About the Artwork: The Tale of Beatrix Potter illuminates the life of the author/illustrator who gave us such beloved stories as The Tale of Peter Rabbit and those of some of his friends, Benjamin Bunny, Mrs. Tiggy Winkle, Jemina Puddle-Duck and Mr. Jeremy Fisher. The context for the performance is a visit with the famous literary figure. Ms. Potter shares some biographical information and tells a selection of her stories. The audience also learns the tales behind the tales, the real animals, people and incidents which inspired the characters and plots. Ms. Helton’s costume is a copy of Beatrix Potter’s wedding garb, representing her as she looked on her wedding day in 1913 at age 47. That event marked both an end to Beatrix’s life with her parents and her creative writing career. She embarked on a new life with her lawyer husband, Mr. William Heelis, devoting herself to him and their country property, “Hill Top Farm.”
Background Information: Actress Judith Helton literally steps into the past when she goes to work. Since 1976 she has brought history to life with her intriguing portrayals of women of accomplishment and ar tistic talent. Her versatile repertoire of one-woman shows consists of three from American history - First Lady Abigail Adams; gold rush entertainer Lotta Crabtree; pioneer author Laura Ingalls Wilder - and England’s author/illustrator, Beatrix Potter. Each portrayal is meticulously researched from an historical perspective. Ms. Helton is also known to master the skills of her characters. For Abigail Adams she acquired an antique spinning wheel and learned to spin so that she could share the making of ‘homespun’ with her audiences. To prepare for Lotta Crabtree, she learned to play the banjo. She was so successful that the Wells Fargo History Museum of Los Angeles commissioned her to record a tape of her singing and banjo playing for a permanent audio exhibitof “gold rush songs.”
California TRANSFORMATION THE POWER OF NATURE FREEDOM OPPRESSION&ENDURINGVALUES THEFAMILYHUMAN THEATREMUSIC ARTISTIC PROCESSES 1. CREATING (Cr) 2. PERFORMING, PRESENTING, PRODUCING (Pr) 3. RESPONDING (Re) 4. CONNECTING (Cn) rtsource ® The Music Center’s Study Guide to the Performing Arts A MULTI-MEDIAEXPERIMENTALCONTEMPORARYCLASSICALTRADITIONALPhotocourtesyofAmericana Unlimited
Title of Work: The Tale of Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit, & Friends
A mid-westerner, Ms. Helton was born in Carbondale, Illinois and was a Theatre Arts major at Southern Illinois University. After graduation, she began her professional theatre work in resident actingcompanies in Baltimore, Milwaukee, Houston and San Diego. Internationally she has performed at the Edinburgh, Scotland “World Theatre Festival” and in Dublin and Cork, Ireland. Ms. Helton so truly ‘becomes’ the various women she plays, that it is little wonder she is asked by neighbors, “Who are you today?”
Creator: Producer/Performer: Judith Helton b.1941
Creative Process of the Artist or Culture: When Beatrix Potter was 15 years old, she wrote in her journal, “Someday I will do something.” Judith Helton identified with the young Ms. Potter, for she herself as a young girl aspired to do something, to be an actress and have a career in the theatre. She had always appreciatedthe Potter books and in 1986 she started the research to create a show about her. “In recreating past lives I discovered that they were re-creating me, sending me off into new directions of self discovery.”
Judith Helton
• How were children educated in Victorian England?
• How did Beatrix Potter’s life influence her art?
LEVEL III
• The Royal Ballet Company of England made a charming film of dances based upon Beatrix Potter’s tales. The locations and costumes are extraordinar y replicas of the original artwork. Rent the video or check library video resources. Length: 46 minutes.
• Color or paint line reproductions of Beatrix Potter’s characters following the palette in her illustrations.
• Do you have a pet or favorite animal that you could use as a character around which to create a story?
Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd., London, England: 1972.
LEVEL I
• Create an original story based on first-hand observation of an animal subject.
• Beatrix Potter’s original picture letters can be found at: ter/.http://www.themorgan.org/collections/works/pot-
• What do the characters’ clothing tell you about their personalities? Cite examples.
• Research a favorite author and perform a two-minute characterization as your chosen literary figure.
Additional References:
•1985.Linder, Enid and Leslie. The Art of Beatrix Potter
For all her historical characters, Ms. Helton begins her creative process by reading everything written about or by them, absorbing it, and then allowing it to gestate. She discovers points of common interest between herself and the character. For example, Ms. Helton is a painter and is very fond of animals, as was Ms. Potter. As she grows ‘to know’ her subject, Ms. Helton then ‘lives’ as the character, walking, talking and performing simple household tasks like making a cup of tea or ironing a blouse. Creating the character's physicality is a turning point in Ms. Helton’s creative evolution for she learns about each personality through their clothing. Beatrix Potter was a large woman, so the petite Ms. Helton uses padding to achieve the correct silhouette. To acquire the English accent and intonation, Ms. Helton listened to cassettes of the British play, The School for Scandal. She familiarized herself with the Potter tales by recording the actual stories and then memorizing them. Finally, she wrote a script for the performance, incorporating her research and selecting a repertoire of stories.
• Begin a journal recording daily obser vations of your life and home environment.
Write an illustrated letter to someone, telling them about a family pet or favorite animal.
• What kind of childhood did Beatrix Potter have?
• The Beatrix Potter Society, High Banks, 26 Stoneborough Lane, Budleigh Salterton, Devon, EX9 6HL, England.
• Read two or three Beatrix Potter tales and discuss the characters, the plot, and any morals or lessons taught by the stories.
LEVEL II
• Lane, Margaret. The Tale of Beatrix Potter. Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd., London, England: 1946, revised
Creative Process: (continued)
• What are your favorite Beatrix Potter stories? Why?
• Prepare a large garden salad for a classroom snack based on the ingredients you might find in Mr. McGregor’s garden.
• Improvise story theatre presentations based on Beatrix Potter’s tales.
• What lessons did any of the characters learn in the tales Ms. Potter shared with you?
• Beatrix Potter was dedicated to preserving animal habitats and the land’s natural beauty. She willed her home and farm to a nature conservancy organization called The National Trust. Discuss ways that your class can support environmental causes to save parks, beaches and wilderness areas from over-development and pollution. Contact the Sierra Club, the World Wildlife Fund or the American Forestry Association.
Sample Experiences:
• Complete a detailed life-study drawing of a plant or animal.
Discussion Questions: After listening to the audio or viewing the slides:
Multidisciplinar y Options:
Audio-Visual Materials: • Artsource® audio interview with Paul Traceyand Judith Helton as Beatrix Potter.
2 * Indicates sample lessons * * *
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit began as a ‘picture letter.’
THEATRE
• Read the appendicized material, The Tale Behind The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which describes the evolution of Beatrix Potter’s story. Explain that rather than using TextMessages and E-mail like we do today, most people in her time wrote hand-written letters. She added illustrations to help tell the tale. Ask each student to write a letter to a person of his or her choice about a family pet or favorite animal. Encourage the children to write about an animal they know. If they do not have pets of their own, ask them to write about the fish in their classroom aquariumor a neighbor’s dog or cat. Each letter should have small illustrations throughout, showing the story’s progression. Share the letters with the class and then actually mail them.
• Use picture rubber stamps to print out an illustrated stor y. Experiment with colored markers and ink pads to give the images added texture.
Photo courtesy of: www.Copyright-free-photos.org.uk
LEVEL I Sample Lesson
INTRODUCTION:
•Towrite an illustrated letter to someone about a family pet or favorite animal. (Creating & Presenting)
Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking
PROGRESSION:
EXTENSION:
MATERIALS: Paper, pen, pencils.
OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to:
VOCABULARY: picture letter, rebus ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting)
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THE POWER OF NATURE PICTURE LETTERS
DISCUSS: Discuss your letter and your choice of the person to whom you wrote it.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit began as a “picture letter” from Beatrix Potter to five-year-old Noel Moore. This picture letter became the now famous book. To see the original picture letters, please visit: http://www.themorgan.org/collections/works/potter/
• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Connecting)
OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes)
INTRODUCTION: Beatrix Potter’s drawings are celebrated for their detail and proportion. This drawing exercise asks students to study and draw in a realistic style.
LEVEL II Sample Lesson
EXTENSIONS:
• Group the life-studies in small displays of four or five drawings. Challenge each group of illustrators to improvise a story using their drawings as the characters. After they have constructed the plot and rehearsed their tale, have each group present their story, sharing the narration among the group and using their life-studies as illustrations.
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• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Connecting)
• Ask students to select an animal or plant as a life-study subject to draw. Beatrix Potter obser ved and drew her pets, various farm animals and a variety of wildflowers and plants in countr y gardens. She visited a museum and practiced drawing still-life subjects, such as stuffed owls or butterflies in display cases. Your students may choose any plant or animal subject that is accessible for them to study and sketch. Ask them to pay particular attention to proportion and detail so that they draw a realistic picture of their subject, as opposed to one in an impressionistic or stylized manner When their sketches are completed, have them add color with pencils or markers. Display their artwork on the classroom blackboard or bulletin board.
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MATERIALS: Paper, pen, colored pencils, markers.
PROGRESSION:
LIFE-STUDY DRAWINGS THE POWER OF NATURE
THEATRE
Students will be able to: •Complete a detailed life-study drawing of a plant or animal. (Creating & Presenting)
• Use a plant and/or flower study to make handmade writing paper or stationery. Reduce the illustration on a copy machine and reproduce it. Paste it up as a border or heading on paper and envelopes. Tie them with brightly colored ribbons and give them as a gift.
DISCUSS: Discuss what you learned from doing your drawing.
ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting)
ANALYZE: What differences do you see in your drawing and in the actual object?
CONNECT: Discuss how drawing something helps us see it more clearly.a summary of steps and processes.
Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking 5
VOCABULARY: life-study, proportion, realistic, impressionistic
DESCRIBE: Describe the details of the plant or animal you choose to draw. Find as many details about the shape, color, patterns, etc. as possible.
• Listen to the Artsource® audio and use the discussion questions on page 2 to further your understanding of Beatrix Potter, her culture and her interests.
• Review the things you learned about how Beatrix Potter gathered material and inspiration for her stories.
• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Responding & Connecting)
• When they have completed the process, have them choose one episode from their animals’ lives to tell www.Copyright-free-photos.org.uk
• Animal (pet or wildlife), paper, pens or pencils.
THEATRE
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THE POWER OF NATURE TALES OF TAILS, FEATHERS AND
• Is your animal male or female? • Who are its friends?
• What is it most proud of? Why?
INTRODUCTION: Beatrix Potter observed and created stories about the animals around and in her home or in the countryside she visited on family vacations. This exercise asks children to select an animal from their home or surroundings to use as inspiration for storytelling.
FURLEVEL III Sample Lesson
•Create an original story based on first-hand observation of an animal subject. (Creating & Performing)
• What makes it happy? Sad• What is it afraid of?
PROGRESSION:
• Artsource® interview with Paul Tracey and Judith Helton as Beatrix Potter.
• Next ask your students to each select an animal to observe for a story of their own. They should endow or give human traits to their animal characters as Beatrix Potter did. The following questions can help guide them through this process:
• What is the animal’s name? • Is it neat or messy?
The answers to these questions should help students create a character with a distinct personality. Have them copy the list of questions and write the answers for their selected animal.
• Is it shy or fierce?• Share one of its secrets.
MATERIALS:
OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes) Students will be able to:
Emphasis on: Common Core - CA State Standards for Language - Reading; Writing; Listening; Speaking 7Yorkshire Dales Countryside by Petr Kratochvil www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=9970&picture=yorkshire-dales-countryside
EXTENSION: • Transcribe the stories and put them in a little book, much like the tales in the Beatrix Potter collection. Draw and color an illustration of your animal subject to mount on the cover.
DESCRIBE: Describe the things that most interested you about the animal you selected.
DISCUSS: Discuss what you found most difficult about this assignment.
VOCABULARY: storytelling, endow ASSESSMENT: (Responding & Connecting)
• Share the stories one by one with the class.
as a story to the class. Their tales should include a physical description of the animal’s character and its clothing, as well as a profile of the qualities that make it special.
CONNECT: Discuss the things we can learn from animals.
ANALYZE: Discuss the similarities and differences you find between your animal and you.
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THE TALE BEHIND THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT
A few years after the Peter Rabbit letter had been sent to Noel, it occurred to Beatrix Potter that she might make a little book of the story, and she wrote to ask if Noel had kept that letter, and, if so, could she borrow it? Noel had in fact kept the letter and was happy to lend it to her.
It is always intriguing to discover the story behind the story -- what inspired the author to be a writer in the first place! In the case of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, its world-wide success began as an illustrated letter to a little boy, Noel Moore. Noel’s mother Annie, when she was twenty, had been a governess to Beatrix Potter who was seventeen. Two years later, Annie married and moved away but the two women kept in close touch. Annie's first child was born on Christmas Eve and given the name Noel. He was followed by seven other brothers and sisters. Beatrix Potter was very fond of the Moore family, and when five-year-old Noel became ill, she sent him a picture letter all about Peter Rabbit and his adventures in Mr. McGregor’s garden. The character of Peter was based on Beatrix’s pet rabbit, Peter Piper. The now famous letter was written on September 4, 1893.
First she made pen-and-ink copies of the drawings on some folded sheets of thin paper, but they showed through on the reverse side so she started all over again, this time using notepaper. Then Beatrix Potter rewrote the story in a stiff-covered exercise book and prepared forty-two pen-and-ink drawings to illustrate it. These were tucked into corner slots in the pages of the book. It was called The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor’s Garden, by H. B. Potter. In addition to the black-andwhite drawings there was a colored frontispiece, showing Peter in bed, and his mother, Mrs. Rabbit, giv ing him a cup of chamomile tea.
Canon Rawnsley, a friend of the family and a founding member of The National Trust, became interested in Beatrix Potter’s idea to make a book out of this story letter. He offered to help her find a publisher and to submit the manuscript on her behalf.
In 1900 the story was sent to at least six publishers, all of whom rejected it. The following year the undaunted Beatrix withdrew eleven pounds from her savings and published 250 copies herself. The little tale became immensely popular among her family and friends. When she resubmitted the tale to publishers Frederick Warne & Co., they accepted it and still publish her works today.