Creede Repertory Theatre’s 2013 Young Audience Outreach Tour presents…
¡Viva Agua! Long Live Water!
Play by John DiAntonio Music by Joe Montelione Illustration by Mathew McFarren
Study Guide + Activity Packet www.creederep.org/719-‐658-‐2540
Table of Contents
Theatre Etiquette………………………………………………. 3
Backstage………………………………………………………. 4
Backstage Word Scramble……………………………… 5
Words to Know………………………………………………… 6
Words to Know Crossword Puzzle……………………... 7 Interview with the actors…..………………………………….. 8 The Water Cycle…………………………………………………10
Create Your Own Water Cycle………………………….. 11 POST-‐SHOW ACTIVITIES……………………………………….. 12
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You play a part!! Seeing a play is a special treat for everyone. It’s not like seeing a movie or just sitting at home watching television. When you see a play, you are a part of it. Your responses and attention affect the actors, and the better you are as an audience member, the better the play will be!
1. Enjoy the performance! Anything can happen when people are creating a story right in front of you. Give them your attention. Listen and laugh when you see something funny, but don’t distract from the performance by yelling out or whistling. After all, the actors can hear you! 2. Don’t talk to your friends during the performance. After the show is the perfect time to talk about what you saw and felt. You may even get to talk to the performers about what you think. If you talk during the show, though, you will probably miss something BIG. 3. Stay in your seat. It is considered extremely rude to leave a performance unless it’s an emergency. 4. Save your food for after the show. Candy wrappers and other kinds of food make a lot of noise. And making a mess with your snack during a show is just GROSS. 5. APPLAUD AT THE END! This is your chance to thank the actors for their story, and it gives them a chance to see you and appreciate your good attention. 6. Take home memories. Every performance is unique. While you are watching, think of what makes it special to you. After the show, compare your thoughts with your classmates’ impressions. 3
Theatre is a collaborative art form. When people collaborate, they work together toward a common goal. Many people with different jobs work together to put a play on stage. Here are some of them:
The Playwright – The playwright is a special kind of storyteller who writes stories, or plays, to be acted out on stage. Playwrights usually only write down what characters are saying, or their dialogue.
The Director – Once a play has been written, a director steps in to put the play on stage. She/he chooses the actors to portray the characters in the play and works closely with designers to create the world of the play.
The Designers – Designers create the physical world of the play. The Costume Designer decides what the characters in the play will wear. The Set Designer decides what should be built on stage to represent the setting of the play. The Sound Designer chooses sound effects and music. The Lighting Designer hangs and focuses lighting instruments to portray the times of day, seasons, and dramatic moments in the play.
The Actors – It is the actors’ job to act out the play on stage. Actors play different characters in the story and sometimes those characters are quite different from the actor’s own life. So, an actor has to be very good at using her/his imagination.
The Stage Manager – The Stage Manager must make sure that everything is
running smoothly during play practice (called rehearsal) with the Director and Actors, with the building of the set and costumes, and during the performances of the play.
Run Crew – Run crew members are also called Stage Hands. They dress in black (so that they aren’t noticed by the audience) and help move scenery and props backstage during a show.
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Word Scramble!
Using the BLUE words from the BACKSTAGE section on the previous page, unscramble the jumbled words below.
RAOTC __ __ __ __ __ C R O E D I R T __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ L I G P A R Y H T W __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ G R D I N S E E __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ E T S A G H D N A __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
NMNATIAGIIO __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ LLAATCOEBOR __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ UMCSTEO __ __ __ __ __ __ __ EST __ __ __ ALOUDIEG __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
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Words to Know
¡Viva Agua! is a bilingual play written using both Spanish and English words including:
Words for Family:
Conversation Words:
Mis Hijas – My Daughters Niños – Children Hermana – Sister Hermano – Brother Familia – Family Amigos – Friends
¿Por que? – Why
Words in Nature:
El Vapor – The Vapor Las Nubes – The Clouds La Lluvia – The Rain El Rio – The River El Agua – The Water La Noche – The Night La Leche – The Milk La Comida – Food Las Montañas – The Mountains
Donde – Where Que – What Si – Yes Mira! – Look! Gracias – Thank You Adios – Goodbye Izquierda – Left Derecha – Right Domingo – Sunday Trabajo – Work Grande – Large Pequeño – Small
Words for Feelings:
Apurate – Hurry ¿Tienes miedo? – Are you scared? Lo siento – I’m sorry
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Words to Know
Fill in the puzzle with the Spanish translation of the English clues. If you get stuck, revisit the “Words to Know” section on the previous page.
ACROSS 3. Hurry 5. Clouds 6. Sunday 8. Milk 9. Thank You 12. Left 13. Friends 14. Sister 15. Food
DOWN 1. Where 2. Work 4. Why 7. Large 8. Rain 10. River 11. Look 13. Water
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Interview with
Mehry Eslaminia
Melissa Rivera
When did you start acting? MEHRY: My very first play was when I was 5 years old. I played a little tiny mouse in The Nutcracker, and ever since then I was hooked on theater! MELISSA: My first time in a show was in The Wizard of Oz when I was 10 years old. How did you know you wanted to become an actor? MEHRY: The very first time I REALLY knew I wanted to make my life about acting was when I played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz when I was 11 years old. It was the very first time I had a singing solo on stage, and I was sooooo nervous! But in the end, the applause and the congratulations from all my friends and family were totally worth it. That was the moment I knew that theater was what I wanted to do, always. MELISSA: I sang in many talent shows when I was a little girl and really liked being on stage, so becoming an actor just made sense Did you go to school for acting? MEHRY: Yes! I went to college for acting, and it was the most fun I've ever had in school. I got to learn all sorts of things like how to talk with different accents and even how to make my face look like an animal's face using stage make up! I love learning, so going to school for something I loved was the best experience ever. Now I can use what I learned in acting school in the real world of theater! MELISSA: I went to college for music, but I specialized in opera and musical theatre so I got a lot of acting training. I also took some classes outside of school.
CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE…
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What do you like most about acting? MEHRY: What I like most about acting is being able to tell stories as a completely different person. Don't worry, I love who I am in real life -‐ it's just so much fun to pretend to be someone else on stage! It allows me to live through different times, wear really cool costumes, and meet exciting new people. And maybe my acting can inspire other people to want to be actors as well, which I think is really great! MELISSA: It is really neat to become a character that is so different from me. I like working and sharing with other actors and I LOVE the butterflies I get in my stomach right before starting a performance! Describe your favorite moment as an actor. MEHRY: I've had so many favorite moments during my life as an actor, that it's really hard to choose just one! So, I'd have to say my favorite moment as an actor, is the moment I get to be in my entire costume for the very first time. That for me, is when the character really comes alive. MELISSA: My favorite moment was when I was playing the lead role in a musical and I got so into my character that I forgot the audience was there. What was your most embarrassing moment as an actor? MEHRY: My most embarrassing moment as an actor was in a musical I was in this past April. There was a lot of dancing, and in one song, I completely tripped over myself and went flying into the lap of someone sitting in the front row! The entire audience even gasped when I fell and some people even stood up to try and catch me. (Which was very nice of them.) It was so embarrassing! Luckily no one was hurt, and the play went on. MELISSA: I was dancing in a musical and my skirt fell off! What advice do you have for kids who want to become actors? MEHRY: My advice to anyone who wants to be an actor is to never give up. Sometimes it can be really scary, and sometimes you don't get the parts you want but just remember that if you work hard, it will always pay off! Keep your mind open and remember as an actor, your imagination is your best friend! MELISSA: Use your imagination and never let anyone make you feel like you are weird. Don't stop doing what you love.
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The Water Cycle
WATER takes many forms on the earth. It is a LIQUID when in the form of rain It is a SOLID when in the form of snow or ice It is a GAS when in the form of water vapor Evaporation – The change of a liquid into a vapor. Water evaporates from the surface of the ocean and the rivers and becomes water vapor in the air. It collects in the sky in the form of clouds. Condensation – The change of a gas or vapor into a liquid. When the water vapor in the clouds cools down it becomes a liquid again. Precipitation -‐ Any form of water, such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the earth's surface. Collection -‐ Rivers, lakes, oceans, wells, and underground aquifers collect the water that has fallen. Aquifer – a porous deposit of rock containing ground water that can be used to supply wells. http://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/htm/educator-‐resources/lessonplans/wc/
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Create Your Own
You will need: • a large metal or plastic bowl • a pitcher or bucket • a sheet of clear plastic wrap • a dry ceramic mug (like a coffee mug) • a long piece of string or large rubber band • water 1. Put the bowl in a sunny place outside. 2. Using the pitcher or bucket, pour water into the bowl until it is about ¼ full. 3. Place the mug in the center of the bowl. Be careful not to splash any water into it. 4. Cover the top of the bowl tightly with the plastic wrap. 5. Tie the string around the bowl to hold the plastic wrap in place. 6. Watch the bowl to see what happens.
The "mist" that forms on the plastic wrap will change into larger drops of water that will begin to drip. (You can speed up the dripping by carefully moving the bowl – don't splash! – into the shade.) When this happens, continue watching for a few minutes then carefully peel back the plastic. Is the coffee mug still empty? Water from the "ocean" of water in the bowl evaporated. It condensed to form misty "clouds" on the plastic wrap. When the clouds became saturated it "rained" into the mug! This experiment was taken from http://thewaterproject.org/resources/lesson-‐plans/create-‐a-‐mini-‐ water-‐cycle.php. You can find more information about The Water Project www.thewaterproject.org.
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POST-‐SHOW ACTIVITIES
WRITE A LETTER The actors in the play love hearing from you! You can send letters to: Creede Repertory Theatre Outreach Tour P.O. Box 269 Creede, CO 81130 Feel free to draw pictures, ask questions, and tell them your favorite part of the play!
LEARN THE SONGS IN THE PLAY After the performance, you will receive a booklet with the lyrics, or the words, to the songs in the play. Follow the Internet link in the book to hear the music and sing a long with the actors!
ACT IT OUT
What happens to the characters after the play ends? Do they continue exploring? Where do they go, who do they meet, and what new things do they learn on the way? Act out what YOU think happens…
PAINT OR DRAW
The booklet you receive after the show has paintings by Mathew McFarren, a professional illustrator. His illustrations portray what he sees in nature and how he feels about it. Some of his paintings are joyous, some are sad, and some leave us with questions. Draw or paint your version of the play and discuss your creations with your class.
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