BY
Catherine Trieschmann
DIRECTED BY
Shelley Butler
NOVEMBER 16 – DECEMBER 11, 2022 | QUADRACCI POWERHOUSE This Teacher Guide is designed to be used in the classroom along with Milwaukee Rep’s PlayGuide for The Nativity Variations. This PlayGuide is available online at: www.MilwaukeeRep.com/Nativity The Nativity Variations Teacher Guide written by Lindsey Hoel-Neds
Topics for
Teaching & Learning: Adapting Existing Stories In The Nativity Variations, the Prairie Players adapt a familiar story with their own unique flair. Have students take a familiar story such as a fairy tale, folk tale, legend, or myth to adapt. Once they have selected their story, they should outline the major story elements in the original tale. After they have done that, they can start to think about how they can upend or change the narrative, while still keeping the original story at the center. Students can adapt their story in several different ways: as a prose narrative, a play script, a poem, or other written version. After students have created their adaptation, they can create a video or in-person performance of their adaptation.
Adaptation Avant-garde Theater Defining Theater and Art
Discussion Questions 1. What is something in your life you feel passionately about? How does it enrich your life? 2. What is theater? What is art? 3. Should certain classic stories always be told in the same way? Why or why not? 4. How does/can theater use different types of art (visual, music, dance, movement, etc.) to tell stories? 5. In what ways in your life do you connect with others? How do those connections make you feel?
The Adoration of the Magi by Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia. Photo credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Playing with the Avant-Garde Avant-garde theater may be a type of theater with which students are less familiar. Have students read the article about avant-garde and experimental theater in the PlayGuide. After they’ve read the article, they should do additional research on one of the following: one of the terms in the guide, a playwright or play from one of the movements, or other topics connected to experimental theater. Once they have completed their research, students can present their knowledge in a variety of different ways; encourage Performance artist Marina Abramovic and audience member during students to think outside-the-box and be inspired her piece The Artist is Present, 2010. Photo credit: Wall Street Journal. by the spirit of avant-garde theater. Examples could include a performance, diorama, artistic representation, game, or puzzle. Students should outline a plan for their presentation and propose it to you so they can share what they’ve learned with the class.
Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan in Waiting for Godot at The Cort Theatre, 2013. Photo credit: New York Times.
Participants in a Theater of the Oppressed workshop with Augusto Boal, 2008. Photo credit: Wikipedia.
A to Z Performance Reflection Start with multiple posters, each lettered A – Z down the side, with room to write after each letter. Place the posters side by side where students can easily reach and write on them (taped to a wall, on a large table, etc.) Divide participants into groups (5-10 members per group) equal to the number of posters. Give the students a reflection question related to the performance. Examples: Moments that struck you in the show. Words that come up when you think about the performance. Anything related to the show. etc. Explain that each team needs to come up with one-word answers to the prompt from A to Z. Working from a single file line, the first person in the line will run to the poster and write a word that starts with the next available letter on the list – starting with A, then B, and so on. The goal is to complete every word on the poster A-Z as quickly as possible. Once groups have finished their list they are encouraged to cheer on the other groups to finish. After all teams have completed their poster, the class gathers where everyone can see the posters to reflect on the activity and the ideas they generated.
Reflect on the activity with the group: What strategies did your team use to successfully complete the activity? What words do you see on more than one alphabet poster? (Circle words that are similar or repeated.) What words are circled? What do these words tell us about the group’s thinking? What commonalities or differences did you see in your peers’ reflection on the play?
The Importance of Community Theater
Cast of The Music Man, Falls Patio Players. Photo credit: Audra Christine Photography.
Have students read the article in the PlayGuide about community theater. If you have students who have participated in community theater or school theater productions, lead a discussion about their own experiences and feelings about the statements in the article, especially the quote from Dan Chesnicka. If your town has a community theater group, encourage students to attend or participate with the group. The PlayGuide also touches on the American Little Theater movement. Have students read more about the Little Theater movement here in Wisconsin or somewhere else in the country. Students should share what they learned with the class through whatever means you think it most appropriate for your class and students.
Acting Exercise Inspired by the Play In the play, Jules has the actors begin their process by playing music and then having them respond to the following prompt: But right now, I want you to stand there on-stage in total silence and consider the question: Who do I want to become? Have students respond to the prompt with movement. You may give additional guidance or not, as well as sidecoaching if it seems appropriate for your students. In the play, Jules gives no contextual support for the actors and you can choose to do this as well, or you can extend the exercise with specific parameters.
What is Theater? What Makes Art? Break students into small groups and give each group a large piece of bulletin board paper. Give student groups the following prompts: What is theater? What makes something “art”? Students should begin with 3-5 minutes of individual, silent journaling or sketching on the topic. After individual reflection time, students will begin with group murals following this procedure. Explain that today the group will respond to an open-ended prompt using words and images to share their thoughts. Invite each group to sit or stand around a very large piece of blank paper on a table, floor, or taped to a wall surface and provide a large set of markers or crayons for writing. Ask students to work silently to use words and images to respond to the prompt. Play music while students work. After 10-15 minutes, have groups reflect on each individual mural in their small groups. After some time in their small groups, have the larger class reconvene and talk about the experience and their reflections.
Some reflection questions: What images/words stand out to you the most? Are there specific words/phrases that appear on multiple pages? What connections can we make across the pages? Why did this group offer these responses?
STANDARDS CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.7: Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
TP.Cr.18.h: Text/Script:Devise an original or adapt an existing work that incorporates dramatic structure.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
TP.R.12.h: View Performance: Demonstrate developmentally appropriate audience etiquette at a professional performance. TP.Cn.13.h: Cultural Social Context: Compare and contrast how two or more cultural and/ or historical traditions impact production, text, or script.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
TP.Cn.16.h: Cross Disciplinary: Evaluate the historical and cultural relationships between theatre and other disciplines and how it can impact society.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
WI SEL 18.11-A Relationship Skills: Learners will be able to recognize how each group member’s skills contribute toward group goals.
MILWAUKEE REP EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT DEPARTMENT The Education & Engagement Department offers pre- and post-show workshops and classroom residencies.
WI SEL 12.11-A Social Awareness: Learners will be able to demonstrate conversational skills to determine the perspective of others.
CONTACT US: Milwaukee Repertory Theater Education & Engagement Dept. 108 E. Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202 www.MilwaukeeRep.com | 414-224-9490 For questions or to schedule a workshop, please contact: Ro Spice-Kopischke, Education Coordinator at rspice-kopischke@milwaukeerep.com or 414-290-5393
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PROGRAMS IN THE EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT DEPARTMENT RECEIVE GENEROUS FUNDING FROM: Arts Midwest Bader Philanthropies Patty & Jay Baker Foundation Clarice S. Turner Charitable Fund Mae E. Demmer Charitable Trust The Einhorn Family Foundation
Ralph Evinrude Foundation Greater Milwaukee Foundation GMAR Youth Foundation GRAEF The Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation
Frieda & William Hunt Memorial Trust Dorothy Watkins Inbusch Foundation Johnson Controls Foundation MPS Partnership for the Arts & Humanities Northwestern Mutual Foundation
Ortgiesen Foundation Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation Lubar Family Foundation Spear Arts Education Fund Townsend Foundation United Performing Arts Fund