A Year with Frog & Toad

A YEAR WITH FROG & TOAD

STUDY GUIDE

For Educators and Families School Matinees: MARCH 2 – APRIL 5, 2012 Family Performances: MARCH 3 – APRIL 8, 2012

Welcome to Carousel Theatre’s production of A Year with Frog & Toad and its companion Resource Guide for Educators and Families! THEMES

Arnold Lobel is one of the great children’s writers and illustrators of our time. Not only is  Friendship he a beloved author, he has also achieved critical accolade with his timeless stories and  Bravery their themes.  Nature Join us as we follow the year of cheerful and popular Frog and his friend, the rather  Patience grumpy Toad. Together they explore what it means to be brave, forever great friends,

acts of kindness and being comfortable with who you are - not to mention going on  Generosity

exciting adventures (it’s very important you see)!  Kindness

 We are elated to bring this Self-esteem Broadway show to Granville Island  Acceptance

on the Waterfront Theatre stage. A  Adventure Year With Frog and Toad contains a selection of many of your favourite Lobel stories.

Combined they take us into the lively and vibrant world of Frog, TABLE OF CONTENTS Toad and all their friends. (Page)

Have any questions? 1. Themes Please give us a shout at 604.669.3410 2. Synopsis

3. About Arnold Lobel

A Year with Frog and Toad 4. Classroom Activities Kaylee Harwood as ‘Mouse’ and Todd Talbot as 6. Theatre Etiquette 'Frog' C l Th t 2010 Ph t b Ti M th Theatre Terms 7. Production Credits Interesting Links Based on the children’s stories by ARNOLD LOBEL 8. About Carousel Theatre Books & Lyrics by WILLIE REALE A Year With Music by ROBERT REALE Sponsors

Originally presented on Broadway by Bob Boyett, Adrianne Lobel, Michael Contact Us! Gardner, Lawrence Horowitz and Roy Furman. World Premiere at The Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Frog & Toad Illustration by Arnold Lobel. Copyright © 1979 by Arnold Lobel. Used with permission by HarperCollins Publishers. The selection may not be re-illustrated without written permission from HarperCollins. A Year with Frog and Toad – TYA is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). Page 1

The Synopsis

Our story begins with the coming home of the birds after a long winter away – it’s spring! Frog decides to wake up his friend Toad from hibernation.

Once awake, Toad decides to plant a garden; Frog gives Toad some seeds. Toad plants them, but is very impatient and wants them to grow – quickly! He yells at them and stays up all night watching. He soon feels bad for yelling at the seeds and is worried he’s scared them. To make the seeds happy again he dances, sings, and plays music for them. Soon they begin to grow.

It’s morning, and everyone is expecting their mail to arrive. Toad is sad, because he never receives any mail. Frog decides to write Toad a letter, and goes home. He asks Snail to deliver it for him.

Frog and Toad go to the pond for a swim. Toad is uncomfortable with Frog seeing him in his bathing suit. Frog promises not to look until Toad is in the water. Toad asks Frog to tell Turtle to leave so she won’t see him in his bathing suit. Turtle calls over Mouse and Lizard to come look at Toad. Toad is soon very cold, and eventually leaves the pond - everyone sees Toad in his bathing suit.

When Toad brings lunch to Frog he finds Frog is not at home. He has left a note saying he would like to be left alone. Toad is worried that Frog is sad and decides to join him. He rides a log out to the island and accidentally falls in the water getting the sandwiches wet. It turns out that Frog is not sad at all, he’s happy! Frog wanted time alone to think about how happy he is. Together they eat wet sandwiches.

Snail is on his way to deliver Frog’s letter to Toad (quick as he can).

Frog and Toad are at Toad’s home making dinner. They make cookies for dessert, but can’t help themselves from trying a few. To stop themselves from finishing them they give them to the birds instead.

Summer is almost over and colourful leaves are all over the ground. Both Frog and Toad plan a surprise to secretly rake the other’s garden. They each tidy the others garden, but the squirrels are tempted by the neat piles of leaves and jump in them, messing the gardens back up again. Neither finds out about the good deed they’ve done for each other.

Meanwhile, Snail is still on his way to deliver Frog’s letter to Toad.

It’s now winter, and Frog and Toad are getting ready to go tobogganing; Toad is afraid. Frog accidently falls off on the way down leaving Toad alone to speed downhill. He takes a wrong turn to a dangerous and bumpy path. When Toad reaches the bottom he is so mad at Frog for leaving him alone, he swears never to talk to Frog again. Snail finally arrives with Frog’s letter to Toad. In the letter Frog tells Toad how he cannot be happy unless his friend Toad is happy. Toad decides to talk to Frog again. Snail, having delivered his letter, is very proud.

Christmas Eve has arrived; Toad is in the kitchen and worried because Frog is late. Toad imagines all the terrible things that may have happened to him till Frog arrives. He’s been wrapping Toad’s gift. Toad tells him how worried he has been.

Back in hibernation, Frog and Toad are in bed. Spring is nearly here!

A Year with Frog and Toad, The Company Page 2 Carousel Theatre, 2010. All photos by Tim Matheson.

About Arnold Lobel (From the Educational Paperback Association, Parent’s Choice and Publisher’s Weekly Websites)

Best known for his Frog and Toad stories, Arnold Lobel illustrated and/or wrote nearly one hundred books for children. During a career that spanned twenty-six years, Lobel captured the hearts of children in Canada and abroad with his universal stories and endearing artwork.

Lobel was born on May 22, 1933, in Los Angeles, CA. In elementary school, Lobel's natural talents helped him gain acceptance among his classmates. "I'd tell stories extemporaneously and children loved them," he recalled. "When I started, I didn't know how they were going to end but they just came out of me," he later added. "And I would draw pictures to go with them."

After graduating high school he attended Pratt Institute of Art in New York City, where he focused on illustration. While at Pratt, Lobel met Anita Kempler when they both were involved in production of a play. Soon after graduation in 1955, the couple was married.

Lobel worked at various advertising agencies after graduating. His heart wasn't in commercial work, however, so in 1961 he launched a career in freelance illustrating. Lobel first sold drawings for three activity books by Sol Scharfstein; then in 1961 his first picture book illustrations saw print in Red Tag Comes Back.

Lobel had discovered his place in life. While creating artwork for other authors in the 1960s, he also wrote and illustrated his own stories. The first of these was the humorous A Zoo for Mister Muster, followed by A Holiday for Mister Muster. Beginning in the l970s, Lobel's work received a long list of awards, including a Caldecott Honor Book award for Frog and Toad Are Friends and a Newbery Honor Book award for Frog and Toad Together. "Somehow in the writing of the manuscript for Frog and Toad I was, for the first time, able to write about myself. Frog and Toad are really two aspects of myself," reflected Lobel in New Books for Young Readers. Readers from all backgrounds can relate to the characters because they belong to no specific time period, age or ethnic group, country or social stratum.

In the New York Times Book Review, Eliot Fremont-Smith wrote that Frog and Toad All Year "is elementary--rather vague, gentle, undemanding, supportive -- but in its very modesty it is both appealing and very comforting to young children." Lobel once confided to the Milwaukee Journal that "I write the books for myself," adding: "Sometimes they come out of the truth I find in myself."

Discussing when children should be introduced to reading, Lobel said: "It's never too early. At the age of 2 they will be enthralled-- even if you read to them from the telephone book." He went on to note that "Unlike TV, books are something where a child can find a gentleness that he can't find anywhere else. A book is a self-contained, private thing, something on which a child can contemplate."

Once he was asked which of his works he favoured, Lobel explained, "My favourite book is always the next one, the one I haven't done yet." Lobel called himself a daydreamer instead of an author or an artist. He would see the pictures in his mind before he would think up the words to go with them. Lobel has said "I cannot think of any work that could be more agreeable and fun than making books for children." He is survived by wife Anita, and children Adrianne and Adam.

A new book The Frogs and Toads All Sang was published in 2009. It was created from 10 illustrated rhymes that predated the first Frog and Toad books. Lobel had created these as a gift for a friend in the 1960s and a chance find by a rare book dealer brought them into the hands of his daughter, Adrianne. HarperCollins wanted to publish these new rhymes into a book, so Adrianne carefully coloured in each of her father’s illustrations. The following is “Made for Toads” from The Frogs and Toads All Sang by Arnold Lobel, colour by Adrianne Lobel (HarperCollins, May 2009)

A sunny day A rainy day In weather gray is made for toads is made for frogs Or weather bright, To play and leap To swim in swamps For some, the day Down dusty roads. And under logs. Will be just right.

For more information please check out the following websites: Educational Paperback Association: http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth2.cfm?authid=242 Parent’s Choice: http://www.parents-choice.org/article.cfm?art_id=35&the_page=editorials Publishers Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/405627-Chance_Find_Leads_to_New_Lobel_Picture_Books.php Page 3

Classroom Activities (Please feel free to use activities from other sections, tailored to your group’s needs)

Grade 1

1. Pre-show assignment: A Good Friend. Read aloud Frog and Toad All Year: The Surprise  Discuss the message in the story (kindness, generosity ect...)  Explain “Random Acts of Kindness”; what they look like, how they feel  Brainstorm examples

2. Post-show discussion: A Trip to the Theatre  Discuss all the parts of the field trip (traveling there, lining up outside theatre, being a respectful audience member, etc.)  How did it go? What was easy/hard? What was different than a movie/watching TV at home? Etc…  Students could do a journal entry/draw a picture of a memorable moment from the day.

Grade 2 to 3

1. Post-show assignment: Favourite Characters’ Meet  Students choose one of their favourite characters from the play and write about why they chose this character  In their own space, students practice acting like their favourite character  The teacher makes pairings of students, where characters from different stories will meet  Students improvise short skits where they meet this other character  The teacher can rotate students, creating new character pairings  Perhaps some students will volunteer to show their short improvisation to the class, or you may assign them all to do this (when you want a scene to end you could say, “Bring the scene to an end in ten seconds”)

2. Pre-Show activity: The Story Read aloud Frog and Toad Are Friends: The Story  Discuss what makes them feel better when they are feeling unwell  Get the students to write their own 1 page short story they would tell a friend to make him or her feel better  Explain how friendship and kindness are demonstrated in doing things for others

3. Pre-Show Activity: Everyone Is Beautiful  Read aloud Frog and Toad Are Friends: A Swim  Talk about the message of the story (self-esteem, everyone is beautiful no matter how they look, acceptance)  Go around the room and have each student say one nice thing about the person in front and behind them OR on either side of him or her so each student gives and receives two compliments.  Describe what is meant by “Inner Beauty vs. Outer Beauty” and empowerment

Grades 4+

1. Pre-show discussion/assignment: Behind the Curtain  Begin a discussion: Along with the actors, there are many people who make a professional play happen...”  Brainstorm who these people are: director, set designer, lighting designer, costume designer, sound designer, props designer, stage manager, production manager, publicist, technical director, costume and set builders, painters, running crew… and the list goes on!  In groups of 2 or 3, have the students research and present the job description of a different theatre professional (posters, oral presentation, etc.)  Follow-up after seeing the performance by discussing how each person’s work contributed to the whole (obtain a show program to aid this discussion)

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Classroom Activities (Please feel free to use activities from other sections, tailored to your group’s needs)

2. Post-show assignment: Becoming Frog and Toad  Discuss and familiarize the characters in the play with the students; character likes and dislikes, their personalities, what each kind of animal is like and how it relates to their personalities on stage.  Make a list of 10-15 activities the students like to do with other people (things like playing particular sport, baking a cake, water fights, playing music etc...)  Put all of the activities in a non-transparent container off to the side.

 Divide the class into groups of 4 to 6 and have them select a character from A Year With Frog and Toad a character they want to play - no one in the group can be the same character. Let one student from each group draw a activity from the container.  Give each group 45 minutes to plan and rehearse a 1 minute skit of as character doing that activity and perform if for the class. They may need assistance with direction from you.  This fun activity will help students understand character, to work as a team and be creative.

EVERYONE!

Frog and Toad love Cookies. So do we! How about some Chocolate Chip Cookies?!

Ingredients:  2 cups all-purpose flour  1 teaspoon baking soda  1 teaspoon salt  1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened  3/4 cup sugar  3/4 cup light packed brown sugar  2 large eggs  1 teaspoon vanilla extract  1 package (12 ounces) semisweet

chocolate morsels

 1 cup crushed walnuts (optional)

A Year with Frog and Toad Directions: Allan Zinyk as 'Toad' and Todd Talbot as 'Frog' Carousel Theatre, 2010. Photo by Tim Matheson. 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 2. Pour the flour, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir the mixture until all ingredients are well blended. Set aside. 3. Put the butter, sugar, and brown sugar into a different mixing bowl. With a mixer set at low speed, beat the mixture until it is creamy. Set aside. 4. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and add the vanilla extract. Mix with a fork until blended, and then add to the sugar mixture above. Mix on a low setting until all ingredients are well combined. 5. Add the flour mixture to the above mixture and beat at a low speed until combined. 6. Pour the chocolate morsels and walnuts (optional) into the mixer bowl. Using a wooden spoon, stir the dough until the chocolate morsels are well combined. 7. Use a tablespoon to scoop up enough dough to a make a rounded spoonful. Drop the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Place each drop of dough about 2 inches apart until the cookie sheet is full. 8. Bake cookies for 9 minutes. Test cookies for doneness by seeing if they are golden brown. 9. When done, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a plate. 10. Repeat the steps for dropping the dough on the cookie sheet, as given above until all of the cookies have been baked. 11. Store cookies in a tightly covered container to maintain freshness.

For a Gluten-Free and Sugar-Free Cookie Recipe please check out:

http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/02/sugar-free-and-gluten-free-cookies.html

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Theatre Etiquette

 Food, drinks, candy and gum are not permitted in the theatre. If your class has packed lunches, please ensure that they stay inside backpacks until your group has left the theatre.

 Please remind your students that the rest of the audience, and the actors, can hear them if they talk during the performance, even if they whisper. Excessive movement is also distracting.

 Remind your students not to approach or touch the stage, sets or props before, after or during the show.

 Please encourage your students to use the washroom facilities prior to being seated. There is no intermission during our student matinees. Individuals who need to leave the theatre will be re-seated at a convenient moment during the performance.

 If anyone in your group needs to leave the theatre during the performance, we ask that you do so through the exit door on house right, mid-way up the stairs. Students are not permitted to leave the theatre unless accompanied by an adult.

 Throwing of objects or use of laser pointers during the performance is not permitted. Carousel Theatre reserves the right to stop a performance if such behaviour occurs, and ask the offending party to leave.

 Please note that photography and videotaping (or other video or audio recording) of this production is prohibited.

 Absolutely no cell phones, PDAs, iPods or video gaming systems, will be tolerated in the theatre (they must be off, and out of sight) – students, parents, and teachers included.

 If you are planning a day trip to Granville Island to see the performance, we please ask that your class visit the Kids Market after the show. Also, please call the administration at the Kids Market to let them know you will be bringing your class (they appreciate the notice, if possible). The number is (604) 689-8447.

 We encourage our audiences to respond to our performances; laughter is welcomed when appropriate and applause at the end of a performance is the best feedback of all. If you really like the performance, a way you can show the actors is by standing up and clapping (called a ‘standing ovation’). Standing ovations are used when you think the performance was extra special and deserving.

 Enjoy the performance!

Theatre Terms

Actor A performer who tells a story to the audience by playing a character.

Director The person responsible for guiding the actors, designers, and crew according to his or her artistic vision. The director works with the actors and the design team to create the world of the play.

Stage Manager The person responsible for making sure all of the technical aspects of a show run smoothly. In a theatre, the Stage Manager sits in the lighting booth, behind the audience, and “calls the show”. This means that they give cues throughout the performance to the lighting operator, the sound technician, and to the Assistant Stage Manager.

Blocking This is the director’s planning of the actor’s movements on stage.

Technical Rehearsal Also called “Tech”, this rehearsal is specifically to establish and run through lighting and sound cues. The technical rehearsal gives the technicians a chance to program the sound and lights with actors, and it gives the actors a feel for the show with sound and lights.

Dress Rehearsal The full running of the production before the show opens to the public.

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Production Credits

Production Team

Director Carole Higgins Choreographer Melissa Young Musical Director, Pianist Angus Kellett Set Designer, Props Heidi Wilkinson Costume Designer Yulia Shtern Lighting Designer Darren Boquist Stage Manager Danielle Fecko Apprentice Stage Manager Sarah Galligani Technical Director Al Frisk Head of Wardrobe Darryl Milot

Cast (in alphabetical order) Frog Todd Talbot Toad Josue Laboucane Bird, Snail, Lizard, Mole Darren Burkett Bird, Turtle, Squirrel, Mole Janet Gigliotti Bird, Mouse, Lizard, Mole Rebecca Talbot

A Year with Frog and Toad Carousel Theatre, 2010. Photo by Tim Matheson Todd Talbot as 'Frog' and Allan Zinyk as 'Toad'

Carousel Theatre is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) and, under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement, engages professional artists who are members of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.

Interesting Links

A booklet of excellent Frog and Toad learning http://www.learninghouse.ca/atk/uploads/docs_products/Frog devices. &ToadTogether_smpl.pdf This Blog is a great source of fun games and http://firstgradealacarte.blogspot.com/2011/04/its-frog-and-

activities to introduce the stories of Frog and toad-week.html

Toad to your students

A year with Frog and Toad teaches children life http://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/wiki/%22Cookies

lessons and philosophy %22_from_Frog_and_Toad_Together Arnold Lobel’s daughter Adrianne talking about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ciiy8K3ufY her father’s lost works The Frogs and Toads All Sang A video of the Frog and Toad claymation series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSGFZbQTX28 produced in the 1980’s (The Garden, Cookies) ** A really fun resource to introduce and http://www.kidzone.ws/lw/frogs/index.htm familiarize yourself and children with frogs and toads(Activities, Facts and Pictures) Another video of Frog and Toad’s clay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOPXn-X_CaY animations series from the 1980’s (Dragons & Giants, The Dream)

** These stories are in our production of A Year With Frog and Toad Page 7

About Carousel Theatre

Carousel Theatre for Young People, now in its 37th season, has produced over 145 plays for young people. Unique in our community, Carousel Theatre is the only professional theatre company in BC that stages a mainstage season of theatre especially for young people and families. Our programming offers a wide choice of exciting theatrical experiences for family audiences.

Each season more than 40 000 young people and their families benefit from Carousel Theatre’s unique programming, which includes a Mainstage Season of Literary Classics at the Waterfront Theatre, a summer Shakespeare Teen Program and a year-round Theatre School for young people ages 3 to 17 years.

Carousel Theatre is a cultural leader in our community. In 2011, the company (and our artists) was honoured with the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Outstanding Production- Theatre for Young Audiences for our acclaimed production of Bird Brain. Carousel is a member of PACT (Professional Association of Canadian Theatres), the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance, Alliance for Arts & Culture and the Vancouver Theatre for Young Audiences Society.

Carousel Theatre has been creating theatre for young audiences for 37 years and has introduced theatre to hundreds of thousands of young people. We inspire and develop new generations of artists and theatre patrons.

Our Sponsors

Carousel Theatre would like to thank the following organizations for their support of A Year with Frog & Toad:

The Study Guide for Educators and Families was 1411 Cartwright Street Vancouver, BC V6H 3R7 written by Jessie van Rijn, McCarthy, and Chelsea Haberlin. TEL 604.669.3410 For more information on this production, or other BOX OFFICE 604.685.6217 Carousel Theatre inquiries, please contact: FAX 604.669.3817 604.669.3410 or [email protected] WEB www.carouseltheatre.ca  Artistic & Managing Director, Carole Higgins General Manager, Jessie van Rijn

http://pinterest.com/carouseltheatre/ Page 8