Richard Hopkins, Artistic Director
by Beth Duda and Adam Ratner
The Play that Sets the Example!
Study Guide and Class Activities
September 2014
Dear Educator:
Welcome to the 2014-2015 season of the WRITE A PLAY Program. This year, we begin our 23rd year of
theatrical programming that will inspire your students to write plays and participate in the 2015 Young
Playwrights Festival.
The season opens with the play that sets the example, RAP-Punzel adapted by Beth Duda and Adam
Ratner. We follow it with The Playmakers Tour: Imagination Rocks!, the interactive in-school performance
that will inspire and give your students the tools to write plays. Finally, after your students’ plays are
submitted, we celebrate the creativity of young minds in Under Six: Creation Station!
The theatre is a place of unlimited imagination, a place where we learn and share our humanity. The
rich lessons of the theatre can be applied in the classroom. As psychologist Dr. Lois Mueller says, “the
classroom is a dress-rehearsal for adult life. After their homes, children are influenced most by what
happens in the classroom. In the classroom, children learn how to handle acceptance and rejection from
peers. They learn to trust their instincts.” It is this sense of trust and confidence that prepares us to be
creative and successful adults. This study guide has been prepared specifically for you, the teacher, so
that you can deepen the experience of the program while you connect to Florida Studio Theatre. From
activities that support math, science, social studies and language arts, our goal is to foster the creative spirit
and to write plays.
While our artistic home is on the Gulf Coast of Florida, WRITE A PLAY also reaches to faraway places
like Israel, Russia, China and Scotland. In addition, WRITE A PLAY has garnered the attention of notable
playwrights throughout the United States. Be sure to read what 3-time Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright
Edward Albee had to say when he was keynote speaker at the Young Playwrights Festival
(located on page four).
You are taking part in an epic creative journey and bringing the young imaginations from your class along
with you. We’re thrilled that you can be a part of the WRITE A PLAY Program.
Enjoy the season!
Kate AlexanderBeth Duda
Associate Director of Florida Studio Theatre
Director of Education
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 4 - Address to Young Playwrights
Page 5 - Synopsis and Character List
Page 6 - History
Page 7 - Play Analysis
Page 8 - 31 - RAP-Punzel Worksheets
K-1 Theatre
K-1 Visual Arts
K-1 Reading and Language Arts
K-1 Science
K-1 Math
K-1 Health Education
2-3 Theatre
2-3 Reading and Language Arts
2-3 Visual Arts
2-3 Science
2-3 Math
2-3 Health Education
4-5 Theatre
4-5 Visual Arts
4-5 Reading and Language Arts
4-5 Science
4-5 Math
4-5 Health Education
Page 32 - History of the WRITE A PLAY Program
Page 33 & 34- Submission Guidelines and Cover Sheet
Teachers: We would like to see the work your students have done with the study guide. Please
send COPIES or pictures of the projects to [email protected], include the classroom
and school name with the copy of the assignment.
FST is not responsible for returning any submitted materials.
3
ADDRESS TO YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS
by Edward Albee
We are here to praise. I would like to first talk about our
playwrights here today and then talk to the playwrights.
There is one thing that distinguishes us, we human
beings, from the animals. We are the only animals that
make art. The only ones that invented arts to define
ourselves to ourselves, make us understand ourselves.
This is an important and extraordinary thing.
Something else that is important and extraordinary is
that young people are inherently and by nature creative.
This creativity exists in the hearts and minds of the
young. It is driven out by society. Go across the street
to the museum. There is an exhibition by high school
and elementary school children from the local schools.
Believe me when I say there are some extraordinary
sculptures, drawings, innovative, natural creativity
throughout. Young people are by nature innately
creative. It is no surprise that so many thousands of
young playwrights submitted plays to the festival,
because young playwrights are by nature creative.
Creativity in the young doesn’t always last, actually it sometimes just goes away. Which is
understandable. It does. Things go away. But it, in many, never goes away.
We, as older people, must do what we can to keep encouraging the creativity of young people.
Because they are the conscience and the arts conscience of our future. Our better thoughts
say that it isn’t wise for our sons and daughters to have a career in the arts. It isn’t safe. It is
dangerous. It isn’t secure. Too bad, I say. Unless we have a society that is filled with bright
responsible young creative people, we are not going to matter as a society. And unless we teach
the arts in our schools and encourage all of the young playwrights to be as creative as they can
be eventually, we will end up as a society of greatly informed barbarians. We don’t want that. We
want a society where people are encouraged to be creative as they can possibly be.
Now I want to speak to the playwrights, specifically, for a minute. It is, simply, that you guys and
gals haven’t learned to lie yet. You haven’t learned to tell half truths, you haven’t learned to write
about only what is safe. You tell us the truth, through what you see, and you are not frightened
to do it. That is so very important.
You are dangerous, alive, and wonderful.
I congratulate you.
Edward Albee is a three-time Pulitzer Prize Winning playwright
and one of the greatest artistic voices of the 20th-21st Century
4
RAP-PUNZEL
Play Synopsis
RAP-Punzel by Beth Duda and Adam Ratner
Punzel Chisel, a young girl with a passion for words and rhymes lived a happy life with her mother, Wilhelmina and
her father, Hamlin. Hamlin was an up and coming musician on the cusp of fame and fortune. Wilhelmina carved beautiful
one-of-a-kind drums and with Punzel, became Hamlin’s band. When Hamlin won the most important Art Festival in the
country, the Rhinehardt Festival, the family proclaimed themselves to be, “perfectly happy”. Sadly, that happiness was short
lived. Hamlin died unexpectedly, leaving Wilhelmina and Punzel in a state of despair. Wilhelmina was overwhelmed with
grief, she tried to deal with her pain by blocking all memories of her life with Hamlin. She moved Punzel to her childhood
home and set about making a brand new life for them. Punzel also suffered greatly from the loss of Hamlin, but she wanted to
embrace all the memories of her Father and his music. Punzel often spoke in rhymes which her Father praised, and she wore
her hair quite long in two braids which her Father adored. As Punzel readied herself for the first day of school in her new
village, Wilhelmina cautions her to try not to rhyme all the time and to try to “fit-in”. Punzel finds it close to impossible to
cease rhyming, and she is bullied by a young girl who is jealous of the attention Punzel gets from a boy named Harrison. Punzel is traumatized by the bullying, and she goes home to the safety of her tree house, vowing never to return to
the school. Wilhelmina vows to keep her safe by secluding her up in her tree. Punzel’s hair continues to grow at an alarming
rate and her braids become woven into the branches of the tree. Harrison is a drummer, he hears beats in his head all the time
much to the displeasure of his father, Christof. Christof yearns for his son to grow into an accomplished man of great wealth.
He believes Harrison’s obsession with drums and drumming will prevent his future success. Harrison feels badly about the
treatment Punzel received at the school and he seeks her out to make amends. As the begin to know each other, hey find that
by combining Punzel’s rhymes and Harrison’s rhythms they are able to create music together. Harrison expresses his love for
Hamlin’s music and Punzel finally has a friend she can talk to about her father. Punzel gains confidence as she and Harrison
create their music, but she fears the reaction of her mother, Wilhelmina. She also fears the criticism of her peers and she is
effectively stuck in the tree by her tangled hair. One evening, Punzel has a nightmare about being stuck in the tree and losing
contact with her memories of her Father. Her distress is so great, Wilhelmina agrees to help keep the memory of Hamlin alive.
After cutting Punzel’s hair in order to release her from the tree, Wilhelmina, Harrison, and Punzel head off the the Rhinehardt
Festival where they win first place.
Character List
Some of the characters in RAP-Punzel may be new to you and your students.
Below is a list of the characters from the play:
Punzel Chisel - A blossoming poet with very long braids.
Hamlin Chisel - Punzel’s father. He is a beloved and well-known musician.
Wilhelmina Chisel - Punzel’s mother. She is a drummer and also carves drums.
Quercus - A tree spirit guide who narrates the story.
Harrison Jolt - A schoolmate of Punzel’s who loves to play the drums and is a born musician.
Tibelda - A schoolmate of Punzel and Harrison’s who bullies Punzel.
Herzog Reinhardt - A very important and self important German Duke.
Christof Jolt - Harrison’s father. He does not approve of Harrison’s love for drumming.
5
RAP-PUNZEL
History
Biography of Playwrights:
Beth Duda
Ms. Duda has been affiliated with Florida Studio Theatre for over two decades as an actress, playwright, teaching artist, and
director. Ms. Duda teaches a variety of classes for children and adults. Classes include Musical Theatre, Play Production, FST’s
Playwriting Workshop, Behind the Scenes, and the VIP Performing Arts Program for Special Needs Youth which serves students
with physical challenges, mental challenges, developmental delays, and emotional or behavioral challenges. Ms. Duda has written,
co-written, and conceived several one act plays including, Rumplestiltskin, a modern twist on a classic tale, Pinocchio, The Frog
Prince, and Jack and the Enchanted Beanstalk. Her full length play, Up To Home, was a semi-final selection at the Eugene O’Neill
Theatre Center, and a selected play for the Richard and Betty Burdick Festival of New Plays. Ms. Duda is the director of UNDER
SIX, the compilation of winning plays written by Elementary School students for Florida Studio Theatre.. She initiated the theatre’s
outreach program, intent on reaching children who cannot normally attend the theatre; children at the poverty level or below.
Ms. Duda has been teaching these classes since the program’s inception in 1992, reaching thousands of students and teaching
life lessons in collaboration, acceptance, and understanding as well as public speaking, acting, dance, and musical theatre.
Over 50,000 children are reached every year through the WRITE A PLAY program. Under Ms. Duda’s guidance, FST began
communicating with classes via Safari Live video feed, allowing the theatre to forge a deeper and long-lasting connection with
educators and students.
Adam Ratner
Mr. Ratner has been a part of Florida Studio Theatre for nearly 30 years. He began as a student in the Children’s Acting Program
and as a performer in the improvisational comedy troupe, The Kids Komedy Club in the 1980’s. After receiving his acting
degree from Florida State University in 1999 and living in New York City, he returned to FST where he became a member of the
Education Staff as Lead Teaching Artist, actor, playwright, and Coordinator of the Young Playwrights Festival. Mr. Ratner teaches
over 300 WRITE A PLAY workshops each year to both elementary and secondary students across the state of Florida and is the
lead teaching artist for FST’s Outreach Program, instructing and encouraging creative and practical writing skills to students
in Title One Schools. He has had the unique opportunity to bring FST’s WRITE A PLAY program to several of Sarasota’s Sister
Cities, teaching playwriting workshops in Tel Mond, Israel, Dunfermline, Scotland and Vladimir, Russia. Through a partnership
with the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, Adam spent a week teaching playwriting to 0ver 1,000 students ages 10-18 in
Kiryat Yam, Israel. As the Young Playwrights Festival Coordinator, Adam oversees the submission, selection process and reads
the plays from more than 9,000 students annually. On the Florida Studio Theatre campus, Mr. Ratner teaches an array of acting,
theatre arts and improvisation classes from newcomers to advanced actors with students varying in age from kindergarten,
youth, teens and adults. Through FST’s partnership with the Ringling College of Art and Design, Mr. Ratner teaches acting and
improvisation workshops for the junior and senior students in the college’s animation program. As a playwright, he has been
commissioned to write over two dozen original plays for performance in FST’s Kids’ Classics Company and this the co-author of
Florida Studio Theatre’s Fall Children’s Productions of Rumplestiltskin, Pinocchio, Jack and the Enchanted Beanstalk and The Frog
Prince all of which were seen by over 12,000 students. In his role as the Associate Director of FST Improv, Adam can be seen both
performing and hosting the popular improvisation troupe and heads up improvisation classes for students ages 7 to 85.
Biography of Grimm’s Fairytales:
The first edition of Grimm’s Fairytales was published in 1812 under a different title; Kinder- und Hausmärchen, which translates
to Children’s and Household Tales. Contrary to the title, this version was not meant for children, but as the children’s literature
market grew, Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm decided to edit their stories in order to make them more suitable for children to read.
The brothers Grimm published over 200 fairytales between the years of 1812 and 1857. Each fairytale teaches the reader a valuable
lesson, and these tales create the foundation for many of the bedtime stories and Disney movies enjoyed by children today and
throughout the centuries.
6
RAP-PUNZEL
Play Analysis by Paul White, LCSW
Every new experience promotes growth and change or
reinforces fear that keeps us stagnant and stuck. As part of
our developmental milestones we can be exposed to events
or circumstances that can have a very strong influence on
our worldview and how we function. We human beings seek
pleasure and avoid pain. This play allows us to examine what
it takes for us to get beyond the pain of loss of a dear one,
navigating life facing potential discomfort, and overcoming
the general tendency to retreat into the false safety of
overprotection and isolation. Our innate strengths and talents
can override our fear of risks if we actualize our best abilities.
The power and inspiration of the parent’s influence can instill
motivation, accomplishment, and the self satisfaction of
performing to one’s highest potential. A very key message
from this story is that memory shapes how we grow into
the person we become. When we have lost a very important person in our lives, the memory of that
person allows the essence and the contributions of that person to live on through those who honor him
through that remembrance.
The resolution in this story concerns how a person evolves a sense of self. Although a portion of
identity reflects significant memories and important people in one’s life, development of a whole self
emerges from acceptance and self-direction. When a person is merged with others, that means that
there is a loss of oneself. In this story fear of rejection from one’s peers repeats the familiar pain of
loss(death) of the Father. Punzel worked hard to achieve acceptance and thought it was her deficits that
caused the tensions. As life goes her antagonist had a very different agenda and was merely competing
for the attention of a peer. When she recognized she could present herself with all her special
attributes, she gained acceptance and respect of all around her. Only then was she emancipated from
the prison of her fears and self-doubts.
A final comment about music and song: the telling of the story through music and words brings a
special intensity and connectivity to the experience. Meaningful songs and talented performers are
united with the audience when that connection is made. Rap music fosters connections between
performers and audiences by the expression and approval of the messages, meanings, and rhythms.
Children can often bring to the experience of song the ability to remember the words and in so doing
can carry the message as a kind of navigation through difficult moments. Remembering words to
a song that has special meaning to a particular experience integrates the external moment and the
internal process. Song represents the journey of the world inside as it moves through life as it happens.
7
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
K-1 Theatre: Pre and Post Show Discussion
Pre-Show Discussion
1) How should we behave in order to be good audience members? Why is it
important to be quiet and respectful during a performance?
2) What do you expect to see in the theatre?
Post Show Discussion
1) Actors perform the play on the stage; an audience sits in the “house.” Did you
notice the difference between the two? Did the actors ever go into the “house?”
Why are actors allowed to go into the “house,” while people in the audience cannot
run up on the stage?
2) How did the actors work together? Do you think the play was better/worse
because they worked together/didn’t work together?
3) Did you enjoy the play? Why or why not?
4) If your opinion differs from someone else’s, does that mean that their opinion is
wrong? Why or why not?
5) Is Rap-Punzel a true story? What is the difference between play-acting and real
life?
TH.K.C.3.1
TH.1.F.3.1
TH.1.S.1.2
TH.1.S.1.3
8
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
K-1 Visual Arts: Drawing
A costume designer chose what the characters would wear in RAP-Punzel.
Pretend you are the costume designer and draw your own costume for Punzel,
Hamlin or Quercus.
VA.K.S.1.2
9
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
K-1 Reading and Language Arts: Post Show Discussion
1) What were the main events in the play? Identify the beginning, middle, and end.
2) Who was your favorite character in story?
3) What did this character do that made you like them?
4) What lessons did the characters learn in the play?
5) What, if anything, did you not understand?
LAFS.K.RL.1.1
LAFS.K.SL.2.6
LAFS.1.RL.1.2
LAFS.1.RL.1.3
LAFS.1.SL.1.1
10
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
K-1 Reading and Language Arts: Photo Arrangement
Punzel dropped all these pictures from the show and can’t remember what order
they were in. Help her by numbering each picture in the order it happened in the
play.
Photos will be coming soon!
Photos will be coming soon!
Photos will be coming soon!
Photos will be coming soon!
LAFS.K.RL.1.3
LAFS.1.RL.1.2
11
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
K-1 Reading and Language Arts: Group Exercise
Break into groups and pick your favorite scene in the play. Try to perform it from
memory or put your own twist on it! Have fun coming up with new characters and
stories.
Grammar Exercise
Tibelda messed up all the punctuation and capital letters in Mittelburg! Help
Harrison fix these sentences by circling the letters that need to be capitalized and
adding periods where they are needed.
1) punzel climbed the tree
2) harrison beat the drum
3) tibelda asked for Punzel’s autograph
4) punzel loves to rap
5) wilhemina makes wooden spoons
Rhyming Exercise
Punzel loves playing with words and finding words that rhyme. Help her by finding
a rhyming word for each of these words:
1) Love
Rhymes with: _________________
2) Rap
Rhymes with: _________________
3) Light
Rhymes with: _________________
4) Sing
Rhymes with: _________________
5) Tree
Rhymes with: _________________
LAFS.K.L.1.2
LAFS.K.RL.4.10
LAFS.K.RL.1.3
LAFS.1.L.1.2
LAFS.1.RL.1.2
LAFS.1.W.1.3
LAFS.1.RF.1.1
12
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
K-1 Science: The Play vs. Real Life
In the play, Punzel’s hair gets so tangled in the tree that she cannot climb down.
If Punzel was stuck up in her treehouse for a long time, what are some things she
would need to survive?
Circle one thing from each column that you think is a basic necessity for humans to
live:
Electricity
A Sweater
A Phone
A Watch
A Bed
A Computer
Water
Sneakers
Food
Books
Nail polish
Shelter
A Toothbrush
Air
A Television
Soap
SC.K.L.14.2
SC.1.L.17.1
13
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
K-1 Math: Patterns and Shapes
1) What shape is missing from this pattern? Explain your reasoning.
2) How many of each shape make up the Wilhemina’s slit drum and drum sticks?
MAFS.K.CC.2.5
MAFS.K.G.2.6
MAFS.K.G.1.2
MAFS.1.G.1.2
MA.K.G.2.5
14
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
K-1 Math: Numbers
3) Harrison thought he was eating alone and set the table for one. But Punzel and
Wilhemina are going to be joining him tonight, so he needs two more plates. How
many plates will there be, total? Explain your reasoning.
4) What kind of shape is Hamlin’s trophy? Give some examples of
other familiar objects that are the same shape
MAFS.OA.1.2
MAFS.K.G.1.2
MA.K.G.2.4
15
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
K-1 Health Education: Post Show Discussion
1) Punzel never cuts her hair because her father loved her long hair. What are some
problems you might experience if you never ever cut your own hair?
2) When Punzel is sad she sings her father’s songs for comfort. When you are sad, what do
you do to feel better?
3) When Tibelda bullies Punzel, Harrison tells her to apologize. What should you do if
you see bullying when an adult is not there?
4) Do you think Tibelda is a good friend? Why or why not?
HE.1.P.1.2
HE.1.P.2.1
HE.K.B.2.1
HE.1.B.2.1
HE.1.B.2.3
HE.1.C.1.5
16
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
2-3 Theatre: Pre and Post Show Discussion
Pre-Show Discussion
1) How should we behave in order to be good audience members? Why is it
important to be quiet and respectful during a performance?
2) What do you expect to see in the theatre?
Post Show Discussion Questions
1) Using RAP-Punzel as an example, explain the differences between play-acting,
pretending, and real life.
2) What did the director, designers, and actors do to make the play seem like real
life?
3) Did you have any feelings about the play? What part of the play (including set,
costume, lighting, and sound design) that made you feel that way?
4) How did the actors work together? Do you think the play was better/worse
because they worked together/didn’t work together?
5) Describe what happened in the play using the theatre terms you have learned.
6) Was there anyone in the performance that you noticed was not following the
theatre etiquette you learned before attending the play? What did they do wrong
and how could they have followed theatre etiquette?
7) Did you like the play? Why or why not? Besides the characters and the
dialogue, why did you like it or not like it?
TH.2.F.3.1
TH.2.S.1.2
TH.3.S.1.1
TH.3.S.3.3
TH.3.C.3.1
TH.3.O.2.1
17
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
2-3 Theatre: Drawing
A costume designer chose what the characters would wear in Rap-Punzel. Pretend
you are the costume designer and draw your own costume for Punzel, Hamlin or
Quercus.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
TH.3.F.1
18
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
2-3 Reading and Language Arts: Post Show Discussion
1) What did you like about the show?
2) Which characters learned lessons in RAP-Punzel?
3) What events caused these characters to learn these lessons?
4) A theme is a topic or subject an author tries to focus on in his/her writing. It is not necessarily the moral of the story. What are some of the themes in RAP-Punzel?
Cause and Effect Exercise
Actions create a result. For instance, when Punzel and Harrison play music
together, it causes them to become friends.
In a group, take an example of cause and effect in RAP-Punzel and act out what
would have happened if someone had made a different decision. Here is a list of
some possible changes. Pick one of these or make up your own!
What would have happened if:
1) Punzel did not meet Harrison?
2) Wilhelmina sold her drums?
3) Punzel did not cut her hair?
4) Punzel, Wilhelmina, and Harrison couldn’t play
at the Reinhardt Festival?
LAFS.2.RL.1.1
LAFS.2.RL.1.2
LAFS.2.RL.1.3
LAFS.2.RL.2.5
LAFS.2.RL.2.6
LAFS.2.RL.3.9
19
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
2-3 Reading and Language Arts: Grammar
The playwrights need your help! Fill in these lines from the play with words from the
word bank. Use clues from the sentence to figure out the right words. Look up words
you don’t understand in a dictionary.
Down
Light
Sing
School
Love
1) That’s how I learned to __________ my song.
2) It’s important to remember those we __________ .
3) It’s a special day, Punzel. Your first day of _________ at Mittelburg!
4) In order to fit in, do I have to hide my __________?
5) Punzel! Punzel! Let _________ your hair!
Spelling Exercise
Now the playwrights have mixed up their spelling!
Circle the misspelled word and write down the correct spelling.
1) Wilhelmina makes psoons. Correct spelling: _______________
2) Punzel has very long hari.
Correct spelling: _______________
3) Quercus is a tere spirit. Correct spelling: _______________
4) Harrison likes Hamlin’s msuic. Correct spelling: _______________
5) Harrison is very good at playing durms. Correct spelling: _______________
LAFS.2.L.1.1
LAFS.2.L.1.2
20
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
2-3 Visual Arts: Drawing
Draw your favorite character in the show. Describe that character’s personality or
appearance and write about what they did in the play that made them so great.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
LAFS.2.L.3.6
LAFS.2.RL.1.3
LAFS.3.RL.1.3
LAFS.3.W.1.1
21
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
2-3 Science: Nature
Quercus is a tree spirit and trees have different parts just like we do. Help Quercus
label the different parts of a tree on the diagram below and then matching them to
the correct definitions.
Leaves Trunk Roots Branches
Fruit
Sometimes trees produce apples, oranges, pears, or peaches
Supports the other parts of the tree and gives it shape and strength
The part of the tree that is green and turns light and air into food
Where the tree absorbs water and nutrients from the ground
Connects the leaves to the trunk and transports nutrients SC.1.L.14.2
Planted in the ground in order to grow a tree
SC.K.L.14.2
SC.3.L.14.1
SC.3.L.17.2
22
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
2-3 Health Education: Post - Show Discussion
1) When Punzel ran away from Tibelda and chose to live in a tree, how did you
respond?
2) When Tibelda says mean things to Punzel, she becomes upset. Does this affect
her:
a) physical health
b) emotional health
c) social health
Conflict Resolution Exercise
In RAP-Punzel, the good characters use kindness and teamwork to solve their
problems instead of jealousy and anger.
Break up into groups of four or five people. Imagine a conflict where two people
both want different things. For example, maybe one person wants to color a picture
blue, while the other one wants to color the picture orange.
Then, safely act out the conflict for the rest of your class. After you’re done, ask
your classmate for suggestions on how the problem can be solved. How can you use
compromise to reach an agreement?
HE.2.C.1.2
HE.2.B.4.1
HE.2.P.7.1
23
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
4-5 Theatre: Pre and Post Show Discussion
Pre-Show Discussion Questions
1) How should we behave in order to be good audience members? Why is it
important to be quiet and respectful during a performance?
2) What do you expect to see in the theatre?
Post Show Discussion Questions
1) Did you like the play? Why or why not? People often like or dislike the
characters and dialogue in a play. What other aspects contributed to your feelings
about the play?
2) From the title of the play, what did you think RAP-Punzel would be about? Was
the play what you expected or was it different?
3) RAP-Punzel has a set designer, a costume designer, a sound designer, and
a lighting designer. Can you think of anything that a designer did to help you
understand or enjoy the play? For example, was there anything in the set,
costumes, lighting, or sound that helped you understand the location of the play or
the emotions of the play?
4) Was there any point during the performance when you were so engrossed in
the play you forgot you were in a theatre? Why do you think that happened or why
not?
5) The invisible boundary between the audience and the stage is referred to as the
“fourth wall.” If an actor pretends the audience isn’t there and never talks to
them or goes into the “house” he/she is “observing the fourth wall.” If an actor TH.5.O.1.3
TH.5.S.1.2
talks to the audience or walks into the audience it is called “breaking the fourth TH.5.S.1.3
wall.” Did the actors observe or break the “fourth wall” in RAP-Punzel?
TH.4.S.1.1
TH.4.S.1.2
TH.4.S.3.3
24
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
4-5 Visual Arts: Drawing
A costume designer chose what the characters would wear in RAP-Punzel. Pretend
you are the costume designer and draw your own costume for Punzel, Quercus, or
Hamlin below and explain your choices.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
TH.4.C.1.2
VA.2.C.1.1
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
4-5 Reading and Language Arts: Post Show Discussion
1) What did you like about the show?
2) Which characters learned a lesson in RAP-Punzel?
3) What events caused these characters to learn these lessons?
4) A theme is a topic or subject an author tries to focus on in his/her writing. It is
not necessarily the moral of the story. What are some of the themes in
RAP-Punzel?
5) Do you agree with the lessons taught in RAP-Punzel? Why or why not?
6) What would you have changed about the performance? Why?
LAFS.4.RL.1.1
LAFS.4.RL.1.3
LAFS.4.RL.2.5
LAFS.4.RL.1.2
LAFS.4.W.1.3
LAFS.5.RL.1.3
LAFS.5.RL.1.2
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
4-5 Reading and Language Arts: Cause and Effect
Actions create a result. For instance, when Tibelda bullies Punzel, she becomes
afraid to go to school.
In a group, take an example of cause and effect in RAP-Punzel and act out what
would have happened if someone had made a different decision.
Group Discussion Exercise
Break up into groups and make a list of all things you liked and didn’t like in the
show. Make sure you have explanations for all of your opinions.
LAFS.5.SL.2.6
LAFS.5.L.2.3
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
4-5 Reading and Language Arts: Grammar Exercise
The playwrights of RAP-Punzel need your help because Tibelda messed up all
the lines in the script! Put the words in an order that makes sense so the cast
can perform the show.
1) days for makes worth you Playing my living.
______________________________________________________________
2) music! of Hamlin’s know all I
______________________________________________________________
3) live Forest. in the We North
______________________________________________________________
4) feel I quiet. Sometimes
______________________________________________________________
5) Chinese late for He lesson. is his
______________________________________________________________
6) mine make It’s and I’ll shine. a world that is it
______________________________________________________________
7) His was gift the world we never music a to that will forget.
______________________________________________________________
8) Punzel is name Her poet. blossoming a She’s and
______________________________________________________________
LAFS.4.L.1.1
LAFS.4.L.1.2
LAFS.5.L.1.1
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
4-5 Science: Nature
1 ) In RAP-Punzel, Quercus is a tree spirit. How is Quercus different from the trees we
see outside?
2 ) Can you think of other examples of stories where plants and animals do things that
they do not do in real life?
3) What are some different parts of trees, and what are the functions of these parts?
4 ) If plants don’t eat food the way humans do, what do they do to survive? What do they
absorb?
SC.5.L.14.2
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
4-5 Math: Drawing
1) The following images are sketches of Wilhelmina’s drums. They have reflectional
symmetry, meaning that their halves are exact mirror images of each other across a
line of symmetry. Draw the lines of symmetry:
2) Parallel lines are straight lines that run across from each other exactly side-byside, and never intersect. Perpendicular lines are straight lines that intersect once
at a ninety-degree angle, forming a perfect X at the point of intersection. Which of
Wilhelmina’s wooden spoons below are parallel, and which are perpendicular?
MAFS.4.G.1.3
MAFS.4.G.1.2
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
4-5 Health Education: Conflict Resolution
In Rap-Punzel, the good characters use kindness and teamwork to solve their
problems instead of becoming jealous or angry.
Break up into groups of four or five people. Imagine a conflict where two people
both want different things. For example, maybe one person wants to color a picture
blue, while the other one wants to color the picture orange.
Then, safely act out the conflict for the rest of your class. After you’re done, ask
your classmate for suggestions on how the problem can be solved. How can you use
compromise to reach an agreement?
Journaling Exercise
Choose one of the following prompts:
1) Write about a conflict in your life that was resolved peacefully. What strategies
were used to bring about peaceful resolution?
2) Write about a conflict that wasn’t resolved peacefully. What happened? What
could you have done differently to make the conflict resolve peacefully?
HE.4.C.1.2
HE.5.B.2.3
HE.2.R.2
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History of the FST WRITE A PLAY Program
23 years of inspiring children
Florida Studio Theatre is Sarasota’s contemporary theatre. Located in the heart of the downtown arts
district, FST is a nationally recognized LORT theatre with more than 12,000 unduplicated subscribers.
According to Theatre Communications Group, this is the fourth largest subscription base of any TCG
member theatre in the country. Overall, Florida Studio Theatre serves over 165,000 attendees per year,
through its 6 major programs.
Florida Studio Theatre’s mission is:
• To make theatre accessible and affordable to as many people as possible.
• To present theatre that challenges with as much gusto as it entertains.
• To be a positive, vital change agent in the community.
• To operate within and for the public trust.
Through the lens of contemporary theatre, FST provides its patrons with engaging experiences to both
challenge and confirm all the world’s diverse values.
Whether you are an adult coming to see an evening performance or a child clambering down the steps of
a yellow school bus to see the children’s production, we want to take you on an artistic journey and engage
you in theatre that is alive and breathing in the heart of downtown Sarasota. Thus, twenty years ago, a
question surfaced at FST: Can children write plays? And with a resounding ‘Why not?’ the WRITE A
PLAY Program was born.
In 1991, FST launched the WRITE A PLAY Program as an arts-in-education initiative designed to
inspire youth to write plays. Students are encouraged to write from their own point of view and in so
doing they create a diverse group of plays such as No War Can Tear Our Love Apart, a touching tale of
the love between a girl and her father leaving for active duty, and The Adventures of Captain Captain, an
entertaining story about thwarting evil, saving the day, and not judging a book by its cover. They tell about
relationships, lessons they’ve learned, and how sometimes the world is a very big place. Initiated with
the support of the Florida Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts Challenge Funds, the
WRITE A PLAY Program now impacts over 55,000 attendees each year throughout the United States,
Israel, Russia, and Scotland, and continues to inspire them to open their minds and imaginations.
The core of the WRITE A PLAY Program is its annual three-play series:
• First, a classic story is brought to life on stage to provide an example of a well-made play for the students.
This season, FST will produce RAP-Punzel.
• Second, following the fall production, The Playmakers Tour will travel throughout the state to perform
a high-energy, audience participation-based performance workshop entitled Imagination Rocks! The
Playmakers Tour is designed to give students the necessary tools to write plays by performing several
plays written by youth, creating new plays with the audience through improvisation, and teaching in-class
workshops on the creative writing process.
• Finally, in the spring, the series culminates in a celebration of student’s creative endeavors in Under Six,
a professional production of select plays submitted to the Young Playwrights Festival. More than 10,000
students experience the work of their peers in this anthology of plays.
In addition, FST hosts the Young Playwrights Festival. Just like in ancient Greece, this is a day of theatre
dedicated to all the students who had the courage to write plays from their unique perspective and in their
authentic voices. The Young Playwrights Festival brings together Florida Studio Theatre, the community,
the students, their families, their teachers, professional actors, and guest artists. The 3-time Pulitzer Prize
Winning Playwright, Edward Albee, has spoken at the Young Playwrights Festival on numerous occasions.
He imparted the following words to the young playwrights: “You are instructing and helping other people
to know who they are and what it’s like to be alive. You’re doing that by sharing your view, as a writer, with
other people and it’s enormously important.”
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Young Playwrights Festival
Submission Guidelines
The Young Playwrights Festival is open to
students in Kindergarten through 12th grade.
Each young playwright who submits a play
will receive a Certificate of Achievement. A
select number of plays will be produced as
a professional production at Florida Studio
Theatre.
Submission Guidelines:
1. The contest is open to all students in Kindergarten through 12th grade.
2. Plays should be 1 to 5 pages in length.
3. There is no restriction on style, subject, or form.
4. Collaborations are permitted.
5. Scripts must be typed or printed and stapled together or bound.
**Be sure to keep a copy of the original, as plays will not be returned.
6. Scripts must have:
• Date of Submission
• Title of Play
• Name, Home Address, and Phone Number *
• School Address, Teacher Name, and Grade Level
• Date of Birth
*Teachers may withhold a student’s personal information if it will be provided in the event of a play being
selected in a winning category.
Deadline for Play Sumissions:
01/09/15
If the Playmakers Tour was at
your school before 12/19/14
02/06/15
If the Playmakers Tour was at
your school after 01/05/15
Plays submitted after 02/06/15 will be
considered for next year
Please send your submissions to:
Florida Studio Theatre
ATTN: Young Playwrights Festival
1241 North Palm Avenue
Sarasota, FL 34236
For more information please call us at 941.366.9797 or email [email protected]
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