Artistic Director Allen MacInnis
Managing Director Nancy Coy
Jan 24– March 7
2004
NEW CANADIAN KID
Study Guide
Written by Dennis Foon and
Jane Howard Baker
Direction by Leah Cherniak
Supported by Standard Broadcasting
CAST
Featuring (in alphabetical order)
Mug
Sean Baek
Mench
Claire Calnan
Nick
Richard Harte
Mother
Laurel Paetz
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Set & Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Music by
Gibberish Coach
Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Victoria Wallace
Andrea Lundy
Todd Charlton
Kirk Elliott
Mike Kennard
Maria Costa
Robert Harding
Illustration by Vanessa Chong
Lig: Jared Matsunaga-Turnbull
Photo: Ian Jackson
Study Guide by Nancy Guertin
Illustration by Vanessa Chong
Thanks to
Peace Center for the Performing Arts,
South Carolina
Now available online: www.lktyp.ca
THEATRE ETIQUETTE
As members of the audience, you play an important part in the success of a theatrical performance.
Students accustomed to watching television in their own homes and those who attend rock concerts and
movies are used to eating snacks, moving around, getting in and out of their seats or sharing comments
aloud during a show. Movies and TV shows are not affected by the audience. Please make clear to students that the rules are different at a live theatre performance.
We want you to laugh, cheer, clap and really enjoy your time at the theatre but there are a few rules that
need to be followed. Students’ behavior is the responsibility of school staff and volunteers. LKTYP staff
cannot discipline your students but will insist on their removal if they disrupt other groups.
Please review the following theatre rules with your students prior to your LKTYP visit:
•
Food, drinks, candy & gum chewing are not permitted in the theatre. The LKTYP snack bar is
not open at school performances. NO PEANUTS or NUT products may be brought to our theatre as
so many children have severe life-threatening allergies.
•
No electronic devices are permitted in the theatre – they affect our sound system! e.g. Walkmans, radios, pagers, cell phones, etc. Students seen with such equipment will be asked to
leave them at the Box Office for pick-up after the show.
•
Photography and both audio or video recording during a performance is strictly prohibited
by Canadian Actors’ Equity regulations. Film or video cassettes will be confiscated by LKTYP
staff.
•
Please be considerate audience members! Talking, whispering, shuffling about in your seats or
rattling candy papers during a live performance are rude and disruptive behaviours that are
disturbing for other audience members and distressing to the actors.
•
Please do not leave your seat and re-enter the theatre during the performance
Try to plan washroom visits before the show and during intermission.
•
Do not throw anything on to the stage or into the audience.
•
Students are not to permitted to leave the building during intermission unless accompanied by
a teacher or parent supervisor.
•
Be respectful of the LKTYP staff
They are available to ensure that ALL audience members have the best possible theatre experience.
•
Please report any disturbances or disruptive behaviour during the performance to an LKTYP
staff member.
Remember, your students are ambassadors of your school when you’re out on a field
trip! A hard-working cast of actors and a host of talented theatre artists, technicians and
craftspeople have worked hard to create an enjoyable and entertaining theatre experience for
our school and family audiences. With your co-operation in following these guidelines, we are
sure it will be just that!
NEW CANADIAN KID ~ HISTORY
The original inspiration for this play was provided by a teacher in Vancouver who saw the wealth of
resources of ESL students in her class. Teacher Carole Tarlington ran a program where children
interviewed each other to learn each other’s stories about coming to Canada. Playwright Dennis Foon
began to work with her and helped to shape the interviews into a play. The children’s work was
performed as Immigrant Children Speak.
Dennis Foon later used this concept to develop a script at Green Thumb Theatre. Jane Howard Baker
( the director of the first production) suggested the idea of using gibberish in the play for the Canadians
and English for the newcomers. Her feeling was that gibberish would help the audience understand
what it’s like to be surrounded by a foreign language.
Dennis Foon wanted to explore what a new immigrant experiences when arriving in a new country. The
trauma of culture shock is often exacerbated by negative reactions from the residents. He hoped to
create a universal play that focused on common experiences shared by most immigrants.
New Canadian Kid has been performed across Canada, the U.S., England, Sweden, Denmark, Hong
Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand (in other countries under the title New Kid). This play is
an important tool for teachers who wish to work with issues of name-calling, bullying and racism.
CHARACTERS
Nick
Mug
Mench
Nick’s Mother
an immigrant boy, new to Canada
a Canadian boy, picks on Nick
a Canadian girl, makes friends with Nick and sticks up for him
a woman from Homeland, she is having some problems adjusting to Canada
INDEX
BEFORE THE PLAY
History of the play
……………………………………………………... 1
Director’s notes
……………………………………………………... 2
Designer’s notes
……………………………………………………... 3
Costume Designs
……………………………………………………... 4
Thrust Stage, Gibberish, Mirrors ……………………………………………... 6
AFTER THE PLAY
No Words Allowed, Gerseglob & Shlamstick, What’s in a name …………. 7
Interviews, Global Village, Circles all Around ……………………………... 8
Circle Drawing Activity
……………………………………………………... 9
UniquO
……………………………………………………………………... 10
Canadian Immigration History
……………………………………………... 11
Bibliography—Respect for Diversity
……………………………………... 12
Web Resources
……………………………………………………………... 13
1
LEAH CHERNIAK ~ DIRECTOR
Leah is Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director with Martha Ross of Theatre Columbus.
For Theatre Columbus, she most recently directed Hotel Loopy and Gynty - an Adaptation of Peer Gynt. Other Theatre Columbus shows include the Chalmers Awardwinning The Betrayal, Lonely Nights and Other Stories, The Barber of Seville and The
Cherry Orchard. Leah directed and co-wrote The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine, which
was published in 1990 and has been performed in theatres across the country and internationally. In 1997 she played Jelly in The Attic, The Pearls & Three Fine Girls,
which she co-wrote and has been published and performed throughout Canada.
When not with Theatre Columbus, Leah also teaches clown (Ryerson, George Brown,
etc.) and directs for other theatres. She directed The Miracle Worker last year for
LKTYP and in February, Leah will direct Rune Arlidge by Michael Healey at the Tarragon Theatre.
NOTES FROM THE DIRECTOR
New Canadian Kid explores the feeling of being an outsider. Being different can be disadvantageous, but the very quality that sets you apart can create magic and be the catalyst for new
energy and transformation in others.
Drama:
Knowledge
of Elements
When people are true to who they are in the midst of changing circumstances, that creates a
positive energy and new possibilities. Nick remains positive and open during some difficult
times. Being open to your environment leaves you vulnerable, but it also attracts many new experiences: some positive, some negative. Nick bears the brunt of teasing, bullying and racism,
but he also makes new friends and shares customs from his homeland. He brings new ideas
and richness to his adopted home.
In this production, I chose to explore and heighten the sense of the other. That will be created
through exotic costuming of the Homelanders, in some of the unique props used in the show,
and in household rituals that have been created by the actors. Ask your students to watch for
hints of this in the production.
One of the unique aspects of Dennis Foon’s classic play is the use of gibberish by the Canadians throughout the play. When only Nick and his family speak English, it really makes clear the
experience of immigrants and the impact of what happens when the comfort of a familiar language is taken away. The cast will be exploring body expression, physical communication and
the use of voice and intention behind the words to make their meaning clear.
New Canadian Kid has the honour of being the first production at LKTYP to be built on the
newly constructed thrust stage. This is the perfect show to be presented on this stage because
the thrust allows the audience to be closer to the performers. This configuration insists on a
greater intimacy with the audience and focuses attention on the actors, body language and
movement.
For me, this play is a sparkling gem. We hope to infuse a sense of magic, and exoticism to
these fascinating strangers that arrive in our midst, bringing with them new customs, ideas and
foods. How fortunate for us that they chose us.
2
VICTORIA WALLACE ~ SET & COSTUME DESIGNER
Born in England, Victoria Wallace has been living in Canada since she was ten years old.
Her previous work with LKTYP includes Costume Design for The Miracle Worker, The
Secret Garden and Ghost Train. Most recently, Victoria was Costume Designer for The
Piano Lesson (Obsidian Theatre Company), The Perilous Pirate’s Daughter (Blyth Festival),
A Chorus of Disapproval (Soulpepper Theatre Company), and was Set and Costume Designer for The Outdoor Donnelly’s (Blyth Festival); Syncopation (Mirvish Productions/MTC);
and Chekhov Longs (Theatre Smith-Gilmour). Her other credits include Associate Costume
Design for Platonov and Uncle Vanya (Soulpepper). Victoria is a Dora Mavor Moore Awardwinner for Outstanding Costume Design for The Bald Soprano (Soulpepper).
NOTES FROM THE DESIGNER
This is the first time for LKTYP to use its new thrust stage. A thrust stage provides a unique set of
features: the performers must be able to be seen from all angles, it is important to have a very
small set , and it gives greater focus to the floor. It creates greater intimacy as the audience surrounds the performers. The actors play in the round.
Drama:
Knowledge
of Elements
Visual Arts:
Elements of
Design
An artist’s
tools
In this design, the floor has a special painted treatment, and the main acting area is a circular revolve. There will also be clouds and globes hanging from the grid above the stage. Behind the
playing area will be a blackboard running the full width of the stage and beyond. I tried to create a
complete environment that includes the audience and gives the illusion of carrying on outside of
the parameters of the acting area.
The director Leah Cherniak wanted to create a sense of magic, and a motif of circles conveying
the the global connectedness of us all, and recurring cycles. The revolve, clouds and hanging
globes all work to reinforce that motif. The revolve helps to create magic by allowing things to appear in the playing space without being obviously moved by the actors. It also creates interesting
energy and dynamic tension by being able to move in either direction and to move at different
speeds. An actor can walk on the surrounding stationary stage, while another actor is walking on
the moving revolve. To create a sense of magic: the clouds will be able to be lit for special effects, the globes will be able to turn at key moments and actors and props will be able to appear
unexpectedly from behind the blackboard partition upstage of the revolve.
Costuming also serves to reinforce a sense of magic or exoticism of the new immigrants. Nick and
his mother will be dressed in a shimmery bright neon green that will not appear anywhere else.
They will bring a new colour to the spectrum that has not been experienced before. Their costuming will not be identifiable as coming from any particular place. The Canadians will be dressed in
ordinary contemporary street clothes. As the play progresses, Nick gradually acquires pieces of
Canadian-style clothing to highlight his gradual acclimitization to his new environment. He also,
however, chooses to keep pieces of his Homelander clothing as part of his emerging identity.
See Costume Designs
3
COSTUME DESIGNS
VISIT THE WEBSITE TO VIEW THE COSTUME DESIGNS IN COLOUR
www.lktyp.ca/eductional.html
4
5
THRUST STAGE
Thrust Stage (Definition):
a theatre stage that extends out into the audience’s part of a theatre and has seats on three sides.
A thrust theatre is a stage in which a large section of the playing area (stage) extends outward into
the audience. People surround three sides of the stage. Sometimes there is a proscenium arrangement upstage of the thrust. A stage may have a thrust of any size or shape. The Festival stage at
Stratford is a prime example of a thrust stage.
Drama:
A thrust stage provides unique challenges for the director and the actors. The actors often have their
Knowledge back to some part of the audience, so they must be particularly aware of movement and sight lines.
of
Elements
The thrust stage was a typical formation in Elizabethan theatre but then went out of use. It came into
popular use again in the 20th century.
Research these other stage types: proscenium, in the round, black box
GIBBERISH
Gibberish is a great way to take the focus off words and to explore the power of movement and vocal
expression. Explore these techniques with your students before coming to see the play.
Drama/
Dance:
Before starting, do some vocal games to encourage range of vocal expression. Read a well-known
nursery rhyme and encourage them to play with their voices. Read with a variety of expressions.
Encourage students to think about volume, tone, speed and quality of emotional expression.
Movement
Explore Readers’ Theatre techniques.
Concentration
Place students in pairs. Assign situations to your students: give them the location and who their
characters are. Be specific. Here are a few examples to get you started.
Language:
Non-verbal • A father is at the grocery store with his 10 year-old son. The father sprains his ankle.
Communi- • An old woman is at the hairdressers. Her deaf hairstylist cuts her hair too short
• Two old friends meet at the bus stop. Joe (22) has just lost his job. Jim (21) is going on a vacacation
tion to Europe.
Vocal
Expression
Rehearse the scene using only gibberish. Present the scene for the class and guess what the scene
was about.
MIRRORS
This is a classic activity for exploring movement. Experiment with this over several lessons working
with different types of music.
Place students into pairs facing each other. Appoint one person as the leader the other as his mirror
reflection. Tell students that we should not be able to tell who is the leader and who is the follower.
Start by moving in one place, moving their arms. As they begin to become more comfortable encourMovement age them to use their whole body. Lift up one leg, put it down. Get down on your knees, crawl
across the floor. Jump up and hop. Reach for something above them.
Drama:
As they become more comfortable, split the class in half and see if they can guess who is the leader.
6
NO WORDS ALLOWED
There are many ways of communicating. Ask your students how they would communicate in a foreign country where no one understood English. There are many ways to make yourself understood.
Talk to your students about physical communication such as facial expression, eye contact, body
posture, and gestures.
Language:
Using no words at all, students must arrange themselves in order according to:
Non-verbal
communi- •
•
cation
Drama/
Dance:
Phys. Ed.
•
•
Height. Start with the shortest at one end and work to the tallest at the other end.
Birthdays. Start with January at one end and work to December at the other end. Students
should make sure that they are in order within the month as well.
Shoe size.
Alphabetical order by first name.
GERSEGLOB AND SHLAMSTICK
Social
Studies:
Nick learns to play the Canadian games gerseglob (baseball) and shlamstick (hockey)
Traditions
&
Celebrations
What kinds of games might they play in Homeland? Get into groups of 4 and invent a new ball
game. Write the rules down, and explain them so someone else outside of your group can follow
them. Match a group with another group and teach the new games to each other.
Language: Or
Oral &
Working in groups of 4, invent the world of Homeland. These activity could be spread over several
Visual
Comm.
weeks. Have each group responsible for creating different aspects of Homelander life such as
foods, climate, maps, holidays, toys, houses and schools. You could even create a new alphabet
Presenta- by substituting a new symbol or geometric shape for each letter of our alphabet. Each group should
tion skills
do a display table on their topic and present their ideas to the rest of the class.
WHAT’S IN A NAME
Newcomers to any country are often subject to hurtful slang names. Often newcomers stand out
because of different clothing, headware, foods and customs. In the play, Mug insults Nick by calling
him KERMIT DA FROGLET, HOMIE , HOMER and especially SGAK. The taunts get more extreme
as the play progresses.
Bullying
Conflict
Resolution
Discuss this with your students.:
Brainstorm about how it would make Nick feel. How did Nick respond to the taunting?
Was his method successful? Did it stop the name-calling? Did it make him feel better?
Why do you think Mug calls him names? What happens when the name-calling starts?
Has this happened in your school? If this happened to you, what could you do?
Experiment with role playing in the classroom. Refer to Theatre Games for the Classroom by
V. Spolin or Improvisation by David Booth for more activities. If you would like to explore Forum
Theatre in depth, visit this website for an introductory Article on the techniques of August Boal and
Theatre of the Oppressed techniques: http:www.communityarts.net/readingroom/archive/boalintro.php
See the Bullying website resources and the Respect for Diversity Reading List at the back of the guide
for more resources.
7
INTERVIEWS
NEW CANADIAN KID was first created by kids interviewing each other. You can create your own
classroom collection of stories.
Language
Writing,
Oral Communication
Presentation skills
Social
Studies:
Immigration
Divide the class into pairs. Each pair should have
A. a reporter doing an interview on a fascinating person and their family background and
B. B an interviewee.
The reporter interviews their partner and collects any interesting pieces of information about them
and their background. After they have collected enough information, switch roles. Each person introduces their partner to the rest of the classroom. Try to add interesting facts that their classmates
may not know.
Write it up as a short story. Collect all the stories into a classroom history book.
POSTERS
Have each student bring in something that expresses something distinctive about their own background. Photographs, images, symbols or household objects. Have each partner create drawings
or paintings of each other that incorporate these into the drawing.
GLOBAL VILLAGE
Nick and his family have traveled from a strange land and brought many unique customs with them.
The Director has deliberately left his country of origin unknown.
Social
Studies:
Immigration
Traditions &
Celebrations
Discuss with your students :
• Why people might leave their home to move to a strange land.
• How difficult it might be to leave their friends and family behind.
• What it might be like to arrive in a country where you don’t speak the language.
• How would it feel to be unable to read the words on the
signs
andand
in books.
signs
in books.
• Did you notice some of the invented rituals and customs of the Homelanders in the production?
• How were they different?
Encourage students to discover when their families came to Canada (most Canadians are immigrants somewhere in their past) Find a map of the world and put pins in for every country of origin
of your students .
Identify languages spoken in your school community. Write the languages on the chart paper.
Write as many different words of hello as you can using the languages of your school family.
CIRCLES ALL AROUND
Drama:
Designer Victoria Wallace has incorporated circles throughout the set.
Discuss with your students (before the play):
• Encourage them to pay attention to the set design and see if they can spot where circles were incorporated into the design
Knowledge
of Elements (after the play)
• What did they see?
(hint there were circles in the Revolve on the stage, Nick’s special bowl, the globes hanging from
Visual Art
the grid above the stage, and the clouds that travel beyond the setting)
• What do they think was the significance of the circles? What was the Director trying to convey?
Nick: “In Homeland we say the bowl keeps food and the food keeps life”
8
Clouds and circles are used in the set.
Imagine you are looking up at the clouds.
Use these circles to draw your own picture.
9
Uniqu-O is an interactive Bingo-like game that allows your students to get to know each
other better and gets them talking about their similarities and differences.
Each square requires them to find someone who…………. Once they have found that person
they must write their name in the square. They may only use a person once.
U
N
I
Who has the Who has the Who is left
same colour same colour handed
of shoes
hair
Q
U
Who speaks Who has a
another
dog
language
Who is right Who lives in Who plays a Who plays
handed
a house
sport
an
instrument
Who likes
computer
games
Who has a
fish
Who likes
snow
Who has a
cat
Who lives
Who walks
with a
to school
grandparent
Who has a
brother
Who has
allergies
Who likes
summer
Who lives in Who likes to
an
dance
apartment
Who has a
sister
Who knows
how to ski
Who knows Who has
how to swim two homes
Who is a
vegetarian
O
Who has a
relative in
another
country
Who likes
pizza
Who knows
how to play
chess
Who has a
brother
Who rides a
bike
CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HISTORY
►
Three million immigrants pass through Partidge Island, following the Great
Potato Famine in Ireland
►
Chinese immigrants begin arriving in British Columbia in the late 1850’s for the
Gold Rush. Roughly 15,000 Chinese labourers work on building the Canadian
Pacific Railway from 1875-1885.
►
Refugees who were forced to flee from the Yugoslav regime in 1899 open up the
West at the beginning of the twentieth century . Sir Clifford Sifton, Minister of
the Interior from 1896 to 1905 offers free land when the United States is restrict
ing immigration
Immigration
►
The Railway Agreement of 1925 results in a surge of immigrants from continental
Europe
Canada, a
Changing
Society
►
Halifax’s Pier 21: Serves as a point of entry for over 1.5 million immigrants from
1928 to 1971
►
Severe economic times in the Great Depression, results in a freeze of new
immigrants. Few Europeans fleeing Nazi oppression are able to gain entrance to
Canada
►
War Brides: 48,000 war brides and their children arrive in Canada during and
after World War Two
►
70% of Canada’s postwar immigrants are Italian. Toronto ranks with New York
and Chicago as having the largest Italian populations outside of Italy
►
Canada accepts 37,500 Hungarian refugees in 1956 and 1957 at a time when the
Soviets crush the Hungarian uprising
►
In 1968 and 1969, Canada takes in 11,000 Czechoslovakian refugees who flee
their homeland after the Warsaw Pact armies invade Prague
►
In 1972, Canada resettles over 6,175 Ugandan Asians after President Idi Amin’s
order to expel 80,000 Asians
►
In 1973, 6,000 Chileans flee to Canada in opposition to the Allende government
and the coup d’Etat
►
From 1975-1978, Canada resettles almost 9,000 Indochinese after the fall of
Saigon
►
In the 1990’s, 62,000 Tamil’s come to Canada, fleeing political strife in Sri Lanka
Social
Studies:
Patterns in
Human
Geography
Select one of these topics and do an
independent research project.
11
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EXPLORING ISSUES OF RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
Prepared by Christine Jackson
Originally Appeared in CODE Touchstone/ Summer 2003
Picture Books
Barnwell, Ysaye M. No mirrors in my Nana’s House. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, c1998
Watts, Irene N. The Fish Princess. Toronto: Tundra Books, c1966
Henkes, Kevin. Chrysanthemum. New York: Mulberry Books c1991
Cartwright, Pauline. Arthur and the Dragon. New Zealand: Nelson Price Milburn Ltd., c1990
Browne, Anthony. Willy and Hugh. Toronto/Vancouver: A.E.T. Browne & Partners, c1991
Dennis Wyeth, Sharon. Something Beautiful. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell, c1998
Martinez, Alejandro; The Woman Who Outshone the Sun. California. Children’s Book Pres. C1991
Raschka, Chris. Yo! Yes?. New York: Orchard Books. C1993
Raschka. Chris. Ring! Yo?. New York: Dorling Kindersley. C1993
Hathorn, Libby. Way Home. London, Andersen Press. C1994
Cannon, Janell. Trupp. New York: Harcourt Brace. C 1995
Seskin, Steve. Don’t Laugh at Me. Toronto: Tricycle Press. C2002
Duncan Edwards, Pamela; Barefoot. HarperCollins. C1997
Novels
Singer, Nicky. Feather Boy. Great Britain: Collins c2002
Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. C2000
Matas, Carol. The Freak. Toronto: Key Porter Books. C1997
Holman, Felice. Slakes’s Limbo. New York: Simon & Schuster. C1986
Anderson, Laurie. Speak. New York: Puffin Books. C1999
Carol Oates, Joyce. Big Mouth & Ugly Girl. Ontario: Harper Tempest. C2002
Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. New York: HarperCollins. C1999
Plays
Brooks, Martha. I met a Bully on the Hill. Toronto: Gordon Shillingford Publishing Inc. c1986
MacLeod, Joan. The Shape of a Girl. Jewel. Vancouver: Talonbooks. c2002
Foon, Dennis. War. Winnipeg: Blizzard Publishing. C1995
Teacher Resources
Booth, David. Story Drama. Markham: Pembroke Publishers. C1994
Booth, David. Classroom Projects Connecting Writing and Drama. Hamilton: Caliburn Enterprises Inc. c1998
Neelands, Jonothan. Structuring Drama Work. New York: Cambridge University Press. C1990
Swartz, Larry. Dramathemes. Markham: Pembroke Publishers. C2002
Booth, David. Improvisation. Toronto: Harcourt Brace. c1985
12
WEB RESOURCES
BULLYING INFORMATION, SUPPORT AND RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET
www.bullying.co.uk/
www.bullying.org/public/frameset.cfm?w=b
www.scre.ac.uk/bully/
www.successunlimited.co.uk/
www.antibullying.net/
www.education.unisa.edu.au/bullying/
www.nobully.org.nz/advicek.htm
www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying/
www.police.govt.nz/service/yes/nobully/
Http://lincoln.midcoast.com/~wps/against/bullying.html
www.ericfacility.net/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed407154.html
www.bullybeware.com
www.lfcc.on.ca/bully.htm
www.stopbullingnow.com/
www.parlonsen.com/
www.childline.org.uk/Bullying.asp
www.student.city.ac.uk/!rc313/bullying.html
www.prevention.gc.ca/en/library/publications/fact_sheets/bullying/
The Council of Drama & Dance in Education (C.O.D.E. )
is your provincial subject association.
Go to the website at www.code.on.ca
for great teacher resources for Drama & Dance.
13
PLAYING AN ACTIVE ROLE
We applaud the support of our partners and sponsors whose generosity
ensures the artistic integrity of Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People
Season and Educational Partners
Season Media Sponsors
City Parent Newsmagazine
Today’s Parent Toronto Families
Government and Foundation partners
Histori!ca Foundation of Canada