Building Community by Producing Honk! Jr., a Musical Based on the Glu Y Duckling Heidi Louise Jensen
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University of Northern Colorado Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC Theses Student Research 5-1-2013 Two hundred year old lesson in bullying: building community by producing Honk! Jr., a musical based on The glU y Duckling Heidi Louise Jensen Follow this and additional works at: http://digscholarship.unco.edu/theses Recommended Citation Jensen, Heidi Louise, "Two hundred year old lesson in bullying: building community by producing Honk! Jr., a musical based on The Ugly Duckling" (2013). Theses. Paper 38. This Text is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © 2013 HEIDI LOUISE JENSEN ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO Greeley, Colorado The Graduate School A TWO HUNDRED YEAR OLD LESSON IN BULLYING: BUILDING COMMUNITY BY PRODUCING HONK! JR., A MUSICAL BASED ON “THE UGLY DUCKLING” A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Heidi Louise Jensen College of Performing and Visual Arts School of Theatre Arts and Dance Theatre Education May 2013 This Thesis by: Heidi Louise Jensen Entitled: A Two Hundred Year Old Lesson in Bullying: Building Community by Producing HONK! Jr., A Musical Based on “The Ugly Duckling”. has been approved as meeting the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in College of Performing and Visual Arts in School of Theatre and Dance, Program of Theatre Educator Intensive Accepted by the Thesis Committee _______________________________________________________ Gillian McNally, Associate Professor, M.F.A., Chair, Advisor _______________________________________________________ Mary J. Schuttler, Ph. D., Committee Member Accepted by the Graduate School: _____________________________________________________________ Linda L. Black, Ed.D., LPC Acting Dean of the Graduate School and International Admissions ABSTRACT Jensen, Heidi Louise. A Two Hundred Year Old Lesson in Bullying: Building Community by Producing HONK! JR., A Musical Based on “The Ugly Duckling.” Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of Northern Colorado, 2013. Benjamin Franklin Theatre Project was created in response to recent violence in schools and new anti-bullying legislation. Schools in Washington State are mandated by legislation to adopt anti-bullying policies. After a policy was made official, it was up to schools, particularly educators to guide students to understand, support and integrate the anti-bullying message into the school community. Theatre education, a constructivist, holistic approach to learning, was a successful way to do this at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School. By producing HONK! Jr. a musical play based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story “The Ugly Duckling”, students were able to explore, role-play and recreate a true account of bullying. Andersen’s “The Ugly Duckling”, is based on his life and the bullying he endured as a child. All students deserve a peaceful, safe, positive environment at school. Using theatre education as a bridge for integrated thematic learning provided a safe and pretend environment for students to gain empathy and ultimately understand the dangers of bullying. Producing a musical play was a way to build self-esteem, promote acceptance, and to build strong community bonds. Requiring parent participation and allowing all interested students to join were two key factors that naturally helped detour bullying behavior. This thesis was an exploration of how theatre iii education, particularly producing a play, can be a tool to take a social message from a policy into the school community value system. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis project and accompanying production would not have developed into its full potential without the assistance of the following: For their professional assistance and guidance, at the University of Northern Colorado: Gillian McNally Dr. Mary Schuttler Dr. Richard Shore The faculty of the College of Performing and Visual Arts in School of Theatre and Dance, in the Program of Theatre Educator Intensive. For editing, Michelle Wylie. For your patience, support and love, my husband Majed, and children Mohamed, Jasmine and Jaman. My parents. Friends, family, classmates. Cheers to Hans Christian Andersen for his courage, perseverance, and willingness to share his artistic gifts. For their help in developing the production itself: The Creative Team. The remarkable, creative, innovative, community of Benjamin Franklin Elementary School. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 Goal of Thesis .................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of Study ............................................................................................... 5 Significance of Study .......................................................................................... 7 Review of Literature ........................................................................................... 9 Methodology .................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER II. DRAMATURGICAL PROTOCOL .................................................... 20 Glossed Playscript ............................................................................................ 20 First Responses ................................................................................................ 20 Supplements to the Playscript/Areas of Inquiry .............................................. 28 CHAPTER III. PROMPT BOOK .............................................................................. 138 Given Circumstances ..................................................................................... 138 Dialogue ......................................................................................................... 149 CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 174 The Impact on the School and Greater Community ...................................... 176 Theatre and Its Impact on Bullying ............................................................... 179 Sustainability.................................................................................................. 183 WORKS CITED ....................................................................................................... 186 APPENDIX. IMAGES .............................................................................................. 198 vi LIST OF FIGURES 1. Maps of Denmark ............................................................................................ 53 2. Images of Odense environment ....................................................................... 54 3. Initial flyer seeking student involvement ......................................................... 95 4. Early calendar planning ................................................................................... 95 5. Prop design inspiration and outcomes ............................................................. 96 6. Lake Washington High School lighting plot ................................................... 97 7. Lighting cue sheet #1 ....................................................................................... 98 8. Lighting cue sheet # 2 ...................................................................................... 99 9. Lighting cue sheet #3 ..................................................................................... 100 10. Resource pictures for Geese costume design ................................................. 101 11. Initial rendering of Geese costume ................................................................ 101 12. Final Geese costumes ..................................................................................... 102 13. Resource pictures for Ducks costume design ................................................ 102 14. Initial rendering of Duck costume ................................................................. 103 15. Final Duck costumes ...................................................................................... 103 16. Resource pictures for Swans costume design ................................................ 104 17. Initial rendering for Swan costume ................................................................ 104 18. Final Swan costumes...................................................................................... 105 19. Froglet costumes ............................................................................................ 105 vii 20. Production crew uniforms .............................................................................. 105 21. Students from production crew, creating sets and props ............................... 106 22. Costume plot .................................................................................................. 107 23. Songs list by character ................................................................................... 112 24. Final schedule leading to opening night ........................................................ 113 25. Example of ticket designed by student .......................................................... 114 26. Poster designed by student ............................................................................