PLAY GUIDE
The Red Badge of Courage
Adapted by Kathryn Schultz Miller
Based on the novel by Stephen Crane
Presented on the LCT Main Stage: Jan. 31 - Feb. 3, April 29 - April 30
On tour: February 7 - May 6, 2017
418 W. Short Street
Lexington, KY 40507
859.254.4546
www.lctonstage.org
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Dear Educator Lexington Children’s Theatre is proud to be producing our 78th season of plays for young people and their families.
As an organization that values the arts and education, we have created this Play Guide for teachers to utilize in
conjunction with seeing a play at LCT.
Our Play Guides are designed to be a valuable tool in two ways: helping you prepare your students for the enriching
performance given by LCT’s performers, as well as serving as an educational tool for extending the production
experience back into your classroom.
We designed each activity to assist in achieving the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and National Core Arts
Standards for Theatre. Teachers are important voices at LCT, we rely heavily on your input. If you have comments
or suggestions about our Play Guides, show selections or any of our programming, your thoughts are greatly
appreciated. Please email Jeremy Kisling, our Associate Artistic Director in Charge of Education, at
[email protected].
Please use the Teacher Response form following a performance. We are thrilled that you rely on LCT to
provide your students a quality theatrical experience, and we hope this resource helps you in your classroom.
LCT’s Education Department
The mission of our education programming
The mission of Lexington Children’s Theatre’s Education Department
is to provide students of all ages with the means to actively
explore the beauty, diversity, complexity, and challenges of the
world around them through the dramatic process. We strive for
young people to develop their own creative voice, their imagination,
and their understanding of drama and its role in society.
Your role in the play
You may wish to have a discussion with your class about your upcoming
LCT experience and their role as audience members. Remind your
students that theatre can only exist with an audience. Your students’
energy and response directly affects the actors onstage. The quality of
the performance depends as much on the audience as it does on each of
the theatre professionals behind the scenes and on stage.
Young audiences should know that watching live theatre is not like
watching more familiar forms of entertainment; they cannot pause or
rewind us like a DVD, there are no commercials for bathroom breaks,
nor can they turn up the volume to hear us if someone else is talking. Your students are encouraged to listen and watch
the play intently, so that they may laugh and cheer for their favorite characters when it is appropriate.
At the end of the play, applause is an opportunity for your students to thank the actors, while the actors are thanking
you for the role you played as an audience.
What to know - before the show!
Play Synopsis
The Red Badge of Courage is the story of Henry Fleming,
a young soldier who has always dreamed of going to war.
He is anxious to prove himself and be a brave hero. When
he enlists and arrives at the Yankee Camp, Henry’s romantic
notions of war are dispelled by the reality of waiting to fight.
As his regiment waits for action, Henry begins to worry if he
will brave in battle or if he will turn and run.
In the first skirmish, Henry is filled with anger as he fights,
but when the Rebels charge again it becomes too much for
him. He thinks that the other army must be superhuman to
be able to attack again. He notices other soldiers turning
to run and, sure his regiment will be defeated, flees the
battlefield. Away from his company, Henry overhears that
his side had won, and tries to justify his act of cowardice. He meets a tattered man who wants to
compare wounds, making Henry uneasy that he will be found out as a deserter. He sees another soldier
staggering in a field and recognizes him as Jim Conklin, a friend from his regiment, who has been
fatally wounded and who soon dies. Henry has little time to grieve before he is faced with a rush of
fleeing Union soldiers. In the confusion, he is hit in the head with the butt of a rifle. He returns to camp,
claiming that his head injury is from battle, and that a bullet grazed him.
Henry throws himself into the next battle, consumed with rage and not even noticing when the enemy
retreats, earning respect as a hero and fierce fighter. Another battle ensues and, when they see the
flag bearer get hit, he and his friend Wilson carry their flag to victory. In their final battle they capture
their enemy’s flag. Still not proud of his previous actions but now considered a hero, Henry has a new
perspective on battle and can continue in his life with a new bravery and maturity.
What to know - before the show!
Then and Now
Life was completely different in the time of the Civil War. Try to
discover what it was like to be an American back then. With
partners or individually, have students research to compare the
following items. Feel free to add to the list. The first is done for
you.
Item
Daily Income
1860
2017
$1/day
$7.25/hour
Fastest Means of Communication
Cost of Bread
Transportation
Popular Book
Common Hobbies
Entertainment
Lead a discussion about which changes most surprised students,
and why they think these changes have occurred.
KAS: TH:Re7.1.5; ELA-WR:5.3
What to know - before the show!
Children in War
The Red Badge of Courage is a first-hand fictional account of one young boy’s experience in the Civil
War. Although there were age restrictions, many young people either lied about their age or were let
in anyway and performed a variety of jobs on the battlefield. These jobs included:
Soldier
Drummer
Couriers (messengers)
Bugle player
Barber
Hospital attendant
Powder boy
Have students research one of the above jobs, or any other
job young people helped with in the civil war. Once they have
gathered information about the job, have them write a one
paragraph monologue from the perspective of a young person
who performed that job during the civil war. They should write
about what they do and how they feel about their job. Then
have students share their monologues by either performing
them for each other in small groups or as a class.
KAS:TH:Pr4.1.5; TH:Cn11.1.5; ELA-WR:5.7
What to know - before the show!
Motion Battle
Students watching The Red Badge of Courage may
hear words they are not familiar with. In groups of
three or four, have students find definitions for the
following vocabulary words. Next, have each student
pick a word from the list below, so that each group has
either three or four different words. Each student will
create a movement for their word, remembering that
movements can be abstract and should be classroom
appropriate, and will teach their word and motion to
the rest of their group. Then each group will take
turns presenting everyone’s word and motion, first
showing the motion, then saying the word.
Union
Confederacy Regiment
Calvary
Brigade
Shell
Reserves
Artillery
Battery
General
Infantry
Bayonet
KAS: TH:Cr.1.1.5; TH:Pr4.1.5
Face your Fears
In The Red Badge of Courage, Henry has to face his fear and fight in a war. In the box below,
draw your biggest fear, and on the lines below, write how you would overcome it.
KAS: TH:Re7.1.5; ELA-WR:5.3
How to grow - after the show!
Flag Creation
By the end of the play, Henry has regained his bravery and proudly carries the flag of the Union. To
him, the flag was important because it symbolized the army he was fighting for and the beliefs he
held. Ask students what they think the features of the American flag represent. They will probably
know that the 50 stars represent the 50 states, and may know that the 13 stripes represent the 13
original colonies. The red symbolizes valor, the white represents purity, and the blue represents
vigilance. Using various art supplies, have students create their own flag. Ask them to think about
what the different colors and shapes they use stand for, or symbolize, and what their choices say
about themselves. After all the flags have been completed, have students share the symbolism in
their flags, either in small groups or as a class.
KAS: TH:Pr6.1.5; VA:Cr1.1.5
How to grow - after the show!
Folk Music
There are several patriotic folk songs that appear in the play.
Traditionally these songs were sung by soldiers at their camps to
improve morale or pass time, and were about things the soldiers
were experiencing. In small groups, have students write their
own folksongs about life in school, to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle
Little Star, or another melody of their choice. Songs need to be
at least two verses long, and each verse should have about four
lines. After all songs are written, have each group present their
song by either reading or singing it to the class.
Verse 1:
Verse 3:
Verse 2:
KAS: TH:Pr6.1.5; MU:Cr3.2.5
Find the Theme
There are many themes present in The Red Badge of Courage.
Lead a group discussion about these themes, and make a
list of themes as a class. Divide the class into small groups
and give each group a theme from the list, making sure no
other groups hear. Ask groups to create a tableau, or frozen
picture, that shows a image from the play that expresses their
theme. Ask the other groups to guess what theme and image
the tableau is presenting, then discuss how that group used
their whole bodies and faces express themselves.
KAS: TH:Cr.1.1.5; TH:Pr4.1.5
How to grow - after the show!
Write Home
Name: _____________________________
Henry’s mother initially doesn’t want him to leave, but supports his decision in the end. On the
lines below, write a letter from Henry to his mother, telling her how he’s doing and what has been
happening in his life. Henry has a wide variety of experiences and emotions in the play, so make
sure you choose when your letter was written. Was it written while Henry was nervously waiting
at camp, after his first victorious battle, after he ran away ashamed, or a different time? Discuss
how Henry’s emotions and experiences affect what he chooses to tell his mother, and the way his
letter is written.
Dear Ma,
Sincerely,
Henry
KAS: TH:Re7.1.5; ELA-WR:5.3
How to grow - after the show!
Resources and Related Titles
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
After injuring his hand, a silversmith’s apprentice in Boston
becomes a messenger for the Sons of Liberty in the days
before the American Revolution.
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
Young Jethro Creighton grows from a boy to a man when
he is left to take care of the family farm in Illinois during the
difficult years of the Civil War.
Bull Run by Paul Fleischman
Northerners, Southerners, generals, couriers, dreaming boys,
and worried sisters describe the glory, the horror, the thrill,
and the disillusionment of the first battle of the Civil War.
A House Divided: The Lives of Ulysses S. Grant & Robert E.
Lee by Jules Archer
The lives and military careers of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E.
Lee, the two generals who led the fighting during the Civil War.
LCT teaches in YOUR school!
Would you like to see some of these play guide activities modeled in your classroom?
Book a workshop for your class with one of LCT’s teaching artists! In our pre-show workshops, our teaching artists
will engage students in acting skills and themes from the play through drama activities. In our post-show
workshops, students will extend their play-going experience by strengthening their personal connection to the
play and deepening their understanding of the themes and characters.
Call us at 859-254-4546 x233 to book a pre or post-show workshop for your class!
To learn more about Lexington Children’s Theatre and our programming for your school visit:
www.lctonstage.org/for-educators/in-school-experiences/