The Light Princess • South Coast Repertory •1 TABLE of CONTENTS Part I: the Play the Characters
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STUDY GUIDE Prepared by Literary Associate Kat Zukaitis The Light Princess • SOUTH COAST REPERTORY •1 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: THE PLAY The Characters . 3 The Story . 3 Meet the Author: George MacDonald . 4 Going to the Source: A Summary of George MacDonald’s The Light Princess . 5 An Excerpt from The Light Princess . 6 Meet the Playwright: Lila Rose Kaplan . 7 Meet the Composer and Lyricist: Mike Pettry . 7 PART II: CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE SHOW Questions for Discussion . 8 Puns, Puns, Puns! . 9 AFTER THE SHOW Discussion About the Theatre . 10 Discussion About the Play . 10 Activities . 11 PART III: AT THE THEATRE Welcome to the Julianne Argyros Stage . 12 Theatre Etiquette . 12 Student Tips for Theatre Trips . 12 Programs . 12 PART IV: EDUCATION STATION California Visual and Performing Arts Framework . 13 Five Strands of Art Education . 14 Basic Theatre Vocabulary . 15 PART V: RESOURCES The Light Princess by George MacDonald . 16 More About This Adaptation of The Light Princess . 16 2 • SOUTH COAST REPERTORY • The Light Princess Part I: The Play THE CHARACTERS Princess King Witch Wiseman 2 Prince Queen Wiseman 1 Gravitrons THE STORY did not need to be saved, and demands that he put her back in the lake. He jumps in with her—the first time in her life that she has experienced falling. It’s amaz- wo Wisemen begin to tell a story set a very ing. She teaches him to play Marco Polo, and he flies long time ago—but they argue and cannot her back to her balcony for the night. He has fallen in decide how to begin their tale. The King and love. Queen in the story enter and get the Wisemen The King and the Witch are both alarmed to hear back on track. of the meeting. The King, determined to find a suit- TOur story begins once upon a time. A young able husband for the Princess, brings in a series of King and Queen are happy and in love, until they dis- suitors with alarming proposals to keep her weighted cover that they cannot have children. They seek the down. The Queen is so upset by the King’s single- help of the Queen’s sister, a Witch who also is in love minded pursuit of a son-in-law that they quarrel, and with the King. She agrees to help, for a price. The she returns the key to his heart. Meanwhile, the Witch, King and Queen rejoice over the arrival of a baby daughter, until they discover that she has no gravity, either physical or emotion- al. The Princess not only floats, she can’t feel serious emotions like fear, sadness, or love—and if she can’t find her gravity by her 16th birthday, the Witch will take over the kingdom. As the Princess grows up, what she loves more than anything is to swim in the lake, for that is the one place she has weight. But the Wisemen, her guard- ians and tutors, don’t have time to swim with her. The Princess’ 16th birthday is fast approaching, and the Wisemen are busy coming up with ideas to help her find her gravity. Alas, the Princess’ attempts to cry all end in laughter… because, as the Queen points out, love, not tears, is what allows us to feel weighty emotions. However, the Princess has never fallen in love. Over the Queen’s objections, the King and Wisemen decide to hold a Suitor Competition to find the Princess a husband. Meanwhile, a young Prince (in dis- guise as a musician) wanders through the forest, trying in vain to write a love song. He convinces the Witch to let him stay with her. While playing his guitar on the shore of the lake, he hears the Princess splashing and jumps in to save her. She, of course, The Light Princess • SOUTH COAST REPERTORY •3 determined to keep the Princess from falling in love, be- above his head. The Princess saves the drowning Prince witches the Prince and sets him to work digging a hole from the lake and revives him. For the first time in her at the bottom of the Princess’ lake, causing all the water life, she cries and her tears refill the lake. The curse is to drain out. broken and the Princess falls to the ground with her The Princess is furious when she finds out who gravity restored. is causing the lake to drain away. To make amends, The Witch returns to find that her power is gone. the Prince offers to plug the hole with his own body, The King wishes to punish the Witch, but the Princess knowing that he will drown as soon as the water closes intervenes—the Witch, too, she says, just needs to be over his head. He asks the Princess to wait with him as taught how to love. In the end, the King and Queen the water rises. She does not want to speak to him, but reconcile, the Wisemen retire and the Princess, with her is eventually persuaded to give the Prince a kiss before musician Prince at her side, becomes her father’s chief he dies. He sings his first love song as the waters rise advisor. A happy ending for all! MEET THE AUTHOR: GEORGE MACDONALD Adapted from George MacDonald: Life, Works, Legacy by Matthew Bracey he stage play The Light Princess is adapted from a fairy tale that Scottish author, George MacDonald, originally published in 1864. George MacDonald was born in 1824 in Aberdeen- shire, Scotland. As a boy, he loved boxing and reading. THe eventually learned to read in Dutch, English, French, Ger- man, Greek, Italian, Latin and Spanish. After graduating from university, MacDonald moved to London, where he studied theology. When his career as a preacher proved unsuccess- ful, he tried his hand at writing. His extensive knowledge of language and culture played an important role in his ability to paint vivid, memorable pictures in his books. Some years later, poet W.H. Auden wrote: “In his power to project his inner life into images, beings, landscapes which are valid for all, he is one of the most remarkable writers of the nineteenth century.” MacDonald published more than 50 books over the course of four decades. While he wrote fiction, non- fiction, and poetry, he is best remembered for his fan- tasy and fairy tales. “I write, not for children,” he wrote, “but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five.” The story “The Light Princess” was origi- nally published as part of a longer novel, Adela Cathcart, in 1864. Some of his other best known works include Phantases (1858), At the Back of the North Wind (1871), The Princess and the Goblin (1872) and The Princess and Curdie (1883). MacDonald served as a mentor to Lewis Carroll, and en- couraged him to publish Alice in Wonderland. His writings also had a substantial influence on several major 20th century fantasy authors, including C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia), J.R.R. Tolk- ien (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings), and Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time). MacDonald spend the last two decades of his life living in Italy with his wife. He died in 1905, at the age of 80. Portrait of George MacDonald in 1863 4 • SOUTH COAST REPERTORY • The Light Princess GOING TO THE SOURCE: A SUMMARY OF GEORGE MACDONALD’S THE LIGHT PRINCESS Adapted from Rag & Bone Puppet Theatre Teacher’s Guide nce upon a time, so long ago that I have forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children. The King was “ always grumbling about it. It was more than he deserved,O therefore, when, at last, the king and queen had a daughter—as lovely a little princess as ever cried.” The King wrote all the invitations to the christening and, of course, he forgot someone. Unfortunately, the person he forgot was his own sister, the Princess Makemnoit. And she was a wicked witch. Makemnoit arrived at the christening with an evil spell for the baby: Light of spirit, by my charms, Never weary human arms. Light of body, every part; Only crush thy parents’ heart. Suddenly, the Princess was lighter than air; she’d lost her gravity. One day she slipped out of her nurse’s arms and floated to the ceiling. The King had to get a ladder to pull her down. Another day, they put the baby down to sleep on the Queen’s bed and a gust of wind carried her off. They found her under a rose bush, and they watched her much more carefully after that. Everyone loved the baby, because she was always laughing. The servants loved to play ball with her, with the laughing baby as the ball. By the time the Princess The cover of the 1920 edition of The Princess and the Goblin, was 17, she had learned never to go anywhere without a by George MacDonald. heavy stone to hold her down, but she was still laughing. She laughed at everything—even sad things. Her parents When Princess Makemnoit learnt that her spell was were very worried. Two wise philosophers (at least they broken in water, she caused all the water in the kingdom say they are wise) from the College of Metaphysicians had to dry up. The Princess’s beloved lake began to sink. The many suggestions. “Give her tests and tests and tests and Princess was devastated. People said she would not live an tests and tests!” cried one.