Zoellner Arts Center
420 East Packer Avenue
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA
2013-14 Season
Monday Matinée Study Guide
Lightwire Theater
The Ugly Duckling & The Tortoise and the Hare
Monday, May 5, 2014 at 10 a.m.
Baker Hall, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University
420 E Packer Ave Bethlehem, PA 18015
Welcome to the Monday Matinée
at the Zoellner Arts Center
On Monday, May 5, at 10 a.m., your class will attend a Monday Matinée performance of Lightwire
Theater: The Ugly Duckling and The Tortoise and the Hare at Lehigh Univeristyʼs Zoellner Arts Center
Baker Hall.
"The ancient art of full-body puppetry gets a magical, luminous update . . . Children will love the clear,
fast-paced stories, each with a positive message and kid-friendly humor. Adults will enjoy the musical
in-jokes and marvel at how the heck Lightwire Theater does it all with only four (so few?) people!" Leigh Witchel, Dance Writer, New York Post
Using this Study Guide
You can use this study guide to engage your students and enrich their Zoellner Arts Center field trip.
Before attending the performance, we encourage you to:
• Copy the Theatre Etiquette Sheet and Student Resource Sheet on pages 2&3 for your students to
use before the show.
• Discuss the information on pages 4&5 About the Performance and Artists.
• Read About the Art Form on Page 5 and About the Stories on page 7 with your students.
• Engage your class in two or more activities on pages 13-16.
• Reflect by asking students the guiding questions.
• Immerse students further into the subject matter and art form by using the Resource and Glossary
sections on pages 13-17.
At the Performance
Your class can actively participate sure the performance by:
• Listening to the rhythms and expressive music that accompanies the dancers.
• Observing how the performerʼs movements and gestures enhance the performance.
• Thinking about how you are experiencing stories in a new way by attending a live performance of
full body puppetry, movement and classic tales.
• Wondering at the skill of the performers.
• Reflecting on the sounds, lights, and performance skills you experience at the theater.
We look forward to seeing you at Zoellnerʼs Monday Matinée.
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 2
Table of Contents
1
Theatre Etiquette
4
2
Student Resource Sheet
5
3
About the Performance and the Artists
6
4
About the Art Form
7
5
About the Stories
9
6
Additional Resources
12
7
Glossary
13
8
National Coalition for Core Arts Standards
14
About Monday Matinée Study Guide
16
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 3
1 Theater Etiquette
Be prepared and arrive early. Ideally you should arrive at the Zoellner Arts Center
20-30 minutes before the show. Allow for travel time and bus unloading or parking and plan to be in
your seats at least 15 minutes before the performance begins.
Be aware and remain quiet. The theater is a “live” space. You can hear the
performers easily, but they can also hear you, and you can hear other audience members, too! Even
the smallest sounds like rustling papers and whispering can be heard throughout the theater, so itʼs
best to stay quiet so that everyone can enjoy the performance without distractions. The international
sign for “Quiet Please” is to silently raise your index finger to your lips.
Show appreciation by applauding. Applause is the best way to show your
enthusiasm and appreciation. Performers return their appreciation for your attention by bowing to the
audience at the end of the show. It is always appropriate to applaud at the end of a performance, and
it is customary to continue clapping until the curtain comes down or the house lights come up.
Participate by responding to the action onstage. Sometimes during a
performance, you may respond by laughing, crying or sighing. By all means, feel free to do so!
Appreciation can be shown in many different ways, depending on the art form. For instance, an
audience attending a string quartet performance will sit very still while the audience at a popular
music concert may be inspired to participate by clapping and shouting.
Concentrate to help the performers. These artists use concentration to focus
their energy while on stage. If the audience is focused while watching the performance, they feel
supported and are able to do their best work. They can feel that you are with them!
Please note: Backpacks and lunches are not permitted in the theater.There is absolutely no
food or drink permitted in the seating areas. Recording devices of any kind, including cameras,
cannot be used during the performances.
Please remember to silence your cell phone and all other mobile devices.
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 4
2 Student Resource Sheet
In an age when television, computers and
video games reign supreme, the folks at
Lightwire Theater (in conjunction with
Corbian Visual Arts and Dance) bring their
use of cutting edge technology, moving
sculpture and dance to another unforgettable
theatrical experience.
“The Ugly Duckling” and “The Tortoise and
the Hare” follows in Darwinʼs footsteps with
its use of Corbianʼs signature
electroluminescent (it glows in the dark)
puppetry.
Hans Christian Andersenʼs “The Ugly
Duckling” has helped generations of children
understand one of humanityʼs universal
struggles. Lightwire Theater brings this
classic story to the modern stage offering
hope to us all as we root for the ugly
duckling who exemplifies resilience and
heroism along the way to becoming a
beautiful swan.
Aesopʼs fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare,”
now more than 2,500 years old, continues to
drive home the time-tested adage, “Slow and
steady wins the race.”
Lightwire Theater, with its dazzling visuals,
poignant choreography and creative use of
music ranging from classical to jazz to pop,
literally brings these beloved tales into a new
and brilliant light.
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 5
3 About the Performance and the Artists
Viewing Strategy: • Stay focused on your reason for watching.
• Before you get started, think of what you already know about puppetry. Keep this in mind as
you watch the performance.
• Find out what the different elements of puppetry are and what influenced this companyʼs
development.
• Compare and contrast the ways in which clothing choices and costumes tell the story.
• After the performance, sum up what you have learned.
The Creators:
Corbin Popp, from Lincoln, Nebraska, sparked interest in dance at
the Lincoln Midwest Ballet Company pausing to pursue academics,
graduating in 1999 with a BS in Biochemistry, minor in math and
physics, from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL). In 2000,
he was a Fulbright scholar located in Germany. He began his
professional dance training during his final years at UNL, and has
since continued on dancing professionally with the Omaha Theater
Company, The Sacramento Ballet, Complexions, Billy Joel's Movin'
Out on Broadway and most recently The Phantom of the Opera on
Broadway.
A native of New Orleans, Ian Carney began his training with Harvey
Hysell and Diane Carney. He continued his studies as a scholarship
student with David Howard in New York and Devon Carney of the
Boston Ballet. Mr. Carney graduated from Tulane University with a
Bachelor of Arts in English Literature while continuing to perform
with Ballet Hysell in New Orleans. He then joined Montgomery
Ballet with his wife Eleanor in 1996. He has danced principal roles
in Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Scheherazade,
Petrouchka, and Les Sylphides to name a few. He danced the lead
role and was a dance captain in Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp's
musical Movin' Out for three years on Broadway. Mr. Carney has
guested extensively across the United States as a dancer, teacher
and choreographer. Currently he balances his directing and
performing with instructing ballet at Tulane University.
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 6
4 About the Art Form
Adapted from Lightwire Theaterʼs Study Guide
(available in full at this link: http://www.iancarney.com/images/downloads/The-Ugly-Duckling-Study-Guide.pdf )
Through art, science and technology, the characters of “The Ugly Duckling” come to life! All of the
puppets are lined with electroluminescent wire (EL wire), which glows in the dark.
1: Copper in the middle of the EL wire conducts
electricity, letting it travel from one place to another.
2: A material called phosphor surrounds the copper
wire. The phosphor glows when electricity runs
through the wire.
3: A colored plastic tube
surrounds the phosphor and
copper, completing the EL wire.
4: When the EL wire is attached to a
power source, such as a battery, it
glows! A battery pack that powers the
EL wires is hidden on each creature in
the show.
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 7
Creating the Show
They drew what they want the animal to look like.
They then made the puppet with a helmet and
aluminum wire.
They put on the helmet and started to rehearse
Then they added the EL wire and the power pack,
turned it on and this is what the finished cat head
looks like in the dark.
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 8
5 About the Stories
The Ugly Duckling
Plot Summary
When the tale begins, a mother duck's eggs hatch. One of the little birds is perceived by the other
birds and animals on the farm as a homely little creature and suffers much verbal and physical abuse
from them. He wanders sadly from the barnyard and lives with wild ducks and geese until hunters
Illustration by Vilhelm Pedersen,
Andersenʻs first illustrator
slaughter the flocks. He finds a home with an old woman
but her cat and hen tease him mercilessly and again he
sets off on his own. He sees a flock of migrating wild
swans; he is delighted and excited but he cannot join them
for he is too young and cannot fly. Winter arrives. A farmer
finds and carries the freezing little bird home, but the
foundling is frightened by the farmerʼs noisy children and
flees the house. He spends a miserable winter alone in the
outdoors mostly hiding in a cave on the lake that partly
freezes over. When spring arrives a flock of swans
descends on the now thawing lake. The ugly duckling, now
having fully grown and matured cannot endure a life of
solitude and hardship any more and decides to throw himself at the flock of swans deciding that it
is better to be killed by such beautiful birds than to live a life of ugliness and misery. He is shocked
when the swans welcome and accept him, only to realize by looking at his reflection in the water
that he has grown into one of them. The flock takes to the air and the ugly duckling spreads his
beautiful large wings and takes flight with the rest of his new family.
Discussion Questions
• Why Does the duck sit upon the nest of
eggs at the beginning of the story?
• What are some of the things that were
“ugly” about the “ugly duckling”?
• Why did the ugly duckling run away from
the farm?
• How would you handle a situation where
somebody was teasing you?
• What happened to the geese that the ugly
duckling encountered?
• Talk about a place where you feel
“accepted.”
More resources for The Ugly Duckling
Free Download Picture Book of The Ugly
Duckling:
http://www.free-toddlers-activity-and-disciplineguide.com/support-files/the-ugly-duckling.pdf
Penguin Books Young Reader Fact Sheet about
The Ugly Duckling.
http://www.penguinreaders.com/pdf/downloads/
pyr/factsheets/9780582428584.pdf
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 9
The Tortoise and the Hare
from Childhood reading.com
http://childhoodreading.com/?p=3
Once upon a time there was a hare who, boasting how he
could run faster than anyone else, was forever teasing
tortoise for its slowness. Then one day, the irate tortoise
answered back: “Who do you think you are? Thereʼs no
denying youʼre swift, but even you can be beaten!” The hare
squealed with laughter.
“Beaten in a race? By whom? Not you, surely! I bet thereʼs
nobody in the world that can win against me, Iʼm so speedy.
Now, why donʼt you try?”
Annoyed by such bragging, the tortoise accepted the
challenge. A course was planned, and the next day at dawn
they stood at the starting line. The hare yawned sleepily as
the meek tortoise trudged slowly off. When the hare saw
how painfully slow his rival was, he decided, half asleep on his feet, to have a quick nap. “Take your
time!” he said. “Iʼll have forty winks and catch up with you in a minute.”
The hare woke with a start from a fitful sleep and gazed round, looking for the tortoise. But the
creature was only a short distance away, having barely covered a third of the course. Breathing a
sigh of relief, the hare decided he might as well have breakfast too, and off he went to munch some
cabbages he had noticed in a nearby field. But the heavy meal and the hot sun made his eyelids
droop. With a careless glance at the tortoise, now halfway along the course, he decided to have
another snooze before flashing past the winning post. And smiling at the thought of the look on the
tortoiseʼs face when it saw the hare speed by, he fell fast asleep and was soon snoring happily. The
sun started to sink, below the horizon, and the tortoise, who had been plodding towards the winning
post since morning, was scarcely a yard from the finish. At that very point, the hare woke with a jolt.
He could see the tortoise a speck in the distance and away he dashed. He leapt and bounded at a
great rate, his tongue lolling, and gasping for breath. Just a little more and heʼd be first at the finish.
But the hareʼs last leap was just too late, for the tortoise had beaten him to the winning post. Poor
hare! Tired and in disgrace, he slumped down beside the tortoise who was silently smiling at him.
“Slowly does it every time!” he said.
Discussion Questions: • Was the hare kind or polite to the tortoise? • Has anyone ever spoken unkindly to you before? How
did you feel? How did you react? Do you wish you had
acted differently? • Have you ever spoken unkindly to someone? How did
you feel? How do you think they felt? How do you wish
you had spoken to them? • What does diligence mean? • What would happen if you were not diligent in feeding a
pet or farm animal? What about practicing a musical
instrument? • How did the tortoise demonstrate diligence? How did
the hare not demonstrate diligence? Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 10
Who was Aesop?
Aesop was an ancient Greek storyteller. He lived 2500 years
ago, around 550 BCE. Some say he was a slave who so delighted his master with his
stories that Aesop was given his freedom. The Greeks were like
that. They rewarded talent. That old legend could be true. There are no records to prove that Aesop ever wrote anything
down. Fortunately, many years after his death, people started to
write down the fables Aesop collected, so they could be more
easily shared. Over the centuries, Aesop's fables have been rewritten and
published and illustrated and translated into almost every
language in the world. For your consideration, ...
A new take on an old tale.
Speedy the Hare gives his version
of his famous race with the tortoise
and he would like you to know that,
whatever you may have heard, he is
the fastest creature on the farm.
Truly!
This story is available as an
interactive Powerpoint file and
Whiteboard resource for schools
and home schools. Download from
here. http://www.storynory.com/
2008/05/18/the-hare-and-thetortoise/
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 11
6 Additional Resources
Suggested lesson plans from Kennedy Center ArtsEdge –
available for download from the links included.
Masks and Aesopʼs Fables (grades K-4)
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/lessons/grade-k-2/Masks_and_Aesops_Fables.aspx
This multi-media visual and language arts lesson offers intellectual, creative, and interpretive
opportunities through the use of books, music and the internet. 4 hours. (Theatre, Visual Arts, Social
Studies, English)
Moving Tales (grades 5-8)
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/lessons/grade-5/Moving_Tales.aspx
Students practice using their bodies to communicate through movement and improvisation, and
pantomime games. Groups then read and interpret an assigned Grimm Brothersʼ fairy tale. 2 hours.
(Theatre, Physical Education, Language Arts)
Elements of Fables
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/lessons/grade-6-8/Elements_of_a_Fable.aspx
This lesson focuses on describing the general literary elements in fables. In this particular lesson,
students will recognize the key elements of a fable (moral, character, and figurative language) 1 hour,
30 minutes. Theatre and Language Arts.
Writing an Original Fable
Grades 5-8
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/lessons/grade-6-8/Writing_a_Fable.aspx
In this lesson, students will use the steps of the writing process (brainstorming, drafting, revising,
proofreading, and publishing) to write and perform original fables as skits. 1 hour 30 minutes. Theatre
Literary Arts and Language Arts.
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 12
7 Glossary
Aesop: a storyteller from ancient Greece.
Artistic director: a person who has artistic control of a companyʼs work. They will often choose a
companyʼs season and direct several works.
Choreographer: a person who composes dance works.
Electroluminescent wire (often abbreviated to EL wire): a thin copper wire coated in a phosphor which
glows when an alternating current is applied to it.
Ensemble: the united performance of an entire group.
Hans Christian Anderson: a Danish author and poet best remembered for this fairy tales.
Phosphor: a substance that exhibits the phenomenon of luminescence (glows in the dark).
Repertoire/Repertory: the list of works that a company is prepared to perform.
Solo: any performance by one person.
Work: a word that dancers use to refer to a dance; other words that are used in this manner are
“piece.”
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 13
8 National Coalition for Core Arts Standards
The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) in 2012 released a report: The Arts and the
Common Core: A Review of Connections Between the Common Core State Standards and the
National Core Arts Standards Conceptual Framework
The new, voluntary grade-by-grade web-based standards are intended to affirm the place of arts
education in a balanced core curriculum, support the 21st-century needs of students and teachers,
and help ensure that all students are college and career ready. The arts standards emphasize
philosophical foundations, enduring understandings/essential questions, and anchor/performance
standards, all of which are intended to guide the curriculum development and instructional practices
that lead to arts literacy for all students. The current project timeline includes a release date of March,
2014, for the complete and finished standards. –
For your consideration and use, we share with you some of the content-based
alignment strategies that support Core Standards for Reading. Attending the
performance and using any or all of the suggested activities of this study guide
support learning strategies highlighted below.
The College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading included the greatest number of
arts references in the entire analysis. There are a total of 10 Anchor Standards for Reading, applied
to a total of 11 grade levels (including Kindergarten, grades 1-8, and combined grade level standards
for grades 9-10 and grades 11-12) in two categories (Literature and Informational Text), for a total of
220 standards reviewed in this analysis. Among these 220 standards, 50 contain at least one direct
reference to arts-based learning. Among these references are:
Reading a work of drama: This was by far the most common arts reference in the Common Core
standards. The reading of works of drama was referenced or suggested in 26 standards at all grade
levels.
Example: Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama,
drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
In addition to recommendations for students to “read a story, drama, or poem” or analyze a “chapter,
scene, or stanza,” there were two references to considering the differences in points of view of
characters in a story or drama.
Analyzing and interpreting images and illustrations: In 17 instances throughout the reading standards,
there were recommendations for students to consider the relationship between the illustrations and
the text of a story, understanding the difference in authorsʼ and illustratorsʼ roles in telling stories, and
using information gathered from both images or graphics and the words in a text.
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 14
Example: With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in
which they appear.
While at the earlier grade levels, the standards emphasized looking at pictures or illustrations
specifically, as the grade levels progressed, the definition of illustration broadened noticeably to
include charts, graphs, and audio and video presentations.
Comparing the same work in different media: In 12 instances throughout the reading standards,
references were made to the comparison of the same or similar works presented in different media.
The most recurrent example was that of comparing and contrasting a written story or drama with its
performance-based counterpart.
Example: Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or
viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear”
when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.
Within this set of recommendations, it is notable that there were a number of references to comparing
written works specifically to multimedia examples.
Example: Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing
each mediumʼs portrayal of the subject.
To read the full report from the College Board, please see this link: http://nccas.wikispaces.com/file/
view/Arts%20and%20Common%20Core%20-%20final%20report1.pdf/404993792/Arts%20and
%20Common%20Core%20-%20final%20report1.pdf
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 15
About the Monday Matinée Study Guide
This Monday Matinée Study Guide was compiled, written, edited, and (especially)
designed with material adapted by study guides offered by the Cal Performances of
the University of California, Berkeley. Other models of excellent study guides for
material and presentation that inspired this document: the University Musical Society,
For Further Consideration
National Childrenʼs Book week – May 12-18, 2014
Established in 1919, Children's Book Week is the longest-running national
literacy initiative in the country. Every year, commemorative events are held
nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes -- wherever young readers
and books connect! Stay tuned to Zoellner Education for updates on whatʼs happening around the
world, and in our community for any activities connected to National Childrenʼs
Book Week.
Monday Matinée - Lightwire Theater, p. 16