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Home , Farce, Leitmotif, Patter song, The Pirates of Penzance

PRESENTS

Study Guide for Educators

Sponsors: by The Melsheimer Families by W.S. GILBERT PCPA – Pacific Conservatory Brad & Jacquie Hinds Study Guide Complied by DANIEL DENNERT

Table of Contents

Welcome to PCPA/Theater Etiquette…………………………………….. 3 How to Use This Guide………………………………………………….... 4 Production Team and Cast………………………………………………... 5 Elements of the Story Synopsis……………………………………………………… 6 Types of …………………………………………………… 6 and Opera Terminology…………………………………. 7 Themes and Key Words…………………………………………... 8 Elements of the Production About the Authors……………………………………………….... 9 D’Oyly Carte Opera Compnay……………………………………... 10 Design Concept……...……………………………………………... 10 Activities Discussion Questions……………………………………………... 11 Preshow: Words Walk the Plank………………………………….... 11 “Do it again! But FASTER!”………………………………………... 12 The Modern Day Match……………………………………………. 12

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Land Ho! PCPA on the Horizon!

A NOTE TO THE TEACHER Thank you for bringing your students to PCPA at Allan Hancock College. Our top priority is to provide an enjoyable day of live theater for the . We offer you this study guide as a tool to prepare students prior to the performance, to prompt discussion, critical thought, and creativity before and after the performance.

THE Notable behavior is a vital part of theater for youth. Going to the theater is not a casual event. It is a special occasion. If students are prepared properly, it will be a memorable, educational experience they will remember for years.

1. A fully-fledged pirate should always be with the students! Ushers are available to help with seating. We suggest that teachers sit in between students to help maintain order on the deck.

2. Please remind our young apprentices that we do not permit the following onboard ship: food, gum, drinks, smoking, hats, backpacks, or large purses disruptive talking disorderly and inappropriate behavior (stepping on/over seats, throwing objects, etc.) cell phones or any other recording devices light up or noise making objects (including shoes) patrons should put cell phones on silent or vibrate

3. Before attending the show, teachers should take time to remind students of the following about a live performance: Sometimes we forget when we come into a theater that we are one of the most important parts of the production. Without an audience there would be no performance. Your contribution of laughter, quiet attention, and applause is part of the . When we watch movies or television we are watching images on a screen, and what we say or do cannot affect them. In the theater the are real people who are present and creating an experience with us at that very moment. They see and hear us and are sensitive to our response. They know how we feel about the play by how we watch and listen. An invisible bond is formed between actors and a good audience, and it enables the actors to do their best for you. A good audience helps make a good performance.

PCPA welcomes you as a partner in the live theater experience from the moment you take your seats. We hope that your visit will be a highlight of your school year!

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HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

This study guide is a companion piece designed to explore many ideas depicted in the stage production of The Pirates of to enhance the theatrical experience. is present in a lot of pop-culture, although students aren’t always aware that TV shows or musical are referencing Pirates. The show informs audience members of late 19th Century culture and also asks questions about duty, allegiance, love, and honesty. Be prepared to be transported back in time and then wonder if things really change.

The guide has been organized into three major sections:

Elements of the Story

Elements of the Production

Activities

Teachers and group leaders will want to select portions of the guide for their specific usage. The discussion questions provided are meant to provoke a line of thought about a particular topic. Frequently, the answers to the questions will initiate a process of exploration and discovery of varied interpretations sometimes deviating from original ideas. It is recommended that these thoughts be encouraged and discussed. This can be as insightful and rewarding as the adventurous experience that The Pirates of Penzance creates onstage.

There are lots of references to Pirates in popular culture, especially Fun Fact: although , television! Here are a couple of examples: the writers of Pirates of Penzance were from the United Kingdom, some of their work has become synonymous with American patriotism. With Cat-Like Tread is from II of Pirates. New were written to the and it became known as Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here, a march frequently played during the 4th of July and other patriotic holidays. Look it up!

Star Trek: Next Generation The Muppets

These TV shows will sometimes use music directly from The Pirates of Penzance. Other times the writers change the lyrics but imitate and exaggerate the style. This is called a . Most of the time parodies are comedic. Gilbert and Sullivan themselves were known for making parodies (so these references are like parodies of a parody). One of the most famous parodies was done by a man named who set all the elements of the periodic table to the tune of I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General.

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Music by ARTHUR SULLIVAN Libretto by W.S. GILBERT

CREATIVE TEAM

Director/ Choreographer Brad Carroll Music Director Callum Morris Voice & Text Director Matt Koenig Scenic Design Jason Bolen Costume Design Eddy Barrows Lighting Design Jennifer ‘Z’ Zornow Sound Design Elisabeth Weidner Assistant Director Nicholas Kowerko Production Stage Manager Jahana Azodi*

CAST OF CHARACTERS

The Pirate King George Walker Samuel Will Hoshida Frederic Alex Stewart Major-General Stanley Andrew Philpot* Sergeant of Police Michael Jenkinson* Mabel Natalie Graham Kate Molly Wetzel Edith Brittany Law Isabel Courtney Reece Ruth Jacqueline Hildebrand

PIRATES AND POLICE Blake Brundy, Tyler Matthew Campbell, Devin Cunningham, Cameron Eastland, Garrett Gibbs Spencer , Zachary Hasbany, Mitchell Lam Hau, Garret Lawrence, Zach Johnson, Adam Mantell Antwon Mason, David Miller

DAUGHTERS

Quinn Farley, Annali Fuchs, Madisen Hayes, Irene Platt, Caroline Whelehan

* Member, Actors’ Equity Association

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The Run Down: a Pirates synopsis

The Pirates of Penzance is the story of Frederic who, as a young lad, was mistakenly apprenticed to a of pirates. On this, his 21st birthday, with his apprenticeship complete, he is compelled by a “sense of duty” to forsake the piratical life and, with his nanny, Ruth, ventures out into the world. He soon encounters a bevy of beautiful maidens, all of them daughters of Major-General Stanley, and is instantly smitten with one in particular, Mabel. The pirates arrive, seize the girls and threaten them with immediate marriage. But the Major-General begs for their release, claiming that he is an orphan and that, without them, he would be left all alone. The pirates, orphans themselves, are sympathetic to his plea and relent. The Major-General, deeply troubled by this ruse (he is not an orphan) fears the consequences. Frederic arranges for a police force to defend the Major-General against the avenging pirates. Unfortunately Frederic soon learns that, being born on February 29 in a leap year, he has really only had five birthdays and is now bound to fulfill his apprenticeship for another 63 years. Against Mabel’s ardent pleas, “sense of duty” compels him to rejoin the pirates. A battle ensues. The pirates appear victorious until they are charged to yield “in ’s name.” Love of queen trumps piratical prowess and soon all are set on the path to happy ever after.

A Night at the Opera

Types of Opera Opera comes in many forms. There are grand , operas written in German, Italian, French, and Russian, , pop operas, and what have become known as Savoy operas. Savoy operas, named for the D’Oyly Carte Opera ’s where many were first performed, are comedic and a highly stylized form of Opera written during the Victorian period. Gilbert and Sullivan pioneered this new genre. Time has not been kind to Savoy operas and Gilbert and Sullivan’s work is all that is left of an art from that has all but faded from memory. Savoy operas now tend to be lumped together with operettas—operas with dialogue scenes in addition to the complicated musical numbers. These dialogue sequences began getting longer and longer over time. Operettas became the predecessor to the modern American musical: a play with both dialogue (or “book scenes”) as well as sung music that helps to tell the story. Musicals continue to thrive today as one of the most popular forms of art and .

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Comedy: Parody, Farce, or ? That is the Question. Gilbert and Sullivan shows are considered to be masterworks of comedy. Comedy can be broken down into a few sub-categories: parody, farce, and satire; all of these are simply types of comedy. Parody imitates and/or mocks a specific person or thing in an exaggerated manner to make things funny. Farce uses unlikely and exuberant situations with buffoonish characters to create ludicrous and silly . Satire exaggerates ideas or people to ridicule and demonstrate their absurdity and provide social commentary. Typically, satire makes fun of government and attempts to initiate change.

So what type of comedy is The Pirates of Penzance? There are satirical elements in Pirates – however, this humor is not meant to be harmful or provide social commentary. Gilbert and Sullivan rely on mock-heroes and wordplay for their comedy. They use well known icons of their time such as the Bobby (a British policeman), Pirates, and Generals and make them anything but what the audience expects. The strong and terrible pirates are wimpy, the courageous and stubborn Bobbies are cowards, and the strategic and witty general is babbling and uncomposed. This mockery does not suggests that all pirates are wimpy—just this particular group—and is therefore more characteristic of parody than satire. And the story is not so improbable to infer it is a farce.

Wordplay is the other element that Pirates of Penzance relies on for comedy. There is an entire scene on the similarities between the sound of “orphan” and “often.” Or the premise of the show is due to the mishearing of the word “pilot” and “pirate.” The famous of the Major-General is humorous because of the increasing rapidity and patter quality of the lyrics, forcing the to stop for air. The listener needs to keep a sharp ear out to catch some of the jokes which are hidden within speeches and .

Opera Terminology Having knowledge of a few key opera terms will help the audience make sense of and be able to follow along with the in Pirates of Penzance.

Aria – a solo piece written for a main character, – the highest voice for a female. which focuses on the character's emotion. Typically young ingénues like Mabel are . – words sung in a conversational style, Mezzo-Soprano – the middle voice for a woman. usually to advance the plot. Alto – the lower voice for a woman. – A song in which the character sings – a high male voice. Young male leads like as many words as possible in a short amount of Frederic are frequently . time. – the middle voice for a man. – a passage of , often at the end – the lowest voice for a man. of an , which shows off the singer's vocal ability. – A method of singing above the natural range of the male voice. Often used in opera for Aside – a comment from an directly to the comic effects such as a man imitating a woman. audience that the other characters cannot hear. – A natural wavering of frequency (pitch) Leitmotif – A short, recurring musical phrase associated with a particular character or event. while singing a note. It is usually inadvertent.

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Messages from the Pirate Bottle Themes in The Pirates of Penzance

– DUTY – A promise is a promise. But what happens when you discover that keeping that promise means you are going to hurt someone else, or do something illegal? These are some of the questions Frederic and other characters have to struggle with. Pirates is subtitled The Slave of Duty. Duty is a bond or an obligation. Frequently our desires and what we have to do are not the same (think of simple things like taking out the trash). We use the word duty to describe an obligation to a greater community or cause. Frederic thinks he frees himself from one responsibility, the Pirates, only to find that he is not so free after all. He then has to make a choice about whether or not he will honor his duties.

– DECEPTION – Hiding the truth is one tactic humans use to get things. Ruth deceives Frederic to try and get him to marry her. Frederic helps the Major-General make the pirates believe he is an orphan so that the daughters are set free. However, each time the truth comes back to haunt the deceiver and becomes their downfall. Frederic runs away from Ruth when he realizes that she lied to him and the Major-General spends all night in prayer for forgiveness. Less literally, the pirates put on a façade, or deceive people into believing that they are scary and mean when they really are sentimental. Honesty follows deception in every situation. A complex web of lies becomes as instable and sinkable as a 2-dimensional theatre with a pirate ship as soon as one bit of truth comes to light.

Arrrg! A Pirates Vocabulary

ANCESTORS: people who FUGUE: a musical piece that MAJOR-GENERAL: a high proceed others in a family line. has staggered entrances of the ranking military official. Great-great grandparents. same melody. PARADOX: a situation that CRANK: an abrupt and GLASS: a barometer. A glass seems self-contradictory and unexpected turn of speech. object used to predict weather. illogical, but is true.

DIMITY: a see-through, INDENTURES: a legal SAT A GEE: having rode a cotton fabric with a variety of agreement binding a servant to horse. “Geewas” was a thread patterns, typically used a master. common 19th century term for for dresses. a horse which originated from LEAP YEAR: most every 4th commands to start and turn. EMUETE: a French word year (including 2016!), adding meaning brawl or riot. an extra day, February 29. SCUTTLE: To sink a ship by opening holes in the hull FOEMAN: an enemy or LIFE PRESERVER: not a under the waterline. “foe” during wartime. floating ring of foam, but a club with a metal end.

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Victorian Era until Now… They Live on as GILBERT AND SULLIVAN

W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) was born as the son of a navel surgeon and storyteller. He followed his father’s footsteps and began writing stories and poems early in his life. At first, writing was a way for Gilbert to make a little money on the side. Gilbert became known for his unique “topsy-turvy” style of writing. He would imagine absurd circumstances and then work out the logical consequences. His work lent itself to comedy. He began working with composers to write “,” or family-friendly comedic operas. This initial exposure to working with music led to him meeting Arthur Sullivan, a composer who would change his career forever.

Arthur Sullivan (1840-1900) was a child musical prodigy. By the age of 8 he could play every instrument in the school band. He won the Mendelssohn Scholarship and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. He continued his training in Leipzig. His music became instantly popular when it was performed at the Crystal Palace in 1862. He continued to compose for Shakespeare plays, symphonies, ballets, operas, and . He also served as a church organist to provide income while he was busy composing.

Gilbert and Sullivan were commissioned as partners to write a couple “entertainments” and short operas. The public loved their comedy and work, causing producers to extend runs of their shows. Richard D’Oyly Carte, a theatre manager, kept commissioning the team to work together due to the financial gain he received from Gilbert and Sullivan’s shows. The team that began with short operas such as which led to a full-length developed a new opera entitled H.M.S. Pinafore. The became the craze and talk of the Western world. One newspaper described the sensation as “Pinafore Mania.” The show became the second longest running show in history at that point in time. Many unauthorized or pirated versions of the show started popping up—especially in the United States. Gilbert and Sullivan headed to the U.S. to stage an official version of the show, but also write a new show, The Pirates of Penzance. in New York the pair found a surprise. No longer were they W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, but the forever conjugated Gilbert and Sullivan. The team wrote, staged, and premiered The Pirates of Penzance in both the U.S. and England in order to secure copyright so illegal productions like they experienced with Pinafore could not happen. Pirates was a bigger success than even Pinafore, although Gilbert and Sullivan were unsuccessful with the copyright issues and had lots of imitation productions of their work. Over the course of their partnership, the duo wrote a total of 14 comic operas. Many were successful, although some were flops. Both men continued to write their own individual pieces, and eventually, between them and their artistic styles led to an end of collaboration. Each produced some work following their separation, but nothing that was of substantial success. When Sullivan died in 1900, Gilbert said the two had “completely bridged over” their conflict. Gilbert died in 1911 without any further artistic success.

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D’Oyly Carte Opera Company–Keeping G&S Alive For over 130 years the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in England has continued to perform and celebrate the canon of Gilbert and Sullivan’s works. The company was passed down through the D’Oyly Carte family, who produced international tours and frequent productions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s work. Shows like The Pirates of Penzance and HMS Penafore became the main staple of the company. D’Oyly Carte is what kept the work of Gilbert and Sullivan as well as Savoy operas alive. The company no longer produces year round tours and performances, but instead occasionally collaborates with other . However, the legacy they have left is very evident in more recent productions. In 1981 The Pirates of Penzance, retooled for the Broadway stage and featuring , and , won the Tony Award for Best Musical Revival. In 1983, the Broadway production was further remodeled, filmed and released as a major motion picture.

Alex Stewart as Frederic & Natalie Graham as Mabel

DESIGN CONCEPT

Weather it is the pirates, the Victorian- era culture of Britain, or the Major- General and his daughters, the entire world in The Pirates of Penzance is a complete façade. It is phony and fake. Jason Bolen, set designer for our production capitalized on these themes and incorporated it into his design of the set. Each element of the production ensures that the audience is aware of its artificial nature. For instance, there is a lot of 2 dimensional set pieces such as the cannons. The designer contributes to the comedic elements of the show by giving performers clearly fake objects that they then treat as real. It is humorous that the characters become frightened by things that aren’t frightening at all.

The design also incorporates the appearance traditional theatre curtains. The façade and external element of the production is evident. Clearly this is not really a pirate ship, a chapel, or a rocky shore. The viewer is always reminded that they are watching a play and that this story is make-believe. In terms of the matching key points in story, the designer has to make sure that things are not quite as they seem.

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Gilbert and Sullivan are considered to be among the best of comedic geniuses. What makes comedy? How can you compare The Pirates of Penzance to popular TV , improv shows, and sketch ? Does the definition of “funny” change from one generation to the next?

2. What is a musical theatre? Can you think of the evolution of musical theatre? Discuss reviews, operettas, American musical theatre, rock operas, hip-hop musicals.

3. Do you think there are differences between the way you experience The Pirates of Penznace and the way an audience in Victorian-era Britain experienced the show? If so, what would cause these differences? Is it important to understand cultural references from a time period you don’t live in?

4. In this show, duty and responsibly are the characteristics of an honorable person. Name some contemporary world leaders or political figures who honor their duties and responsibilities. For example, compare Frederic’s choices to leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., , George W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, and Desmond Tutu. How has each figure carried out their sense of duty?

5. How does connect to song lyrics and musical storytelling? Can any poem become a song? Do lyrics always have to rhyme to get the point across? Does all musical poetry require a melody?

PRESHOW ACTIVITY:

WORDS WALK THE PLANK

Below are sets of 4 words. Identify which word doesn’t belong in the group. Why? Make it walk the plank!

Alto Paradox Recitative Tenor Artificial Aria Aria Façade Falsetto Soprano Make-believe Patter song

Satire Major General “Entertainments” Fugue Bobbies Operettas Farce Hero Musical Theatre Parody Foeman Emuete

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“Do it again! But FASTER!!”

Rap music is a close relative of the patter song Gilbert and Sullivan readily employed for comedic purposes. As an activity, create a contemporary patter song using the mediums of rap or spoken word. We encourage you to make these light in subject and humorous. Identify what elements of the piece is comedic and why. Share these among the class or privately with another student.

THE MODERN DAY MATCH

Many young people see Gilbert and Sullivan as being irrelevant and outdated. Using the list below, identify and write down contemporary examples that parallel the roles in The Pirates of Penzance.

The Pirates of Penzance Present Day

 Ruth, as Frederic’s caretaker  Ex: Nannies, Babysitters, Foster Parent

 Pirates, as wanted men

 Orphans

 Large Families

 Frederic, as an apprentice

 Frederic, as a hero

 Major General, as a military figure

 Police or Law Enforcement

 Any others you can think of!

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Thank you! We hope you enjoyed your adventure aboard the pirate ship PCPA! Come sail with us again soon.

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