roald dahl’s the b.f.g. monday, nov. 16, 2015 mcaninch arts center
TRANSCRIPT
Roald Dahl’s The B.F.G.
Monday, Nov. 16, 2015McAninch Arts Center
Making the Curtain Go Up
DIRECTOR: determined the overall “look” of the show. Guides the actors on where to move and how to make the character more real. Leads the design team.
DESIGNERS: each designer plans either the lights, costumes, makeup, sound/music.
STAGE MANAGER: creates and uses a cue-sheet which directs people to turn things on and off and move scenery and sets on stage.
CREW: builds and operates the scenery, costumes, props, lights, sound.
CAST: all the performers on stage. AUDIENCE: there can’t be a show without you in the
theater. You are a collaborator who responds to the entertainment.
This performance was put together by Dallas Children’s Theater. There are a lot of people who helped
before, during and after every show:
Gobblefunk!
A language created by Roald
Dahl by playing with language
and creating lists of new words for
the BFG to use.
The BFG instructs Sophie to
“Don’t gobblefunk around with
words”
Here is an image of his working
list for the BFG’s Gobblefunk
language taken from
listsofnote.com
Summary of play: B.F.G.The story begins at night during “the witching hour,” when an orphan
named Sophie is snatched out of her bedroom by a giant and whisked away to
Giant Country. Luckily, this is the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) and not the other
terrible, unfriendly Giants.
The BFG catches dreams from Dream Country and blows them through his
trumpet into the minds of sleeping children. The other giants eat children! The BFG
eats only disgusting Snozzcumbers (big vegetables) and drinks only fizzy
Frobscottle.
Sophie and the BFG hatch a plant to save the children from the other
Giants. They mix-up a dream about the giants and sent it to the Queen of England.
When the Queen awakens, she discovers Sophie in her room and Sophie tells her
the dream was true. When the Queen meets the BFG, she sends the Air Force
and the Army to round up the giants and drop them in a huge hole, where they
have nothing to eat forever after – except for Snozzcumbers. The BFG and Sophie
are given places to live next to the Queen's palace and live happily ever after.
Gobblefunk Dictionary1. Because you saw me. If anyone is ever seeing a giant, he or she must be taken away hipswitch.
2. Nothing is growing except for one extremely icky-poo vegetable. It is call the snozzcumber.
3. “No. I love the way you talk.” – Sophie How wondercrump. How whoopsey-splunkers. Thank you, Sophie.
4. A whizzpopper! Us giants is making whizzpoppers all the time! Whizzpopping is a sign of happiness. It is music in our ears!
5. I, Sophie, is a dream-blowing giant. I blows dreams into the bedrooms of sleeping chiddlers.
6. Oh my! It’s a phizzwizard! A golden phizzwizard! This will be giving some chiddler a very happy night when I is blowing it in.
7. Your majester, I is your humbug servant.
8. Delumptious fizzy frobscottle! Everyone must be drinking it!
Invent your own wordsPart One: Connect different combinations of prefixes (beginning of words) with suffixes (end of words) to create your own language.
Part Two: Create definitions for your new word
Part Three: See if a friend can understand your new language
PREFIXESFrob
Whizz
Snozz
Crackety
Mooch
Footch
Scudd
Crod
Sloshfunk
Jabbel
Piffle
Glump
Splatch
Chidd
Troggle
Boggle
Diddly
Hip
Snitch
Telly
Canny
Skump
Frump
Fizz
Slosh
Crump
Slime
Squiff
-switch
-ling
-bunkum
-dillies
-umptious
-some
-leers
-eling
-usterous
-able
-ant
-wise
-ly
-idgy
-scallop
-kin
-let
-wiggler
-flunking
-winkles
-ster
-scoddle
-crimp
-squiddly
-tickling
-splunkers
-tibbles
-bage
-popper
-squeak
-squash
SUFFIXES
AcronymsAcronym is a word formed with the initial letter of a name or word.
It derives from a Greek word that means “first letter name”. Examples:
Pronounced as a word, containing only initial letters
• Scuba: self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
• Laser: light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
Pronounced as a word, containing a mixture of initial and non-initial letters
• AIDS: acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
• Radar: radio detection and ranging
Pronounced as a word or string of letters, depending on speaker and context
• FAQ: frequently asked question
• SAT: Scholastic Achievement Test
Translate the following list of acronyms
ET BFF gr8
FYI LOL CUL8R
www RU there? 4ever
ASAP zzz
USA w/e Extra Credit
TV EZ R.S.V.P.
Classroom Activities: Blowing Dreams
Roll a piece of construction paper into a cone shape and tape the ends to form a ‘dream-horn’.
Use the feather as a dream and blow it upwards through your horn.
Set up a ‘Dream-catcher’ basket.
Have the students work in teams to keep a dream afloat to travel a dream from one side of the room to the basket.
Classroom Activities: Dream Jar & Dream CatcherJournal about your goals and any dreams you have.
Turn these journal entries into a picture and one sentence statement.
Have each dream creation put into a jar
Extend the activity through each student sharing their dream, or having individual jars with each student decorating their own jar.
Native American legend tells of a spiritual leader who received a web from Iktomi, in the form of a spider, to help his people filter bad thoughts from good in searching for wisdom. Dream catchers of twigs, sinew, and feathers have been woven by ancient times by Ojibwa people. They were woven by family for newborn children and hung above the cradle to give infants peaceful, beautiful dreams. Legend holds that the slightest movement of the feathers in the dreams catcher indicates the passage of a beautiful dream while bad dreams are trapped in the web and evaporate in the morning sun.
Illustrate the similarities and differences between the book and this performance of the B.F.G.
Post Show: Compare & Contrast
Post Show: Discussion Questions
What was the first thing you noticed when the play started? Draw a picture or tell about those things you remember.
Did the set change during the play? How was it moved or changed?
How did the lights set the mood of the play?
What did you think about the costumes – did they fit with the story?
What there music during the play? How did it add to the show?
Did the actors bring the characters to life? What did the actors have to do in order to make you believe they were the characters?
Where there any characters or events that were in the book but not in the play? Why do you think these choices were made?
Did the changes make the story stronger or was it weaker because of them?
Seeing a live performance, what helped tell the story?
Special Thanks
SchoolStage Series is supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.
Sources
Dallas Children’s Theater Study Guide http://www.dct.org/nationaltour/2015season/
Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre: www.roalddahlmuseum.org
Official Roald Dahl website: www.roaldahl.com
Arden Theatre Company Study Guide https://www.ardentheatre.org/2007/bfg.html