Silence Study Guide.Pdf
Study Guide
Education & Outreach Coordinator Grand Theatre
Grandtheatre.com |1.519.672.9030 | 471 richmond street |@thegrandlondon 2
Contents
?
Inspirations: the Bells Extend Your Knowledge: Visible Speech and ASL Learn ASL! Scientific Discovery and Invention New Play Development Become a Playwright Conversation Starters
Grand Theatre study guides are made possible by the support of our sponsors
ACCESSING THE ARTS PROGRAM SPONSOR
3
Cast
Gertrude Mercer McCurdy Hubbard Suzanne Bennett
Alexander Graham Bell Graham Cuthbertson
Eliza Bell Catherine Joell MacKinnon
Berta (Roberta) Hubbard Madelyn Narod
Mabel Gardiner Hubbard (Bell) Tara Rosling
Gardiner Greene Hubbard Michael Spencer-Davis Crew
Director Peter Hinton
Set & Costume Designer Michael Gianfrancesco
Lighting & Projection Designer Beth Kates
Sound Designer Richard Feren
Dramaturg Iris Turcott
Stage Manager Michael Hart
Assistant Stage Manager Sandi Becker
Apprentice Stage Manager Kelly Boudreau
4
Playwright: Trina Davies
Trina Davies is a playwright based in Vancouver BC Canada. -winning plays include Shatter, Multi User Dungeon, The Auction, The Bone Bridge and Waxworks. Her play The Romeo Initiative literary pri Drama 2012 and was the winner of the National Enbridge Prize for Established Artist. Her plays have been performed across Canada and in a number of other countries including the United States, Germany, Italy, and India. Her work has been translated into Italian and German. She has participated in artist residencies at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Banff Centre for the Arts, the Playwrights Theatre Centre and the Bella Vita Playwrights Retreat in Italy. She is currently working towards the world premieres of her plays Waxworks (to be revealed) and Silence: Mabel and Alexander Graham Bell (The Grand Theatre, 2018). She is also working on The Bone Bridge, recent winner of the Woodward International Playwriting Prize, which will have its academic premiere at the University of New Hampshire in October 2017.
Trina is a member of the Alberta Playwrights Network, the Playwrights Theatre Centre and the Playwrights Guild of Canada.
(Source: trinadavies.com)
This play is for those who have loved and for those who have been loved. For those who have spilled over in their all-consuming love for another, and for those afraid they might not have enough love to give Trina Davies
5
Silence:
It only takes one spark of love, genius, or inspiration to change the world forever.
Silence uncovers the life of the remarkable woman often overshadowed by one of I will know if you are listening. Even if I cannot Alexander Graham Bell. hear you at all, even if I This beautiful (and true) story follows Mabel cannot see your lips, I will Gardiner Hubbard, who was Deaf, as she meets and falls in love with the future inventor of the telephone. - Mabel
- Listen to Tara Rosling, who plays Mabel, discuss her character here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM_vXqKybM4 6
Inspiration: the Bells
BORN: November 25th 1857, in Massachusetts.
LIFE: after a bout of scarlet fever when she was five years old, Mabel became profoundly deaf. She learned to lip read in several languages, and was a skilled speaker. She was educated at schools in the United States and Europe, and when she was 15 years old, became a private pupil of Alexander Graham Bell, her future husband.
FAMILY: t Mabel also gave birth to two sons, Edward and Robert, both passed away shortly after their birth. ACHIEVEMENTS: an advoca
First woman in the world to form and manage an aviation company, the Aerial Experiment Association, in 1907; the Association launched the first manned aircraft in Canada, the Silver Dart. Founded club: the Bell Club formerly known as the Young Ladies of Baddeck. Established the first chapter of the Canadian Home and School Parent-Teacher Federation; the first Canadian Montessori School; the Baddeck Public Library, the first public library in Canada; and conducted agricultural research for the Bureau of Soils in the United States as well as the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa.
DIED: January 3rd 1923, and is buried with her husband on a
Sources: https://agbfoundation.ca/mabel-hubbard-bell/; http://www.alexanderandmabelbelllegacyfoundation.com/biography.html
7
st by
BORN: March3 1847, Edinburgh, Scotland.
BEST KNOWN: as the inventor of the telephone.
FAMILY: son of speech pathologist Alexander Melville Bell, and Eliza Bell. worked as a voice coach for those with difficulties hearing. His mother was Deaf, and an accomplished painter and pianist. From her, Alexander inherited a love of music, and was himself a skilled pianist. TRAVELLED: from London, U.K. to Brantford, ON, Canada, with his parents, in search of a healthier life. Then, to Boston, Massachusetts, teaching lip reading and oral speech at Sarah Fuller s Boston School for the Deaf. ACHIEVEMENTS: professor and president at the Clarke School for the Deaf, now the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech, professor of voice and speech at Boston University in 1873, founded the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf, now the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. THE TELEPHONE: June 2 1875 - Alexander and co-developer Thomas Watson transmit the sound of a musical note through a telephone. February 14th 1876 - Gardiner Hubbard filed a patent application; inventor Elisha Gray filed a caveat (a document which indicates the intention to invent something) for his own telephone. March 7th 1876 Bell granted the patent for his telephone March 10th 1876 - first spoken sentence transmitted call for his assistant to help him.
AFTER THE TELEPHONE: Alexander experimented in aviation, designing tetrahedral kites, and hydrodynamics, building hydrofoils. Also served as President of the National Geographic Society.
DIED: August 2nd 1922, and is buried on a hill at Beinn Bhreagh with his wife.
Source: http://www.alexanderandmabelbelllegacyfoundation.com/biography.html
8
FEATURED ARTIST: Catherine Joell MacKinnon.
Catherine is a performer, filmmaker, and producer. After seeing a performance featuring a hard of hearing actor at five years old, Catherine became interested in becoming a performer herself. Despite being told it would be impossible, Catherine continued to pursue her passion. She now holds a BFA from Ryerson Un
have won numerous awards around the world. Catherine is dedicated to promoting equal work opportunities in the Canadian entertainment industry, and is a festival director of the biennial Toronto International Deaf Film and Arts Festival. Catherine speaks both ASL (American Sign Language) and English. Source: http://www.actra.ca/uncategorized/2016/03/catherine-joell-mackinnon-biography/ Perspective What I learned when I started researchi
Eliza Grace Symonds Bell was the mother of Alexander Graham Bell. She was born in England in 1809. I came across an article written by her son describing his childhood, and there was one excerpt which struck me because it demonstrated how deaf she was. At church, she would read sermons while the congregation sang. Afterwards, when they arrived home, she would ask her sons what was being said in church.
Eliza was also an accomplished pianist and artist. She played the piano using the sounding board which enabled her to play every note and play expressively.
She loved to write letters to her son and Mabel. She would sign off as ectionate mother, Eliza S. Bell would send his mother a telegram on Christmas Day, wishing her a Merry Christmas. It certainly shows the closeness of the relationship between a mother, her son, and her daughter in law, Mabel.
Sources: Family correspondence letters via the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/resource/magbell.00400108/?sp=6
Biofeedback and the Modification in Behaviour, Aubrey J. Yate 9
Visible Speech and ASL Alec: What is Visible Speech?
Visible Speech is a system devised by
Alexander Melville Bell. Visible is a phonetic system, in which each shape corresponds to a specific sound in human speech. The system also includes notations for pitch, tone, and suction. The system made it possible for someone to accurately pronounce the sounds of a language, even if they had never heard it before. Like his father, Alexander Graham Bell used visible speech to teach his Deaf students how to shape their mouths in order to produce the desired sounds of a language. This is the method used by Alexander to teach Mabel speech in Silence.
Source: http://www.historytoday.com/kate- wiles/deafness-visible-speech-and-alexander- graham-bell
For Teachers:
Curriculum links: History/Social Studies this section describes different approaches to language learning for Deaf students. This information will inform students of important historical and cultural shifts, as well as enrich their understanding of the effects of these practices on the daily lives of those who participate in them 10
What is ASL?
Exercise: ASL is one of many sign languages in use today. Have your students research other sign languages. How many can they name and describe? Where are they typically used?
ASL is an abbreviation of American Sign Language, which is the most predominant sign language for Deaf communities in North America. Signed languages use visual-gesture systems in order to convey meaning; this differs from spoken languages, which use auditory-vocal systems. While they may seem different, the purpose of sign and spoken languages remains the same: to communicate. Just like any other language, sign languages can be used to tell stories or jokes, to relay experiences or feelings, to ask questions, or to give a theatre performance. School for the Deaf in Hartford, CT, and was developed from French Sign Language and signs that students brought to the school from their homes.
Source: https://wfdeaf.org/human-rights/crpd/sign-language/
ASL Fun Facts from Catherine Joell MacKinnon: ifferent sign languages are used in different countries or regions. For example: British Sign Language (BSL) is a different language from American Sign Language (ASL).
American Sign Language has been around for over 200 years. British Sign Language has been around since 1620.
One of the longest non-profit organizations in Ontario is Ontario Association of the Deaf since 1886.
Sources: National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/american-sign-language DCAL Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre in UK www.ucl.ac.uk
VIDEO: Let Catherine tell you all about Silence, in ASL!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YpdzGgb_Pw 11
Opposing Views: a History of ASL and Oralism
Compiled by: Katie Flannery and Sarah Plummer, Western University; Lorin McDonald
There is a longstanding and controversial debate about deaf education. Two major figures, Edward Miner Gallaudet, an American educator and administrator, and the Scottish-born Alexander Graham Bell, most widely known as the inventor of the telephone, had strongly opposing views.
Gallaudet encouraged the use of sign language in schools for the Deaf*, while Bell advocated that deaf children should be taught to speak and speechread (or, lipread). Now, many schools for the Deaf adopt a bilingual-biliteracy bicultural approach to education, teaching language skills in both American Sign Language (ASL) and English, and acknowledging the importance of fostering Deaf culture in children.
th education and the development of ASL.
* sociological term referring to those individuals who are medically deaf or hard of hearing who identify with and participate in the culture, society, and language of Deaf people, which is based on Sign language. Their preferred mode of communication is Sign.
Sources: Ontario Association for the Deaf, Canadian Association for the Deaf, the Canadian Encyclopedia, World Federation of the Deaf, and Start ASL.
Curriculum links: History - this section introduces students to a history with which they may not already be familiar, and which provides context for contemporary Deaf culture. Students and teachers are encouraged to enrich their understanding of the following timeline by considering connections between the events listed here and other world events or trends studied in the classroom. 12 1800 Various different signing systems were 1817 utilized in Deaf communities. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet trains in French Sign Language, and opens the first free public Deaf school in America, known today as the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, CT. 1858 The school grows rapidly, and Deaf students from all over the United States attend. At the school, American Sign Language The first Ontario school for the Deaf is established. developed from signs that students brought with them, as Now located in Belleville, the Sir James Whitney well as signs adapted from French Sign Language. School for the Deaf is a residential institution for Deaf education. 1864
continues to advance Deaf education, opening the first 1870s college for the Deaf, the National Deaf-Mute College in Washington D.C. All classes and communication were While Gallaudet promotes the education of Deaf conducted in ASL. Renamed the Gallaudet University in students using ASL, Alexander Graham Bell begins to 1986, it is known as the only university in the world dedicated to Deaf and hard-of-hearing students, teaching his deaf students to speak and speechread. education, and research. 1880s
1880-1940 At the Milan Conference, deaf educators gather to discuss the merits of oral vs. manual languages. The Conference declares oral education superior and passes a resolution banning teaching in sign many in Deaf schools continued to sign, and more Deaf language. communities began to organize. These include: the Gallaudet remained committed to ASL education. Bell continued Ontario to champion oral education as the superior method for teaching Deaf organization, comprised primarily of graduates and deaf students, and in 1883, gives an address to the National teachers from the Belleville school; and the Canadian Academy of Sciences, espousing these beliefs. Association of the Deaf. In 2010, an official apology was made for the Milan resolution, 1973 identifying the ban on signing as an act of discrimination and a human rights violation.
offering both day school and residential options. Present day
Today, ASL is used in many geographic areas, but other sign languages also exist. British Sign Language is used within a single country, while ASL is used throughout Anglo-America. ASL is reported as a first language in West Africa, Central African Republic, Barbados, Hong Kong, Philippines, and Singapore. In many other countries, it is widely learned as a second language. 13
What is Deaf Culture?
ASL and other signed languages are integral to Deaf culture. Use the information below to learn about how culture is defined, and the specific details of Deaf culture.
Culture is a way of life and learned ways of acting, feeling and thinking based on a group who share common language, beliefs, values, traditions, social norms, and identity in a society. The culture includes language, values, traditions, social norms and identity.
Deaf culture meets all five sociological criteria (language, values, traditions, norms and identity) for defining a culture. minority have a common experience of life, and this American Sign Language (ASL) and Langue des signes Québécoise (LSQ) are the two manifests itself in Deaf predominant visual languages used by Deaf people culture. This includes beliefs, in Canada. attitudes, history, norms, Values in Deaf people include the importance of values, literary traditions, clear language and communication for all in terms and art shared by Deaf of expression and appreciation in Deaf schools and Deaf clubs. Preserving ASL or LSQ literature, Deaf people. Deaf culture is at the heritage, Deaf literature and Deaf art are examples heart of Deaf communities of what Deaf people value. World Federation of the Deaf
Curriculum links: Social Studies/Social Sciences this section helps students better understand the world around them by introducing them to culture as a concept, and Deaf
diversity, educating them about the diverse communities around them. 14
Traditions include the stories, folklores, festivals, and theatres kept alive through Deaf generations, Deaf experiences and participation in Deaf cultural events (e.g. Deaf Children Festivals in Deaf Schools, Mayfest, International Week of Deaf Awareness, etc.), to celebrate Deaf life and acknowledge the accomplishments and struggles of Deaf people throughout history (e.g., documentation of Deaf heritage in preserving a distinctive, diverse and enduring culture in Canada). Social norms of behaviour often cause cross-cultural Deaf culture is visually conflicts between Deaf and hearing people. Often, accessible. It provides clear individuals are unaware of how their norms may be communication for all both in affecting their interactions with and perceptions of terms of expression and others. Culturally Deaf people have rules of etiquette comprehension. We for getting attention, walking through signed celebrate our culture via conversations, leave-taking, and otherwise politely theatre, arts, poetry, film, negotiating a signing environment. Norms refer to rules of behaviour in the Deaf community. All cultures have etc, just like any other their own set of behaviours that are deemed acceptable. minority gro For Deaf people, it includes getting someone s Catherine Joell MacKinnon attention appropriately, using direct eye contact and correct use of shoulder tapping. Identity is one of the key components of the whole person. Accepting that one is Deaf and is proud of his/her culture and heritage and a contributing member of that society is key to being a member of the cultural group.
What is the difference between community and Deaf community? Community is a group of people who share common ideas, beliefs and customs, and who may live in same geographic area. This group shares a sense of belonging and feels obligation to other members of the group to serve and protect their rights to enjoy the privileges and opportunities of society. They have common values, interests, attitudes and goals. Deaf community is a group of Deaf people and supporters who have common ideas, beliefs and goals of providing services to meet the needs of Deaf children, youth, adults and seniors (e.g., Deaf school, Deaf club, agency serving Deaf people, a celebration of Deaf Pride and Deaf Way events). Quoted from: https://www.chs.ca/deaf-culture-and-community
15
Learn ASL!
Exercise: with your class, learn a few key phrases in ASL, as well as how to sign your name.
For an extra challenge, have students pair up and create short conversation scenes in ASL. Write a script, and then learn how to sign the phrases. Remember: just like with English, ASL must be performed in order to have dramatic effect, so incorporate gesture, facial expressions, emotion, and blocking into your scene.
ASL Resources Compiled by: Katie Flannery and Sarah Plummer
Meet and greet phrases:
Curriculum links: Language introducing a new language vocabulary for them to master.
Drama the exercise in this section encourages students to apply their language learning in a creative endeavor by performing a short scene. As part of the exercise, students are asked to consider several significant components of performance: gesture, facial expression, emotion, and movement. 16
Question words are a useful way of beginning conversation, and finding information. Use facial expressions to help with gesturing the question.
The manual alphabet can be used to spell out words you names of things. When signing the same letter twice, make a small bounce before repeating the sign. Numbers are also useful for making communication easier. Pay attention to which way the hand is facing in the diagram.
Diagrams from: http://www.dummies.com/languages/american-sign-language/signing-for- dummies-cheat-sheet/. 17
Further Online ASL Learning Resources:
Video 1: 100 Basic Signs
Video 2: ASL ABC Lesson and Song- Learn Sign Language Alphabet
Video 3: ASL Animals Song Lesson for Kids Learn how to Sign Animals with Fireese
Video 4: ASL Food Song for Kids- Learn how to sign Foods with Fireese
Signing Savvy: an American Sign Language dictionary containing thousands of videos of signs.
18
Scientific Discovery and Invention History of Telecommunications Alexander Graham Bell is particularly famous for inventing the telephone, which became an important piece of technology in the 19th and 20th centuries. Exercise: Have you students work in groups to create a factsheet about different types of communication telegraph, postal service, railway, telephone, mobile phone, email, and video communications. Factsheets should include the following information: when the technology was first created and by whom, a brief explanation of how the technology works, and a description of its impact on modern life.
Assembled together, these factsheets will create an informative timeline of the development of communication technology.
just invent the telephone: he also worked on a number of other experiments and inventions.
Exercise: Silence your students have seen the performance, see how many different a quick list for your reference: Photophone; Sheep genetics; Tetrahydral kites; Graphophone; Metal vacuum jacket Encourage your students to think about what they would invent. How would their invention change their daily lives? What benefits would the invention provide, or what problems would it solve? What would be the effect of their invention on the world around them (consider, for example, environmental or labour impacts)?
Source: https://www.loc.gov/collections/alexander-graham-bell-papers/articles-and-essays/inventor-and-scientist/
Curriculum links: History this section allows students to explore a specific facet (telecommunications) of a past society (19th century North America). These exercises allow students to develop their research skills and their technological literacy as they analyze how technology affects everyday lives, both in the past and in the present. Science & Technology students will engage their scientific experiments and inventions. Students will also demonstrate critical thinking skills and creativity, becoming inventors themselves. 19
New Play Development Silence is a brand new play, and this is its world premiere! Have you ever wondered how a play gets made?
It begins with an idea. As Trina Davies, the playwright who wrote Silence describes,
phone call from What is dramaturgy? dramaturg Iris Turcott. She had an idea: Alexander Graham Bell. She wanted me to write The entire world of a play is its dramaturgy. It is a study of the wide about Bell, his work, and his family. As I read, I and various elements that define found I was pulled towards Mabel, rather than what the play is; a view of all the parts in relation to each other.
Together the playwright and the Davies was given a broad topic to explore: Alexander dramaturg examine the style, Graham Bell. What makes her play special is her structure, language, as well as the characters, how they relate to each decision to narrow that broad topic by looking at it from other, and what they reveal. Getting a play from development, through production, to opening Exercise: night is the process of dramaturgy. In other words, it is the realization Students: you are now playwrights. of the theatrical composition. Teachers: you are now dramaturgs. Your job is to inspire and assist in the creative work of your playwrights.
Curriculum link: Drama - In the exercise below, students are taken through several steps of the theatrical creation process, working to write a play of their own. At the end of the activity, students can exercise their critical reflection skills through a discussion about the value of telling stories from new perspectives.
20
Exercise Steps:
1. Assign a broad topic for all of your playwrights to address. For example, have your playwrights write their own play about the invention of the telephone, or a historical figure like Bell. 2. Have your playwrights research the given topic individually. 3. After gathering some research, playwrights should brainstorm their own unique angle or perspective on the topic. Suggestions: playwrights might narrow the topic, by exploring a very specific aspect (e.g. the science of the telephone), or playwrights might choose to approach the topic through the eyes of a less well-known participant
4. Have your playwrights write a short sample scene from their play. Encourage them to give their play an interesting and eye-catching title! 5. As a class, discuss the effect of telling a story differently. What changes when you create a story from a different perspective, or with a different focus than is typical? Why is it important to explore history and stories from new perspectives?
Follow up: We talked to Trina Davies about writing new plays. Check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRjiwOntNOs
How were your ?
21
Conversation Starters
After seeing the performance, you can use the below questions to start a class discussion about the play.
What did you know about Alexander Graham Bell before you saw the play? What did you learn about him by watching the play?
At what points during the play did you relate most to Mabel? Were there specific experiences she had that you connected with? Were there other characters that you felt you related to? If so, explain how.
What did you learn about Deafness from the play?
How does Silence does the play use to teach the audience about Deafness? Did you find them effective? Why or why not?
This production features a number of large video projections that accompany the scenes. What effect did these projections create? How did they influence how you felt or understood the scene as it was playing out?