Education Pack 2018 Jack and the Beanstalk 2018 - Education Pack - Page 1 INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Education Pack for our production of Jack and the Beanstalk presented by Derby LIVE and Little Wolf Entertainment. Together we have created this pack to extend the exciting experience of a pantomime back into the classroom. You will find within its pages a wealth of information covering many aspects of pantomime, and lots of fun activities that link with many classroom subjects. We hope that you thoroughly enjoy Jack and the Beanstalk at The Derby arena, as well as your own adventures into the magical world of pantomime! Jack and the Beanstalk 2018 - Education Pack - Page 2 CONTENTS INFORMATION Jack and the Beanstalk – Our Version Traditional Pantomime Characters Behind the Scenes Putting on a Pantomime ACTIVITIES Writing Activities Storyboard – Telling a Story Write a Review Drama Activities Set and Costume Design Activities Maths Activities Music Activities Colouring In Pages and Competition APPENDIX A Potted History of Pantomime The Origins of the Story LINKS/RESOURCES Other Versions of Jack - Reading List Jack and the Beanstalk 2018 - Education Pack - Page 3 JACK AND THE BEANSTALK – OUR VERSION In the village of Dappy Darley on the Derwent, Jack Trott lives with his mother, Dame Trott and his brother, Simple Simon. The village is being terrorised by the evil Giant Bogey who lives in a castle in the clouds. The King comes to the village and announces that due to the economic downturn there is to be a new lottery held each month and the winner will receive a golden egg, laid by the King’s magical hen, Edwina. Dame Trott wins the lottery and it looks like their troubles are over, when suddenly there is a flash of lightning and Cesspit, the Giant’s evil henchman appears. On the Giant’s orders he steals the golden egg, as well as the magical hen, and the golden harp. Everyone is distraught and go off in search of Cesspit. Jack runs into the princess and they begin to fall in love, but the King interrupts their musical courtship. Back at Trott’s Dairy, times are very hard. To cheer themselves up Dame Trott and Simple Simon try baking a cake, but it doesn’t work, and they just end up getting very messy indeed! Dame Trott decides that the time has come and they have no choice but to sell their beloved cow, Pat. Jack is told to take the cow to market, but on the way he meets Cesspit, disguised as a local yokel, who plays a trick on Jack. Cesspit says he will buy Pat for gold pieces, but after showing them to Jack he sneakily swaps them for a handful of beans.. After Jack has left Cesspit meets the Princess, who he kidnaps and takes back to the Giant’s castle, so she can become Giant Bogey’s bride! Back at home with the Trotts Jack shows the gold to his mother, but when they discover it is only beans, she is furious and in disgust flushes the beans down the toilet. Dejected they all headto bed. During the night, Fairy Story appears and conjures a huge spell that makes a gigantic beanstalk grow right out of the toilet! In the morning, no one can believe their eyes,. Jack realises that he must climb the beanstalk, face the Giant and save the princess. Fairy Story arms him with a magic sword and he begins to ascend into the clouds! Up in Cloudland, Jack, now accompanied by Simple Simon, Dame Trott and the King, goes off in search of the Giant. Inside the castle, Cesspit is holding the princess captive, waiting for the Giant to return. When Cesspit leaves the room, Jack and his friends sneak in and are about to rescue the princess, when there is a huge booming noise and in comes Giant Bogey! Jack and the Beanstalk 2018 - Education Pack - Page 4 He calls for Cesspit, who in turn summons his Cesspets, and Jack and his friends are captured. Suddenly the princess escapes her guards and grabs a sword, she bravely fights and manages to defeat Cesspit, whose assistants flee as soon as he is beaten. Jack then takes his turn toface adversity, taking up his magic sword; he faces down the huge Giant single handedly, allowing his friends to escape with the harp, hen and golden eggs. Jack fights the Giant, but just when things look like they could go wrong, the Fairy appearsagain and helps Jack distract the Giant long enough to escape. After a frantic chase back down the beanstalk, including far too many toilet stops for Dame Trott, they are finally all back home, but the Giant chases them down the beanstalk. Jack bravely grabs an axe, chops down the beanstalk and so the Giant falls to his doom. Jack and Princess Jill are married, Dame Trott marries the King and even Simple Simon ends up marrying Fairy Story. After which they all live happily ever after! Jack and the Beanstalk 2018 - Education Pack - Page 5 TRADITIONAL PANTOMIME CHARACTERS Modern pantomime characters can be traced back to the 16th and 17th Century when the Italians improvised comic drama called Commedia dell’arte. One of the central characters of a commedia pantomime was Harlequin, who was a clown that usually narrated the story. Harlequin became so popular that harlequinade became a genre of it’s own. Just like the Commedia dell ‘Arte and the traditional fairy tales with which your class will be familiar, pantomimes always contain stock characters. These include... The Dame – Played by a man dressed up as a woman is the focus of the pantomime’s humour. She may be the cook or the mother/nurse of a central character and is often hoping for romance and money. In slapstick scenes she tells lots of jokes and encourages audience participation. The Principal Boy – Sometimes played by a woman, the principal boy is the hero of the story and his name often appears in the title, as in Aladdin, or Jack and the Beanstalk! He is handsome and brave, triumphing over evil or misfortune to claim the love of the principal girl. The Principal Girl – Whether a princess or a peasant, the principal girl is usually threatened by an evil curse or injustice but ends up happily in the arms of the principal boy. The Baddie – This can be a male or female character but always has an evil scheme in mind i.e. the theft of a fortune, the conquering of a kingdom or marrying the principal girl against her wishes. The baddie has magic on their side but is always defeated in the end. The Fairy – Adding an element of magic, the Fairy holds the story together and is often around to help defeat the baddie and offer words of wisdom. She may act as a surrogate mother figure for the orphaned or lonely principal character. The Pantomime Animal - Whether a cow, goose, cat, camel or horse, the pantomime animal is a humorous novelty character. It consists of one or two people dressed up to look like an animal, often with a couple making up its front and rear ends. The animal is usually a loyal sidekick to the hero or heroine. Fact: An actor playing an animal is called a skin performer. This is because they wear an animal outfit like a second skin. Charlie Chaplin started his career as the back end of a pantomime horse! The Young Company and the Chorus - Members of the young company and the chorus take part in the crowd scenes and the song and dance routines. In the late 19th century, pantomimes employed hundreds of actors as members of the chorus all dressed in extravagant costumes. This year young people from all over the Charnwood area are part of our young company! Jack and the Beanstalk 2018 - Education Pack - Page 6 BEHIND THE SCENES Derby has a long tradition of pantomime. Here is a list of some of the people involved and what they do... The Production Company (Little Wolf Entertainment) is the specialist pantomime company who work together with the Derby LIVE team to create all aspects of the pantomime. The Playwright is commissioned by the production company to write the script. The playwright has to come up with a new twist on a favourite tale and include lots of topical jokes! The Director has a varied role making decisions on everything from the script to lighting and design. During rehearsals the director has overall responsibility for putting the whole production together. The Choreographer comes up with all of the dance routines and teaches them to the actors. He or she also makes sure that the dancing looks precise and energetic (and that everyone on stage is getting it right!) The Actors have to audition to show that they are suitable to be in the pantomime. Not only do they have to be able to play a character, they must also have strong singing and dancing skills - plus the stamina to perform up to 12 shows per week! The Musical Director chooses the music, teaches it all to the cast and writes musical arrangements and orchestrations. The Designer creates exciting sets and costumes, starting with drawings, then creating a model of the set, which is given to the construction department to build. The Lighting Designer creates lighting effects for the show to add to the mood. The Stage Manager and Technical Crew make sure that the performances run smoothly, all effects are working and everything is where it should be on stage.