PLAY GUIDE
Funded by:
A Wrinkle in Time By: James Sie Adapted from the novel by Madeleine L’Engle
November 6th - November 29th, 2020
418 W. Short Street Lexington, KY 40507 Major Contributors: 859.254.4546 www.lctonstage.org Dear Educator -
Lexington Children’s Theatre is proud to be producing our 82nd season of plays for young people and their families. As an organization that values the arts and education, we have created this Play Guide for teachers to utilize in conjunction with seeing a play at LCT. Our Play Guides are designed to be a valuable tool in two ways: helping you prepare your students for the enriching performance given by LCT’s performers, as well as serving as an educational tool for extending the production experience back into your classroom. We designed each activity to assist in achieving the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS), including the National Core Arts Standards for Theatre. Teachers have important voices at LCT, and we rely heavily on your input. If you have comments or suggestions about our Play Guides, show selections, or any of our programming, your thoughts are greatly appreciated. Please email Jeremy Kisling, our Associate Artistic Director in Charge of Education, at [email protected]. Please use the Teacher Response form following a performance. We are thrilled that you rely on LCT to provide your students a quality theatrical experience, and we hope this resource helps you in your classroom.
-LCT’s Education Department The mission of our education programming
The mission of Lexington Children’s Theatre’s Education Department is to provide students of all ages with the means to actively explore the beauty, diversity, complexity, and challenges of the world around them through the dramatic process. We strive for young people to develop their own creative voice, their imagination, and their understanding of drama and its role in society. Cast of A Wrinkle in Time
DAWSON AKERS (Chris Henderson) Dawson is a 10th grader at ASHLEY JAMES (Camazotzian 3) Ashley joined the LCT family in 1989 Woodford County High School. Some of his favorite roles range and her favorite shows include Where the Red Fern Grows (Little Ann) from Winthrop from The Music Man to the villainous Cat from and Cows Don’t Fly (Miss Rosemary). She enjoys creating giant chalk Honk!. This will be his first time participating in a show with LCT drawings in her neighborhood with the help of her kids, Lily and Alice, and and he is incredibly excited to be here. studying circus arts with her sweetheart, Elton. WESLEY JAY AKERS (Principal Jenkins) is excited about JACK JURJANS (Beast 1) Jack is a fourteen-year-old freshman at working on this unique production with Lexington Children’s Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and this is his second show at LCT. Theatre. Performing for over 40 years, some of his favorite roles Jack has also done some shows at school and has participated in Teen include Big Jule (Guys and Dolls) and Audrey II (Little Shop of Companies. He hopes you enjoy the show! Horrors). He is extremely delighted to share the virtual stage with NATE MONTGOMERY (Billy) Nate is a student at Eastside Middle School his youngest son, Dawson. in Bullitt County. He has performed in multiple plays at school and church, NICK BAKER (Calvin) is a high schooler with STEAM Academy, but he is excited for his debut performance with LCT. Nate loves to draw currently taking dual credit classes at BCTC. He most recently and play golf and his dream job is to be a character designer for Disney. played Elmer Hopkins in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever The KENNEDY MOUGHAMIAN (Girl) Kennedy is thrilled to be part of the LCT Musical and Templeton in Charlotte’s Web. family! She is a fifth grader at LCA and member at Porter Memorial. She VANESSA BECKER WEIG (Mother) Vanessa is a professional recently performed at LCT as Gladys Herdman in The Best Christmas theatre maker and arts activist. This is her fourth production at Pageant Ever The Musical. Kennedy can’t wait to see where her love for LCT; she previously appeared in Holes as The Warden in 2010, theatre will take her! the Stepmother in Cinderella, and Madame De La Grand Bouche in LUCA QUINIO (Camazotzian 1) Luca is a ninth grade student at Henry Beauty and the Beast. Visit www.vanessabeckerweig.com Clay High School. He recently performed with LCT in Charlotte’s Web RYAN BRIGGS (Father) Ryan is a drama teacher in Lexington and (Photographer), Holes (Magnet), and Ella Enchanted (Prince’s Squire). has been performing in plays for over 30 years. He is excited to Luca is a member of the HCHS Speech team and he wants to be an be taking part in his very first LCT production. Some of his favorite animation director when he grows up. things are collecting comic books, playing arcade games, and date CARTER STIFF (Charles Wallace Murry) Carter is a ten-year-old fifth night. grader at Athens-Chilesburg Elementary. He likes computer programing, LIAM CASEY (Teacher) Liam is a firmware product engineer at swimming, and taking classes at LCT. He most recently appeared in LCT’s Lexmark. He has appeared in seven productions at LCT and one The Best Christmas Pageant Ever The Musical (Ensemble). He wants to at Stage Right Acting since the start of his second childhood, most be an actor when he grows up. Enjoy the show! recently as the Sheriff in LCT’s Holes - and he is amazed every time ARDEN STONE (Postmistress) Arden Stone is a tenth grader at WCHS. he gets the opportunity to do so. This is her seventh show with LCT! Recent credits include Legally Blonde CARLY CRAWFORD (Aunt Beast) Carly is thrilled to be back (Pilar) and Annie (Pepper). In her spare time, Arden enjoys playing piano at LCT! From 2010-2013, Carly performed in many LCT shows, and hanging out with her friends. She would like to thank LCT for this including Junie B, Pinkalicious, and Goodnight Moon. Carly lives amazing opportunity! in Memphis and spends lots of time reading on her screen porch. RYLIE SUDDUTH (Mrs. Whatsit) Rylie is ecstatic to be a part of this When she’s not onstage, she runs her own tax business. show!! At Woodford theatre, Rylie performed in main stage productions CATHERINE GAFFNEY (Mrs. Which) Catherine played The such as Big Fish (Ensemble) and receives training through the Woodford Warden in Holes last fall and is thrilled to tesser in this new theatrical Young Artist Program (2016-present). You may have seen her in LCT’s A adventure. She also teaches theatre at Asbury (where her husband Charlie Brown Christmas as Lucy! teaches Screenwriting). She is forever thankful to Esther and Vivian AUSTIN VAHLE (Camazotzian 2) Austin is honored to be back at LCT! for bringing her into the #LCTFamily! @cathgaff “Itt iss timmme!” Austin is the Drama Teacher at Brenda Cowan Elementary and has ASLYN GOODWIN (Meg Murry) Aslyn is a junior at Lafayette High performed, stage managed, choreographed, and directed for a variety School. She has performed with LCT in Frankenstein (Sailor Locke), of theatre companies. Performance credits: Wizard of Oz (Tinman), The The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Shirley McCarthy), Holes (Sarah Odd Couple (Vinnie), Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (Wilson), Finding the Miller), and Ella Enchanted the Musical (Hattie). Aslyn enjoys going Sun (Fergus). Austin enjoys creating opportunities and inspiring the next outside and spending time with friends and family. She wants to be generation of theatre artisans. a teacher when she gets older. ADDY VIETH (Happy Medium) Addy is currently an eighth grader at Christ JONATHAN HARPER (Red Eyes) Jonathan is a seventeen-year- the King School. She has previously performed with LCT in Schoolhouse old senior. This is his seventh show with LCT, but his first show in Rock Live Jr! She is over the moon to be starring as Happy Medium in A this virtual format. He has quite a bit of experience playing a villain, Wrinkle in Time! having previously portrayed The Shadow in Ghosts of Pineville and Trout Walker in Holes. CAVAN HENDRON (Mrs. Who) Cavan is a graduate of Western Kentucky University with a BFA in Musical Theatre. Cavan has had the honor of performing all across the state of Kentucky. Some recent credits include Claude in HAIR, Jeff in [title of show], and Agatha Trunchbull in Matilda the Musical. Social Media: @cavanhendron Wrinkle in Time Synopsis
On a stormy evening, three witches – Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, set the story in motion. Meg Murry finds herself unable to sleep in her attic bedroom due to the storm, so she heads down to the kitchen where she is met by her intuitive little brother Charles Wallace who has been anticipating her arrival. While the siblings share a late night treat with their mother, also awakened by the pending storm, they are visited by Mrs. Whatsit who reveals to Mother that tesseracts, a concept Mother had been studying with Meg and Charles’ father, are real.
The next day, Charles Wallace meets up with a disgruntled Meg after school. He encourages her to accompany him to an old house in the woods to visit Mrs. Whatsit and find out more about the information that had upset their mother the previous evening. On the way, Meg and Charles Wallace run into Calvin O’Keefe, an older student at Meg’s school. Calvin tags along on their visit to the old house where they speak with Mrs. Who, a mysterious person who speaks in quotes. She tells them that they should prepare for the journey still yet to come before sending the trio away.
The three head back to the Murry home where Calvin is introduced to Mother. While showing off the family garden, Meg informs Calvin of what little knowledge she has about her missing Father. Before they can finish conversing, Charles Wallace joins them outside and Mrs. Which begins the tessering that takes the children from their location on Earth to the distant land of Uriel. Once on the planet, Mrs. Which, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Whatsit begin to explain the ongoing situation to Meg and company. They take a trip to visit the Happy Medium, a celestial being with the ability to see throughout the universe. They learn about the dark thing that threatens the planet Earth, and the women charge Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin with the job of helping fight it.
The young trio travel to Camazotz where they find the citizens existing in a very pristine, hive-mind-type community. They make their way to Central Central Intelligence where they meet Red Eyes who attempts to gain control of the children’s minds to make them fall in line with the rest of the citizens. Charles Wallace is taken over by Red Eyes and IT and leads Meg and Calvin to where Meg’s Father is imprisoned. With the help of a gift from Mrs. Who, Meg is able to free her father from his prison, but they are unable to free Charles Wallace from the hold of IT. In a desperate attempt to save Meg and Calvin from being taken control of as well, Father tessers away from Camazotz, leaving Charles Wallace behind with Red Eyes and Meg temporarily paralyzed.
Meg, Calvin, and Father arrive on Ixchel, home to faceless, color changing beasts who heal Meg’s injuries. The beasts assist her in calling Mrs. Whatsit, Who, and Which to the planet. Meg grows determined to face her fears and return to Camazotz to free Charles Wallace. She travels back to the dreaded headquarters of Central Central Intelligence where Meg finds Charles Wallace and uses her love for her family and friends to break her brother from the grip of Red Eyes and IT. With Charles Wallace freed, the two tesser home where they are safely reunited with Father, Mother, and Calvin. What to know - before the show!
Teamwork: “Yes!” Activity Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin must work together to find Alex Murry, their father, and escape the forces of evil. The theatre activity below focuses on building this kind of teamwork. Students must accept help and give help to their fellow classmates in order to complete the game.
Directions: Have the class form a circle with students facing in. The only word allowed to be spoken during the game is “yes.” To begin, Student 1 will make eye contact with another student in the circle (Student 2). Student 2 will say “yes,” allowing Student 1 to take his/her place in the circle. This means that Student 2 now needs a new place in the circle. Therefore, as Student 1 slowly walks over to take his/her place, Student 2 must make eye contact with another student until they say “yes.” This process continues as students give help and ask for help from each other.
Tips: • Remind students to be focused and watching for students who need help. • Make sure students are using “loud and proud” speaking voices when saying “yes.” K.H.CO.1; TH:Pr5.1.3; TH:Pr5.1.5
Research: Background of A Wrinkle in Time Discover the background that inspired and shaped A Wrinkle in Time. Launch your own investigation and research the following questions:
Who wrote A Wrinkle in Time? Where is the author from? When was the book published? Who was the target audience? What common mythological creatures are in the story? Who wrote the play adaptation? What other children’s books were published that year? What award(s) did the book receive? Did the author write any other children’s books? What other adaptations (plays, movies, etc.) have been made?
Share your findings in a short essay, PowerPoint, or other form of presentation. Did any of this new information change how you thought about A Wrinkle in Time?
C.4.2; RL.6.7; RL.9- 10.9; TH:Cn11.1.3; TH:Cn11.2.3 What to know - before the show! Create: Design a character
Select a character from the book and design what they look like. Using mixed media, pencil, crayons, watercolor, or your media of choice, design how the character looks and what they might wear.
MA:Pr5.1.3; VA:Cr1.2.2; TH:Cr1.1.3; TH:Cr.1.1.5 What to know - before the show!
The Influence of Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle Millions of other adolescent girls (and boys) have made the same liberating discovery while reading A Wrinkle in Time. What’s different about Roy is that her grandmother happened to be Madeleine L’Engle, the book’s author, who revolutionized serious young adult fiction with her clever mash-up of big ideas, science fantasy and adventure—and a geeky girl action hero way ahead of her time.
Since its 1962 publication, Wrinkle has sold more than ten million copies and been turned into a graphic novel, an opera and two films, including an ambitious adaptation from the director Ava Du’Vernay. The book also kicked open the door for other bright young heroines and the amazingly lucrative franchises they appear in, from whip-smart Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter books to lethal Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games. Leonard Marcus, author of the L’Engle biography Listening for Madeleine, says Wrinkle “set the stage for the reception of Harry Potter in this country.” Previously, he says, science fiction and fantasy were suitable for high-end British authors like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien in Britain but in the States were relegated to pulp magazines and drugstore paperbacks.
Then came L’Engle, a 41-year-old writer who spent three months in 1959 writing the hard-to-categorize story that would become A Wrinkle in Time. While Meg Murry and her companions traveled through time and space to save her father, a scientist trapped by evil forces on a distant planet, readers had to wrap their minds around the fifth dimension, the horrors of conformity, and the power of love. L’Engle believed that literature should show youngsters they were capable of taking on the forces of evil in the universe, not just the everyday pains of growing up. “If it’s not good enough for adults,” she once wrote, “it’s not good enough for children.”
Publishers hated it. Every firm her agent turned to rejected the manuscript. One advised to “do a cutting job on it—by half.” Another complained “it’s something between an adult and juvenile novel.” Finally, a friend advised L’Engle to send it to one of the most prestigious houses of all, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. John Farrar liked the manuscript. A test reader he gave it to, though, was unimpressed: “I think this is the worst book I have ever read, it reminds me of The Wizard of Oz.” Yet FSG acquired it, and Hal Vursell, the book’s editor, talked it up in letters he sent to reviewers: “It’s distinctly odd, extremely well written,” he wrote to one, “and is going to make greater intellectual and emotional demands on 12 to 16 year olds than most formula fiction for this age group.”
When it debuted, not only was Wrinkle widely praised—“wholly absorbing,” said the New York Times Book Review—but it won the Newbery Medal, the most important award in children’s literature. “The almost universal reaction of children to this year’s winning book, by wanting to talk about it to each other and to elders, shows the deep desire to understand as well as to enjoy,” said Newbery committee member Ruth Gagliardo. American publishers, initially resistant to genre bending, soon were producing their own teen epics, including Lloyd Alexander’s Newbery-winning Chronicles of Prydain books and Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series.
Among the countless girls changed forever by L’Engle’s book was Diane Duane, who first read it as a 10-year-old in 1962. She’d consumed all the science fiction and fantasy at her local library but had never encountered anyone like Meg. “Finally,” Duane recalls, “here was a girl character being treated as if her take on what was going on around her, her analysis and her emotional reactions to the things that were happening around her, were real and were worth paying attention to.” Today Duane is hailed as the best-selling author of, So You Want to Be a Wizard and other titles in her Young Wizards fantasy series, which features a young female protagonist, Nita. “All the time L’Engle’s shadow—and a very bright shadow, it has to be said—was lying over that work for me,” she says. “It would have been very difficult for me to do that writing without thinking about her a lot.”
This article is excerpts from the Smithsonian Magazine; January 2018 written by Natalie Escobar. How to grow - after the show!
Compare and Contrast: Book vs. Play How is the play different than the book? Answer the following questions to help structure your essay: Were any of the characters different in the play? What plot points were left out of the play? Were the scenes in the same order as they were in the book? What settings were in the book but not the play? How did the actors bring the characters to life? Were the characters, as portrayed by the actors, similar to how they were described in the book? Were the settings in the play different than you imagined from the book or the same? Did hearing the story affect your understanding of the book? Did watching the story affect your understanding of the book?
C.4.2; C.9-10.3; RL.6.7; RL.9-10.7, TH:Re7.1.5
Get Active: Act it out! Pick a scene from the book to read aloud, assign roles, and read the scene in class! Assign students to the dialogue, the narration, and act as the audience!
TH:Pr5.1.3; TH:Pr4.1.1; TH:Cr3.1.I How to grow - after the show! What to Read Next A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle Sal & Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos In the second installment of the Time Quintet Alberto Pablo Hernandez featuring the Murry family, Meg, Charles Wallace, In order to heal after the death of his mother, and Calvin O’Keefe are enlisted once more to help young Sal learns how to meditate. When his friend save the universe, this time to fight against evil Gabi discovers that his special skill actually allows creatures called Echthroi threatening to destroy all him to conjure things and people from other of creation. dimensions, the two are thrilled until they realize their manipulation of time and space could end up Sky Raiders by Brandon Mull putting the entire universe at risk. When whisked through a portal leading to an in-between world known as The Outskirts, sixth- The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann grade student Cole must stage a rescue mission In a society that purges teens who are deemed for his friends and make his way back home before creative, twins Aaron and Alex are separated. One his existence is forgotten. heads to University while the other, thought to be “Eliminated,” finds himself in a wondrous place where creative youth are able to hone their skills and learn magic.
LCT teaches in YOUR school! Would you like to see some of these play guide activities modeled in your classroom? Book a workshop for your class with one of LCT’s teaching artists! In our pre-show workshops, our teaching artists will engage students in acting skills and themes from the play through drama activities. In our post-show workshops, students will extend their play-going experience by strengthening their personal connection to the play and deepening their understanding of the themes and characters.
Email Kathryn Henriques at [email protected] to book a pre or post-show workshop for your class!
To learn more about Lexington Children’s Theatre and our programming for your school visit: www.lctonstage.org/for-educators/lct-for-the-classroom/