Cue sheet FOR STUDENTS

Welcome to Cuesheet, a performance guide By Kim Hines published by the Education Department of Conceived and Directed by the John F.Kennedy Center for the Performing Deirdre Kelly Lavrakas Arts,Washington, D.C. This Cuesheet is designed to help you enjoy the performance of Kite on the Wind.

A kite marks topics for discussion or activities you may want to do with other students, friends, or family.

“… I look above into the blue with yearning I push forth a CRY into the sky.

I hope that my wishes are heard and made true For I wish to FLY into the sky.

I run and jump hoping that, one day—like a kite— I may float HIGH into the sky.” A Tale of The Characters oung Shahab daydreams that he • Shahab [shuh-HAHB], a boy who likes to is friends with an imaginary parrot daydream Y named Tota. He also daydreams • Tota [TO-tah], an imaginary parrot about flying kites at an upcoming festival Pate [PA-tay], and Karamay [kar-UHM-ay], called , which his father won’t allow • characters from Pakistani folklore him to do. At school, his daydreams are interrupted when his teacher asks him to • Rashid [rah-SHEED], Shahab’s Baba read a report about Pakistani culture. But [buh-BAH], or Father he hasn’t even started the assignment! • Maryam [MARY-am], Shahab’s Ammi Fortunately, Shahab is saved by the bell [uh-MEE], or Mother and class is dismissed. Unfortunately, • Shahab’s Dadi [DAH-dee], or Grandma Shahab’s teacher is very disappointed. • Nabila [nuh-BEE-la], Shahab’s Sister Shahab’s passion for kites gets him into • Shahab’s friends: Samir [SAH-mir], even more trouble when he visits a kite Tariq [TAH-rick], and Bilal [buh-LAHL] vendor instead of meeting his sister after Shahab’s teacher school. Now Shahab’s parents are • disappointed, too. With the help of two • The Kite Vendor characters from Pakistani folklore and a • The Old Man who sells antique and used special gift from his grandmother, Shahab items is able to complete his assignment and • The Wind Trader, a woman named Fatima impress his teacher. But will he be allowed [FAHT-mah] who sells fans, pinwheels, to fly kites at the festival? and parasols (umbrellas used to provide shade from the sun)

Plot Predictions Stories catch our attention when something exciting happens in the plot (the sequence of events in a story) and we’re curious to know what will happen next. In the play, Shahab leaves school in the middle of the day to find kite-making supplies. What do you think will happen because of this decision? Write down five possibilities. The Actor’s Imagination From Story to Stage Shahab’s daydreams are full of Pate and Karamay, two characters imaginative characters that no one from one of Shahab’s favorite else can see. Pretend you can’t be childhood stories, come to life in his seen, you can’t see others, or you see what imagination. Imagine if two characters others cannot. In groups of four, act out the from your favorite myth or folktale came to scene below: life. Write a dialogue between you and Pate: I think you should be in school. those characters.

Shahab: Not until I have everything for my kite. Did you know?

Karamay: Well, then—let’s go shopping! In ancient Pakistan, people from many ethnicities (groups that share cultural Shahab: But where? This is the one time traits) would gather to hear and exchange Nabila could be useful. stories in festive storytelling bazaars. (Fatima enters, overburdened with boxes, Stories can still be heard today in a city rope, and tissue-like packing paper in called Peshawar, where people also go to hand. She drops her things and looks up buy books and videos. in the air.) Fatima: Boy! Larka! (Shahab gestures to Playing a Parrot himself.) Yes, you. One of the main characters in the Shahab: Me? Are you talking to me? play is a parrot named Tota. How does an actor play the part of a Fatima: Perhaps you are not aware, but parrot? What does a parrot sound like? you are the only one standing there. How does it walk? Try walking and talking like a parrot, then challenge friends to act out different animals.

Did you know? Parrots are very popular pets in Pakistan, but they also live in the wild. While parrots have many different, vivid colors, the most common kind is the green parrot. Costumes —Traditional vs. Contemporary Because Pate and Karamay are characters from Pakistani folklore, their clothing will look very different from the clothing of Shahab and other characters living in modern-day Pakistan. When you see Kite Design for a Marketplace on the Wind, pay close attention to the Set designers are responsible for actors’ costumes. After the play, discuss creating the setting, or location and the differences you noticed. atmosphere, for a play. They often start their work by reading and getting Did you know? inspiration from the script. Want to try it? Read this excerpt from the script: Many Pakistani men and women wear a traditional dress called a shalwar-kameez “Shahab and Samir walk home [shuhl-WAHR kuh-MEEZ] for formal and through marketplaces full of very informal occasions. The kameez, a long colorful displays. The streets are shirt with side seams left open below the filled with different sights and waist, is paired with loose-fitting pants sounds—some merchants hawk their called the shalwar. wares and others sit at their stands and sell baskets of herbs and seasonings. There are large stands of Vivid Vendors fruits and vegetables and small stands of jewelry and trinkets. One merchant Shahab meets interesting characters pushes a rack of colorful clothing.” when he’s in the marketplace. He meets an old man who sells an Picture the Pakistani marketplaces in your assortment of objects, while singing a loud mind and then draw a set design based on and off-key song. He also meets Fatima, an what you imagine. When you watch Kite exotic woman who wears bright colors like on the Wind, compare your design with teal. When Fatima enters the scene, she is that of the play’s set designer. over-burdened with boxes, rope, and papers. Pair up with a friend and pretend to be the costume designer and properties artisan (a person who chooses props for a play) for Kite on the Wind. Design costumes and props for Fatima and the old man.

Costume sketches from Kite on the Wind Fast Facts about Pakistan capital: Islamabad Russia

e official national language: [er-DOO] (although Punjabi is the in ra k most widely spoken language and English is the official language) U Kazakhstan Mongolia currency: Pakistani rupee [ROO-pee] Tur Uz key bekis tan Turkmen area: 307,374 square miles (nearly twice the size of California) istan Iraq China geography: flat plains in the east; mountains in the north; plateaus in Iran Islamabad • S n au a di t the west A is ra k b a i P climate: mostly hot desert; temperate (between polar and tropical a n urma La a India B os Om T climates) in the northwest; arctic in the north n ha Yeme ila nd population: about 165 million B a y

o religions: 97% Muslim, 3% other religions (including Christian and Hindu) an Sea f rabi B A e n g a four main ethnic groups: Punjabi [puhn-JAH-bee], who live along the l eastern border; Sindhi [sin-DHEE], who originated in Sindh [SINDH-uh] (now southeast Pakistan); Pashtun [puhsh-TOON], in the northwest; and Balochi [buh-LO-chee], in the west

A Sky Full of Colors Writing the Ghazal Basant (bu-SUHNT) The ghazal [GUHZ-el], a form of poetry that dates is a two-day festival back to the seventh century, is made up of at least that celebrates five pairs of lines (or couplets). Each couplet should spring. People be able to stand on its own (i.e., as one complete sentence). gather in the Ghazals include a rhyme pattern followed by a repeated Basant painting by Iqbal Ahmed ancient city of phrase (called a refrain). Read the ghazal on the cover of this from The Gift of the Indus and other Cuesheet, then use the template below to write your own. Web site (see Resources) eastern cities in First couplet: Pakistan to eat, dance, sing, make music, and fly kites. rhyme A + refrain

rhyme A + refrain Did you know? Second couplet (and all couplets following): Cricket is a popular sport in Pakistan and around the world. Players take turns batting a rhyme A + refrain ball—just like in baseball. Unlike in baseball, a cricket bat is flat, The final couplet in a ghazal refers to the poem’s author; and players score points by try including your name in the last two lines. running the length of a 22-yard strip. Resources

Learn more about Pakistan on these Web sites: Gift of the Indus:The Arts & artsedge.kennedy-center.org/pakistan

Poetic Form: Ghazal www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prm MID/5781 Make a Paper Kite

Materials: Here’s how:

1 1 1 1. Fold your paper in half to 8 ⁄2" by 5 ⁄2" (see Fig. 1). • 8 ⁄2" x 11" piece of paper 2. Fold the paper along diagonal line A (see Fig. 2). Stephen A. Schwarzman barbecue skewer • 3. Fold back one side of the paper to form a kite shape Chairman masking tape (see Fig. 3) and place tape along fold line AB. • Michael M. Kaiser scissors • 4. Place skewer from point C to D and tape it down firmly President plastic grocery bag • (see Fig. 4). Darrell M. Ayers • hole punch 5. Cut a 1"-wide spiral around the plastic bag for a kite tail Vice President,Education 1" x 3" piece of • and tape one end to the kite at point B (see Fig. 5). Theater at the Kennedy Center is cardboard 6. Flip the kite over and bend the folded flap back and forth presented with the generous support 10' of string • until it stands straight up (see Fig. 6). of Stephen and Christine Schwarzman. Fig. 1 7. Punch a hole in the flap at point E, about a third of the Additional support for the Kennedy way down from the top (see Fig. 6). Center Performances for Young Audiences is provided by the U.S. 8. Tie one end of the string through the hole and wind the Department of Education, rest of the string around the piece of cardboard. The President’s Advisory Committee 9. Wait for the wind, toss your kite high in the air, and on the Arts, the Estate of Joseph R. Applegate, Chevy Chase Bank, watch it soar! Clark Charitable Foundation, and Aaron and Sondra Drutz.

Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Kite on the Wind: A Tale of Pakistan A A D Cuesheet Editor and Art Director: Cathy Lips C E Writer: Theresa Sotto Designer: Carla Badaracco

B B B B Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, © Big Wind Kite Factory a program of the Kennedy Center Education Department.

For more information about the performing arts and arts education, Flights of Fancy visit our Web sites: Why do you think kites mean so much to Shahab? What does the word kite www.kennedy-center.org/education www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org make you think of? Discuss with a friend what you think kites symbolize in the play. Then write a creative story in which a kite is used as a symbol. Questions, comments? Write us at [email protected] center.org. © 2008,The John F. Kennedy Center Did you know? for the Performing Arts People in Pakistan have flown kites since ancient times and continue to fly kites year- The U.S. Department of Education supports round. One of the most common types of kites in Pakistan, a patang [puh-TUHNG], approximately one-third of the budget for the is made of tissue shaped like a diamond with a central spine and a single bow made Kennedy Center Education Department.The contents of this Cuesheet do not necessarily of bamboo. represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.