Godspell

Syracuse

Stage

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ichael Tebe -M n h o J y b ted inally Direc ig r rtz O d n a d hen Schwa p te S Conceive y b s New Lyric Music and aj oon Mahar m a R a r d n Raje o Directed by d by Anthony Salatin phe Choreogra

IDE U G Y D U T S CLASSROOM EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR

2008 - 2009 EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH SPONSORS STUDENT MATINEE PROGRAM Playwrights Circle ($5,000 - $7,499) National Grid Directors Circle ($1,500 - $2,799) Grandma Brown Foundation Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation

CARRIER BACKSTORY PROGRAM Regents Circle ($7,500 - $13,999) Carrier Corporation Syracuse Campus-Community Entrepreneurship

Initiative, funded by the Kauffman Foundation Syracuse University GEAR-UP Playwrights Circle ($5,000 - $7,499) KARE Foundation Directors Circle ($1,500 - $2,799) Time Warner Cable Lockheed Martin Employees Federated Fund

LOCKHEED MARTIN PROJECT BLUEPRINT Regents Circle ($7,500 - $13,999) Lockheed Martin MS2

BANK OF AMERICA CHILDREN’S TOUR Founders Circle ($14,000 - $24,999) Bank of America Producers Circle ($2,800 - $4,999) Lockheed Martin Employees Federated Fund Directors Circle ($1,500 - $2,799) Wegmans Benefactors ($1,000 - $1,499) Excellus BlueCross BlueShield

CHASE YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL Founders Circle ($14,000 - $24,999) Chase

ARTS EMERGING Founders Circle ($14,000 - $24,999) Partnership for Better Education Regents Circle ($7,500 - $13,999) NYS Assembly through the office of William Magnarelli Directors Circle ($1,500 - $2,799) Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

2008 - 2009 Educational Outreach Corporate Sponsors Since 1849 National Grid and its predecessor companies have been part of the Syracuse community, helping to meet the energy needs of over two million Upstate New York customers. We are proud to contribute to the quality of life through the energy we deliver and through the many ways we give back to the communities we serve.

2008 - 2009 Syracuse Stage Season Sponsors

GODSPELL STUDY GUIDE CONTENTS Timothy Bond Producing Artistic Director Jeffrey Woodward Managing Director

__ 820 E. Genesee Street Syracuse, NY 13210 Artistic Office (315) 443 - 4008 Educational Outreach (315) 443 - 1150 (315) 442 - 7755 Box Office (315) 443 - 3275 Group Sales and Matinees (315) 443 - 9844 ___

4. Planning Your Visit 5. Theatre & Education 6. Elements of Theatre 7. General Questions 8. Production Information 9. About the Production 10. Production History 11. Movement & Dance 12. Keeping the Peace 14. Meet the Creators 15. Additional Resources 16. Notes 17. About Educational Outreach © 2008 Syracuse Stage Educational Outreach Chief Editor Lauren Unbekant Edited by Nichole Gantshar and Adam Zurbruegg Interior Design & Layout by Adam Zurbruegg Cover design by Campdesign

www.syracusestage.org ___ Syracuse Stage is Central New York’s premiere professional theatre. Founded as a not-for-profit theatre in 1974, Stage has produced more than 220 plays in 34 seasons including numerous world and American premieres. Each season, upwards of 90,000 patrons enjoy an exciting mix of comedies, dramas and musicals featuring the finest professional theatre artists.

Stage attracts leading designers, directors, and performers from New York and across the country. These visiting artists are supported by a full-time and seasonal staff of artisans, technicians, and administrators.

Syracuse Stage is a member of The League of Resident Theatres (LORT,) Theatre Communications Group (TCG,) the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, the Arts & Cultural Leadership Alliance (ACLA,) the East Genesee Regent Association, and the Partnership for Better Education.

EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH AT SYRACUSE STAGE Syracuse Stage is committed to providing students with rich theatre experiences that connect to and reveal what it is to be human. Research shows that students who participate in or are exposed to the arts show higher academic achievement, stronger self-esteem, and an improved ability to plan and work toward a future goal.

Last season more than 35,000 students from 24 counties attended or participated in in-depth integrated arts partnerships with Syracuse Stage. For more information, call (315) 443-1150 or (315) 442-7755.

The Bank of America CHILDREN’S TOUR brings high-energy, interactive, and culturally diverse performances to elementary school audiences.

The Carrier BACKSTORY! Program brings history to life, as professional actors portray historical figures in classrooms and other venues.

Lockheed Martin PROJECT BLUEPRINT merges scientific discovery and the arts, as an actor portraying a scientist/mathematician introduces students to the connections between scientific discovery and the arts. artsEMERGING takes high school students on an in-depth exploration of a mainstage play using a multi-cultural, multi-arts lens.

Planning Your Visit Teachers! Please speak with your students about the role of the audience in watching a live performance. The following are some helpful suggestions and guidelines to make the day more enjoyable.

GIVE your students plenty of time to arrive, find their seats, and get situated. We ask that you arrive 30 minutes prior to the performance. Our student matinees begin promptly at 10:30AM. Latecomers are seated at the discretion of House Management.

BUSSES not staying should load and unload on East Genesee Street, where bagged meters will indicate bus-only parking.

Please do not park in the Centro Bus Stop. When you exit the bus, have your group stay together inside the main lobby.

USHERS will escort you to your seats - we do not use tickets for our student matinees. Students will be asked to fill in the rows and not move around once seated. We request that teachers and chaperones distribute themselves throughout the students and not sit together. Remember, we need to seat 500 people as quickly as possible, so your help is greatly appreciated.

BACKPACKS, cameras, food, and drinks are not allowed into the theatre. We do not have storage facilities for these items, so please leave them at school or on the bus.

PHOTOGRAPHS or video taken with a camera or cell phone are illegal, disruptive, and sometimes dangerous to the performers. All cameras or other recording devices are prohibited and will be confiscated.

SNACKS and soda will be sold whenever possible during intermission, at a cost of $1. Food and drinks are to be consumed in the lobby, as they are not allowed into the theatre.

RESTROOMS are located in the main lobby. We ask that students use the facilities only before the show and during intermission, and not leave during the show.

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The Audience’s Role A performance needs an audience. It is as much a part of the theatre event as actors, designers, technicians, and crew.

Each playwright invites you into the world he/she has created - but this world is different than television or movies. The actors need your responses (laughter and applause) but conversations, cell phones, and other distractions will disrupt that world. If any student becomes disruptive to the point of interference with the performers or audience, a chaperone will be asked to remove that student.

If you play your part well, the actors can do the same, and all will enjoy the show!

Theatre & Education

“Theatre brings life to life.”

-Zelda Fichandler

W

hen the first cave-dweller got up to tell a story, theatre began. Almost every culture has

some sort of live performance tradition to tell stories. Television and film may have diminished the desire for access to theatre, but they have not diminished the importance.

Live theatre gives each audience member an opportunity to connect with the peformers in a way he or she never could with Tom Cruise or Lindsay Lohan. The emotions can be more intense because the events are happening right in front of the audience.

I

n the classroom, theatre can be used in a variety of ways. In many respects the teacher is much like an actor on stage - with an audience, a script (lesson plan,) props (visual aids,) and scenery (the classroom setting.) Both theatre and teaching rely on the interplay between performer and audience.

From this perspective, all of what can be taught can be taught theatrically. Young children can create a pretend bank to learn about money and mathematics. Older students may be asked to act out scenes from a play or novel. Theatre provides both an opportunity to teach , and the means to do so.

B

ringing your students to productions at Syracuse Stage, and utilizing this study guide to integrate the play into your lesson plans, fulfills elements of the New York State core requirements. We know that as educators, you are more qualified to determine how our plays and study guides blend with your goals and requirements. We hope that we can help you to discover possibilities spanning many disciplines.

As you bring your students to the shows, you may want them to examine not merely the thematic elements of the play, but also how production elements explore these themes. Everything you see on the stage has been created specifically for this production. There are no standard sets for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, no rules for costuming Crowns. Our designers meet with our directors months before rehearsals start, and shows are built to their specifications, which are in line with their vision of the work. Exploring design elements with your students is a way of opening the door to the production they will be seeing. We’ll begin with activites and questioning that can be applied to any play, and then move into details regarding specific plays.

So, without further ado, welcome to Syracuse Stage... and enjoy the show!

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Elements of Theatre Elements of Visual Art: Any piece of visual art (including scenery, costumes, etc.) contain the following ‘elements of art.’

Theatre usually engages many

forms of art including:

-Writing

-Visual/Design

• Scenery & Props

• Costumes

• Sound

• Lighting

• Casting

-Music

-Dance/Movement

1.

2.

Line Shape Form

Principles of Design: Art (or any of the elements listed above) can be examined further through the ‘principles of design.’

Balance Proportion Rhythm Emphasis Unity

How have the designers utilized these elements and principles?

ELEMENTS OF DRAMA:

Why have they done so?

- Character WHO are the characters and what is their relationship to each other?

- Plot/Story WHAT is the story line?

What happened before the play started?

What do the characters want?

What will they do to get it?

What do they stand to gain or lose?

- Setting WHERE does the story take place?

How does this affect the characters’ behavior? How does it affect the plot?

How does it affect the design?

- Time WHEN does the story take place?

What year is it? What season? What time of day? How does this affect the characters, plot and design of the play?

Other Elements to Explore: Conflict/Resolution, Action, Improvisation, Non-verbal communication, Staging, Humor, Realism and other styles, Metaphor, Language, Tone, Pattern and repetition, Emotion, Point of view.

What are the trying to convey visually?

What would be other options?

CREATING QUESTIONS FOR EXPLORATION Creating an open-ended question using an element for exploration (otherwise known as a “line of inquiry”) can help students make discoveries about a piece of theatre and its relevance to their lives.

A line of inquiry is also useful for kinesthetic activities (on-your-feet exercises.)

Examples of Lines of Inquiry: 1. How does an actor create a character using his/her body? How would you imply setting

using your body?

2. How might a director create a sense of realism on stage? Why might you not want to use realism?

3. How does an actor use the language of gesture to convey emotion/feeling?

4. How does the use of music convey the mood of a scene?

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Space Color Texture

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General Questions These questions were designed to promote classroom discussion of any play.

Use these questions as a model to help you design your own analysis techniques.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

How does the play start?

What does the playwright do to set the scene? How are the characters introduced?

What other techniques does the play use to help you jump into the story?

Who is the main character?

What does he/she want? (“Objective”) How will he/she get it? (“Actions/Tactics”) What is stopping him/her? (“Obstacles”) How does the character change throughout the play?

Why is the play set in the time period that it is?

How would the play be different if the time period were different?

Is there a character who helps the main character come to decisions and changes?

How? Opposition? Reflection?

Is there a villain/antagonist in the play?

Does there need to be good character and a bad one?

What makes a play relevant? What makes it important?

What are the elements that make this piece suited for the stage, as opposed to film, television, or a novel?

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PRESENTS The Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Family Holiday Production of

CONCEIVED AND ORIGINALLY DIRECTED BY

John-Michael Tebelak MUSIC AND NEW LYRICS BY

Stephen Schwartz DIRECTED BY

Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj CHOREOGRAPHER

MUSICAL DIRECTOR

SCENIC DESIGN

Anthony Salatino

Charles Creath

Adam Koch

COSTUME DESIGN

LIGHTING DESIGN

SOUND DESIGN

Leslie Bernstein

Josh Bradford

Jonathan Herter

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER

CASTING BY

Stuart Plymesser

Alan Filderman

Timothy Bond

Producing Artistic Director

Jeffrey Woodward Managing Director

Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) A collaboration with the Syracuse University Department of Drama EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR

About The Production The holiday of Easter celebrates peace and reconciliation amid its religious significance, and JohnMichael Tebelak created Godspell as a template to share that story of peace in a way that would resonate with young people of any time. Unsatisfied with the Easter service’s lack of community and celebration, Tebelak set out to create his own version of the service, but quickly realized he had a larger ambition outside of religion. The show uses a series of parables to give the characters a voice and create a creative community of friendship, community, faith and love.

Director Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj keeps Tebelak’s dream of a fresh story for young audiences alive by beginning the story at the United Nations headquarters, and transporting it to places such as China, Haiti, Sudan, and more. Suffused with world dance, music and images of cultures and communities from around the world, the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama production creates pathways for students that detail how we are all members of one human family. Godspell will provide a view of cultures and communities.

Maharaj takes Tebelak’s template to create this world. Tebelak combines party, classroom and poetry slam to create his script. The character Jesus and his followers take on different roles: Martin Luther, DaVinci, John the Baptist and Judas as they tell parables (the Prodigal Son and others) from the Bible and sing songs of celebration that many know.

The heart of the piece is that the dreams and hopes that people share in various parts of the world are the same dreams and hopes we share in Syracuse.

The great American Poet and activist Dr. Maya Angelou wrote in her groundbreaking poem, The Human Family, “we are more alike than different”. Her words became one of Maharaj’s inspirations for Godspell. He believes that in today’s world, the need to find peace, respect and unity among all human beings is more evident than ever. Godspell reminds us all that we are more alike than different.

Examine these two posters: the Broadway premiere (left) and the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama production (right.)

What differences do you see in the designs? Based on these visual differences, how do you think the productions will differ? Why? Refer to page 6 of this study guide to use the elements of art and principles of design.

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Production History Godspell is a rock musical based on the Gospel of Saint Matthew with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by John-Michael Tebelak. Following closely on the heels of the similarly-themed Jesus Christ Superstar, it opened offBroadway on May 17, 1971. One of its songs, “Day By Day” from the original cast album, reached No. 13 on the Billboard pop singles chart in the summer of 1972.

John-Michael Tebelak, a student director who had once thought of becoming an Episcopal minister, created the show.

Tebelak had attended an Easter service and was struck by the lack of joy and celebration in the service as well as by the personal hostility he felt from some of his fellow churchgoers because of his youth and long hair. Also struck by the number of similarities between a religious service and theatre, he created the show for his masters thesis in theater at Carnegie Mellon University. After graduation, the show moved to New York City to the famed Cafe La Mama.

Interested producers brought in Stephen Schwartz to write additional music and new lyrics. The show opened May 17, 1971 and became one of the longest-running off-Broadway musicals before moving to Broadway in June 1976. It won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Original Score and several Drama Desk Awards.

Faces in the Toronto Cast

A film version of the musical was released in 1973, set in modern New York and starring a young Victor Garber, the father on Alias, as Jesus (the role had been Garber’s big break in his native Canada.)

Godspell has remained an important part of the modern musical theatre vocabulary because of its versatility. The original production made the company a troupe of clowns who follow Jesus in an abandoned playground; subsequent productions have been set in museums, classrooms, on top of buildings, or in an abandoned theatre. This show can occur anywhere.

Although Godspell has been produced in many cities around the world, the Toronto production in 1972 had a large effect on the entertainment world. The Toronto cast, drawn entirely from local performers ran for what was then a record of 488 performances and provided the first acting job for several performers in addition to Garber.

Eugene Levy (of American Pie), Andrea Martin (Kim Possible and a voice in Jimmy Neutron,) Gilda Radner (Saturday Night Live) and Martin Short rounded out the cast. Radner came to the attention of producer Lorne Michaels during the production and three years later, became the first cast member hired for the groundbreaking television comedy show Saturday Night Live. Levy, Martin and Short went on to join the Toronto improvisational comedy group Second City. Another person to establish his reputation in the show was its musical director Paul Shaffer, who would join and Radner on Saturday Night Live and later become the musical director for her one-woman Broadway show and of The Late Show, starring David Letterman.

The Rise of the Rock Musical (Arguably Born: 1960 - Bye Bye Birdie) Jesus Christ Superstar

Hair

Grease and Pippin

1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1975 The Who’s

Tommy (album)

Godspell

The Who’s

Tommy

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The Wiz and

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(film)

Information courtesy of www.musicalschwartz.com Photos (from top:) Victor Garber (tv.yahoo.com); Eugene Levy (movies.about.com); Gilda Radner (jwa.org); Martin Short (weta.org.)

Movement & Dance The Influence of Indian Dance on our Production of Godspell Indian dance grew out of a theatre tradition that helped tell the people’s stories of their culture and religion. The dance’s highly stylized movement language evolved into dozens of different forms, some with elaborate costumes, singing and a complicated language of hand movements.

In India, dance and drama are combined into their own integrated genre. In the West, such a genre only exits on the fringes. There is either a play or a dance piece. Only in musicals does the line begin to blur.

Even in a musical, however, the storytelling usually stops when others begin to sing and dance. In Indian dance-drama, the storytelling doesn’t stop when the dancing begins. The two weave together seamlessly toward one dramatic journey of a hero who vanquishes the enemy and goes on to save his people.

The biggest difference between Eastern and Western dance is the energy. Ballet, and its use of pointe shoes, reaches for the heavens. The movements start close to the body and move outward, sharing the dancer’s energy out into the universe. The legs and feet are pointed straight outward and the arms complete that accent.

In Indian dance, the arms bring the energy into the body.

The dancers move as if the choreography is encompassed by a circle of energy around their body. The angle of their legs and the curves of their arms illustrate the circumference of that circle as opposed to the straight lines of classical ballet. The feet are flexed instead of pointed as not to break the circle’s dimensions.

Also, the dancers keep the movement closer to their body. In ballet, jazz and modern it often looks as if the dancer is reaching outward for something. In Indian dance, the dancer is keeping a special energy close to the body and drawing attention to the spectacle.

Syracuse Stage’s Associate Artistic Director Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj will bring this movement vocabulary to Syracuse audiences for the production of Godspell that he’ll shepherd to the stage.

Along with the different posture of the energy around the body, the enPhoto from www.city-india.com This style fits for Godspell, bringing ergy inside the body appears more a new twist to a very familiar musical. It also fits because percussive in Indian dance. The weight is also kept lowof the interesting parallel that much of Indian classical er, with the knees almost always bent. It shares a lower dance tells stories from the life of Krishna. The Hindus of center of gravity, as in African dance, than any Western India revere Krishna the way Christians revere Jesus. style.

But Indian dance is more than an integrated, theatrical liturgical dance set apart by Asian costumes, veils and exotic makeup. The movement vocabulary and energy are very different than jazz, modern or ballet.

Your students may have seen a version of Indian dance on “So You Think You Can Dance.” That was a Bollywood-style dance with broad, sweeping movements that added elements from hip-hop and African dance. But it was not what your students will see in Godspell.

The other aspect of Indian dance that makes it stand out is its connection to the people. It is a popular style of dance known throughout the country. Unlike ballet, Indian dance is not reserved for an elite audience. It’s a dance of the people that influences everything from high to popular culture. It’s a fitting choice for a musical about a story so basic to the history of our culture.

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Keeping the Peace The director of Godspell, Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, has approached the play by exploring the theme of peacekeepers. Here’s a quick look at that concept in our world.

THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE Each year, an international committee honors gifted individuals with the Nobel Prize. Medals are given in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, and Economics, but perhaps the most revered prize is for Peace.

Listed below are just a few of the 95 individuals and 20 organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. For a full listing, visit www.nobelprize.org.

1901

Henry Dunant (1828 - 1910)

Frederic Passy (1822 - 1912)

Dunant and Passy shared the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.

Dunant, after witnessing the atrocities of war, helped to create both the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Geneva Convention, an international treaty that agreed to the protection of medics, humane treatment of prisoners, and other basic rules of war.

Passy was a French lawyer who served as the Founder and President of the first French peace society.

The face of the medal (left) shows Alfred Nobel with the inscription, “And they who bettered life on earth by their newly found mastery.” The rear (right) shows three men embracing and reads, “For the peace and brotherhood of men.”

1950

1964

2007

Ralph Bunche (1904 - 1971)

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968)

Al Gore Jr. (1948 - present)

The first African-American to be awarded the Prize was Ralph Bunce, a Harvard University professor who served as advisor to the US Dept. of State and the United Nations.

At thirty-five, Dr. King was the youngest man ever awarded the Prize, and donated the cash portion of his prize to furthering the civil rights movement.

The most recent Peace Prize was split between Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In the late 1940’s, Bunche served as chief mediator in the conflict between Palestine and Israel. He worked with the UN for the remainder of his career.

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Between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over 6 million miles, spoke over 2,500 times, was awarded 5 honorary degrees, and was named Time’s Man of the Year in 1963.

The Committee recognized that man-made climate change is a real threat to our planet which could lead to mass migration andviolent competition for scarce resources, as some believe it already has in Sudan (see next page.)

Photos and bios courtesy of www.nobelprize.org

Keeping the Peace (Cont’d) “Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”

- Albert Einstein THE UNITED NATIONS

In Syracuse Stage’s production of Godspell, the character of Jesus will be portrayed in modern terms, inspired by United Nations peacekeepers.

The United Nations was formed in 1945 after the end of World War II. The UN is a collective of 192 countries whose delegates meet regularly to ensure open dialogue and cooperation among the nations of the world. Its main goals are the prevention of war and the protection of human rights.

To do so, member nations volunteer many of their soldiers to serve as UN Peacekeeping troops. UN troops are stationed around the world in nations torn by civil war, threatened by ethnic conflict, or overrun with crime and terrorism. Here are just a few current UN Peacekeeping Missions.

Sudan - The Darfur Region

Began:

Task:

Issues:

2005 Keep order and maintain the peace agreement signed in 2005 that ended Africa’s longest- running civil war; assist in rebuilding efforts Refugees/displaced persons, poverty, human rights violations, land mines and other weapons, rebel groups often acting violently, etc.

Haiti

Began: 2004 [Although previous UN missions in Haiti date back to 1993] Task: Ensure safety, law & order during a government transition to more democratic processes.

Issues: Human rights violations, restructuring police & military forces, widespread poverty, etc.

Kosovo

Began:

Task:

Issues:

1999 Create and protect a transitional government for the establishment of democratic institutions, peace, and security.

Human rights violations, crime and terrorism, corruption, refugees/displaced persons, unemployment & economic troubles, etc.

FURTHER EXPLORATION What can you and your students find about the following Nobel Prize winners and UN Missions?

People: Wangari Maathai (2004,) Shirin Ebadi (2003,) Nelson Mandela (1993,) Desmond Tutu (1984,)

Mother Teresa (1979,) Albert Lutuli (1960,) Woodrow Wilson (1919,) Theodore Roosevelt (1906.)

Places:

Chad, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast,) Liberia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Western Sahara, Timor-Leste, India/Pakistan, Cyprus, Georgia, Golan Heights, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan.

Educational Outreach

Source: www.un.org

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Meet the Creators John-Michael Tebelak was 22 years old when Godspell hit New York. It was his first brush with the

New York theatre, but by no means his first venture into theatrics. His theatrical career started when he “walked into a theatre at the age of nine and stayed there.”

Mr. Tebelak originally conceived of Godspell as his Masters Thesis project at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1970.

All of the original cast members contributed to the playful script that evolved under John-Michael’s direction. Subsequently, he directed productions of Godspell at La MaMa Theatre in February of 1971, the Cherry Lane Theatre (opening May 17, 1971), the Promenade Theatre, and on Broadway.

Tebelak co-authored the screenplay for Godspell (1973) for Columbia Pictures with David Greene. Mr. Tebelak was dramaturge for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City, and wrote and staged liturgical drama there. He died of a heart attack at the age of 36 in April 1985.

Stephen Schwartz was born in New York City on March 6, 1948. He studied

piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music while in high school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1968 with a B.F.A. in Drama. Upon coming back to live in New York City, he went to work as a producer for RCA Records, but shortly thereafter began to work in the Broadway theatre. His first major credit was the title song for the play Butterflies Are Free; the song was eventually used in the movie version as well.

In 1971, he wrote the music and new lyrics for Godspell, for which he won several awards including two Grammys. This was followed by the English texts, in collaboration with Leonard Bernstein, for Bernstein’s Mass, which opened the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The following year, he wrote the music and lyrics for Pippin and two years later, The Magic Show. At one point, Godspell, Pippin, and The Magic Show were all running on Broadway simultaneously.

He next wrote the music and lyrics for The Baker’s Wife, followed by a musical version of Studs Terkel’s Working, to which he contributed four songs, and which he also adapted and directed, winning the Drama Desk Award as best director. He also co-directed the television production, which was presented as part of the PBS American Playhouse series. Next came songs for a one-act musical for children, Captain Louie, and a children’s book, The Perfect Peach.

He then wrote music for three of the songs in the Off-Broadway revue, Personals, lyrics to Charles Strouse’s music for Rags, and music and lyrics for Children of Eden.

He then began working in film, collaborating with composer Alan Menken on the scores for the Disney animated features Pocahontas, for which he received two Academy Awards and another Grammy, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He also provided songs for DreamWorks’ first animated feature, The Prince of Egypt, for which he won another Academy Award for the song “When You Believe”.

Mr. Schwartz provided music and lyrics for the original television musical, Geppetto, seen on The Wonderful World of Disney. Recently, he released two CDs on which he sings new songs, entitled “Reluctant Pilgrim” and “Unchartered Territory.”

Mr. Schwartz’s most recent musical, Wicked, opened in the fall of 2003 and is currently running on Broadway.

Under the auspices of the ASCAP Foundation, he runs musical theatre workshops in New York and Los Angeles, and serves on the ASCAP board; he is also a member of the Council of the Dramatists’ Guild.

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Tebelak biography courtesy of www.musicalschwartz.com Schwartz bio & photo courtesy of www.stephenschwartz.com

Additional Resources On Godspell, Stephen Schwartz, and John-Michael Tebelak John-Michael Tebelak [http://www.musicalschwartz.com/godspell-tebelak.htm] Stephen Schwartz [www.musicalschwartz.com] [www.stephenschwartz.com] Official Godspell site [www.musicalschwartz.com/godspell.html] Godspell: The Film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070121] Stage Musicals of the 1970’s [http://www.musicals101.com/1970bway1.htm] On Indian Dance & Movement Encyclopedia Britannica [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/556016/South-Asian-arts] ThinkQuest [http://library.thinkquest.org/11372/data/dnceform.htm] Dance Directory [http://www.sapphireswan.com/dance/indian.htm] On World Issues & Peacekeeping The Nobel Foundation & Prize [www.nobelprize.org] The United Nations [www.un.org] United Nations Peacekeeping Missions [www.un.org/peace] Amnesty International [www.amnestyusa.org] Amnesty International ‘Eyes on Darfur’ Project [www.eyesondarfur.org] BBC’s Darfur Q&A [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3496731.stm] Refugees International [http://www.refugeesinternational.org] World Peace Foundation [www.worldpeacefoundation.org] World Peace Project for Children [www.sadako.org] The Teaching Peace Conference [http://www.teachingpeaceconference.org/] Resources for Teaching Peace [http://www.crcs.k12.ny.us/es/Stranger’sShoes/PTresource.htm] On Religion www.religioustolerance.org www.religionfacts.com Minnesota State University - World Religions [http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion] World Relgions [www.sacred-texts.com/world.htm] Statistics on Religion Across the Globe [http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0855613.html] Educational Outreach

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(315) 443-1150 (315) 442-7755

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EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH at Syracuse Stage

S

yracuse Stage is committed to providing students with rich theatre experiences that connect to and reveal what it is to be human. Research shows that children who participate in or are exposed to the arts show higher academic achievement, stronger self-esteem, and improved ability to plan and work towards a future goal.

Many students in our community have their first taste of live theatre through Syracuse Stage’s outreach programs. Last season more than 35,000 students from across New York State attended or participated in the Bank of America Children’s Tour, Carrier Backstory, Lockheed Martin Project Blueprint, artsEMERGING, the Chase Young Playwrights Festival, and our Student Matinee Program.

We gratefully acknowledge the many corporations, foundations, and government agencies whose donations support our commitment to in-depth arts education for our community. The listing below respresents support towards last season’s 2007-2008 programming.

Bank of America - Bank of America Children’s Tour Bristol-Myers Squibb Company - artsEMERGING Carrier Corporation - Carrier Backstory Chase - Chase Young Playwrights Festival Excellus BlueCross BlueShield - Bank of America Children’s Tour Grandma Brown Foundation - Student Matinee Program KARE Foundation - Carrier Backstory Lockheed Martin Employees Federated Fund - Carrier Backstory,

Bank of America Children’s Tour Lockheed Martin MS2 - Lockheed Martin Project Blueprint National Grid - Student Matinee Program NYS Assembly through the office of William Magnarelli - artsEMERGING Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office - artsEMERGING Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation - Student Matinee Program Syracuse Police Department - artsEMERGING Syracuse University Division of Student Affairs - Student Matinee Program Syracuse University GEAR-UP - Carrier Backstory Target - Student Matinee Program Time Warner Cable - Carrier Backstory US Department of Justice - artsEMERGING Wegmans - Bank of America Children’s Tour

Actor Rob North signing autographs after a performance of The Mischief Makers.

Teachers from the Syracuse City School District receiving professional development from teaching artist Reenah Golden.

1,500 students from the Syracuse City School District attended matinee performances of The Bomb-itty of Errors.

08/09

come dream with uS

August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Directed by Timothy Bond September 9 – October 4

The award-winning music-filled play that captured the attention of the theatre world and launched August Wilson’s remarkable career.

Up

By Bridget Carpenter Directed by Penny Metropulos February 25 – March 15 East Coast Premiere

A soaring new play about family and following your dreams . . . even if it takes 42 balloons tied to a lawn chair.

The Diary of Anne Frank

Music and Mischief for the Holidays

Godspell The Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Family Holiday Series; A collaboration between Syracuse Stage and SU Drama

Conceived and Directed by Ping Chong October 14 - November 2 World Premiere

By Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett Newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman Directed by Timothy Bond March 31 – May 3

Conceived and Originally Directed

by John-Michael Tebelak Music and New Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz Directed by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj Choreographed by Anthony Salatino November 25 – December 28

Life stories of real Syracuse residents carry us around the globe and bring us home with a more complete understanding of how we’re all connected.

A 13-year-old girl finds hope in the in face evil and teaches us all an unforgettable lesson in courage. A new adaptation of an American classic.

Filled with popular hit songs and based on the Gospel of St. Matthew, this energetic musical is a celebration of worldwide community.

Putting it Together

Crowns

A Musical Review Concept by Stephen Sondheim & Julia McKenzie Book, Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Directed & Choreographed by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj January 27 - February 15

The Santaland Diaries

By Regina Taylor Adapted from the book

by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry Directed and choreographed by Patdro Harris May 13 – June 7

By David Sedaris Adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello Directed by Wendy Knox December 2 – January 4

Tales from the Salt City

At a Manhattan cocktail party, a cast of five uses Sondheim’s exquisite songs to examine the ups and downs of two relationships.

A troubled young woman journeys to her ancestral home and finds healing in the warm embrace of family, church, gospel music and tradition

Meet Crumpet, a 33-year-old starving artist turn cranky (but cute) Macy’s elf, in humorist David Sedaris’ witty gem of a lump of coal. For mature elves only.

All plays and players subject to change.

SeASon SponSorS:

www.SyracuseStage.org

Box office: 315.443.3275

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