pippin deaf performance

8/12/2019 Pippin Deaf Performance

1/17

PIPPINBook by Roger O. Hirson

Music and Lyrics by Stephen SchwartzMusic Direction and Arrangements by Steven Landau

Directed and Choreographed by Jeff CalhounCo-produced with Deaf West Theatre

January 15 - March 15, 2009Mark Taper Forum

A WILDLY THEATRICAL MUSICAL PERFORMED IN

SPOKEN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.

TeachingInstructions


2/17

P.L.A.Y. Teaching Instructions Pippin 2

TO THE TEACHERThe Discovery Guide for Pippinhas been developedas a prompt-book for a standards-based unit of studyappropriate for grades six through eight. The specificlearning activities in Theatre Arts can be readily integratedwith other content areas, particularly Language Artsand History-Social Sciences, to accelerate teachingand learning.

THE DISCOVERY GUIDE IS A STARTING POINTPlease adapt the material and extend the learningactivities to meet the needs of your particular community

of learners. Our hope is that the structure and content ofthis guide will not be merely functional, but also inspiring and that teachers and students will share the thrill oflearning through theatre arts.

HOW TO USE THE DISCOVERY GUIDEThe Discovery Guide is not designed as an independentworkbook.It is a resource for learners to develop skillsin storytelling, literary analysis and collaboration that areessential in Theatre Arts, Language Arts, History-SocialSciences and other content areas. Oral discussion andwriting prompts are designed so that students may relatekey ideas to their personal experiences and the worldaround them. Teachers are encouraged to adapt or extendthe prompts. Teachers may choose some prompts forsmall group discussion and others for the whole group.

WRITING APPLICATIONSMany of the prompts in the guide are easily adaptableto match writing objectives your class might already bestudying. Written responses to the prompts may rangefrom short expository answers in complete sentences toformal, five-paragraph persuasive essays.

ORAL APPLICATIONSPippin, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz andbook by Roger O. Hirson, follows a young medievalprince on his quest to do something extraordinary withhis life. The story is framed as an Everyman play ofsorts, performed by a traveling troupe of players. Inthis production, Pippinis performed in spoken Englishand American Sign Language by a company of hearing,hard of hearing and deaf actors. The notion of medievalmiracle plays being staged in the town square creates

opportunities for oral exercises with your students,whether theyre writing their own plays or sketches ortrying their hand at existing scripts. The layer of deafcommunication that informs this particular productionprovides a different opportunity altogether. Whenexposed to the challenges of the deaf world, studentsmay cultivate an appreciation for the relative advantagesof oral communication. At the same time, students willwitness and experience an exciting and distinct approachto essential communication through sign language.Exercises in the Discovery Guide are designed to give yourstudents an opportunity to learn elements of American

Sign Language, as well as to recognize the presence ofsign language in everyday life and to create their own signlanguage expressions.

In addition, the Discovery Guide examines the natureof coming of age stories such as Pippinandencourages students to put their own coming of agestory into words.

The activities are designed to be completed in sequence,but feel free to adapt the guide to best suit the needs ofyour class. The activities on pages four through 13 aredesigned to be completed before the students see theproduction of Pippin. The discussion and writing promptson pages 14 and 15 and the Resources on page 16 areintended to stimulate reflection, analysis and furtherinquiry after students attend the play.

How to Use theDiscovery Guide

The challenges I have in performingPippinare nowhere near as important

as the challenges I hope the audiencewill have. I am very excited as to thequestions this show will spark in theminds of the people who see it. Ty Giordano, one of the actors who playsthe role of Pippin in Pippin


3/17

CenterTheatreGroup.org/education 3

How to Use theDiscovery Guide

Deaf culture comprises alarge and exceedingly diversecommunity of people whoselimited hearing is no obstacleto their ability to communicate,to forge relationships, to sing,to dance, to perform, to createart and to interact with theworld.

Coming of age stories are those inwhich a hero or heroine encountersa new task or responsibility thatawakens a degree of maturity andforges a lesson in life and a newperspective on the world.

How is the world in whichdeaf people live similar to or

different from the hearingworld?

How might one include a deafperson in a social situation?

In what everyday ways do wecommunicate silently?

What does American SignLanguage add to onesexperience of a musical?

What is a coming of age storyand how is it different from other

forms of stories?

What are the important momentsin a story without which therewould be no story?

What events in your life haveshaped who you are today?

THE GOALSPippinconsiders the process ofcoming of age from the perspectiveof a young prince as he samples allthe options that life might provide:war, adventure, romance, indulgence,espionage, family and simplicity.What does one learn when onecomes of age? At what age doessomeone come of age? Doesthe coming of age experiencehappen repeatedly during a lifetime?

By considering these questions,students will be actively engaged ina process of self-reflection and self-assessment, even as they learn aboutthe structures of stories and myths.In this particular production ofPippin, students will be challenged torespond to American Sign Language,a different form of communication.The students experience as audiencemembers will raise the opportunityto consider the essential natureof communication. Do we gleaninformation from spoken wordsalone? Or are we responding to thecontext of the statement, the tone ofvoice, the facial attitude? Are we stillable to appreciate emotions, attitudesand context when spoken wordsare removed from communication?Charted below are some big ideasand big questions that can be raisedbefore, during and after students

experience at the performance.

BigQuestions

BigIdeas


4/17


How to Use the Discovery Guide

THE STANDARDSTeachers should bundle one of the recommendedtheatre focus standards with a focus standard fromanother content area to help design their classesintegrated units of study.

For instance, you might be able to bundle one of therecommended History-Social Sciences focus standardswith a focus standard from Theatre Arts and anothercontent area such as Language Arts to help design theclasses integrated units of study.

THEATREArtistic Perception:Development of the Vocabulary of Theatre1.1 Use the vocabulary of theatre, such as ensemble,proscenium, thrust, and arena staging (such as action/reaction, vocal projection, subtext, theme, mood, design,production values, and stage crew) to describe theatricalexperiences. (Gr. 6, 8)Comprehension and Analysis of the Elements of Theatre1.2 Identify dramatic elements within a script, suchas foreshadowing, crisis, rising action, catharsis, anddenouement, using the vocabulary of theatre. (Gr. 7)Creative Expression: Creation/Invention in Theatre2.2 Use effective vocal expression, gesture, facialexpression, and timing to create character. (Gr. 6)2.3 Create characters, environments, and actions thatexhibit tension and suspense. (Gr. 7)Aesthetic Valuing: Critical Assessment of Theatre4.1 Develop criteria and write a formal review of atheatrical production. (Gr. 8)

ENGLISHLANGUAGE ARTSLiterary Response and Analysis: Narrative Analysis ofGrade-Level-Appropriate Text3.2 Analyze the effect of the qualities of the character(e.g., courage or cowardice, ambition or laziness) on theplot and the resolution of the conflict. (Gr. 6)3.2 Identify events that advance the plot and determinehow each event explains past or present action(s) orforeshadows future action(s). (Gr. 7)3.3 Analyze characterization as delineated through acharacters thoughts, words, speech patterns, andactions; the narrators description; and the thoughts,

words, and actions of other characters. (Gr. 7)3.2 Evaluate the structural elements of the plot(e.g., subplots, parallel episodes, climax), the plotsdevelopment and the way in which conflicts are (or arenot) addressed and resolved. (Gr. 8)Writing Applications:2.1 Write fictional or autobiographical narratives: a.Develop a standard plot line (having a beginning, conflict,rising action, climax and denouement) and point of view.(Gr. 7)2.1 Write biographies, autobiographies, short stories, ornarratives: a. Relate a clear, coherent incident, event, orsituation by using well-chosen details. (Gr. 8)HISTORYSOCIAL SCIENCEEthical Literacy: Recognize the sanctity of life and thedignity of the individual.Cultural Literacy: Understand the rich, complex nature ofa given culture.Participation Skills: Develop group interaction skills.


5/17


How to Use the Discovery Guide

VOCABULARYFamiliarity with the following words will enhance students appreciation of the play and these supporting materials.Review the vocabulary with the students. Discuss the meaning of each word by asking for examples to gauge studentscomprehension of the concept.

Extraordinary adj.Highly exceptional; remarkable

Antiwar adj.Opposed to war or to a particular war

Coming of age Reaching adulthood, maturity, respectability or recognition

Translate v.To restate in one language something written or spoken in a different language

Interpret v.To provide meaning in one language for what is said in anotherNote: Translation and interpretation are of ten used interchangeably, but the meaningsare subtly different. Interpreting involves the communication of meaning or a particularunderstanding. Translating tends to be more literal or straightforward.

Protagonist n.The main character in a novel, play, story, movie or other literary work, sometimes knownas the hero or heroine

Antagonist n.A major character in a novel, play, story, movie or other literary work whose values or

behavior are opposed to or in conflict with those of the protagonist

The sheer beauty and sense of dance in[American Sign Language] add a fluidity

and lyricism that heightens both the actingand the musical numbers. The effect ismore profound than words can describe.Perhaps, like most special moments in life,this is one of those things that need to beexperienced rather than discussed. Jeff Calhoun, director of Pippin


6/17


Page 2: Welcome to Pippin

Rationale:Students will be better able to enjoy the performance and toappreciate the particular context of this production of Pippinif they have aclear understanding of the way in which American Sign Language and spokenEnglish have been combined to allow a deaf theatre company to performa musical. They will also benefit by an awareness of the objectives of theDiscovery Guide and the exercises contained in each unit.

Exercise:Read and discuss the objectives of the Discovery Guide withthe class.

Exercise:Read and discuss the quotation on page 2 by Tyrone Giordano,one of two actors portraying Pippin in this production. Ask the students ifthey understand the statement. Are they familiar with anyone who is deafor the larger disabled community? Are they aware that hearing people andpeople without disabilities sometimes have a complicated response to deafpeople? What questions do they anticipate that such people might haveabout watching a musical performed by deaf people? Students should beencouraged to recognize and retain the specific questions that arise whilewatching Pippinas audience members and while reflecting on the show afterthe performance.

Exercise:Read and discuss the quotation on page 3 by Pippin, the maincharacter in Pippin. Ask the students if they understand each statement. Whatdoes it mean to find a corner of the sky? If the students were to occupy theircorner of the sky, what might that be?

Exercise:Have the students identify the name of the Discovery Guide writerand graphic designer.

Before the Play

WELCOME TO PIPPIN: Page 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Page 3


7/17


Pages 46: Intrigue, Plots to Bring

Disaster

Rationale:Students will be betterpositioned to appreciate Pippinif they are equipped with a basicunderstanding of the story and castof characters. Pippintells a relativelysimple story but the deaf theatreapproach to storytelling, combiningAmerican Sign Language and spokenEnglish, will be a new experience formany students. Some charactersare double-cast with hearing actorsand deaf actors both playing thesame role. Other characters areportrayed by deaf actors speaking insign language, shadowed by hearingactors who simply voice the role.At other moments, the performanceis presented solely in sign language

with no spoken words whatsoever.Students who are firmly grounded inthe essential narrative will be morereadily able to access the interpretiveexpression that deaf theatre bringsto this work. In addition, studentswho are familiar with the story andits characters will be better preparedto appreciate the particular literarydevices employed in Pippin. Thework applies the framework of aplay-within-a-play. It is important

that the students be familiar with thetheatrical device of a performancein which a troupe of players portraysmany other characters. Studentsshould also be aware that playscan sometimes be situated in ahistorical context without attemptingto be historically accurate. Pippinis loosely based on the true storyof King Charlemagne and his sons,Pippin and Louis. Students may besurprised to learn that the real Pippinwas actually of illegitimate birth, ahunchback who was banished to amonastery after leading a rebellionagainst his father.

Exercise: Pop Quiz: The Deaf WorldReview the exercise titled PopQuiz: The Deaf World. Read thestatements and instruct students torespond true or false.

Exercise: Meet PippinRead and discuss Meet Pippin, theintroduction to Tyrone Giordano,the deaf actor cast as Pippin.Review the answers to the true/false quiz and Tys substantivecomments following each answer.Ask students to consider the source

of misconceptions about the deafcommunity. Engage the students ina discussion about deaf people. Dothey know anyone who is deaf amongtheir families and friends? Have theyever encountered a deaf person in apublic place or noticed someonewho is deaf? Have they ever spokento someone who is deaf? Do theyhave any experience with AmericanSign Language?

Exercise: Intrigue, Plots to BringDisasterRead the synopsis Intrigue, Plots toBring Disaster. Discuss the conceptof the play within a play. Studentsshould be able to name examples ofother plays or movies that employa similar device (examples: PrincessBride, The Wizard of Oz). Discuss theconcept of historical settings used totell a timeless or contemporary talerather than to depict historical eventsAgain, students should be able toname plays and movies that employa similar device (examples: Shrek, AKnights Tale, Mulan). Ask students todraw a chart of Pippins family tree,including his grandmother, his father,his stepmother, and his stepbrother down to his relationship withCatherine. Students can alsoconstruct a chart of the majorchapters or events in Pippins life

and times: politics, ambition, war,women, farming, etc. Teachers maywant to revisit the synopsis duringlater sections of the Discovery Guideconcerning coming of age storiesand dramatic narrative.

Before the Play

INTRIGUE, PLOTS TO BRING DISASTER:Page 4


8/17


Exercise: The New MeRead and discuss the article onpage 6 entitled The New Me.Ask students if they are familiarwith the concept of coming ofage stories. Students should bewell acquainted with a number ofcoming of age stories. Almost everyDisney animated feature serves as anexample of the form. Ask studentsto identify the trials and tribulationsthat Simba encounters on his journey

in The Lion King. Students should beable to identify the moment whenSimba suffers a loss of innocenceand later sets his childhood aside inorder to become king.

Exercise: Step It UpRead the exercise entitled Step ItUp. Ask students if they are familiarwith episodes that constituted acoming of age experience in theirown childhoods. Students should beable to identify tests or challengesthat function as a rite of passage intransitioning from elementary schoolto middle school from a tweento a teen. Allow time for studentsto sort through their memories.

Teachers might encourage studentsto revisit thoughts of fifth, fourth,third grade even kindergartenyears by drafting a short list ofmemorable events, favorite songs,movies or television programs, or thenames of particular teachers or bestfriends. (You might ask: Where didyou live? What was the name of yourschool?) Teachers can guide studentsthrough questions about anychallenges that arose during thoseyears that might serve as a comingof age tale for these purposes.

The Step It Up exercise servesas the foundation for subsequentexercises in the Discovery Guide:Silent Storytelling (page 13) andInterpreting an Interpretation(page 15).

MEET PIPPIN: Page 5

THE NEW ME: Page 6

Before the Play


9/17


Before the Play

AN EXCHANGE OF WORDS: Page 7

ME: MY LIFE AND TIMES: Page 8

Pages 78: An Exchange of Words

Rationale:Deaf theatre isdistinguished from other formsof plays-performed-in-translationbecause the act of translationis literally incorporated into theaudiences experience of thework. The script-in-translation isnot handled separately by someunseen adaptor of the words.Given the performative aspects

of sign language, the translationoccurs actively and energeticallyonstage, woven into the context ofany given scene. Because the act oftranslation is front and center inthis production, students shouldappreciate the interpretive aspectsof any translation of text from onelanguage into another. Studentsshould appreciate that translationrequires an interpretive task ofseparating the literal meaning ofwords from their associative meaningwhen used in a particular context.

Exercise: An Exchange of WordsRead and discuss the essayentitled An Exchange of Words.A musical production performedin American Sign Language willimmerse students in an immediateand visceral experience of theinterpretive challenges of translation.

How might translation enhancethe work? How might translationimpede the work? Ask students ifthey perform translation services foranyone among their family or friends.Are they obliged to re-interpretstatements from English into another

language or to explain Americanslang or sayings to someone fromanother culture? Ask students ifthey recognize the issues presentedand whether their own experiencemirrors the statements in the essay.Attempt to parse the nuanceddifferences between translation andinterpretation.

Exercise: Now I Get ItThis exercise will be competed after

the play; however, it is important tointroduce the assignment in advance.Director Jeff Calhoun asserts that theexperience of watching a performancein spoken English and AmericanSign Language can be indescribable.Ask students to be mindful of theirown impressions of the experiencebecause they will later attempt todocument it in words.

Exercise: Me: My Life and TimesStudents should refer to theiranswers given in the exercise entitledStep It Up, and incorporatethose responses into a narrativefor their own personal comingof age stories. Students may feelfree to embellish their stories withimaginative flourishes in the samemanner that the creators of Pippinadded fantastical and creativeelements to their storyline.

This story is the source material fora later assignment about interpretingverbal expression into visualexpression.


10/17


Pages 911: See What I MeanRationale:Deaf culture encompasses

a large and vibrant community ofpeople but most hearing peoplehave limited exposure to the deafcommunity because of their inabilityto share communication. The firststep in cultivating an appreciationof deaf culture is to familiarizestudents with the nature, historyand prevalence of American SignLanguage (ASL). ASL is not the onlyform of communication availableto the deaf community. However,students should be aware that manydeaf people view their deafness witha sense of cultural pride and aretherefore reluctant to embrace anyform of communication that seeksto normalize their behavior andeliminate their identity as a deafperson. As with any culture, thedeaf community seeks to protectits heritage and to be treated withdignity and respect.

Exercise:Read and discuss thequotation on page 9 by GeorgeVeditz. What does the phrasepeople of the eye mean to yourstudents? Why is the eye importantto the deaf community? If they wereto similarly classify themselves,what would your students be thepeople of?

Exercise: See What I MeanRead the essay. Students may

be surprised to learn that deafpeople had to struggle to have ASLrecognized and respected in America.Interestingly, ASL is now becomingincreasingly popular as a second-language component in schoolcurriculums. Students may well befamiliar with Alexander Graham Bellas the inventor of the telephone butnot be familiar with his significancein the deaf community. Teachersmight want to cultivate students

appreciation of the apparent irony inBells respective campaigns to launchthe telephone and to eliminate ASL.The efforts to quash ASL might alsobe compared to the political battlesover bilingual education in California.

Exercise: Meet TyroneReview the brief essay entitledMeet Tyrone. Students ability toappreciate and contextualize the

experience of deaf people in Americawill be enhanced by a degree offamiliarity with Tyrone Giordano,one of the actors who portraysPippin. Tyrones experience as a deafindividual, growing up in hearingsociety, reveals surprising insightsinto the biases and misconceptionsof the hearing world. Encouragestudents to identify deaf or hard ofhearing people in their families or

communities. It might be worthwhileto have hearing students wearcotton as earplugs during a musicalpresentation in the classroom andattempt to still hear the musicin the room. Do they rely on thepounding bass beat? Do they perceivesound vibrations emanating throughthe floor boards?

Exercise: Tips for Hearing PeopleReview the section entitled Tips

for Hearing People. Ask studentsif they have ever engaged with deafpeople and whether they foundthemselves questioning their ownbehavior in that context. Studentsmight create a scenario for eachtip in the classroom, acting out thesituation. Students with deaf friendsor family members might be able toconsult their deaf acquaintances foradditional tips to add to the list.

Exercise: Fingerspelling AlphabetReview the table entitledFingerspelling Alphabet. Manychildren are familiar with thefingerspelling alphabet from earlyeducation programs. Some studentsmight recall the fingerspellingalphabet without having to consultthe table. Students who are beingexposed to fingerspelling for thefirst time might try to familiarize

themselves by spelling their namesand the billboard signs or licenseplates that they encounter in traffic.

Before the Play

SEE WHAT I MEAN: Page 9


11/17


Exercise: The New Kid on the BlockTypically, sign names are assignedby members of the deaf community,either those who are deaf orthose fluent in sign language. Forthe educational purposes of thisexercise, students may reasonablybe encouraged to assign their ownsign names to other students.(One doesnt assign a sign nameto oneself.) Depending on theclassroom, it might help to break into

pairs or small groups. The sign nameuses the fingerspelling alphabet forthe first letter of a persons name,in a sign or a gesture. The guideoffers the example of a girl namedBetty with beautiful hair whose signname might use the fingerspellingfor B and combine it with a gestureas though brushing ones hair.Another example would be a boynamed Sammy who is a dreamer; hemight receive a sign name that takesthe fingerspelling S in a driftingdirection away from his head (ASLfor dream). Teachers may want toremind students that sign namesshould always be assigned in arespectful and appreciative manner.

Exercise: Middle School SignLanguageRead and review the directions forthe exercise entitled Middle SchoolSign Language. American SignLanguage was originally crafted byincorporating French Sign Languagewith existing home-grown signlanguage spoken by deaf studentsand their families. Discuss withstudents whether basic sign languageis a common aspect of human

communication. Students mayobserve, as an example, that teacherstalk with their hands to command aclassroom; certainly politicians do aswell. Athletic students will be familiarwith signals used to relay messagesbetween players and coaches. Theguide references the common handsignals for Thumbs-up, Okay,Hello, Goodbye, Call me andP.U. Teachers might encouragestudents to mirror those gestures and to observe whether theirfaces automatically reflect a differentattitude for each hand-sign. Aneffective sign language incorporatesanimated facial expressions alongwith hand gestures, and sometimeseven the whole body. As studentsapproach the task of inventing theirown sign language, teachers shouldremind them to engage their faces aswell as their hands.

Before the Play

MEET TYRONE: Page 10

Page 11


12/17


Pages 1112: Do You Hear What IHear?

Rationale:Students will be betterprepared to appreciate deaf theatreif they have a context for the deafcommunity at large. Students whoare familiar with the history of thedeaf world will be more able todiscuss their response to the issuesof cultural identity, isolation, languagebarriers and disability awareness that

arise in relation to this productionof Pippin.

Exercise: Do You Hear What I Hear?Read the essay entitled Do YouHear What I Hear? Teachers shoulddiscuss the various conditions ofhearing loss, from impairment tocomplete loss. Students shouldalso appreciate that deafness cansurface in people from any walk oflife, across age, race, religion, genderor sexual orientation. It is importantthat students realize that the deafcommunity doesnt view deafness asa limitation but as a cultural realityand a point of pride. Review TyroneGiordanos quotation regarding thestatement that deaf people live in asilent world in the sections entitledPop Quiz and Meet Tyroneat the beginning of the DiscoveryGuide. He shares that deaf people

are capable of appreciating soundon many levels and compares ahearing impairment to any degreeof visual impairment. Students withdeaf friends or family members mightshare stories of their shared activitieswith deaf people.

Exercise:Review the instructions tothe exercise regarding the studentsown cultural heritage. Teacherscan assist students in appreciatingthat cultural groups gather aroundmany points of identification. It canbe attributes like race, ethnicity,gender, religion, special needs, sexuaorientation or nationality. It can bespecial interests like athletics or theperforming arts. It can be somethingas fundamental as socio-economic

standing. The Discovery Guideprovides fill-in-the-blank responsesfor students to describe their owncultural identification. Teachers mightalso enlist students in a physicalexercise called cultural mapping.Without using words to communicatetheir intention, students are askedto regroup about the room invarious clusters based on differentidentifying factors: eye color, haircolor, height, birth order, number oflanguages spoken, gender or age. Itmight be advisable to avoid anythingso polarizing as race, religion orpolitics. The point here is to conveyto students that cultural attributes aresubjectively dependent upon how aperson identifies oneself.

Before the Play

DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?: Page 11

Page 12


13/17


Page 13: Deaf Musicals: So How DoesThis Work?

Rationale:Students are bound toapproach a deaf theatre productionwith questions as to how deaf peopleare able to effectively perform in themusical theatre. It is best to tacklesome of those questions in advanceso that students are better ableto enjoy the theatrical experience.Students already familiar with deafactors from television shows shouldalso appreciate that deaf performersare capable of song and dance. Songsare sung in sign language. Danceexists without music.

Students will also benefit bypractical exercises in the process ofinterpreting statements into anotherlanguage so that a translation staystrue to the intent of the originalauthor or speaker.

Exercise: Deaf Musicals: So HowDoes This Work?Have the students read the essay.Director Jeff Calhouns personalexperience in staging Broadwaymusicals with combined casts of deafand hearing performers can onlyenhance a students appreciationfor the boldness of this approach.Calhoun comments on the needfor singular focus onstage in thedeaf theatre. Teachers could enlist

students in demonstrating examplesof a group-tableau that has split-focus or multiple points of focus and then an example of a grouptableau that has a singular focus. Inparticular, review Calhouns commentabout the experience of deaf theatre,repeated below. Ask students if theyunderstand what Calhoun means.Remind students to ask themselvesthese questions during the course ofattending Pippin: How did the silencespeak to you? What was it like to seethe music as well as to hear it?

The biggest misconceptionthat some hearing people haveof a musical produced with deafperformers, comments Pippindirector Jeff Calhoun, is that theywill somehow have less of a musicalexperience. The music is still thereand every word of dialogue is

heard. The truth is that if you likemusicals, the experience is actuallymore satisfying. You actually see themusic as well as hear it. Sometimesaudience members have admitted toCalhoun that they never knew howsilence could speak to them.

Exercise: Silent StorytellingReview the instructions to theexercise. Divide students in smallgroups. Within each small group,instruct students to share theirstories, carefully listening for fourmoments to dramatize in tableaux:the goal, the obstacle, the strategyand the outcome. One story maystrike the group as the one thestory that most lends itself to tableauWith that story, allow students time

to write down their assessmentsof those four moments. Studentsshould take time to discuss theirresponses regarding the story so thatthey reach a group consensus as tothe four tableaux moments. Finally,the students create physical tableauxfor all four moments in the selectedstory. It is helpful to remind studentsof the powerful communicationtools utilized in sign language: theface, the hands, the energy, theexpression. Teachers should impressupon students that the fourth stepis the act of interpretation, freelytranslating a verbal story into a visuallanguage. Teachers might want todiscuss the word interpretation interms of actors and directors in thetheatre who interpret playwrightswords with their bodies, voices andmovements. Students should beencouraged to honor the intent and

spirit of the original story in theirinterpretation so that each tableauremains faithful to the story.

Before the Play

DEAF MUSICALS: SO HOW DOES THISWORK?: Page 13


14/17


Before the Play

In theatre arts, a tableau is a frozenpicture. Students might appreciatethis concept more readily if teachersdescribe it as a snapshot, a groupof people assembled in a situation

that conveys information to theviewer. To prepare students forthis exercise, teachers may want toconduct some physical warm-upactivity (like a mirror exercise) torelease inhibitions and to triggercreative impulses. Simple trustexercises will permit the students toengage in respectful physical contactwith each other, an essential factorin staging a tableau. The objectiveof each tableau is for students touse their bodies to communicate anidea, theme or story. Obviously, animportant component in the exerciseis the viewer. Students who are notactively engaged in staging a tableauwill be called upon as audiencemembers to reflect on the variedinterpretations of the idea, theme orstory conveyed in the presentation.

In practical terms, students should

be divided into pairs or smallgroups. One student is designatedas the Artist/Sculptor. Remaining

student(s) are the Clay or thesculpture itself. Teachers mightinstruct the Sculptors to create astatue of the Clay on the theme ofthe future which, for example,could result in a simple greetinglike hello or an attempt to createa flying car. Students should beencouraged to free their imaginationto make sculptures ranging fromrealistic and representational tosymbolic and imagistic. In the

same regard, the scope or frame ofreference in each sculpture can rangefrom the personal to the global (e.g.,graduation or world peace). Eachstudent should title their sculptureand present it to the class. Theexercise should be repeated so thateach student has an opportunity toparticipate as Artist/Sculptor andClay. Students should be encouragedto use their face and their bodies tocommunicate emotions and action.

Once students have acquired basictableau skills, they can be challengedto create a narrative in a series oftableaux that convey a Beginning,Middle and End. The objective is totell a familiar story (Jack and Jill, forexample) in three frozen pictures.Everyone in the group should be ineach picture.

Alternate Exercise: Silent StorytellingThis exercise in interpretationmay also be done as an individualstoryboarding assignment. In thiscase, students exchange stories anddraw a four-panel cartoon for theirpartners story, using the same fourmoments identified in the previousexercise.

An

Introduction

to Tableau


15/17


Page 14: War, War, War

Rationale:Students will wantto process their experience ofencountering sign language inperformance. The questions aboutdeafness and the deaf communitythat arise in students mindsduring this production of Pippinwill correspond to qualities ofempathy, curiosity, compassionand inquisitiveness that shouldbe fostered in each students owncoming of age journey. Studentsattending Pippinwill also be exposedto a strong anti-war statement, anessential element in the originalproduction. Students will benefitfrom an appreciation of the anti-war statement as a dramatic devicethat has been passed down throughhistory. Each generation respondsdifferently to anti-war statements,depending on the political climate

surrounding the present militaryeffort. Anti-war statements playeddifferently during World War II, forexample, than they do during lesspopular wars like Vietnam or Iraq.

Exercise: Picking up SignReview the instructions to theexercise. Teachers will want to referback to the brief essay entitledDeaf Musicals (page 13) and JeffCalhouns quotation regarding the

power of silence in the theatre. Howdid the silence speak to students?What was it like to see the music aswell as to hear it? Encourage studentsto mimic the sign language for eachof the words listed in the exercise exactly as they recall the wordsperformed onstage. Sign languageincorporates not only the hands, butalso the full body as well as facialexpressions.

Exercise: Now I Get It(page 7)Revisit the instructions on page 7.Ask students to share the questionsthat were raised in their minds aboutdeafness and the deaf communityduring the performance of Pippinorafterwards. Encourage students tostate whatever is on their minds, evenwhat might be considered stupidquestions. What surprised themabout sign language or deaf people?

What made them uncomfortable?What made them comfortable?What was their favorite part? Askstudents if questions raised by theperformance were answered duringthe course of the performance or whether they have put anythoughts into the answers since.Ask other students to share answersto the questions based on theirown insights.

Exercise: War, War, WarRead War, War, War. Introduce theconcept of anti-war statements toyour students. Students might beengaged in a discussion of the impactof war on their lives. Has anyone intheir family served in the military?During wartime? Has anyoneserved in Vietnam? In the PersianGulf? In Iraq? Students should alsoappreciate that director Calhounreferences the anti-war statement in

Pippinin relation to the many trialsthat Pippin endures on his journeytoward a meaningful life. Howmuch does military service duringwartime dominate an individualslife experience? Does life go on? Dobattle scars remain?

Exercise:Teachers shouldsupervise students through theirwritten response to the questionsregarding war in general andthe presentation of war in Pippin.Students might want to share anddiscuss their responses aloud in theclassroom. Teachers might also wantto introduce additional questions forconsideration. Why are we fightingthe war in Iraq? Why are we fightingthe war in Afghanistan? How doessociety benefit by war? How doessociety suffer in wartime?

After the Play

WAR, WAR, WAR: Page 14


16/17


Page 15: Once Upon A Time

Rationale:Students will benefitby an appreciation of dramaticnarrative and the particularapproach to storytelling in Pippin. Anunderstanding of formal narrativestructure will enhance studentswriting abilities and their abilityto comprehend and comment ondifferent literary forms, like novels,poetry and plays. Also, studentswho are familiar with the principlesof goal-setting, internal/externalobstacles, strategies and outcomewill be able to apply those conceptsto their understanding of problem-solving techniques and collaborationskills.

Exercise: Once Upon A TimeReview the essay entitled OnceUpon A Time. Draw particularattention to new vocabulary words

like protagonist and antagonist.In particular, teachers may want todiscuss the difference between activeand passive protagonists. In brief,active protagonists take charge oftheir destiny; passive protagonistsallow destiny to reach them. Studentsmay be able to list examples ofeach type of protagonist based onfilm, television and literature. Forexample, Luke Skywalker is an activeprotagonist. Charlie, in Charlie

and the Chocolate Factory, on theother hand, is passive. Discussthe antagonist in Pippin. Is theresomeone working in opposition toPippin? Since there is not a clearanswer to this question, this is anopportunity for a lively discussion.

Exercise:Review the instructionsto the exercise that follows OnceUpon A Time. Students are askedto identify the dramatic elementsof Pippin. Teachers might want toreview the difference between aninternal and an external obstacle.Internal obstacles are charactertraits that impede a heros positivegrowth. Students might respondto brainstorming lists of internalconflicts that prevented Pippinsdevelopment or the possibleinternal conflicts for any character.Examples include shyness, anger,

immaturity, laziness, jealousy, vanityand hypocrisy. External obstaclesare other people, physical challengesor adverse circumstances. Again,students might list the externalobstacles that confronted Pippin.Examples include political power,war, women, marriage, family andrelationships.

Exercise: Interpreting anInterpretationReview the instructions for theexercise. Return to the small groupsformed for the Silent Storytellingexercise. Each group should performtheir four-tableau story (goal,obstacle, strategy and outcome) forthe collected classroom. Encouragestudents to render their tableaux withan emphasis on the attitudes andemotions that will faithfully convey

the original authors intent for thestory. Following the presentationof each series of four tableaux, theentire classroom will write individualparagraphs recounting the storyas interpreted by each studentwho witnessed it, trying to be asfaithful as possible to the imagesin the tableaux. Again, teachersmight want to discuss the wordinterpretation in terms of writersand playwrights who interpret theirexperience of the world by creatingcharacters, situations, actions anddialogue. Students will share theirinterpretations with the author ofthe original story and compare theresults. Students should be able tojustify their interpretations basedon visual cues they received. Whataspects of each story changedthe most from the original?What gestures or positions were

understood most consistently bythe viewers?

Alternate Exercise: Interpreting anInterpretationFor classes who have createdstoryboards, have students givetheir drawings to a third person tointerpret back into text. Compare theinterpretation to the original.

After the Play

ONCE UPON A TIME: Page 15


17/17

Page 16: Resources and About P.L.A.Y.

Rationale:Students can be motivated to use skills and knowledge gained fromPippinto extend their learning in other curricular areas.

Exercise: Beyond the Performance Encourage students to list new insights or questions raised by deaf theatre

the deaf community, American Sign Language, coming of age storiesand anti-war statements.

Encourage students to stay alert to the presence of the deaf community inthe world around them: individuals speaking American Sign Language,closed captions on television, sign interpreters at performances or on

cable television programs. Post a list of encounters with the deafcommunity on the board.

Exercise:After the students have seen the play, have them write a letterusing one or more of the following elements of writing: narrative, descriptive,expository, response to literature or persuasive. Mail their responses to:

Center Theatre Group Education601 West Temple StreetLos Angeles, CA 90012

After the Play

RESOURCES AND ABOUT P.L.A.Y.: Page 16

pippin deaf performance

Documents