Pirates Curriculum Guide

Limelight TEACHER LITERARY & CURRICULUM GUIDE 2008-2009

Book & lyrics by WILLIAM S. GILBERT Music by ARTHUR S. SULLIVAN Conceived by GORDON GREENBERG,

NELL BENJAMIN, & JOHN MCDANIEL Additional book & lyrics by NELL BENJAMIN Music supervision & arrangements by JOHN MCDANIEL Choreography by DENIS JONES Directed by GORDON GREENBERG

MAY 15 - JUNE 14, 2009 B.U. Theatre 264 Huntington Avenue

HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY IN RESIDENCE AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

huntington theatre company in residence at boston university Peter DuBois

Michael Maso

Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director

Managing Director

STAFF This Teacher Literary and Curriculum Guide was prepared for the Huntington Theatre Company by Elisha Sawyer, Education Intern With contributions by Donna Glick, Director of Education Lynne Johnson, Associate Director of Education Charles Haugland, Stone Literary Fellow Allison Horsley, Assistant Professor of Dramatic Literature, University of Denver Meg Wieder, Education Department Manager Alexandra Smith, Professional Intern Melissa Wagner-O’Malley, Layout

Support provided by the generous donors to the Huntington Musical Fund.

Pirates! (Or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d) Book & lyrics by WILLIAM S. GILBERT, Music by ARTHUR S. SULLIVAN Conceived by GORDON GREENBERG, NELL BENJAMIN, & JOHN MCDANIEL Additional book & lyrics by NELL BENJAMIN Music supervision & arrangements by JOHN MCDANIEL Choreography by DENIS JONES Directed by GORDON GREENBERG Table of Contents 1

Synopsis

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Perfectly Outrageous: The Story of Gilbert & Sullivan

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“ I’d Rather Be Laughing:” Nell Benjamin, Adaptor Extraordinaire

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An Opera By Any Other Name

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Fending Off Theatrical Pirates: The Transatlantic Birth of an Operetta

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The Real Pirates of the Caribbean

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Where is Penzance?

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Audience Etiquette

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Characters & Objectives

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Preparation for Pirates! (Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d)

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Mastery Assessment

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Open Response & Writing Assignments

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Arts Assessment

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For Further Exploration

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Lesson Plans

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Related Works and Resources

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Handout 1: Vocabulary

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Curriculum Framework Ties

SYNOPSIS

Pirates!

(Or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d)

O

n a British colonial island in the Caribbean, the Pirate King and his men “ pour, oh, pour the pirate sherry” to celebrate the release of Frederic, a young pirate apprentice, from his indentures. Now that Frederic is twenty-one years-old, he is graduating to full-fledged piracy. But there is just one problem: Frederic doesn’t want to be a pirate, and never has. His servitude was the result of an aural error on the part of his nursemaid, Ruth, who heard the word “ pirate” instead of “ pilot.” To make up for her mistake, Ruth has traveled the seas with Fredric, providing, er, moral support to the men aboard the ship.

But Frederic’s change of career plans does not release him from the Pirate Curse, which requires that the men step on land only to steal and plunder, lest they lose their “ land legs.” The curse can only be broken through marriage to a virgin bride. In search of a qualified maiden, Fredric pursues a group of Major General Stanley’s daughters who unwittingly stumble into the secret pirate cove. There, they find their brainy sister Mabel observing wildlife. She and Frederic fall in love instantly. Meanwhile, the other pirates have spied the girls and realize that marriage to these virgins would break the curse for them all. Their plans are interrupted by the “ Very Model of a Modern Major General,” Stanley, who lies to the pirates to convince them not to abscond with his daughters by playing on their sympathies. The pirates retreat to their ship to seek maidens on other shores, but Frederic stays behind.

While the spurned pirates wreak havoc across the Caribbean, Mabel and Frederic devise a plan to assemble a police force to bring the pirates to justice. The newly minted lawmen depart in search of the pirates, and moments later the Pirate King re-appears with Ruth by his side to share a surprise with Frederic involving an “ ingenious paradox” of a technicality that binds him in service to the pirates for decades to come. Having rediscovered that indeed he is a “ slave of duty” to his old masters, the loyal Frederic reveals General Stanley’s lie to the Pirate King, who vows revenge on our Modern Major General.

No good pirate musical is complete without a swashbuckling climax and perhaps maidens in peril, but rest easy, landlubbers: the hook-biting conclusion of this pirate tale has a happy ending for all involved. – AH Gilbert and Sullivan; cartoon: Alfred Thompson

Limelight Literary and Curriculum 2008-2009

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PERFECTLY OUTRAGEOUS

The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan

William S. Gilbert, left, and Arthur S. Sullivan.

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illiam S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and Arthur S. Sullivan (1842-1900) first collaborated on the opera Thespis, as a holiday production at London’s Gaiety Theatre in 1871. Both were accomplished in their respective fields — Gilbert in writing and Sullivan in musical composition — before pairing up to form one of the most successful creative duos in history. Gilbert came to prominence for his contributions to the popular comedy journal Fun in the early 1860s. He frequently contributed dramatic criticism, satirical verse, and drawings, as well as a number of ballads, to journals of the day. Many of these early comic sketches would later form the basis for songs and storylines in his and Sullivan’s operettas. Gilbert was also a prolific playwright and experienced stage director known for his rigor. According to singer 2

Huntington Theatre Company

George Grossmith, who originated the role of the Major General in The Pirates of Penzance, “ Mr. Gilbert is a perfect autocrat, insisting that his words should be delivered, even to an inflection of the voice, as he dictates. He will stand on the stage beside the actor or actress, and repeat the words with appropriate action over and over again, until they are delivered as he desires them to be.” Many of Gilbert’s seemingly authoritarian habits, including his exact planning of actors’ stage movements in advance of rehearsal with the use of a set model, are considered standard among stage directors today, though his practice of giving line readings to actors is generally avoided by directors rather than emulated.

Meanwhile, Sullivan had been developing his musical skills since childhood, when by the age of ten he had mastered a number of

instruments. As a teenager he entered the Royal Academy of Music and continued his studies in Germany, developing as a composer and conductor. After his return to London, Sullivan received accolades for his orchestral suite of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Crystal Palace in 1862, and spent the following years distinguishing himself as a composer in a variety of musical genres. John Hollingshead, manager of the popular Gaiety Theatre, commissioned Sullivan in 1871 to pair with Gilbert to compose a comic opera for production. After the Gaiety Theatre premiered Thespis that Christmas, it would be another several years before impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte would ask Gilbert and Sullivan to collaborate on a short piece for a triple bill that included Jacques Offenbach’s La Perichole. Gilbert and Sullivan’s satirical one-act operetta Trial by Jury debuted at London’s Royalty Theatre in March of 1875, and outshone the Offenbach piece. The wheels of Gilbert and Sullivan’s fortunes were beginning to turn.

Several characteristics of Gilbert and Sullivan’s later works were exhibited in these first experiments, including social and political satire, and Gilbert’s trademark infusion of the ridiculous into the operetta’s plot.

Mike Leigh, director and writer of the film Topsy-Turvy, describes it as follows: With great fluidity and freedom, [Gilbert] continually challenges our natural expectations.

First, within the framework of the story, he makes bizarre things happen, and turns the world on its head. Thus the Learned Judge marries the Plaintiff [as in Trial by Jury], the soldiers metamorphose into aesthetes, and so on, and nearly every opera is resolved by a deft moving of the goalposts.... His genius is to fuse opposites with an imperceptible sleight of hand, to blend the surreal with the real, and the caricature with the natural. In other words, to tell a perfectly outrageous story in a completely deadpan way.

With this method of storytelling — using the deadpan to communicate the outrageous — Gilbert and Sullivan got away with brazen social commentary in the form of upbeat musical comedy. While much of Gilbert and Sullivan’s humor capitalizes on gender and ethnic stereotypes, their biting satire generally targets the folly of humankind and the

capricious nature of social class and order.

The continued popularity of their comic operas into the 21st century testifies to the continued relevance of Gilbert and Sullivan and their influence on other artists. Musical theatre today is still an unexpected and therefore effective platform for social commentary, often through its humorous, and therefore, disarming delivery of content. The collaboration of music, lyrics, and character development to tell a story and present a unified world view stands out among Gilbert and Sullivan’s contributions to the field of musical theatre.

They followed the success of Trial by Jury with The Sorcerer in 1877 for Richard D’Oyly Carte’s newly formed Comedy Opera Company, and the following year the company premiered Gilbert and Sullivan’s latest, H.M.S. Pinafore. Unfortunately business was slow in the summer heat, and disagreements arose between D’Oyly Carte and some of his investors who favored closing the unsuccessful show. Sullivan incorporated some of the Pinafore music into a separate program he was conducting at Covent Garden; interest in the musical grew as a result, and the production began to draw audiences. But with the new-found success of Pinafore came continued disagreements amongst investors regarding returns on the show. In an effort to combat D’Oyly Carte and mount their own money-making production of Pinafore, the investors orchestrated the attempted burglary of original Pinafore scenery and costumes during a performance. Fortunately for D’Oyly Carte, Gilbert, and Sullivan, the hired thieves were thwarted by stagehands after an hour-long backstage fracas. Having experienced this bout with pirates, the three men entered an exclusive partnership and started the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in London.

Without the protection of international copyright laws, the triumvirate experienced another bout with pirates when, at one point, more than one hundred unauthorized productions of H.M.S. Pinafore were running successfully in the United States. In fact, when the official Gilbert and Sullivan company finally arrived in New York, a number of pirate-Pinafore casts assembled to welcome them in an odd display of American hospitality.

Using the deadpan to communicate the outrageous — Gilbert and Sullivan got away with brazen social commentary in the form of upbeat musical comedy.

To avoid such welcome parties with their next production, The Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan premiered the new show at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on New Year’s Eve of 1879, and secured the first international copyright by producing a scaled-down version almost simultaneously in England. After finding international success with H.M.S. Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan continued to make their mark in

theatrical history with Patience (1881), Iolanthe (1882), Princess Ida (1884), The Mikado (1885), Ruddigore (1887), The Yeomen of the Guard (1888), and The Gondoliers (1889). As Gilbert and Sullivan’s twenty-five year partnership grew and evolved, so did their style of writing — from satirical operetta to something more akin to the modern musical.

Their creative process usually involved Gilbert penning the libretto (many of which are based on his earlier writings), and Sullivan composing the music after receiving Gilbert’s draft. The pair would revise as needed, and Gilbert would, with his infamous discipline, direct the production with an exacting attention to detail. In 1881 the D’Oyly Carte company moved into the custom-built Savoy Theatre, the first English theatre to use electricity. Henceforth, Gilbert and Sullivan’s works would often be referred to as “ Savoy Operas.” After producing The Gondoliers in 1889, Gilbert and Sullivan parted ways over a dispute involving the purchase of new carpet in the Savoy Theatre, though the pair had long quarreled over artistic differences in their musicals. The pair reunited in 1893 for Utopia (Limited), and in 1896 for The Grand Duke, but each pursued independent work and new collaboration outside of the partnership.

Both William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan received knighthood for their many accomplishments, and after Sullivan’s death in 1900, Gilbert continued to write librettos and plays until his own passing in 1911.

Richard D’Oyly Carte died in 1901, leaving his family in control of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, which has remained active into the 21st century, despite periods of financial difficulty. Also carrying on the tradition are countless Gilbert and Sullivan Societies and appreciation groups in major American cities and across the world who keep the musical duo in the news with performances, meetings, newsletters, scholarship, and lively discussion. Thanks to the quality of Sullivan’s composition and the eternal relevance of Gilbert’s satire, the duo’s works have steadily retained their popularity throughout the last hundred years and the dynamic partnership forged by two very different artists remains an inspiration to those setting out to revolutionize the theatre through music. – AH Limelight Literary and Curriculum 2008-2009

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“ I’D RATHER BE LAUGHING”

Nell Benjamin, Adaptor Extraordinaire Harvard alumna Nell Benjamin, who recently finished penning the music and lyrics for Broadway’s Legally Blonde, was initially reluctant to change a word of the original Gilbert and Sullivan operetta she loved as a child. But after a little wining and dining by director Gordon Greenberg she warmed up to the idea.

Here in a conversation with Artistic Associate M. Bevin O’Gara, Benjamin talks about her process and why she adores The Pirates of Penzance.

Director Gordon Greenberg said you were an obvious choice for this project because you have such an appreciation and a love for Gilbert and Sullivan. What is it about the original piece and the rest of their work that you admire?

To say I’m a fan isn’t exactly true; I’m more of a groupie. Basically, it’s work that was immediately relevant at the time, it was perfect, spot-on funny, “ Saturday Night Live” satire and has lasted through the ages because it’s so incredibly witty. Gilbert’s wit, lyrics, and rhymes are just astonishing to me. Sullivan’s tunes are fantastic and they’re this wonderful mix of classicism, church music, and popular tune. I was exposed to it at a young age and I didn’t understand most of it, but I still laughed. It’s like Bugs Bunny that way. When you’re young and you watch old Bugs Bunny cartoons and he’s doing a Bette Davis imitation and you have no idea who that is, but you’re still laughing because it’s funny, it hits on a very sophisticated level and on a very silly level. Gilbert and Sullivan’s jokes are that way; they can be incredibly silly or dumb and yet oddly sophisticated at the same time. There’s a run in the show, mixing up the words “ orphan” and “ often,” and some people derisively say, “ Did you put the pun run in there?” And I say, “ No, that was there.” People have this elevated idea of Gilbert and Sullivan, thinking they must be done in a serious or praiseworthy Victorian way, but they themselves had an enormous appreciation for the plain and silly, which Gordon and I have as well.

What became the challenge (and it was a scary one), was changing Gilbert and Sullivan in such a way as to be true to that 4

Huntington Theatre Company

Nell Benjamin

spirit and allow people who might not be as big fans of Gilbert and Sullivan as I am to appreciate it.

How did you start on this collaboration?

We started with the idea, and then Gordon started with wine and flattery to get me to actually change more than I thought was going to change. The most important moment in terms of the shape that the show eventually took was when Gordon said we needed to think of it as an “ out of town musical,” and if we were writing the musical from scratch, what are some things we would do? How would we edit it if it weren’t Gilbert and Sullivan? What I wanted was to make all the songs move the plot along, as that’s not always the case with Gilbert and Sullivan songs. There was this

wonderful musical tradition where you just stood there and sang a silly song.

Once we realized we had to tell more of the story in song, that led us to thinking about which songs were important to the story and streamlined it. In the original story the pirates are fixated on the prospect of marrying these daughters. You don’t usually think of pirates as the marrying kind, so it’s odd them harping on this all the time. I thought since they’re going to say this constantly, let’s have a good reason why they’re obsessed with marrying these girls. That became my idea for the curse that we incorporated into the plot. Why did they want to marry them? Well, because they have to.

The idea of cursed pirates is certainly not a new one, and we thought here we could have more of the piracy and less of the Penzance, and everybody can enjoy that.

Once we tightened the plot arc it became easier to see our way forward to a musical that has everything hopefully that you like in Gilbert and Sullivan but moves forward with the pace and timing that people expect from a modern musical.

You’ve done the production twice now. Are you going to continue to tweak as you go into rehearsals here?

We’re going to continue to tweak like crazy.

It’s odd when you think that we got great reviews and everyone seemed to love it, but I still think we need to keep meddling.

What did someone say? “ Musicals never finish. They just open.” What we want to do is take what we’ve discovered so far, both from the actors and the audiences and go even further and find all those love-

ly moments of piracy and idiocy we haven’t perhaps capitalized on to the best of our abilities.

This production includes songs from other Gilbert and Sullivan musicals. Why did you pull other material of theirs instead of writing a new song?

Writing entirely new music and lyrics didn’t seem to be in the spirit of Gilbert and Sullivan. They have a fantastic repertoire of stuff and we wanted it ultimately to be based on their work. Writing some new lyrics became necessary to advance the plot through song and keeping it on message.

When we decided we were going to introduce the idea of the curse, I remembered there was another curse entirely in Ruddigore.

I said, here we’ve got this great pirate curse tradition and this great Gilbert and Sullivan curse tradition, let’s smush them together.

The song is the same scansion, same rhyme scheme, and the same tune, preserving the original brilliance and intent with new lyrics, new ideas; a Gilbert and Sullivan tradition modified.

What do you think that Gilbert and Sullivan would think of your adaptation?

Gilbert, as he was a complete control freak, would be horrified and appalled that we dared to mess with this stuff. If we had done this to someone else’s material, he would be delighted and definitely laugh at it. That’s flattering myself, but I really do believe Gilbert would get that this is in the spirit of his topsy-turvy comedy. It’s just that we messed with his stuff — that would probably annoy him, but he’s dead, and as they say dead men tell no tales.

When you mentioned The Pirates of Penzance the first thing that comes to mind is “ Modern Major General.” Were you intimidated at starting to alter those lyrics?

ABSOLUTELY. I wasn’t going to do it at all. I didn’t want to touch it. But as we worked we discovered some interesting things. First, our character of the Major General is a different type of character than the original.

The original character and the original point of “ Modern Major General” was based on an existing general who everybody would have known — it was tensioned

“ What became the challenge (and it was a scary one), was changing Gilbert and Sullivan in such a way as to be true to that spirit and allow people who might not be as big fans of Gilbert and Sullivan as I am to appreciate it.” political commentary. This particular general had allowed several stunning defeats due to poor tactical planning. So the original idea was a song about a “ perfect” military man who understands all the theory but knew nothing about actual soldiering and had no concept of combat. This was hysterically funny and very relevant at the time. Today that’s not a joke we get, it’s not the politics of our day. We talked about a Major General who is very gung-ho about spreading his personal brand of democracy and civilization to people he doesn’t understand. That became our social commentary, and our Major General is this wonderful guy who thinks the sun never sets on the British Empire and he’s going to extend that empire by force if necessary.

You recently worked on Legally Blonde: The Musical. Can you talk about the differences between adapting an existing theatrical work and adapting a movie?

There’s only so much we could manage to mess up on Legally Blonde without having people come out of the woodwork and say that’s not what Elle Woods would do. There were a lot of hectic people, as opposed to working on Gilbert and Sullivan, where we had a little more free reign. Legally Blonde had no songs but had a very clear plot, so we had something to follow. In some cases like “ Bend and Snap,” we wrestled really hard with figuring out how to work it in because the original material mandated so much. When you’re working with material that people care about, or like because they liked the movie, they feel very strongly one

way or the other about whether or not there should or should not be a “ Bend and Snap.” The two pieces are similar in that sense. People feel very strongly about what should be in a Gilbert and Sullivan show, people feel very strongly about what should be in a Legally Blonde show.

Hopefully you hit all the points that made people love the movie or the original musical, but it’s not just a rehash where you sit there thinking, “ Why didn’t I just see the movie or why didn’t I just listen to my old recording of Gilbert and Sullivan?” You want to bring something new and still respect the original.

Your work spans a lot of different styles. What would you say is the unifying element of your work?

I’d prefer to write a comedy any day because I personally would rather be laughing while I’m learning something. And one of the fun things about comedy — and we certainly have this in Pirates! — is the idea that many of the disasters of the world are started by very satisfied, stupid people who cheerfully believe themselves to be right without thinking too hard about whether they actually are. In comedy you have those people and they can be funny; you can point at them and laugh at them, and hopefully when someone like that tries to convince you to join their cause or give them money or vote for them you will be a little more wary. Hopefully all of our characters are great fun to watch but also make you think a little bit about what kind of people they are.

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An Opera By Any Other Name Y ears before Gilbert and Sullivan began their first collaboration, musical theatre, as we know it, existed in the form of the comic opera, popularized in Western Europe in the 1700s and 1800s. Perhaps the best known of these early musicals in English was John Gay’s 1728 satirical ballad opera, The Beggar’s Opera. Gay and his collaborator, Johann Pepusch, set new lyrics to popular ballads of the day in order to tell this story of prostitutes and cutthroats to a broad audience, and satirize Italian opera. The public was riveted, and the creators’ efforts

and those of their producer, John Rich, were rewarded with an unprecedented 62performance run that reportedly “ made Gay rich and Rich gay.” In the 20th century, this early musical would be adapted by playwright Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill into The Threepenny Opera, which introduced the hit song “ Mack the Knife.”

A century after the premiere of The Beggar’s Opera, cellist and composer Jacques Offenbach revolutionized the musical form in Paris due to limitations set by the French government which only permitted his inde-

Fending Off Theatrical Pirates: The Transatlantic Birth of an Operetta The creation story of The Pirates of Penzance seems most appropriate to its subject matter, as legend has it that Sullivan accidentally left the completed score in London before his and Gilbert’s departure to America for the premiere, and completed it on the high seas; or that he intentionally finished the score upon arrival in New York in December of 1879 using cannibalized portions of Thespis, his earliest collaboration with Gilbert. In any case, the duo officially completed The Pirates of Penzance for an unusual triple-opening in late 1879-1880 to avoid repetition of the flagrant piracy surrounding the many unauthorized American productions of H.M.S. Pinafore. At the time, American copyright law did not protect the rights of foreign authors and artists whose work was often illegally performed in the U.S. in their absence; therefore, to secure copyright in America for The Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan had to open an official production in America themselves. A very scaled-down British copyright performance was helmed by Helen Lenoir (who later became Helen D’Oyly Carte, wife of impresario and key Gilbert and Sullivan producer Richard D’Oyly Carte) at the Royal Bijou Theatre Paignton on December 30, 1879, with the cast of the previous evening’s H.M.S. Pinafore performing the new Penzance with scripts in-hand. The following evening, the show also officially premiered at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City, with Sullivan himself conducting. D’Oyly Carte launched multiple national touring companies to sate the American hunger for more Gilbert and Sullivan, and the London opening of The Pirates of Penzance at the Opera Comique in April of 1880 preceded a successful year-long run. While Gilbert, Sullivan, and D’Oyly Carte still struggled with unauthorized productions of their musicals, many of their early legal efforts paved the way for today’s artists to retain control over the production of their work. – AH

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Huntington Theatre Company

Richard Temple and George Grossmith in The Pirates of Penzance; Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News

pendently financed productions to consist of one act and three speaking/singing characters. Offenbach self-produced his “ operettes” at the tiny Theatres des Bouffes-Parisiens, and with new-found success, the once unpopular composer moved his company to a larger theatre. Offenbach’s satirical and punchy operetta Ba-ta-clan (1855) gained international fame at the cost of the grand operas it ridiculed, and after the three-character limit was abolished, Offenbach’s more expansive Orfee aux Enfers (Orpheus in Hell, 1858) brought him more international fame. By the time of his death in 1880, Jacques Offenbach had completed over one hundred of these operettas — light-hearted but criticallyminded compositions that carved a path for Gilbert and Sullivan’s success, and popularized musical theatre across the world.

Viennese composers such as Johann Strauss II and Franz Lehar built on Offenbach’s operetta form to create works such as Die Fledermaus (The Bat, 1874) and Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow, 1905). In England, John Gay’s rowdy ballad opera legacy combined with the British tradition of variety-show music hall to continue to pave the way for William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s light operas to revolutionize the theatre again, 150 years after The Beggar’s Opera had sparked the public’s interest in locally-themed musical theatre entertainment. – AH

The Real Pirates of the Caribbean T

he eponymous pirates in Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera, it is discovered at the end of the original version, are outcast or disenfranchised nobility living in the time of Queen Victoria. Gilbert and Sullivan used anachronism in this case to make a satirical point about the superficial and seemingly arbitrary nature of the aristocracy in Victorian England; history points to the real “ Golden Age of Piracy” as spanning the late 1600s and early 1700s. Though piracy has existed for thousands of years (Julius Caesar was held for ransom by pirates at one point), to account for the success of pirates in the “ Golden Age,” one needs only to follow the trade and travel routes of European sailors to and from the Spanish Main, the coastal regions controlled by the Spanish Empire in the New World which stretched from Florida to the northern tip of South America. Spanish ships filled with treasure and bound for the Atlantic would find competition for their booty in the form of wayward privateers — experienced sailors with private ships who served as hired pirates for European governments in times of conflict. Privateers were authorized to attack and loot enemy ships with the promise to share their booty with the employing monarch (Elizabeth I referred to the knighted privateer Sir Francis Drake as “ my dear pirate” ). Unsurprisingly, during peacetime, it was not uncommon for these privateers to continue their lucrative work on their own behalf.

Buccaneers, whose name became synonymous with privateers and pirates, got their start on the island of Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti) as European settlers who subsisted on native wildlife.

The Arawak word buccan refers to a wooden frame for smoking meat, and over time it was adapted by the French to boucan. The unaffiliated hunters who killed and smoked

the wild pigs and rustled the cattle of Hispaniola became known as boucaniers.

After the Spanish forced them off the island, the buccaneers, as the English called them, exacted revenge on the Spanish by attacking cargo-laden ships by sea and often torturing and killing their crews. Because of the typical pirate ship’s democratic processes for electing a captain and splitting booty equally, the pirate’s lifestyle was often preferable to that of an enlisted man.

To ensure swift (and effortless) surrender of an enemy’s crew, pirates milked their infamous reputations as cutthroats in order to strike fear in the hearts of their victims upon sight. Perhaps the most famous pirate is Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, who began as a privateer for the British in Jamaica, attacking Spanish and French ships. After leaving England’s employ, Teach commandeered a stolen ship, naming it Queen Anne’s Revenge, and established his base in the colony of North Carolina in the early 1700s. Reports vary on Blackbeard’s methods of intimidation, but it was rumored that he would sever the fingers of women who refused to give up their rings.

He also reportedly set his long braided beard on fire, or placed lit cannon fuses in his hair, surrounding his head with black plumes of

smoke that made him resemble a demon.

But David Moore of the North Carolina Maritime Museum points out that the bestknown pirates were not necessarily the most successful: “ The reason many of them became famous was because they were captured and tried before an Admiralty court.

Many of these court proceedings were published, and these pirates’ exploits became legendary. But it’s the ones who did not get caught who were the most successful in my book.”

Indeed, the Golden Age of Piracy effectively ended with Blackbeard’s death and subsequent beheading at the hands of the British Navy in 1718. By this time, treasure shipments from the New World to Europe were slowing down, and privateers were being replaced by more professional navies.

Stricter laws discouraged business transactions between pirates and the public, which had historically benefited from commerce with pirates while being terrorized by them.

Did piracy on the high seas ever end? The answer is no. Heavily armed bandits continue to terrorize the waters of the Indian Ocean in particular, and prey upon ships with valuable cargo using global positioning systems and speedboats. The coasts of Indonesia and Somalia continue to represent hotbeds of pirate activity, with hundreds of incidents reported each year. In early 2005 a Boston-area couple was attacked by pirates off the coast of Yemen and lived to tell the tale after a violent shootout. It is safe to conclude that as long as humans continue to traffic on the ocean, pirates will roam in search of new conquests. – AH

Where is Penzance?

Located in Cornwall (southwest England), Penzance is a picturesque coastal town that, historically, was subjected to foreign raids as a result of its location. By 1879, when Gilbert and Sullivan penned The Pirates of Penzance, the town had a reputation for being a serene place to live and visit, and a center of commerce for the region. In naming their musical The Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan infuse the story with irony through its unexpected title. – AH

Limelight Literary and Curriculum 2008-2009

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BU Theatre by T. Charles Erickson

Audience Etiquette Because many students have not had the opportunity to view live theatre, we are including an audience etiquette section with each literary/curriculum guide. Teachers, please spend time on this subject since it will greatly enhance your students’ experience at the theatre.

1. How does one respond to a live performance of a play, as opposed to when seeing a film at a local cinema? What is the best way to approach viewing a live performance of a play?

What things should you look and listen for?

2. What is the audience’s role during a live performance? How do you think audience behavior can affect an actor’s performance?

Steve Kazee (Pirate King, center) and the Pirates in Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d); photo: T. Charles Erickson.

BACKGROUND

& Objectives Please use the following synopsis and objectives to inform your teaching of Pirates! curriculum.

T

he creative partnership of dramatist William Schwenck Gilbert and composer Arthur Seymour Sullivan lasted from 1871 until 1896 and produced 14 comic operas. All of these operas became enormously popular with Victorian audiences and remain so today. Pirates of Penzance or Slave of Duty as it is also known, premiered in New York City on December 31, 1879.

Though Gilbert and Sullivan were from England, they premiered this musical in the United States to gain copyright protection of their work and prevent others from “ pirating” the production. Over the course of their partnership, Gilbert and Sullivan produced 14 comic operas together and went on to become the biggest names in English theatre.

OBJECTIVES Students will:

3. What do you know about the theatrical rehearsal process?

Have you ever participated in one as an actor, singer, director, or technical person?

4. How do costumes, set, lights, sound and props enhance a theatre production?

1. Identify key issues in Pirates! including: • Duty • Gender Roles • Piracy 2. Relate themes and issues in the play to their own lives.

3. Analyze the themes and issues within the historical and social context of the production.

4. Learn about different forms of Musical Theatre, and how they influence Pirates! (Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d).

5. Evaluate the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Pirates! (Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d).

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PREPARATION FOR

Pirates!(Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d) Note to Teachers: Use the following ideas to engage your class in thinking about Pirates!and its major themes.

GREENBERG & BENJAMIN & MCDANIEL More than two centuries after Gilbert & Sullivan’s partnership, Nell Benjamin and Gordon Greenberg met to discuss re-working one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most famed comic operas. Benjamin had recently penned the music and lyrics for a Broadway production of the film Legally Blonde. However, she was reluctant to change anything about Gilbert and Sullivan’s original work. In an interview with the Huntington Theatre Company, Benjamin said, “ What became the challenge (and it was a scary one), was changing Gilbert and Sullivan in such a way as to be true to that spirit and allow people who might not be as big fans of Gilbert and Sullivan as I am to appreciate it.”

Assign your students to groups in which each student assumes a role as director, choreographer, musical director, and lighting, costume, set and props designer. Half of the groups should study Gilbert and Sullivan’s original Pirates of Penzance and the other half should examine the script of Pirates! (or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d). Have each group create a collaborative vision statement and design plan for the production, then share their proposal with the other groups. Discuss the various points of view in design and directorial vision. Are there as many differences as similarities in groups representing the same play?

which all of the dialogue is sung, began in Italy in the 16th and early 17th centuries. It contains instrumental overtures, interludes and accompaniments. Comic opera evolved in the 18th century, well over a century before Gilbert and Sullivan joined forces to revolutionize the theatre. Comic opera differed from serious opera in that some of the dialogue could be spoken rather than sung, and plots could include ordinary people and places rather than other mythological and historical characters.

The Huntington Theatre Company’s updated version of Pirates! is a combination of musical theatre and comic opera: spoken dialogue has been added to the script, and the musical numbers now include additional choreography. Have students, alone or in groups, research and define each of the following musical theatre forms, citing examples of influence of the older forms: Ballad Opera Concept Musical Minstrelsy

Burlesque Follies Musical Comedy

Opera Oratorio Rock Musical/ Rock Opera

Operetta Revue Vaudeville

KEY ISSUES Duty To Victorians, Frederic’s view of duty was a parody of their own moral code, which emphasized constant and vigilant self-discipline. The same year that Pirates was written, popular mid-Victorian writer, Samuel Smiles, wrote a book on the main themes of the Victorian virtue of duty. Among these themes were: doing our duty frees us from subjection to the lower parts of our nature; without duty, civilization would collapse and we would all be beasts. Victorians believed that their reward for upholding the virtue of duty was not only a place in heaven, but also middleclass respectability. Have students gather information about what life was like in Victorian England in the second half of the 19th century. After they have gathered some resources, have them choose an element of Victorian society to write or present on. These may include but are not limited to: duty, respectability, character, thrift, self-help, masculinity, femininity, apprenticeship, marriage, and government.

Gender Roles The status of women in the Victorian era is often seen as an illustration of the striking discrepancy between England’s national power

MUSICAL THEATRE ELEMENTS Sullivan had a notable gift of melody and for musical parody, particularly of the overtly ornate excesses that sometimes characterize Italian opera. He drew on a wide variety of musical styles to enhance Gilbert’s writing.

Classical opera, a form of musical drama in

The Pirates in Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d); photo: T. Charles Erickson.

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and wealth and, what many consider then and now, its appalling social conditions.

Women were seen as pure and clean and their role was simply to have children and tend to the house. In order to maintain their position in the home, women were expected to be neat, quiet-mannered, compassionate caregivers, and good-tempered. Marriage was particularly restrictive for women. Women were encouraged to marry mainly because they lacked other options and needed someone to support them financially. They were not formerly educated, and were instructed only in domestic duties. Mabel’s sisters illustrate this point very clearly.

The Victorian concept of masculinity, on the other hand, placed a high value on having the self-discipline and moral character to stick to a strict ethical code that promoted the virtues of industry, self-reliance, sobriety, chastity and dedication to family. Frederic’s determination to display self-discipline is so strong that he risks ruining his future, or order to fulfill the virtue of duty.

Have students research the roles of men and women in Victorian era England in the workplace, the home, and society at large. They should present their findings by explaining a day in the life of a middle-class Victorian era man or woman. What are this person’s responsibilities, concerns, and goals?

Piracy Pirates have been around as long as people have used the oceans as trade routes. In the popular modern imagination, pirates of the classical period were rebellious, clever teams who operated outside the restricting bureaucracy of modern life. In fiction, pirates are associated with certain stereotypical manners of speaking and dress, some of which are wholly fictional. In reality, few pirates became fabulously wealthy. Many ate poorly and died young. Much of what is known about pirates comes from fictionalized portrayals in films and television. Consider films like The Princess Bride (1987), Hook (1991), or the popular film series Pirates of the Caribbean (2003, 2006, and 2007). All of these films depict the life of pirates, but how accurate are they? Research pirates throughout history, including pirates in the news today. Have students share their findings with the rest of the class. How are film portrayals of pirates inaccurate? What elements of pirate life do they exclude?

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Anderson Davis (Frederic) and the Daughters in Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d); photo: T. Charles Erickson.

MASTERY

Assessment 1. What are the pirates celebrating at the opening of the play?

14. Who delivers the news that Frederic is

2. Why is Frederic on the pirate ship?

15. Why is Frederic still indentured to the

3. Who made an error with Frederic’s indenture?

pirates, though he has served them for

4. What is the pirates’ curse?

5. How can the pirates’ curse be broken?

still a pirate?

21 years?

16. What lie does Frederic reveal to Ruth and the Pirate King?

6. How does Frederic think Ruth can help him?

17. What is Mabel’s plan to defeat the

7. Who are the Major General’s daughters looking for?

18. How does Mabel get her father to go

8. What does Frederic ask of the Major General’s daughters?

9. Which of the Major Generals daughters wants to help Frederic?

10. What do the pirates ask of the Major General?

11. How do the pirates react to the Major General’s refusal?

12. How does the Major General convince the pirates not to capture his daughters?

13. What news interrupts the Major General’s sleep?

pirates?

along with her plan?

19. What does Mabel decided to do in light of Frederic’s news?

20. What do the police do when the pirates arrive at General Stanley’s home?

21. What have the pirates come to General Stanley’s home to do?

22. What activity does General Stanley object to his daughters doing?

23. How is the pirates’ quarrel with the Major General revolved?

OPEN RESPONSE & WRITING

Assignments OPEN RESPONSE ASSESSMENT Instructions to the students: Please answer the following as thoroughly as possible in a wellplanned and carefully written paragraph.

Remember to use topic sentences and examples from the text.

1. What is Pirates! (or Gilbert and Sullivan’s Plunder’d) about? What are the themes at the heart of the story? Do those themes still resonate with audiences today?

2. Pirates, as a group, have a reputation for being ruthless plunderers and pillagers.

How do Frederick and his band differ from archetypal pirates? How are they similar?

3. Why does Mabel decide to marry Fredric?

What does she see in him that his sisters do not see? Do you think she was right to save him from his curse?

4. Consider the different women in the play: Ruth, Mabel, and the rest of the Major General’s daughters. How are these women different from each other?

Discuss how the men in the play relate to the women.

5. Due to an unfortunate set of circumstances, Frederic’s apprenticeship with the Pirate King is extended another 63 years longer than expected. What is Frederic’s motivation for rejoining the pirates, even after expressing disgust for their lifestyle of lewd behavior and pillaging? Do you agree with his reasoning?

6. Examine the examples of leadership in Pirates! How are Major General Stanley and the Pirate King similar and how are they different?

7. Ultimately, who do you think is the real hero of Pirates! and why?

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS 1. The songs in a musical are of particular importance, as they can be used not only to set the mood and tone of the scene, but

also to further the plot or more fully express a character’s thoughts and emotions. In a musical, characters will generally talk until they have no other way to express themselves than to burst out into song. Choose a song from Pirates! to analyze in the context of the scene in which it appears.

2. Write a critical review of the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Pirates! and submit it for publication in your school newspaper. Be sure to send the Huntington a copy!

3. Read Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance. Write an essay comparing and contrasting the original comic opera with Greenberg, Benjamin and McDaniel’s Pirates! (or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d).

Consider elements of composition, plot, character, setting and themes.

4. Co-Conceiver and director, Gordon Greenberg, had this to say about his work on Pirates! (Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d): “ The humor of the original Pirates of Penzance text is based on Victorian social values and morals… By taking these ideas and folding them into a new, contemporary context where they really hit home, we’ve been able to get to the core of what Gilbert and Sullivan were trying to do. I feel our adaptation is right up the creator’s street. They were famous for plundering from others and from themselves and making light of social themes of the day, and that is exactly what we’ve done.” What current social issues could Mr. Greenberg be referring to? Do you think Pirates! (Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d) successfully addressed those social themes? In a discussion with the rest of your class, explain why or why not.

comparatively honest. (Pirate King, Act 1, Scene 1) Oh, sisters, deaf to duty’s name, for shame! It’s true that he’s gone astray, but pray is that a reason good and true why you should all be deaf to pity’s name?

(Mabel, Act 1, Scene 2) They’re superstitious, truculent and constantly attacking us—they say it’s God who tells them to (though God is clearly backing us), but that’s why we have empire: so the natives to their gratitude, can learn—or else be forced to learn— our more enlightened attitude. (Major General Stanley, Act 1, Scene 2) The thought my soul appalls, but when stern duty calls, I must obey. (Frederic Act 2, Scene 1) 6. Pirates of Penzance was written as a satirical critique of many elements of Victorian era British society including: poor leadership in government, snobbery of the nouveau riche, and the shallow concept of respectability. The music parodied the over-the-top style of classic operas. Define the words “ satire” and “ parody.” Choose a modern day medium (news broadcast, television, film, music, online video) and a popular example in that medium of satire or parody. Some examples of satire and parody are Saturday Night Live’s sketches based on the 2008 presidential election, the Legally Blonde film series (2001, 2003, 2009), the controversial “ mockumentary” Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006), the music of Weird Al Yankovic, the news parody publication The Onion, or Comedy Central’s fake news show The Daily Show. Report to your class on the following elements of the excerpt/sketch/ routine/musical selection: • The topics, events, personalities, and/or musical style being parodied • The content of your selection • The tone and style of your selection

5. Use one of the following lines from Pirates of Penzance as a topic for a short essay:

• The general reactions to your selection when it was released

I don’t think much of our profession, but contrasted with respectability it is

• What made your selection a successful satire or parody Limelight Literary and Curriculum 2008-2009

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Arts Assessment The following exercises are interactive, handson challenges in Drama, Music, Design and Visual Art. They aim to give students a better understanding of the many tasks that contribute to a theatrical production.

FIVE-MINUTE PERFORMANCES Arrange the class in small groups. Tell each group it is going to have to present the story of the play in exactly five minutes. The students can use whatever methods seem appropriate—action, prose narration, mime, movement, song, background music, pictures, or whatever else they come up with. Point out that each group must select he most important features, events, and purposes of the play.

Send the groups away for a class to discuss and practices. At the next lesson have them perform their five-minute versions to the rest of the class, and then compare versions in terms of what was missing, interesting, important, surprising, in common, and emphasized. Discuss why the versions may have differed.

and the creative tensions between each turning point are potential building blocks for creating any given role. Ask your students to imagine that they are actors playing roles in Pirates!. Have them trace the journey of their characters, addressing the following questions: a. What does my character want in the beginning of the play? b. How does each scene affect the “ want” or objective, and how does my character change in response to the events in this particular scene? c. Is there a “ pivotal scene” or moment for my character? A scene or moment in which he or she experiences a “ turning point,” or transforms in such a way they he or she will never be the same again?

d. Does the initial objective for my character for my character change by the play’s end? Define what that change may be.

Students should summarize what the overall journey of their character is during the course of the entire play. How can each character’s journey be outlined?

VISUAL ART Have students create a collage in the medium of their choice (paper, cloth, wood, metals, photographs, illustrations, words, newspaper clippings, etc.), comparing the world at the turn of the 18th century with the present day society. What is the visual effect of these very different outlooks? Display the collages and ask students to discuss their arrangements.

Some students might design a set for a production of Pirates! and build a model of their design. Make sure the design materials include the important functional elements of the set. Have your class compare its set designs to the Huntington Theatre Company’s set design.

CREATING CHARACTERIZATION Have each of your students choose a character from Pirates! that he or she would like to portray. As though they were preparing for the role in rehearsal, have them as the following questions about their characters: a. What do I want in the play? What is my overall objective? b. What is in the way of what I want in the play? What or who are my obstacles?

Does the obstacle(s) get in the way of what I want and does it change throughout the course of the play? How? c. Does my character change during the course of the play? What is my character’s journey, or plot of transformations? d. What are the contradictions inherent in my character?

ACTING Actors often view their roles in terms of journeys. The way their characters change 12

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Ed Dixon (Major-General Stanley) in Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d); photo: T. Charles Erickson.

For Further Exploration Musical theatre, like theatre itself, is frequently universal and often life-affirming; most importantly, America has embraced the form and made many of its most distinctive artistic contributions to world theatre in different types of musicals.

1. Director-choreographer Bob Fosse once described an evening of musical theatre as “ when everybody has a good time—even in the crying scenes.” Create student teams and assign one of the following original musicals as the subjects for reports.

Show Boat – Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II, 1927 Porgy and Bess – George & Ira Gershwin, 1935 South Pacific – Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II, 1949 West Side Story – Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim, 1957 Hair – MacDermott, Ragni & Rado, 1968 Jesus Christ Superstar – Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Weber, 1971 Questions to consider include: What themes are prevalent in these musicals?

What historical relationships do these musicals have with their themes?

What social impacts did these musicals have on their first audiences?

Why were these musicals considered to be controversial during the decades in which they were first presented?

2. Encourage your students to become familiar with the elements of the musical: book, lyrics and score.

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 • 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) The Lyrics share stage time with dialogue, dance, scenery changes and instrumental music. Theater lyrics must be compact, dense with word meaning and delivered with dramatic power. Song lyrics are an integral part of the story and are created to develop character and move along the plot of the musical.

The Score is the music. Music expresses and reinforces the emotion in drama as well as serves to underscore dramatic action. It establishes the tone and sets the mood of a piece. 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.

3. Ask students to observe the staging and listen to the opening song in the first scene of Pirates! (Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d). From watching and listening to Pirates! ask students to discuss which of the essential dramatic elements are introduced to the audience.

The Book (sometimes called the libretto) generates the “ theatre” in musical theatre. It is the glue which binds the other elements of the musical together. The book encompasses the necessary components of dramatic form: • Character – the people we remember in the story • Plot – the sequence of actions which drives the characters, idea 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 — the main idea (or ideas) of the musical

Anderson Davis (Frederic) and Farah Alvin (Mabel) in Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder'd); photo: T. Charles Erickson.

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Lesson Plans Teachers’ note: Choose activities that are appropriate for your classroom period. All assignments are suggestions. Only a teacher knows his or her class well enough to determine the level and depth to which any piece of literature may be examined.

ONE-DAY LESSON PLAN introduces students to the context and major themes of the production.

DAY ONE - Introducing the Play 1. Distribute Mastery Assessment (P. 10) Pirates! (Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d) for students to read before the performance and to review again after attending it.

Optional: Distribute Handout 1: Vocabulary and ask students to define each word.

2. Read the Synopsis (P. 1) of the play. Discuss other works students have studied with similar themes and issues.

FOUR-DAY LESSON PLAN introduces students to the production and then, after viewing the performance, asks them to think more critically about what they have seen. Includes time for class discussion and individual assessment.

DAY ONE - Introducing the Play Same as Day One above; completed before seeing the production.

DAY TWO - The Production Attend the performance at the Huntington Theatre Company.

Homework: Students should answer the Mastery Assessment (P. 10) questions.

DAY THREE - Follow-up Discussion Discuss Mastery Assessment answers in class.

DAY FOUR - Test Individual Assessment: Choose either several questions from the Open Response (P. 11) or two questions from Writing Assignments (P. 11) for students to answer in one class period.

Optional: Students may choose one of the For Further Exploration (P. 13) or Arts Assessment (P. 12) tasks to complete for extra credit.

SEVEN-DAY LESSON PLAN completely integrates Pirates! (Or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d) into your schedule. Within seven school days, you can introduce the play, assign reading and vocabulary, and assess your students as individuals and in groups. Students will ideally view the play after completing Mastery Assessment questions.

DAY ONE - Introducing the play Same as Day One above.

Optional: Distribute Handout 1: Vocabulary due on Day Four.

Homework: Read the Act One and answer corresponding Mastery Assessment (P. 10) questions.

DAY TWO - Act One Discuss the first part of the play and answers to Mastery Assessment questions.

Homework: Read Act Two and answer corresponding Mastery Assessment questions.

DAY THREE - Act Two Discuss the second half of the play and answers to Mastery Assessment questions.

Optional: Complete Handout 1: Vocabulary for homework.

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DAY FOUR - Group work Complete Arts Assessment (P. 12) activity (you can choose one for the whole class, or split the class into groups.)

Optional: Review Handout 1: Vocabulary.

DAY FIVE - Attend Performance Optional: Students may choose to complete one of the For Further Exploration (P. 13) or Arts Assessment (P. 12) tasks for extra credit.

DAY SIX - Review/Preparation Students should answer the Open Response (P. 11) questions as preparation for their test the following day.

DAY SEVEN - Test Individual Assessment: Choose two questions from the Writing Assignments (P. 11) for students to answer in one class period.

Related Works and Resources To broaden your familiarity with Galileo Galilei or the key topics in the play, consult the following resources: BOOKS The Pirate Primer: Mastering The Language of Swashbucklers & Rogues by George Choundas(2007) The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan by Ian Bradley (1996) The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan by Arthur Seymour Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert (1997) A Most Ingenious Paradox: The Art of Gilbert and Sullivan by Gayden Wren (2001)

An engraving by D. H. Friston of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury, 1875

FILM The Pirates of Penzance Directed by Wilford Leach (1983)

Gilbert and Sullivan: A Dual Biography by Michael Ainger (2002) Topsy Turvy Directed by Mike Leigh (1999) Operetta: A Theatrical History by Richard Traubner (2003) MUSIC The Complete Gilbert and Sullivan Box Set, Decca (2003) WEB Gilbert and Sullivan 101: www.musicals101.com/g&s101.htm The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive: http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas University of Rochester’s online Gilbert and Sullivan exhibit: www.library.rochester.edu/index.cfm?page=4090 The Victorian Web: www.victorianweb.org/index.html

Gilbert and Sullivan: Master Collection, DVD (2002) The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan, directed by Sidney Gilliat (1953) OTHER GILBERT & SULLIVAN COMEDIC OPERAS The Mikado (1885) Thespis (1871) Ruddigore (1887) Trial by Jury (1875) The Yeoman of the Guard The Sorcerer (1877) (1888) H.M.S. Pinafore (1878) The Gondoliers (1889) Patience (1881) Utopia, Limited (1893) Iolanthe (1882) The Grand Duke (1896) Princess Ida (1884)

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Name:_______________________________________________________

Handout 1

VOCABULARY Abhor

Nursemaid

Anguish

Objection

Apprentice

Obligation

Atone

Ordeal

Chaste

Personified

Circumspect

Pertinent

Constabulary

Pillage

Debased

Plunder

Desolate

Refined

Detestation

Renounced

Dictates

Respectability

Disparities

Roguish

Disposition

Roundelay

Dissemble

Sanctimonious

Emollient

Squalor

Impunity

Stealthy

Indenture

Subordinate

Intellect

Succumb

Legislative

Suffrage

Matrimonial

Superstitious

Monarch

Truculent

Date:________________________

CURRICULUM FRAMEWORKS TIES The Huntington Theatre Company’s Student Matinee Series provides an invaluable opportunity for teachers, students, and families looking to increase young people’s understanding of and interest in dramatic literature and the performing arts. This section contains a list of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Theatre and English Language Arts that are addressed fully, in part, or are supplemented by attending the Huntington’s production of Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d and utilizing this study guide as a pre- and post-show resource.

THEATRE Acting • 1.7 Create and sustain a believable character throughout a scripted or improvised scene

• 9.5 Relate a literary work to artifacts, artistic creations, or historical sites of the period of its setting • 10.3 Identify and analyze the characteristics of various genres (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, short story, dramatic literature) as forms with distinct characteristics and purposes • 17.3 Identify and analyze structural elements particular to dramatic literature (scenes, acts, cast of characters, stage directions) in the plays they read, view, write, and perform • 17.5 Identify and analyze elements of setting, plot, and characterization in the plays that are read, viewed, written, and/or performed: setting (place, historical period, time of day); plot (exposition, conflict, rising action, falling action); and characterization (character motivations, actions, thoughts, development)

• 1.10 Use vocal acting skills such as breath control, diction, projection, inflection, rhythm, and pace to develop characterizations that suggest artistic choices

Grades 9-10 • 9.6 Relate a literary work to primary source documents of its literary period or historical setting

• 1.11 Motivate character behavior by using recall of emotional experience as well as observation of the external world

• 11.5 Apply knowledge of the concept that the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, and provide support from the text for the identified themes

• 1.12 Describe and analyze, in written and oral form, characters’ wants, needs, objectives, and personality characteristics

• 17.7 Identify and analyze how dramatic conventions support, interpret, and enhance dramatic text

• 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)

Grades 11-12 • 9.7 Relate a literary work to the seminal events of its time

• 1.15 Demonstrate an understanding of a dramatic work by creating a character analysis

• 11.6 Apply knowledge of the concept that a text can contain more than one theme

• 1.17 Demonstrate an increased ability to work effectively alone and collaboratively with a partner or ensemble Technical Theatre • 4.12 Conduct research to inform the design of sets, costumes, sound, and lighting for a dramatic production. For example, students select a play from a particular historical period, genre, or style and conduct research using reference materials such as books, periodicals, museum collections, and the Internet to find appropriate examples of hairstyles, furnishings, decorative accessories, and clothing.

• 11.7 Analyze and compare texts that express a universal theme, and locate support in the text for the identified theme • 17.9 Identify and analyze dramatic conventions (monologue, soliloquy, chorus, aside, dramatic irony)

Critical Response • 5.5 Continue to develop and refine audience behavior skills when attending informal and formal live performances • 5.12 Attend live performances of extended length and complexity, demonstrating an understanding of the protocols of audience behavior appropriate to the style of the performance

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Grades 5-8 • 8.19 Identify and analyze sensory details and figurative language • 8.20 Identify and analyze the author’s use of dialogue and description • 8.23 Use knowledge of genre characteristics to analyze a text • 8.24 Interpret mood and tone, and give supporting evidence in a text • 8.25 Interpret a character’s traits, emotions, or motivation and give supporting evidence from a text

Cady Huffman (Ruth) and the Pirates in Pirates! (or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder'd); photo: T. Charles Erickson.

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Š Huntington Theatre Company Boston, MA 02115 May 2009 No portion of this Teacher Curriculum Guide may be reproduced without written permission from the Huntington Theatre Company’s Department of Education.

Inquiries should be directed to: Donna Glick, Director of Education Huntington Theatre Company 264 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115