.

Warm Regards,

Emily MacIntyre Director of Education, Mizel Arts and Culture Center emacintyre@jccdenver.org

COLORADO ACADEMIC STANDARDS Through attending the production and exploring this guide, students will have experienced learning opportunities that contribute to achieving the standards and academic expectations outlined below.

Themes and Concepts Coming of age, Friendship, non traditional heroes, Self-Confidence

4. relate and Connect to Transfer pG: Transfer the value of visual arts to lifelong learning and the human experience

21st Century skills perseverance, Creative and Critical Thinking, Collaboration

reading, Writing, and Communicating 1. oral expression and Listening pG: Use language appropriate for purpose and audience 3. Writing and Comprehension pG: Write with a clear focus, coherent organization, sufficient elaboration, and detail pG: Apply Standard english conventions to effectively communicate with written language 4. research and reasoning pG: Gather information from a variety of sources; analyze and evaluate the quality and relevance of the source; and use it to answer complex questions.

Standards and Prepared Graduate Expectations Addressed: drama and Theatre Arts 1. Create pG: employ drama and theatre skills, and articulate the aesthetics of a variety of characters and roles 3. Critically respond pG: Make informed, critical evaluations of theatrical per formance from an audience member and a participant point of view, and develop a framework for making informed theatrical choices Visual Arts 1. observe and Learn to Comprehend pG: Analyze, interpret, and make meaning of art and design critically using oral and written discourse 2. envision and Critique to reflect pG: recognize, articulate, and debate that the visual arts are a means for expression pG: recognize, demonstrate, and debate the place of art and design in history and culture

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Before Your Visit

About the Play

Reminders for Teachers

Synopsis

• Arrive at theatre 15-30 minutes prior to when the play is scheduled to begin.

• Teachers and adult chaperones should be seated interspersed within their group of students rather than only at the aisles or behind.

• We discourage infant children to accompany parent chaperones on the fieldtrip.

• If attending encore, lunches will be stored outside the theatre.

The Role of the Audience Theatre is different than TV, the Circus or Sports events!

The performers are live, and the performance is a unique ‘one-time’ only event that can never be exactly duplicated. Unlike entertainment on film, television or the computer, the energy of the audience can either enhance or detract from the quality of the performance. Actors give their best performances for the best audiences because they are fueled by the active connection between good listeners and good storytellers.

• We encourage laughing and clapping at appropriate places in the show.

• We remind our audience to turn off all digital devices. no text messaging during the show.

• As a courtesy to other theatergoers, we ask that teachers or guardians escort children who are crying, talking excessively, or otherwise behaving inappropriately into the lobby until they are ready to return to the theatre.

• no food or drink is allowed in theatre.

• The taking of any photographs (flash or non-flash) and the use of recording equipment are strictly prohibited.

Once upon a time, a bright witch, Branwen, finds a baby who needs new parents. She places the baby, Briar Rose, in the woods so that the King and Queen will find her. Instead her sister, Modron, a dark witch comes upon the baby first. Branwen succeeds in outspelling Modron, and the King and Queen find the child. At the christening after Branwen bestows a spell of blessing upon the child, an angry, uninvited Modron appears. She places a curse upon Briar Rose, that on her 16th birthday she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. Branwen weaves a spell to counteract the curse, promising that she will not die, but will fall into a sleep that only true love can awaken her from.

Branwen, assigns her servant Gryff, a half human/half dragon to watch over Briar Rose and be her friend. Gryff agrees on condition that Branwen will make him a real dragon. And so Briar Rose grows up, confined to the castle garden with Gryff as her only companion. Her parents, who cannot see Gryff, decide she needs a companion other than her “imaginary friend”. The make a deal with a neighboring kingdom for Prince Owain to come live with them. Owain’s royal father believes he needs the opportunity to discover himself. Owain struggles with self-confidence and so Briar Rose (along with a reluctant Gryff) sets out to find out what he is good at. As she challenges the timid Owain to sword fights, riddles and dancing, she discovers they have one wonderful thing in common: he is the only one who can also see Gryff. Finally Briar Rose 16th birthday arrives. She wanders into a high tower of the castle where she meets Modron. The Dark witch is posing as a seamstress making her party dress, and convinces Briar Rose to touch the spindle of a spinning wheel. The curse is fulfilled and Briar Rose falls into a deep sleep.

Branwen weaves a spell to put her mother and father into a sleep with her and sends Owain on a quest to save Briar Rose. Gryff, sad to have failed his young charge offers his help.

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The two adventures set off to find the Tylwyth Teg, fairy folk of the forest who will be able to see through Modron’s curse of thorns that has hidden the castle from human eyes. The fairies challenge Owain to a Dance Contest. If they win, he must stay with them forever; if Owain wins, they will show him the way to the castle. While they dance, the years speed up and rush by. By the time Owain wins the battle, 50 years have rolled by. The fairies send him to the Spider King, as he is the only entity more powerful than Modron. The Spider King will be able to point Owain to the castle. And so Owain and Gryff continue their journey to find The Spider King. Upon arrival, the Spider King traps Gryff and offers Owain an impossible choice. If he would like to find Briar Rose, he must sacrifice Gryff. Owain refuses to choose between two friends and instead challenges the Spider King to a riddle contest. At the end of the battle of wits, Owain has won and the Spider King reveals the way to the castle. But as he is released from the Spider King’s home, he begins to age rapidly as another 50 years have passed. Branwen appears in the nick of time and gives Owain a potion that revives his youth.

Owain goes on to the castle alone to find Briar Rose. But as he approaches, Modron appears and a great sword fight ensues. Owain defeats his foe and the spell holding the castle in a wall of thorns breaks. Owain finds Briar Rose asleep and when he cannot wake her, he kisses her and the spell breaks. Briar Rose and her parents awake and all is restored. Gryff is given the gift of being a full dragon. The King and Queen open the gates wide and Briar Rose is free to explore outside the castle walls. She takes Owain's hand, ready to start a new adventure.

Meet the Characters Branwen: The Bright Witch, patient sister to Modron Modron: The Dark Witch, jealous sister to Branwen Gryff: A Half-Human, Half Dragon: servant of Branwen, childhood companion to Briar Rose, adventurer and friend to Owain.

King Peredur: a king who longs for a child Queen Guinevere: a queen who longs for child Princess Briar Rose: the adopted daughter of King Peredur and Queen Guinevere. She is spunky and fearless.

Prince Owain: the prince who comes to the castle to be Briar Rose friend. He is timid and clumsy.

Tylwyth Teg: The fairy folk who may hold a key to finding Briar Rose, loves to dance The Spider King: The king of spiders who may know the way to Briar Rose, loves riddles and eating.

The Playwright: Charles Way “Young people need theatre and all it can offer, both as participants and as audiences, more than ever. In the theatre one can reshape the world for a time and examine it from different points of view in a safe and socially cohesive environment”. – Charles Way Charles Way began his theatre career as an actor in England. He worked for two consecutive Education/Traveling theatre troupes (Leeds Playhouse Theatre and Gwent Theatre). First as an actor, then as a devisor/collaborator, he began to write scripts for production. While he didn’t set out to write Theatre for Young Audience works, he was always drawn to the fable as a story-telling vehicle. His first published play was Dead Man’s Hat about the American West. In his mid-thirties, he began to write his plays for family audiences. Sleeping Beauty was the first this series followed by The Borrowers, Cinderella, The Golden Goose and Beauty and the Beast. In the 21st century, Charles Way began to be commissioned by American theatres to write theatre for young audiences. These include Merlin and the Cave of Dreams, Pirates-A Boy at Sea, and the Iron Ring. His current works in Europe include The Assistant’s Revenge, Missing and One Snowy Night.

Charles Way is a member of the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain, the Welsh Academy of Authors and ACLS (Author’s Licensing and Collection Society).

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A Note from the Director In considering any artistic offering for young audiences in 2018, there is much to consider. We live in a time of brazen political realities and those of us in the arts are very aware of our responsibility to offer our children something deeper and more relatable than a live action cartoon. Here at the Denver Children’s Theatre we pride ourselves on our ability to choose scripts that expand and enhance the messages of the original while creating a fun and engaging experience that will resonate with our contemporary audience. This is certainly true with this year’s selection.

This year our production is an empowering version of the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, as adapted by one of our favorite playwrights for young audiences, Charles Way. This interpretation delves deeply into the female center of the story - not just Sleeping Beauty herself, but the forces of good and evil as represented by two female “witches”. The 13 fairies of the original story (or 3 if you’ve seen the Disney film) have been condensed into two “witches”. Branwen, the somewhat wacky personification of the forces of light, works hard to insure that goodness prevails. She is a quirky witch and often shows the very human quality of having to work hard to get things right – with results that sometimes only complicate the situation. She is counterbalanced by her evil sister Modron, ever jealous of Branwen’s interferences, who will not rest until her darkness is visited upon everyone. And of course, Briar Rose (aka Sleeping Beauty) herself. This version features a sassy, strong and independent heroine. She is an outsider as she is “discovered” in the woods by the King and Queen (facilitated behind the scenes by the good witch Branwen). This means, of course, that she is adopted and not the natural child of her parents – though no less loved. This reinforces her longing for something beyond what she knows and gives us some context to believe she has something new and different to offer those around her. When we first see her as a young woman, she is upset at being kept close by her parents and desperately wants to see the world and make an impact.

The central love story of this iteration is delightfully non-traditional. When we first meet the Prince, he is not a stereotypical “knight in shining armor”. He is nerdy, self-conscious and completely devoid of personality. One of my favorite moments of this adaptation is a mock sword fight between Briar Rose and Prince Owain shortly after their initial meeting. This happens as the Princess works to identify what the Prince might be good at - and let’s just say the battle does not go well for the Prince! As they become closer friends, it will be Briar Rose who “teaches” the Prince how to realize his potential. Inspired by his future bride, he will grow into a real Prince before our eyes as the play proceeds. Unlike the original tale where the handsome Prince rescues the helpless Princess, in our version the

Prince would never have been capable of rescue without the inspiration and friendship of the Princess.

Our production focuses on the themes of good versus evil, realizing potential, non-traditional heroes and the power of friendship. We hope you enjoy our reimaging of this classic fairy tale!

Steve Wilson, Director

Context and Meaning Making Ancestral Names Briar Rose is the only name in the play that comes from the more well-known version of Sleeping Beauty. The playwright has given his characters new names that mean something to him. Way chooses many of the names as part of the play’s use of dramatic irony – the literary device wherein the audience knows more than the characters in the play. branwen: means love and beauty, Welsh origin Modron: means Great Mother, mother of a hero and is associated with the sorceress, Morgan le Fay from the King Author legend Gryff: probably short for griffon, a mythical creature symbolic of watchfulness and courage.

King peredur: possibly means hard spears in French, but is typically associated with a man who is pleasant, friendly and peaceful.

Queen Guinevere: means fair lady in Celtic princess briar rose: the name given to the princess in the brothers Grimm version; a briar is a woody and thorny mass of prickly stems – it symbolize enemies, false charges, false oaths, and dissatisfaction; a rose is a flower that blooms within a prickly shrub, and rose symbolizes beauty, purity, paradise and secret. prince owain: In the Celtic, the name means young warrior or lamb. In the Greek it means high-born. owain was a common name for royalty in early Welsh history.

Spider: the spider is often used a symbol of seeing the future and destiny.

Tylwyth Teg: The name from the Welsh roughly translates as “fair family.” These fairies are said to live in family structures not unlike our own.

They live in clan groups, ruled by the eldest female member of the family. They live on fairy islands which are connected to the mainland by deep tunnels. They protect their islands with fog and storms. They are harmless unless you attempt to invade their islands, in which case they will try to defend themselves. These fairies love to garden, and their islands are said to be a paradise of flowers and foliage. you contact them by building a circle on the beach and offering them food and water as a source of friendship.

Colorado Academic Standards Cross Curriculum opportunities: drama and Theatre Arts: Critically respond Social Studies: Civics, History

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Spinning Tales Fairy tales began as stories passed down verbally through the generations. As they were retold, they evolved as oral stories often do. Details went astray and new ones were added.

These tales were often told to the children by the women. Spinning wheels and their components often find their way into these stories, because many tales were “spun” while sitting at the spinning wheel. Finally in the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century they began to be written down, compiled by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, and Charles Perrault among others.

Perrault’s version of Sleeping Beauty was published in collection of stories called Stories or Tales of Times Past with Morals? This collection later came to be known as Tales of Mother Goose.

Mother Goose was likely not a real person but an archetype of the kinds of elderly ladies who told these tales, whether at the family spinning wheel or in spinning circles. Spinning Circles were held in communities to encourage mass production of thread and yarn. They were accompanied by large community meals, contests for the best producer, and of course hours and hours of storytelling. The stories were often gruesome, tales of great evil graphically portrayed and good did not always prevail. When good did triumph, it was often followed by a gruesome death for the villain. In addition to women story-tellers there is some illustrative evidence that men added their voices to the storytelling part of the event.

The women who were passing these stories from generation to generation came from different backgrounds and class distinctions. But one thing is clear from so many fairy tales that include spinning wheels, the spinning wheel was a symbol of the domestic arts. In some fairy tales, it is the hard-working peasant girl at the spinning wheel who got her hearts desires. In some stories, the wheel is an image of domestic drudgery and patriarchal slavery. One story endues the wheel and it’s components with magical powers while yet another equates the spinning wheel with causing terrible deformities. This wide range of associations may be connected directly with how the women telling the stories felt about this part of their domestic chores.

Fairy tales that have universal themes, morals, and lessons continue to live on in modern-day adaptations, because these stories are still imbedded in our culture. We have turned the oral tradition into our favorite versions of entertainment and will probably continue to spin these tales until the end of time.

Colorado Academic Standards Cross Curriculum opportunities: reading, Writing and Communicating: oral expression and Listening; Social Studies: Civics, History

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The History of Sleeping Beauty The tale of Sleeping Beauty’s first shows up in 1528 four volume romance entitled Penceforest. The same story also shows up in a 1674 edition of The Pentamerone written by Giambattista Basile. It is entitled The Sun, The Moon, and Talia. This version is horrifying tale of abuse, adultery and murder.

In Perrault’s version, he tones it down offering a kinder beginning. But he keeps the second half of the story, only changing a few characters. His second half of the story goes on to relate the happy marriage of the prince and princess, but includes an ogre Mother-In-Law who attempts to murder and eat Sleeping Beauty and her children for dinner.

In so many cases, we think of the Brothers Grimm versions of fairy tales as darker than other versions.

But in the case of Sleeping Beauty, Grimm’s version is much lighter and closer to our current Disney version, ending with a sweet kiss to wake the princess and a happy ever after ending.

Other versions of Sleeping Beauty include a famous ballet by Tchaikovsky, which named the princess, Aurora and added a richer backstory for the Prince.

True to the history of the fairy tale, Charles Way presents us with his version of Sleeping Beauty, complete with a spunky Briar Rose, a prince who learns confidence and courage and many brand-new wacky characters along the way.

Colorado Academic Standards Cross Curriculum opportunities: reading, Writing and Communicating: oral expression and Listening; Social Studies: Civics, History

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The History of the Spinning Wheel When man first began to produce cloth from wool/cotton, spinning was done without tools. The thread was drawn from a clump of fibers and twisted between the palm of the hand and thigh of the leg. The resulting thread or yarn was wound onto a short, straight stick. The hand spindle developed from the short straight stick.

Hand Spindle

Over time the stick was notched to hold the thread and weight was added to help the stick whirl faster, giving momentum to the stick as it whirled. The weight, known as a “whorl”, was made of clay, a round piece of wood, or a flat rock.

This became the hand spindle or drop spindle.

Sometime between 500 Great Wheel and 1000 A.D. the wheel was built around the spindle to keep it spinning allowing for higher yarn production. By the 13th century, they were seen in Europe as the standard piece of equipment for those making fiber into yarn. By the 17th century, the Spinning Wheel had arrived in most homes in America. The larger the wheel, the faster the spindle would turn. The size of the drive wheel grew to six feet and larger. This type of wheel became known as the “Great Wheel” or as the “Walking Wheel.”

Even later the foot peddle or “treadle” was added to the wheel. This allowed the spinner to sit instead of walking back and forth to wind the spun woolen fiber onto the spindle. With a treadle on the wheel one could also keep the wheel going without using ones hands. With ones hands freed one can spin more smoothly.

The Saxony Wheel

Until the mid-19th century, most households kept two wheels: a great wheel for the household woolens and a smaller treadle type for the linens.

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This was so one would not get the natural grease of the wool on the flax making it more difficult to spin. The wheel that shows up in most fairy tales is known as the Saxony Wheel.

Adapted from: FirstStage.org Enrichment Guide Parts of a Spinning Wheel

The Saxony wheel has evolved into several versions of the modern spinning wheel, while they vary in construction, the way they work is similar. In a modern wheel, the spindle holds the bobbin and whorl.

The spindle and the drive wheel are rotated by a drive band. The spindle whorl is either on the flyer or attached to the spindle. It has 2-3 different pulley sizes which controls the speed of the flyer. The flyer has a row of hooks on one or both sides of the U-shaped arms to guide the yarn onto the bobbin evenly. On double drive wheels, the bobbin is rotated by its own pulley. On single drive wheels the bobbin has a separate brake to control its speed.

The fiber is twisted as the flyer rotates and the spinner holds the yarn. One revolution of the flyer puts one twist into the yarn. The longer the yarn is held before letting it wind onto the bobbin, the more twist it will receive.

Taken directly from: joyofhandspinning.com Colorado Academic Standards Cross Curriculum opportunities: Visual Arts: envision and Critique to reflect Social Studies: History

Try This! Activities, Prompts and Projects Questions to Explore Pre Show Who is your best friend(s)? What do you like about being with them?

What is your favorite imagination game to play with your friends? Do you go on imaginary journeys, fight imaginary battles, and have imaginary picnics or tea?

What is your favorite fairy tale and why?

Older Students Writing Assignment: Ask your students to retell their favorite fairy tale in their own way. Ask them to change significant details such as names, locations, challenges to overcome, set it in modern times, make all the characters animals, etc.…

Post Show Briar Rose is almost adopted by Modron, the Dark Witch instead of the kind King and Queen. What would her life been like?

Why is Modron so unhappy that she wants to take revenge? Why does Branwen try so hard to undo her sister’s curse? How are the sisters opposites?

Briar Rose dreams of playing in the forest. Gryff dreams of being a full dragon. Owain dreams of saving Briar Rose? What is your dream?

Why does Gryff offer to accompany Owain on his quest? They don’t exactly start out as friends, why do they become fierce friends by the time they face The Spider King?

Why do you think the author added the character of Gryff to this fairy tale? What makes Gryff such a special part of the story?

Colorado Academic Standards Cross Curriculum opportunities: drama and Theatre Arts: Critically respond

Practice Theatre Etiquette Ask students to show you with their body and face, a frozen image of what they look like when they: watch TV, cheer for a sporting team, rock out at a concert, and attend a play.

Compare and contrast the actions of audience members attending each of the above events.

Share with students your expectations of their behavior when you attend the play (remember that laughing and applause are encouraged).

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Be a Great Friend and Encourager Owain feels “useless” at the beginning of the play, but by the end he becomes a courageous prince who can defeat Modron, the Dark Witch. His friendship with Briar Rose contributes to his self-confidence; she says “Everyone is good at something” and encourages him to find out what he is good at. Throughout his 100 year journey, his friend Gryff continues to remind of him that he can overcome every challenge he faces. How we treat others, can impact their lives.

Writing: Ask the students to make a list of 5 things they are good at or simply enjoy. Ask them to make a list of 5 positive things they can say to a friend/sibling to encourage them. Optional: Ask them to identify who they are speaking to AND encourage them to act on their answers.

Colorado Academic Standards Cross Curriculum opportunities: reading, Writing and Communicating: oral expression and Listening; Social Studies: Civics

Interpretive Dance The Tylwyth Teg challenge Owain to a dance contest. Owain uses what Briar Rose taught him to win the contest. This activity allows students to move freely within a space, giving and receiving movement from each other.

How to Play: 1. Leader should have a playlist of short musical excerpts prepared, each one being about 30 seconds in length. The music should be a wide variety of rhythms and styles. It is best if most of the music used is obscure or unfamiliar to the majority of the group.

2. Students should spread out all over the playing space allowing plenty of room for each student to move freely. Throughout the game, there will always be a dancing group and a frozen group.

3. The Group Leader will start the music and identify the dancing group students and instruct them to begin moving throughout the space around the frozen group. They can move however they feel by crawling, hopping, walking, spinning, or dancing as long as it goes to the beat.

4. The Group Leader will call out PASS. 5. The dancing students will each pass their movement to a student in the frozen group. The action of passing must be clear, include eye contact and not involve physical touch. After they have passed the movement on, they must take a frozen position. The new dancing group must first copy the previous dance movement, then morph it into their own interpretation.

6. The Group leader can also call out TAKE. The dancing group must freeze and the other group comes to life and chooses the movement of the student nearest them to imitate and then create a new movement.

7. Make the Game your own. The Group Leader can call out various combinations to encourage students to be more aware of their surroundings. “4 people are moving now and 2 of them must be on the floor.” Or “Everyone move”, “Freeze”, or “Only people that have pink on” etc. By changing the combination and numbers of students moving through the space makes us concentrate on the entire group and less upon individual work.

Colorado Academic Standards Cross Curriculum opportunities: drama and Theatre Arts: Create dance: reflect, Connect, respond Social Studies: Civics

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Riddle Me This Riddles are Oral Games that have been around for thousands of years. The following theatre exercise will familiarize your students with riddles. Then add the writing exercise to encourage your students to build their own riddles.

1. Begin by challenging your students to a Pictionary Style riddle game. (See Teacher Resource section for places to procure riddles.)

2. Two members of each team will be given a riddle (they are the Interpreters), while the rest of the members are the Guessers.

3. Interpreter 1 will read the riddle while Interpreter 2 “acts out” the answer to the riddle.

4. Switch Teams. Each round rotate Interpreters so that all students are given the opportunity to be the Interpreters.

5. Variation: Break up the students into smaller groups and give them a riddle. Each small group will display their answer in the form of a tableau. You may see groups with several different creative answers.

After the Game, encourage your students to create their own riddles using the following formula: 1. The Answer Comes First: Choose a common, recognizable object as your answer. Try to choose something easy to personify (the ascription of human-like qualities to non-human things) 2. Brainstorm: Make a list of all the things your common object does OR what it looks like. Include all the various uses or synonyms for your object. If your object is a Pencil, you may write things like wood, yellow, stick, pink hat (eraser), has to be sharpened, gets shorter over time.

3. Draft your riddle: Metaphors describe familiar things in unfamiliar ways. Think about the list of ideas you created in the last step. If your solution is “pencil,” think of words you could use to create a metaphorical description: “hand-stick” or “yellow sword” are fanciful, but still offer clues to the solution.

4. Use simple, strong words. Riddles were originally a form of oral literature, rather than written down, so think of how the riddle sounds when you say it. Try not to bog down your riddle with elaborate words or abstract concepts. For example, a simply worded riddle involving a pencil could be: "This thing is small but contains all things; the longer it goes, the shorter it gets.”

5. Personify your solution. Another way to make a catchy riddle is to write it as though your solution (the answer to the riddle) is speaking about itself. Start the riddle with “I” and a verb.

6. Think about how your riddle sounds. Because riddles are spoken, paying attention to how the language sounds will help you make a better riddle. Techniques such as alliteration and rhyme help make it easier to tell and listen to your riddle.

Taken directly from: www.wikihow.com/Make-up-a-riddle Colorado Academic Standards Cross Curriculum opportunities: reading, Writing and Communicating: oral expression and Listening; Writing and Comprehension drama & Theatre Arts: perform

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Sleeping Circle This theatre activity plays with the theme of a sleeping curse. Instead of dramatic death, students are asked to act out dramatically falling asleep.

1. For this activity students will sit in a large circle. It should be established that the game is played by blinking twice very quickly and discreetly. Explain the difference between subtle and obvious blinking, and give the students an opportunity to practice their subtle blinking before the game begins.

2. At the start of the game the students will be instructed to close their eyes. The Group Leader will then tap one student gently on the head. If you feel the tap, do not say or do anything, remain with your eyes closed.

3. Once this one student has been selected, the group can open their eyes. The chosen student now has the power to make everyone in the circle 'fall asleep.' They can do this by discreetly making eye contact with other students in the circle and blinking at them twice very quickly.

4. Explain that if you see someone blink twice at you, you must make a yawning sound, stretch your arms out and pretend to fall asleep.

5. After two people fall asleep, anyone who is still awake in the circle may raise his/her hand to guess the identity of the student who is blinking and causing people to fall asleep.

6. The goal is for the blinker is not to be caught - for everyone else, it is to identify the blinker.

Colorado Academic: drama and Theatre Arts: Create, Perform

Additional Resources for Teachers to Explore Tatar, Maria ed. The Hard Facts of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales. 1987, 2003. nJ: princeton University press. ISbn: 0.393.05163.3 Fairy Tales From Life – this exercise uses picture books to encourage students to write their own fairy tales. readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/fairy-tales-from-life-42.html www.icebreakerideas.com/riddles-for-kids www.kidspot.com.au/things-to-do/activity-articles/10-easy-riddles-for-kids/news-story/f9cbf65b95facd30d15f08dd554de900 www.funology.com/riddles

Other Plays by Charles Way: Spell of Cold Weather, The Flood, *Cinderella, *The Golden Goose, *The Snow Queen, Wanted!

Robin Hood, Missing-Verschwunden, The Assistant’s Revenge, *Indicates plays previously produced by denver Children’s Theatre

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Worksheets

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2018 denver Children’s Theatre | 303.316.6360 | maccjcc.org

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100 Years from Now Sleeping Beauty is asleep for 100 years. The magic of the Tylwyth Teg speeds up the passage of the years for Prince Owain. But what can happen in 100 years? In 1918, the car and telephone were new inventions, and modern communication devices like the internet, cellphones and computers didn’t even exist. Take your imagination 100 years in the future and write a short story about what life might be like. What amazing new inventions might we be using for transportation, communication, cooking, etc.…?

Date: ______________________ Dear_______________________________________________________,

_________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________

Warmly,

__________________________________________________________________________ (Signature/YourName)

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2018 denver Children’s Theatre | 303.316.6360 | maccjcc.org

My Imaginary Friend Briar Rose is lonely shut up in her castle garden. While Gryff was given to her by Branwen, the Bright Witch – her parents believe the part human/part dragon to be her imaginary friend. If you had an imaginary friend, what would they look like? Would they be an animal, a dragon, a human? Draw a picture below: Name: _______________________

2018 denver Children’s Theatre | 303.316.6360 | maccjcc.org

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Theatrical Process and Vocabulary As magical as theatre seems, it takes hard work and long hours by many creative people to bring it to life.

How does the play get from the page to the stage?

Theatrical Process: How is a theatrical production created?

Auditions: Many actors try out for parts.

Callbacks: readings from the script by a select few actors from the original audition.

Casting: The director picks actors for the roles. read Thru: The first reading of the play by the cast. rehearsals: The time frame the director uses to block and work the acting of they play. run-Thru: A run of the play without stopping. dry Tech: A technical rehearsal without actors.

Tech rehearsal (Wet Tech): Technical elements are added for the first time with actors. dress rehearsals: All technical elements are added to a run-thru. opening performance: The first official performance of the play.

Other General Theatre Terms Setting: The surroundings (place, scenery, time) in which the action of the play develops. blocking: The director’s arrangement of the actor's movements on stage with respect to each other and the stage space.

Curtain Call: The bows at the end of a performance.

House: The part of the theatre where the audience sits.

Improvisation (sometimes shortened to IMproV): A spontaneous scene or episode created by an actor or actors without a script.

Intermission: The break between the acts of a performance. places: The instruction to the actors and theatre personnel to get ready for the performance to begin.

Set Change: The movement of the setting between scenes or acts. Set changes can be done by the actors or the stage crew.

Theatre: The word “theatre” can denote either a) the theatre building or space, b) a theatre production or c) the entire discipline or genre of theatre. The discipline or genre of theatre generally includes all areas of work and study surrounding the creation and execution of scripted performance works by live actors for an audience. While spelling theater with a final “er” is acceptable, the “re” spelling is generally preferred among theatre professionals.

The Places and Things of the Theatre backstage: Usually the entire stage portion of the theatre building that is not accessible to the audience.

Apron: The part of the stage that extends toward the audience in front of the curtain line. dressing rooms: The rooms, often located near the stage where the actors put on their costumes and make-up before a performance.

Fly Space: The area of the theatre above the stage. Usually this is where scenery and backdrops are raised so the audience cannot see them.

Light board: The machine that operates all of the lighting equipment that illuminates the stage. Most light boards are small computers that are capable of recording hundreds of cues. off Stage: All parts of the actual stage floor that are not visible to the audience (usually the area behind the set).

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2018 denver Children’s Theatre | 303.316.6360 | maccjcc.org

on Stage: The part of the stage enclosed by the setting that is visible to the audience in any particular scene. props: (short for "properties") everything required during the action of a play, which does not count as furniture, costume, or scenery. prop Table: Tables placed offstage on which props are placed so actors can have easy access to them. proscenium Arch: The picture frame through which an audience watches the play in a proscenium stage theatre. proscenium Stage: A theatre with the audience on one side.

Sound board: The machine that operates all of the sound equipment that plays music, sound effects and amplifies the actor’s voices.

Wings: The offstage space at the right and left of the acting areas. Wings can also refer to the curtains that hang at the right and left of the stage to mask actors waiting for entrances from the audience.

The People of the Theatre director: The person responsible for the casting of actors, setting the rehearsal schedule, blocking, running rehearsals, taking notes and focusing the thematic and design concepts for the production of a single play.

Actor: one who performs a role or represents a character in a play. The term is used for both men and women. board operators: The person operating the lighting board that controls the lights, And the person operating the sound board that controls the sound effects and recorded music for a production. designers: The people who design and sometimes build the different elements of the production: the sets, costumes, lights, makeup, masks, sound, props and special effects.

Fight Choreographer: The person who designs, stages and teaches all of the stage combat for a production.

House Manager: The person responsible for making sure that the audience gets safely in and out of the theatre and over sees all of the ushers. patrons: The people who come to watch the performance. The audience.

Stage Manager: The person responsible for the organization of a production. This can include making cast lists and contact sheets, distributing schedules and other materials, writing down the director's blocking, letting the actors know how much time they have to get ready, checking with the House Manager before starting the show, and letting board operators know when to perform their tasks.

Technical director: The person who coordinates the activities of all of the technical personnel for a theatre. This can include the hiring and scheduling of designers and builders and the overseeing of general theatre maintenance.

Usher: The person responsible for taking tickets and sometimes showing patrons to their seats.

The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) resulted from the 1988 initiative in which Denver voters awarded a one-tenth of one percent sales tax for the direct funding of non-profit cultural organizations within the six metro counties. Over the last 20 years, hundreds of non-profit arts and science organizations have received funding from SCFD, supporting thousands of programs and events that have been enjoyed by millions of people. Quality programming like the production you are attending is made possible through the continued support of you, the taxpayers.

For more information, please visit the SCFD website at www.scfd.org.

It should be noted that as a Tier II organization of SCFD, the Mizel Arts and Culture Center (of which the Denver Children’s Theatre is a division) is able to participate in several education programs that allow underprivileged students increased opportunities to experience cultural activities.

The Denver Children’s Theatre participates in several of these programs. Under the Scientific and Cultural Collaborative, the SCFD provides assistance to schools in transportation and reduced priced tickets.

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denver children’s theatre mizel arts and culture center | 350 s dahlia st, denver co 80246 | 303.316.6360 | maccjcc.org