Park Playhouse, in association with Albany Medical Center, is proud to bring the magic of live theatre to your students! INFORMATION FOR EDUCATORS The principle goal of Park Playhouse’s scholastic touring program is to introduce young students to the performing arts as tool for discovery, learning and entertainment. This enrichment guide is intended as a tool to give your students a basic introduction to the themes and content of the play and some of the theatrical concepts that are the basic building blocks of putting on a play. More than anything, we encourage you to participate in some of the included activities or readings as a means of generating creativity in your classroom! Few subjects continue to captivate the youthful heart, mind and spirit like the promise of space exploration. In FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON, the space race is on again! It is a funny, educational revue chronicling one of the most thrilling periods of history. From the delights of space food to the excitement of lift-off, from John Glenn’s momentous flight to Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon, this sparkling musical reminds young and old alike of the enormous power of the human imagination and human exploration. It’s fun & informative! It is our hope that you will use the experience of seeing FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON with your students as a teaching tool. As educators, you know best the needs and abilities of your students. Use this guide to serve your children—pick and choose, or adapt, any of these suggestions for discussions or activities. We encourage you to take advantage of the enclosed student worksheets—please feel free to photocopy the sheets for your students, or the entire guide for the benefit of other teachers. Please do not hesitate to contact AshleySimone Kirchner, Director of Education, at [email protected] for additional suggestions or further assistance. We look forward to bringing this fantastic production to you & your students soon! PARK PLAYHOUSE - Scholastic Touring Series - www.parkplayhouse.com - 518-434-2035 ABOUT THE PLAY It is the morning of July 16, 1969, and Apollo 11 is blasting off on its soon-to-be historic trip to the moon. Jenny, a young woman, narrates from the crowd on the beach at Cape Kennedy. Jenny remembers a day in 1957 – her grandmother just gave her a telescope as a present. She sits and stares through it in awe of what could be out there – what it must be like in space and beyond our tiny planet ("Up There”). The news comes on; Hugh Reynolds is reporting from NBS Headquarters. Mankind's first satellite, Russia's Sputnik, is successfully in orbit. Russia has beaten America in the race to space, and the President cannot be happy. He assembles his advisers to figure out what to do. They all point the blame at each other, but, in the end, the President demands that he wants a satellite in space ASAP ("Seeink Red")! News flash: 1961, Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagaran is the first man in space. America is still behind in the race. In a lab, a doctor for NASA has Ham, a trained chimpanzee, who will be America's first astronaut. They figured it was smart not to risk a human life this early in the game ("America's First Astronaut"). The mission is successful, and Ham makes it to space and back safely. The program is then taken up a notch, and the chimp is replaced by veteran pilot, Colonel John Glenn. Jenny watches this all on the news as her father bothers her to do her homework. She is consumed with the big news, though – John Glenn is launching into space the very next day! On February 20, 1962, John Glenn launches into orbit. There are a few complications with his re-entry, but he successfully returns to earth. John Glenn is an American hero now – he meets with the President, has a ticker tape parade in New York and has tons of fan mail, all wondering about what space is like ("Dear John Glenn"). The scene jumps to Neil Armstrong on the phone with his mother. He is reporting to her excitedly that he has been chosen as an astronaut and will be going to space. A number of people stand in an unemployment line, reading about President Kennedy's promise to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. He has said that it will take ten billion dollars to develop the space program. The unemployed wonder what they could do with ten billion dollars that would be more important than landing on the moon ("Ten Billion Dollars"). By 1965, the Gemini space flights have begun sending two astronauts at a time to practice many procedures that will be used on a moon mission. The struggle is tense now between Russia and America, but America is catching up in the race. In a doctor's office, Neil Armstrong is undergoing a number of extreme tests to see how he will handle various conditions in space. As Jenny – who is now Founder and President of The John F. Kennedy, Jr., High School Space Club – watches, Ed White takes the first ever space walk ("Floating"). PARK PLAYHOUSE - Scholastic Touring Series - www.parkplayhouse.com - 518-434-2035 ABOUT THE PLAY Meanwhile, Neil is about to launch into space for his mission where he and another astronaut will attempt to hook up to an unmanned spacecraft. This is a major step before landing on the moon. As he prepares for takeoff, two characters appear to him in his mind; they are his sense of Caution and Adventure. They go through the fears and excitement about the mission that he is taking. Neil and his partner go on the mission and have some success, but not without problems. We now see three workers building the rocket. They dream of what their contributions will mean to the world and to America. They may not be the famous astronauts, but, without them, nothing would happen ("Maybe I'm Not Famous"). Jenny and her Dad eat frozen TV dinners as they watch a special on space travel. The astronauts talk about the food that they eat in space ("Space Food Waltz”). It is 1967 and three astronauts are aboard Apollo. There is a fire in the cockpit, and all three astronauts lose their lives. This is a major tragedy for America and a huge setback in the space program. The work continues, though, and the people keep dreaming of walking on the moon. The scene is now back where it began: a morning in 1969 as the world watches Apollo 11 launch on its now-famous journey to the moon. BIG IDEAS IN Footprints on the Moon Perseverance Teamwork & Collaboration Goal Setting Achieving Your Dreams BOOK & Lyrics by Arthur Perlman THE CREATORS MUSIC by Jeffrey Lunden PARK PLAYHOUSE - Scholastic Touring Series - www.parkplayhouse.com - 518-434-2035 THEATRE ETIQUETTE PRE-SHOW DISCUSSION At the theatre, it is important to understand what it means to be a good audience. During Footprints on the Moon, we also want to get the most information from the show we can by actively listening, paying close attention and using our imagination! Be aware of your surroundings and use quiet voices before the show. Remember that live theatre differs greatly from watching television or movies or attending a sporting event. Live performers can hear and see you and are distracted by any talking or moving around in the audience. Even the smallest sounds can be heard throughout the theater, so it’s best to be quiet so that everyone can enjoy the performance. When you take your seat in the audience, you accept the responsibility of a special agreement. Part of that agreement includes believing what happens is real. It is happening live, right before your eyes! Listen carefully and quietly. The audience has an important role in the theatre experience. Let the production unfold and enfold you. Respond honestly and sincerely. The actors are aware of your presence and your responses. When the lights go down, a performance especially for you begins. This special relationship only happens in live theatre. Remember that actors often feed off of audience responses - so feel free to laugh, clap and maybe even sing along! Applause is the best way to show your enthusiasm and appreciation! During the show, actors will be portraying the characters - and each actor may play more than one role by changing their voice, posture, and walk or gestures to create different characters. You will need to use your imagination to identify who each character is and imagine them in different locations! Take some time to practice being an audience member. Turn down the lights to darken the room. One student tell a story. When the speaker is done, the audience should applaud. How did the quiet listening and applause make the speaker feel? How did it make the audience feel? How did the quiet listening and applause make the speaker feel? How did it make the audience feel? PARK PLAYHOUSE - Scholastic Touring Series - www.parkplayhouse.com - 518-434-2035 CHARACTER EXPLORATION PRE-SHOW DISCUSSION Actor is the word we use to describe a person who performs in plays and musicals or on television shows. Actors use their body, voice and imagination to bring a character in a story to life. In a musical like Footprints on the Moon, the actors need to be able to sing, dance, and say words thats the playwright has written for their characters. It is the actor’s job to help the audience understand the story by being believable in the role he or she plays.