Creative Process of the Artist or Culture:
1. CREATING (Cr) 2. PERFORMING, PRESENTING, PRODUCING (Pr) 3. RESPONDING (Re) 4. CONNECTING (Cn) rtsource ® The Music
THEATREMUSIC David Prather TRANSFORMATION THE POWER
FREEDOM
Los CaliforniaAngeles, classmate and fellow Harvard Lampoon editor, William Randolph Hearst, had hired Thayer to write a humor column for the S.F. paper. Although the poem is still enjoyed more than a century later and has been recited by everyone from Garrison Keiller to Bob Costas (there is even a 1946 Disney cartoon version), it owes its original popularity to an obscure 19 th century actor/ comedian named De Wolf Hopper, who by his own estimate, gave over 10,000 performances of “Casey,” including the initial one attended by members of the baseball clubs the Chicago White Stockings and New York Giants. Mr. Prather has a way to go to catch Hopper, but plans to give it his Cal Ripkin, Jr. best shot!
Study
Photo: Kelly Ziolkoski
THEFAMILYHUMAN ARTISTIC
to the Performing Arts A MULTI-MEDIAEXPERIMENTALCONTEMPORARYCLASSICALTRADITIONAL
While David Prather has performed a musical versionof Casey at the Bat with the L.A. Philharmonic, he doesn’t feel that any musical accompaniment is necessary to “sing” this self-styled Ballad of the Republic; the heroic language and vivid characters of the poemitself are sufficient to bring the drama to life. It practically begs to be performed, or at least read aloud. Try it at home or in the classroom. There will be joy in Mudville! “Life is full of poetry, and poetry is full of life!”
Creator: David Prather, actor Background Information: Actor David Prather began performing at an early age as a choirboy at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. His first experience in the theater was singing the world premiere of an opera, Bomarzo by Alberto Ginestera. He was instantly “stage struck!” After receivinga B.A. in Theater and Literature from Princeton University, Mr. Prather pursued professional training at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. A love of Shakespeare first brought Mr. Prather to the Mark Taper Forum at the Music Center of Los Angeles County, which in turn led to a relationship with the Education Division and the L. A. Philharmonic. For the latter, he has hosted numerous concerts for young audiences including Toyota Symphonies for Youth and Summer Sounds at the Hollywood Bowl. In nearly two decades with the Education Division, Mr. Prather has conducted numerous workshops and residencies, and created several solo shows including Prather’s Poetry Jam. He recently completed a new work commissioned by the Alley Theatre in Texas entitled When Harlem Was in Vogue. In all of these endeavors, Mr. Prather has sought to share his love of language and performance so evident in his interpretation of Casey at the Bat About the Artwork: “Casey at the Bat, a Ballad of the Republic,” Sung in the year 1888” first appeared in the San Francisco Examiner underthe pseudonym “Phin,” the nickname of Ernest L. Thayer atHarvard. His OF NATUREOPPRESSION&ENDURINGVALUES PROCESSES Center’s Guide
Title of Work: Casey at the Bat, an excerpt from Prather’s Poetry Jam
• Have students perform Casey’s final swing/“blow” together with a narrator reading the poem from the point where the narration moves into the present tense:
• Using Casey at the Bat, identify the five w’s: who, what, when, where, why. * 2
“ The sneer is gone . . . the force of Casey’s blow.”
•significantly?Inthelast verse, the band is playing, men are laughing— life goes on; what do you think Thayer is suggesting?
• One student ser ves as narrator/announcer improvising the description of Casey at bat.
•Students identify action verbs in the poem and act them out based on the sound and meaning of the word: rumbled, rattled, knocked, sneer, strain, pound, etc.
Level III
* Indicates sample lessons
• Students identify and physicalize actions and metaphors in the poem, distinguishing the literal from the abstract (e.g. literalactions - Casey doffing his hat, rubbing his hands with dirt; abstract images - “a sickly silence fell,” “grim melancholy sat.”).
• In groups of four to ten, select at least one word or phrase for these four categories: literal, verb, onomatopoeic, metaphoric. Combine these in an improvised movement and vocal “jam” on Casey at the Bat.
• Examine how a given sport has been introduced and adapted by another culture: e.g. baseball in Japan.
Students suggest other likely sounds at a ballgame such as the crack of the bat, peanut vendors, etc.
•plate.).Inpairs, students use slow motion to pantomime pitcher and Casey sequence.
• Students perform Casey at the Bat in its entirety.
Differentiate the sound of the crowd at different points in the contest: the beginning -“the outlook wasn’t brilliant;” the middle -“fraud, cried the maddened thousands;” the end - “the force of Casey’s Blow.”
• Employing call and response, read “Casey” aloud; students add final rhyming word to each couplet.
• How did the actor in the video bring the characters to life? As you watched and listened, did you picture yourself as a fan? The pitcher? Mighty Casey?
• Invent onomatopoeic words for actions in the poem, e.g. whack (the sound of bat on ball), oomph (Cooney out at second). skrippp (tearing cover off ball). Act them out.
• Casey at the Bat was written over one hundred years ago. Based on the description of the fans in the poem, do you think people have changed
Level II • Present the video of Casey at the Bat. Identify various aspects of poetic language and technique such as narrative voice, alliteration, metaphor, simile, imagery, etc., contained in the poem. Apply aspects of aesthetic valuing.
• What is a hero? Who are your heroes? How do you identify with them?
• Students act out specific, literal moments in the poem, (e.g., Casey doffing his hat, pounding his bat on the
• Use baseball as a prism to explore race in America, drawing upon the history of the Negro Leagues, Jackie Robinson and integration.
* *
• Identify specific sounds evoked in the poem; e.g., “lusty yell,” “muffled roar,” “tongues applauded,” etc.
• What can we guess about the narrator of the poem: is he a fan or a player? Why and where in the poem does the narrator switch from the past tense to the present?
• Photos by Kelly Ziolkoski and video are courtesy of David Prather.
Audio-Visual Materials: • Artsource® video excerpt from Prather’s Poetry Jam
Multidisciplinary Options: Sports play an important role in societies around the world. Baseball, an American invention, is popular in Japan and Latin America. In other societies soccer and hockey are more popular. The World Cup and the Olympics are international events, full of ritual and pageantry. The Aztecs in Mexico developed and played a game akin to soccer Polo began as a game to display horsemanship in Central Asia.
• Select a culture and explore how a particular sport represents geography, history, and spirit of a people.
Discussion Questions: After the video has been viewed:
• Group creates a soundscape, using quotes and sound images from the poem and additional sounds of a game.
Sample Experiences: Level I
• Identify rhyming words and utilize call and response. (Responding & Connecting & Performing)
MATERIALS: Copy of the poem, Casey at the Bat
• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Connecting)
3 THE HUMAN FAMILY THEATRE
• Analyze a poem using the five W’s. (Responding & Connecting)
Poetry has been used at least since Homer’s (author of ancient Greek epic poems) time to tell great stories. Ernest Lawrence Thayer draws upon the heroic language of ancient sagas to tell the modern fable of a hero with feet of clay. The failure of the mighty Casey expresses an essential reality of life - we all strike out. But as the final stanza makes clear, the sun still shines, the band plays on… It has been said that baseball is a game designed to break your heart; yet it is also true that “hope springs eternalin the human breast” and fans will always gather to cheer on their heroes. The play is the thing, and the drama played out, whether in a great, urban stadium or a sandlot in Mudville, speaks to the human condition.
OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to:
David Prather, Casey at the Bat Photo: Kelly Ziolkoski
LEVEL I Sample Lesson
• Identify descriptive language (Responding & Connecting)
INTRODUCTION:
In this lesson, students will work as an ensemble to create the sounds, the sighs, the moans, the cheers of the crowd in Mudville, using their imagination to encounter livinglanguage and explore emotion in a dramatic context.
• Apply the concept of beginning, middle, and end to read a poem and explore emotional states. (Connecting & Performing)
CREATING A SOUNDSCAPE
• Work together as an ensemble to create a soundscape. (Performing)
CRITERIA: • Variety and originality of sounds selected and employed.
• Focus and commitment of vocalizations in circle.
Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking 4
CONNECT: What other places have you been where there are sounds or words being expressed by a group in response to an event, game, natural phenomenon or other type of experience. Describe and discuss the sounds that were made or heard.
• Have two students pantomime Casey and the pitcher as the other students create soundscape for the action.
PROGRESSION Use call and response to read Casey at the Bat aloud, having students add the final rhyming word of each couplet: “The outlook wasn’t brilliant …day” “The score stood four to two… play”.
TASK I: In a circle, seated or standing, with eyes open or shut, have students select different sounds from the sound palette and voice them, creating a “soundscape”, a vocal painting, of the sounds at a ball game. Students may repeat a single sound or give voice to several. This may include actual lines from the poem.
EXTENSIONS: • Have students create soundscapes for other poems they write or select.
Ask students to identify all the sounds evoked by the language in the poem: the fans’ cry’s of “fraud”, “kill the umpire”, etc.; the “beating of the storm waves”, “a lusty yell”, the umpire’s strike calls, et.al.
VOCABULARY: soundscape, improvisation, ensemble, image, poem, random, repetition, vocalization
Have students add sounds based on their own experience or imagination at a sporting event: the vendors, the organ music, rhythmic hand clapping, shouted taunts or encouragement, etc…. It might be useful to note all the sounds to be used on the board.
TASK II: Using the same group improvisation to create a soundscape, have students identify a specific moment in the game as it relates to the action of the poem to create three distinct soundscapes representing the beginning, middle and end : the “grim melancholy” of the opening, the “lusty yell” of the middle, and the climax and denouement of Casey’s final “blow”.
• Clear differences in beginning, middle and end in soundscape depicting the game.
• Attention to ensemble, awareness of group in improvisation.
DESCRIBE: Describe what it felt like to use sounds to create a mental picture or image.
ANALYZE: Discuss how emotion is expressed through volume and intensity of sound. Discuss how meaning can be conveyed through sounds versus words.
ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting)
DISCUSS: Discuss what it was like to work as an ensemble to achieve a common goal.
• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Connecting)
MATERIALS: Artsource® video of Casey at the Bat
• Employ pantomime, emotion and improvisation to explore a text. (Creating & Performing)
PROGRESSION:
INTRODUCTION: Poetry can be appreciated in many ways. On the page, words can be read silently. Poems may be read aloud and given dramatic readings by an individual or chorus. Or poems may be recited by memory. Another possibility is to perform a poem, to act it out. Certain poems lend themselves to this approach, particularly narrative poems such as Casey at the Bat In this lesson, students will view and critique the Artsource® video of Casey at the Bat and examine the role of narration. Improvisation and sequencing will play a pivotal role as narrator and actor work together to bring the poem to life.
IMPROVISATION AND NARRATION LEVEL II Sample Lesson
OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to:
• Present Artsource® video of Casey at the Bat. Discuss the actor’s performance. Discuss the narrative voice in the poem. Is the narrator omniscient? How does he know the state of the spectator’s hearts and minds? Is he a fan, a player, teammate? 5
THE HUMAN FAMILY THEATRE
• Analyze and discuss a theatrical approach to poetr y. (Responding & Connecting)
David Prather, Casey at the Bat
Photo: Kelly Ziolkoski
• Demonstrate an ability to engage in creative collaboration (Creating & Responding)
TASK: One student ser ves as narrator/announcer (a la Vin Scully) improvising description of action as Casey(s) act out entire nine-step sequence above or just the final pitch. For Casey: • Narrator invents action outside bounds of the poem, e.g. Casey hits a home run. crowd response, cheers, boos , catcalls to equation of narrator/Casey
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• Add
• Have all students perform Casey’s final swing/“blow” together with a narrator reading the poem from the point where the narration moves into the present tense: “The sneer is gone…the force of Casey’s blow”.
• Chart out the basic sequence of Casey’s plate appearance: 1. steps to the plate 2. doffs his hat 3. rubs hands with dirt, wipes them on shirt 4. takes first pitch 5. raises hand to calm crowd 6. signals to pitcher 7. takes 2nd pitch 8. pounds bat on plate 9. strikes out.
CRITERIA:
• Co-ordinates movement with narration • Strong choices • Facial, bodily expression of character • Correct sequencing For Narrator: • Works in conjunction with actor • Imaginative choices • Vocal intonation • Correct sequencing EXTENSION:
• Have students act out above sequence as Casey: • first in slow motion • then in real time • last in double time. • Teacher may narrate sequence for students.
DISCUSS: Discuss the different modes of conveying meaning, telling a story: verbal and physical.
How do they complement or detract from one another?
Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking
CONNECT: Connect with other areas of life where teamwork, collaboration is critical.
ANALYZE: Analyze the importance of sequence in telling a story, enabling an audience to follow the plot.
VOCABULARY: narration improvisation sequence pantomime collaboration ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting)
DESCRIBE: Describe the difference between watching a performance on tape, and experiencing it live.
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INTRODUCTION: Perhaps Hamlet summed it up best when he said, “words, words, words…” The acquisition of language is a lifelong process, essential not only to the progress of the individual, but to society as a whole. Babies babbling as they crawl across the floor are engaged in the simultaneous development of motor and verbal skills. The two are complementary. One experiences and apprehends language viscerally through locomotion. If we substitute the Greek word for word, “logos” with the Latin word for place, “locus” (i.e. moving from place to place, hence locomotion) we could call this process logo-motion!
• Create original movement based on language encountered in poetry. (Creating & Performing)
• Have students act out simple, literal gestures described in “Casey,” e.g. “doffed his hat,” “rubbed his hands with dirt…wiped them on his shirt,” pound bat upon plate, etc.
OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to:
MATERIALS: Chalk Board and chalk
LEVEL III Sample Lesson
TRANSFORMATION THEATRE
• Invent new onomatopoeic words to describe events in Casey at the Bat (Creating & Connecting)
PROGRESSION:
• Differentiate between literal and figurative language, and literal and abstract movement. (Responding & Connecting)
• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Connecting)
• Next make a list on the chalk board of various verbs from the poem such as whack, hurtling, writhing, rattled, rumbled, clench, sneer, et. al. Students then interpret each word in improvisational movement based on the sound and meaning of the word, exploring literal and abstract connotations. Half the group watches as other half explore. 8
MOVEMENT JAM: “LOGO-MOTION”
In this lesson, language is deconstructed, reinvented and set in motion as students creatively abstract the very essence of words.
• Have students identify various aspects of poetic language and technique such as narrative voice, alliteration, metaphor, simile, imagery, etc. contained in the poem. Apply aspects of aesthetic valuing.
• Have students invent onomatopoeic words for actions in the poem and act these out, e.g. whack (the sound of the bat on the ball), oomph (Cooney out at first), skrippp (Blake tearing the cover off the ball), etc.
DISCUSS: Discuss and contrast the process of acting out literal versus abstract language.
VOCABULARY: onomatopoeic improvise abstract metaphor jam literal ensemble physicalize
ANALYZE: Analyze the role of metaphoric language in creating mood and emotion in the poem.
Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking 9
ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting)
• Spontaneity
• Students identify and physicalize metaphoric, abstract language in poem, e.g. “a sickly silence fell,” “grim melancholy sat,” “a thousand tongues applauded,” “a lusty yell rumbling through the valley,” etc.
• Ensemble work
EXTENSIONS: • Assign individual stanza of poem to a group, who work together to interpret through narration, emotion, sound, abstract and literal movement, improvisation—the whole nine yards!
Task: In groups of four to ten, based on space and numbers of students, select at least one word or phrase from the four categories above (literal, verb, onomatopoeic, metaphoric) and combine in an improvised movement and vocal “jam” on Casey at the Bat Criteria: • Strong commitment • Variety, creativity in movement • Incorporation of four language categories Combined use of sound and movement
David Prather, Casey at the Bat
•
• Link individual stanzas into group performance of entire poem.
DESCRIBE: Describe the process of creating language, of inventing words.
Photo: Kelly Ziolkoski
CONNECT: Discuss the creative process in terms of spontaneity, improvisation.
