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Study Guide Show Synopsis a Beautiful, Wealthy, American Woman Travels to England Seeking to Marry a Titled Aristocrat

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Study Guide Show Synopsis a Beautiful, Wealthy, American Woman Travels to England Seeking to Marry a Titled Aristocrat Study Guide Show Synopsis A beautiful, wealthy, American woman travels to England seeking to marry a titled aristocrat. The incomparable Oscar Wilde employs this deceptively simple plot to masterfully mock British society—and the Englishness of the English. In this classic comedy of manners, Wilde holds an unfiltered mirror up to the bourgeois life of Victorian England, while extolling the virtues of robust—and refreshing—American values. Cultures clash, long-held secrets are exposed, and A Woman of No Importance has the final word, as the master of biting wit satirizes the roles we play. Discussion Questions Before the Show After the Show 1. Have you ever seen a live play or a musical before? What 1. After watching the performances, what were some signs of is your favorite genre? satire in the play? Was it an effective use or not? 2. What do you think A Woman of No Importance is about? 2. What was the moral of the story? Which character was Have you read or watched any other of Oscar Wilde’s your favorite? Least favorite? work? If so, what are some common themes that are re- flected in his work? 3. Did any scenes resonate with you? Why or why not? 3. What is satire? Why is it so widely used among artists? 4. How were gender roles discussed in the performance? Do What impact does it have? you think Queen Victoria’s reign had an impact on the 4. A Woman of No Importance is centered around Victorian way women were treated during this time? England, so what issues do you will be discussed in the 5. After viewing A Woman of No Importance, will you read play? or watch any of his other work? Why or why not? Theatre 101 Ever wondered how to put on a play? SOUND: Everything that you hear during a performance There are many different elements that go into putting a show up that does not come from actors. on its feet. Please review these terms with your students! ACTORS: The actors are the people that perform the show onstage. PLAYWRIGHT: The playwright writes the script. AUDIENCE: The lucky people that get to watch the show. DIRECTOR: The director is in charge of orchestrating the New to being an audience member? Follow these rules and entirety of the production. They lead the actors, designers, you will be a natural! and production crew to put the show on its feet. AUDIENCE RULES COSTUME: What the actors wear during the show. • Unlike a movie, the actors are performing in front of SCENERY: Everything on stage (except props) used to you. They can see everything that you do. Talking, represent the place at which action is occurring. sleeping, poking your neighbor, or making noise during PROPS: All physical items on stage with the exception of the performance distracts the actors and others around the scenery. This includes lamps, chairs, pens, paper, you. books, and more! • Don’t bring electronics to the performance. The use of LIGHTS: Stage lights illuminate the actors so that they cell phones, cameras, computers, tablets, and video look their best. The colors used, focus of the light, and game devices are not allowed. amount of lighting can really set the mood and • Use better judgement on when to laugh, clap, and/or cry environment of a scene. during the performance. But don’t forget to clap at the end of the show! Group Activity: Act it Out DIRECTIONS: Think about the ending of A Woman of No Importance. Answer these questions as a group: • How did it end? • Did it end the way you wanted it to? • Did you imagine it ending another way? • How could it have ended differently? Re-write the last scene with an alternate ending. Once you have re-written your scene, join up in small groups and share your “alternate ending”. Choose your favorite alternate ending and cast the parts with the members of the group. Practice acting out your alternate ending, then present it to the class! Use the space below to outline or write your scene out! Important vocab to keep in mind when writing a scene or play: Blocking: An actor’s movement on stage. Stage Directions: Written in parenthesis, the stage direction gives all the physical and emotional aspects to the play. Dialogue: Two or more characters talking back and forth. Written with the character’s name followed by a colon for a play. The 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Victorian Era Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901 in England. She was married to Prince Albert and the mother of nine children. Her eldest son, Edward VI succeeded her in 1901 after her death, until his passing in 1910. She loved the arts. She was a frequent visitor at the theatre and hosted balls at Buckingham Palace. During her 63 year reign, England experienced an Industrial Revolution, advancements in technology, well known literature, and war. The first electric telegraph occurred in 1837, modern railroad line in 1838, and the postage stamp in 1840. The British empire abolished slavery in 1834 freeing more than 800,000 slaves. Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol in 1843 and Charles Darwin published his book On the Origin of Species in 1859. In 1854, France and Britain declared war on Russia known as the Crimean War, and the infamous Jack the Ripper made headlines in 1888. Social classes Individuals in the Upper Class did not usually perform manual labor but were landowners. To ensure profit, they would make investments and hire lower class workers to work on their land. Due to the Industrial Revolution, individuals migrated to cities, thus leading to the expansion of the Middle Class. The Middle Class, also known as the Bourgeoisie were usually people with skilled professions such as doctors, merchants, and bankers. As new industries increased, the need for skilled workers increased, so individuals in the higher middle class were able to be promoted into higher-ranking professions. Unskilled laborers formed the Working Class. They worked in unsanitary conditions, where they did not have access to clean water, clothing, or housing. As a coping mechanism, workers turned to alcohol and drugs to deal with their misfortune. The poor were people who depended on others for survival. For example, orphans begged for food rations, and unskilled women became prostitutes to make a living. To protect the women, in 1885, Parliament passed the “Criminal Law Amendment Act,” which prohibited the use of brothels and elevated the age of consent. Victorian women Queen Victoria, during her reign, was highly devoted to her husband and children. She believed that the husband comes first, and a woman’s duty was to be domesticated. This period emphasized gender roles as men started to commute to work more, leaving the women at home to tend to household duties. At this time, men are viewed as physically superior, while women, morally superior. During this time, marriage symbolized the opportunity to reproduce and continue the lineage, rather than love. To further emphasize the hierarchy between women and men, women would marry older men. Women’s rights diminished after marriage because their belongings belonged to their husbands. Upper-Class women’s duties consisted of simple tasks such as organizing dinner parties and overseeing servants. Lower Class women worked as a cook or maid, while others were barmaids, etc. Working women usually paid women to take care of their children, and if they couldn’t, dealt with the household responsibilities on top of their paying jobs. Victorian Children The demand for labor during the Victorian Age increased the need for child labor. Children worked as coal miners, servants, on railroads, and in coal mines. They worked in harsh conditions, the worst being the coal mines. There, they worked 12 to 18-hour workdays, with poor ventilation. The children would sometimes develop respiratory problems or die from work accidents. The children that did no receive any care or financial support from their fathers were considered a “bastard.” Due to the lack of financial assistance, many of them had Baby Farmers raise their children. The Baby Farmers were paid by the wages of women that chose to live in their employers’ homes. For the ones that did not utilize Baby Farmers, kept their children safe in villages and towns with strangers because they were determined to work in the cities. About the playwright Oscar Wilde born October 16, 1854, was the son of William Wilde and Jane Francesca Elgee. His father was an esteemed doctor that founded the St. Mark’s Ophthalmic Hospital in 1844. While his mother wrote revolutionary poems for an Irish newsletter and was a talented linguist that translated the Wilhelm Meinhold’s gothic horror novel “Sidonia the Sorceress.” Wilde excelled in his studies; he received the Royal School Scholarship to attend Trinity College in Dublin. There, he was the top of his class, which led him to accept the Foundation Scholarship in 1872. In 1874, Wilde won the college’s Berkeley Gold Medal for Greek and the Demyship scholarship to Magdalen College in Oxford. In Oxford, he received the Newdigate prize for his poem, “Ravenna.” In 1881, Wilde traveled across the United States, and in 260 days, he delivered over 140 lectures. The following year, his play, “Vera” was staged in New York. On May 29, 1884, Oscar married Constance Lloyd, who gave birth to his two sons, Cyril and Vyvyan in 1885 and 1886. He published, “The Happy Prince and Other Tales” in 1888, and “The House of Pomegranates in 1892, which were a collection of children’s stories.
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