Aesop's Fables Activities
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AESOP’S FABLES STUDY GUIDE For Educators and Families Welcome to Carousel Theatre’s production of Aesop’s Fables and its companion Resource Guide for Educators and Families! THEMES Fables Carousel Theatre is overjoyed to be presenting Aesop’s Fables at The Waterfront Theatre! This show is perfect for any school trip to entertain, enlighten, and interact with students, Morals teachers, and parents in a fun-filled hour of theatre! Ethical Values Wolfie, Syd, Barry, and Harriet invite you into their magical world where anything is possible Life Lessons when you use your imagination. Whether it’s The Tortoise and the Hare or The Boy Who Conflict Resolution Cried Wolf, everyone knows at least one of Aesop’s classic fables. In this spellbinding production, storytellers use song, dance, and drama to bring these famous fables to life. Trust Youngsters will enjoy discovering life’s big lessons in this delightful revue. Patience We hope you enjoy this Resource Guide and as always, if you have any suggestions, we Acceptance would love to hear from you. Friendship If you have any questions, please give us a call at 604.669.3410 or email us at [email protected]. TABLE OF CONTENTS (Page) 1. Themes 2. Synopsis 3. About The Writers/ Aesop 4. Interview with Set & Costume Designer 5. Classroom Activities 6. Theatre Etiquette Theatre Terms 7. Character Breakdown Adaptation by Mike Kenny Production Credits Family Performances: Feb. 18-26 Interesting Links School Matinees: Feb.17-24 Aesop’s 8. About Carousel Theatre Stories included in Aesop’s Fables: Sponsors The Tortoise and the Hare The Boy who Cried Wolf Contact Us! The Wolf and the Jackdaw Fables The Lion and the Mouse Page 1 The Synopsis The story begins with one wa gon and four storytellers/ musicians: Wolfie, Harriet, Syd, and Barry. There four friends start by introducing themselves to the audience and telling a short fable of The North Wind and the Sun. After this, it is time for each storyteller to tell a fable of their own. Barry tells the classic story of The Tortoise and the Hare. He begins the story with the pompous hare exclaiming to the tortoise that he is the fastest hare there ever was and could most certainly beat the tortoise in a race. The tortoise accepts this challenge and the race begins with the hare whizzing away to the finish line. The tortoise slowly begins to walk. The hare is running here and there, looking up and down, swerving this way and that way until a wave of exhaustion hit him! The hare decides to take just a short nap. He awakes all rested and ready to continue the race. As he turns the final bend towards the finish line he sees to his astonishment the tortoise crossing the finish line! It only goes to show that slow and steady wins the race. Syd tells the tale of The Lion and The Mouse. The story begins with a lion that has just devoured a wolf, who crunched a fox, who munched a sparrow, who gobbled a spider, who gulped down an ant. Along comes a tiny mouse that runs directly into the giant lion! The lion decides to let this mouse go without eating him. The mouse thanks him and promises to repay the favour one day. Later on the mouse finds this lion trapped in a hunter’s net! The mouse starts nibbling away at the net. The mouse nibbles and nibbles and nibbles until the lion is released from the nets grips! The lion thanks the mouse, his new friend, Costume Renderings by Drew Facey for all his help and realizes that no matter how itty bitty or how big and bad a person may be, they all have their strengths. Harriet tells the tale of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. This fable starts with a shepherd boy who takes his sheep up to the hills. This is a very boring job and the shepherd boy cannot find anything to entertain him. He tried counting the sheep and talking to them but he was still bored. The shepherd boy decides to yell, “WOLF! WOLF!” The farmer and his wife come running from the town and up the hill to find the shepherd boy with all the sheep and no wolf in sight. The farmer and his wife start back down the hill and into town. The shepherd boy decides that he will, once again, yell “Wolf, Wolf!” The farmer and his wife come running from the town and up the hill to find, for the second time, the boy and all his sheep. They scowl the boy and then walk back down the hill and into town. Just then a Wolf comes from within the sheep, revealing himself. The boy then shouts, “Wolf! Wolf!” but nobody comes. He shouts, yells, and screams some more as he hurries up a tree. The farmer and his wife never came running up the hill thinking, once again, that the boy is lying again. Wolfie tells the story of The Wolf and the Jackdaw. This fable starts with a beautiful jackdaw (a type of crow) about to enjoy a nice meal when along comes a wolf. This wolf immediately sees this lushes piece of meat in the jackdaw’s mouth. The wolf approaches the jackdaw and begins complimenting its beautiful feathers, beautiful beak, and what must be a beautiful voice. The wolf tries to convince the bird that she should sing. After much convincing, the jackdaw lets out a song. As the jackdaw is doing this the wolf snatches the piece of meat that has fallen from the bird’s beak. The jackdaw is furious with the wolf and tells him to give her meat back! The wolf refuses and gobbles down the food. Just as the meat is sliding down the bone gets stuck in the wolf’s throat! The wolf begs, pleads, and promises the bird jewels from head to toe if the bird would only stick her beak into the wolf’s throat and retrieve the bone. Reluctantly, the bird does stick her beak down his throat and takes out the bone. Once the wolf is safe from death the bird demands the jewels promised to her. The wolf only laughs and explains that you should never trust a wolf. Page 2 About The Writers Aesop Aesop lived approximately 620-560 BC. It is unknown where Aesop was born but it is shared knowledge that it was somewhere in Greece. He lived in Greece for almost all his life as a slave. It is not known exactly where he worked but it was either in Samos, a small island off of the coast of Greece, in Ethiopia, or in Athens. It is said that later in his life Aesop became a free man. His very famous marble statue can be found in the Villa Albani in Rome. This statue is disfigured and is said to depict Aesop’s real body that was misshapen. In 1484 Aesop’s fables were first translated into English by William Caxton. These fables were first believed not to be written for children literature but actually disguised social and political criticisms faced in Greece at that time. Most of Aesop’s fables were discovered between 800-1000 years after his time so that does cast doubt on the authorship of these fables. Perhaps, they were merely a collection of fables that Aesop’s had gathered. Perhaps, there are still more out there for us to find. Mike Kenny, Playwright Mike Kenny is one of the England’s leading writers, specialising in young people's theatre. He is the recipient of numerous awards, was included in the Independent on Sunday's list of Top Ten Living UK Playwrights and his plays are performed regularly throughout the UK and all over the world. His works include the 2008 adaptation of E Nesbit's The Railway Children at the National Railway Museum in York. The first production featured a working Stirling Single (GNR 4- 2-2 No.1) steam locomotive on a real rail track. AWARDS & NOMINATIONS The Gardener: shortlisted for Deutschen Kindertheaterpreis, Diary of an Action Man: Best Children's Play (Time Out Critics Choice). The Last Freak Show: Edinburgh Festival Pick of the Fringe, Manchester Evening News nom, Best Fringe Show, Stepping Stones: Best Children's Play (Writers' Guild of Great Britain), Stuck: short listed for Writer's Guild Best Children's Play, Sink or Swim: Best Children's Play (Time Out), Flags and Bandages: Best Children's Play (British Theatre Institute), Mind the Gap: Barclays TMA Award for Special Achievement in Regional Theatre (2002), Arts Council of England - first ever recipient of The Children's Award for playwriting for children (2000). Page 3 An Interview with DREW FACEY, Set and Costume Designer for AESOP’S FABLES How did you become a stage designer and why? I was raised in a theatre family and I've been working on plays since I was 9 years old. I've always loved stage design and it just made sense for me to build a career as a designer. I spent a lot of time training in the visual arts and then combined that with theatre training and started working professionally about 5 years ago. What is the biggest show you have ever worked one? The biggest show I've ever worked on was my set design for the Mainstage at Bard on the Beach in 2010. I designed sets for Much Ado About Nothing and Antony & Cleopatra. How long does it take you from the design meetings to the finish product? It totally depends on the show but it's usually about six months from my first design meeting to opening night.