Study Guide: The 39 Steps

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Study Guide Objectives This study guide serves as a classroom tool for teachers and students, and addresses the following Connecticut curriculum standards for grades K-12: • English Language Arts o 2.4: Exploring and Responding to Literature. Students recognize that readers and authors are influenced by individual, social, cultural, and historical contexts.

• Theatre o 5: Researching and Interpreting. Students will research, evaluate and apply cultural and historical information to make artistic choices. o 6: Connections. Students will make connections between theatre, other disciplines and daily life. o 7: Analysis, Criticism and Meaning. Students will analyze, critique, and construct meanings from works of theatre.

Guidelines for Attending the Theatre Attending live theatre is a unique experience with many valuable educational and social benefits.

To ensure that all audience members are able to enjoy the performance, please take a few minutes to discuss the following audience etiquette topics with your students before you come to Hartford Stage.

• How is attending the theatre similar to and different from going to the movies? What behaviors are and are not appropriate when seeing a play? Why? o Remind students that because the performance is live, the audience can affect what kind of performance the actors give. No two audiences are exactly the same and no two performances are exactly the same—this is part of what makes theatre so special!

Students’ behavior should reflect the level of performance they wish to see.

• Theatre should be an enjoyable experience for the audience. It is absolutely all right to applaud when appropriate and laugh at the funny moments. Talking and calling out during the performance, however, are not allowed. Why might this be? o Be sure to mention that not only would the people seated around them be able to hear their conversation, but the actors on stage could hear them, too. Theatres are constructed to carry sound efficiently!

• Any noise or light can be a distraction, so please remind students to make sure their cell phones are turned off (or better yet, left at home or at school!). Texting, photography, and video recording are prohibited. Food and gum should not be taken into the theatre.

• Students should sit with their group as seated by the Front of House staff and should not leave their seats once the performance has begun. If possible, restrooms should be used only during intermission.

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WHO DUNNIT? THE AUTHOR: JOHN BUCHAN John Buchan was born in Perth, Scotland, in 1875. The oldest of five children, Buchan attended Glasgow University where he defrayed the cost of his tuition by writing essays for the Glasgow University Magazine. He studied law on a scholarship at Brasenose College at Oxford University, and after a few years as an apprentice in London law firms, began his career in government as a personal secretary to Lord Milner, the High Commissioner of South Africa. He was later elected as a member of parliament in 1927 and was appointed Governor General of Canada and given the title of Baron Tweedsmuir. Buchan also spent time in 1915 as a writer for the British War Propaganda Bureau and as a war correspondent for The Times newspaper, which coincided with his work on The 39 Steps from 1914-1915. Buchan’s career both as a writer and government employee at this time and in the years that followed centered on information, deception, and mystery, all themes that were easily recognizable to his WWI British audience. He served as Director of Information and Director of Intelligence for Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s administration before moving to Canada where he lived until his death in 1940. A prolific writer throughout his lifetime, Buchan published nearly 100 books, 40 of which were works of fiction.

Notable Works: The 39 Steps (1915), Witchwood (1927), The Island of Sheep (1936)

THE FILMMAKER: ALFRED HITCHCOCK “Master of Suspense” Alfred Hitchcock was born in London in 1899, the youngest of three children. He studied at the University of London and worked for a telegraph company and in advertising after graduation. His career in film began when the film industry itself was just beginning in the early 1920s, when he wrote title cards for the British division of the Famous Players-Lasky Company (the precursor of Paramount Studios) and wrote scenes for the Gainsborough Film Studios. Fascinated by the subject of guilt, Hitchcock began directing his own films, including The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and The 39 Steps (1935), both of which tell a story about ordinary people who become entangled in a plot involving spies and espionage. After moving to Hollywood, California, in 1939, Hitchcock directed his most famous works and became known for psychological dramas that blended struggles between good and evil with violence, wry humor, and sex. He also made a trademark cameo appearance in all of his films, beginning with 1938’s The Lady Vanishes, in which his image appears in silhouette. He received the American Film Institute (AFI) Lifetime Achievement Award in 1979, the same year he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. He died in California in 1980.

Notable Works: The 39 Steps (1935), Strangers on a Train (1951), Rear Window (1954), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963) 4

THE PLAYWRIGHT: PATRICK BARLOW Patrick Barlow is an English actor, director, and writer. As one of the founders of the two-man National Theatre of Brent, Barlow regularly plays the role of NTOB Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Desmond Olivier Dingle. With NTOB, he has written and performed in more than twenty productions for stage, television, and radio. He has worked extensively as a film and television screenwriter and actor, writing screenplays for a variety of British television series and movies, and making dozens of appearances on television and film. His fourperson adaptation of The 39 Steps premiered in June 2005 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. A revised production premiered in 2006 at London’s Tricycle Theatre and was billed as John Buchan’s The 39 Steps.

This production transferred to the Criterion Theatre in London’s West End before having its American premiere at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, MA, in 2007. Billed in the United States as Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, the play has been produced on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and in resident theatres around the country. It has also been produced internationally in Spain, France, Australia, Brazil, and Hong Kong. The play won the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and the 2008 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience, and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play in 2008.

Notable Works: Revolution!! (National Theatre of Brent, 1989), The Mysteries of Sex (National Theatre of Brent, 1997), The 39 Steps (2005), The Arts and How They Was Done (National Theatre of Brent, 2007)

The poster from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film.

Posters from the play’s London productions at the West Yorkshire Playhouse (2005) and Criterion Theatre (2006).

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TIMELINE OF HISTORICAL EVENTS •

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October 1908—With Germany’s support, AustriaHungary annexes BosniaHerzegovina. In support of the Serbian minority living in Bosnia, Serbia voices its opposition to annexation.

1910—Germany surpasses Great Britain as Europe’s leading manufacturing nation.

October 1912—The Balkan War erupts, in which the Balkan League (Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece) seeks to drive the Turks out of Europe by fighting against the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire.

May 1913—The Balkan War ends and the Turks are driven out of southern Europe.

Former Turkish areas are divided up among the Balkan League nations. Wanting a larger share, Bulgaria attacks Greece and Serbia. Romania and the Turks attack Bulgaria.

The Second Balkan War results in Bulgaria losing territory.

1914-1915—John Buchan writes The 39 Steps.

June 28, 1914—The heir to the Austrian throne is assassinated. The assassin is believed to be a Serbian national.

July 25, 1914—AustriaHungary severs diplomatic ties with Serbia.

July 26, 1914—Germany refuses to participate in a British-sponsored political conference intended to solve the dispute between AustriaHungary and Serbia.

July 28, 1914—World War I begins when the AustroHungarian Empire declares

Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps...

WHO?

A clandestine international spy organization . . . A debonair hero . . .

A mysterious woman . . . A villainous recluse with top secret information . . .

In total, more than 150 characters played by four actors. One plays Richard Hannay and another plays the roles of three women, which means that the two other actors portray dozens of men, women, and inanimate objects, sometimes switching between two or more characters within the same scene! The following is a partial list of the characters that appear in the play.

Actor #1

Richard Hannay— The dashing hero at the center of the story, Hannay is bored with life in London and seeking entertainment. After he is wrongfully accused of murder, he goes on an incredible adventure throughout Great Britain as he tries to evade the authorities.

Robert Donat as Hannay and Madeleine Carroll as Pamela in Alfred Hitchcock’s film.

Actor #2 • Annabella Schmidt—A mysterious German spy who meets Hannay at the theatre and convinces him to take her home with him. The morning after she tells Hannay a deadly secret concerning an organization called “The 39 Steps,” she turns up murdered in his apartment.

• Pamela—A beautiful woman Hannay meets on a train as he is pursued by the police.

• Margaret—The wife of a farmer who allows Hannay to spend the

night. Married to a man with a violent temper and a jealous nature, Margaret flirts with Hannay before helping him escape out a window and into the dark when the police are nearby.

Actors #3 and #4 (referred to in the script as the “Two Clowns”) • Mr. Memory—A performer at the London Palladium with a photographic memory who entertains audiences by answering questions and reciting facts.

• Professor Jordan—An Englishman living in Scotland who knows crucial information about The 39 Steps and its mission.

• Mrs. Jordan—The Professor’s wife.

• Sheriff—Head of the local law enforcement who is a friend of the Jordans and is ignorant of their dubious nature.

• Mr. and Mrs. McGarrigle— S c o t t i s h innkeepers who, believing Hannay and Pamela to be newly married, rent them a room for the night.

When a pair of Catherine McCormack, Charles Edwards, Simon Gregor and Rupert Degas in the London producthugs arrives, tion of The 39 Steps. Photo by Tristram Kenton. searching for Hannay and Pamela, Mrs. McGarrigle keeps their presence a secret.

• Heavies, Milkman, Underwear Salesmen, Paperboy, Pilots, Policemen, Inspectors, and others.

Questions: • Describe the character of Richard Hannay. What personal qualities does he possess? Do these qualities make him a likely or unlikely hero? Why? • Why do you think adapter Patrick Barlow chose for Annabella, Pamela, and Margaret to be played by the same actress, but for the other female characters to be played by the two clowns?

• What unique performance challenges do actors face when playing more than one character?

• Name some other plays in which actors are called on to play multiple characters. Why do playwrights choose for multiple characters to be played by one actor?

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war on Serbia. Other countries are quickly drawn into the conflict due to mutual defense treaties.

Fall 1914—The Western front is established as Germany attacks France and Belgium. The Eastern front is established as Russia attacks Germany and AustriaHungary, and AustriaHungary attacks Serbia.

Winter 1914-15—The Ottoman Empire enters the war, convinced by Germany that it has been attacked by Russia.

1915—The Allies (led by France, Great Britain, and Russia) move against the Ottoman Empire.

1916-1917—Trench warfare on both the Eastern and Western fronts.

April 1917—Angry over unprovoked attacks on its ships, the United States enters the war by declaring war on Germany. Russia pulls out of the war due to the Bolshevik Revolution.

Winter 1917-Spring 1918— Germany begins to fall back after losing a few battles. An outbreak of influenza wreaks havoc on both sides.

Fall 1918—World War I ends when the nations of the Central Powers sign armistice agreements.

November 11, 1918— Germany is the last of the Central Powers to sign an armistice agreement.

April 28, 1919—The League of Nations is founded.

June 28, 1919—The Treaty of Versailles is signed.

Germany is punished with economic reparations, territory losses, and military restrictions.

July 29, 1921—Adolph Hitler is named leader of

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the National Socialist (Nazi) Party.

July 18, 1925—Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.

September 8, 1926— Germany is admitted to the League of Nations.

October 24-29, 1929—Wall Street Stock Market crash sparks the Great Depression.

November 8, 1932—Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected President of the United States.

January 30, 1933—Adolph Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.

March 12, 1933—The first concentration camp is opened at Oranienburg outside Berlin.

April 1, 1933—The Nazis boycott Jewish-owned shops.

June 1933—The Dachau concentration camp is opened.

July 14, 1933—The Nazi Party is declared Germany’s only political party.

October 14, 1933—Germany leaves the League of Nations and begins rearming.

August 19, 1934—Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany.

1935—Alfred Hitchcock directs his film adaptation of The 39 Steps.

March 16, 1935—Hitler violates the Versailles Treaty by introducing military conscription in Germany.

April 11, 1935—The Stresa Conference takes place, in which representatives from Great Britain, France, and Italy meet to discuss German rearmament and form a united front against Hitler.

August 1935—The setting of Patrick Barlow’s version of The 39 Steps.

September 15, 1935—German Jews are stripped of rights by

WHAT? “There’s been a murder committed on the first floor . . . By those two men over there . . .

WRONGFUL ACCUSATION

When Annabella Schmidt is murdered in Richard Hannay’s apartment, Hannay knows that he will be accused of the crime. He is certain that The 39 Steps, a covert organization that, according to Annabella, is bent on stealing British government secrets, is actually responsible. He decides that the only way he can exonerate himself is to travel to Alt na Shellach, a town in the moors of Scotland where Annabella directed him to go with her dying words, in hopes of exposing The 39 Steps’ agenda.

Hannay’s plan, however, meets many unexpected obstacles, and before long, Hannay finds himself hunted by both the police, who want him in connection with Annabella’s murder, and The 39 Steps, who seem to believe that he knows too much and fear he will reveal their mission.

The theme of an innocent man wrongly accused is at the center of the plot in both Patrick Barlow’s stage adaptation and Alfred Hitchcock’s film of The 39 Steps, as well as in many of Hitchcock’s other films. John Buchan’s original novel, set against the backdrop of World War I, was a natural fit for Hitchcock’s aesthetic. It possesses many of the same themes, such as that of the hunted innocent pursued by forces of both good and evil, that define the mystery-thriller genre that was Hitchcock’s specialty.

. . . It’s quite true. I tell you, they’re spies, foreigners. They’ve murdered a woman in my flat and now they’re waiting for me.”

—Richard Hannay (Act I, Scene 5) Questions: • What other films, books, and plays deal with wrongful accusation?

Why is this kind of story compelling? What kind of emotional impact does the story have when the guilty party is brought to justice? When the guilty party is NOT brought to justice?

• What is suspense? How do writers, directors, and actors create suspense on stage and screen?

SPYCRAFT AND DISGUISE

The book, film, and stage versions of The 39 Steps all revolve around a clandestine organization on a mission to steal government secrets. Espionage of this kind requires extreme secrecy, which agents sometimes achieve by adopting disguises and false identities. Professor Jordan, a member of The 39 Steps, has disguised himself as an upstanding resident of Alt na Shellach, and has even befriended the local sheriff.

When confronted by Richard Hannay, Professor Jordan acknowledges that his “whole existence could be jeopardized if it became known” that he is not what he seems (I, 17). It soon becomes clear that everything about the Professor’s identity, down to the accent of his speech, is part of an elaborate disguise that allows him to work undetected as a spy.

Even Hannay himself is forced to resort to disguises to avoid detection, as he takes on the identities of a milkman, a political candidate, and a newly married man, and even uses an assumed name when introducing himself.

the Nuremberg Race Laws.

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HANNAY: A beautiful mysterious woman pursued by gunmen.

Sounds like a spy story.

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ANNABELLA: That’s exactly what it is. Only I prefer the word ‘agent’ better.

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HANNAY: ‘Secret agent’ I suppose? For which country.

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ANNABELLA: I have no country.

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HANNAY: Born in a balloon, eh?

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ANNABELLA: Do not joke Mr. Hannay! I am being pursued by a very brilliant agent of a certain foreign power who is on the point of obtaining highly confidential information VITAL to your air defence.

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(Act I, Scene 3) •

In Patrick Barlow’s stage adaptation, disguise as a form of spycraft appears not only as a plot element, but as a performance device that adds layers of humor and mystery. The play functions as a spy story on multiple levels because three of the four actors portray more than one role. As they switch from character to character, sometimes changing multiple times within a single scene, each new identity is a clue that no one is exactly who they seem to be.

October 2, 1935—Italy invades Ethiopia.

August 1, 1936—Olympic games begin in Berlin.

August 25, 1939—Great Britain and Poland sign a mutual defense treaty.

August 31, 1939—British troops mobilize as civilian evacuations begin.

September 1, 1939—Nazis invade Poland.

September 3, 1939—Great Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand declare war on Germany.

September 5, 1939—The United States proclaims neutrality.

September 4, 1939—The British Royal Air Force attacks the German Navy.

September 10, 1939—Canada declares war on Germany.

September 17, 1939—Soviets invade Poland.

September 27, 1939— Warsaw surrenders to the Nazis.

October 1939—Nazis begin euthanizing the sick and disabled in Germany.

November 30, 1939—Soviets attack Finland.

December 14, 1939—The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations.

January 8, 1940—Food rationing begins in Great Britain.

Questions: • Other than spies, what kinds of people might use a disguise or an assumed name? Why? • What real-life spies have made news in the past 100 years? What were their missions? How did their true identities become publicly known?

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WHERE? England and Scotland—combined with Wales make up Great Britain. These three countries are connected on one island in the northern Atlantic Ocean, and together with Northern Ireland, form the United Kingdom.

In Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Richard Hannay travels throughout England and Scotland as he tries to thwart a mysterious plot to steal British military secrets while eluding the authorities who want to arrest him for murder. Track his path on the map below. = Travel by train

The Highlands

SCOTLAND

= Travel by other means

Loch Crimond

Alt na Shellach Inverary

Edinburgh

NORTHERN IRELAND

Berwick-upon-Tweed Durham Halifax

IRELAND

ENGLAND WALES

London

Questions: • Research the relationship between the countries of England and Scotland. How did they become politically affiliated? How do people from one country view those from the other country? Do they hold any stereotypes about each other?

• What are the major industries of England and Scotland? What kinds of products do they export? What businesses and corporations are based there? What are each country’s major cultural contributions?

What artists and artworks do they boast?

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WHEN? “London. 1935. August. I’d been back three months in the old country and frankly wondering why.

The weather made me liverish, no exercise to speak of and the talk of the ordinary Englishman man made me sick. I’d had enough of restaurants and parties and race meetings . . . Dropped into my club. Full of old colonial buffers. Had a scotch and soda, picked up an evening paper, put it back.

Full of elections and wars and rumours of wars.” —Richard Hannay (Act I, Scene 1)

The 1930s were a time of technological advances in London, particularly in the field of transportation. Means of travel were transitioning away from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles and trains. The manufacturing and engineering industries kept the city of London economically afloat while a far-reaching depression (known in England as The Great Slump) killed jobs and bankrupted businesses elsewhere. In the early 30s, England as a whole had still not fully recovered from the effects of World War I, after which countries previously dependent on products made in Britain ramped up their own manufacturing outputs, thereby reducing demand for British exports. The primary means of survival for millions of workers was an unemployment called “the dole.” As the decade went on, however, new industries such as electrical, chemical, and automotive manufacturing began to take hold, and British-colonized nations, including Canada and South Africa, provided an increased market for British exports.

Fears of fascism and concerns about a looming war with Nazi Germany, however, compounded Great Britain’s economic challenges. Focused on domestic challenges, the British government hoped the League of Nations would The font page of the London Herald newspaper on maintain peace in Europe. This hope did little to ease October 25, 1929. the paranoia of the citizenry, who feared that Fascists and Communists were living among them as the German Chancellor Adolph Hitler and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini used their armies to invade and seize control of countries in Africa and Central and Eastern Europe. Britain finally entered World War II when it declared war on Germany in 1939.

Questions: • Compare and contrast the 1930s in England with the 1930s in the United States. What were the major economic, social, and political concerns of each country? What steps did each country take to alleviate the financial strain on its citizens? Were these steps successful? Why or why not?

• What cultural events occurred during this decade? What were the popular forms of entertainment?

What fashions were popular?

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WHY? After considering that the plot of The 39 Steps revolves around an accusation of murder and a secret spy organization with sinister motives, it is perfectly logical to wonder why it would be described as a comedy. A summary of the play’s major events doesn’t seem very funny at all. Yet Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps brings the laughs with every twist and turn of its fast-paced plot.

PASTICHE

According to the World English Dictionary, a pastiche is defined as “a work of art that mixes styles, materials, etc.” or “a work of art that imitates the style of another artist or period.” Pastiches are often created as a satirical take on the original artwork.

Both John Buchan’s original book and Alfred Hitchcock’s film are serious in tone and have been major influences on similar works in their respective mediums. Patrick Barlow’s stage adaptation of The 39 Steps, however, satirizes the principles of spy fiction and psychological thrillers by exaggerating their conventions and utilizing a stylized approach to performance.

Plot devices commonly found in spy fiction and thrillers include: • Espionage involving government secrets.

• False accustations in which a person is blamed for a crime that he or she did not commit.

• Kidnappings in which a person is abducted or taken against his or her will.

• Chase Scenes where an individual is closely pursued by others.

• Clearly defined Heroes and Villains.

• Tension that builds toward a Climax in which the hero is trapped and escape seems

impossible.

STYLIZED COMEDY PERFORMANCE

The following highly physical elements of farce are all utilized in Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps: • Slapstick—Actions that include exaggerated noise and effect. Slapstick gives the appearance of reality and focuses on physical responses rather than emotional or intellectual ones. It frequently involves high energy, violent actions, stunts, and/ or bawdy humor.

• Highly Physical Action—“Hectic physical movement usually ending in some form of disequilibrium: the reduction of dignity or a bringing down to size” (Harrop and Epstein, p.

136).

• Repetition—Movements or events that happen more than once. Repeated occurrences or images frequently happen three times building in intensity (the snowball effect) or two times in a row followed by a pause, and then a third repetition for emphasis.

• Exaggeration—Reactions that are extreme and out of proportion to what prompted them.

• Aggression—Extreme forcefulness as characters go to absurd lengths to pursue objectives with intense physical manifestations.

• Inversion—Reversals of what is normal.

• Outwitting—Characters maneuvering to overcome obstacles using disguises, hiding places, impersonations, etc.

• Breaking the Fourth Wall—The actor acknowledges the audience’s presence and addresses them directly with a look, wink, smile, or even a comment about the onstage action.

Patrick Barlow’s adaptation of The 39 Steps can be classified as a farce due to both the play’s structure and the stylized performance it demands of the actors.

“A farce plot is a thread linking comic situations. It Questions: is a pretext to pull the strings of human puppets.

• Why do artists imitate existing works of art?

The playwright raises storms of banter and arrays of • What is the difference between adaptation traps so that men may be cheated of their desires and and pastiche? How is Patrick Barlow’s version of revealed in their folly” (Harrop and Epstein, p. 136).

The 39 Steps both?

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ACTING WITH PROPS

Richard Hannay pulls blind down. It snaps back. Pulls it down. It snaps back. Pulls it down. It stays. Hannay walks away. The blind snaps back. He grabs it, pulls it down and wedges it ferociously. (Act I, Scene 3)

The use of props for comic business is a popular performance technique in farce. The moment described in the stage directions above is just one of the instances in Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps in which difficulty with objects generates comedy in the scene.

Gather a dozen or more everyday objects. Ask students to sit in a circle and place the objects in the middle. A volunteer selects an object and performs a short activity demonstrating its normal use. Then, the volunteer should perform the activity a second time but with a problem or complication that produces a comic reaction.

Tips: • Exaggerate! Even if the problem with the object is a simple one, the reaction to it and efforts to fix

it should be larger than life.

• Get physical! The body should be used as much as possible both as a means of expressing frustration with the object and as a tool for solving the problem.

• Be aggressive! No holding back allowed! Performers should attack the problem with the same ferocity that Hannay attacks the window blind.

PHYSICALITY

Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps includes more than 150 characters, intended to be played by a cast of four. When actors are required to play so many characters, their physical acting skills are vitally important.

Adopting a unique physicality for each character helps the audience to differentiate between them.

Students can explore physical acting by first analyzing their own unique movements. As a group, begin to walk around the room at a normal pace, not speaking or making eye contact with anyone.

Remind students: • Be sure to maintain awareness of those around you to avoid bumping into anyone. Change directions frequently. If everyone seems to be walking in a circle in the same direction, go a different way!

• As they walk, ask students to focus on how they are moving. Ask them: o Do you naturally lead with a particular part of your body? o What part of your foot hits the ground first? o Do your feet come high off the ground or do they shuffle? o Is your back straight and tall or does it slump forward or off to one side? o Does your head tilt down or face straight ahead? o How much or how little do your hips sway? o Do your arms swing?

• Students should then choose one aspect of their movement and exaggerate it as they move. How is the rest of the body impacted?

• Return to normal walking then take on each of the following physical traits one at a time while observing how the rhythms and qualities of the movement changed: o Feet have doubled in size. o Nose is a foot long.

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o Legs are two feet longer. o Arms are so long that the hands brush the floor. o Toes are missing from one foot. o Knees are locked. o Elbows are locked. o One arm weighs 100 pounds.

• As a group, discuss the experience of altering movement by exaggerating one dominant trait. Did any of the ways of moving call to mind a particular kind of person or situation? Ask a few volunteers to demonstrate either how they altered their own way of walking or adopted one of the suggested physical qualities.

• Instruct students to begin moving around the room as a group again. This time, they should adopt a walk that reflects each of the following characters from Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps: o A spy trying to avoid detection. o A thug who means business. o An elderly housekeeper. o A police officer in pursuit of a fugitive. o A farmer with a violent temper. o A shy country girl who is under her husband’s control. o A well-respected professor with a dark secret.

CREATIVE WRITING—PASTICHE

A genre is a categorization of a work of art based upon its content, form, or technique. We frequently think of literature and film in terms of genre. For example, both John Buchan’s novel and Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation of The 39 Steps can be placed in the “thriller” genre. When a pastiche, or satiric imitation of a work, is created, the genre frequently changes. For example, Patrick Barlow reimagined The 39 Steps as a farce, and the comedic Scary Movie films are pastiches of the horror genre.

• As a class, brainstorm as many different examples of genres as possible. What elements or conventions characterize works from each genre?

• Brainstorm a list of pastiches found in film, television, music, and art. How were the works of art changed from the original?

• Ask students to work in pairs or groups to choose a familiar folk or fairytale. To what genre does the tale belong? What elements or conventions in the tale indicate its genre?

• Students should next choose a genre that they feel is very different from the genre of the tale they selected. Next, rewrite the tale as a pastiche by incorporating elements from the new genre.

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Merriman, C.D. “John Buchan - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss.” The Literature Network: Online Classic Literature, Poems, and Quotes. Essays & Summaries. Jalic, Inc., 2005. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://www.online-literature.com/john-buchan/>.

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“NTOB.” National Theatre of Brent. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://www. nationaltheatreofbrent.com/ntob.html>.

“Patrick Barlow - IMDb.” The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). IMDb.com, Inc. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0055271/>.

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on World War I (1914–1919).” SparkNotes. com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.

“United Kingdom / Great Britain.” School of GeoSciences. The University of Edinburgh, 25 Nov. 2009. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/ home/scotland/britain.html>.

Wikipedia contributors. “The 39 Steps (play).” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 7 Mar. 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2011.

Wikipedia contributors. “Thriller (genre).” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Mar. 2011. Web. 11 Mar. 2011.

Williams, Peter N. “History of England, The 20th Century.” Narrative History of England. Britannia: British History and Travel. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <http:// www.britannia.com/history/nar20hist2.html>.

Contributing Editor Alexandra Truppi, Education Assistant With Contributions by Jennifer Roberts, Director of Education