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TABLE OF CONTENTS Standards 3 Guidelines for Attending the Theatre 4 Artists 5 Themes for Writing & Discussion 8 Mastery Assessment 10 For Further Exploration 12 Suggested Activities 15
Š Huntington Theatre Company Boston, MA 02115 September 2016 No portion of this curriculum guide may be reproduced without written permission from the Huntington Theatre Company’s Department of Education & Community Programs Inquiries should be directed to: Donna Glick | Director of Education djglick@huntingtontheatre.org This curriculum guide was prepared for the Huntington Theatre Company by: Marisa Jones | Education Associate with contributions by: Alex Smith | Manager of Curriculum & Instruction
COMMON CORE STANDARDS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
STANDARDS: Student Matinee performances and pre-show workshops provide unique opportunities for experiential learning and support various combinations of the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts. They may also support standards in other subject areas such as Social Studies and History, depending on the individual play’s subject matter. Activities are also included in this Curriculum Guide and in our pre-show workshops that support several of the Massachusetts state standards in Theatre. Other arts areas may also be addressed depending on the individual play’s subject matter. Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details 1 •G rade 8: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. • Grades 9-10: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. • Grades 11-12: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences from from the text, including where the text leaves matters uncertain.
Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details 2 •G rade 8: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide and objective summary of the text. • Grades 9-10: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. • Grades 11-12: Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide and objective summary of the text.
Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details 3 •G rade 8: Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision. • Grades 9-10: Analyze how complex characters (e.g. those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the themes.
Reading Literature: Craft and Structure 5 • Grades 9-10: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks), create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise. • Grades 11-12: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
Reading Literature: Craft and Structure 6 • Grade 8: Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor. • Grades 11-12: Analyze a case in which grasping point of view required distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
Reading Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7 •G rade 8: Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors. •G rades 9-10: Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account. •G rades 11-12: 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).
• Grades 11-12: Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop related elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
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MASSACHUSETTS STANDARDS IN THEATRE ACTING • 1.7: Create and sustain a believable character throughout a scripted or improvised scene (By the end of Grade 8). • 1.12: Describe and analyze, in written and oral form, characters’ wants, needs, objectives, and personality characteristics (By the end of Grade 8). • 1.13: In rehearsal and performance situations, perform as a productive and responsible member of an acting ensemble (i.e., demonstrate personal responsibility and commitment to a collaborative process) (By the end of Grade 8). • 1.14: Create complex and believable characters through the integration of physical, vocal, and emotional choices (Grades 9-12). • 1.15: Demonstrate an understanding of a dramatic work by developing a character analysis (Grades 9-12). • 1.17: Demonstrate increased ability to work effectively alone and collaboratively with a partner or in an ensemble (Grades 9-12).
READING AND WRITING SCRIPTS • 2.7: Read plays and stories from a variety of cultures and historical periods and identify the characters, setting, plot, theme, and conflict (By the end of Grade 8).
• 2.11: Read plays from a variety of genres and styles; compare and contrast the structure of plays to the structures of other forms of literature (Grades 9-12).
TECHNICAL THEATRE • 4.6: Draw renderings, floor plans, and/or build models of sets for a dramatic work and explain choices in using visual elements (line, shape/form, texture, color, space) and visual principals (unity, variety, harmony, balance, rhythm) (By the end of Grade 8). •4 .13: Conduct research to inform the design of sets, costumes, sound, and lighting for a dramatic production (Grades 9-12).
CONNECTIONS •S trand 6: Purposes and Meanings in the Arts — Students will describe the purposes for which works of dance, music, theatre, visual arts, and architecture were and are created, and, when appropriate, interpret their meanings (Grades PreK-12). •S trand 10: Interdisciplinary Connections — Students will apply their knowledge of the arts to the study of English language arts, foreign languages, health, history and social science, mathematics, and science and technology/engineering (Grades PreK-12).
• 2.8: Improvise characters, dialogue, and actions that focus on the development and resolution of dramatic conflicts (By the end of Grade 8).
AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE Attending live theatre is a unique experience with many valuable educational and social benefits. To ensure that all audience members are able to enjoy the performance, please take a few minutes to discuss the following audience etiquette topics with your students before you come to the Huntington Theatre Company. • How is attending the theatre similar to and different from going to the movies? What behaviors are and are not appropriate when seeing a play? Why? • Remind students that because the performance is live, the audience’s behavior and reactions will affect the actors’ performances. No two audiences are exactly the same, and therefore no two performances are exactly the same — this is part of what makes theatre so special! Students’ behavior should reflect the level of performance they wish to see. • Theatre should be an enjoyable experience for the audience. It is absolutely all right to applaud when appropriate and laugh at the funny moments. Talking and calling out during the performance, however, are not allowed. Why might this be? Be sure to mention that not only would the people seated around them be able to hear their conversation, but the actors on stage could hear them, too. Theatres are constructed to carry sound efficiently! • Any noise or light can be a distraction, so please remind students to make sure their cell phones are turned off (or better yet, left at home or at school!). Texting, photography, and video recording are prohibited. Food, gum, and drinks should not be brought into the theatre. • Students should sit with their group as seated by the Front of House staff and should not leave their seats once the performance has begun.
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ARTISTS STEPHEN SONDHEIM: A LIFETIME IN THE THEATRE Considered the father of the modern musical, Stephen Sondheim’s contributions to the field of musical theatre are as significant as any of his contemporaries. His journey as an artist began in childhood and led to one of the most prolific writing careers in American theatre history. Sondheim was born on March 22, 1930 Stephen Sondheim in New York City, the only child of Herbert Sondheim, a prominent dress manufacturer, and Janet Fox Sondheim, Herbert’s former chief designer. A highly intelligent child who loved puzzles, games, and anagrams, Sondheim picked out tunes on the piano at the age of four. Aware of his advanced intellect and ability, his parents moved him past kindergarten and into the first grade, during which time he happily read The New York Times. His parents divorced when he was 10 years old and Sondheim moved with his mother to Doylestown, Pennsylvania where he met and became close with Broadway lyricist Oscar Hammerstein and his family. The Hammersteins became surrogate parents to Sondheim, and Oscar served as a role model. Enrolled at the George School, from which he graduated in 1946, Sondheim composed his first musical, By George! a satire of campus life. He showed it to Hammerstein who gave him a four-hour critique. “I learned more that afternoon about song writing and musical theatre than most people learn in a lifetime,” Sondheim later recalled. Hammerstein tutored Sondheim in the art and craft of writing for musical theatre and outlined a course of study that would last for six years.
Teaming with composer Jule Styne, Sondheim wrote the lyrics for Gypsy in 1959, followed by A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in 1962, which was the first musical for which Sondheim was both composer and lyricist. Sondheim dedicated
During the 1970s, Sondheim wrote music and lyrics for Follies, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd, before beginning work on Sunday in the Park with George in the early 1980s. He also co-wrote a screenplay called The Last of Sheila and contributed new lyrics to Leonard Bernstein’s score for Candide. His first major hit song, “Send in the Clowns,” was a part of the score from A Little Night Music, which the Huntington Theatre Company produced in 2015. In the subsequent decade and a half, Sondheim produced words and music for Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, and Passion. In 1995, he co-authored a non-musical play with George Furth called Getting Away with Murder which unfortunately closed after only two weeks on Broadway. In recent years, Sondheim’s work has been represented throughout Broadway and regional theatres with revivals of Candide and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, as well as productions of Passion and Sunday in the Park with George. His musical Road Show (previously known as Bounce) also had an Off Broadway run in 2008. Tim Burton, a director known for the films Beetle Juice (1988) and Edward Scissor Hands (1990), negotiated the rights to Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd and directed his own t. charles erickson
In 1951, Sondheim won a two-year fellowship to study with avant-garde composer Milton Babbitt in New York City. Babbit later remarked that “[Sondheim] wanted his music to be as sophisticated and as knowing within the obvious restraints of a Broadway musical.” In 1955, Sondheim secured his first professional job in the theatre composing the score for the show Saturday Night, intended for Broadway. The project collapsed in preproduction, but after hearing Sondheim’s score, Leonard Bernstein asked him to write the lyrics for his new musical based on Romeo and Juliet. Sondheim hesitated but was convinced by Hammerstein to accept the offer. The musical, titled West Side Story, opened in 1957 to critical and audience acclaim, and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical. The production ran for nearly two years and is one of the most famous musicals in Broadway history.
it to the memory of Oscar Hammerstein, who died in 1960. Sondheim then composed Anyone Can Whistle which closed after only nine performances. Out of loyalty to Hammerstein, but against his better judgement, Sondheim then agreed to write lyrics to Richard Rodgers’ music for Do I Hear a Waltz? Although the show ran only four months, Sondheim received his first Tony Award nomination for his work. After he had contributed music and lyrics to the television musical Evening Primrose, Sondheim began the collaboration with George Furth, Harold Prince, and Michael Bennett that resulted in Company which opened in 1970. Critics called the work “groundbreaking” and “the first modernist musical.” It won the New York Drama Critics’ Award and received 12 Tony Award nominations, winning six including Best Musical and Sondheim’s first for Best Music and Best Lyrics.
The cast of the Huntington Theatre Company’s A Little Night Music (2015). SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE CURRICULUM GUIDE
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graphic “slasher film” of the musical in 2007. More recently, Sondheim’s Into the Woods, adapted for the screen by James Lapine, was released in 2014 and directed by Rob Marshall. At the age of 86, Sondheim continues to write and work. In the spring of 2015, Playbill published an article highlighting his upcoming musical collaboration with David Ives on the new musical entitled All Together Now. The musical is based on two Spanish films with plots centered on an unusual evening for guests at a dinner party. The pair has been working on the piece since 2012 when the show was first announced, but state that it is “coming along slowly” despite their best efforts to complete it. Sondheim and Ives plan to workshop the piece before launching a full scale production at the Public Theater in New York City.
QUESTIONS: 1. Continue your research of Sondheim and his body of work. Select a song from each of his musicals in chronological order and evaluate the progression of his musical and lyrical forms. How has Sondheim’s work evolved over the past 60 years? In what ways has it remained the same? 2. Next, listen to examples of music from musicals written by artists other than Sondheim. Compare and contrast Sondheim’s work with earlier musical theatre composers and lyricists such as Leonard Bernstein, Richard Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein. Which songs are structured in the traditional Rodgers and Hammerstein “character sings his/her emotions while advancing the storyline,” and which exemplify the Sondheim “concept musical” influence which broke with the more traditional structure? 3. Read The Washington Post article from August 2, 2016, about Sondheim’s announcement that All Together Now would finally premiere at the Public Theater in 2017 at huntingtontheatre.org/ SondheimWashingtonPost a. Given Sondheim’s artistic development over the course of his career, do you expect that All Together Now will follow a traditional structure or a more contemporary one? b. What does Sondheim mean when he says, “You don’t take a topic and write about it. The topic arises out of whatever story you tell”?
GEORGES SEURAT “ I want to make modern people, in their essential traits, move about as they do on those friezes, and place them on canvases organized by the harmonies of color. Art is harmony.” – Georges Seurat, December 2, 1859 – March 29, 1891 Georges Pierre Seurat, the center of the neo-impressionist movement, spent his life creating art. He was the youngest of three children born into a wealthy Parisian family. While his parents were not practicing artists themselves, they allowed their son to pursue his creative interests. At the age of 16, Seurat went to study art at the École Municipale de Sculpture et Dessin, and 6
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later enrolled in the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts Academy. During this time he read the Grammaire des arts de Dessin (1867) by Charles Blanc. Blanc suggested that colors obeyed very specific rules, a theory centered on concepts which could be intellectualized and taught. These ideas would greatly influence Seurat and Georges Seurat his contemporaries. Once he fulfilled his military obligation, a compulsory year of service, at the Brest Military Academy, Seurat returned to his drawing and painting and exhibited his first work, a crayon drawing, at the Salon of 1883 (see “Art in Transition” on page 12 for more details on the Paris Salons). His first major painting, Bathers at Asnières, depicts young workingclass men relaxing by the Seine. His use of color and light, as well as the depiction of a moment from modern life, shows the heavy influence of Impressionism on his own creative process. Seurat became one of the founding members of the Groupe des Artistes Indépendants and exhibited Bathers at Ansières at the first exhibition, the Salon de Artistes Indépendants, in the summer of 1884; however, the work was displayed in a back room under poor lighting and did not garner much attention. Later that year another exhibition was held and Bathers at Ansières was once again exhibited. In 1886, French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel took it to New York where it was shown in an exhibition of Impressionist works and it received mixed reviews. One stinging critique decried, “The great master, from his own point of view, must surely be Seurat whose monstrous picture of The Bathers consumes so large a part of the Gallery D. This is a picture conceived in a coarse, vulgar, and commonplace mind, the work of a man seeking distinction by the vulgar qualification and expedient of size. It is bad from every point of view, including his own.” Seurat began work on his most famous piece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, in the summer of 1884, taking two years to complete it. Painted on a huge canvas, 7 x 10 feet in size, the painting debuted at the final Impressionist exhibition in 1886 and was immediately hailed as the founding of a radical new style of painting. The painting is composed of tiny dots layered together to create depth and texture, a technique that would later be dubbed Pointillism. Art historian Robert Lehman, reflecting upon Seurat’s leadership in this new artistic movement, declared: “Led by the example of Georges Seurat, artists of the Neo-Impressionist circle renounced the random spontaneity of Impressionism in favor of a measured painting technique grounded in science and the study of optics. Encouraged by contemporary writing on color theory — the treatises of Charles Henry, Eugène Chevreul, and Ogden Rood for example — Neo-Impressionists came to believe that separate touches of interwoven pigment result in a greater vibrancy of color in the observer’s eye than is
Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884), currently housed at the Art Institute of Chicago
achieved by the conventional mixing of pigments on the palette. Known as mélange optique (optical mixture), this meticulous paint application would, they felt, realize a pulsating shimmer of light on the canvas.” Seurat wrote in a letter to a friend, “Art is Harmony. Harmony is the analogy of opposites, the analogy of similar elements of tone, color, and line, considered according to their dominants and under the influence of light, in gay, calm, or sad combinations.” Despite its status as the beginning of the Neo-Impressionist style, La Grande Jatte did not gain favorable reviews from most contemporary critics. As art historian Martha Ward believed, “Reviewers interpreted the expressionless faces, isolated stances, and rigid postures to be a more or less subtle parody of the banality and pretensions of contemporary leisure.” Seurat continued to produce works throughout the 1880s using his Divisionist or Chromoluminarism technique, which was a style of painting defined by the separation of colors into individual dots or patches. The observer’s naked eye combines the colors; Divisionists believed they were achieving the maximum luminosity in their work by employing this technique. Jeune femme se poudrant was the subject study of Seurat’s mistress, Madeleine Knobloch, and one of Seurat’s last exhibited pieces; his relationship
was kept secret at the time of its exhibition. Knobloch moved into Seurat’s studio and then quickly became pregnant with their son Pierre-Georges, who was born on February 16, 1890. On March 29, 1891 Georges Seurat died in Paris at the age of 31 at his parents’ home. It is believed that the illness that killed Seurat, which is still unknown, also killed his son two weeks later. At the time of his death, Knobloch was pregnant with Seurat’s second child. However, the child died shortly after birth. Seurat’s final largescale painting, left unfinished, was The Circus.
QUESTIONS: 1. Compare and contrast Seurat’s biography with the plot of Sunday in the Park with George. How did Sondheim and Lapine alter the “facts” of Seurat’s life? Would the musical be as interesting if Sondheim created a strictly historical account of Seurat’s life? 2. Do you agree with Seurat’s 19th century art critics? Do you think that when something unique, new, or different occurs, whether in art or other fields, it takes time for observers to accept it? Or do perceptions and tastes simply change over time? 3. How did Sondheim and Lapine weave the Chromoluminarism painting technique into the story for the second act of their musical? SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE CURRICULUM GUIDE
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THEMES FOR WRITING & DISCUSSION THE TRUE COST OF MAKING ART Seurat does not break his focus while painting. As a result, other areas of his life become of secondary importance to his primary one. Dot desperately wants Seurat to tell her to stay in Paris, to put down his paintbrush for just a moment, and commit to building a family and a life with her. It is a tragic irony that she knows Seurat is “special” because of his great artistic talent, but his art ultimately prevents him from loving her fully. As she admits, Dot may not be able to have what she wants but she can have what she needs by marrying Louis the baker. Seurat, although wounded by Dot’s decision to leave the country with his child and another man, does not stop her. He is unable to comprehend why Dot must leave him, and he instead paints over his portrait of her, a piece she begged him to allow her to take. Seurat’s relationship failings do not start and end with his lover. He has difficulty within the art community and cares very little what his contemporaries think of him much less what strangers in the park think of him. In Sunday in the Park with George, Seurat dies without any worldly success, beyond the personal relationships he loses as result of making art; he also reaped none of the financial rewards of the fame that would come after his death. In Act II Seurat’s great-grandson, also named George, seems to struggle with many of the same pitfalls with one distinct advantage: George’s artistic career comes with a significant amount of attention and, with a little advocacy, the funding necessary to make a successful career during his lifetime. However, George is forced to consider the possibility that he is stuck, producing the same type of artwork repeatedly, art for which he is receiving financial support but that is not bringing him any great sense of pride or fulfillment. While George is seemingly more equipped to manage his personal relationships in a way his greatgrandfather could not and is careful to “work the room” in order to secure funds for the next stage of his work, he has lost sight of his true artistic integrity. It is through listening to the concerns of his collaborator Dennis that George opens himself up to the idea of taking his art in a new direction. With that awareness, George takes on the challenge of dissecting his great-grandmother’s journal and securing the family legacy.
QUESTIONS: 1. Is Seurat right that he has no choice but to pursue his artistic vision? Is there no room for anything else? What could his greatgrandson George teach him about living in the world as opposed to simply observing it? 2. Seurat refuses to give Dot the painting of her in the dressing room. Do you agree that she has a right to keep the portrait? Is it “your” art if you are the subject of the work? 3. S ecuring funding is hard work for artists and artistic institutions. In many instances, artists are commissioned to create work for a specific purpose. Research the sources from which nonprofit arts institutions and individual artists receive funding and compare and contrast these models with traditional “patronage” systems. 8
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How does funding impact how much and which art gets made and seen? Is securing arts funding a bigger challenge now than it has been historically or do artists of today have freedoms that their predecessors did not? 4. Do certain professions require those who pursue them to make sacrifices when it comes to their quality of life? What major life events might a person serving in the military be required to miss? What flexibility to return home does an athlete training for the Olympics have when she hears her mother is sick? Might months of living on a movie set or traveling the world for a concert tour take its toll on a romantic relationship?
BROADENING PERSPECTIVE Many theatre critics have argued that Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George is a one-act show at best, lacking the depth and character development necessary to carry the show into the next century. Some claim that the female protagonist’s name “Dot” is too obvious in its symbolism, and the invention of the “Chromolume” for the production, necessitated by the musical’s book, is also a stretch for a sophisticated audience to accept. The double-casting from the first act of the show to the second requires an audience to suspend their disbelief, though it has been pointed out that there is no better role to be double-cast as the “art critic” in act two than Seurat’s own mother, as everyone’s mother is their own biggest critic! Others argue that most of these criticisms simply miss the point: Seurat is working in two-dimensions. He is recreating the scene from outside of it with very little connecting him to the action he is observing. Especially as it pertains to his relationship with Dot, Seurat must keep himself detached in order to have the best vantage point from which to capture a particular moment in time. While it is true that Seurat simply cannot engage with others as a result of his work, it is also true that he suffers as a result of his isolation. He needs only to know the world around him enough to put it on the canvas. Anything in his peripheral vision will cost him the gift of being a great artist. Seurat is forced to choose one or the other. Without Act Two, George’s story would be incomplete. There would be no resolution to any of the questions the audience is left grappling with at the end of Act One, stuck with a cliché view of Georges Seurat’s life and work. It is through the introduction of his great-grandson that the opportunity for the family story to be told finally arrives. Seurat has a clear vision for his art, but no ability to connect with the world around him, while George, his greatgrandson, is able to navigate through his personal relationships but he does not have a purpose for his art until he is connected to the past.
QUESTIONS: 1. In what ways do Seurat and George share a similar perspective on life? How do they differ? At the beginning of Act Two, what does George believe about his own family tree?
George 1884 and George 1984 costume sketches by costume designer Robert Morgan
2. Does Seurat’s friend Jules really see Seurat’s artistic vision? Did commercialism, jealousy, or something else influence his views of Seurat’s work? 3. Do you think critics of film, fine arts, music, etc. get it right most of the time? (How often do you agree with the “rotten tomatoes” ratings when selecting a movie to see?) Do you think critics should have as much influence as they do?
FAMILY CYCLES In Sunday in the Park with George, Stephen Sondheim suggests that the family story is constantly repeating itself. The environment and culture may change, but the universal struggles affecting humanity continue to run their course. This cycle holds true whether you are a mother or a great artist; Seurat and his heirs are no exception. In Act One, Seurat protests that he must “finish the hat,” which means that he must maintain total focus on his creative process. If he leaves his work for any distraction it will all be lost. Dot pushes back: she is also in the middle of creating, not art, but a child and asks him to see the greatness in the life they have made together. Seurat, however, cannot understand her point of view and disregards her requests. Marie, of course, two hundred years later reconciles this tension. She declares that it is great to make both children and art, and Seurat did both.
It is no coincidence that Seurat’s great-grandson, George, is also an artist who is making art out of color and light. Like his greatgrandfather, George has struggled to find a balance between loving personal relationships and his work, having suffered through a divorce and devoted energy to caring for an aging family member while still pursuing his art. George must also navigate the art community’s judgment, albeit with more skill than his very famous great-grandfather. As Marie laments that the ancestral line stops with him, George must set out to connect with his family’s past. If he can see Dot as she needed to be seen, will the circle of their family finally be complete?
QUESTIONS: 1. What family relationships from Act One of Sunday in the Park with George repeat in the second act? What tensions with regard to family and family planning play out in both acts? 2. Why is it especially important to the Old Lady that Seurat paints a picture that she can understand? How do the changes happening around her make her life challenging? 3. What does the future hold for George in Act Two? His life is at a turning point and he seems to have a blank slate before him. Will he create a new family and perhaps ignite the old flame with his ex-wife Elaine? Or will he pursue his research of the family lineage? Use evidence from the text to predict what you believe George will do next. SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE CURRICULUM GUIDE
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MASTERY ASSESSMENT STAGING NOTES 1. At which theatre was Sunday in the Park with George originally performed? 2. Does the production of this musical necessitate a large theatre space? 3. Why do you think Sondheim gave his musical the title Sunday in the Park with George?
29. Why does the Boatman mistrust Seurat’s interpretation of what is happening in the park? 30. How does Dot compare Louis and Seurat? 31. What does Louis do for a living? 32. Describe the Americans’ opinion of French culture and art. What do they like most about their visit?
ACT ONE
33. Celeste #1 and Celeste #2 notice newcomers to the park. Who are they and how do Celeste #1 and Celeste #2 get their attention?
4. Why is Dot unhappy? What is she doing for Seurat?
34. How does the soldier describe his friend’s condition?
5. Why is the Old Lady troubled? Who helps her?
35. How does Seurat explain his behavior especially as it relates to Dot?
6. Which acquaintances of Dot are interested in and talk about Seurat? 7. According to the nurse, what will soon be built?
36. What does Dot reveal to Seurat? How does she know when she will be “finished”? What is the purpose of her visit to see him?
8. What is the nature of Seurat and Dot’s relationship?
37. Why does Seurat believe Louis must love Dot “very much”?
9. Which visitors to the park startle Dot and what does she think they are doing?
38. What is Yvonne’s criticism of Seurat’s work?
10. Describe the relationship between Yvonne, Jules, and Seurat? What do they think of Seurat as an artist?
40. How does Jules react to Seurat’s new painting?
39. What new technique in painting does Seurat reveal to Jules?
11. What does Seurat think of Jules’ artistic work?
41. What further news does Dot share with Seurat? Why is Seurat angry?
12. How are Seurat and the Old Lady related? What seems to be happening to her?
42. What does Dot want Seurat to say? Why does he refuse and how does he explain his position?
13. According to Dot, is she worthy of Seurat’s love?
43. In what ways do Seurat and the Old Lady disagree about the past?
14. Does Seurat respect Dot? 15. Why might Sondheim have chosen the name “Dot” for the lead female protagonist in this story? 16. Where does Seurat promise to take Dot in the evening? What happens to their plans and how do they each react? 17. On the following Sunday, what observations do Celeste #1 and Celeste #2 make about Dot? 18. Why does the Boatman prefer his dogs to people? 19. Why is the Old Lady startled by Louise and upset by what she sees in the park? 20. What is the Boatman’s opinion of George? 21. Why might Dot be hoping to improve her reading and writing skills?
44. What has Seurat done to the “Powdering” painting of Dot? 45. Why is the Old Lady concerned about Seurat? 46. Why are Celeste #1 and Celeste #2 in a fight? 47. What has happened to Louise and who does Yvonne call upon for help? 48. What secret does Louise share with Yvonne and how does Yvonne react? 49. Why does Jules fire Frieda and Franz? 50. Why is the soldier offended by Celeste #1? 51. What order does Seurat make out of the chaos at the end of Act One?
ACT TWO
22. What did Louis make for Dot?
52. Why is Dot in the stage picture dissatisfied with Seurat’s work?
23. Why does the nurse care for Seurat’s mother?
53. What are the struggles for the subjects of Seurat’s painting?
24. What does Louise want to do?
54. What has happened to Seurat? How do the people who knew him best respond to the news?
25. Who does Louise want to play with and why is she having trouble getting their attention? 26. How do Frieda and Franz compare their work to what others do?
55. In 1984, what does one of Seurat’s heirs produce? How does he introduce this work?
27. What is unique about Seurat’s painting technique? What is Jules’ opinion of Seurat taking this approach? Does Seurat care about what others think of him and his art?
56. List three facts about Georges Seurat. 57. Initially, how was A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte received by the artistic community and the public?
28. What does Seurat ask of Jules? Why is this request important to both of their careers?
58. Describe the “new” George’s artistic presentation.
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59. Describe the Chromolume. Why does it fail?
RELATED WORKS & RESOURCES Continue your research of Stephen Sondheim and his contributions to the world of musical theatre. The following suggested works were also used in the development of this curriculum guide.
OTHER MUSICALS BY STEPHEN SONDHEIM: Company (with book by George Furth) Into the Woods (with book by James Lapine) Sunday in the Park with George (with book by James Lapine West Side Story (with music by Leonard Bernstein and book by Arthur Laurents)
VIDEO Reich and Sondheim: In Conversation and Performance (Lincoln Center’s American Songbook), youtube.com/ watch?v=6Zbobkioa8E Stephen Sondheim on “Sweeny Todd” and His Process for Writing a Musical (The New Yorker), youtube.com/ watch?v=rKZGIwZvexw Six By Sondheim (HBO Documentaries)
FOR FURTHER RESEARCH:
James Cordon and Emily Blunt in the movie adaptation of Sondheim’s Into the Woods.
Kenrick, John. Musical Theatre: A History. Bloomsbury Academic, 2010. Maslon, Laurence. Broadway: The American Musical. Applause Theatre & Cinema Book, 2001. Sondheim, Stephen. Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions. Scarecrow Press, 2010. Sondheim, Stephen. Look, I Made a Hat. Knopf, 2011. Secrest, Meryle. Stephen Sondheim: A Life. Vintage, 2011. Swayne, Steve. How Sondheim Found His Sound. U of Michigan Press, 2007.
60. What proof of Seurat and Dot’s relationship does Marie reveal? How does Marie say she is related to Seurat?
69. Would Marie have approved of Seurat’s view of relationships and family? Use evidence from the text to support your ideas.
61. What challenges from his critics is George facing with his latest show?
70. How does Marie describe her mother?
62. How does George classify himself in the art world? Do you think his labeling is accurate? 63. Describe the trip Marie and George have planned.
71. What location will George visit in the hopes of setting up his own art exhibition? 72. For what reason(s) did George turn down the commission for his next Chromolume exhibition?
64. How is Elaine connected to George?
73. What has happened to Marie?
65. Why is George frustrated by the process of securing funding for his work? What makes it difficult?
74. What does Dennis suggest George do?
66. Dennis is upset and very apologetic. Why is Dennis leaving his job? 67. Why did Daniels agree with the decision to add Marie to George’s presentation? 68. How are Daniels and George alike?
75. When Dot appears to George, what message does she have for him? 76. Upon reflection, what did Dot learn through her relationship with Seurat? 77. What do George and Dot read together? 78. What is the significance of the final line of the play? SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE CURRICULUM GUIDE
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FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION HANDOUT: A SHORT HISTORY OF MUSICAL THEATRE An evening of musical theatre … “when everybody has a good time — even in the crying scenes.” – Bob Fosse, Director/Choreographer Musical theatre is often considered the most collaborative art form. To measure a work of musical theatre accurately means to weigh the contributions of many different artists, including the librettist, composer, lyricist, director, choreographer, actors, singers, dancers, musicians, and designers of scenery, costumes and lighting. In his book The Musical, Richard Kislan writes that “musical theatre offers an intricate and colorful puzzle for the senses with each piece complete enough in its artistry to fulfill a prescribed function, while subservient enough to submit to the assimilation necessary for the total effect of a work that in performance loses, as if by magic, the seams that separate the parts.” Musical theatre is also as old as western theatre itself. From its beginnings as ritual chanting of a dithyramb addressed to the Greek god Dionysus, to the musically underscored pantomime of the pre-Christian days of the Roman Empire, to the origins of the opera during the Renaissance, musical theatre has combined music and drama to create a union that enhances the power of each art to create a unique theatrical experience. Over the centuries, different formulas combining music and theatre have led to myriad alternative forms ranging from oratorio to operetta to the rock musical. Many scholars believe that Americans’ contributions to the evolution of musical theatre are perhaps our nation’s greatest artistic achievement.
ELEMENTS OF MUSICAL THEATRE The Book: Sometimes called the libretto, the book of a musical is typically written first. The book generates the “theatre” in the musical theatre form. It is the glue which binds the other elements together. The book encompasses the necessary components of the dramatic form, such as: characters – the people in the story plot – the sequence of actions and events that drive the characters, ideas, or situations situation – any moment within the plot that generates drama, sustains audience attention, and begs for resolution dialogue – speech; generally a companion in tone and style to the lyrics of the musical theme – main idea (or ideas) of the story In a traditional musical book the following dramatic elements are generally established within the first five minutes of the performance, either through action or exposition: time – morning, afternoon, or night place – geographical setting characters – social identity, status, relationships 12
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE CURRICULUM GUIDE
Bob Fosse on the set of Sweet Charity, 1969
theme – a hint of the message or purpose of the story is introduced conflict – obstacles that the characters must endeavor to overcome tone – mood of the musical (serious, comedic, etc.) The Lyrics: The lyrics are the words written to accompany the score. Lyrics must be compact and meaningful. Song lyrics differ from all other forms of literature because lyric form and musical form must synchronize. Sondheim explains, “Lyrics exist in time — as opposed to poetry. You can read a poem at your own speed, but on the stage the lyrics come at you and you hear them once. Second, lyrics go with music and music is very rich. Lyrics therefore have to be underwritten.” The Score: The music! Music expresses and reinforces the emotion in the drama and stimulates or serves the dramatic action. Music establishes the tone and sets the mood of the story. Its component parts are melody, which represents an aural image of the lyric, harmony, which creates tones that color the aural image, and rhythm, which contrasts the dramatic values of character and action. Elements of the score include: the overture, opening number, establishing songs, patter songs, rhythm songs, chorus numbers, musical scenes, underscoring, segues and reprises. Songs with dramatic functions are often called: ballads, charm songs, comedy songs, “I am” songs, and “I want” songs. Consider Sunday in the Park with George and identify one song for each of these dramatic functions.
ART IN TRANSITION (1870-1890) The fine arts community underwent a remarkable period of advancement in France during the 1870s. The Impressionist movement broke traditional concepts of subject study and technique, and expanded the use of light and color in painting. Claude Monet’s “Impression, Sunrise” (1872) was appraised by
TERMS TO KNOW Impressionism: A French art movement of the 19th century. Impressionist work is characterized by small, thin brush strokes, open composition, and realistic use of color and light. Neo-Impressionism: Following the Impressionist movement led by Georges Seurat, Neo-Impressionism was characterized by Pointillism, Divisionism, and the desire to capture landscape scenes through scientifically based painting techniques. Pointillism: A technique of painting in which tiny dots of color are applied in a specific pattern to create an image.
Monet’s Impression, Sunrise (1872), at the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris
Louis Leroy, an influential art critic, who described the painting as an impression rather than a completed piece. As a result of this critique, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Camille Pisarro, among others, were categorized as “Impressionists.” This gave a name to a new kind of painting which broke traditional forms. While exploring new painting techniques, these artists were also fighting the art establishment of the time. The expositions in the famous Paris Salons were an absolute necessity for artists desiring to be recognized by the larger arts community, but the Impressionists began to disregard these events in favor of showing their work independently. In 1874, the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers, organized an exhibition in Paris separate from the annual Paris Salon, which typically honored more traditional work. Between 1874 and 1886, the Impressionists organized eight exhibitions of their own, highlighting an artistic style which emphasized modern life in contrast to the depictions of royalty, religious subjects, and Greek mythology favored by more traditional artists, and departed from the muted color palettes of the time, opting instead for brighter colors and careful attention to light. Impressionist painters favored short or broken brushstrokes that implied the general shapes they depicted over ones that provided precise details and forms. Impressionist painting was considered casual in comparison to the realistic style which preceded it; however, by the last Impressionist exhibit in 1886, at which Georges Seurat first revealed A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte, most artists were transitioning into a style called Neo-Impressionism. Seurat himself led this movement with his focus on Pointillism and Divisionism, and expanded artistic ideas about the use of forms and color. This movement would be immediately followed by the Post-Impressionist era. Post-Impressionism included a variety of styles, and while artists such as Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and others did not consider themselves part of a collective movement, they were later categorized together by art critics and historians. Artists like Georges Seurat and Paul Signac adopted a technique
Divisionism/Chromoluminarisum: A painting technique employed by Neo-Impressionists which separated colors into individual patches which the eye interprets, allowing them to combine optically.
based on the use of small points of color, called Pointillism and Divisionism. Paul Gauguin worked in a style known as Primitivism, and Odilon Redon worked in Symbolism. While each of these artists maintained distinctly different techniques, they are usually classified as Post-Impressionist, having broken away from the naturalism of Impressionism and focusing instead on the expression of emotions and symbols. As a result of the Post-Impressionist era, during which artists pushed through accepted boundaries and limitations of their art form, abstract art ultimately fell into the mainstream, making way for the Modernist art movement.
QUESTIONS: 1. What are the differences between Impressionism, NeoImpressionism, and Post-Impressionism? Why are these distinctions important? Why is the classification of art work important to the people who study artists and artistic movements? 2. Study Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte. What details and effects are created by the brush strokes and color palette? Should this work be exhibited under the same labeling as Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night? 3. How might an artistic movement “happen”? Did Impressionism happen as a result of artists coming together to share their work and critique each other or did artists coincidentally break with traditional forms at the same time? Why might collaboration or sharing work with others be undesirable for an artist? Why might it be helpful and necessary?
THE HUNTINGTON’S OWN GEORGE: ADAM CHANLER-BERAT A self-proclaimed “theatre rat,” actor Adam Chanler-Berat spent much of his school-age years pursuing his theatre passions at Clarkstown High School in the town of Nyack, a suburb of New York City. Chanler-Berat found great professional success even as a very young actor when cast as part of the youth ensemble and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE CURRICULUM GUIDE
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sara krulwich
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine
performed on Broadway for the first time at the final performance of Les Miserables in 2003. “The adrenaline,” he says of this experience, “left my memory bare.” Chanler-Berat spent two important years of his career at the Booth Theater on Broadway, where he originated the role of Henry in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Next to Normal. When this show closed he moved on to the role of Mark Cohen in an off Broadway production of Rent at New World Stages, followed by the role of Peter in the original production of Peter and the Starcatcher. Fun facts about Chanler-Berat: he is colorblind, loves the Food Network, is afraid of the dark, and was born on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1986. He is not only an actor in the theatre world, but has also had success in television and film, as well as starring in the web series, “It Could be Worse.”
QUESTIONS: 1. Adam Chanler-Berat is currently 30 years old. Georges Seurat was 31 years old when he died. Is it important to cast actors according to the age of the character they will play? How might an actor’s age in relation to their character’s age inform their performance? Do you think age is more or less important on film than it is in theatre? 2. Adam Chanler-Berat grew up a short distance from Broadway. Might his experience living outside of New York City have influenced his desire to pursue the stage? What role does geography play when it comes to finding success in a difficult career field? Must actors live in Los Angeles in order to work in film? Is it better to live in Canada for those who want to play hockey for the NHL? Or is it possible to “get anywhere from here”?
JAMES LAPINE — A GREAT COLLABORATOR Staging a musical is a highly collaborative process and often the coordination among artists begins before the show is even written. In creating Sunday in the Park with George, Stephen Sondheim worked with many theatre artists, including James Lapine, a screenwriter, filmmaker, playwright, librettist, and theatre director. This creative partnership won the two a Pulitzer Prize for Drama 14
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE CURRICULUM GUIDE
Adam Chanler-Berat and Celia Keenan-Bolgerin the Broadway production of Peter and the Starcatcher.
in 1985 for Sunday in the Park with George. To his credit, Lapine’s impressive theatrical career has also garnered three Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical (Into the Woods, Falsettos, Passion) and multiple Drama Desk Awards. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2010. His resume also includes television and film with credits, including the HBO documentary Six by Sondheim for which he won a Peabody Award. Lapine was born in 1949 in Mansfield, Ohio, where his family lived until they moved to Stamford, Connecticut, when he was a teenager. After high school he enrolled as a history major at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, before doing graduate work in photography and graphic design at the California Institute of Art where he received his MFA. He moved to New York City where he held a number of odd jobs including a freelance designing gig for the magazine Yale/Theatre. Wholly impressed with Lapine’s work, the Dean of the School of Drama offered him a full time job with teaching responsibilities at Yale. Lapine’s students encouraged him to pursue additional theatre work, and while at the university he adapted and directed the play Photograph by Gertrude Stein. A friend of Lapine’s secured a small performance space for Photograph in New York City’s Soho neighborhood, and the production received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike during its three-week run. Lapine won an Obie Award for his work, an auspicious beginning to his career in theatre. Lapine met Sondheim in 1982 and they worked on a number of musicals together including Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Passion, and the musical revue Sondheim on Sondheim.
QUESTIONS: 1. Undertake additional research on James Lapine’s career. Does he regularly collaborate with any other artists besides Sondheim? How does Lapine measure success? Has Lapine enjoyed more success with his stage or screen work? If you had to make a guess, which project brings him the most pride? 2. What qualities characterize successful working relationships? Do friendships make it easier or more difficult to work on a group project? Who would you choose for a lab partner or companion to take on a three-legged race? Why?
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES BREAKING DOWN PLOT Part 1: Chart the plot structure of Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George (using a piece of graph paper can be helpful for this exercise). Use the model below to help notate the rising and falling action, central conflict, climax, and finally the musical’s resolution.
Climax (a decision must be made about the conflict)
Rising Action (events that lead to the conflict)
Falling Action (events in which the conflict unravels)
Exposition (intro of characters, setting, etc.)
Resolution (a new status quo is established)
BEGINNING OF STORY
END OF STORY
Part 2: Complete this exercise for a musical of your choosing, post 1970s. Suggestions include: Les Miserables (1980), Assassins (1990), Rent (1996), Next to Normal (2008), Hamilton (2015). EXTRA CREDIT: Compare and contrast style and content for a musical written before 1970 with one written after (for example Oklahoma! vs. Hamilton). How have the plot structures, content, themes, and musical compositions in the American musical theatre evolved over the last few decades?
Original Broadway cast of Oklahoma! (1943)
Original Broadway cast of Hamilton (2015) SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE CURRICULUM GUIDE
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES RESEARCH/GROUP STUDY OF MUSICAL THEATRE HISTORY 1. Ask students to work in groups to research and define each of the following musical theatre forms, citing examples of the influence of earlier forms. Students should be encouraged to present recorded examples that will allow the class to appreciate the variety of music, songs, artists, and musical facts that represent their findings. Assign teams to one or more of the following categories:
Opera
Operetta
Ballad Opera
Minstrelsy
Vaudeville
Burlesque
Revue
Follies
Oratorio
Concept Musical
Rock Musical/Rock Opera
Musical Comedy
2. Create student teams and assign one of the following musicals as the subject for a research project to be shared in class.
Show Boat
Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, 1927
Porgy and Bess
George and Ira Gershwin, 1935
South Pacific
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, 1949
West Side Story
Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, 1957
Hair
Galt MacDermott, Gerome Ragni and James Rado, 1968
Jesus Christ Superstar
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, 1971
Les Miserables
Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, 1980
Assassins
Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman, 1990
Avenue Q
Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx, and Jeff Whitty, 2003
Next to Normal
Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, 2008
Fun Home
Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori, 2013
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: 1. Who are the composers, lyricists, directors, and producers? 2. What themes are prevalent in these musicals? 3. What historical relationships do these musicals have with their themes? 4. Why were these “serious” musicals popular, resonating with wide audiences? 5. What social impacts did these musicals have on their first audiences? 6. Why were these musicals considered controversial at the time of their world premieres?
nile hawver
Cast of Sunday in the Park with George
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES VISUAL ART AND CREATIVE WRITING Georges Seurat was inspired to paint by his time spent on the Isle of La Grande Jatte and composer Stephen Sondheim was inspired by Seurat’s artistic interpretation of the park scene. One artist’s work often inspires others to create. Part One: Team up with a partner and travel together to a park in your community. For example, if you live in Boston, you could visit Boston Common, the Public Garden, Franklin Park, the Arnold Arboretum, etc. When you arrive, take a few moments to sit in a location that provides a wide view of the people and scenery around you. In the artistic medium you prefer (pencil sketching, watercolors, ink, etc.) create a visual representation of what you see in this location. Once you have captured the scene, share your artwork with your partner and discuss what you have each created. What did you each choose to depict in your art? What techniques did you use to capture the light, colors, movement, people, sounds, and objects around you? What do you see through your partner’s artistic interpretation? Part Two: Use your partner’s artwork as the basis for a piece of creative writing. Reflect on your conversation about your partner’s art. How does the experience of viewing a piece of visual art inspire other artists to create in their own preferred creative forms? Choose a written artistic form such as a short story, monologue, or poem that you feel would help bring the visual image your partner created to life. Share your final written work with your partner and your class.
ACTING AND TABLEAUS A tableau is a theatrical performance technique in which actors create a live, frozen image that tells a story. Actors playing roles Boston Public Garden in Sunday in the Park with George need to exercise extreme concentration in their tableau work, as the stage directions at beginning of the musical’s second act read: Lights slowly fade up, and we see EVERYONE frozen in the tableau. There is a very long pause before we begin. The audience should feel the tension as they wait for something to happen. In this moment, the actors onstage bring Seurat’s most famous art work to life through a tableau — now YOU will do the same! Step One: In small groups, consider why it is essential that actors execute Act One’s finale staging with extreme precision. Closely examine the “Stage Placement of Characters for Finale: Act I” page of the stage directions and work together as a group to recreate a portion of Seurat’s painting. Share this tableau with the class. How long can the group hold the pose without breaking? Does the audience recognize the characters from the painting that the group members represent? Step Two: Each group should select a new piece of artwork from a selection of famous paintings to represent through a tableau. Allow time for all stage pictures to be shared with the larger group. Which tableaus were easiest to recognize? Did understanding the representation have more to do with the popularity of the art work or the actor’s ability to hold the pose?
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES DESIGN REQUIREMENTS The scenic notes for Sunday in the Park with George are extensive and detailed: The Set: Originally designed in forced perspective, using portals and deck, should space be a limitation, the action can also play effectively in front of a drop of the island as background. For Act Two, a second drop, depicting the island as it appears today, could be used in the last scene, and rolled up at the finale. Cut-Outs: Though many of the cut-outs of the painted figures came up magically from the deck…George [could also] carry and place them on stage. Another effective way to get cut-outs on stage is to track the deck (or floor) and have them slide onstage with a push-stick.
ACTIVITY #1 Create designs for drops for Act I and Act II. Begin by researching: • What is a “drop”? • Why does the same background image need to repeat at the beginning of both acts? Why does the drop design need to change? Create a drawing of what should go on the two drops and share both designs with your class. Do your classmates agree the design is appropriate for the production?
ACTIVITY #2 On a model scale, design cut-outs to represent the figures needed in the production and answer the following questions: 1. What is a “cut-out”? 2. Which characters need to be represented by a cut-out? 3. Why is it important how the cut-outs get onstage? What is a push-stick? 4. How do you intend for the cut-out to get on stage? Does this choice affect your design choices? 5. Should the cut-outs be white, black, or something else? 6. Display your cut-outs for the entire class to see. How did the design choices vary from model to model? EXTRA CREDIT: Do you think the technical elements of this show make it a difficult one to produce or is their enough flexibility within the staging notes to be produced anywhere on any type of budget?
todd rosenberg
Director Peter DuBois and Adam Chanler-Berat (who plays George) visit Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte at the Art Institute of Chicago
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SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES QUOTABLE MOMENTS Option A: Choose one of the following quotes from Sunday in the Park with George. Write an essay analyzing the quote’s meaning. Consider: 1. Which character said it? 2. Does the character mean it literally or is there an unspoken subtext? 3. What does this statement reveal about the character’s way of looking at the world? 4. How do the character’s actions support or contradict the quote? 5. Do other characters seem to agree or disagree? 6. How does the quote contribute to the forward progression of the scene and of the plot as a whole? • The challenge: bring order to the whole. • George taught me all about concentration. “The art of being still.” • There’s only color and light. • Still, Sunday with someone’s dotty mother is better than Sunday with your own. • I should have been an artist. I was never intended for work. • Because I do not paint for your approval. • You don’t know me! Go on drawing. Since you’re drawing only what you want to see, anyway! • I don’t think I can have what I really want. Louis is what I need. • I cannot divide my feelings up as neatly as you, and I am not hiding behind my canvas — I am living in it. • That’s the challenge of our work. You never know what movement is going to hit next. Which artist to embrace. • It’s not enough knowing good from rotten. • Advancing art is easy — financing it is not. • Now they’re becoming more and more about less and less. • There are only two worthwhile things to leave behind when you depart this world: children and art. Option B: Choose one of the following quotes by Stephen Sondheim and write an essay in which you argue for or against Sondheim’s perspective. Use evidence from musicals both by Sondheim and others to support your opinion. • “Although one can’t underestimate the importance of songs, it’s the book that the musical theatre is all about, and I’m not being modest.” • “At least half my songs deal with ambivalence, feeling two things at once…I like neurotic people. I like troubled people.” • “I usually write lying down, so I can go to sleep easily. I write about ten minutes and sleep for two, on the average.” • “Obviously the hardest kind of lyric in the world to set is often the best kind to read. Iambic pentameter is wonderful to read and terrible to set. I learned from Oscar and Cole Porter: as you’re writing a lyric, get a rhythm even if you don’t have a tune in your head.” • “We Americans have a special tendency to ignore history. We remember only what is pleasant. We must have a sense of the past. Without it the present is meaningless and stupid.” • “As for humor in lyric writing, it’s always better to be funny than clever — and a lot harder.” • “People mistake sentimentality for feeling. I believe in sentiment but not sentimentality.” • “I believe it’s the writer’s job to educate the audience…to bring them things they would never have expected to see. It’s not easy, but writing never has been.”
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COLOR ME
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Illustration by Mariya Kovalyov happyfamilyart.com
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