\ THEMES Bravery Welcome to Carousel Theatre’s Personal Growth production of Arthur: Boy King Enchantment and its companion Resource Guide History Love for Educators and Families Honour Forgiveness Adventure Chivalry Responsibility This Guide was created to prepare educators, families, TABLE OF CONTENTS and students for their upcoming adventure to Arthur: Boy (Page) King with a synopsis, theatre vocabulary, and more! 1. Themes We hope you find this Resource Guide helpful and as 2. Synopsis always, if you have any suggestions we would love to Character Breakdown hear from you. 3. Note from the Playwright 4. Interview with Director If you have any questions, please give us a call at 5. Reading List 604.669.3410 or email us at 6. Classroom Activities [email protected]. 7. Production Crew/Cast Interesting Links 8. Theatre Etiquette Theatre Terms 9. About Carousel Theatre School Matinees Family Performances Our Sponsors April 10 – 26, 2013 April 12 - 28, 2013 Contact Us 1 | P a g e Synopsis The moment young Arthur pulls the sword from the stone he is thrust into greatness as the King of Great Britain. He has the potential to become a great leader or cave into the fears and insecurities of any scared young man. Battles and controversy are ignited all around him but what is most important for Arthur is to understand himself. He must learn bravery, compassion and love before he can nobly wear the crown. The forces of the stars and the universe through Morgana battle with the forces of Merlin and his earthly magic to decide this young boy’s worthiness. The play takes place in one night after Arthur is seriously wounded by his greatest opposer; King Lot. In a state of anger and fear Arthur is presented with three quests; to observe his own betrayal by his step brother Sir Kay, watch his beloved Guinevere fall in love with his best friend Lancelot, and to face the feared Dark Knight to avenge a wrong doing. If Arthur fails in any of these quests his place in history will be relegated to stories and legends; if he succeeds he will be the greatest King to ever rule Great Britain. ‘ Characters Arthur A young boy suddenly thrown into kingship Kay Arthurs older brother Lancelot Arthurs friend and first Knight Gweneviere Arthurs bride-to-be Merlin Arthurs Magician/Mentor Morgana Arthurs sister King Lot Morgana’s husband & King of Lothian Boy Morgana and Merlin’s helper 2 | P a g e A Note from the Playwright, Jeff Pitcher Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century was the first writer to begin recording and writing about the th th exploits of King Arthur who supposedly existed in the 5 or 6 centuries. There has always been controversy regarding whether Arthur and his exploits are truth or legend. After Geoffrey there was an avalanche of Arthurian Romances, the most famous were written somewhere towards the end of the 12th century by the poet Chretien from Troyes in France. He gave us the core of all the legends that followed including the love affair between Lancelot and Guinevere, stories of Arthur’s knights, and the story of the quest for the Holy Grail. His work was often filled with other-worldly and Celtic characters. In 1485 Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur” was published; the book retells the story of Arthur from birth to death. It’s a lament for the dying age of chivalry which Arthur and his knights have come to represent. th In writing my play I drew on many sources, originally from Geoffrey and Malory and then into the 20 Century with Howard Pyle, “The Mists of Avalon” by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mary Stewart’s wonderful series beginning with the “The Hollow Hill” and a big influence was John Steinbeck’s “The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights.” After Carole, the Artistic Director of Carousel Theatre, first approached me I had the great pleasure of traveling to England with my son, Jack, and touring the sites of King Arthur’s legends including the ruins of the castle that was supposedly the place of his birth in Tintagel in Wales. The trip obviously had a great impact on the story. Through all the legends and stories there is a dream at work: a unified earthly kingdom expressing the desire of an age that even in its most violent moments consistently seeks to reach upward to the universe and touch the hand of the creator in a search for love and kindness. 3 | P a g e An Interview with Director CAROLE HIGGINS What research did you have to do to prepare for rehearsal? This project has given me the opportunity to revisit some of my favourite books - The Mists of Avalon, The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment. The legends of King Arthur and of Merlin are fascinating! I’ve also researched images- paintings, sketches, colour ideas to help me visualize each character and the setting and feel that we want to use for the production. How do you cast a show? I think about each character: how old they are, what qualities they possess, wnhat their values are, what their physical appearance might be… Each play and each character has different needs. For this show, we wanted actors who can convey a sense of that time period, so I was looking for actors who have abilities with classical text and who could handle swords. I held auditions for some roles, and some roles I offered to actors who I have worked with before, or actors whose work I am very familiar with. In Arthur: Boy King the principals Arthur, Lancelot, Gweneviere and Kay are all young teenagers so I cast actors who are in their 20’s but who have a youthful energy and appearance so that they are believable as teens in the production. We have several actors in Arthur: Boy King who appear regularly in the plays at Bard on the Beach and we also have some newcomers who are recent graduates of theatre schools. It’s a very exciting mix! When did this project begin? This project began as an idea in 1997. It was actually when I was watching the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales on television. I felt such compassion for the young princes William and Harry and was awestruck by the bravery and courage that they showed the world on that day, when they were coping with such a tragedy. It got me thinking about King Arthur, and what it must be like to literally have the weight of the world, or a kingdom, on your shoulders when you are a teenager. I came up with the title of the play on that day - Arthur: Boy King. Fast forward thirteen years and I approached my colleague, playwright Jeff Pitcher to write this play. Jeff and I met and I told him, “I have this idea for a play. It’s about young King Arthur when he first pulls the sword from the stone and the aftermath, and how he deals with discovering he has the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders. The play is called Arthur: Boy King. I want you to write it.” Jeff said okay. Carousel Theatre formally commissioned the play and Jeff began his journey. He even went to England and visited all the sites where legends take place. During the commission, which has been over a period of two years, Jeff has created many different drafts of the script. We have had two workshops, with another planned for just before we go into rehearsals. The workshops have included conversations and feedback with many different actors, the designers, myself, our dramaturg Amy and the entire Carousel Theatre staff, as we all work together to tell a clear story. 4 | P a g e Classroom Activities Please read and discuss the section in this Resource Guide about Theatre Etiquette. Encourage your students to look at different aspects of the production. Assign a group to each of the following, and have a discussion following the performance: Lights, Sound, Costumes, and Set. I have attached a map of Camelot to give a better idea of where the action took place. The picture can be found on page 7 of the Resource Guide. Questions and Answer: After watching the show, if you have any questions about the production, or things to say please send us emails at [email protected] or send a letter to 1411 Cartwright Street, V6H 3R7. We love receiving mail! Grade 3 – 4 Poster: Create your own poster design using the information below: “Carousel Theatre presents Arthur: Boy King at the Waterfront Theatre April 10 – 28 written by Jeff Pitcher” Heraldry: Learn the medieval tradition of heraldry (the symbolic meanings of animals, shapes, and colors used on shields) by designing a shield that tells a story about you through the use of heraldric symbols. The PDF can be found here: http://www.mythologyteacher.com/documents/Heraldry.pdf Grade 5 – 7 Create your own Arthurian Character: Using your knowledge learned in class, create your own Arthurian character. What traits would he/she possess, which obstacles would they overcome, what is their place in society? Round Table Reenactment: Role-play the taking of a fealty oath and the dubbing of a knight! Hold a Banquet: This banquet could highlight the knighting ceremony. This will give students the opportunity to dive into the different clothing, food, and music. Grade 8+ Man or Myth? The Author, Jeff Pitcher, touches briefly on the confusion between fact and fiction and how these stories came about.