The Great Illusionist

The Great Illusionist Teachers’ Resources Written and prepared by Katy Warner

Arts Centre Melbourne’s Schools Program is dedicated to fostering the arts by giving schools the opportunity to see a diverse range of excellent theatre in fully produced form.

These education resources have been created for students in Years 3-6.

The content is designed so teachers can adapt and develop the discussion and activities according to their students’ learning needs, existing programs and school contexts.

The resources have been developed with a view to addressing the following:

Learning Areas Capabilities

The Arts - Drama

Critical and Creative Thinking

English Personal and Social

Science

Contents

About the show: The Great Illusionist .............................................................. 2

Focus One: Illusionists and Magicians ............................................................. 3

Focus Two: Multiple Intelligences .................................................................... 7

Focus Three: Drama ........................................................................................ 9

Focus Four: Magic ......................................................................................... 12

Focus Five: Before and After the Show (Responding) ................................... 13

Resources ...................................................................................................... 17

Appendix ........................................................................................................ 19

1

About the show: The Great Illusionist

We sometimes say: the only thing we do not do is make theater "exclusively for adults". For us, family theater is larger and larger, filled with universal stories and all possible art disciplines. In the beginning we combined mainly play and music, over the years it has been expanded with puppets, songs, objects, visual art, science and live film made for you.

Het Filiaal Theatermakers

The Story There is always more to magic than meets the eye.

The Great Illusionist is a spellbinding journey of a young boy’s dream to make it big in the

world of magic. A tale of daring and willpower, the importance of a good assistance, and of

course, a white rabbit. Laced with superbly executed illusions and magic tricks, the show

follows the boy’s raise from magician’s assistant to star on the world’s stage.

Cast and Creatives

Het Filiaal Theatermakers were inspired by anecdotes of great illusionists such as Ricky Jay, Chung Ling Soo and Penn & Teller. Actor and theatremaker Ramses Graus was apprenticed to magician Ronald Moray in preparation for this performance. Graus won the prestigious Golden Cricket award for most impressive stage performance for his role in The Great

Illusionist.

Written and directed by Monique Corver

Music by Gábor Tarján

Performed by Ramses Graus, Henke Tuinstra & Gábor Tarján

Set and Lighting Design by Claus den Hartog

Costume Design by Lisa Louwers

Translator Paul Evans

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Focus One: Illusionists and Magicians English | Drama | Critical & Creative Thinking | Personal & Social What is an illusionist?

Discuss the title of the play with your students – The Great Illusionist.

• What is an illusionist?

• Have you ever seen an illusionist perform? What did they do? How did it feel

watching them?

Illusionists might be magicians however not all magicians are illusionists. Both magicians and

illusionist amaze their audience with tricks that deceive the eye. However, an illusionist does

this on a much bigger scale. An illusionist will use large props and dazzling effects in their

performances.

• What sort of magic tricks would you expect an illusionist to perform?

Magic is a very old art form that has existed for hundreds of years. The first magicians

performed at fairs. They would travel from place to place and perform alongside other

extraordinary acts like juggling, sword-swallowing and fire-breathing.

In the 1840s, magic moved into the theatre. In 1845 Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin

(considered the father of modern magic) opened a magic theatre in Paris. John Henry

Andersen opened the New Strand Theatre in London in 1840 where he performed as The

Great Wizard of the North.

From then on, it became typical to watch illusionists and magic performances in theatres.

Much like we do today.

There are many famous illusionists throughout history. Ask students if they know the names

of any magicians or illusionists.

The Greatest Illusionists Biography Project

As a starting point, read a biography on Harry Houdini (see links to suitable publications in

RESOURCES section) with the class.

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Use this biography and perhaps any others you may have read as a class, to highlight the

features and characteristics of a biography.

• What is a biography?

• What are the features of a biography? Consider:

o Text structure

o Elements (such as character and setting)

o Graphics / Illustrations / Photographs

• Fiction or non-fiction? Discuss the differences and how, perhaps, a biography could

have a little a both!

Younger Students may like to stick with Harry Houdini and create their own biographies about

this great illusionist.

Older Students may like to choose another illusionist or magician to research and write about.

Ideas include:

• Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin

• John Henry Andersen

• Harry Keller

• Or they may like to choose a more contemporary illusionist

It may be tricky to find information from a range of sources for research. Ensure students look

beyond Wikipedia, and encourage them to seek out other forms of research such a

encyclopaedias and library books where possible.

See APPENDIX 1 (page 20 of this resource) for ideas on how students can organise their

notes and ideas before writing the biography.

These biographies could form the basis of an oral presentation about the great illusionists.

Students can create visual aids (posters / Prezi or PowerPoint presentations etc) to further

enhance their presentation and these could potentially be displayed in your classroom.

Class Discussion:

Consider what all these great illusionists had in common.

• What made them great?

• What sort of characteristics did they share?

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• You may discover that many of them had been drawn to magic as a young person

and had a lot of motivation and determination to become the greatest magician or

illusionist.

If you have seen the show, ask students to consider:

• What did these real life illusionists have in common with The Great Illusionist from the

performance?

• Can you find aspects of any of the illusionists you researched in the performance of

The Great Illusionist? Were any of the illusions or tricks or characters similar to those

that you discovered through your research?

Becoming a Great Illusionist!

In play, the Rabbit tells us what it takes to become a great illusionist. He says:

“Discipline. Flexibility. Willpower. Willpower is more important that talent. You have to workout and be in tip-top shape. You have to be able to keep a secret. You like to deceive people.”

Discuss this list with the class.

Create a brainstorm in which the students explore the talents and skills a great illusionist must

have. See APPENDIX 2 (page 21 of this resource) for inspiration.

Discuss with the class:

• How could you become a famous magician? How would you learn tricks and

performance skills?

Ask students to learn a magic trick. You can find easy to learn tricks online or in books. There

are options in the RESOURCES section.

You may like to create a performance day, where the class can present / perform their tricks

to each other. In preparation for this activity, highlight the presentation skills that are important

for magicians. Brainstorm ideas with the class. Consider:

• Voice

• Character – what is your magician name? How about a costume?

• Expression

• Movement and Gesture

• Presentation style – is there a set-up? How smoothly can you perform the trick? How

does the trick conclude?

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Students present / perform their magic trick to the class.

You may also like to extend this activity and have students create step-by-step instructions

and teach their tricks to each other.

Once the class has learnt a simple magic trick, ask them to consider how they could learn a

bigger, more complex magic trick or illusion. These sorts of tricks are not in books or in

YouTube clips. Ask students why they think this is the case? The answer is, of course,

secrecy.

Explain to students that all tricks must remain strictly secret. Ask students to consider reasons

why this is so.

There are different versions of The Magician’s Oath around. Here is one from the American

Society of Magicians to share with your students –

“As a magician I promise never to reveal the secret of any illusion to a non-magician, unless that one swears to uphold the Oath in turn. I promise never to perform any illusion for any non-magician without first practicing the effect until I can perform it well enough to maintain the illusion of magic.” And, in The Great Illusionist we hear the performers give a version of this Oath –

“Do you swear you’ll never betray the secret of an illusion to a non-magician? And do you swear you’ll practice long enough to be able to do a trick faultlessly before you show it to an audience?”

Throughout the performance, we hear that some people prefer to ‘believe the magic’ and that

‘people want to be deceived’. Discuss with the class what they think is meant by that. Do they

agree / disagree? Why?

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Focus Two: Multiple Intelligences Cross-Curriculum | Critical & Creative Thinking | Personal & Social

Using The Great Illusionist as a starting point, discuss with the class how many illusionists

and magicians knew they wanted to work in magic from a very young age. Explain to your

students that many famous magicians started practicing tricks when they were their age!

Famous Dutch illusionist, Hans Klock, told Het Filiaal Theatremakers (translated from Dutch):

“At the age of ten I was an over-imaginative boy. My grandparents gave me a magic box for my birthday and from that moment nobody was allowed in my room. That was where I practiced my tricks and guarded my magic secrets. The girl next-door asked me to perform at her birthday party, after which I was asked to do another performance and that started the ball rolling. It is difficult to describe the skills a magician needs. You have to be dexterous, able to act and have a fascination with impossible things. And above all, you must have an enormous perseverance.”

Amercian illusionist, Kayla Drescher, told LA Weekly about her start:

… magician Kayla Drescher became obsessed with magic when a random bathroom stop on a family road trip took her into a magic store. "The only place with an open restroom was a magic shop," she recalls. "I was 7, and the guy behind the counter cut a piece of rope in half and then put it back together. Something clicked in my brain." Drescher got serious. She convinced her parents to let her start taking lessons from the man who cut the rope in order to prepare for her second-grade talent show. Soon, she was asking her dad to drive her to a town an hour away to attend monthly Society of Young Magicians meetings. "I was the only girl," Drescher recalls. "The first day I walked in, a small group of boys told me, 'You should leave. Girls don't do magic.'?" She laughs. "I had this personality where that stuff never affected me. I just didn't care, so I stayed. Slowly, over time, more girls came. But it was never an equal number. At most there were three girls to 50

boys."

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Ask students to list all the skills they think are required of an illusionist. Here are some

examples for Het Filiaal Theatremakers to get you started:

• Collaboration / ability to work together (working with assistants)

• Creative thinking (creating and building tricks)

• Fit, strong and agile

• Courageous

• Autonomy (ability to work alone when practicing secret)

• To be able to keep a secret (tricks must remain top secret)

Add more to the list and ask students to rank these in order of most to least important. Allow

for discussion, and debate, around their choices.

Consider: Different people have different skills and talents. And so will magicians and

illusionists.

Multiple Intelligences

Introduce the idea that everyone is talented and skilled in a different way. You may like to

give the students some background into Howard Gardener and his theory of Multiple

Intelligences, or, perhaps just jump straight into some activities.

There are excellent resources for introducing Howard Gardener and Multiple Intelligences to

your class, complete with worksheets, available online at BBC: Teaching English and

Discovery Education.

What Am I Great At?

Using the discoveries from the Multiple Intelligences, focus on the skills and talents of your

students. Ask them to choose something that they are great at which they can demonstrate or

present to the class.

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Focus Three: Drama Drama | English | Critical & Creative Thinking | Personal & Social Ask students to remember the moment in the play when we are first introduced to the boy

who becomes The Great Illusionist.

The two performers, Ramses Graus and Henke Tuinstra, tell the story while sitting at a little

table. They use foam cut-outs of houses and trees, which magically appear from their hands

and the table, to tell the story. Gábor Tarján adds music for effect and atmosphere.

What other skills do the performers use to tell this story?

Consider:

• Voice

• Facial expression

• Pause and silence

• Character

• Costume and props

Below is a translation of this story from the Dutch production of The Great Illusionist. You may

like to read this to the class to remind them of this moment in the play. Ask students to listen

to carefully to the language of the piece – what adjectives can you hear in this piece and how

does descriptive language enhance the story for the audience?

He grew up in a little village. Somewhere between Warsaw and Bratislava. A village of three, four, five houses and a sawmill. Nothing much happened. Once a week a car went by … But that was it. Everyday the boy would walk from home to school through the fields and hills. And then again through the hills and fields. It was a small world full of the same faces, everyday. But one day everything changed. The way things do. Our little friend was walking home again from school through the hills and fields, when suddenly he saw a man he’d never seen before. He was sitting under a thick, old tree, and was dressed head to toe in black. “As long as you believe in me; I’ll be there,” he said. “As soon as you understand me; I’ll be gone … Who am I?” Then right before his eyes, the man began to fade. He seemed to become transparent. And suddenly he disappeared. And the tree too! It was the most wonderful thing the boy had ever seen.

So he began to practice. He went to his room every day and tried to disappear.

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Object Story Using The Great Illusionist example, students are going to create and perform their own

‘object story’ using the prompt: One day everything changed …

Warm-Up

Get students focused for some imaginative storytelling with improvisation and warm-up

activities. Here are some ideas to start your drama sessions:

1. Two facts and a fiction

In pairs (or as a class), students share two facts and one fiction about themselves.

Once they have shared their ‘facts’ the partner needs to guess which one wasn’t true.

Ask who was able to pick out the fiction? How? Who couldn’t pick the fiction? Why

not? What storytelling skills were on display in this warm-up?

2. Word-at-a-time Story

In a circle, the class attempts to build a story by adding just one word at a time. As

the story progresses (or not), ask students to consider the word choices they are

making. See how far the class can get the story without losing meaning.

This game could also be adapted to sentence-at-a-time version. Or you could

‘conduct’ the story by pointing to the person who needs to pick it up and continue it at

any time.

3. 30-second monologue

Have a selection of topics in a hat. One at a time, students select a random topic and

have to speak, off the cuff, for a timed 30-seconds about that topic. You can adapt

this activity to include rules such as no ‘um’ or ‘ah’ allowed. If they break the rules

they’re out and their time is recorded. The winner is the student who makes the 30 or

60 seconds without saying um.

Ask students to consider the prompt: One day everything changed.

You may like to do this as a creative writing task. Students may choose an event from their

lives or make up something completely new.

1. Students use descriptive language to write about a boring or everyday sort of place.

What does it look like? What do you do there? Perhaps it is their long and boring walk

to school. Maybe it is a made up world that is dull and grey. They don’t need much –

a couple of sentences to set the scene for their audience.

2. Students to share the scene with a partner. The partner should give them feedback –

could they imagine this place or was it unclear?

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3. Continue writing the story. What is the moment, the event or person or thing, that will

change everything? Discuss with students the idea of juxtaposition and contrast and

how this could enhance their stories.

4. Consider the props / music / character needed to help tell this story.

a. Ask students to decide on three to five objects (that will fit on the table) they’d

like to use to help tell their story. Ask them to consider who they will

incorporate the objects into the story, like the performers in The Great

Illusionist did. How will you use the objects?

b. Students want to add music or sound effects. Consider how the music added

atmosphere to The Great Illusionist. Is there somewhere in the story you’d like

to do this too? Why? For what effect? How about sound effects?

c. How about characters? Are there any other voices in the story? How will you

present these? Will you add a costume element (e.g. a hat) and / or change

your voice in some way?

5. Explain to students that this piece of writing is for performance. Ask them to practice

with a partner for feedback and self-evaluation before performing their object stories to

the class. (See APPENDIX 3 [page 22 of this resource])

6. PERFORMANCE DAY! Film the table stories and include the recordings in the

students’ portfolios. (You can always uploaded to password protected Vimeo or

Dropbox or similar and provide the link in the portfolio for parents.)

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Focus Four: Magic Science | Critical & Creative Thinking In The Great Illusionist, we are told there is more to magic than meets the eye …

Ask students to consider what is meant by that statement: More to magic than meets the eye. What could it mean?

Magic or Science?: Science Inquiries

The Great Illusionist provides a fun and exciting way into science through magic!

You may like to demonstrate (perform) the ‘trick’ and then use it as the basis of a science

inquiry.

• The incredible egg in the bottle trick! (Magic or physics?)

You can find many versions of this experiment online including this one on Thought

Co.

• The amazing trading places – liquid science trick!

You can find instructions for this experiment here.

• The magic pepper and water trick.

This trick can be extended and adapted quite easily. You can read more about it

here.

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Focus Five: Before and After the Show (Responding) English | Drama | Critical & Creative Thinking | Personal & Social Before the Show

Prepare students for their visit to Arts Centre Melbourne. Explain that they are going to see a

play called The Great Illusionist. Read the synopsis of the play and / or show the class the

trailer - which you can find here.

After looking at the preparatory material, discuss with the class:

• What do you think the show will be about?

• What elements of performance or drama do you think we may find in the show?

• What is an illusionist?

Prepare students for a visit to the theatre by clearly discussing the idea of theatre etiquette.

Have the class consider:

• What are the difference between seeing a live performance and watching a film?

• Why can’t we chat or use or phones during a performance?

• Why do we applaud performers after a show?

• Have you been to the theatre before? What are you most looking forward to about

your visit to Arts Centre Melbourne?

On the way to the show, have students share their predictions about the play with a partner.

After the show, on the way home, students can find their partner and discuss their

predictions. Maybe the show took them completely by surprise. That’s great!

After the Show

Ask students to write down any questions or comments they had about the performance.

Anything and everything. The important thing is to try and capture those first impressions

before the show starts to fade – like one of the Great Illusionist’s famous tricks. Timed activity

for 5 minutes (or so).

Here are some starting points or ideas if the students get stuck:

• Who was the rabbit?

• What was the significance of the mirror?

• What did you learn about magic that you didn’t know?

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• What surprised you?

• What challenged you?

• What do you think happened at the end of the play?

• How were music and sound effects used? What did it add to the performance?

• Was there a moment that really stood out for you? Why? How did it make you feel?

Use these questions and comments as the basis of small group or class discussions.

Production Elements

Brainstorm with students a list of all the production elements they could remember from the

show. These should include:

• Lighting

• Sound and Music

• Set and Costume

Split the class into small groups of three, and ask each to take a different production element.

Individually, they are to consider this element in relation to The Great Illusionist and then

come back to the group to discuss their ideas and findings.

Five Questions about:

• Lighting

o What sort of colour effects were used in the lighting? Can you remember a

specific example of coloured light in the show? When? What was the effect?

o How did the production use light and shadow? What sort of mood did this

create?

o How was lighting used to focus the attention of the audience? Think about

those moments of close-ups and detail (for example, on the hands of the

magician).

o What did lighting add to the production? What would have been missing

without it?

o Describe one moment in the show where you remember the lighting. What

was the lighting like – bright or dull? Shadows or full wash? Any special

effects? What was happening in the play when this lighting effect was used?

How did lighting enhance the story or the audience’s experience?

• Sound and Music

o What is the difference between sound and music?

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o What sort of sound effects do you remember hearing in The Great Illusionist.

How were they made? What was the effect? (Comedic? Enhanced meaning?

Atmosphere?)

o What sort of music was used in the show? What was the effect? Did it create

a certain atmosphere? How?

o Gábor Tarján was onstage making the music and sound effects live, in front

of our eyes and ears! What was the effect of having Gábor on stage and

seeing him play make the sound live? Why not use pre-recorded sounds and

music? How did this add to the overall production?

o Describe one moment in the show where you remember the music. What did

the music sound like? What was happening in the play when this music was

used? How did music enhance the story or the audience’s experience?

• Set and Costume

o Describe the costumes used in the show. What colours were used? What

sort of materials? How did the materials and colours work with the lighting?

o What did the stage look like when you walked in? Did you have an idea of

where the play was set? What was on the stage?

o The play was not set in one location but took place in many places. One of

those places was backstage at the magician’s show. How did we know we

were backstage? How did the actors use the red curtain?

o Set and costumes give audiences clues about character, location and time. In

The Great Illusionist, the actors played a lot of characters and it the story took

us to many different locations. How did the set support that? What special

‘tricks’ did they use with sets (and props) and costumes to make these

transformations?

o Describe one moment in the show where you really remember the use of set

and / or costume. Where was this moment set (place / location / time)? What

did the stage look like? Did it change? How? How did the set and/or costume

enhance the story or the audience’s experience?

Creative Responses

• Students design a poster or web event page for the show.

• Write a letter to one of the performers from The Great Illusionist. Tell them something

you enjoyed about their performance. Explain a moment in the show that stayed with

you (perhaps it was something that made you laugh or surprised you) and how the

show made you feel. Thank them for their performance.

• Personal narrative response – “Our day at the theatre” or similar.

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Theatre Review

APPENDIX 4 (page 24 of this resource) includes a review of The Great Illusionist from the

Dutch publication Theaterkrant.

Read the review with the class and discuss the key features. Explain to students that there

are many ways in which theatre critics will write their reviews. Every critic has their own style.

However, there are some features in a review readers will always expect to see:

• The name of the show and the people who made it (actors, writer, director etc.)

• A brief description of the show – what is it about

• Something about the performers. A reflection on one or more of the actors who stood

out in the performance and were wonderful (or not).

• Evaluation or analysis of production elements (costumes, set, sound, lighting) –

perhaps the reviewer thought the music created the perfect atmosphere for the

show.

• Why the reviewer thinks this play is great (or terrible)

• A star rating or similar

In APPENDIX 4 (page 24 of this resource) you will find some printable worksheets to assist

students in organising their thoughts and ideas into a structured theatre review.

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Resources Harry Houdini Biographies

Who was Harry Houdini? by Tui Sutherland (Penguin Putnam Inc, 2007)

DK Biography: Harry Houdini by Vicki Cobb (DK Publishing, 2005)

Harry Houdini: Young Magician by Kathryn Kilby Borland (Simon & Schuster, 1992)

A Picture Book of Harry Houdini Written by David A Adler & Michael S Adler, illustrations by

Matt Collins (Holiday House, 2010)

Writing a Biography

Teacher Blog: Heidi Songs – Teaching Second Graders to Write a Biography Report

(This is targeted at younger students but could be adapted for older students. Includes good

ideas, and templates, for presenting the biography report in an interesting and fun way.)

http://blog.heidisongs.com/2016/05/teaching-second-graders-to-write-a-biography-report-

freebie.html

Magic Tricks

Books

Easy Magic Tricks by Joseph Leeming (Dover Books, 2008)

Magic Mike’s Miraculous Magic Tricks by Mike Lane (Arcturus Publishing, 2012)

Big Magic for Little Hands: 25 Astounding Illusions for Young Magicians by Joshua Jay

(Workman Publishing Company, 2014)

Online

There are many YouTube tutorials on magic. The teacher should watch and approve any

YouTube clips before showing them to the class. Here are two very different styles to get you

started:

Fool Your Friends – 3 Magic Tricks Revealed (suitable for older students) via Zach King on

YouTube

18 Simple Magic Tricks Kids Can Do via 5-Minute Craft KIDS on YouTube

Science and Magic

The Royal Society of Chemistry (Great Britain) – Magical Demonstrations: how taking lessons

from magicians can make your demos come alive

https://eic.rsc.org/feature/magical-demonstrations/2500180.article

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Thought Co – Science Magic Tricks: Using Science to Perform Magic Tricks

https://www.thoughtco.com/top-science-magic-tricks-606073

Getting Smart - Eight Resources for teaching STEM with magic

http://www.gettingsmart.com/2014/01/8-resources-teaching-stem-magic/

Multiple Intelligences

EdWeb – Multiple Intelligences

http://www.edwebproject.org/edref.mi.th.html

BBC and British Council – Lesson Plans and Worksheets

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/multiple-intelligences-what-are-you-good

Discovery Education – Multiple Intelligences

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/multiple-intelligences.cfm#mat

Education Leadership – Multiple Intelligences

http://teachingteacher.weebly.com/multiple-intelligences.html

Production Elements

ABC Education and Arts Centre Melbourne – Start Set Desiging!

http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/2454670/start-set-designing-

ABC Education and Arts Centre Melbourne – Meet a Costume Designer

http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/2454342/meet-a-costume-designer

ABC Education and Queensland Ballet – Designing Lighting for the Nutcracker Ballet

http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/2030774/designing-lighting-for-the-nutcracker-

ballet

About the Company and Show

About Het Filiaal - https://hetfiliaal.nl/english/

Trailer for The Great Illusionist - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXudFTXHc_s

About actor Ramses Graus - https://ramsesgraus.weebly.com/english.html

Hans Klock – The world’s fastest illusionist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkroOheXzA8

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Appendix

1. Writing Biographies

2. Skills and Talents of the Great Illusionists

3. Peer and Self Evaluation

4. Writing a Theatre Review

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

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The Magician’s Biography Magician’s Name:

Major Accomplishments Birthdate: Birthplace: Facts about early l ife Parents Siblings Schooling Home life / hobbies Anything else?

Birthday Birthplace Early life / childhood / growing up

Major Accomplishments  

Challenges they faced

Personality Traits Interesting Facts

Are they sti l l al ive? If not include the date of death and detai ls:

What does it take to become a GREAT ILLUSIONIST?

A GREAT ILLUSIONIST …

Looks like

Sounds like

Acts like

Thinks like

Object Story

Watch your partner’s performance and fill in the rubric.

Actor: __________________________________________________________

Reviewer:_______________________________________________________

EXCELLENT GOOD DEVELOPING Expression Puts a lot of

expression in their voice to create character, mood and atmosphere.

Puts some expression in their voice to present character and mood.

Starting to put a little bit of expression in the voice but could use some more.

Movement Uses gestures, body language and movement to engage the audience.

Occasionally uses gesture, body language and movement to get our interest.

Could use a lot more movement to help keep our interest.

Emotion The story was funny or sad or scary or dramatic. It showed emotion (funny / sad / scary).

It was an interesting story. There were moments that showed emotion (funny / sad / scary).

They story could have chosen a more interesting. There was not quite enough emotion.

Strong Voice The projected their voice really well. They spoke clearly and I could understand every word they said.

They spoke loudly and I could hear what they were saying.

They needed to speak a little louder as it was difficult to always hear what they was saying.

Objects They chose objects that related to the story. They used them in the performance in different, interesting ways.

They chose objects that helped tell the story and used them a little bit.

They needed to incorporate the objects into the performance more.

One thing I liked about this performance was ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Object Story

SELF EVALUATION

MY NAME: _____________________________________________________

EXCELLENT GOOD DEVELOPING Expression I put a lot of

expression in my voice to create character, mood and atmosphere.

Put some expression in my voice to present character and mood.

Starting to put a little bit of expression in my voice but could use some more.

Movement I use gestures, body language and movement to engage the audience.

I sometimes use gesture, body language and movement to get the audience’s interest.

I could use a lot more movement to help keep the audience’s interest.

Emotion I chose a story that was funny or sad or scary or dramatic. It showed emotion (funny / sad / scary).

I chose an interesting story. There were moments that showed emotion (funny / sad / scary).

I could have chosen a more interesting story. There was not quite enough emotion.

Strong Voice I projected my voice really well. I spoke clearly.

I spoke loudly and tried to slow down.

I needed to speak a little more loudly – I was a little quiet in places.

Objects I chose interesting and relevant objects that helped my performance.

I used the objects in the performance to help tell the story.

I need to use the objects more, and ensure they are part of the performance.

One thing I liked about my performance was ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

One thing I would change is

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Theaterkrant by Sander Janssens – seen on 19 October 2014

★★★★ A perfect balance between humour and drama

There’s a small boy who would like to completely disappear every once in a while. There’s a rabbit who tends towards theatrics and likes to wear greasepaint. There’s a fascinated assistant who allows herself to be swept away into the world of the grand spectacle. And there are tricks galore, from making balls disappear to sawing off heads. There’s always something around the corner in a world where illusion is king.

With their show The Great Illusionist (8+), Het Filiaal theatermakers from Utrecht has managed to find the perfect balance between humour and drama. While not shying away from spectacle – the show is fast-paced and full of humour – there are also emotional close-ups. Because, what’s underneath all of the hocus-pocus? Why are we secretly so fond of lies and deception? The young audience is confronted with questions like these. Does the deceiver like to lie, or would people rather be deceived than hear the truth? It is this rather philosophical approach, combined with tight performances that follow on each other’s heels and well-executed classic magic acts, that make The Great Illusionist into a truly spellbinding show.

On stage are Gábor Tarján (musician and actor), Ramses Graus (object theatre maker and actor), and Henke Tuinstra (actor). The first two are members of the company. Tuinstra graduated from the drama academy this year, and this is her second production with Het Filiaal. With her expressive face and enthusiastic performance, she establishes a natural rapport with the young audience. Graus provides a sense of calm with his uncomplicated style, and he excels in the scenes in which he brings the rabbit to life. And finally, there’s Tarján, who can usually be found at his instruments but is never just a musician. As the odd man out, he plays his role with gusto.

What first takes the show to a higher level is the script, written by director Monique Corvers, which contains dialogue that is hilarious and despondent in equal measure. Perhaps the best example of this can be found in the rather pushy – and also lonesome – rabbit, who, in the song ‘A Rabbit without Roots’, looks back sadly at how he lost touch with his own roots. The rabbit – a large and rather unsightly cuddly toy – is played beautifully by Graus, filled with emotion and contradictions.

There's a lot going on here, and at times we lose sight of the common thread. But it would be unfair to say that there is too much going on, especially judging from the reactions of the children, who watch open-mouthed from start to finish. Not to mention the parents.

Because these are no small questions being posed here by Het Filiaal. Where does a lie start and where does it

end? What kind of dreadful place would the world be if all we had was the uncensored truth? Let’s let the theatre

be a place where magic can still reign. And where illusion reigns supreme.

Writing a Review

TITLE – Write a snappy, fun and attention grabbing title for your review.

INTRODUCTION – Include what did you see (The Great Illusionist), where did

you see it (Arts Centre Melbourne), when did you see it (the date) and who

was in the show (Ramses Graus, Henke Tuinstra and Gabor Tarjan).

PLOT SUMMARY - Give a brief description of the story. What happens? What

are the themes?

PERFORMANCE – Describe the characters of the play. Evaluate the

performance of one or two of the actors. What did you notice about their

performance? What did you like about their acting?

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION – Discuss how effectively the production used set,

lighting, sound / music and costumes. You don’t have to include everything,

just the elements that stood out to you. For example, in The Great Illusionist, maybe you really enjoyed how music helped created the mood and

atmosphere.

REACTION – Did you enjoy the performance? Would you recommend it to

others?

Theatre Review by ___________________________ Date______________________

Title of Show ______________________________________________________________

PLOT: What happened? Did you enjoy the story? CHARACTERS: Who were the characters? Who was

your favourite character? Why?

STAGING: What did the show look like? How did it sound? YOUR OPINION: Did you like the play? What was your

favourite moment? Would you recommend others see

it?

STAR RATING