SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS AMAZING MACHINE TEACHER RESOURCE PACK FOR TEACHERS WORKING WITH PUPILS IN RECEPTION - YEAR 3
SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS AMAZING MACHINE FOR RECEPTON - YEAR 3 | 20 MAY - 26 JUNE 2015 COULD YOU BE AN INVENTOR TOO? A Unicorn production Based on the book by Janet Quin-Harkin Adapted by Adam Peck Directed by Cressida Brown
It had wheels. It had bells. It was painted bright blue. But King Albert asked, “Septimus, what does it DO?” Septimus Bean has invented a very great machine but is yet to work out what it is for. With the help of the king and court, he finds out lots of things that it isn’t for and one unexpected thing that it is utterly perfect for. This comical, rhythmical and inventive show, based on the much-loved book, will be a highly enjoyable performance for the summer months.
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SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS AMAZING MACHINE - TEACHER RESOURCES
INTRODUCTION Welcome to the teacher resource pack for Septimus Bean and his Amazing Machine for teachers working with children in Reception - Year 3. Our resources are designed to offer ideas for extending your pupils’ visit to the theatre with pre and post-show activities that explore the themes and ideas in the play. The show Septimus Bean and his Amazing Machine is about a group of actors; John, Janet and Mick, who are rehearsing a play about an inventor called Septimus Bean who has invented an amazing machine. The only problem is that John thinks that the machine they are using in their rehearsals isn’t very amazing at all. John decides he will invent a machine for their play which will truly earn the description ‘amazing’. However, things repeatedly go wrong with John’s new machine and it causes havoc in the rehearsal room. John initially struggles with his feelings of failure but he then manages to fix the machine so it can be used when the actors finally perform the play. John acts out the story of Septimus presenting his wonderful machine to the King and Queen (played by Janet and Mick). However, echoing what has happened previously in the rehearsal room, the machine does not behave as expected. When a final catastrophic accident happens, Septimus, (or perhaps it is John?) is finally able to see the way in which things can be transformed when you look at them in another way, and how a disaster can even turn into something rather wonderful. ‘The play is about believing in yourself and in the things you can do and create, and it is about allowing others to believe in you. It’s about not giving up, even when things are hard or seem impossible. It is about the power and capabilities of the individual to transform themselves and the world around them. It is about tenacity, ambition, fulfilling your potential and self-belief.’ Adam Peck, writer The full pack will be available from the end of November 2015; in the meantime this shorter pack will give an introduction to the play and the potential for practical classroom work around a visit. The full resource pack will contain a range of suggested classroom activities that will enhance and extend children’s experience of seeing the show. The activities will use drama, storytelling, writing and art as ways of exploring themes, characters and events. Teachers will be able to establish links to the curriculum objectives for their particular year group and adapt them for their own educational setting, with particular relevance to reading, writing, spoken word, art and design and technology.
ACCOMPANYING TEACHER CPD - MON 14 MAR 10AM-4PM CPD is FREE for teachers is a great opportunity to find out more about the production and to gain practical experience of the classroom activities before working with them in the classroom. To book your place please email schools@unicorntheatre.com. Page 3
SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS AMAZING MACHINE - TEACHER RESOURCES
SUMMARY OF THE PLAY Three actors - John, Janet and Mick - are rehearsing a play about an inventor named Septimus Bean and his amazing machine. However, we soon see that the machine that the actors have for their show is tiny, doesn’t have any wheels, cogs, buttons or levers and it doesn’t actually ‘do’ anything. It isn’t very amazing at all. Janet, who is playing the Queen, thinks the machine they have is fine because they’re in the theatre and in the theatre we can all use our imaginations to make the machine amazing. So they carry on rehearsing and, with the help of some special effects and convincing performances, they manage to make something amazing happen. But John can’t help feeling disappointed that they don’t have a real machine for their show. At the end of rehearsals John goes home; he gets on his motor bike, goes to the supermarket, brushes his teeth, waters his plant and listens to his radio. All around him are machines and everyday objects, all are useful, and all fulfil a specific function. When John goes to bed that night he dreams about these everyday objects, seeing them swirl around and around. When he wakes up the next morning, he has an idea: he gathers all the objects together, gets out his tools and he makes a truly amazing machine for their play. Arriving at rehearsals John shows the other actors his new machine and what it can do. With buttons and levers and cogs, the machine is able to do all sorts of fun things, like shooting out balls, squirting water and echoing everything people say. Mick loves it. But soon the machine begins to go wrong; pelting balls at Janet, squirting her and repeating everything she says in a strange and threatening way. Janet demands that John fixes his machine if it’s to be used in their play. So John gets his tools and puts on his protective clothing and mends his broken, but amazing machine. After one last rehearsal everything is ready, all they need now is an audience. So the play Septimus Bean and his Amazing Machine begins: Septimus Bean arrives at the Castle with his Amazing Machine. King Al welcomes him in and asks him what exactly his machine is for: ‘But Septimus, what does it do?’ Septimus isn’t actually sure; he knows that his machine amazing, but he doesn’t really know what it does. I regret good King Al, that I don’t rightly know. I’m sure it is useful in one way or another, But what it can do I’ve yet to consider. The Queen suggests that it might clean floors with its long, funny hose. Septimus turns on his machine; at first it starts to brush and mop the floor, but after a while it goes a little bit too fast, it whooshes and swooshes, it careers out of control and destroys everything in the room. They think again and this time wonder if the machine could be used as a washing machine. So they Page 4
SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS AMAZING MACHINE - TEACHER RESOURCES gather up all the dirty socks they can find and put them into the machine. It works! The socks come out clean. BUT, unfortunately they also come out bright pink. Septimus Bean gets very upset – he’s made a machine that has ruined their washing and destroyed a room in the palace. The King and Queen try and reassure Septimus, but then the King has another idea it looks like the machine might make a really excellent carriage. The Queen insists that Septimus must be the driver, as it is his machine. Septimus is eager to please, so he climbs onto his machine and begins to drive. With splutters and bangs and boings the machine starts to move. But it gets faster and faster and more out of control, until finally it runs away, with Septimus on top, out of the doors of the theatre – and we hear a terrible crash. This last disaster sounds like it is by far the worst. Septimus’ machine is in pieces. It is a terrible failure. But then out of this failure, something brilliant happens and Septimus’ amazing machine becomes something truly special…
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SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS AMAZING MACHINE - TEACHER RESOURCES
INTERVIEW WITH ADAM - PLAYWRIGHT Can you tell us what Septimus Bean and his Amazing Machine is about? The book is about an ambitious (and nerdy) inventor called Septimus Bean who is keen to impress a King and Queen with his latest invention – a multi-purpose machine. However, so keen is he to impress the King and Queen that he has not taken the time to discover what his machine actually does. It seems as though he has put together an array of interesting components, but so far hasn’t tested its capabilities. As the King and Queen set about working out what the machine does – by setting Septimus a series of tasks (to clean the floor, to launder clothes etc) – the machine malfunctions and Septimus slowly loses confidence in himself and his creation. This leads to Septimus accidentally flying and crashing the machine, which in turn leads to him discovering the true purpose of his machine and, just when he thinks he has failed and should give up on life, receives the reward he deserves for his hard work. However, the play is about a group of performers trying to stage a version of the book. The newest member of the cast (John) feels that the machine they have as a prop is nowhere near “amazing” enough. The other actors don’t agree and want to continue with the original machine, wary of any disruption to the rehearsal process, especially one as significant as a change of machine (which they have already done the show with many times). However, John is certain that something better is required, and takes it upon himself to build his own machine at home to bring in to rehearsals the following day. There are teething problems with the new machine and the other actors are unsure whether it’s actually safe to use or fit for purpose. John is also nervous about his machine but is determined to make his new machine work and also, not to let his colleagues down. On the eve of the first performance the issues with John’s machine are still not fully resolved, but there is no going back to the original machine now, and the actors must reluctantly agree to give the John’s machine one last chance. It turns out John has rectified all of the known problems and the show is going swimmingly. However, when the play reaches it denouement and the machine is supposed to fly, John loses control of the machine and it “flies” out of the theatre in which they are performing and breaks into pieces in the foyer. John is distraught, matching the emotional state of the character he is playing in the piece – Septimus Bean. Mick and Janet continue the show as King and Queen unsure whether they are talking to Septimus (the character from the play) or John (the inventor of the machine prop). Septimus Bean is about believing in yourself and the things you can do/create, and it is about allowing others to believe in you. It about not giving up, even when things are hard or seem impossible. It is about the power and capabilities of the individual to transform themselves and the world around them. It is about tenacity, ambition, fulfilling your potential and self-belief.
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SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS AMAZING MACHINE - TEACHER RESOURCES Why did you decided to write a ‘play within a play’? And what were the challenges of adapting the book for the stage? The main challenge of the book is how to represent the machine: what is it and what it does. In the book the machine is amazing – it is complex and massive and has a number of capabilities. Even though it malfunctions it is still amazing. To actually build and put on stage a machine like the one in the book is the most difficult task. So we thought long and hard about this problem, and decided that the play should be about the problem itself: about a group of theatre practitioners who are struggling to agree on the best way to represent the machine. One actor (who thinks the machine isn’t good enough) is pitted against the other two actors (who think the machine is good enough) – that forms the central conflict in the piece. Other contributing factors are the ongoing drama of rehearsing a live performance and the ticking clock counting down to opening night.
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SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS AMAZING MACHINE - TEACHER RESOURCES
INTERVIEW WITH CRESSIDA - DIRECTOR Can you tell us what the play is about? It’s about an actor called John who is playing the role of Septimus Bean. Septimus is an inventor who comes to a Queen’s and King’s castle with an amazing machine that he’s made. It turns out that John the actor is also a wildly imaginatively inventor, so he decides to make the machine he needs to play the role of Septimus for rehearsals at home. The problem is that although the machine John makes is impressive, it keeps breaking. The whole play becomes about whether the machine is going to work properly for John’s performance of Septimus Bean. Should John ever have invented it?
Why did you want to make a play out of Janet Quin-Harkin’s original story? My mum read me the book when I was a child. In fact she had to read it over and over again as I could never get enough of the inventor Septimus, the chiming verse, and the genius pictures. Re-reading it as an adult I have been astounded by the layers there are in such a simple story. The play very much advocates the value ‘try, try and try again’. It definitely reveals the beauty and importance of an individual creating; and every creation being beautiful in its own right. Failure is simply a way of seeing. Also, I often create site-specific plays – plays that are staged in non-conventional theatre settings like swimming pools, tower blocks, and boats… something happens in this staging of the play which is very site-specific and made me want to do the book. But I can’t tell you what as it would give it away! Anyway… my mum is very happy that I am directing this play. And that’s the most important thing!
Can you tell us why you decided to make it a play within a play? It took us a long time for Adam Peck (the writer) and me to decide that we wanted Septimus to be a ‘play within a play’. At first we wanted to present the book as is, but the problem with this was that Septimus is so mysterious as the character in the book. He just turns up to the castle – we have no idea why, or where he’s coming from.
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SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS AMAZING MACHINE - TEACHER RESOURCES We tried to come up with a backstory for Septimus and give him a motive for bringing the machine to the castle, but it simply seemed to distract from the heart of the story. The heart of the story is Septimus starting to think that he is a failure because his machine is not doing the ‘correct’ things the King and Queen want. What’s important in the story is that he just turns up to the castle with a machine he’s proud of. It’s not important why he is there in the first place. So we started to play around with our problem as theatre-makers putting on an adaptation of the book. And we decided that it would be fun to see someone trying to put on Septimus Bean. The character John is Septimus’ alter ego and is allowed to explain things to the audience, which Septimus just cannot do. I’m very happy with it, and it allows for a lot of playfulness of blurring the lines between what is reality and what is fantasy.
What do you think children will enjoy or relate to in the story? Definitely the machine. It’s very naughty. But I can’t say more than that. Most adults will look worried when I tell them that the play will mostly be in verse, but I think the children will love this. I think they will enjoy the wacky Septimus and engage in John creating him. They both have a child’s spirit. They don’t care what his machine can ‘do’ or ‘make’ they just invent for the sake of inventing. It is only others who want the machine to ‘work’. There is also a twist at the end; and it is only the children in the audience who will be able to make the twist work, and the moral of the story sing. There is an opportunity for all the children to become inventors at the end and teach the adults around them that no invention can ever be a failure – there is always a reason to create and be creative. In the book it is the young princesses and princes who discover the twist – rather than the adult King and the Queen – they discover how amazing the machine is at the end. It seemed right then that the children in the audience become the princes and princesses as they are the ones that are going to make the discovery… but I can’t tell you what that discovery is, or I’ll give the story away!
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SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS AMAZING MACHINE - TEACHER RESOURCES
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES Our teacher resources always put drama at the centre of our activities. Working through drama allows children to explore things that matter to them within a fictional context, draw on their prior knowledge and apply it to new situations, develop language as they give expression to new understandings and develop emotional intelligence and critical thinking as they see things from different perspectives. It will also allow the children to take responsibility, make decisions, solve problems and explore possibilities from within the drama. The classroom activities will also provide opportunities for visual art work, design and technology, and writing, as well as providing the opportunity for teachers to link to history.
Activities and links to classroom work will possibly include:
IMAGINE THINGS DIFFERENTLY Imagining how familiar, everyday objects can be transformed, used or reused. We will explore drama activities which mirror the process John goes through in the play; exploring objects and how we might re-imagine their use. How could familiar objects become something else?
INVENTIONS Looking at how and why different things have been invented throughout time, creating a timeline which locates key inventions throughout history and exploring at what conditions were needed to make those inventions possible. Having identified what qualities a really good inventor might have, the children will work in role as inventors creating machines or objects that they think the world might need now or imagine might be needed in the future. Working in a ‘Mantle of the Expert’ drama, children will problem-solve and create their own ideas from within the role. An exploration of materials and simple mechanical processes will be part of this activity.
FAILURE, CREATIVITY AND LEARNING The post-show activities will explore the character John and how he feels when his machine goes wrong in the play; through identifying with John the children will explore whether failure can be a good and useful thing. The activities will ask children to consider how we feel when we fail and what we can do to turn that failure around and look for a positive out of a negative situation. The drama work will support the children in exploring feelings of failure and how to build confidence and resilience when faced with setbacks.
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SEPTIMUS BEAN AND HIS AMAZING MACHINE A Unicorn production
Based on the book by Janet Quin-Harkin Adapted by Adam Peck Directed by Cressida Brown Resource pack written by Catherine Greenwood