The Mermaid Princess Teachers’ Resource Pack
For Key Stage 2, 3 and 4 8+ years
Written and directed by Teresa Ludovico Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Mermaid Princess Set Design by Luca Ruzza Lighting Design by Vincent Longuemare Costume Design by Luigi Spezzacatene Interviews Translated by Alberto Prandini Teatro Kismet (Italy) in Association with Warwick Arts Centre
2
Education Pack Contents This Education Resource Pack has been designed to complement your visit to see Teatro Kismet’s production of The Mermaid Princess. You will find company information and interviews from the Director, Lighting, Set and Costume Designers and the actor who plays The Mermaid. It will give you background to the different elements of the production and insights into the creative process and inspirations for you to draw on back in the classroom. Activities and projects included in this pack relate to literacy, drama, art and design for Key Stages 2, 3 and 4 and all pages can be photocopied. Introductory Material 3 The Company - Teatro Kismet OperA 5 Creative Team/Production Team 6 Hans Christian Andersen The Story 8 The Mermaid Princess Story 10 Interview with the Director, Teresa Ludovico 11 Interview with the Set Designer, Luca Ruzza 12 Interview with the Lighting Designer, Vincent Longuemare 13 Interview with an Actor, Daria Menichetti 14 Reviews 15 Who’s Who – The characters Activities 16-17 Drama Key Stage 2 & 3 18 Write a Review 19 Design 20 Parlare Italiano 22 Back page UK press quotes
3
The Company – Teatro Kismet OperA From small co-operative to international touring company. Teatro Kismet OperA began life in 1981 in Bari, Southern Italy, as a theatre company specialising in work for children and young people. The company has won many awards for its high quality theatre for young and adult audiences, often working with fairy tales, classic myths and legends and specialising in work which has a cross-generational appeal. In 1989 the company was recognised by the Italian Ministry of Culture as a Teatro Stabile di Innovazione. In the same year Teatro Kismet opened its own cultural centre in Bari, a conversion of an industrial factory building, as an artistic workshop. As well as producing new plays, and hosting other Italian companies, the centre also became a focus for professional training and development, workshops and discussions for schools, research and development, new theatre writing and community engagement. From the beginning Teatro Kismet developed its theatre research bringing into play a range of contemporary artistic influences and languages, while maintaining strong links to popular culture. Teatro Kismet’s productions, often of a strong physical and visual style, appeal to a wide audience of children, teenagers and adults and have toured extensively internationally, first in Europe then later in Africa, Japan and Australia. The company’s influence internationally has been significant and Teatro Kismet continues to be recognized as one of Europe’s most imaginative and dynamic companies. The company now programmes and manages two theatres in Puglia and runs a successful annual children’s theatre festival, Maggio all’ Infanzia. Social Programme A strong social programme includes twenty years working with learning disabled artists and eleven years working with young offenders and through Libera, joining forces with anti mafia associations. Productions for young people Teatro Kismet has previously toured the UK with acclaimed productions of Little Red Riding Hood (1994), Pinocchio (1996), Beauty and The Beast (2002), and The Snow Queen (2007), and featured in Brighton Festival with a new production of Gilgamesh (2004).
4
European Projects European projects include Broken Spaces, an international project using theatre, creative writing and web technology to explore the themes of immigration and emigration. Through the Woods, a collaboration with Comédie de Valence and Birmingham REP saw Teatro Kismet devise an original new work for children exploring the relationship between children and their grandparents as well as issues around cultural diversity. Recent projects A new adaptation of The Iliad directed by Lello Tedeschi; three small scale storytelling productions by Monica Contini and Lucia Zotti, Quicha, Stories of Witches and Puss in Boots; a production of Andersen’s The Traveller’s Companion adapted and directed for a cast of 30 learning disabled artists; and a collaboration with the Fondazione Petruzzelli of Bari and the Conservatoire Niccolò Picinni to produce the first full theatrical production of Nino Rota’s opera for children The Swineherd Prince, presented at Birmingham REP in collaboration with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO). Teresa Ludovico: exploring fairy tales in Europe and Japan Teresa Ludovico’s earthy, visual, poetic and physical style has been embraced equally by artists and audiences in both Europe and Japan, now considered by Ludovico to be her second home. Indeed her work in Japanese culture has nourished and inspired her work in Italy and vice versa creating a fascinating dialogue, which is pursued, in each new production. Teresa first visited Japan with Beauty and the Beast, an earthy and sexy Mediterranean production that caused a sensation among Japanese audiences. She was then commissioned to write and direct a new adaptation of Andersen’s The Snow Queen by Setagaya Public Theatre, Tokyo, featuring a Japanese cast. A European version was subsequently created in co-production with Athens Festival where it premiered in June 2006.
5
The Creative Team/Production Team Cast Eugenia Amisano Raffaella Gardon Daria Menichetti Paolo Summaria Valerio Tambone
Sea Witch, Nanny Tuna, Consuelo Narrator (Lulu), Candidate Number 1 The Mermaid Princess Lion Fish, Lord Chamberlain Prince, The Bear
Creative Team Director Set Design Lighting Design Costume Design Costume Maker Costume Assistant Movement Director Assistant Dramaturg
Teresa Ludovico Luca Ruzza Vincent Longuemare Luigi Spezzacatene Artelier Casa d’Arte Franco Colamorea Giorgio Rossi Loreta Guario
Production Team Production Administrator Production Assistant Tour technical Management Original version by Première Photography
Franca Angelillo Lucia Musella Gianfranco Saponaro Stefano Limone Setagaya Public Theatre, Tokyo 2005 23 October 2009, Teatro Kismet OperA, Bari Pasquale Susca and Cristina Bari
UK Production Tour Producer Tour Administrator Tour Production and Company Manager Tour Marketing Manager Tour Press Agent Education and Community Engagement Co-ordinator Education Resource Pack devised by Interviews translated by
Judy Owen Sharon Foster Paul Southern Lisa Baxter Anna Goodman Brian Bishop Helen Donaldson Alberto Prandini
6
Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen was born on 2 April 1805 in Odense, Denmark. He was born when his shoemaker father was 22 years old; his mother, who worked as a washerwoman for the rich, was several years older. As a poor family they only had enough money to support each other in a single room. Every day Andersen’s father would read to him from one of Shakespeare’s plays or one of the stories written by Ludvig Holberg, occasionally taking his son to the theatre to see them being performed live. The young Andersen soon memorised the plays and went home to perform them in a small toy theatre with wooden dolls that he had made. Sadly, in 1816, aged 11 years Anderson’s father died and Hans Christian had to start earning a living. He worked as a weaver’s apprentice and later, for a tailor. At 14, he moved to Copenhagen to seek employment as an actor. Having an excellent soprano voice, he was accepted into the Royal Danish Theatre, but his voice soon broke and it was at this point he began to take writing seriously and began working on his poetry. Between 1822 and 1827 Andersen attended the grammar school in Slagelse funded by a benefactor whose identity is unknown, suggestions include the philanthropist, Jonas Collin or King Frederick VI. Living with the headmaster and being one of the eldest scholars he felt alienated from his classmates. He later said his years in school were the darkest and bitterest of his life. To add to this he was a plain and unattractive man and this idea of being different and feeling left out is a theme often seen in his work. The most notable example of this is the story of The Ugly Duckling. He later took private tuition and in 1827 gained admission to Copenhagen University. That same year Copenhagen Post published Andersen’s first ever poem ‘The Dying Child’. Andersen had already published his first story, The Ghost at Palnatoke’s Grave in 1822. Andersen travelled extensively during the 1830s to Europe, Asia Minor and Africa made possible by the sponsors he met through his work. This was a major achievement in the 19th century when travelling took a long time, could be difficult and dangerous. His first book of fairy tales was published in 1835 and he produced one a year up until 1872, becoming known as Denmark’s most famous writer. He formed a close friendship with Charles Dickens who he visited twice. In 1838 the King of Denmark awarded Andersen an annual grant of 400 Rigsdaler (£4,000 approx). Andersen had a hard time emotionally and never really settled down with a significant other. During 1832 Andersen courted Jonas Collin’s daughter, but he yearned more for her brother Edvard. In fact, The Mermaid Princess was written with Edvard Collin in mind and is proof of Andersen’s love for him. Then in 1843, Andersen met and fell in love with Jenny Lind, a Swedish opera singer, but she didn’t return his affection and once again he was left bereft and alone. He wrote The Nightingale in memory of her. He then had a brief affair with a Danish aristocrat known as Henrik Stampe. Andersen also is rumoured to have had an infatuation in 1862-63 with Harald Scharff (a ballet dancer at the Royal Theatre Copenhagen) and with the young Duke of Wiemar, although these were never more than intense friendships. In can be surmised that Andersen was ambiguous about which gender he loved; it is unclear whatever Andersen’s stance on love was. One fact remains: he was never married. Andersen was awarded the Freedom of the City of Odense in 1867 and became Privy Councillor for Copenhagen in 1874. In 1872 Andersen fell out of bed and hurt himself quite badly. He never really fully recovered from this and, also suffering from liver cancer, he passed away on 4 August 1875 aged seventy in a house near Copenhagen. In memory of Andersen, the people of Copenhagen celebrate his life every year in a festival called ‘Odin Story Day’ on 2 April. 2005 was the bicentenary of Andersen’s birth and people celebrated his life and work the world over.
7
“ Teatro Kismet is a wonderful Italian company that constantly creates visually ravishing work for family audiences and is unafraid to probe both the darker elements and psychological meanings of fairy tales. The result is work that is full of wonder and doesn’t patronise the audience. “ Lyn Gardner, The Guardian
8
The Story Synopsis Once upon a time, in the depths of the ocean, a mermaid princess was singing, and a young prince was drowning... she saved him ... he kissed her ... I love you, you love me ... you love me, I love you ... the mermaid exchanges her tail and sublime voice for two legs, but the prince, alas, marries another! The mermaid princess, who, for the sake of love, loses love, dissolves into sea foam, and then into mist... Half woman, half fish, the mermaid princess discovers she is “different” when she meets the “other”, a prince of sweet flesh and blood, who lives and breathes air. The power of an impossible love unites them, but in her pursuit of this forbidden union, the mermaid renounces her true nature, losing her very essence and becoming unrecognisable, even in the eyes of her beloved. Only another death, another transformation, can save her. This tale reflects the constantly fluctuating nature of our existence, a continuing metamorphosis, where there is no “happy ever after”, but rather an ending as it should be, unique, as is everything in nature.
9
Scene One: The Mermaid Princess and Nanny Tuna Lulu and her bear, Zouzou open the show and start the story. These animal figures represents the childish soul. The Mermaid Princess lives with her two older sisters and her grandmother, Nanny Tuna in an underwater world in the depths of the ocean. At the age of fifteen, The Mermaid Princess asks to go to the surface to admire the children without tails, smell the flowers and search for the Prince in the photo. All the creatures of the sea are spellbound by her beautiful voice. Scene Two: Arrival at the surface. A storm and the Prince’s shipwreck The Mermaid Princess has underwater world dreams and sets off on her journey, she sees a ship coming towards her. Meanwhile on the ship’s bridge, the Lord Chamberlain is teaching the Prince how to dance in readiness for choosing a bride, when suddenly a violent storm causes the shipwreck of the young Prince’s vessel. Scene Three: The Mermaid Princess saves the Prince The Mermaid Princess saves the Prince and delivers him ashore, while she returns to the sea. The Prince looks for the girl who has captivated his heart. The Mermaid is delirious over the Prince as he is about the Mermaid and sends out a notice to find her. The Lord Chamberlain announces the Prince must urgently marry. Scene Four: Journey to the Sea Witch’s Kingdom and Transformation Once back home the Mermaid Princess is consumed by a lingering sadness and confides in Leo the Fish. She decides to ask the Sea Witch to transform her into a young girl, who is able to live on dry land with her loved one. The Sea Witch demands the Mermaid’s sublime voice in return for human legs and warns her that she will be turned into sea foam and vanish into thin air, should she fail to marry the Prince. Mermaid accepts and presents herself at the Prince’s palace, but she is now mute and goes unrecognised by the Prince.
Scene Five: A Princess is chosen for the Prince Lord Chamberlain examines the potential candidates for a suitable bride. Enter Princess Consuelo who is dismissed and finally two are chosen, The Mermaid Princess (the Prince is struck by the resemblance between this young girl and the one who saved his life, whom he fell in love with) and Candidate Number One. The Prince accepts his destiny and gives up love forever as he decides to marry Candidate Number One. Wedding preparations begin. Scene Six: The Mermaid Princess receives the knife to kill the Prince The Mermaid Princess is given a knife to kill the Prince and escape her destiny, the chorus sing mute, you are mute. Another young girl will marry the Prince and you will die and turn into foam. Scene Seven: The Wedding The Prince prepares for the Wedding. Lord Chamberlain welcomes the guests. The Mermaid Princess approaches the Prince to attack him but cannot bring herself to kill him. She throws away the knife. Scene Eight: The Mermaid Princess’ Death and Transformation The Mermaid Princess dissolves into sea foam which in turn transforms into a cloud of mist and takes off into the sky. Notes The theme that dominates The Mermaid Princess is one of transformation and metamorphosis. One of the hardest transitions for an individual is that of adolescence to adult, growing up with many changes taking place within relationships also biologically, emotionally and intellectually. The piece has no happy ending, unlike Disney. It is about going through a door to the other side, a door to change, you will be losing something and it will be painful, you may not want to change. Life decides you go through that change. The interpretation is loyal to Hans Christian Andersen’s story.
10 “To cherry blossom in the wind”... to that suspension... to that moment of stupor before the fall... to that sense of dizziness... to that promise of something new, both daunting and full of wonder... to the unceasing flow of life. Teresa Ludovico
Interview with the Director, Teresa Ludovico You often talk about the transformation from childhood to adulthood in your shows. The transition from childhood to adulthood is the most complex of all transitions life has in store for us, because it’s the first one. In order to deal with this very delicate moment, our ancestors created a series of rites, which we have since destroyed and substituted with an aching void, thus leaving new generations unsupported, battling their fears with remedies that are sometimes harmful. Myths and fairy tales are often a source of inspiration for my shows because, as they are full of archetypes and symbols, they allow me to create plays which deal with every man’s journey. Why did you develop such a strong connection to Andersen? Andersen suffered a lot because of his diversity. Hidden between the lines of all his stories one can perceive doubts, concerns, questions but also the joys of such fantastic journeys which bear the harsh impressions of our human existences. I have written three shows inspired by Andersen’s fairy tales. The Snow Queen symbolizes the seductive power of sense over sensibility and the consequent freezing of emotions during adolescence. The Mermaid Princess, who relinquishes her nature for love, dies because of this love and is reborn, represents a continuous metamorphosis where death is only a passage that brings along the marks of a new life. What do you want to convey with The Mermaid Princess? I have chosen the story of the Mermaid to show children the reality of death. As part of life, one must be ready to face death at any time in order to grow. We are forever changing. Everything constantly transforms itself, our bodies too dissolve when the breath of life leaves us. The Mermaid Princess becomes a woman and then a cloud and then water, rain and the sea - an eternal return. I thought it would be the perfect story to close the cycle, which explores the hero’s initiatory journey. In order to show these metamorphoses Luca Ruzza has created an ever changing space which encompasses the iridescent reflections of water, the formal rigor of dry land and the suspended quality of the sky, all of which has been superbly painted by Vincent Longuemare’s lights and by Luigi Spezzacatene’s evocative costumes. The result is a show which is mysterious, grotesque and which flutters like cherry blossom in the wind.
What were you most happy with? The harmony with which all the aspects of the show, such as the actors’ movement, the set design, the lights and costumes interweave. What were the challenges? The younger age of the cast compared to the Japanese cast, which meant I had to rewrite and adapt the original version I wrote when it was first commissioned by Setagaja Public Theatre in Tokyo in 2007. Do you have a favourite moment in the play? It’s like asking a mother who her favourite child is! I am particularly fond of this show because of its rhythm, at times syncopated and frenetic and at other times slow and silent just like the heartbeat of the new generations, who we know so little about! The theme of death touches them on a daily basis, some, like the Mermaid, lose themselves in the maze of love and others, like the Prince in my play, erase themselves having been manipulated by power, they are not listened to and they can only scream inside. And is there anything you would do differently? My shows evolve constantly; I keep working on them up until the very last performance. What was your thinking behind the casting decisions? I have called many auditions to cast this play and I have opted for a young cast formed of actors who would bring the same disquiet and anxieties as well as temperament and personality to the characters in the play, I wanted them to somewhat embody them. Biography Teresa Ludovico has enjoyed a long artistic career as a writer and director, training with leading artists in Italy and abroad. She joined Teatro Kismet in 1993 and from 1998 was appointed one of the company’s permanent directors. She also directed Nino Rota’s opera for children The Swineherd Prince; a production which was restaged in the UK in collaboration with Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO). Since 2002 Teresa has also worked as an associate artist of Setagaya Public Theatre, Tokyo and since 2008 the new Za Koenji Public Theatre Tokyo.
11
Interview with the Set Designer - Luca Ruzza You are an architect, set designer and a visual artist, how has your connection with the theatre developed throughout the years and what is at the centre of your artistic research at the moment? My connection with theatre is the result of a long journey. It started during my training where theatre and architecture interwove. I finished my training in Denmark where I had the chance to gain experience and specialize in theatrical architecture at the Odin Theatre. It was an enlightening phase, which has taught me that there isn’t any difference between building a structure and drawing, in both cases it’s a matter of organizing and imagining the visual sphere. Set design works closely with dramaturgy and it changes with it, in the last two hundred years there has been a need to structurally change the condition of the audience and the ways in which actions are carried out in space. My artistic research at the moment is intrigued by the relationship between art and science and by the possibilities that new technologies give to the theatre, machines and implements, which alter our perception and introduce the concept of interactivity. What interests me on stage is to use stimuli to which the audience is exposed in everyday life, because theatre is part of our contemporary society. How has your connection with Teresa Ludovico’s work developed? I have known Teresa for many years, we constantly share our visions and ideas, I’d define our rapport as an elective one. We both started off from a collective theatre where everyone would do everything, then each of us has developed our specific ways of expressing ourselves, our different writing styles. Teresa is connected to words, I’m connected to space. We work together from the first stages of creating the show, where we exchange views in great depth before and during the writing of the play. When we get to the point of physically creating the set our ideas are at an advanced stage. As for the Mermaid Princess and the end of the fairy tale trilogy, what choices have you made regarding the set design? Throughout Teresa’s trilogy, which ends with The Mermaid Princess, the dramaturgic research delves into the origin of recurrent archetypes in fairy tales. The writing is extremely concise. On the same note we have opted for an essential set design. It has been a complex work of subtraction that went on until we achieved the level of transparency of water. In the Japanese version we have managed to do so not through special effects but thanks
to a profound relationship between shapes, colours and geometry, which has made it possible for the audience to imagine and feel the underwater world. We hope to have been able to create this alchemy in the European production as well.
Biography Luca Ruzza designed the set for The Mermaid Princess and is an architect and set designer. Born in Rome in 1959 he recently became professor at Rome University teaching digital set design. His special interest is the application of new technology to his special areas of interest: drawing, performance and architecture. He is the founder and director of Open Lab Company, a centre for research and production for stage design, virtual spaces, architectural projects and installations, housed in an “atelier house” designed by himself, close to Rome. Many international productions include: Odin Teatret’s Andersen’s Drom; an international co-production of Ur Hamlet for Ravenna Festival directed by Eugenio Barba; The Magic Flute for Teatro Rendano Cosenza, A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Scalzi Roma, directed by Bruce Myers, Luca Gilberti and Raffaella Santucci and Passione delle Troiane for Koreja. He is a long time collaborator of Teresa Ludovico and Teatro Kismet, having designed sets for Beauty and the Beast and Gilgamesh and set and lighting for Andersen’s The Travelling Companion and Nino Rota’s opera The Swineherd Prince. www.lucaruzza.it
12
Interview with the Lighting Designer – Vincent Longuemare What was your vision for the piece and how did you draw your own inspiration and experiences to obtain the desired result? My personal vision was the one of two worlds, two universes which would not trust or believe in each other; to be more precise one world would trust the other one but this second world would not. By not trusting he would be blind and would not recognise the offering. Love would fall into the abyss from where it came. One world would be a liquid world and one a solid world, both offers different vision of time and values. In one of these worlds everything floats and passes, in the other one building concrete is the main anthem. It is not sure which world is the strongest. In offering your love you might have to disappear. So the main inspiration was water, a water world able to invade the space but then forced to abandon the terrain leaving the daylight becoming sad and red as blood. What were you most happy with? I always think that light design should produce beauty and poetry, that light should build and became an architecture surrounding the actors building around them a protective atmosphere able to expand and multiply in the space to produce the exact feeling of each scene. But for all of the preparation and planning I am most happy when during the process of creating the light I meet surprises, when I find myself surprised by a special connection between light and space, when a light comes up and meets an actor’s action. A voice. And it’s there and it feels natural that this particular light meets the bodies on stage and reveals a feeling, an emotion. What were the challenges? The main challenge was a production one, to work with less material, as few projectors as possible. We could call it, light design in time of crisis! Using as little material as possible but keeping the quality, not only the quantity of light just to ensure a good vision, but succeeding in creating a specific style possibly a visionary aspect of the show. A good example is: The Snow Queen was touring with 110 projectors, The Little Mermaid does it with only 50! A serious cut. So the idea to keep a strong visional aspect was to work with colour, and have only a few moments when white would come on stage. Do you have a favourite moment in the play? Well my favourite moment in the play is surely when the Mermaid
holds on the knife about to kill the Prince, I always hope she will kill him!!! Is there anything you would do differently? It is hard to say, as when you arrive at the end of the rehearsals and you look at what you have done, I always ask myself this question, are these the right lights for this show? And I suddenly try to imagine it in a different light! And I would almost always start all over again and see what I get especially when I look at the show and think, well I hardly can imagine that show in a different light: this is exactly when I would change everything. Vincent works as a lighting designer and set designer for a range of contemporary dance and theatre companies in Europe. Vincent Longuemare studied at the Institut National Superieur des Arts (INSAS), Brussells. He was assistant director to Robert Altman. From 1987 to 1989 he took part in the theatre workshop Louvain La Neuve, led by Armand Delcampe and began a collaboration with Josef Svoboda. He worked as technical director for Thierry Salmon’s company in Italy, where he developed his interest in contemporary theatre and dance. As a lighting designer he has since worked with leading contemporary Italian companies including Sosta Palmizi, Marco Martinelli’s Teatro delle Albe, Marco Baliani and Teatro Kismet. He has been a long time collaborator with Teresa Ludovico, designing lighting for her productions Beauty and the Beast and Gilgamesh and designing set and lighting for The Snow Queen (in Japan & Europe), and The Hypochondriac. He won the Ubu special award in 2008 for his lighting over many years for Teatro delle Albe, achieving “ten years of lighting design created with the spirit and understanding of a set designer and in full sympathy with the director’s artistic vision”. He has also been involved in architectural lighting projects in the South of Italy. Vincent is also active in the education sector, teaching lighting design in Milan and leading courses and workshops organised by ETI, as well as writing several articles on poetic and dramatic use of light.
13
Interview with an Actor – Daria Menichetti Were you approached by the Director or did you audition for the role? The answer to this question is definitely symbolic and significant. At first I sent my curriculum vitea to Teresa in order to be considered for an audition. She asked me to go to a three-day audition in February. I ended up not going because by that time, I had been chosen for another show and to be fair, I was quite disheartened by the fact that Teresa was looking for a dancer who could also sing and unfortunately, being well aware of my lack of singing skills, I was sure she wouldn’t have chosen me. A few months later, I was studying for an exam, taking place the next day. I got a phone call, it was Teresa asking me if I wanted to go to Bari for an audition. After months of auditioning, she still hadn’t found her Mermaid. This might make you understand how important it is for Teresa to choose the right actors, she goes beyond mere artistic and technical skills entering a mysterious, sensory sphere and she believes in fate. After the exam I got on a train and began my journey to Bari, in the south of Italy, which was a true odyssey, floods, delayed trains, and on top of all that I hadn’t slept a wink the night before, but I got the part. How did you prepare for the part, both physically and mentally? For the physical aspect I tried to work on soft, sinuous, flickering qualities of the mermaid. It has been very important to try to differentiate between the various stages in her life as they all have a different quality of movement. When she’s fifteen she is full of energy and she can’t wait to discover the world, which is different from when she is then given legs and is able to walk (which symbolizes her maturing into a young women) and her quality of movement is different still when she dissolves into air. As far as the choreography for the Mermaid is concerned, the whole show is a transformation from a solid state to an air like state. A slow decomposition, a metaphor of life, I would say. As for the emotional part, I have worked on longing, love and courage. In order to get what she longs for and loves enormously, the Mermaid is ready to give up not only her essence (which is being a Mermaid) but even her own life. I think it’s a great lesson of life for younger audiences. Our society doesn’t teach us to pursue our beliefs and our passions to the end. Society nowadays puts a label on us and crystallizes us into a form without letting us go through our required and sacred transformations. But above all I
have asked myself questions about DIVERSITY. What does it means to come face to face with something or someone that is different from us? To relate ourselves to what we don’t know...to venture into the unknown...the Mermaid is brave enough to fall in love with chaos. When she faces the chaos of life she asks for more life, I’d say she’s a Nietzschian! What are the challenging moments for you? This show is a continuous challenge, an immense one. The theme of the play itself is a very deep and important one, the theme of existence. It challenges me daily, I never feel up to the situation. I always feel like it’s not enough. It’s a dance of uncertainty, of the unknown. Did you have a vision of how the mermaid would look, perform and feel? The thought of the choreography scared me. I’m a dancer and the lack of freedom with my legs would have restricted the range of movements. But when we started working, the body of this cross between a fish and a woman came about naturally together with her essence, and it’s this very essence, together with temperament of this little Mermaid that prompted her movements. I’m surprised by the fact that the more performances I do, the more I manage to delve deeper into the heart of the Mermaid’s life. Each performance is not a repetition but it’s a journey deeper and deeper into the story. I discover something new every day. It’s amazing. Do you have a favourite moment? ’m particularly fond of two parts of the play. They are the moments in which the Mermaid transforms from one state to the next. The meeting with the Sea Witch, where the Mermaid’s courage is clearly shown, she is ready to sacrifice her nature for what she loves, for what she’s longing to know. The second one, which is very moving for me, is when she dissolves into air. An extreme act, the sacrifice. It’s incredible to feel all the cells of your body dissolve, release and disappear. The Mermaid is brave enough to give up what she has and what she loves the most, a fundamental message for young people today who place too much importance on their possessions. How do you relax after a show? Well, I like to continue my life. I read, I go to the cinema, I visit the gorgeous cities that have given us hospitality during this tour, so that I can fill the Mermaid with a new life in the next performance.
14
Reviews Italian Press quotes
“Fantastic fish and wonderful witches thrill the audience with a great fairy tale – wildly applauded on the opening night.” La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno (Italy)
“We are watching a performance of the highest theatrical quality …. A magnificent set design, lighting in dazzling technicolour and gorgeous costumes.” Corriere della Sera
Quotes from the Italian children in Bari
“Engaging and exciting show....full of surprises......refined and elegant....it’s a show for everyone it’s wicked!...... wonderful....simply extraordinary......it’s genius!“ “I loved this show. Thank you for your show, it was cracking.” “Full of grace and beauty....I really loved it, it was beautiful and it really moved me.” UK delegates quotes
“The Mermaid Princess is a European delight. Mixing clowning, dance and music into a theatrical experience that offers something for everybody. It is a sophisticated fairy tale, which examines the notion of growing up in an innovative and dramatic way, and simply shouldn’t be missed.” Heidi Vaughan, Oxford Playhouse
“This show is a feast for the eyes, a banquet of colour, texture and emotion that takes you on a memorable journey. A delightful narrator, a controlling courtier, a hapless prince and the sorrow of the Mermaid is palpable.” Helen Donaldson, Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts
“Mesmerising, moving imaginative production with innovative staging and lighting.” Rachel Backhouse, New Wolsey Theatre
“The Mermaid Princess is perfect for school groups and families. The show is a joy to watch, and even more of a joy to see the children’s faces, mesmerized by the humour and inventiveness of Teatro Kismet’s brilliant take on the classic fairytale.” Janina Mundy, The Lowry
“The Mermaid Princess has beautiful costumes and the characters are great – really funny and scary and playful all at the same time.” Tessa Gillett, West Yorkshire Playhouse
15
The Characters
Lulu
The Bear
The Prince
The Lord Chamberlain
The Lion Fish
The Sea Witch
Consuelo
Candidate number 1
Nanny Tuna
16
Activities This workshop is for KS2 and 3. It will introduce students to the story, characters and themes of The Mermaid Princess before they come to see the show. It will familiarise them with some basic drama skills used when creating and devising a piece of theatre. Preparation – read the story to the class before the workshop. Use a large space to deliver the workshop; it is suitable for 20 – 30 students. Warm up exercise to warm up the body and develop concentration. Exercise One The class sit on chairs in a circle. Before the game begins, make sure that the circle of chairs is big enough for people to run across from side to side without colliding. Be ready to adapt the game to allow for students with restricted mobility or wheelchair users. One person (who has no chair) stands in the centre of the circle. That person’s aim is to get the rest of the class to change places and to find an empty chair to sit on while they are out of their seats. It is a rule that no one may return to the chair he or she has just left in a changeover. Each person should be given one of the following character names around the circle: Nanny Tuna, The Mermaid Princess, The Prince, Lord Chamberlain, The Sea Witch The person in the centre then calls out one of the five names (use less names if you have a smaller class size). All the people round the circle who have that name must then swap chairs. The person without a chair then goes in the middle. At any time during the game, the teacher can call out ‘Mermaid Princess’ and everyone must swap chairs. Exercise Two - Changing Environments Though physical movement and imagination students create an atmosphere that is conveyed to the audience. Everyone finds a space in the room. Then ask them to walk around the room changing direction (not just going round in circles). As they walk, ask them to imagine that they are swimming in the sea. Then take them through the following scenarios: Living underwater, moving on dry land, attending a wedding, change and transformation. You control the environment they find themselves in. Encourage them to use their imagination as much as possible. As the scene changes you could ask them to think about the following: What are you wearing? How does this effect how you move? What colour is the sky? What can you smell? How quickly or slowly do you move in the different spaces? Finally as you come to the last scene, change and transformation, get them to imagine they are a cloud, rain and the sea and foam, until finally they are still. Exercise Three - Creating a Tableau of the Characters in the Story The Mermaid Princess actors draw on physical theatre to create characters and portray personalities. This exercise helps students to understand how their bodies can be used to convey a message to the audience without the use of text. This will help the students to familiarise themselves with the characters in the story. Divide the class up into groups. Each group is to work on a still tableau depicting one of the main characters from the show. Each group represents one or a pair of characters. Lulu, The Bear, Nanna Tuna, The Mermaid Princess, The Prince, The Lord Chamberlain, The Lion Fish, The Sea Witch, Princess Consuelo, Candidate number One. Ask the students to think about the qualities, features and gestures of each character and how that could be presented in a still image. What do we know about each character and how could that be represented in a still image? How do they stand? Where do they stand in relation to the other characters? Get them to think about the physical pose in as much detail as possible. How do they hold their hands, arms, head, where do they position their body, feet and arms? It is a good idea to get some members of the group to act as sculptors so that as the class makes suggestions they physically mould the people making up the picture.
17
Now ask them to move their positions from one still picture to the other in six moves using a drumbeat as control. Try it again but in one slow-motion fluid change. Watch both of these and discuss the difference within the whole group. Once again encourage positive comments about each other’s efforts. This exercise is a good teaching point to demonstrate the importance of a whole stage picture. A tableau needs to look visually interesting and encourage the eye to wander over it. There is opportunity in these tableaux to use space inventively and to use a variety of levels: low, medium and high. Interest can be captured by strong facial expressions and a sense of action, albeit frozen. All these things need discussion and emphasis. Make sure that they know you expect them to be thinking along these lines for any further tableaux. Exercise Four – The Seven Scenes Divide the group into eight small groups and give each other one of the sections of the story of The Mermaid Princess. Ask each group to create a still image using all the members of their group to depict the part of the story they have been given. Ask them to think about the characters in each section of the story and how these could be created physically without any props as with the previous exercise. Also get them to consider using different levels as Teresa does in the production. This will help to make the pictures more visually interesting and can also help to say something about the characters. If there aren’t enough characters in the scene for members of the group then they could also think about what else would be in the scene which would help to create the atmosphere or depict the location of the scene e.g. the mermaids sisters, or wedding guests, or many sea witches. Each group should then show their still image to the rest of the group in the order of the story. Which they can discuss afterwards before moving onto the next one, establishing how clear each person’s character is and how they could make it clearer to the audience. You could develop this so that each picture becomes a short movement sequence to allow for the action of each scene to be told in more detail. What is the key moment or message that is being conveyed through each section of the story? Ask students to think about the atmosphere they are creating, how can lighting, colours and shapes contribute to their scene? How will they use music? Thought tracking You can develop the students’ understanding of the characters by using thought tracking. Focusing on the characters in a still image, thought tracking involves the rest of the class in contributing ideas as if they were speaking the thoughts of one of the characters. These can support or contrast with the words that the characters actually say. The class can make a circle around the character and say their ‘thoughts’ aloud. This is a good technique for creating and then examining the private thoughts of characters at particularly tense moments of a narrative. Exercise Five: Hot Seating A character is questioned by the group about his or her background, behaviour and motivation. The method may be used for developing a role in the drama lesson or rehearsals, or analysing a play post-performance. Even done without preparation, it is an excellent way of fleshing out a character. Characters may be hot-seated individually, in pairs or small groups. The technique is additionally useful for developing questioning skills with the rest of the group. The questions can be prepared or improvised. Obviously this works best if both the role player and the questioners are familiar with the character and the narrative. Hot-seating focuses closely on a character and enables motivation to be explored. It is also a good way of exploring the gaps in a character’s story.
18
Writing Your Review Become a theatre critic for a day and write a piece for your favourite newspaper. A review is a short report that tells people who haven’t seen the play what it was like. It will usually refer to many aspects of the production including; acting, lighting, costumes and the set design. A review might also look at how the audience received the overall production and comment on the direction. Some conscientious reporters will have done some background work on the author or playwright and the director as well as the historical content. When writing a review begin with a catchy statement to attract the reader and then include: • The name of the play • The director’s and writer’s name • The dates it was performed and the dates it is showing at the theatre Have some ideas about what you want to focus on in your review, for example it might be the interpretation given by the lead actor, so try to demonstrate the message you are trying to get across. This will give people an idea if the show is worth a visit. And perhaps have a final comment to finish with, like ‘A must see’ or ‘A marvellous show for all.’ What is the play about? Provide a brief summary of the plot, the director and the period the play was written. Reviews are quite short and you will have a lot of information you need to include if your review is to be a good one. What issues or themes does the play portray? For example is it about transformation or loss? Direction Did the experiences of the Director contribute to the success of this piece? Did the piece all fit together into a cohesive story? Did all the different elements fit together so it flowed well and was understood? Acting Was it any good? Did you have a favourite actor? Is there someone worth drawing attention to? Their role may be a bad guy, but if the acting was good you may have been mesmerised by them. Dance and physical movement The production uses dance and physical theatre to give the audience a sense of the emotion and feeling a character is experiencing. Did you understand what was going on? What did you think? Set and Lighting The lighting used in the piece is simple, atmospheric and creates a highly visual piece. Give examples of where this was used to great effect. Is the lighting warm or cold? How did this affect the overall production? Did you like the set? Can you describe it? Did it evoke any feeling in you? What did it look like? Costume and Make-up What did you think of the costumes? Were they made especially for the production? Did they remind you of anything? Can you describe the feel of a particular costume the colours, the cut, the shape? What did they look like? Did the actors wear a lot of make up or any masks? Sound How did the music and sound effects make you feel at different points during the play? Why do you think they chose the different pieces of music? Was the musical score original or borrowed? Played by live musicians or recorded? Other questions to think about What was your favourite part of the show? And why was it good? Was there anything you didn’t like or didn’t understand? Did the audience seem to enjoy the performance? How did you feel after watching the piece?
19
The Story of the Mermaid Princess told through 2D and 3D collage
Within the story of The Mermaid Princess are eight shorter stories, each telling a part of the whole story and creating separate scenes as we follow The Mermaid on her journey to find the one she loves. As a class or maybe as a whole year group project, a series of collages that can be created to depict each of the eight stages of the story of The Mermaid Princess. The eight stages of the story are as follows: Scene One Scene Two Scene Three Scene Four Scene Five Scene Six Scene Seven Scene Eight
Nanny Tuna and her Princesses Arrival at the surface. A storm and the Prince’s shipwreck The Mermaid Princess saves the Prince Journey to the Sea Witch’s Kingdom and Transformation A Princess is chosen for the Prince The Mermaid Princess receives the knife to kill the Prince The Wedding The Mermaid Princess’ Death and Transformation
A summary of each section can be found in this pack to remind you of the story and provide inspiration. Use the production images from the pack for ideas.
20
Parlare Italiano Teatro Kismet is an Italian company based in Bari in Southern Italy. Although the company are Italian the actors perform the play in English. The following can be used as a classroom activity to introduce key words and symbols in the play.
General
Hello Goodbye Please Thank you Theatre
Characters
Lulu The Bear Nanny Tuna The Little Mermaid The Prince Lord Chamberlain Fish Leo The Sea Witch Consuelo Candidate number 1
Symbols
Love Heart Tail Sea Forbidden Foam
Ciao Arrivederci Per Favore Grazie Teatro
Chow Arre-ver-derchee Pear Favor-ay Gra-zee-ay Tay-ar-tro
Lulu Zuzu Tata Tonna La Principessa Sirena Il Principe Il Consigliere Pesce Leo La Strega del Mare Consuelo Candidata Numero Uno
Loo-loo Zoo-zoo Ta-ta Toh-n-n-ar La Preen-chip-ess-ar See-ray-nar Eel Preen-chip-ay Eel con-see-lee-ay-ray Pay-shay Le La Str-ay-ga dail Ma-ray Con-suu-ay-low Candy-dar-tar Noo-may-roh Oo-noh
Amore Cuore Coda Mare Proibito Schiuma
Ar-mo-ray (Ar-moh-ray) Ku-oh-ray Koh-dah Ma-ray Proh-ee-bee-toh Sk-you-mar
21
“Ambitious theatre with Italian style.“ Metro
“Teatro Kismet, from Italy, has a reputation for creating highly visual performances with an imaginative appeal that cuts right across the generations.“ The Times
“Leading Italian theatre group Teatro Kismet certainly know how to get a child’s attention.“ Leicester Mercury
Sharon Foster 0121 443 4865 / 07919 417812 mail@sharonfoster.co.uk Teatro Kismet OperA Strada San Giorgio Martire 22/f - 70123 Bari tel +39.080..5797667 fax +39.080.5749228 email: info@teatrokismet.it www.teatrokismet.org