THE YEAR 7 PROJECT

PHILIP PULLMAN’S GRIMM TALES resource pack & SCHEME OF learning GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT PHILIP PULLMAN’S GRIMM TALES

Adapted for the stage by Philip Wilson Directed by Kirsty Housley from 13 nov 2018 - 6 jan 2019 FOR PUPILS IN SCHOOL years 4 and up once upon a christmas...

A most delicious selection of Philip Pullman’s favourite fairytales by the Brothers Grimm, re-told and re-worked for this Christmas.

Enter a world of powerful witches, enchanted forest creatures, careless parents and fearless children as they embark on adventures full of magic, gore, friendship, and bravery.

But beware, these gleefully dark and much-loved tales won’t be quite what you expect…

Duration: Approx 2 hrs 10 mins (incl. interval)

Grimm Tales For Young and Old Copyright © 2012, Phillip Pullman. All rights reserved. First published by Penguin Classics in 2012.

Page 2 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT CONTENTS

4 INTRODUCTION

5 ABOUT THE SHOW

7 INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR, KIRSTY HOUSLEY

10 ovERVIEW OF THE SCHEME OF LEARNING

13 SESSION ONE: VERSIONS

17 SESSION TWO: A YEAR SEVEN STUDENT

23 SESSION THREE: THE FOREST

28 SESSION FOUR: WHAT’S IN THE CHEST?

32 SESSION FIVE: NIGHTMARE, LOSS OF HOPE AND RESOLUTION

35 SESSION SIX: REHEARSING AND PERFORMING

38 RESOURCES

50 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Page 3 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT INTRODUCTION – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT The idea for a project designed specifically for students in their first year of secondary school came about after feedback from Drama teachers around the benefits of bringing a whole year group to see a production and the potential that this shared experience has for exploration back at school.

The Year 7 Project consists of a six-week scheme of learning which explores the themes and ideas in the play Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales, while also linking to students’ experience of transitioning from primary to secondary school. This session will give teachers the opportunity to practically explore the scheme of learning, before leading it with students. Participating schools must be able to commit to sending at least one teacher to this session.

Starting Year 7 is an exciting and challenging time, and the scheme aims to use the shared experience of a theatre visit to address some of the priorities schools have with students in their first year of secondary school; forming positive relationships with peers, adapting to the increased responsibility and the importance of building confidence, resilience, a sense of self and autonomy in the context of a larger school community.

The scheme of learning is designed to be useful to Drama teachers and accessible to non-Drama specialists who want to run the Year 7 Project as part of their English or PSHE curriculum. The activities in each session aim to engage students with the content of the production and create a meaningful context for learning, allowing them to explore their own thoughts and feelings in relation to the play and share these with their peers. Activities will promote collaborative working, asking students to work together to create their own drama and theatre responses to the stimuli, building in the key Drama skills and conventions used at Key Stage 3.

The six session plans are designed to be run as a complete scheme of learning. The sessions will build sequentially, but be flexible enough for teachers to adapt to their needs.

The scheme of learning aims to:

• Increase students’ confidence, self-expression and self-esteem. • Build positive relationships between peers through creative group work and collaboration. • Develop emotional empathy and the ability to think and interpret from multiple perspectives. • Develop core drama skills. • Develop literacy and communication skills and provide meaningful opportunities for speaking, listening and reflection. • Promote inclusive practice and allow students to explore difference in a safe and supportive context. • Encourage imaginative engagement and provide space for students’ own creative responses. • Develop students’ capacity to engage with the play in an active, self-reflective way and become confident and articulate theatregoers.

Page 4 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT ABOUT THE SHOW Welcome to the secondary teachers’ resource pack for teachers bringing pupils to see Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales in Autumn 2018.

The Unicorn production uses Philip Wilson’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s retelling of the classic fairytales. We have selected five of these classic fairytales to be staged. Two (‘Hansel and Gretel’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’) will be very familiar, but the others will be unfamiliar stories which are surprising, funny, dark, disturbing and surreal. ‘Thousandfurs’ is a Cinderella-like story of a resourceful young girl escaping danger. The titular character of ‘The Goose Girl’, banished by her father like Cordelia in King Lear, disguises herself as a poor girl tending geese in order to survive. Finally, there’s ‘The Juniper Tree’, in which Marleenken stays faithful to her brother who, unbeknownst to her, has turned into a bird that sings in a human voice and can carry a millstone.

The story will be framed in the contemporary setting of a group of children having a sleepover at a family get-together. One of the parents tells them ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ as a final bedtime story. It is told as a moral tale, with a message for the children about how to behave: to listen to their parents and not to stray from the path.

When the adult leaves, telling them to go to sleep, the children then pick up the stories, acting them out, exploring them for themselves and relishing the dark, funny and wild elements in them. As the stories progress, the children follow their imaginations deeper into the forest and become the characters, facing challenges and discovering their inner means of finding their way without the help of adults.

‘I think the stories are about how you navigate the world, so there’s something about not listening to your parents: if Hansel and Gretel had listened to their parents, they would have starved to death in the woods. It’s about knowing when to use your initiative; learning how to deal with the wolf; learning how to deal with situations that aren’t what you’d have chosen, learning to deal with parents who’ve let you down. I wanted to create a place where the children could have their own set of rules.’ Kirsty Housley

This will be an exciting new staging of Wilson’s adaptation; an ensemble performance where the telling of the stories is shared between actors narrating the stories and becoming the characters, playing multiple roles each.

‘There’s a really lovely dynamic that the stories have where the actors come in and out of character and they’ll be narrating and also performing, so you’re constantly in between those two places of telling the story and inhabiting the story. I hope we’ll be able to do something really exciting for the audience, so that we see the stories really coming to life... I can say that I think it’ll have layers and there will be magic and surprises, so things won’t be quite what they seem.’ Kirsty Housley

As oral tales, the Grimms’ stories have been told and retold by many voices and heard by countless adults and children over the centuries, and in each telling they alter in keeping with the social and cultural context. The events and characters may not change, but the skill of the individual teller, the audience, and the time and place of the storytelling occasion all have a part to play. As Pullman says, ‘The fairy tale is in a perpetual state of becoming and alteration.’ There are as many ways to tell a story as there are stories themselves.

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‘Swiftness is a great virtue in the fairy tale. A good tale moves with a dreamlike speed from event to event, pausing only to say as much as is needed and no more.’ Philip Pullman

But in these many versions, some things do remain constant: the characters in folklore are always stock figures with little interior life and clear, uncomplicated motives, and they exist to drive the action forward. Their names, too, have none of the individuality of modern literature: husbands, wives, stepmothers, daughters, and brothers are known only by their function in the story. Only main characters are distinguished with particular names: Red Riding Hood, for example, and Marleenken, the heroine from ‘The Juniper Tree’.

In the telling of traditional stories, there is little use of imagery or description unless necessary to the action of story - as for example in ‘Thousandfurs’, when the daughter asks for three dresses from her father: one as golden as the sun, one as silver as the moon, one that glitters like the stars, and a cloak made of a thousand different furs. Each of her requests here proves to be essential for her survival and future happiness. In most of the stories, the action is not delayed by unnecessary description that has no direct bearing on events.

But out of this interweaving of new versions with constant elements, the almost formulaic characters with sparse poetic language, come some of the most startling and memorable stories, with resilient heroines and valiant heroes. Fathers as well as stepmothers can be cruel; wolves can talk; a bird can carry a millstone; and a dress spun from the rays of the sun can be folded up and kept inside a walnut shell. Staying alive requires courage that you didn’t know you possessed; lives are transformed by love, and evil is always punished.

Page 6 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT MAKING THE PLAY INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR KIRSTY HOUSLEY Why did you WANT TO DIRECT PHILIP PULLMAN’S GRIMM TALES? They’re so old and I just want to know why we still tell them: why do some stories seem to last forever? They’re folklore, aren’t they, so they got passed around verbally and then they got written down, but there’s no reason really why we should still be telling them now. They obviously say something really fundamental about us – I don’t know what, but they’ve endured so long. Plus it’s Christmas, and I wanted to make a magical Christmas show for children.

YOU HAVEN’T CHOSEN WHICH OF THE STORIES YOU’RE GOING TO STAGE YET... We haven’t, we’re just trying to figure out what the right balance would be, some of them are really, really dark and brilliant but it is Christmas, so you don’t want to be like, ‘And then she cried blood – merry Christmas kids!’. We’re trying to curate an evening that feels like a mixture of different things and like it goes on a bit of a journey. We will do ‘Hansel and Gretel’ though.

Many of the Grimm tales are familiar, but many of them are stories that people won’t have heard before. And even the ones that are familiar are in a really different form, so you might recognise parts of them, but they might not feel like the story that you know. I think that much of our familiarity with fairytales comes from Disney and this is not that.

What speaks to you in the stories? What do you find intriguing or compelling? I think there’s a question about what the function of the stories has been in the past and what the function of them is today. They feel like they’re told for a purpose, whether that be to help us understand our place in the world, like all stories.

There’s an extremity to them which is why I think they appeal to young audiences, and a bit like a toddler, they go from zero to sixty very quickly; suddenly a character does something very extreme and that puts another character in a position where they have to deal with the extreme thing that the other person has done.

It’s not like most theatre or stories that we hear now, because there’s not a huge amount of psychology or backstory, and quite a lot of the time it’s not clear what’s informed the things that people are doing or who they are. We get archetypes, which is interesting because they’re not fully rounded individual human beings; it feels like they can stand in for a lot of things. You can read things into them.

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Oh, and there’s a magical house made of sweets, and there’s a forest. That idea of going into the forest is something I love as well: it feels like they take place in such an imaginative world that’s not quite ours, and I love that.

It’s amazing how many times they go into the forest. In most of the stories they go into the forest at some point, which generally means the unknown or being lost, and then characters find their way out of there or not. It feels like there’s something very profound about that.

You say you want to make something magical at Christmas; do you know how you’ll bring it to life on the stage and balance those dark stories with that magic? I’ll try to give you a picture without giving too much away. At the beginning of every story it feels like there’s an imaginative leap for the audience, and they’re asked to imagine quite unfamiliar places. So there’s something about imagining and picturing and inhabiting. I think we might go on a bit of a journey with the people who are telling us these stories, and they might go from reading the stories to acting them out to really being in them. I think it might be quite transporting.

Are there any moments in any stories you can describe that have captured your imagination? In ‘The Juniper Tree’, the darkest moment, which I love, is when the little sister cries so much she starts crying blood. That’s quite hard to get out of your head, but it’s an incredibly beautiful story in the end with a really happy ending, it takes you to extremes and then comes back.

And in ‘The Goose Girl’ there’s a moment when she’s in disguise and then she takes her face off. I love ‘The Goose Girl’ because it feels like an inverted ‘Rapunzel’. It has echoes of King Lear: the daughter’s sent away because she won’t articulate in material terms how much she loves her dad, so he banishes her but she gets looked after for her whole life by a witch, an extraordinary character, who in the end teaches the parents a lesson. There are some instances when - how can I put it - there’s an ugly old witch who’s obviously the evil old hag, and then there’s a beautiful princess who’s obviously very good. But what happens in ‘Goose Girl’ is that gets turned on its head, which is really lovely.

In the stories which interest you most, the girls have a lot of agency. they have adventures, they’re brave – can you say a little bit about that? ‘Thousandfurs’ is essentially a variation on ‘Cinderella’, but it comes from a much darker place. The girl has to escape from her father who wants to marry her - but she’s got the brains to come up with a plan to find her way out, and she gets all of these incredible outfits, and she says once she’s got enough of these outfits she’ll marry him - she says she needs a dress that sparkles like stars and a cloak that’s as dark as the night. And of course when she’s got them all, using the cloak that’s as dark as the night, she escapes. She lives in the woods completely on her own. She’s very smart and very good at surviving and I think that’s what a lot of those stories are about. There are some stories where women get rescued by a prince, but we’re not so interested in those. We’re more interested in the ones where girls have agency and do extraordinary things.

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These are Philip Pullman’s versions of Grimm tales, adapted for stage by Philip Wilson... There was a real desire to try and stay loyal to the stories, and not try to do anything to overpower that. There’s a really lovely dynamic that the stories have, where the actors come in and out of character and they’ll be narrating and also be performing, so you’re constantly in between those two places of telling the story and inhabiting the story, I hope we’ll be able to do something really exciting for the audience, so that we see the stories really coming to life.

There’s fantastic rhythm, and the stories move along at quite a pace. That’s how the stories are; you don’t pause and have great speeches about why someone’s doing something, it’s action, action, action, action. That’s true about the energy of the story, but also the dynamic rhythm, ‘He said this, he did that’, keeps it really driving forward in all those stories.

Page 9 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT OVERVIEW OF THE SCHEME OF LEARNING In our production of Grimm Tales, the play begins in a children’s bedroom. It is a space that has been created by adults for the children: a safe, neat and ordered environment. Implicit in this space are the rules that the adults want the children to follow.

An adult tells a group of children who are having a sleepover a bedtime story. It is ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, told as a warning not to “leave the path” in case something terrible happens to you, and those you love.

When the adult leaves, the children start to tell and act out the stories from the Grimm Tales for themselves. These stories show how the child heroes and heroines find their own inner resources and face the challenges alone. The resolution to the stories comes from them their initiative, resilience and ingenuity.

The children in ‘Hansel and Gretel’ outwit the Witch and return to the weak father who had abandoned them to their fate in the forest.

In ‘The Thousand Furs’, the young heroine escapes her father and lives alone in the forest, curled up in her coat of many furs in a hollow tree.

In ‘The Juniper Tree’, a girl loses her stepbrother because of her own mother’s jealousy. The brother transforms into a bird and returns with a golden chain, some red shoes and a millstone to visit revenge on his stepmother.

In ‘The Goose Girl’, a girl is banished by her father (like Cordelia in King Lear) and disguises herself as a poor girl tending geese in order to survive.

As the play continues, the bedroom gives way to the forest; the walls fall away, and we move from the children imagining the forest to being in the forest with them.

This world is a place where different rules apply, a place where adults are either absent, or a threat to our heroes and heroines. Here the children become free, or feral; they inhabit the natural world and can rely only on themselves, and here they face their hardest challenges, resolving them alone.

The drama activities in this pack follow the same trajectory as the play: we create our hero or heroine, a young person beginning Year 7, in a domestic scenario, their bedroom at home where they have been grounded. Then we take that character out of the domestic world into the woods.

Students will then devise their own fairytale, using ‘The Golden Key’ from Pullman’s collection of Grimm Tales as a starting point. They will decide what happens to their protagonist who is lost in the woods, using a simple ‘Journey and Return’ story structure and key elements recognisable from fairytales: archetypal characters and settings, transformations and magic. The students will devise a short fairytale of their own for the 21st century.

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In the room, for the purposes of this programme, we find a girl who has just started at secondary school; her home is defined by the adults she lives with, while school is defined by the structures decided by teachers, headteachers, and beyond that, society itself.

On the cusp of adulthood and transitioning from childhood, the journey in many of the familiar fairytales takes the child figure from innocence to experience. Session ONE: versions Introduces the scheme of learning and looks at the way in which fairytales are told and re-told with each new generation, depending on the times and the teller.

Pupils will start by acting and narrating the story of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ – one of the most familiar stories – and then go onto another from Pullman’s collection which will not be performed in the Unicorn production, ‘Rapunzel’. This will give students the opportunity to explore a fairytale they may know, but in a version which might be surprising to them.

Session TWO: A YEAR SEVEN STUDENT In this session, the students will create the bedroom of a fictional young person who is, like them, just starting in secondary school. By creating the bedroom, they will use their individual and collective experience and knowledge of what it’s like to be eleven and to start a new school, in order to build a character.

The Year 7 student will become the heroine of the fairytales which students devise in subsequent sessions. At the end of Session Two, the character leaves the safety of her room and goes to the edge of the forest ready for the next session.

Session three: the forest Using the metaphor of the forest, this session explores themes of getting lost and stepping into the unknown – the students bring the character created in Session Two into the heart of the forest.

‘In the history of Western civilization, forests represent an outlying realm of opacity which has allowed that civilization to estrange itself, enchant itself, terrify itself, ironize itself, in short to project into the forest’s shadows its secret and innermost anxieties.’ Robert Pogue Harrison

Using choral work and exploring physicality and proxemics, this session is designed to explore and depict the experience of being in the forest: a wild, unknown and primal place.

The session ends by introducing ‘The Golden Key’, the final story in Pullman’s collection of Grimm tales. This will be the starting point for students to devise their own short fairytale.

‘Anyone familiar with the Grimms’ fairy tales knows how prominently forests figure in the collection as a whole. These forests typically lie beyond the bounds of the familiar world. They are the places where protagonists get lost, meet unusual creatures, undergo spells and transformations, and confront their destinies. Children typically “grow up” during their ventures in the forests. The forests are sometimes places of the illicit - Little Red Riding Hood learns her lesson in the forest, telling herself at the end of the tale: “Never again will you stray from the

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path by yourself and go into the forest when your mother has forbidden it”[...] - yet more often than not they are places of weird enchantment.’ Robert Pogue Harrison Session four: WHAT’S IN THE CHEST? Students will begin to build their own devised fairytale and start by creating what happens when their character uses the golden key to open the chest in the centre of the forest. This session will introduce a simple story structure, ‘the Journey and Return’, as the framework for building their work over the following two sessions.

Session five: NIGHTMARE, LOSS OF HOPE AND RESOLUTION This session will complete the final episodes in our story structure: seeing the threat become clear; the nightmare stage when all hope is lost, and the final resolution of the story, including the journey back.

The session will begin by exploring the idea of magic, shape shifting and transformations. Students will be asked to incorporate an element of transformation or magic into their piece.

Students are likely to have seen the Unicorn production of Grimm Tales by this stage, so it is suggested that referencing how these transformations take place in our stage production should help students to create their own work.

Session Six: REHEARSING AND PERFORMING In this final session, students combine their scenes to complete their devised pieces and rehearse, before performing for each other.

Page 12 fairytale they may know, but in a version that might be surprising to them. Grimm brothers’ collection. They will then look at another story, ‘Rapunzel’, giving students the opportunity to explore a Pupils will start by acting and narrating the story of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ – one of the most familiar stories from the generation and different versions are told depending on the times they are told in and who it is telling the story. This session introduces the scheme of learning and looks at the way in which fairytales are told and re-told with each new V ERSI SES s I O N NE STRATEGIES TRANSITI LEARNING O BJE • • • • • responding. Group discussion, still image, text exploration, simple devising, sharing and To develop skills of collaboration and negotiation and to build confidence. shared piece of work. To encourage students to achieve together, exchanging ideas and creating a scheme when students create their own fairytale performance. To introduce simple skills of acting and narrating, to be developed later in the by who tells it, and the context in which it is told. To explore the idea of versions of stories that are told, how a story can be affected the world. To introduce the idea of stories (and fairytales in particular) as a way of exploring O N F OC US

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Page 13 SES s I A Ask them to quickly establish the basic plotline of story, but stress that it doesn’t story of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. Move the classes into pairs and explain that they are going to narrate and act out the A to entertain, to scare, to ask questions etc. Finish by returning to the idea of different reasons a story might be told: to warn, fairytale. Share and again record these ideas. they associate with fairytales and any other ingredients they think make up a classic idea of ‘Once upon a time’ and ‘happily ever after,’ the kind of settings and characters Draw out some of the key things students identify with fairytales: for example, the What are the key ingredients of fairytales? Record everyone’s ideas on big paper or an interactive whiteboard. Now ask: Why do we tell stories? Start by asking the question: surprising. probably haven’t heard or seen before: stories that are strange, dark, funny and of Grimm Tales, and that there will be some familiar stories, but also many that they Explain to students that they are coming to the Unicorn Theatre to see a production d is c ussi C T O R/NARRAT O R ST RYTELLING C TI Vi TY o n O N NE: V ERSI

O NS A DD ITI in their devised work. to multi-role and feel free to play any of the parts will be developed later when we want students parts, and play across gender (and species). This Whoosh) students will need to act out all the In this activity (as with the following Story how these stories would be told. In their collection they made decisions about ‘versions’ of these stories. sources, committing them to paper as their them, but gathered them from a range of in the oral tradition: the brothers didn’t create in 1812, the sixth and final in 1857) originated the 19th century (the first edition was published The fairytales that the Grimm brothers wrote in O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR to record ideas. whiteboard (IWB) or interactive Big pieces of paper C ES Page 14

Page 14 SES s I A next students in the circle. Continue until you have completed the story. At the end of an episode, WHOOSH away those performing and carry on with the students into the centre of the circle to act out the story as you read. Using the Story Whoosh ( resource one ), read out the story and one by one invite classic fairytale as a whole class, this time with you narrating. Bring the class together in a circle and explain that you are going to act out another ST O RY WH OO SH RAPUNZEL the telling. to make their version of the story a moral tale, with a lesson for children to learn from their storytelling and acting feel like a warning. Discuss the changes used by the pairs Watch some of the pairs perform their versions and reflect on what it is that makes path. now make the story a ‘warning’ to children not to disobey adults and stray off the When the pairs have had some time to explore this activity, ask them to carry on but A becomes their actor. When you give a signal they should swap roles, B will carry on telling the story whilst alongside them. story to the audience, whilst B will respond to what A is saying and act out the story Now ask the pairs to label themselves A and B; will be the narrator and tell the matter if they don’t know it in detail – they can improvise as they go along. C TI Vi TY O N o ne : CO NTINUE D

A DD ITI collectively. Rapunzel, or the Tower, so the story is owned people will get to play the Witch, the Husband, around the circle in turn. During the telling, many of the draw who plays whom (or what) as you go Rather than casting anyone, it should be the luck quickly and efficiently. introducing a narrative using broad brushstrokes, that gets all students involved. It is a way of The Story Whoosh is an accessible activity parts of the story they now emphasise? change tone of voice, what they say and which tell the story to make it a warning? How does it What do they need to change in the way they different ways. are many children’s versions that tell the story in oral story-telling, and since the Grimms, there this; the stories originated and evolved through and the students’ versions are likely to reflect There are many different versions of this story O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR Whoosh Rapunzel Story Resource one: C ES Page 15

Page 15 SES s I A • Is the story relevant today? • Why might someone choose to tell this story in particular? • Did the Witch look after Rapunzel like a mother? • Is there a message? • What did you think the story was about? • Did you recognise the story or was it completely new to you? by Philip Pullman in his 2012 collection. Ask the questions: When you have finished, explain that this is the Grimms’ version of the story, re-told C TI Vi TY O N o ne : CO NTINUE

D

A DD ITI (a parent figure) and their children. world, and explores the dynamic between adults protecting or shielding young people from the The story also introduces the theme of known in its Grimm form. elements, but it is not one that is particularly well we think that students may recognise some We chose the story of ‘Rapunzel’ because O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR C ES Page 16

Page 16 session two, the girl leaves the safety of her room and goes to the edge of forest ready for the next session. The Year 7 student will become the heroine of the fairytales that students devise in subsequent sessions. At the end of eleven and to start a new school in order to build a character. school. By creating the room they will use their individual and collective experience and knowledge of what it’s like to be In this session the students will create the bedroom of a fictional young person who is, like them, just starting in secondary A YEAR SE V EN STU SES s I O N TW RES O UR STRATEGIES TRANSITI LEARNING O BJE • • • • forest, a letter from Sam’s tutor ( Tape, a copy of Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, a picture of a Stop/Go, still image, creating a room, thought-tracking, actor/narrator storytelling. ‘Rapunzel’, paper, pencils, pastels and felt pens. secondary school might have. To identify the kind of hopes and concerns someone in their transition into experience and understanding of this moment in a young person’s life. To create the character of a Year 7 student, as a way Sam, of expressing their To begin to introduce simple ensemble skills. To work collaboratively to create the character of a Year 7 girl. C ES O N F OC US

C TI V E resource two ), a copy of Pullman’s version of D ENT

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Page 17 SES s I A someone who has just started in Year 7. is like: the positives, the challenges, and kinds of things that might concern Briefly discuss what the experience of moving from primary to secondary school who has just started secondary school. Explain that as a group, you are going to create a character in 2018: a young person C REATING THE R • • • • • • • that you would like them to depict in still images: for students to get into, then characters and moments from the story of ‘Rapunzel’ When the exercise has been established, explain that you will call out group numbers students moving around the room, practising stopping and moving off as one. Start the session with a game of STOP/GO: work for focus and concentration with ST O P/G O : RAPUNZEL Groups of three : Rapunzel and her two children singing for money on the streets C TI Vi TY Pairs : the Witch cuts Rapunzel’s hair Pairs : Rapunzel sees the Prince for the first time - she is afraid, as she has never Solo : the Prince, riding on horseback, hears someone singing beautifully, but Groups of six : a tower with no door and a high up window Pairs : the Witch, hiding as she watches the Husband steal her lettuce Solo : the Wife looks down on the Witch’s garden and craves some lettuce seen a man before, but also attracted doesn’t know where it’s coming from O N tw o: THE YEAR SE V EN STU OO M A DD ITI (see resources column). Add in the items you have prepared in advance desk. out the door, a window, a bed, wardrobe and a your classroom or hall space with tape, marking Prepare an outline of a bedroom on the floor of ‘Rapunzel’. The activity serves as a refresher to the story of working as an ensemble here. movement. You could introduce the idea of three when the focus will be on ensemble This simple exercise will be extended in session D ENT O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR forest photograph of a A drawing or Maurice Sendak Things Are by Where the Wild C ES Page 18

Page 18 SES s I A wall? What clothes and shoes does she own? What other books does she have? does she like? What’s she hiding under her bed? What poster does she have on her character: what kind of duvet or blankets does she have on her bed? What music Now take suggestions of what else might be in her room to get a sense of her hairdressers. and the last straw was when she refused to have her hair cut when they were at the school; not keeping her room tidy enough (her mother likes order and cleanliness); Explain that she’s been grounded because of a number things: the letter from someone who has just started in Year 7. is like: the positives, the challenges, and kinds of things that might concern Briefly discuss what the experience of moving from primary to secondary school who has just started secondary school. Explain that as a group, you are going to create a character in 2018: a young person C REATING THE R the class. pick up one of the items you have placed there and describe this item to the rest of wardrobe and a desk. Then ask three volunteers, one at a time, to go into the space, Point out the things which are already in the room: a door, a window, a bed, her first term at secondary school. to create an imaginary character whose room this is. Our character a girl in is Sam, aroundGather the mark-up of the bedroom, and explain that together, you are going C TI Vi TY O N tw o: CO NTINUE OO M D

A DD ITI straw was. You could ask the class to decide what the last character of Sam. later in the devising process when creating the piece of paper or the IWB. These will be useful You might like to record their ideas on a big O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR two form tutor ( Letter from her ) C ES r esource Page 19

Page 19 SES s I A person. person. Thought-track ask the other students Sam: to voice what it is she’s thinking in the first Where is she in the room and what is she doing? Ask for a volunteer to become in her room, Sam and take up a still image of her. PLA questions you may have about her. Reflect on what you now know about this character you have created and what open on the story of ‘Rapunzel’. Place a book or your own drawing representing the book of Grimm tales in room, where they are located in the room. place the items people have created, letting the whole class know what they are and When the drawings are finished, gather around the outline of room and gradually create more details about this girl. bedroom. This part of the activity may take fifteen to twenty minutes as the class Eventually, everyone in the class should be drawing something that will go into the draw these items for her room. Give students paper, pens and crayons, and as people make suggestions, ask them to photographs etc). Is there something special she keeps in a special place (mementoes from holidays, C TI Vi TY C ING O UR C HARA O N tw o: CO NTINUE C TER IN THE R OO M D

A DD ITI to create objects with texture. difference too – giving students the opportunity Having good quality art materials will make a we will know this girl. The more specific detail that is created the more plastic? Pink fluffy – does it have stickers on etc. drawing a pencil case what kind is it? Hard specific as possible for example, if they are going to draw, try to help them make it as When students have decided what they are O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR Rapunzel on the story of of the book) open Tales (or a drawing A copy of Grimm and colours, scissors of different sizes and pastels, paper Felt pens, crayons C ES Page 20

Page 20 SES s I A a still image anywhere in the space. Explain that they are going to all imagine themselves in her room, as Sam and take up and weaknesses, her hopes and fears. As a whole class, briefly reflect on what you know about your character, her strengths AT THE E around the room. Use the ‘listening hand’ or ‘spotlight’ to listen to different improvised conversations In pairs, ask the class to improvise the conversation between the two of them. was to open: it could be a friend, member of her family, or someone from school. If you have time, you could ask students who they imagine might walk in if the door EXTENSI What might the girl say about the story of Rapunzel? students watching to speak her thoughts about the story out loud. show in an image what they feel her response to Rapunzel’s story might be. Ask the Ask a student to take up an image of her in relation to the Grimm stories book, and to and revealing more about what her concerns might be. Repeat the activity with one or two more students, building a picture of who she is C TI Vi TY O N - PAIRE D GE O F THE F O REST O N tw o: CO NTINUE D IMPR OV ISATI O NS D

A DD ITI Bruner ‘ that diary entry out loud, or write it down. written in her diary that day and either speak You could ask students to imagine what she has work in. have created for students to have space to You may need to clear away the room you Trouble is the engine of narrative.’ O NAL CO MMENTS Jerome RES O UR Leaving narration Resource three: C ES Page 21

Page 21 SES s I A brief closing discussion. brief closing discussion. she stands there. Listen to some of these either through thought-tracking, or in a the students to think about what has brought her here and what she is thinking as Freeze the students in a still picture standing of Sam, at the edge of forest. Ask to imagine they are and to Sam act out the moment of leaving. Using the text provided in resource three, narrate what happens next and ask them all C TI Vi TY O N tw o: CO NTINUE D

A DD ITI they will devise in sessions three, four and five. they decide what ‘trouble’ might drive the stories will give students material to work with when Deciding what kind of trouble is concerning Sam O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR C ES Page 22

Page 22 starting point for students to devise their own short fairytale. The session ends by introducing ‘The Golden Key’, the final story in Pullman’s collection of Grimm tales. This will be the being in the forest: a wild, unknown and primal place. Using choral work and exploring physicality and proxemics, this session is designed to explore and depict the experience of bring their character, created in session two, into the heart of forest. Using the metaphor of the forest, this session explores themes of getting lost and stepping into the unknown; the children THE F O REST SES s I O N THREE RES O UR STRATEGIES TRANSITI LEARNING O BJE • • • • Music, images of and text about forests ( Stop/Go, ensemble work, devising, choral work, improvisation. To explore the metaphor of the forest as a place to play out hopes and fears. To develop skills of listening and responding as part of an ensemble. To make short choral pieces in response to writing and images about the forest. To develop ensemble work, exploring group dynamics, pace and proxemics. C ES O N F OC US

C TI V E resource four ), narration ( resource five ). Page 23

Page 23 SES s I A Continue the activity with the following instructions: When you have established STOP/GO, number all students one to five. EXTENSI contrast. Underscore the ensemble work with music. Try different music to demonstratea or has been the one moving in ‘Lost’ and ‘Follow’, cannot take on the same role again. In the exercise, anyone who has been the fallen, has been the one to remain standing • • • • • • Now build in new instructions for them to follow when you call out: one person leading. them to STOP and GO without your instruction, communicating as a group, with no as an ensemble. When the class is working well in response to your instructions ask Begin with a STOP/GO warm up, explaining that you are going to focus on working ENSEMBLE Follow - one person walks, someone else follows at a distance able to use everyone Lost - one person keeps walking and everyone else stays still Clearing - create a circle of space in the middle of room like a forest clearing, Cluster - everyone stands in a tight group in the middle of room Standing - everyone but one person drops to the floor, one person remains Fall - one person drops to the floor, the rest stop still and look towards the fallen C TI Vi TY else as cover to hide behind with everyone standing still, their arms by their sides standing O N R ALTERNATI V E A O N THREE: THE F O REST

C TI V ITY A DD ITI develop. onto the activity; see any characters or storylines successful and whether they lay any narrative describe what they see, what makes the activity to watch the others as audience. Ask them to a while, split the class in two and get one half When you have played this as a whole group for lead. and normally give way to others to take the initiative into an exercise to hold back, and those who default – ask those who would normally jump Challenge students to work against their natural other. heightened awareness and giving way to each but listening and watching each other. It’s about work well. it is not about individual responses, discuss what is needed to make the activity This work develops strong ensemble skills; O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR underscoring. Choice of music for C ES Page 24

Page 24 SES s I A Robert Pogue Harrison itself, in short to project into the forest’s shadows its secret and innermost anxieties.’ which has allowed that civilization to estrange itself, enchant itself, terrify itself, ironize ‘In the history of Western civilization forests represent an outlying realm of opacity D IS C USSI ask the 3s to begin to follow 1s from a distance and use the others to provide cover. 2 to 5s freeze. 1s continue moving slowly around the others. When this is established, 1 to 4s freeze - 5s continue moving around the room. • • • Read the above quotes and ask these questions: that.’ find their way out of there or not. It feels like there’s something very profound about at some point, which generally means the unknown or being lost, and then characters how many times they go into the forest. In most of the stories they go into the forest place in such an imaginative world that’s not quite ours, and I love that. It’s amazing ‘That idea of going into the forest is something I love as well: it feels like they take What stories or movies can you identify that features characters going into the What do you think the forest represents? Why do you think fairytales are set in the forest? C TI Vi TY woods or forest? Kirsty Housley O N O N THREE: CO NTINUE

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A DD ITI O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR or IWB Big pieces of paper C ES Page 25

Page 25 SES s I A clearing into their piece. did at the beginning of session, incorporating fall, standing, follow, cluster and character alone ‘in the forest’. They can draw on the physical ensemble work they Now ask them to find a way to perform their piece with one person to represent the singing in unison, canon, solo voices, and repetition. performance, ask them to put together a short choral piece called ‘In the forest’ using With each member of the group having been allocated one line of text for their one line for each person in their group to use in their choral piece. poems provided or writing their own lines in response to the stimulus. Then allocate them. Then contruct five lines of text which work together, either using lines from the Ask the class to look at the writing and underline words and phrases which strike ( Give each group a set of images forests, and a choice of writing about forests create a short piece that creates the atmosphere of being alone in a forest. Move the class into working groups of about five. Explain that you want them to C H O RAL W R K paper or IWB. Write up all their ideas and feelings about ‘going into the forest’ on a big piece of What feeling does the forest evoke? resource four provides links through to suggested writing and images). C TI Vi TY O N THREE: CO NTINUE

D

A DD ITI construct their own piece. each of the elements before asking them to rest of the class, or take the whole class through Use one group to model the choral work for the earlier about stories set in forests. Remind the class of the ideas you wrote down O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR about forests Images of and text Resource four: C ES Page 26

Page 26 SES s I A and shapeshifters. of a fairytale: classic settings; archetypal characters, magical objects; transformations follows will be up to them to decide, but will incorporate some of the key ingredients starting with the girl (or boy) finding the golden key, and opening the chest. What Explain that in the following sessions, the students will be devising their own fairytale, the story of the golden key. In pairs, the class should discuss what they think they might find inside the chest in PAIRE Laswell, Markus Stockhausen, Kudsi Erguner, and Mark Nauseef. Underscore with some appropriate music - we recommend ‘Please Be Seated’ by Bill you describe. Use image of the character alone in the woods. Ask everyone to find a space in the room somewhere on their own, and show an themselves as her, standing at the edge of forest. last session, and remind them that they had all stepped into her shoes and imagined Explain that you are going to return to the girl we think about Sam, created in the in C TI Vi TY d i v resource five to narrate the next part of the story and ask them to act out what D IS C USSI d ual impr O N three : co ntinue ov isati O N o n

d d A DD ITI hero or heroine for their journey into the forest. give students the option to create another character over the next few sessions. You could invested enough to follow through with this You will need to judge whether all pupils are girl you collectively created in the last session. Hopefully, all students will identify with the O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR narration Golden Key’ teacher Resource five: C ES ‘The ‘The Page 27

Page 27 the Return’, as the framework for buiilding their work over the following two sessions. golden key to open the chest in the centre of the forest. This session will introduce a simple story structure, ‘the Journey and Students will begin to build their own devised fairytale and start by creating what happens when their character uses the WHAT’S IN THE C HEST? SES s I O N F UR RES O UR STRATEGIES TRANSITI LEARNING O BJE • • • of fairytale endings ( Story structure ( underscoring. Stop/Go with stock characters, simple mime, improvisation, still image, transitions, what their Year 7 character encounters in the forest. To work together, negotiating key moments of the students’ fairytales, showing To create key moments in the students’ original fairytale. To introduce a simple story structure as a framework for devising. C ES O N F OC US

C TI V E resource six resource eight ), list of objects from fairytales ( ), music. resource seven ), list Page 28

Page 28 SES s I A show what might be in the box by how they respond. and ask for a volunteer to go and open the chest with the tiny key. They should then Now set up the idea that in the middle of room is the golden chest from our story, turn will open the box and show the others what they find there through mime. You are going to imagine that you are passing a box around the circle; each person in with an improvised game. Explain that you are going to warm up to creating what might be in the box, starting what might be inside the chest in the middle of forest. Discuss where you left the work at the end of last session, with a discussion about WHAT’S IN THE C HEST? huntsman; the servant; the wolf; the fool and the heroine or hero. the poor innocent girl; the stepmother; the frog; the old woman or grandmother; the of the stock characters from fairytales, such as the witch; the prince; the lazy peasant; Play a game of STOP/GO as a warm up, asking students to create still images of some stock characters, magical objects and transformations. Remind the students of some the key elements of fairytales: archetypal places, st o p C TI Vi TY / g o with st ock c hara O N f o ur : what’ s in the C HEST? c ters

A DD ITI these stories. draw on students’ memories of the characters in If you have seen the Unicorn production, you can O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR C ES Page 29

Page 29 SES s I A Gretel’, the Witch is a kindly woman who at first lets them feed on her house made of not yet know it. The nature of the threat is not always apparent at first. in ‘Hansel and This final moment is where the character meets their enemy or threat, but they may • • • As a group, show three moments using still images: is inside the chest, and where the story might take them next In this task, ask the groups to create what happens next in their story: to decide what • • • skills as well as providing them with the beginnings of their story. They already have: The first three weeks have helped them develop some devising and performance journey and returns home changed ( resource seven ). a simple story structure: ‘Journey and Return’, a story in which someone goes on a which they will perform in the last session. Explain that they will all be working to Move the class into their groups and explain that they are going to create a fairytale BUIL D ING THEIR ST O RY What or who do you find in this new location? Where does this take your character and how does it take them there? The moment the chest is opened and what is inside it. There, they discovered a golden key and a chest, which the tiny key fitted. The call to adventure – we may not know why, but they were compelled to open Their hero or heroine – the person this story is about. The story begins in their C TI Vi TY the door to their bedroom and travel out of the city to the heart of forest. or trouble, they face in their life, their hopes and fears, strengths and weaknesses. bedroom, where they are grounded. We know something about the challenges, O N f o ur : CO NTINUE D

A DD ITI fairytale world. they would like, but it needs to belong within the They can choose another object or setting if settings to incorporate into their three moments. objects and a place from the list of fairy tale Ask them to choose an object from the list of against the odds. Resolution - hero/heroine overcomes everything hope is lost Nightmare - when the worst happens and all enemy Frustration - the first confrontation with threat/ Dream - the adventure begins Anticipation - the call to adventure Christopher Booker, includes: The basic story structure, according to O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR C ES Page 30

Page 30 SES s I A for each other, what are they looking forward to finding out? See each group’s work so far, and discuss the world they have created; as audience SHARING AN to the next. Give them a choice of music to underscore if you have time. When they have their three moments, ask them to find a way to transition from one sweets. C TI Vi TY O N f o ur : CO NTINUE D RESP O N D ING D

A DD ITI nature of the threat she faces in the story. her concerns and difficulties may determine the created together, and what you know about her; Think back to the character Sam, who you O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR fairytales. of objects from Resource eight: Resource seven: for underscoring. A choice of music tale settings. C ES Fairy List Page 31

Page 31 these transformations take place in our stage production should help students to create their own work. Students are likely to have seen the Unicorn production of Grimm Tales by this stage, so it is suggested that referencing how incorporate an element of transformation or magic into their piece. The session will begin by exploring the idea of magic, shape shifting and transformations. Students will be asked to when all hope is lost, and the final resolution of the story, including the journey back. This session will complete the final episodes in our story structure: seeing the threat become clear; the nightmare stage AN NIGHTMARE, L O SS F H PE SES s I D RES O LUTI STRATEGIES TRANSITI LEARNING O BJE O N FI V E • • • • Physical theatre transformations, still image, narration, dramaturgy. making work. To continue to develop skills of collaboration and negotiation in the final stages of in the stories, and devise ways in which they might win out in the end. To express and articulate the nature of our protagonists’ strengths and weaknesses of their story. To make final decisions about their piece, collaborating on the editing and honing return home. To devise the final elements of the fairytale, finishing with the resolution and O N F OC US

C TI V E O N Page 32

Page 32 SES s I A • • • got to last week, and then to create three more moments: Move students back into their devising groups and ask them to refresh where they NIGHTMARE, L O SS F H PE AN gold. In groups of eight, show how a spinning wheel transforms a pile of straw into a pile of Now in groups of six, transform over a count of six from a pumpkin into carriage. • • • • • When you say STOP, ask them to transform, as you count to six, from: of transformations or shape shifting. Begin with a simple round of STOP/GO. Explain that you are going to explore the idea TRANSF O RMATI The journey home The resolution The nightmare at the heart of story, when all hope for our hero or heroine has Tears to pearls Grandma to a wolf A poor kitchen maid to a princess Kind old lady to a witch A frog to a prince C TI Vi TY gone. O N FI V E: nightmare O NS

D RES O LUTI O N , l o ss f h pe an A DD ITI character traits. All of these elements will the challenges they face in their life and their answered the call to adventure; the nature of reason that their heroine left their bedroom and line of the story they have been creating: the Help students think again about the through good wins over evil, and kindness is rewarded. In many fairytales there is a simple morality; remember from fairytales. Ask for student’s own suggestions which they O NAL CO MMENTS d res o luti RES O UR o n C ES

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Page 33 SES s I A Ask them to think of a title. their scenes together to create their final piece. Explain that for the final session, they will need to be ready to work fast to bring all their story? Is there narration they would like to add to their pieces that will help in the telling of can choose which elements they would like to use in their final piece. ensemble and choral work for the forest. This is the beginning of their story, but they Get the groups to chart all the material they have, including the work they did on the D RAMATURGY determination? Cleverness? Kindness? Have they faced their fears or demonstrated courage and They will also need to show how the hero or heroine wins out. Is it through wit? moments, using physical theatre to show the nature of the transformation. Ask the groups to incorporate some magic or a transformation into one of their C TI Vi TY O N FI V E: CO NTINUE D

A DD ITI incorporate into their own piece. the Unicorn production that they would like to There might be things which they’ve seen in to lay their emphasis. might be telling the story and where they want At this point they can think about why they may lie. showing what they have already and where gaps They may want to draw a map of their story, why and how they might win out in the end. suggest the kind of enemy they might face, and O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR and pens. Big pieces of paper C ES Page 34

Page 34 each other. In this final session, students combine their scenes to complete their devised pieces and rehearse, before performing for PERF O RMING REHEARSING AN SES s I O N SIX STRATEGIES TRANSITI LEARNING O BJE • • • • Rehearsing, performing, critical reflection, designing for stage. To build collaborative working and individidual confidence in performance. about the way in which stories tap into our unconscious experiences of the world. To reflect on the stories that they and their peers have chosen to tell, thinking work.other’s To support each other when performing together and as an audience for each To work together to rehearse and perform their final piece. O N F OC US

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Page 35 SES s I A the way in which the children found themselves in the forest. Compare the stories they have created to the Unicorn production of Grimm Tales, and forest. a youngof Sam, person in 2018 who left their home and found their way into the Discuss the way in which the fairytale elements of their stories worked with the story Ask the audience to respond to what they enjoyed in each piece. See each group’s fairytale. perf o rming an underscore their moments. Groups should give their scenes a title and confirm where they want music to transitions from one scene to the next. Give the groups time to piece their story together, adding narration and rehearsing REHEARSING C TI Vi TY O N SIX: REHEARSING AN d resp o n d ing

D PERF O RMING A DD ITI What do they bring back with them? What do they find? Why do they go there? They are on the cusp of adulthood. bedroom and going into the forest alone. they all share: a young person leaving their Remind the class of the elements of story that O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR Music C ES Page 36

Page 36 SES s I A How would they make the transition from the bedroom into the forest? How would they depict the bedroom in their production? design the set for their piece. and think about the design of Unicorn production and consider how they would stories begin in a bedroom and then move into the forest. Ask students to remember You could set a final design task as homework: Both the Unicorn and their own D ESIGN C TI Vi TY O N SIX: CO NTINUE D

A DD ITI O NAL CO MMENTS RES O UR

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Page 37 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT

RESOURCE one

RAPUNZEL STORY WHOOSH

Once upon a time, there was a Husband and a Wife who longed for a child, but they longed in vain for some years. At last, however, the Wife noticed that her clothes were getting tighter: the unmistakable sign that she was pregnant.

Whoosh

In their house there was a little window which overlooked a magnificent garden, filled with every kind of fruit and vegetable. The garden was surrounded by a high wall. One day, the Wife was standing at the window when she saw a bed of lamb’s lettuce growing there. She longed to taste some.

This longing grew stronger every day, so that eventually she became very ill. Her Husband watched her grow paler and weaker, and worried for her health.

One day, she said “If I can’t have any of that lettuce in the garden, I’ll die.”

Whoosh

The Husband, who loved his Wife dearly, thought “Rather than let her die, I must get her some of that lettuce, whatever the cost.”

As night fell, he climbed over the high wall into the Witch’s garden, grabbed a handful of lettuce, scrambled back over the wall and gave it to his Wife.

She ate it up hungrily, and it tasted so good that she felt much better.

But it also tasted so good that the Wife’s desire for it grew stronger and stronger. She begged her Husband to go and get some more.

Whoosh

So the next night, the Husband climbed over the wall.

But when he went to pick the lettuce, the Witch was waiting for him. She had caught him red-handed, and said “You’ll pay for this, let me tell you.”

The Husband pleaded with the Witch, saying “I had to do it, my wife saw your lettuce and had a craving so strong that she thought she might die if she didn’t get some. So I had no choice.”

The Witch understood; the anger went out of her expression. She nodded and said “I see. Well if that’s the case, you can have as much lettuce as you like. But there’s a condition: the child shall belong to me. It will be perfectly safe; I shall look after it like a mother.”

In his fear the Husband agreed to this, and hurried back home with the lettuce.

Whoosh

Page 38 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT

The day came when the Wife gave birth to a baby girl.

The Husband was at his Wife’s side when the Witch appeared by the bed, took the baby girl into her arms and said “I name this child Rapunzel.” Then she vanished with the baby.

Whoosh

When Rapunzel was twelve years old, the Witch took her into the depths of the forest and shut her in a tower with no stairs, no doors and only a very small window.

Whoosh

When the Witch wanted to visit, she would stand at the foot of the tower and say “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.”

When she heard the Witch calling, from high up in the tower, Rapunzel would unfold her long hair and fasten it to a window hook before letting down its full length out of the window.

The Witch would climb up the hair into the tower to visit her.

Whoosh

Some years later, a Prince happened to be riding past the tower when he heard some singing which was so beautiful that he stopped his horse so he could work out where it was coming from. He realised that the singing was coming from the top of the tower, so the Prince looked all around the tower for a door. But he couldn’t find one.

So he set off disappointed.

Whoosh

The next day, the Prince returned. He could hear Rapunzel singing, but then he heard someone coming and hid behind a tree.

He saw the Witch come to the foot of the tower and say “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.” Then he watched in astonishment as the hair was let down the side of the tower and the Witch climbed up.

Whoosh

The following day, as darkness fell, the Prince returned to the foot of the tower and called out “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.”

From the top of the tower Rapunzel unfolded her hair, tied it to a hook on the window and let it down through the window. And the Prince climbed up and into the tower.

Rapunzel was terrified, as she had never seen a man before and he was nothing like theWitch . He was strange and unfamiliar to her, but he was so handsome that she was confused and didn’t know what to say. The Prince reassured her, explaining that he loved her singing and had to meet the person whose voice it was. Rapunzel was charmed, and soon lost her fear and agreed to let him visit again.

Page 39 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT

Whoosh

Before many days went by, their friendship had turned to love, and when the Prince asked her to marry him, Rapunzel consented at once.

Whoosh

One day in the tower, Rapunzel said to the Witch “You know, it’s funny, but my clothes no longer fit me. Every dress I have is too tight.”

The Witch knew at once what that meant, and, furious, she said “You wicked girl, you’ve deceived me.” She took up Rapunzel’s beautiful hair in her left hand and some scissors in her right hand and snip-snap, cut offRapunzel’s hair. Then the Witch transported her by magic to a wild place far away.

Whoosh

Far away in this wild place, Rapunzel gave birth to twins.

Many years pass and Rapunzel and her twins, a boy and a girl, lived like tramps; they had no money or home, and had to beg from passers-by who heard Rapunzel’s beautiful singing.

They often went hungry, in the winter they nearly perished of the cold, and in the summer they were scorched by the burning sun.

Whoosh

But back to the tower on the day that Rapunzel’s hair was cut off.

The Prince called at the foot of the tower as usual, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.”

But the Witch was waiting for him at the top of the tower.

She tied Rapunzel’s cut hair to the window hook and let it down the side of the tower for him.

The Prince climbed up the hair and in through the window, but instead of Rapunzel, he found the Witch, demented with anger.

She shouted “Rapunzel’s gone, you understand? You’ll never see her again!” and her anger forced him backwards and backwards until he fell out of the window.

A thorn bush caught his fall, but pierced his eyes and blinded him. Broken in spirit, he picked himself up and wandered off.

Whoosh

The Prince wandered for many years, living as a beggar, not knowing what country he was in, until one day he heard a familiar voice: a voice that he loved, singing - Rapunzel! He stumbled towards the voice.

Then he heard two more voices singing (the sound of his two children).

Page 40 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT

Rapunzel stopped; she recognised the Prince and ran towards him. She cried with joy, and as she did two of her tears dropped into the Prince’s eyes, and he could see again.

Reunited, they travelled back to the Prince’s kingdom, where they were all welcomed, and where they lived for the rest of their long and happy lives.

Page 41 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT

RESOURCE TWO

Letter from our students form tutor – you could copy this late and sign it, or write it out in hand.

Dear Mrs Johnson,

I would appreciate it if you could come in and meet with me so that we can discuss how your daughter is settling into school.

There are a number of issues that I would like to discuss with you.

Firstly, she doesn’t seem to be making friendships with other girls her age; I know that the majority of her primary school peers have gone to other secondary schools in the area. We try to subtly encourage friendship building between new students in Year 7, but Sam seems to be self-reliant and to prefer her own company. It would be good to discuss this form your perspective as a parent and see if there is any more we can do to support her.

Sam is not shy, and here lies another issue I would like to discuss with you, she seems to be very interested in questioning and at times challenging, the school rules. She is clearly very intelligent, and I know asking questions can be a sign of a lively and enquiring mind; however, there are 30 students in each class and teachers need students to accept and acquiesce to school rules in order not to waste time and for lessons to run smoothly.

Finally there is the question of Sam’s appearance; while she doesn’t break school rules on uniform she can often look a little unkempt, almost wild. I believe it would be useful to start a conversation with her about how she presents herself to the world and encourage a neater, more organised appearance.

Please do ring reception and arrange a time to come and talk to me.

Many thanks

R. D Benson Form tutor

Page 42 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT

RESOURCE THREE

You look at the door handle.

You get up, open your bedroom door, and close it behind you.

You tiptoe towards the front door, open it, and step outside.

You keep walking through the city streets; you don’t know where you’re going.

You get to the edge of the city and find yourself on the edge of a forest.

RESOURCE FOUR

You find yourself on the edge of a forest.

You take a step.

You hear something.

You see something in the corner of your eye.

You feel the cold - it’s winter, and snow lies deep all around - you make footprints.

It’s so cold that you decide to try and make a fire and warm yourself up, so you scrape away the snow from a spot on the ground where you want to make a fire.

You find a tiny golden key lying under the snow, you’re curious – if there is a key, there must be a lock somewhere nearby.

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You decide to dig into the ground. After digging for a few minutes, you find an iron chest. There must be precious things inside.

You pick up the iron chest – it’s heavy! - and look for a keyhole.

You look on the top, on the sides and underneath, but you can’t find a keyhole.

At last you find the keyhole, it’s so small you can hardly see it. You put the golden key inside, and it fits exactly.

Your turn the key around once, and it clicks.

The lid opens a little bit.

You open the lid fully and you find...

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RESOURCE FIVE Here are some starting points for images and words around forests; many more can be found online. https://www.google.com/ search?q=forests&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiujPDphvndAhVITMAKHZWDCU0Q_ AUIDigB&biw=1440&bih=799 https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/507569820476768918/?lp=true

You may want to include images from books; for example, The Tunnel (1985) by Anthony Browne depicts trees in a forest resembling wolves and other strange creatures. https://www.google.com/ url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjSvfjTh_ ndAhUJbBoKHcmvBt4QjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.teachwire.net%2Fnews%2Fks2-book- topic-develop-visual-literacy-and-explore-the-surreal-with-anthony&psig=AOvVaw3yQxSFRu4eS4s4DMY amgnh&ust=1539164206580801

Poems which reference forests can also be found online, though it might be more useful to give students edited extracts to work from. Here are some suggestions:

Extract from Dante’s ‘Inferno’

Ah, how hard to describe it, this savage forest, so dense and rugged, which even in memory renews my fear! (1:4-6)

Extract from ‘The Dark Forest Night’ by Jose Lu

Woods creaked, the sound of forest was heard A hoots and whispers in the darkness Eyes lurking, many moves appeared behind the bushes. Hunting, beasts wandering, crouching, waiting in the shadows…..

Full poem: https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-dark-forest-night/

‘Sleeping in the Forest’ by Mary Oliver:

Full poem: http://www.poetseers.org/contemporary-poets/mary-oliver/mary-oliver-poems/sleeping-in- the-forest/index.html

Extract from ‘When lost in the forest’ by David Wagner:

The Forest breathes. Listen. It answers.

Full poem: http://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/the_best_american_poetry/2009/09/lost-by-david-

Page 45 GRIMM TALES – THE YEAR 7 PROJECT wagoner.html

Extract from ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveller, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth

Full poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken

‘Nutting’ by William Wordsworth

At thorns, and brakes, and brambles, - and, in truth, More ragged than need was! O’er pathless rocks, Through beds of matted fern and tangles thickets, Forcing my way, I came to one dear nook Unvisited, where not a broken bough Drooped with its withered leaves, ungracious sign Of devastation;

Full poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45533/nutting

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RESOURCE six

According to Christopher Booker’s book The Seven Basic Plots (2004), there are seven basic story lines: overcoming the monster; rags to riches; the quest; voyage and return; comedy; tragedy, and rebirth.

The basic (or meta) story structure

1) Anticipation – the call to adventure. (Sam opening the door to her room and leaving gives us this stage in our story)

2) Dream – the adventure begins: the hero may experience a sense of strength or even invincibility. (Sam entering the forest is the dream stage in our story)

3) Frustration: the first confrontation with threat/enemy. (Opening the chest with the golden key will lead our protagonist to the place of danger and the enemy)

4) Nightmare: where the worst happens and all hope is lost.

5) Resolution: the hero or heroine overcomes everything against the odds.

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RESOURCE seven

A mirror

A walnut with three beautiful dresses inside

A ring

A golden ball

A millstone

A pumpkin

A spinning wheel

An apple

A golden chain

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RESOURCE eight

Castle

Small house in the woods

Tower

Desert

Hollow tree

The palace kitchen

The ballroom

Three old oaks next to a spring

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BIBLIOGRAPHY These books are starting points which might be useful to read in part or in full, if possible:

Grimm Tales For Young and Old (2012), Philip Pullman

Forests: The Shadow of Civilisation (1992), Robert Pogue Harrison

The Seven Basic Plots (2004), Christopher Booker

Page 50 PHILIP PULLMAN’S GRIMM TALES

A Unicorn production

Based on Grimm Tales For Young and Old by Philip Pullman Adapted for the stage by Philip Wilson Directed by Kirsty Housley Resource pack written by Catherine Greenwood and Lucy Dear

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