Online Guide Grownups Please join us on this journey! We invite you to review this guide with young theatergoers and delve into the additional resources and ideas for you at the end. Presenting Sponsor of Performances for Young Audiences
Behind the Countdown to Earthrise Welcome to Earthrise Command Central! You’ve blasted off with Andrea, Rick, an Sophia through a musical story about one of the most important space accomplishments in history. But getting to liftoff for a moon mission or a brand new performance like this one takes a lot of imagination, hard work, determination, and collaboration. Let’s go behind the countdown to explore more.
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The Bright Idea People long dreamed of going to the moon. But in 1961, President John F. Kennedy set America firmly on that path with this challenge: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth.” Scientists had a lot to figure out—including how to build rockets powerful enough for the journey, how to land on the moon for the first time, and, of course, how to keep the astronauts safe. No one was sure it could be done, but Americans were determined to try. “ We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard.”— President John F. Kennedy Think about…John F. Kennedy’s quote above. What are the difficult things we, as a nation, should be challenging ourselves to accomplish in the next decade?
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Space Headquarters The U.S. government agency in charge of all things space is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration—which we all call NASA. For the moon landing, NASA researched and planned the missions, hired the experts, trained the astronauts, and built the rockets and launch pads. NASA has many locations, but the two big ones in the story are Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas (where NASA manages the space missions and which is called “Houston” in the play’s radio communications), and Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida (the main rocket launch area). Explore more…about NASA (and play some fun games, too) at NASA Kids’ Club: nasa.gov/kidsclub
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The Rocket Scientists Getting a rocket to the moon takes the knowledge and hard work of a big team. Thousands of scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and astronauts collaborated to design, build, and fly the spaceships and lunar modules. Among them were hundreds of black women mathematicians at NASA’s Langley Research Center. Reliable supercomputers hadn’t been built yet, so the mathematicians calculated everything from trajectories to reentry angles. Their talents and efforts made the space program possible. Real-life mathematician Katherine Johnson, whose work was essential for the Apollo 11 mission, inspired the character of Andrea’s mother in the play. And, of course, the characters of Neil and Rick Armstrong are based on the real-life astronaut and his son. Talk about…what role (such as mathematician or astronaut) you would like to play on a space mission, and why.
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Into Space and …Whoa! Before sending Apollo 11 to the moon, NASA did lots of tests with different crews. In one flight testing the rocket’s ability to orbit the moon, the astronauts steered their ship around the moon and saw something unexpectedly spectacular—the Earth rising up beyond the moon’s surface: The photo they took became known as Earthrise, and seeing Earth from the moon for the first time surprised everyone. This change of perspective inspired many people to think of their home planet differently and try to take better care of Earth. Discuss…why the performance is called Earthrise. What happened when Andrea, Rick, and Sophia saw Earth in a new way? How did the play help you see history and your home planet in a new way? “ The Earthrise concept serves as a really good blend of what being an earthling is about, what the moon landing is about, and what the time period is about.” — Earthrise playwright Lauren Gunderson
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The Eagle Has Landed On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11’s lunar module, using the call sign “Eagle,” landed on the moon. More than 500 million people around the world watched the live television broadcast as Neil Armstrong walked on the lunar surface. It might be hard to imagine today, but this super-ambitious “moonshot” was a huge deal. It showed what American imagination and technological know-how could achieve and united people in celebrating an amazing feat of human exploration. Notice that in the performance, some of the images projected around the theater come from actual NASA footage of the mission. Interview…your family members who remember the moon landing for the NASA Apollo oral history project. nasa.gov/apollostories “ That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” — Astronaut Neil Armstrong, as he took his first steps on the moon in July 1969.
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Beyond Apollo 11 After Apollo 11, Americans went to the moon five more times through 1972. Since then, among other projects, NASA has conducted the space shuttle program, helped build and run the International Space Station, and launched uncrewed space flights to explore deeper into space. NASA plans to return astronauts to the moon within five years and send them to Mars for the first time in the 2030s. Explore…current and planned space missions and choose one to follow this year: go.nasa.gov/2MS4lHc Imagine…having less gravity! Gravity is the invisible force that keeps everything on the ground here on Earth. But the moon’s gravity is less than half as strong—so you bounce higher and stopping can be hard. This short video helps explain it: binged.it/2xc1Ox7. Now try moving as if you were an astronaut on the moon.
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Telling the Story in a Play Here we are 50 years later. How do we appreciate and tell this story when we know how it ended? That challenge fell to playwright Lauren Gunderson, who wrote the play (and loves telling stories about science). Seeing the mission through the eyes of 12-year-old kids captured her imagination, and she decided telling it that way would help bring the drama, heart, and soul of this historic event to life. The story celebrates science, technology, and art, and also includes some big ideas and themes: w Changing perspective helps us learn w Barriers to accomplishment can be broken w Science can be artistic and art can be scientific w Collaboration and determination help us achieve our goals Talk about…an example of each of these ideas from the show—then think about examples of these ideas in your own life.
Be a Playwright Interested in writing plays? Here’s some advice from Lauren, who wrote her first play when she was 14 years old. 1. See as much theater as you can. 2. Perform in plays and take improv (improvisation, or making something up on the spot) classes. 3. Read scripts aloud. 4. Read fiction and nonfiction books and plays, including books by and interviews with playwrights about writing. 5. Talk with theater professionals. 6. Write! The more you do it, the more you learn.
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Taking Us to Space Through Songs Telling this story with songs helps communicate ideas and feelings in an even bigger way than words could alone. Working together, lyricist Kait Kerrigan wrote the lyrics (words) and composer Brian Lowdermilk wrote the music to the five songs in the performance. Think back to the songs from the show and discuss what ideas, feelings, and actions they helped communicate: “When I Look Up” “Escape Velocity” “The Longest Distance” “Earthrise” “Rocket” Imagine…if you could add a song to this story, what would it be about? Would it be fast or slow? Why? Try writing a few lines and humming or singing parts of it. “ The coolest part [about composing music] is that you can get music stuck in people’s heads [and] it’s all math! It’s all just patterns, taking small phrases and playing them out in ways that are repetitive and also surprising.” — Composer Brian Lowdermilk
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Making the Impossible Possible—On Stage Getting the story ready to blast off the stage and into your imagination takes the skills and collaboration of a whole team. Besides the playwright, lyricist, and composer, the theater team includes: w the director, who uses the words and songs to create the world and experience you see on stage w the actors, who play the roles of the characters w the set, projections, lighting, sound, and costume designers who plan all the objects, images, lighting effects, sound effects, and costumes that bring the world and action of the story to life. Talk about…how each of these elements made the story more real and exciting to you. Which role would you like to play on this team, and why?
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Imagine…a new set piece, projection, or costume to add to this show and draw or make a model of it. Share it with friends or family and explain why you chose it.
Your Human Journey One last thing before liftoff. Earthrise is a story about humans exploring space, their world, and their hopes and dreams. That idea of exploration fits with a big theme for Kennedy Center shows this year. It’s called “the human journey” and through storytelling, it helps us better understand all the ways people move, change, and grow. “ We have theater because we need to know humans; we need to know each other.” — Playwright Lauren Gunderson Think about…how Earthrise reflects the idea of exploration. Listen for…playwright Lauren Gunderson’s thoughts on the “human journey” aspects of Earthrise in this short video: youtu.be/tlfW5AOVY5c Remember…these words from the last song, “Rocket”: “How far can you go? Until you try, you’ll never really know.” So, how far do you want to go, and how will you get there? Write a short story about or draw a picture of yourself achieving that dream, and share these ideas with friends and family.
Now…we have LIFTOFF!
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Grownups—More to Explore! We hope you and your young theatergoers enjoyed the show and exploring this performance guide together. Here are suggestions and additional resources for continuing to engage with the ideas of the performance.
• What They Said Get insights into creating a brand new play with music and projections through these interviews with some members of the creative team. The interviews also offer persepectives on the value of theater and different aspects of theater work. And don’t miss Lauren Gunderson’s tips for fostering young children’s interest in creating their own stories. Find the following interviews at bit.ly/EarthriseKC Telling the Heart and Soul of a True Story (Playwright Lauren Gunderson) Where Songs Should Go (Lyricist Kait Kerrigan) Making Memorable Music (with Math!) (Composer Brian Lowdermilk) How Projections Can Transform Our Experiences (Projections Designer Patrick Lord)
• Space Art Contest for Kids Engage both the artistic and scientific sensibilities of your young theatergoers by helping them plan to participate in the NASA Langley Research Center Student Art Contest. The theme for the next annual contest will be announced in November 2019 and submissions will be accepted for grades K–12 from December 1–31. For last year’s contest details and submitted art as well as updates for the next contest, see: artcontest.larc.nasa.gov/
• Explore Space Through Local Planetariums
Rock Creek Park Planetarium: nps.gov/rocr/planyourvisit/planetarium.htm
Albert Einstein Planetarium in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: airandspace.si.edu/theater-type/albert-einstein-planetarium
University of Maryland Observatory (best for older kids and those wanting to use telescopes): astro.umd.edu/openhouse/
Arlington Public Schools David M. Brown Planetarium: apsva.us/planetarium-overview/
• Delve Into More Science at Regional Space and Science Museums
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: airandspace.si.edu/
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: airandspace.si.edu/udvar-hazy-center
The National Geographic Museum: nationalgeographic.org/events/visit/
Maryland Science Center: mdsci.org
KID Museum: kid-museum.org/
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• Go Deeper Into History For in-depth ideas to share and discuss with young theatergoers, you’ll find many fascinating articles and videos online about all aspects of the moon mission and the space program. A few for starters: “Apollo 8’s Earthrise: The Shot Seen Round the World,” an article looking at the history of the Earthrise photograph; young theatergoers might especially enjoy the accompanying 4-minute narrated video featuring NASA footage: nytimes.com/2018/12/21/science/earthrise-moon-apollo-nasa.html “The Oral History of Apollo 11,” an article featuring the actual words of people involved in the mission, offering a window to the many roles people play in the space program: popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a4248/oral-history-apollo-11/ “The True Story of ‘Hidden Figures,’ the Forgotten Women Who Helped Win the Space Race,” a look at the story of the black women mathematicians and how they quietly broke social barriers while making historic space exploration possible: smithsonianmag.com/history/forgotten-black-women-mathematicians-who-helped-win-wars-andsend-astronauts-space-180960393/ “The Decision to Go to the Moon,” a quick NASA History Office overview of the Cold War and other factors affecting President Kennedy’s decision to send Americans to the moon. history.nasa.gov/moondec.html “Earthrise: Celebrating the Photograph That Changed (How We View) the World,” a 90-minute scholarly discussion hosted by the Library of Congress that might interest you and older theatergoers as it delves into the artistic, scientific, historical, and environmental impacts of the Earthrise photograph: loc.gov/item/webcast-8710/
Earthrise is part of the Kennedy Center’s Human Journey representing Exploration. www.kennedy-center.org/humanjourney The Human Journey is a collaboration between The Kennedy Center, National Geographic Society, and the National Gallery of Art, which invites audiences to investigate the powerful experiences of migration, exploration, identity, and resilience through the lenses of the performing arts, science, and visual art.
David M. Rubenstein Chairman Deborah F. Rutter President Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education
Additional support for Earthrise is provided by A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Anne and Chris Reyes; and the U.S. Department of Education. Funding for Access and Accommodation Programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program. Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts. The contents of this Guide have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. ©2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
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