How to be a #1 audience!
Here are a few guidelines for being a respectful audience member. Every person has a job to do to
make sure the live performance goes on! Here is how you can play your part!
1. Stay sitting in your seat.
2. Keep your hands and feet to yourselves.
3. If the actors ask the audience questions, it’s okay to answer!
4. You can laugh when something is funny!
5. Pay attention! Watch and listen carefully to what is going on.
6. Get ready to clap at the end of the show when the actors bow.
7. Have fun, enjoy the show, and be sure to share the story with your parents!
The Audience Game
Learn the difference between a #1, #2 and #3 audience
Teachers, here is a theater game to play with your students. It’s a fun way to reinforce what it
means to be a #1 listening audience and prepare for watching a play in the theater.
#1 Audience is quiet, stays still, and pays attention to what is going on.
#2 Audience whispers, fidgets a little, and looks around.
#3 Audience talks loudly, moves around, and doesn’t really care about what is happening on the
stage.
After explaining the differences among the different audience behaviors and having your class
practice each one, hold up one, two or three fingers to signal which audience the class should
pretend to be. Switch from one audience number to another to get the appropriate response. To be
tricky, you can hold up the same number finger twice or change numbers really quickly. You can also
have students, one at a time, take your place, allowing them to be the leader of the group by
holding up fingers and directing the class themselves.
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Theater Words!
How many theater words and their definitions do you know?
Actor – a person who uses their mind, body, and voice and pretends to become a character on
stage to tell a story
Adaptation – when a story is changed from one form into another; for example, a book can be
changed into a play or movie
Applause – when audience members clap at the end of the show to thank the actors for a job
well done
Audience – the people who are watching the show
Aside – a brief remark made by character and intended to be heard by the audience and not by
the other characters
Audition – a brief performance done by actors for the director of a play to decide what role
the actor should play
Backstage – areas intended only for actors and crewmembers behind the stage
Booth – small room for crewmembers to manage the technical elements of the play, lighting,
sound, and audio
“Break a leg” – a superstitious good luck wish exchanged by actors who feel that saying “good
luck” is a jinx
Call – time at which an actor is supposed to be at rehearsal or performance
Character – a person in a play created by the playwright and represented by an actor
Choreographer – the artist in charge of creating the dances and movements used by actors in
the play
Costumes – the clothes worn by actors in a play designed to fit the era, mood and personality of
the characters
Critic – a writer who reviews plays
Curtain – end of a scene or closing of a curtain to end the act or scene
Curtain Call – the process of actors taking their bows, receiving applause or being reintroduced
to the audience at the end of the play
Director – a person responsible for interpretation of the play and making all final decisions on
the production and directs actors how to perform
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Downstage – front area of the stage, nearest to the audience
Foreshadowing – a hint of what is to come in the story
Improvisation – to make up as you go along
Irony – a contrast between what is and what appears to be. Verbal irony when a character says
one thing and means another and Dramatic Irony when the audience knows something that the
character does not
Offstage – areas on the stage which are not seen by the audience, where action can take place
and be heard by the audience or where actors wait for their entrances
Playwright – author of a play
Plot – the story of the play
Prop – any moveable item used on the set of a play or handled by an actor
Proscenium – a form of staging in which an arch frames the stage
Protagonist – the main character
Rehearsal – the time period before a play opens involving the practice of the dialogue,
movement, or rhythms of the play
Script – the written words and stage directions created by the playwright
Set – the background scenery that is on the stage to show where the story takes place
Stage Left – side of the stage on the actors’ left as they face the audience
Stage Right – side of the stage on the actors’ right as they face the audience
Thrust Stage – a stage which extends out into the audience area and the audience surrounds
the stage on three sides
Upstage – the part of the stage farthest from the audience. Also means to steal the scene
from another actor by moving upstage
Wings – the areas offstage right and left hidden from the audience
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Words & Phrases from Oz
I’m doing something right now honey so just keep out of our hair. – stop bothering us
We got a parcel of lumber to haul from town before the weather turns.
Parcel of lumber – bundle of wood boards
Here, here, what’s all this jabber-wapping when there’s work to be done? – foolish, useless
talking
It’s just a rib, Dorthy. – friendly joke
Get that wagon hitched up and Zeke you go feed those hogs before they worry themselves
into anemia! – get upset and make themselves sick
You always get yourself into a fret over nothing. – make yourself worried
Oh please, Professor, why can’t we go with you and see all the Crowned Heads of Europe? –
Kings and Queens
Oh, fiddle-faddle! – nonsense
Too much of a stuffed shirt. – person who thinks they are very important
Come to think of it, forty winks wouldn’t be a bad idea. – a short nap
Well, bust my buttons! Why didn’t you say that in the first place? That’s a horse of a different
color!
Bust my buttons – what a surprise
a horse of a different color – something completely different
You clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk! – dark, gloomy
And you, Scarecrow, have the effrontery to ask for a brain – you billowing bale of bovine
fodder!
Effrontery – shameless boldness
billowing bale of bovine fodder – bulging bundle of cattle food
Silence whippersnapper! – rude child
You, humbug! – imposter, fake
I take pleasure at this time in presenting you with a small token of our esteem and affection. –
symbol of our respect for you
Child, you cut me to the quick! – hurt me deeply
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About E.B. White
Elwyn Brooks White was born in Mount Vernon, New York in
1899. For many years, he was contributing editor of THE NEW
YORKER magazine. However, E. B. White is best known for his
children’s books. The character of Stuart Little first appeared to E.
B. White in a dream in the 1920’s. White wrote a few episodes
about this boy who looked like a mouse and then tucked the
stories away in a drawer, thinking he might someday share them
with his nieces and nephews. Some twenty years later he
expanded and collected the stories as Stuart Little, published in
1945. It was White’s first children’s book. His second book was
Charlotte’s Web, in 1952, which is one of the most popular
children’s books of all time and was named as “the best American children’s book of the past two hundred years”
by The Children’s Literature Association. From 1933 E.B. White lived on a farm in Maine with his wife Katherine.
He died in 1985.
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Stuart Little Synopsis
When the play begins, we meet Stuart Little, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick C. Little. The
doctor informs Mr. and Mrs. Little that, though it is unusual, Stuart is a mouse, but a healthy one.
Stuart grows up quickly, and learns to play with his Brother George. George soon learns that Stuart
is very handy for retrieving items that get stuck in tight places. As Stuart grows, his parents do
everything they can to make him comfortable, including getting rid of the song “Three Blind Mice”
and rewriting The Night Before Christmas. Despite their precautions, Mr. and Mrs. Little still
worry about Stuart.
Next, we meet the Little’s Cat, Snowbell. After Stuart shows off his muscles to the wily animal,
Snowbell tricks Stuart into getting himself rolled up in the window shade. When Stuart’s parents
call to him and he can’t be found they call the Bureau of Missing Persons to try and locate him.
Thankfully, Mr. Little pulls down the window shade and Stuart tumbles out.
One morning, Stuart puts on his sailor hat, grabs his spyglass, and heads out for a walk. In Central
Park he meets Leroy, who is caption of the boat the Lillian B. Womath. Leroy informs Stuart that
he as never been beaten in the boat race. Stuart also meets Dr. Carey who has a boat called The
Wasp. Stuart asks to sign on to his ship and enters the boat race against Leroy. After a tight race,
The Wasp pulls ahead and Stuart is victorious.
On a cold afternoon Mrs. Little comes across a sick little bird on the windowsill. Her name is
Margolo. As Margalo is nursed back to health, she and Stuart become very good friends. However,
Snowbell the cat plots Margalo’s demise. Stuart manages to save Margalo several times, and
Margalo saves Stuart from being eaten by a dog. One night, Snowbell the cat plots with the other
cats in the neighborhood to get Margalo. Thankfully, a pigeon overhears the plan and warns Margalo
just in time. Margalo flies away without saying anything to anybody.
When Stuart looks for Margalo the next morning, he is heartbroken when he can’t find her. So, he
bundles up his things and sets out into the world to find her. He first visits Dr. Carey, who gives
him a tiny car to help him on his way. Then he comes across the School Superintendent, who is in
need of a substitute teacher, so Stuart offers to help. Stuart teaches Miss Gunderson’s class, and
he helps the children come up with excellent rules for their behavior. At the end of the day, all the
children say he is the best substitute teacher they’ve ever had! But Stuart must move on if he is
ever going to find Margalo. So he says goodbye to the children and goes on his way.
Next, Stuart meets a repairman who has just seen Margalo. He tells Stuart that she was headed
north. Stuart asks the repairman to return Snowbell to his home, because he is worried that his
parents have lost Snowbell, Margalo, and himself all in one day, and that they might be sad. The
repairman is happy to oblige, and Stuart drives off to the North in search of his friend, Margalo.
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Write Your Own Theater Review!
A reviewer’s job is to see a play and write about what they liked and what they did not like. Now it
is your turn to write or draw a review and share your ideas!
TOWN OF PARKER News
Oh Where Is Margalo?
Play Reviewed by:
What was your favorite part of the musical and why?
Teachers, if you would like to share your students’ reviews, you can mail them to:
PACE Center, Attn: Kirstin Fletcher, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave. Parker, CO 80138
We look forward to reading them!
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Create Your Own Actor Bio!
Actors write bios or short paragraphs about themselves for the audience programs so that we
learn about who they are, what other plays they have been in and what sorts of things they like to
do. Now is your chance to write an actor bio about yourself!
(name)
is a student at (school)
and is in the (number)
grade. He/She loves going to see PACE
Center shows, especially Stuart Little.
(Name’s)
favorite subject at school is
because (why?)
(favorite subject)
.
After school, he/she really loves to play (activity)
and also (activity)
. If (name)
had three wishes, they would be:
(wish #1)
,
(wish #2)
, and
(wish #3)
.
He/She would like to thank (name of person to thank)
because (why?)
.
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Facts About Mice!
Students should use the library or encyclopedia to find out which of these facts about mice are
true. Cross out the sentences that are not true.
1. Mice only have their babies in the spring.
2. Some kinds of mice live almost everywhere in the world.
3. Mice are rodents.
4. Mice are gray so their enemies cannot see them.
5. You can keep mice away by locking your doors.
6. All mice live in holes in people’s houses.
7. Mice help people.
8. If you have a mouse in your house it is a sign of good luck.
9. Cows, horses and dogs are the worst enemies of mice.
10. Sometimes meadow mice chew all the way around small trees and kill them.
11. Skunks are an enemy of the mouse.
Write two more facts that you have learned from your research.
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Mouse-E-Matics
This game is guaranteed to provide a fun way to practice math facts. It is helpful when the
children make this game themselves.
Tuck the following into a tiny box:
2 mouse sized pencils
2dice (3 for older children)
Pieces of cheese paper (you can use sample on next page or have students draw their own.)
Rules for Mouse-e-matics
1. Students take turns rolling dice.
2. Students add the numerals show on the dice together.
3. Students use the guide below to draw the mouse part that matches the sum of the numerals
in their roll on cheese paper.
4. First player to complete a mouse, wins the game.
Roll a 3……draw eyes
Roll a 4……draw ears
Roll a 5……draw a tail
Roll a 6……draw a body
Roll a 7……draw a head
Roll an 8……draw whiskers
Roll a 9……draw a smile
Roll a 10……trade mice with another player
Roll an 11……lose your turn
Roll a 12……start over
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Friendship
Stuart Little wants to be everyone’s friend. He likes all kinds of people – most of whom are very
different than he is. To Stuart it doesn’t matter if someone is a bird or human, short or tall. He
simply accepts people as they are. Think about your own friends. How are they like you? How are
they different? What can you learn from friends who are different?
FRIEND
HOW LIKE ME
HOW DIFFERENT
WHAT I CAN LEARN
Stuart has a special friendship with Margalo but can’t become friends with Snobell the cat.
Describe the friendship with Margalo. What makes it so special? Why doesn’t Snowbell want to be
friends with Stuart?
Write or improvise a scene between Snowbell and Stuart where Stuart makes Snowbell a friend. Be
clear about why Snowbell has a change of heart. Perform your scene for the class. Think about
what actions and facial expressions a mouse or a cat would have. You can imitate the actor in the
play or use your own interpretations.
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Higher Level Thinking
Stuart loved famous quotations and “words to live by”. Explain the following quotations. Then, make
up some of your own.
1. “The way may be long but even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
2. “Size has nothing to do with it. It’s temperament and ability that count.”
3. “Ice cream is important. Very important.”
4. “Never forget your summertimes, my dears.”
5. “Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast.”
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On The Search…
When the play ends, Stuart is still searching for Margalo. Do you think he ever finds her?
1. Pretend you are Margalo. Write Stuart a postcard telling him about your travels. Draw a
picture on the front of the card and write a letter on the back. The only clue we have is
that the play takes place in New York City. Make up an address.
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On The Search…
2. Create a daily journal for Margalo describing the places she is visiting. Decide whether she
went north or south. Describe her adventures.
3. Together, as a class, brainstorm possible endings to the play. Then have each student
choose an option and write out a 1 – 2 page scene with dialogue. Be sure to include stage
directions for the actors.
4. Pretend that Stuart came through your town on his search for Margalo. How did he hear
that she was here? How did he get here? What did he do when he arrived? How did he find
her?
5. On his journey, Stuart had some amazing adventures. Put the following key words or events
in chronological order. Put the letter and the keyword on the line next to the number and
elaborate on Stuart’s adventure on the lines below.
A. Loveliest town he had ever seen
C. School Superintendent
B. Cr. Carey
D. Telephone Repairman
1.
2.
3.
4.
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