Barrio Grrrl!

A WORLD PREMIERE

ION K ENN EDY CENTER COMMISS

Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

ing these d a re e ’r u o y if inside my k c u sn e ’v u o y words, I’m Ana , m il d l. a rn u jo t re sec , b u t ( shhh! )

O rt iz m a n n e re d A n a , too! And you rl rr G io rr a B y ll I'm rea e gonna change th ’m I t? a h w know ill when I w I st a le t a world. Or figure out how. h It’s told wit . ry o st y m This is , fantasies , s k c a b sh la f , words , songs time travel. n e v e , s d n e ri imaginary f , e , my family m … l a e d e h Here’s t ors , we’ve b h ig e n d n a my friends , s. But each m le b ro p f o got plenty the power s a h id k y and e v e r nce. Do you re e f if d a e to mak rted? Easy ! a t s t e g o t want r good for you g in h t e m o s Do neighborhood.

unity : barrioeaking comm ity.

c p nish-s d in a U.S. tly Spa oo A mosr neighborh o

My story is told through words and music. If it weren’t for Quiara and Bill , there’d be no me , no Barrio Grrrl!, and you wouldn’t be reading this right now. Wanna get to know them?

Meet QUIARA ALEGRIA HUDES Born to a Puerto Rican mother and Jewish father, Quiara largely African American neighborhood of North Philadel was raised in the phia . While growing up, Quiara looked for ways to connect with people from different backgrounds and perspectives. During high school, she volunteered to help sick kids , published her own literary magazine , and participated in an AIDS awareness program. Now that she’s all grown up, Quiara puts that same energy into writing plays, including Broadway’s Tony Award ® –winning musical, In the Heights.

Meet BILL SHERMAN clarinet , and the Bill grew up playing baseball, be a professional saxophone. “I wasn’t going to o I concentrated baseball player,” says Bill, “s college , Bill was so At .” ian sic mu a ng mi co be on sic that he traveled interested in West African mu ll listened to a , Bi to Ghana. Back in New York West Side Story , Eminem, al sic mu e th of x mi t an nst co with Latin American n tio ina sc fa s Hi . sic mu sa sal and was hired to work COM ll Bi en wh ct rfe pe ed ov pr POSER: rhythms . someone who ts igh He e th In r fo on the music writes music

PLAYWRIGHT:

someone who writes plays , a dramatist

LYRICIST: someone who writes words to a song

AF R ICA

Ghana

Ana that’s me.

(Pssst! Secret identity : Barrio Grrrl!)

The Amazing Voice my imaginary friend

Sandip, Odette, & Oscar

Abuelo my grandfather

Mom my mom

my best friends on the block

your average 9-year-old girl who lives with my abuelo (grandfather) in Philadelphia. Back in first grade, I realized that lots of people need help…and to make that happen, shy little me turned into fearless “BARRIO GRRRL!”

I’M ANA ORTIZ,

WITH SUPPORT FROM THE AMAZING VOICE,

my faithful best friend , (okay , she’s imaginary , so what?), I’ve set out to change the world!

I HAVE LOTS OF

WILD ADVENTURES.

Like getting into Harvard at nine, winning the Nobel Prize , and vacationing in the Caribbean. Sure , they’re all fantasies.

That’s because it’s not easy in the real world. b e l No

, okay, her e s my story

Cast of Characters

Pea c e Priz

e

SO FIRST I ORGANIZE A SIDEWALK COLLECTION so that my friends Sandip, Oscar, and Odette can buy ice cream over the long hot summer. It flops.

him asking for a raise. My grandfather and I don’t talk all that much , even though he’s in charge while my mom is in the military in Iraq. Did I forget to mention that?

THEN I TALK TO MY ABUELO about

Sa nd ip Od et te

Osc ar

I MISS MY MOM. A LOT ! Sometimes we talk on the phone, but mostly she

leaves messages on our answering machine ’cause it’s tricky to connect. To cheer me up , my friends build me an imaginary time machine so I can visit my mom in Iraq.

Sure it’s all make - believe. W ho cares?

I’M STILL DETERMINED TO CHANGE THE WORLD but it’s harder happens — and start with the Maybe…in your

than you think. Then a big surprise I learn that changing the world can smallest act of kindness. own home.

I RAQ

… y r o t S y M g n Telli

T COLLAGE : A work assembled ents from fragm s, of drawing words images, or taken from es. other sourc

ypically , stories are told in a straight line. You know , most stories have a beginning , middle , and an end. But not all playwrights tell stories in a straight line.

In telling my story , Quiara , the playwright behind Barrio Grrrl!, definitely mixes things up. She writes her plays like an artist creates a collage. “A story can be told chronologically , A- B- C- D- E, tracking what happens next in a nice neat line ,” she explains , “or a story can be told by rearranging the order , like A- G-B -D -M , for example.

“I can’t sit by quietly while my neighbor goes without. Sharing is what it’s about!”

“ Th er e’ s a lo t of he ar ts to be sa ve d .”

And instead of tracking events as they happen , playwrights are free to insert moments of pure fantasy or have a character tell the audience a secret.”

Barrio Grrr l! works that way. The play jumps from straight - forward dialogue to flashbacks , to flash -forwards , to fantasies , to songs , to poetry. “Kids who read comic books ‘get it ,’ ” Quiara continues.

“Comic book stories get interrupted by thought bubbles or ‘meanwhile , back in the city.’ We do the same thing in Barrio Grrr l! , but we do it with songs and new characters and scenes .”

“Let’s make something out of nothing.”

TELL IT:

YOU TRY!

It’s your turn. Track the five big events in the story “Little Red Riding Hood.” You know… a girl heads off into the woods ; she meets the wolf, and so on. Make up three or four events that don’t usually get told in the story. For example, choose a character — Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, the Grandmother, or the Hunter — and insert his or her flashbacks , fantasies , flash- forwards , or songs.

Now give each event a letter in alphabetical order.

Then shuffle the order so that it’s all mixed up.

(Example: A-B-C-D-E could become D-B-C-E-A.) Try to tell the story in this new order and see what happens.

Romare Bearden

Quiara told me that she was inspired by collage artist Romare Bearden (1911-1988) who constructed large collages of whole entire neighborhoods made from nothing but scraps from magazines. “When you look at his work,” says Quiara , “each window and every doorway tells its own story.”

In Barrio Grrrl!, Quiara does the same thing, but she creates my entire neighborhood with words.

Sights of the Neighborhood

“She’s gonna change the world.”

“Don’t give up hope.”

“Ana, it’s Mami.

Darn, I can’t believe that I missed you.”

Explore the work of Romare Bearden that influenced Quiara at www.beardenfoundation.org

“I’m gonna save every broken heart.”

in Isonng tathethme usical theater, characters burst into

A SoCund l l age

drop of a hat. Behin nothing happens by chance. Th d the scenes , however, e work really hard to make sure composer and playwright th spot. Songs are carefully place e music is in the right d forward , to comment on what to move the story just happened , or sometimes to allow characters to say what doesn’t get said in words.

ic of Barrio Grr rl!, According to Bill , “if you listen to the mus ticular style.” My story you’ll hear all kinds of music, not one par including Puerto Rico, features many musical sounds from countries na, Brazil, and Cuba, Dominican Republic, South Africa , Gha , New York City, Ireland. Plus, you’ll hear music from Detroit On any day , Brooklyn, and my home town of Philadelphia. od hip hop , you hear all kinds of music in a neighborho — in you will rock and roll, rhythm and blues — just like lage of the play. Bill explains, “The music is a sound col what it’s like to live on that block.”

y, HeThink About This...

Each song in Barrio Grrrl! has a purpose.

During the show, listen closely to each song.

After the show, choose a song from the list on this page and decide if the song…

rl !

Barrio Grr he Barrio t Summer in ut of Nothing O Something The Champ by , Part 1 a Barrio Lull World Change the aginary Friend Im Certified by , Part 2 a Barrio Lull e id Amazing R by , Part 3 a Barrio Lull rs e Other Corn

a. states what a character wants or wishes. b. describes the world of the play. c. explains what is happening — past, present, or future. d. delivers a message or shares a philosophy. e. permits the characters to say what can’t be said in spoken words. f. says “I like you” or “I love you.”

b or h h g i e N e f th

S o u nds o Songs for the

o od

and listen Five Points

Visit Folk a neighborhood to the way the sounds of make their own kind of music at w w w .t e n e m e n t .o r g / f o lk s o n g s

If something interests or inspires me in a newspaper or a magazine, I tear it out and make a collage. If anyone looked at my collage , they could pretty much tell what was on my mind.

In a way , this collage is what I’m thinking and feeling.

! u Try o Y : t e? ge I ook lik l Colla e g a l l r co uld you o w t a you?

Wh inspires INFLUENCES: factors that affect our thoughts and actions

What ? interests r u o y re s What a expresse t a h t ge es . a colla inf luenc Create d n a eas your id

ha s th e po w er an d d ki ch ea at th ys sa a ui ar W ha t I le ar ne d . ld or w e th ge an ch po te nt ia l to do n’ t ha ve to le av e I at th is l! rr Gr io rr in Ba w or ld ; I ca n e th ge an ch to od ho my ne ig hb or im pa ct ri gh t at ve ti si po a ng vi ha by st ar t nd … ma ke a ch oi ce … ho me . So , fi nd a fr ie so me on e’ s lif e. ma ke a di ff er en ce in

Q

o r ld ? w e h t e g n a h c a n n a W small , right there in

Try starting or neighborhood. , k oc bl , e us ho n ow your yo u st ar te d. t ge to s ea id of t lis Here’s a books , and clothes to o Giv e yo ur old to ys , a shelter. e in an empty lot o Pl an t flo we rs or a tre or parkway. a street, a park , or o Pi ck up th e lit te r on a beach. collect items to send o Or ga niz e an ef fo rt to to our troops. a switch to conserve o Turn off a faucet or water and electricity. stop gossip and teasing. o He ad a ca mp aig n to old cell phones and o Co lle ct ey eg las ses or donate them to be recycled. ram in your classroom o St art a rec yc lin g pr og or school. s What other idea do you have ?

MY ADVICE: THINGS TO DO BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE PERFORMANCE before: Read this Cuesheet. Turn off your cell phones.

Remind adults to turn them off, too.

Put away your wrapped candy.

(The crinkly sound can ruin a performance.)

Say what’s on your mind to anyone sitting with you so you can stop talking and stay quiet during the play. during: Respect the performers. It’s okay to laugh and applaud, but only when the actors expect it.

Respect the person in front of you.

Don’t kick his or her chair.

Respect the person behind you. Don’t flop around too much or talk to your neighbor.

Have a good time! after:

Work on the exercises in this guide.

Talk about your impressions of the play with other people who saw it.

Describe the performance to someone who didn’t see it.

And most important… the world ! e g n a h c to n la p create a

Stephen A. Schwarzman Chairman Michael M. Kaiser President Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education Theater at the Kennedy Center is presented with the generous support of Stephen and Christine Schwarzman.

Additional support is provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Verizon Foundation, Mr. Martin K. Alloy and Ms. Daris M. Clifton, the Estate of Joseph R. Applegate, the Carter and Melissa Cafritz Charitable Trust, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, The Clark Charitable Foundation, Clark-Winchcole Foundation, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Fight for Children, Dr. and Mrs. Ronald A. Paul, The President's Advisory Committee on the Arts, National Committee for the Performing Arts, and Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk.

Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, a program of the Kennedy Center Education Department. ARTSEDGE is a part of Thinkfinity.org, a consortium of free educational Web sites for K-12 teaching and learning.

Join us online at www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org For more about the performing arts and arts education, visit the Kennedy Center’s Education Department online at www.kennedy-center.org/education The U.S. Department of Education supports approximately one-third of the budget for the Kennedy Center Education Department. The contents of this document do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

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