A Performing Arts Series For Children PRESENTED BY THE MADISON CIVIC CENTER

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Monday, February 16, 2004 Theater Etiquette and Experiences

We have a wonderful opportunity at this performance to help youth learn about attending live performances. Sometimes young people do not realize how a live performance differs from watching a movie or television show.

Please discuss the following with your students:

1. A live presentation has not been pre-recorded with the mistakes edited out. This makes it riskier for the performer and more exciting for the audience. It also means the audience contributes to the overall event. Each audience member affects those around him/her as well as the performer. The audience gives energy to the performer who uses that energy to give life to the performance.

2. An usher will show you where to sit. Walk slowly and talk quietly as you enter the theater.

3. If necessary, use the restroom before the performance begins.

4. Once you are seated, you may talk quietly to the people next to you until the performance begins.

5. When the lights dim, it is the signal that the performance is about to start. Stop talking and turn your attention to the stage.

6. Stay in your seat throughout the entire performance.

7. During the performance, listen quietly and watch closely. Talking during the performance will distract others around you, and the performers may think you’re not interested in the show.

8. LAUGHING IS APPROPRIATE. (Teachers, please do not hush the students while they are laughing.) If something is funny, it’s good to laugh. If you like something a lot, applaud. This will let the performers know that you are enjoying the show.

9. At the end of the show, applaud to say thank you to the performers. The performers will bow as you applaud to acknowledge your appreciation and say thank you for coming.

10. When the lights get brighter in the theater, the show is over. Stay in your seats until the Onstage! Coordinator dismisses your school.

11. Please remember also that:

• Taking photographs and using recording devices are strictly prohibited.

• You are only one person among several hundred in the audience. Please respect the performers and your fellow audience members!

Please inform your adult chaperons that ushers will be available to help you throughout the performance if there are any difficulties.

Greetings from !

TO: ______

FROM: Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Here’s what you’ll find inside Keynotes:

Welcome to Keynotes, a performance guide Meet the Performers page 2 Look for the music created by the Education Department of the What’s That Sound? page 3 note next to activities State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ. These Activities: Listen, Move, & Write! page 4 What is Zulu? page 5 and discussion Keynotes are designed to be used before and Welcome to South Africa page 6 questions. after attending the performance of Ladysmith South African Roots page 7 Black Mambazo. Creating Zulu Art page 8 Resources/About the Civic Center page 9 Meet the Performers 2

Joseph (b. 1941), the group’s lead singer, grew up near Ladysmith, South Africa, on a farm owned by a white family. He had seven brothers and sisters and the family was very poor. But Joseph remembers his parents teaching him about his family’s Zulu culture. The LADYSMITH BLACK Shabalala household was filled with traditional MAMBAZO songs. “My mother and father used to sing for us,” he says, “because that was the better way to make the son grow up in peace.” Today, Joseph says, “Love yourself, love your ideas, love your voice—especially your voice... Singing and talking, they are two different things. Talking is good, but singing is better than everything.” When he was a teenager, Joseph Shabalala sang with a group called The Blacks. But in Jockey Shabalala 1964 he had a dream about a new kind of music, one that combined the kind he heard in church Although they were already popular in South Africa, with Zulu traditions (see pages 3 and 4). With Ladysmith Black Mambazo took off in the United States his family and friends he formed Ladysmith after recorded with them on his Graceland Black Mambazo, choosing Ladysmith for his album in the late 1980s. Since then, their other America hometown and Mambazo, which means “axe” in projects have included soundtracks for The Lion King Part II Zulu, because the singing group could “chop and Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America, as well as various down” all of their competition. television commercials. Ladysmith Black Mambazo has recorded over forty albums, and is the best-selling group in Africa. What’s That Sound? 3

Joseph Shabalala says, “our sound is called isicathamiya (is-cot-a-mee-ya), traditional South African choral song. Ladysmith Black Mambazo performs this music—the beloved music of our ancestors—to help preserve and promote the wondrous culture of South Africa.” Isicathamiya comes from the Zulu word meaning “to tiptoe lightly.” Its roots reach back 100 years ago when large groups of black men left their homes and families to live and work in camps near South African gold mines. They received very little pay and couldn’t afford much entertainment, so on their one day off each week they would compose music and dances late into the night. They had to dance softly, “on tip toes,” so they Make Some Noise! wouldn’t disturb the white labor camp guards. Sit in a circle with your class. As you go around the circle, each student will come up with a different sound, using only mouth, Just Themselves! hands, feet, etc. When everyone has a unique sound, put them together into an Ladysmith Black Mambazo sings a cappella, that is, ensemble using interesting rhythms and without musical instruments accompanying them. (A repeating patterns. cappella means “in chapel” in Italian; hundreds of years ago, church music was sung without any musical instruments.) Although they don’t use instruments, the The music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo is performers create rhythmic sounds by clapping, stomping, contemporary, but it draws heavily on the and other movements. traditional rhythms, melodies, and vocal Movement is an important part of the group’s styles of South Africa. When Africans were performance. Look for the distinctive choreography brought to America as slaves, they also (movement that is made up ahead of time) that developed their own music that had roots in accompanies the music. African traditions. Listen with your class to Many of the songs are in the call-and-response form. A some different types of American music with solo singer (usually Joseph Shabalala) will sing a phrase, African origins: jazz, ragtime and gospel, for then the entire group will answer him, almost as if they are example. What similarities and differences having a conversation. Call-and-response is also frequently can you discover between Ladysmith Black used in African American music, such as gospel. Mambazo’s music and American music that came from similar roots? Activities: Listen, Move, & Write! 4

Circle Rhythm Game Create a Dance

To play this popular African playground game, everyone Get together with a group of your sits in a circle while listening to the music. You will be classmates and choose a song you like. You passing several small balls or beanbags counter-clockwise are going to create choreography (a set of around the circle, following the beat of the music. (Try it movements that you plan out ahead of time) once without passing a real ball, to learn the hand for the song. Start by listening to the song a movements.) few times to get some ideas for movements The hand movements follow a pattern of two beats. that would go well with the music. As you On beat one: plan your choreography, here are some • Put your right hand towards your right things to think about: neighbor, palm down. If you have one of • Will everyone in the group do the balls, pass it to the right on this beat. If the same movements at the you do not have a ball, just do the hand motion. same time, or will each • Put your left hand toward your left neighbor, person move differently? palm up. If the ball is coming to you, take it • Experiment with different on this beat. levels and shapes: high and On beat two: low, circles, lines, and • Put your hands together. If you squares. Try different types received a ball on beat one, pass it of movement: sharp, soft, from your left to your right hand. curving, straight, big, little. • If you don’t have a ball, clap when Rehearse your choreo- you put your hands together. graphy with the music and Once you master these basic hand movements, then perform it for the rest of you can add other ones to make the game more difficult. the class.

Deep Down in the Mines GOLD MINE

Ladysmith Black Mambazo dedicates this song to the men who dark tired dangerous dim work in the South African gold mines, a dangerous job for which they pick haul slog earn little pay. Create a shape poem about the mine workers. The poem will have four gold dirt lines and ten words, arranged in an upside-down triangle shape. (See the costly example on the right.) Make a list of four adjectives that describe work in the mines (for example, dangerous, dirty, etc.), or how the workers might feel. Put those four words in the first line. Then make a list of three verbs that tell about mine work and put them on the poem’s second line. Two nouns will go on the third line, and finally, finish the poem with one more adjective on the fourth line. You can use this pattern to create poetry about other subjects from Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s music, too, or create a poem using a different shape. What Is Zulu? 5

The word “Zulu” refers both to a language and to the culture of the people who speak it. Although South Africa has 11 official languages, many people consider Zulu to be its “national” language, since more South Africans (about 8.5 million) speak Zulu at home than any other language. The Zulu culture is concentrated in the eastern part of South Africa. The Zulu language shares many sounds with English, but also has some unique sounds, such as a “click” that speakers make to pronounce certain combinations of letters (ch, gc, and nc). One of the clicking noises is similar to a “tsk tsk” sound we make, or the sound you might make when calling over your pet dog or cat. The history of the Zulu people can be traced back to the 19th century king, Shaka Zulu (1785-1828), who conquered many tribes and brought them together into a huge Zulu nation. Each year the Zulu people celebrate Heritage Day in commemoration of Shaka Zulu and the customs and traditions of his time. Count to Ten in Zulu

1 ukunye (oo-GOO-ne) a young Zulu warrior

2 isibili (is-i-BEE-lee)

3 kuthathu (koo-TAH-too) Lookand Listen! 4 okune (oh-GOO-ne) Some of Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s songs are sung in English, 5 isihlanu (is-ee-LHAH-noo) and some in Zulu. When you can’t 6 isithupha (is-ee-TOO-pah) understand the words, you can concentrate on other parts of the 7 isikhombisa (is-ee-koom-BEE-sah) performance, such as the dancing, melodies, harmonies, tempo (speed) 8 isishiyagalombili (is-ee-shee-ah-gah-lom-BEE-lee) and the sounds of the words. After the concert, make a list of everything 9 usushiyagalolunye (is-ee-shee-ah-gah-lo-LOO-ne) you noticed besides the words, and 10 ishumi (ee-SHOO-mee) discuss how they contributed to your enjoyment of the show.

CheckThis Out! At this website, you can listen to the pronunciation of a lot of Zulu words: www.travlang.com/languages/cgi-bin/langchoice.cgi?page=main&lang1=english&lang2=zulu Welcome to South Africa 6

South Africa Fun Facts ZIMBABWE • South Africa is twice as big as Texas and three times the size of California. BOTSWANA • It has 11 official languages, including English.

• Almost 40% of the gold mined on earth is Pretoria MOZAMBIQUE from South Africa. Scientists estimate that NAMIBIA Johannesburg gold deposits there are 3 billion years old. • Because it is below the equator, its seasons SWAZILAND Ladysmith are the reverse of ours (for example, when Bloemfontein we have winter, they have summer). LESOTHO • South Africa has an official national holiday South SOUTH AFRICA called “Youth Day,” celebrated June 16. Atlantic Ocean Indian • There is one TV set for every eight people in Ocean Cape Town South Africa. (In the U.S. there are four TV Port Elizabeth sets for every five people.) • South Africa has one of the world’s great wildlife sanctuaries: Kruger National Park (www.ecoafrica.com/krugerpark/index.html). More than 500 different types of birds and Play Like a South African 147 different mammals—including Try your hand at a traditional South African game called lions, leopards, elephants, water diketo (which may remind you of the American game called buffaloes, and rhinos live there. “jacks.”) Schoolchildren enjoy this game during recess. • South African culture Diketo (sometimes called upuca or nhodo) means “to emphasizes the philosophy of manipulate” and you need to be good with your hands to play it well. Like anything else you do, you’ll get a lot “ubuntu.” That means that all better at it with some practice. people should be treated with respect and dignity. To play diketo, dig a hole in the ground and fill it with between 15 and 25 pebbles. Each person takes turns tossing a large pebble, called a mguni or goon, into the air while taking pebbles out of the hole and placing them in a prearranged pattern on the ground before catching the large pebble. Keep going until players get fast enough to remove and replace all the pebbles. When this happens, the player shouts “Ndavala!” (“I’m finished!”).

Start with an easy pattern: while your mguni is in the air, grab three stones from the hole and arrange them in a triangle shape. As you get quicker, use more stones and a more difficult pattern. South African Roots 7

The area of the world now called South Africa is where some of the earliest humans lived. By 1,000 A.D., people from the Khoikhoi, San, and Bantu-speaking groups were scattered throughout the region. These people were cattle herders or hunter-gatherers. The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in South Africa, in the 1650s. By the 18th century, European settlers had taken over most of the land for their own farms. Known as Boers, or Afrikaners, they developed their own culture and language, called Afrikaans. In 1814 Great Britain purchased South Africa from the Dutch. As thousands of English colonists arrived, the Afrikaners resisted British rule, starting the Boer War in 1899. In 1910, the British Parliament gave South Africa its independence. The former Afrikaner army commander, Louis Botha, became prime minister. In reaction to the policies of the Botha government, especially the taking over of African land by whites, black African leaders organized what You can read some of Nelson eventually became the African National Congress (ANC). Although the Mandela’s speeches at majority of the population was of African ancestry, white people controlled www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cry/ the government and introduced a system called apartheid (a-par-tide), crytg.html, under Student Activity which segregated the races and didn’t allow black people to have many 4. rights. Black children and white children were not allowed to go to school together. Black people were not allowed to vote, and were forced to live in As a class, create two lists: special black “homelands” assigned by the government. If they entered a ways that apartheid enforced restricted (white) area without a pass, they could be arrested. inequality in South Africa, and In the 1950s, Nelson Mandela emerged as a major leader of the ANC, ways that segregation enforced dedicating his life to the struggle for racial equality in South Africa. He spent inequality in the United States. 27 years in prison for opposing apartheid. He negotiated an end to apartheid Divide the class into teams and in 1990, and in 1994 (in the first election where black people could vote) he ask each team to compare the became the country’s first democratically elected president. For his work he policies and effects of apartheid received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Today, people of all races in South and segregation in one area, for Africa have the same legal rights, although there are more struggles example, voting rights, education, before the legacies of the past are permanently erased. housing, public accommodations, When Ladysmith Black Mambazo was formed, the singers were rarely employment, marriage, or trans- allowed to interact with white people. Now that South Africa is changing, one portation. While doing this, think of Joseph Shabalala’s main goals is to use melody to promote racial harmony. about prominent American Civil Rights leaders (you can start at He says, “Our music is about peace and harmony. It breaks through bound- http://seattletimes.nwsource.com aries of color, /mlk/index.html). religion, and nationality with Using your research, create a a message of fictional dialogue between a hope. That is South African and an American our message: about the similarities and differences found in the two to unite, black countries. and white.” Creating Zulu Art 8

Bead Art: All Beads Have Meaning One of the ways the Zulu people celebrate their heritage is through their dress, and accessories. From a young age, Zulu girls learn how to use various color combinations and patterns of beads to communicate messages, usually about love and courtship. Beads were originally made from wood, bones and shells. Western traders introduced glass beads which they traded with the Zulu for animal skins and ivory. Today all these types of beads, as well as plastic ones, are used to make and adorn everything from necklaces to belts, skirts, and dolls. In Zulu tradition young girls learn bead a beaded Zulu doll work and the meaning of the symbols and colors from their older sisters. They usually wear their bead designs as a head or Talking in Beads neck band. From the beads, men Use the color chart below or can see whether a woman is en- create your own color chart as a gaged, married, unmarried, or has class. Choose the bead colors that children or unmarried sisters. The patterns and colors can also tell what reflect your dreams, emotions, region a woman comes from and what her social standing is. personality and character. String One basic geometric shape used for symbolic bead the beads together to create a work is the triangle. The three decorative and informative corners of the triangle represent the necklace. family: mother, father and child. The Sit in a circle with your point of the triangle facing down is the classmates and try to read symbol for an unmarried man or boy, while a what each person is trying to triangle with the point facing up is the symbol for tell you about himself or her- an unmarried woman or girl. A married man is symbolized by self through the colors and two triangles joined at the point forming an hourglass shape. A patterns of the necklace. married woman is shown by two triangles joined at the base Zulu Bead Colors making a diamond shape. COLOR POSITIVE MEANING NEGATIVE MEANING Zulu bead artists use seven colors: black, blue, yellow, Black marriage, rebirth death, sadness green, pink, red and white. Blue faithfulness, request hostility, dislike Each color has two meanings, Yellow wealth, garden badness, thirst, withering one positive, one negative Green contentment discord, illness (except white, which is only Pink promise, high status poverty, laziness positive). When another color is used beside white, it Red love, strong emotion anger, heartache takes its positive meaning. White spiritual love, purity (none) Enjoying the Performance 9

ABOUT THE MADISON CIVIC CENTER

The Madison Civic Center has been Madison’s home for arts and entertainment since 1980, presenting an extensive season of acclaimed classical and jazz performers, internationally touring ballet, modern and jazz dance, the finest touring Broadway musicals, fun family shows, and other top entertainers. In addition, the Civic Center’s extensive outreach and education programs annually serve thousands of Madison- area residents including youth, older adults, people with low incomes, and people with disabilities. Today, the Madison Civic Center is at the heart of the emerging Overture Project — a $100 million endeavor, made possible by a generous gift from Madison businessman Jerome Frautschi. The project will create the Overture Center, a world-class venue for the arts that will incorporate renovations and improvements of existing Civic Center facilities, and new construction to fill the block surrounding the Civic Center. Internationally recognized architect Cesar Pelli has carefully crafted the design for this landmark project, which reflects Madison’s diverse community, rich history, and unique architectural flavor. Highlights of the new facility will include: Overture Hall — a 2,200 seat, state-of-the-art theater, acoustically suited for symphony orchestras and large scale touring performances; a renovation of the historic Oscar Mayer Theatre, which will retain key architectural features and improve seating for better comfort and sight lines; an upgrade of the Isthmus Playhouse to enhance seating and technical capabilities; new black box theater spaces for rehearsals and performances by local arts groups; expanded facilities for the Madison Art Center; additional banquet and reception facilities; and a breath-taking open rotunda, suitable for free performances and public events. The Madison Civic Center will present an uninterrupted season of performances throughout the construction, which is scheduled for completion in 2005. Credits Executive Editor: Beth Racette Study Guide provided by: State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ Special thanks: Stacy Levin, Nancy Birmingham, Amy Bethel and Beth Calamia of the State Theatre Education Department

For Further Exploration

BOOKS: WEBSITES: • Ferreira, Anton. Zulu Dog. A novel for • www.mambazo.com - the group’s official Keynotes are produced by the ages 9-12. website Education Department of the State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ. • McKee, Tim (editor). No More Strangers • http://kids.discovery.com/fansites/ Mark Hough, President Now: Young Voices from a New South scoutssafari/facts/facts.html Africa. A collection of photographs and Lian Farrer, Director of Education first-person stories from teenagers of Keynotes written by Beth Calamia different races and backgrounds. MUSIC: Designed by Lian Farrer and Beth Calamia • The Best of Ladysmith Black Mambazo • Graham Gaines, Ann. Nelson Mandela and Edited by Lian Farrer and Jacquie Yorke (Shanachie, 1992) Apartheid in World History. This biography © 2003 The State Theatre integrates Mandela's personal story with • Shaka Zulu (Warner Brothers, 1987) The State Theatre’s education program is funded in part by an overview of early South African history • Gift of the Tortoise: A Musical Journey American Express, the Frank & Lydia Bergen Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the rise and fall of apartheid. Through Southern Africa (Warner the William G. & Helen C. Hoffman Foundation, Johnson & • Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom. Brothers, 1994) Johnson, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Karma Foundation, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing 1995 Arts, Lucent Technologies, the McCrane Foundation, Merrill • Naidoo, Beverley. Out of bounds: seven VIDEO: Lynch, Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, PSE&G, the Abbey Kissel Starr Charitable Trust, and Verizon. Their stories of conflict and hope. Stories, • On Tip Toe: Gentle Steps To Freedom. support is gratefully acknowledged. spanning the time period from 1948 to This Academy-Award nominated film 2000, chronicle the experiences of young tells the inspiring story of the group that people from different races and ethnic introduced South African music to the groups as they try to cope with the world. Available from California restrictions placed on their lives by South Newsreel: 877-811-7495. Africa's apartheid laws. OnStage! A Performing Arts Series for Children is under- written by a generous grant from Pleasant Company’s Fund for Children,with addi- tional funding provided by the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin.

Madison Civic Center 211 State Street • Madison, WI 53703 phone: 608-258-4177 • tdd: 608-258-4967 • fax: 608-258-4971 email: [email protected] • website: www.madcivic.org

Robert D'Angelo, Director Susan Crofton, Director of Education and Community Outreach Beth Racette, Education and Community Outreach Coordinator Rae Atira-Soncea, Education and Accessibility Coordinator