Zeraffa Giraffa Education Pack

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John Wright, the founder of Little Angel Theatre, was born in South Africa in 1906. He travelled to England in 1935 and worked as an assistant stage manager for the Ballet Rambert while studying at the Central School of Art and Design. During this time he saw a puppet performance by Podrecca’s Piccoli and became hooked. John made his very first puppet in 1938. In 1961 John and his troupe found a derelict temperance hall in Islington and transformed it into a theatre, designed for the presentation of marionette shows. It opened on Saturday 24th November 1961. This was to be the first purpose built puppet theatre the country had seen for many years and the only one with a permanent long string marionette bridge constructed backstage. The bridge was designed for puppeteers to stand on while they manipulate long stringed puppets who perform on the stage below leaving the audience unable to see the puppeteers. The original bridge is used to this day. The theatre has a traditional ‘proscenium arch’ and seats 100 audience members. John Wright died in 1991 but the work of the theatre continued apace with family, friends and supporters working tirelessly to continue in his footsteps to make sure John’s legacy would delight generations to come.

How did Little Angel Theatre start? start? Theatre Angel Little did How

“Over the next 30 years, the Little Angel team created and performed over 30 full-scale shows” Zeraffa Giraffa is based on the book by Dianne Hofmeyr. The show is a co-production between Little Angel Theatre and Omnibus Theatre. “Omnibus Theatre is a home of storytelling – a small place to encounter big ideas. We are driven by the legacy of our former library building to tell stories, familiar and unknown, in South and beyond. Our mission is to create theatre that has the power to inspire audiences, to change minds, to

bring us together.

Omnibus Theatre nurtures emerging artists and new voices, presenting work that is ambitious and relevant. Integrity and rigour underpin the work we create and the work we commission. We are committed to making our work affordable and introducing it to new audiences. “

A True Story! ‘Zarafa’ was a female who lived in for 18 years. She was given to the king of France as a gift from Muhammed Ali of in 1824 becoming the first giraffe to be seen in Europe for many years. She was captured as a young giraffe by hunters and taken on the back of a camel to begin her journey to France. A young giraffe is sent as a gift from the Pasha of Egypt to the King of France, but Paris is very far away…

With a boy called Atir to help Zeraffa find her way, the pair sail up the past pyramids, sphinxes and temples and out across the stormy sea to a country where everything is different. No one has seen an animal like Zeraffa before. Can Zeraffa and Atir find a way to make this new place home?

Zeraffa Giraffa is an emotionally engaging tale that explores what it is like to be different. Based on the book by award-winning children’s author Dianne Hofmeyr, Zeraffa Giraffa is inspired by the astonishing true tale of a real giraffe. This brand

new adaptation is told using beautiful hand-made puppets and an original musical About Zeraffa Giraffa Zeraffa About score that will bring you along Zeraffa’s epic journey across land and sea. The True Story of Zeraffa the900 walk up the and Atlantic coastFrance of Seine, decidedto it was the that should she thedangers Fearing of her Paristransporting theto Iberian around peninsula aAftervoyageneck. of days, 32 she in 31 arrived Marseilleson October 1826. thedeckabove through the cargo sheholdthroughwhich poke couldher Sudaneseservant,Atir.As and sheHassan,a was so holetall, a was cut FromAlexandria, sheembarked on ship a to , with an Arab groom, 25 her provided with downNile toboat the She bywasAlexandria. accompaniedthree cows that to taken onbackof a the from camel, wherewas shetransported by was acaptured She as bySennaranimalyoung Arab near inhunters and the firstwas timethis people the France of timeat the would have seenone! thefirst seenwere be giraffesEuropeoverto in for three hundred years,so giraffes Muhammad Alithree the Pasha sent European to rulers These in 1827. gift from A the Pasha King Egyptofof to CharlesX France, she of was one isstill there. speciallybuilta isin rotundafor 18 years.If visityou Paristhetoday rotunda “ Zarafa" wasaZarafa" female giraffewholived Nubian the des Par- in Jardin Plantes in

km to Paris. to km

litres of milk to drinkmilk to day.each litres of

   FACTS! GiraffeFrance went Crazy! becameGiraffe time inspired as see passby.to her Fashions of the peoplewithFrance, liningthestreets stircausedquite a Herarrival across

Died in 1845 18 in at yearsDied old. inarrived FranceinShe 1827. years. 2journeytookTotalhalf anda

des Plantesdes in Paris Zeraffa

’ s Rotundain the Jardin

 Mostly found in the dry savannas of Africa, roaming among the open plains and woodlands.

 World’s tallest living land animals.

 They can grow as tall as 5.5m

 Their height helps them look out for predators such as lions or hyenas

 They have excellent eye sight.

 Herbivores – only eat plants.

 They have very long tongues helping them pull down leaves growing high above them.

 Giraffes don’t drink much water as they get most of their water from their leafy meals

 Female giraffes give birth standing up.

 Giraffes live for around 25 years in the wild and up to 40 years in captivity.

 Giraffes have 4 stomachs helping them to

digest their food All About Giraffes About All

In the Production we follow Zeraffa on her Journey, which starts in the place of her birth, Ethiopia,      Geography Links to Paris (France) Marseille to toMarseille (France) SphynxtheGreat ing ofthePyramids andGiza, Egypt toKhartoum Alexandria (Egypt, Africa) Sennar into Ethiopia.Captured Taken

toKhartoum (Sudan, Africa) and ends in Paris. She visits many places along the way. –

550 Outline of Route taken

Sennar Sennar Africa) (Sudan, – milewalk.

3 – week sail Mediterraneansail week acrossthe Sea

walkedcamel on –

2000

mile boattrip downmile the river Nile,Pass-

’ scapitol cityCairo. ’ sback.

Geography Links    Lighthouse of The Alexandria  Alexandria    TheGreat Pyramids of Giza  Sphynxof Giza seen the Sphynx and the Pyramids on their journey Giza and Cairo Facts    Sudan Facts (Sennar and Khartoum)    Ethiopia Facts about the key places Zeraffa Passed through on her Journey

The lighthouse The isthethird Wonder longest ofsurvive.the World to The isIt the 2 Ethiopiais a landlockedcountry is entirely(it surroundedby inland) Eastern Africa. Northern low mountainsand desert. Southern forearth thousands of years. was and the tallest structure on Thepyramid stands 451 at feethigh pharaohnamed Khufu. pyramidof Gizawas builtfor a (Kings) after their death. GreatThe Pyramidswere builtfor pharaohs 66 and feethigh. The Great Sphinx guards the pyramidtombs of Giza. Oneofthe largestand oldest statuesinthe world. It is 241 feet long, 20 feet wide, dunesdrifting over the Sudanhas wo distinct parts, thedesert and the Nile Valley to flourishand bloom formany years. Theriver Nile runs through Sudan andKhartoum has and allowed the desert land Khartoumis the capitalof Sudan and is alsothe largest surroundedonthree sides by low Mediterranean Sea. Mediterranean isurban andLandscape like, town withtheharbour meets the that toruins. crumbling lighthouse The was severalearthquakes hit by abandoned and beforewas first lighthouse The constructed inworld. the portMain Egypt.of —

Zeraffa was born and captured in Ethiopia Ethiopian landscape — Zeraffa set sail from Alexandria

nd – Egypt'slandscape Egypt

most populatedcountry inAfrica. -

has widehas valleys near the Nile anddesert to the andeast west. In the show Atir talks to the Sphynx, in real life they would have

–

landscape.

is largelyis formed from a high volcanic plateau.is It –

contains

–

Zeraffa is brought to the Pasha in Khartoum -

lying desert.

-

Stony,with sandy

Geography Links   Paris    Marseille Zeraffa

- have been Zarafa aroundhave during Eiffel The inTowerwas sowhilst 1889, built iconic itwouldnan landmark cityofCapital France itsaround city. alsohas and rivers theGulfLion by of withlimestonehills ed issurround- Marseille inport Francemercial biggest Hascom- the in thesouthCity of France

Zeraffa was presented to the King in Paris ’ s journey continued — Zeraffa arrived in France at the port of Marseille

Austria riziain where he later died. ended withreignthe French Revolution. to He Go- escaped  byfarmland rounded andbydissected theSeine River. 

The King ofKing FranceatThe thetime was ,who FranceconsistsCentral the Parisbasin,issur- of which

………..

France France . Rochelle,La of Natural Historyof in theMuseum day bethis seen can to Zarafaas known stuffed giraffe A

’ slifetime.

’ s ’ t Zeraffa inspired craft activities     Walking Landscape previous (lsee pages). ZerafaThroughout Landscape Art dipped in paint to get the same shape repeatedly. shape itemsdecorative or surroundings. same 8. the get to Stick on 7. a of pair googly eyes. paint in dipped artist of gone for fab has mix both! a Decorate 6. giraffeyour brownwith a eitherpaint using pattern or paper, tissue our to drygiraffe . shape Draw on 5. tophead to of armprint. Don fingers arepainted at bottom thethe of page . Clean4. your hand and then turn pieceyour of paperaround sothe tips of your off upwards.straight Place 3. paperpushhand ontostill Keep down. and for hand few a andsecondslift paint ontoof amount handand forearm. Paint handand2. forearm paint.yellow in Use topaintbrush painta generous ofstill at oftop the page and to right the paper handprinton (tothe on) head draw Practice the 1. children forearm plantingand paper hand on withof little spacea bit How to        What Handprint Giraffe 

Use felt Use to tips decorate fine details likeand tailand mane add onany other paint trays plates/ paperfor items decorative glue eyes googly paper brushes paint brown and poster paints your giraffe your acrosswalk desertor the chosen landscape. Placegiraffe through the slit with the stick outpoking the back, andwatch giraffe this toAttach astick. aorcamel, etc). person separatepiecea ofOn andcut outdraw paper giraffe youa (or could a do ofside either theslit. themiddle the pageIn of cut a slit, horizontal at leastanleaving inch paper of – paint,colour Draw, in aoflandscape yourfrom choosingZeraffa

you

Africa

’ ll need: ’ s deserts). sdeserts).

–

’ yellow s journey tosjourney France passedthey severaldifferent landscapes

Top tip: you can use half a polystyrene ball ball polystyrene a half use can you tip: Top

’ t forget toearsforget addLeave yourt in

’ s journey (e.g.sjourney

What you need

 Colour Print template on card (see next page)

 Scissors  Coloured felt tips  Googly eyes  Tissue paper  Glue stick

What to do:  Print out our giraffe template from HERE and next page (or make your own us- ing ours as a guide).

 Cut around the solid lines so you are left with just the outline.  Fold down the central dashed line of the giraffe which runs from the nose to the tail  Fold down the dashed line diagonal folds on the neck of the giraffe and then fold up the dashed straight line on the neck of the giraffe  Fold down the giraffe’s head and then fold down the dashed line on the tail  Stick on your best pair of googly eyes! If you don’t have any googly you can get even more creative and draw your own eyes on. What expression will you choose?

 Now it’s time to decorate your new giraffe with brown tissue paper shapes, or choose your favourite colours and colour in with felt tips. Other ideas! Zeraffa caused a storm in France and many designs were inspired by her. Giraffe’s have a very distinctive pattern. Using this as a starting point design your own version of the giraffe pattern (could be done with a design computer programme). What would you change? The colours, the shapes?

In France many fashions and new prod- ucts had giraffe colours or patterns. De- sign your own accessories or fashions which would not look out of place on the

catwalks of Paris at that time! This could Make your own Zeraffa inspired art inspired Zeraffa own your Make

extend to household items such as furni- ture?

Literacy Links aWrite letter home describingwhere you are now and how you feel. withtheir ated story ofhome. leaving entryadiary Write ofas thesefeelingsone characters the associ-describinghave you would How helpyou yourselfto remember theandplace people behind?youhad left family and homes behindthem. would How feelyouif Zeraffa, were you Atir Sara? or They all hadto their leave  theything see on their journey. their company writing. them Get to describe thethe landscape, characters and any- be doneasstoryboardalso This can thechilda versioncandraw where pictures to ac- choosecould completelyYou a different route as well. belongings etc different then togetting pack and each to writechild their story. own be donebymakingThis can spiderdiagramsas classdifferent of a transport, of modes  who alsonever has who seenonebefore! saw. Howsightsyou describeyoucreaturestrangewould as aa as to someonegiraffe entryadiary Write letteror the describing excitement wouldthis have thecaused and you someoneImagine in are giraffe Franceseeing a throughwalk yourvillage!or town

Creative Writing Writing about about Writing feelings/Empathy HowZerafa? wouldas Howtravel?you many transport modes of canyouuse? would What youpack bagwith youin if to your takewere sameyou the journey

Links and resources The Giraffe that Walked to Paris Illustrator Author published Originally Zeraffa Giraffa Books www.littleangeltheatre.com About Little Angel Theatre Mathers and Beth Warnock, production photographs by Ellie Kurttz Education resource pack written by Sarah Schofield, additional material by Deanna Contact: Twitter! us onFollow https://twitter.com/LittleATheatre friends Make Little with Angel Theatre keepto to up date with the latest news www.facebook.com Contact MakingWorkshopsPuppet Angel Theatrevisual Little stories childrenfor the autistic on spectrum Also available: shows.our of filmsshort Two featuringAngel Little Theatre the about process on putting one of 2/9654.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/putting presentsee and theand puppets in action! TubeYouto Visit watch trailers, and behindfilmsclips the scenes of our shows past http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=little+angel+theatre&sm=3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe3MeJ9qUaY ZARAFA included athat Giraffe, cows,and an antelope Nancy Historical By Milton. fiction about 1800'san gift early from Egyptto France Publishedon Jun 201520,

: DianneHofmeyr [email protected] [email protected] - :

Jane Ray Animated film

:7 2014 April

for moreinformation.

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