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Study Guide for Parents and Educators Welcome to Amazing Grace

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Study Guide for Parents and Educators Welcome to Amazing Grace Study Guide for Parents and Educators Welcome to Amazing Grace Welcome to the Amazing Grace study guide. The musical, Amazing Grace, tells the un- known story behind the most famous song in history. The purpose of this guide is to help your students better understand the time period in which Amazing Grace is set, that of the Trans- Atlantic Slave Trade and Abolitionism. We hope Amazing Grace can be a great teaching tool by setting the scene and bringing to life the hardships and tribulations of this time period. In this guide you will find background material about the making of the musical, theater etiquette, a history of the song, a synopsis of the story, character backgrounds, historical material to aid in teaching about slavery and abolitionism, resources for deeper study, information about modern day slavery, and how to get involved. Table of Contents Theater Etiquette............................................................................................................................3 The Making of Amazing Grace......................................................................................................4 A Musical Is Born Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound The Spark The Creative Team Background.....................................................................................................................................9 Setting the Scene Get to Know the Characters History...........................................................................................................................................11 John Newton: Slave Trader to Abolitionist The Triangular Trade The Abolitionist Movement: It Begins in the Dark Modern Day Slavery......................................................................................................................16 Diving Deeper..............................................................................................................................18 Further Reading and Online Resources......................................................................................19 Theater Etiquette Welcome to the theater! This is a magical place where stories come alive before your eyes. You will be whisked away only to return once the story has come to an end. We invite you to turn off your rational brain to be seduced by the sights and sounds of stage before you. To fully enjoy this experience, allow the music from the Orchestra to tickle your ears and affect your heart beat. As the lights peel across the stage to create the mood, al- low your mood to follow. The curtain rises and the scene is set. You are now a fly on the wall along for the ride. Try to remain in this state of childlike wonder. The magic of the theater has now taken over and you are at its whim. Be careful...who knows where she’ll take you! It is important to understand that live theater is not like watching a movie or tv. What is happening on stage, while rehearsed, is different every night. The spontaneity of the the- ater is what makes it so engaging to watch. Everything is happening in the moment and no two shows are identical. As a part of the audience, you are an important character in the show. You create the energy in the room for the actors to feed from. In order to create a ripe setting for the actors to live and for you to experience the magic of live theater, we all must follow some simple etiquette rules: • Arrive On Time. If you are late you run the risk of disturbing a scene which has already started. • Turn Off Cell Phones and other noisy electronics. Unwrap Candies. Noises from the audience can distract the actors and other audience members. • Do Not send Text Messages during the show. • Do Not take Pictures during the performance. The flash and noise is a distraction. • Stay Seated during the performance. You can use the restroom and stretch your legs during intermission. • Do Not have side conversations during the performance. Find your seat and let the play begin! the Musical is Born A Note From the Director Amazing Grace is based on a true story about John Newton, the author of the most famous song in history but it is also a show about truth itself. The themes that echo throughout this dramatic tale include loss, grief, ego, redemption, and finding one’s true love by finding the truth within your self. It is a love story of many dimensions, between a boy and his childhood sweetheart, a father and his son as well as between a man and his faith. This is an epic tale of adventure on the high seas, which becomes a metaphor in itself, for the turbulence in John’s soul and heart. Storms from within and without. The production will depict the world, as it existed in the mid 18th century: dependent on the slave trade to fuel its economy and in denial about the true horrors of what it was doing on a human scale. The show will take the audience to all three points of the slave triangle, Eng- land, Africa, and Barbados and spend a number of scenes on board various ships at sea. All this, while making sure that above all, the audience’s imagination plays a part in the process and the spectacle. It is my aim to provide a rich theatrical environment in which this plot driven tale can un- fold and it is my goal and hope that the audience will ultimately become, not just engaged in the action of the show, but see themselves in these characters, and realize the undeniable relevance of this piece for our times. -Gabriel Barre, Director Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound “Amazing Grace”, the world’s most recognizable hymn, was written by ruthless slave trader turned abolitionist, John Newton. The hymn tells the story of a man suffering under the weight of his own cruelty who has a dramatic conversion where upon his eyes are opened to his own decrepit ways and to the grace and foregiveness that washed it all away. The verses were initially written in 1772 and were meant to be sung with any number of popular hymn tunes of the day. It wasn’t until 1835 in South Carolina that William Walker brought the tune “New Britain” to the words. This tune was among the many corporate tunes of the day but is now famously mar ried to the words of “Amazing Grace”. “Amazing Grace” was made popular in America during the Second Great Awakening, a time of increased religious fervor in the country. The hymn was referenced in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and was embraced by abolitionist forces. During the Civil War, the hymn inspired hope and revived suffering American spirits. A similar resurgence of the song came during the Vietnam war. It has - appeared on over 1,100 albums. It’s continual popularity is attributed to it’s power to transform and tran scend; it is a hymn for every man. - Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, The Lord has promised good to me. Was blind, but now I see. His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be, T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear. As long as life endures. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, The hour I first believed. And mortal life shall cease, I shall possess within the veil, Through many dangers, toils and snares A life of joy and peace. I have already come; ‘Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far and Grace will lead me home. by John Newton The Spark I have a habit of wandering the history section of libraries and book stores looking for interesting stories. One day I pulled a book off the shelf at random. The binding said “John Newton, His Autobiography.” Who was John Newton? I had no clue. But I had time to kill and so I sat and read. What unfolded before me was an epic story of love and loss, of harrowing storms and battles and the desperate struggle for the conscience of an entire country. The most remarkable thing about this man: He had written the lyrics to the most loved song of the last 300 years, Amaz- ing Grace. I couldn’t believe it, why hadn’t I heard of this guy? Then it hit me all at once. This could be a musical. A huge musical like Les Miz or Phantom. I could almost hear it. I went to my wife and laid out this crazy vision, I would write an epic musical based on the life of John Newton. The only problem was I didn’t know how to write a musical. She looked into my eyes and said that she believed I could do it. This was an important step because my wife is my best friend and any crazy adventure I go on she comes along to. We set off. I left my job as a policeman and youth education director and devoted myself to learning how to write a musical. I had some experience in music composition but for the most part this was a whole new craft. I didn’t have training but what I did have was a story I felt needed to be told. And when you feel really inspired by something it’s hard to give up. Looking back on it the fact that I had no expertise in this field gave me a lot of freedom to create what I feel is a new kind of musical. I wrote music I loved, inspired by Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Williams, Hans Zimmer. As for the book, I simply went back to the epic stories I loved as a kid: the films of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and later Ron Howard. I grew up in the golden age of films that had it all: romance, humor, adventure, and pathos. So I said “why not put this all in a mu- sical?” Some time later I was connected with a producer, Carolyn Rossi Copeland, and the vision of seeing this musical on stage became more of a reality.
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