Little Angel Theatre Presents

Jabberwocky

Education and Participation Resource Pack Written by Laura Halliwell and Sarah Schofield

Little Angel Theatre 14 Dagmar Passage, Islington, London, N1 2DN

0207 226 1787 www.littleangeltheatre.com

The interior of Little Angel Theatre auditorium before it John Wright was re-built in 1961 Theatre founder

Background Information The history of the theatre and show! The Little Angel Theatre The Jabberwocky show John Wright, the founder of The Little Angel Theatre was born in South Africa in 1906. He travelled to England in Jabberwocky was first produced by Little Angel 1935 and worked as an assistant stage manager for the Theatre in 2004, and was directed by the then Ballet Rambert while studying at the Central School of Art artistic director of the theatre, Steve Tiplady. The and Design. It was during this time he saw a puppet puppets were designed and made by Peter performance by Podrecca’s Piccoli and became hooked. O’Rourke. John made his very first puppet in 1938. When the decision was made to reprise the show He returned to South Africa at the outbreak of the it was also decided that some changes were Second World War and continued to make and perform necessary and the majority of the original team with puppets in his home country. When the war ended he got together to play around with some alternative returned to England, overland, performing with his puppets ideas of how to present this old show in a new along the way. way.

In 1961 John and his troupe found a derelict temperance hall in Islington and transformed it into a magical little theatre, specially designed for the presentation of marionette shows. It opened on Saturday 24th November 1961. This was to be the first purpose built puppet theatre the country had seen for many years and the only one with a permanent long string marionette bridge constructed backstage. The bridge was designed for puppeteers to stand on while they manipulate long stringed puppets who perform on the stage below leaving the audience unable to see the puppeteers. The original bridge is used to this day. The theatre has a traditional ‘proscenium arch’ and seats 100 audience members.

Over the next 30 years, the Little Angel team created and performed over 30 full-scale shows, with John and his wife The original cast from 2004 along with the first Lyndie designing, making, performing and directing as incarnation of the Jabberwocky. they established Little Angel as ‘The Home of British Puppetry.’ Little Angel shows were taken to 23 Something that had puzzled our previous International Festivals, representing Britain. audiences had been the character of Jabberwocky itself. Contrary to common belief John Wright died in 1991 but the work of the theatre the stripy faced character on the front of this pack continued apace with family, friends and supporters is not the Jabberwocky, but the Bandersnatch! working tirelessly to continue in his footsteps to make sure The Jabberwocky in the 2004 production was John’s legacy would delight generations to come. represented by a giant shiny geometric construction, which sometimes left the audience bemused, so this and some of the other characters have been redesigned and remade for this new version. Little Angel Theatre 1

Lewis Carroll (born Charles Dodgson)

Literacy Links – Author Study Lewis Carroll Lewis Carroll (born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) was an On 4 July 1862 Carroll took a boat trip ‘up the River English author, mathematician and photographer, most to Godstow’ accompanied by the three eldest famous for writing ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and daughters of the Headteacher (Dean) of Christ its sequel ‘Through the Looking-Glass’ (where the Church, Lorina, Alice and Edith. During the trip he Jabberwocky poem comes from) under the pen name told stories to the girls and the first version of Alice’s Lewis Carroll. Adventures under Ground was born. Alice urged Carroll to write out the story for her. That evening He was born on 27 January 1832 in Cheshire and was the and on a train journey the next day, he started to make a plan of the story. He then started writing out third child and oldest boy of eleven children. His father the story on 13 November 1862, completing it on 10 Charles Dodgson was a clergyman. In 1843, their family February 1863. moved to North Yorkshire and young Charles was educated at home until the age of twelve, when he was Over time he expanded the book into the full sent to ‘Richmond’ a private school nearby. version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In

November 1864 he presented the first volume of In 1846, he moved to Rugby School where he excelled in Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, complete with his mathematics. He also loved to read, especially William own illustrations, to Alice Liddell, the Dean’s Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. He began writing short daughter who inspired it all. In 1872 a sequel of the stories for his family magazine at a very young age. In book was published as ‘Through the Looking Glass 1850 he was admitted to study mathematics at Oxford and What Alice Found There’. University. He graduated in 1854, and in 1855 he became mathematical lecturer at the college. Lewis Carroll caught pneumonia which turned out to

be severe influenza, and died on 14 January 1898. In 1856, his first work, a poem- ‘Solitude’ was published His body is buried in Guildford at the Mount which became his first landmark success and began his Cemetery. career as a writer. Jabberwocky in Through the Looking Glass

The book tells of Alice's adventures within the back-to-front world of a looking glass. In an early scene Alice finds a book written in a seemingly unintelligible

language. Realising that she is travelling through a backwards world, she recognises that the verse on the pages are written in mirror-writing. She holds a mirror to one of the poems, and reads the reflected verse of "Jabberwocky". She finds the nonsense verse as puzzling as the odd land she has passed into, later revealed as a dreamscape.

'It seems very pretty but it's rather hard to understand!' Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas—only I don't exactly know what they are! However, Alice Liddell as somebody killed something: that's clear, at any rate.' photographed by Lewis Carroll Little Angel Theatre 2

The Jabberwocky Jabberwocky

By Lewis Carroll

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand; Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head The original Illustrations in the first edition of Alice He went galumphing back. Through the Looking Glass were drawn by John Tenniel, including this picture of the Jabberwock. “And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? This was published in 1872. Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” Originally Tenniel's illustration of the Jabberwock He chortled in his joy. was going to be the title page picture, but it was moved further into the text after Carroll deemed it too ’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves frightening for his younger readers and was replaced Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: by the image of the white knight. All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

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Writing Activities and Ideas Mirror Writing 1) Write the story of the Jabberwocky poem. Alice first encounters the Jabberwocky poem in Include your own detailed descriptions of the Chapter 1 of Through the Looking Glass where it is landscape and environments that the Jabberwock written in ‘mirror writing’; inhabits, as well as passages describing the ‘There was a book lying near Alice on the journey the boy takes to reach them and the fight table…………she turned over the leaves, to find he has when he gets there. some part that she could read, ` -- for it's all in some language I don't know,' she said to herself. 2) Blending words - create your own nonsense words by blending two words together – you might YKCOWREBBAJ create nonsense names for things, or nonsense sevot yhtils eht dna ,gillirb sawT` ebaw eht ni elbmig dna eryg diD adverbs to describe where, how or in what ,sevogorob eht erew ysmim llA manner a verb is carried out. Or maybe you’ll just .ebargtuo shtar emom eht dnA make up nonsense words for fun – who knows – they might end up in common usage! She puzzled over this for some time, but at last a bright thought struck her. `Why, it's a Looking- glass book, of course! And if I hold it up to a Some of Lewis Carroll’s nonsense words have ended up glass, the words will all go the right way again." in the dictionary - for example, Chortle and Galumph. Chortle is a combination of the words ‘chuckle’ and ‘snort’ Note, in this example only the words are backwards, in and means ‘to laugh merrily’. Galumph is possibly a blend true mirror writing the letters need to be backwards too! of 'gallop' and 'triumphant’ and means ‘to move heavily and clumsily’ The ability to do mirror writing is thought to be inherited, but anyone can have a go at it! Mirror writing can be used as a kind of basic code or secret language, If you want to see examples of more nonsense although today, the most common modern usage of words, you will find some links in the back of this mirror writing can be found on the front of ambulances, pack. where the word "AMBULANCE" is often written in very large mirrored text, so that drivers see the word the right 3) Write your own nonsense poem. Look at the way around in their rear-view mirror. Jabberwocky, and some other examples of Have a go: nonsense poems, rhymes and limericks (useful 1) With a small mirror standing up on a plain piece links are at the end of this pack) and have a go at of white paper, and looking only in the mirror, try to creating your own – try to make your readers write your name on the paper so that it looks normal laugh or baffle and confuse them in the same way in the mirror (tip, do not look down at the page). an optical illusion would.

2) Draw a simple shape (e.g. a star) on a piece of white paper and stand a mirror behind it. Looking in the mirror only (and not at the paper) try to draw over the shape with a coloured marker.

Not as easy as you might think!

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The Sounds of Jabberwocky The Little Angel production of the Jabberwocky does not have a script and uses only the poem as text. In fact, there is very little live speech in the production. Most of the sound and text is part of a recorded soundtrack which creates a soundscape for the action.

Try this: Creating a Soundscape This exercise could be done with a whole class, or perhaps with half a class at a time.

The group not creating the soundscape could be the ‘audience’ listening carefully for what is effective and what is not working, and feeding back to the ‘performers’. Have the ‘audience’ close their eyes and really focus on what they are hearing - or turn their backs to those making the sounds. You could also try having the group making the sounds lie on the floor with their eyes closed. – this can help people feel relaxed and comfortable with making unusual sounds, as well as helping them to focus only on sound and not what they can see etc.

The group can use their voices, bodies and other materials to create a sound collage. This exercise is especially good for creating environments (e.g. a rainforest, a factory) and also atmosphere (e.g. mood/weather conditions).

Choose a setting, such as a rainstorm. You could start by asking the group to slowly rub their hands together to create the sound of wind, then tap their fingers on the palm of their hand or the floor for light rain, slowly becoming heavy rain and thunder and so on.

Experiment with different volumes and having different sections of the group making different sounds to build up ‘layers’ of sound.

You can also try using materials to create sounds – e.g. rustling plastic bags, chains, gravel, dripping water, tearing paper, jangling coins etc. Depending on the setting, some electronic sounds could also be added, although you could also try creating these with human voices.

Adding actual words can create a very different feel but might work well depending on the environment you are trying to create. Experiment with the use of words repeated in whispers, shouted, or even in monotone. You could also try speaking words in another language.

Other settings to try: A beach A factory A market place A jungle A haunted/spooky castle A busy street A magical forest

You could record your soundscape to use in a performance, or it could be performed live.

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Interview with Peter O’Rourke, puppet designer and maker part 1

Peter is a freelance director, designer and puppet maker. He has designed and made many shows for

Little Angel Theatre including set and puppets for Fantastic Mr Fox and The Mouse Queen, and set for Macbeth. His director/designer credits for LAT include The Giraffe the Pelly and Me, and Alice in Wonderland.

Here, he tells us a bit about his approach and the design process for the Jabberwocky…….

Q: How did you start to design the puppets and set for the Jabberwocky?

Peter: We had a development week where we played with ideas for the narrative and began to think about the visual world - thinking about how to create a forest on stage very simply, for example – I Q: What were the reasons for choosing these began thinking about abstract shapes and types of puppet (i.e Marrionettes, Bunraku) modernist art – I thought of the forest as a bar code, with thin lines and wider lines representing Peter: In the development period we decided we the tree trunks, and then the canopy of the forest as wanted to use the whole depth of the Little Angel a series of geometric shapes with holes in. This Theatre stage, so we wanted to use the bridge and also led to thinking about the possibilities for the Marionettes and we also had to think about puppets and the styles of puppet we would use, practicalities and different moments we wanted to and tying these in with the same visual references. create. We decided on the puppets styles really

Q: What reference materials and inspiration did early on – in the development week. you use to help you design the puppets and set? Q: The Jabberwocky is one of the world’s most famous nonsense poems and the Jabberwock Peter: I was very influenced by looking at itself an iconic imaginary creature – how easy movements such as Bauhaus. László Moholy- or difficult was it to settle upon a design for the Nagy, who was the instructor of the foundation characters and set, given that you could do course at the Bauhaus, invented the ‘light space almost anything? modulator’ (a weird machine which created pools of light and shadow) which was a big influence. I also Peter: It was actually really fun – it was great to looked at Abstract art and sculpture – so I was have a chance to have a go at creating nonsense looking at the work of people like Barbara figures - there’s a big tradition of this. I started with Hepworth, Henry Moore and Naum Gabo. Geometric shapes and structures are a major my ideas and influences and then I worked to find a logic for the design of the puppets and set. part of the design.

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Interview with Peter O’Rourke, puppet designer and maker part 2

Q: Do you have a particular process when it comes to designing a show – how do you start?

Peter: I start by looking for inspiration I suppose, and when I find something that inspires me everything sort of becomes relevant – it’s quite an organic process – there’s quite a bit of experimenting and ideas intermingling. There’s also a practical side –I look for something – an idea and a way of working that will get me through the workload – I might be working to a tight deadline and might not have time to carve lots of puppets. When I designed Fantastic Mr Fox I just started by folding paper for example!

Q: How closely do you have to work with the director of shows you are designing? Peter: After the development week, if we are happy with the direction we are going in, we don’t have too many meetings. It then becomes about me creating the building blocks (the puppets and the set) for the director and puppeteers to put together the show, and building as much potential into those things as possible.

Q: How did you get into being a puppet maker and what is your favourite part of I might sketch and draw out ideas for the puppets but the job? not make maquettes of them, but I do usually make a Peter: I went to Art College. I decided to do a model box of the set and play around with provisional puppet project on my Fine Art course which shapes and sizes of things in there to make sure that didn’t go down that well with the tutors! I think things are working well in the physical space - making my favourite part of the process is when I start sure things are right for the puppets and puppeteers. a new design – getting the ideas, I like

thinking it through, evolving it.

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Designing imaginary characters Mome raths 2014

Peter O’Rourke’s designs and the Little Angel Production of Jabberwocky is only one interpretation of the characters and the world of Carrol’s famous poem. In fact some of the character designs have changed completely since the 2004 production – we asked Peter about which characters had changed and why;

Q: Which puppets have changed in design since the first production of Jabberwocky and why?

Some of the puppets have changed in design since the first incarnation of the show 10 years ago, and that was really about making the puppets have a common language, making things more colourful and making some of the puppets work a bit better.

The Mome raths have become more sculptural and

that hopefully gives them more character. The

Jubjubb Bird was a bit heavy and cumbersome last time, so we’ve changed it - it’s almost like a piece of origami – it can become different things, so there are more games to be had with it – it’s more fun for the puppeteers. Mome raths in the 2004 production

What do you think a Mome rath might look like? What do you think Carrol meant when he said they ‘outgrabe?’ Design your own Mome rathj creatre. Draw a picture, and why not make a puppet too?

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Make a Mome rath Marionette

The Mome raths in our production are short string marionettes. Using the basic idea of a head and a fabric body as the outline for your own Mome rath, design and make your own version of this creature.

You can make this puppet with either a cardboard head, or a head made from a polystyrene ball – instructions are given for both methods.

To make one puppet you will need the following materials and equipment: • The templates provided (Cardboard head) • A Polystyrene ball (Polystyrene ball head) • One thin cardboard box (at least A4 size) • One piece of light weight scrap fabric or old clothing approximately 50cm X 100cm • Two 2 pence coins for weighting the hands • Approximately 3m of thick cotton/fishing line/string • Masking tape • 3 x small cable ties (optional) • 1x plastic/wire coat hanger

• Pencil

• Scissors

• Ruler

Equipment

Hot Glue gun & sticks Scissors Extra long needle or Skewer Stapler (optional) Copydex glue

To decorate your puppet you might like to use wool for hair, paint or coloured tissue paper for the face and hands, glitter, sequins, feathers, trimmings or anything you can find!

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Assembling the puppet

Cardboard head: 1. Cut out the paper template for the head and draw around it on to a piece of card 2. Use a ruler and pencil to copy the markings drawn on the square template on to the cardboard square 3. Cut out the square 4. Use a sharp pencil, scissors or a compass to pierce holes, as marked on the templates. 5. Score along the broken lines with scissors and a ruler and fold them inwards 6. Cut out and discard triangle B 7. Place triangle A over triangle C 8. Use masking tape on both sides to neatly fix the card in place, forming a 3 sided cube shape (the puppets head) 9. Bring the parallel edges together to make a mask shape. 10. Draw around the hand template twice onto another piece of card and cut both hands out. 11. Stick one coin to the back of each hand with masking tape 12. Decorate the head and hands before you attach them all together

Polystyrene head 1. To start with, you need to make a hole all the way through the ball using a skewer (or extra long needle) If using a skewer, you can leave it through the head to keep the hole from getting covered while decorating. When you have done this, you can use tissue paper/newspaper and masking tape to build up and change the shape of the ball. 2. Next, carefully cover the head with tissue paper (If you have removed the skewer, ensure that when you cover over the holes, you poke through the tissue so you can find them again). When the head is covered, thread a long length of thread through the hole so that it looks like you have a huge bead on a string. You

can tape the string tightly to the skewer and use that to pull string through the hole. Bring the two ends of the thread together and use a little masking tape to keep them together whilst you add details to the face.

Attaching everything together 1. Take your piece of fabric and fold it in half so that it is doubled and roughly square shaped, use a pair of scissors to snip two tiny holes approximately 2cm apart in the centre of the folded edge and one hole about2cm in from either of the outside edges 2. Use a cable tie or string to attach the head to the centre of the fabric and one hand to each of the outside edges (thumbs should be facing upwards)

Stringing the puppet It is best to work in pairs when stringing a marionette, the person who will be performing with the puppet must hold the control (coat hanger) at a height that is comfortable for them, the length of the string will depend on the height of the puppeteer & if you want the puppet to reach a ‘stage’ or float through mid-air.

1. Tie even lengths of string through the holes on each side of the puppet’s head to each side of the coat hanger . 2. Join the hands together using one long piece of string, tie one end of the string to each hand making sure the hands are at the desired height on the puppet's body. This piece of string should run over the hook of the coat hanger (see diagram on previous page).

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Hand Template

Head Template

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Useful Resources and Links www.littleangeltheatre.com More information about the history of the theatre and future puppet shows and workshops, including our school menu

Visual stories for children on the autistic spectrum Visit our ‘access needs’ page on the website to find a general Little Angel Theatre visual story to prepare children for a visit to the theatre. This is also a useful resource for very young children who may not have visited a theatre before as it explains what happens when you visit a theatre and what you might see there. There is a visual story for the show, which is a useful resource to prepare children on the spectrum as well as a reminder about the content of the show, or as a tool to prepare planning around the show in advance of your visit.

Book a Table Top Puppet Workshop! Want to make puppets with your class but don’t have the confidence or time to plan, resource and deliver it yourself? We can come to your school and make puppets with your class. By the end of the day each child will have a finished puppet and we bring all the materials. All stories and themes considered! £350+VAT per class (in London). Contact [email protected] for more information.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=little+angel+theatre&sm=3 Visit You Tube to watch trailers, clips and behind the scenes films of our shows past and present and see the puppets in action!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/putting-on-a-puppet-show-pt-1-2/9654.html Two short films featuring Little Angel Theatre about the process of putting on one of our shows.

www.facebook.com Make friends with Little Angel Theatre to keep up to date with the latest news

https://twitter.com/LittleATheatre Follow us on Twitter!

Little Angel Theatre Puppetry Scheme of Work Including detailed lesson plans and templates for delivering puppetry in the primary classroom with links to literacy £7 Contact: [email protected]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e16bYZaljM Trailer for our production of ‘Alice in Wonderland’.

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Lewis Carroll & The Jabberwocky  http://lewiscarrollsociety.org.uk/ - A site all about Lewis Carroll  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabberwocky - Wikipedia page on the Jabberwocky with some other useful links  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iYArJau8ag – A link to a reading of The Jabberwocky poem performed by acclaimed spoken word artist Pete the Temp for Little Angel Theatre

Nonsense Verse  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonsense_verse All about Nonsense Verse  http://thinks.com/words/nonsense.htm - A selection of Nonsense poems  http://funny-poems.edigg.com/Nonsense/ - more nonsense poems

Nonsense Words  http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/portmant.htm - A large list of ‘Portmanteau’ – or ‘blended’ words and their origins  http://kidsactivities.about.com/od/CreativePlay/a/Portmanteau-Words-Games- For-Kids.htm Activities and games relating to portmanteau words  https://www.wordnik.com/lists/words-made-up-by-dr-seuss A list of nonsense words found in Dr Seuss books

Imaginary creatures and beasts  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0077xv0 selection of short video clips relating to imaginary beasts - includes a reading of the jabberwocky  http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/feb/16/cressida-cowell- top-10-mythical-creatures - an article describing a range of imaginary creatures  http://www.gruffalo.com/world-of/the-story/ - how the idea for the one of the most famous modern imaginary creatures - The Gruffalo - came about  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanimals - information about ‘Flanimals’ a series of imaginary creatures created by Ricky Gervais  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss a link to the Wikipedia page for Dr Seuss who has created a great many imaginary creatures including the Lorax and the Grinch

Artists and Ideas that inspired Peter O’Rourke’s design of Jabberwocky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naum_Gabo Information about Naum Gabo http://www.henry-moore.org/ Information about Henry Moore http://barbarahepworth.org.uk/sculptures/1970/the-family-of-man/ Information about Barbara Hepworth http://bauhaus-online.de/en/atlas/werke/light-space-modulator Information about Bauhaus and the Light Space Modulator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A1szl%C3%B3_Moholy-Nagy Information about László Moholy-Nagy

Little Angel Theatre Puppetry Scheme of Work Detailed lesson plans and templates for delivering puppetry in the primary classroom with links to literacy £7

Little Angel Theatre