elephant study guide - Montalvo...

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Lyrics by Lisa Lambert

Music byAnthony Afterwit

Book byTimothy A. McDonald

Based on the book and illustrations by Bill Peet

Table of Contents

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Introduction - Welcome letter 2Ploy Synopsis 3The Creator of Book 4About The Ant and the Elephant 5Bill Peet's Other Books 5The Creators of the Musical 6Preshow Activities 7 Postshow Activities 8 & 9

Greetings and welcome to The Ant and theElephant.

This musical version of the story has beendeveloped specifically for theaters wanting toproduce the show for young audiences. TYA, or"Theater for Young Audiences," has a long andnoble history. When you produce a musical foryoung audiences you are introducing them to themagic of theater and isn't that a great thing to do?You are also nurturing not only the nextgeneration of writers, directors and performers, butalso the next generation of audiences. Many thinkthis is the single most important thing we can doin the theater, and I agree.

This study guide provides teachers with all thetools necessary to turn a day at thetheatre into an interactive educational experience.It contains biographies of the show's creators, thehistory of the story, curriculum connections in avariety of content areas, and activities to do beforeand after the production.

Please take advantage of these resources and thankyou in advance for making the world a betterplace!

Enjoy the show!

Timothy A. McDonaldiTheatrics.com

Study Guide Written by Marty Johnson for iTheatricsStudy Guide Designed by Steven G. Kennedy for iTheatrics

Study Guide Produced by iTheatrics

The Ant and the Elephant Study Guide © 2008 iTheatrics

Plot SynopsisThe musical begins with a writer,BILL, sitting at his desk brainstormingideas for his next story (Nothing IntoSomething). He tries a few differentideas and finally settles on a storyabout ANT. Bill starts to narrate thestory as Ant and the other charactersbegin to act out the adventures Billdescribes.

Ant is having a great day (Lots ofAnts) when, without much warning,she falls into the river and grabs ontoa snag for safety. Unable to swim, sheasks MR. HARDSHELL, the turtle, forhelp getting back to the shore. Theturtle has no desire to help her as hejust wants to be left alone (SolitaryTurtle). Mr. Hardshell walks awaywithout rescuing her, but soon findshimself in a mess of his own. Hetopples over backwards, lands flat onhis back, and is stuck. Thankfully, hespies MRS. BIGBILL, a beautiful bird,sitting up in a tree. He asks her to helphim, but she is too busy preeningherself to be bothered. But when Mrs.Bigbill accidentally knocks her egg outof her nest, she discovers she herselfneeds help to carry it back up to thenest.

Mrs. Bigbill sees MR. GREATNECK, agiraffe, ambling by and asks for someassistance. He decides not to help Mrs.Bigbill for fear of looking silly andkeeps on walking (Bird on My Head).Mr. Greatneck doesn't get too farbefore he runs into his own troublewhen he gets caught in the tangle

dangle vines and can't get out. As hetries to free himself, the lions, KINGBIGPAW and his SIDEKICKS, enterand begin to make fun of him forlooking so silly (Point and Laugh)and then abandon him for thewaterhole.

At the waterhole, a rock rolls overKing Pigpaw's tail and traps him. Hecan't move, but hopes MR.HORNYHEAD, the rhinoceros whohas come by, will be able to help. Mr.Hornyhead refuses and storms off.And because Mr. Hornyhead wasn'tlooking where he was going, he runsstraight into a stump and gets hishorn caught.

All the animals, except Ant, start tocomplain about how someone else isresponsible for the mess they are in(Blame Game), but as they sing theyhear another person's voice. Theylisten and realize that someone is stillnarrating the story—Bill. They all turnon Bill, blame him for their troubles,and force him to enter the story as theELEPHANT. Bill decides that Elephantcan help all of the other animals withits trunk (To the Rescue). Only Antthanks Elephant, but he doesn't seemto mind since he helped the othersout of the goodness of his heart. Butwhen he falls into a ravine and getstrapped, Elephant realizes everyoneneeds help from time to time.Thankfully before too long though,Ant comes to the rescue him with allof her ant friends (Finale).

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BBiillll PPeeeett(Original Story Author and Illustrator)Bill Peet was born in 1915 in a small town in Indiana. He discovered at an earlyage a love for drawing, and after high school continued his education at theJohn Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis. He studied drawing, painting anddesign for the next three years. During this time, he also met his future wife,Margaret. After school he moved to California where he soon began working forWalt Disney. Bill began work as a sketch artist and eventually became Walt's topillustrator on Disney's animated features. His responsibilities includedstoryboarding, illustrating, and producing many of the classic Disney films thatare still treasured to this day including such titles as Dumbo and 101 Dalmations.

While working at Disney, he married Margaret and they had two sons, Bill Jr. andSteve. Inspired by the bedtime stories he told his sons, Bill left Disney after 27years to begin writing and illustrating his own storybooks fulltime. He eventuallywent on to write more than thirty books for children which are universallypraised by students, teachers, parents and librarians. Bill passed away in 2002but has left us a legacy of stories and drawings that continue to inspire, educateand entertain.

Visit www.billpeet.net for in-depth information about Bill Peet.

WWAALLTT DDIISSNNEEYY MMOOVVIIEESS WWOORRKKEEDD OONN BBYY BBIILLLL PPEEEETT

101 DALMATIANS PETER PAN ALICE IN WONDERLAND PINOCCHIOCINDERELLA SLEEPING BEAUTY DUMBO SONG OF THE SOUTHFANTASIA THE SWORD AND THE STONEJUNGLE BOOK

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The Creator of the Book

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About The Ant and the ElephantThe Ant in the Elephant was written in 1972 and was inspired by the Aesop fableThe Ant and the Dove. In that story, an ant is caught in a stream when a doveflies by and drops a leaf in the water to allow the ant to get to shore. Then whena hunter tries to capture the dove, the ant stings him causing him to makeenough noise to warn the dove and allow time for the dove to fly away to safety.Peet's book captures this idea of one good turn deserves another while alsotaking on the Aesop's fables' tradition of personifying animals with humancharacteristic.

"I drew for hours at a time just for the fun of it, and yet I was hoping to find some practical reason to draw for the rest of my life. But when I entered

grade school, my drawing habit suddenly became a problem."—Bill Peet

OOTTHHEERR BBOOOOKKSS BBYY BBIILLLL PPEEEETTThe Ant and the Elephant Big Bad Bruce Bill Peet: An Autobiography Buford the Little Bighorn The Caboose Who Got Loose Capyboppy Chester the Worldly Pig Cock-a-Doodle Dudley Countdown to Christmas Cowardly Clyde Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent Eli Ella Encore for Eleanor Farewell to Shady Glade Fly, Homer, Fly The Gnats of Knotty Pine How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head

Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure Huge Harold Jennifer and Josephine Jethro and Joel Were a Troll Kermit the Hermit The Kweeks of Kookatumdee The Luckiest One of All Merle the High Flying Squirrel No Such Things Pamela Camel The Pinkish, Purplish, Bluish Egg Randy's Dandy Lions Smokey The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock The Whingdingdilly The Wump World Zella, Zack, and Zodiac

The Creators of the MusicalTTiimmootthhyy MMccDDoonnaalldd(Book, Lyric, Music) was the foundingdirector of Music Theatre International'sEducation Division, and during his tenuredeveloped the Broadway Junior Collection,KIDS Collection, School Edition Musicals andTheatre for Young Audiences Collection,introducing millions of young people to thelife-enhancing experience of theater. Tim cowrote the musical Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka,which opened at the Kennedy Center,toured for two years, and was performed atthe White House for the President and FirstLady. In addition, Tim supervised creativedevelopment of eight musicals in associationwith Disney Theatrical Productions. Timrecently founded his own company, callediTheatrics, which is dedicated to making theworld safe for children and theatereverywhere. Tim is collaborating withAcademy Award winning songwriter PaulWilliams and the Jim Henson Company onEmmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas, and he isadapting Roald Dahl's James and the GiantPeach for the musical stage, working withdance sensation Pilobolus. For the latest onTim, check outwww.timothyamcdonald.com.

LLiissaa LLaammbbeerrtt(Lyrics) received 2006 Tony, Drama Deskand Outer Critics Circle Awards for her workon The Drowsy Chaperone. U.S. credits: TheDrowsy Chaperone (Center Theatre Group:Ahmanson, NAMT's 2004 Festival of NewMusicals). Canadian credits: The DrowsyChaperone (Fringe of Toronto Festival,Theatre Passe Muraille, Mirvish Productions:Winter Garden Theatre); Honest Ed: TheBargain Musical and Mirth (Poor AlexTheatre); Ouch My Toe (Fringe of TorontoFestival); The Irish Musical and People Park(Rivoli); All Hams on Deck (Summer Works);An American in Harris (Second City); AnAwkward Evening With Martin & Johnson(Tarragon, Tim Sims Playhouse). TV: "Slingsand Arrows" (Rhombus Media, Showcaseand the Sundance Network), "Getting AlongFamously" (CBC), "Skippy's Rangers: TheShow They Never Gave" and "The Joe BlowShow" (Comedy Network). Film: PippiLongstocking, Highway 61, Blue.

AAnntthhoonnyy AAfftteerrwwiitt(Music) is a native of Boston, student ofPhiladelphia, and citizen of the world.Musical influences include Mozart,Beethoven, Green Day, and Bach. Previouswork includes Frankly Ben and his music canbe heard regularly around the dinner tablewherever a half-empty wine glass can befound. Many thanks to the 'FoundingFathers' for their foresight, inspiration, andcourage to 'buck the system'. We couldn'thave done it without you! Props to TJ, JA,GW and all the gang from the 'MarketStreet' crew.

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1) Find a copy of The Ant and the Elephant to read to your students or if they are old enough, have them read the book themselves.

2) Discuss adaptations and how your students are going to see a musical adaptation of the book The Ant and the Elephant. Encourage your students to draw their own picture of a scene that they think might be in the musical they are going to see.

3) Go over the plot synopsis found in this study guide with your students. .

4) Review the following vocabulary words with your students to help them better understand the musical.

Narrator - someone who tells a storyAdaptation - a written work that has been changed to be

told in another form Magnify - to increase the size of somethingSnag - a part of a tree that is stuck in the bottom of a riverHornbill - a type of bird with a large beak Poachers - hunters who look for animals to capture and sell

5) During the show, the actors will portray the different animals in the show. Ask your students to come up with a list of ways an actor can portray an animal. (For example, using their voice or their body, adding a costume or a mask, etc.) Encourage your students to use some of these same things to temporarily turn themselves and your classroom into a zoo or a jungle.

6) Discuss with your students the etiquette of being an audience member at a live theatrical performance. Items for discussion: appropriate responses, no chewing gum, no talking, going to the bathroom before the performance, etc.

Pre-SShow AActivities

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ENGLISHWHO'S THIS AESOP GUY?

The Ant and the Elephant is inspired by thepopular Aesop fable The Ant and the Dove.(http://www.aesopfables.com/aesopsel.html)Discuss what a fable is with your students andhave them research the origins of Aesop'sFables. Assign each student another of Aesop'sFables to read and see if they can determinethe moral of their specific story.

IS THAT THE SAME STORY?Divide your classroom into groups and haveeach group make a list of the ways the musicalwas the same or was different from the bookThe Ant and the Elephant. Once they are done,each group should compare and contrast theirlists with rest of the class.

HE SURE DID WRITE A LOT OF BOOKSEach student should go to their school or townlibrary and check out another book to readwritten by Bill Peet. If they are not old enoughto read it by themselves, they should find amember of their family to read it to them.Have students share a short oral report on thebook for the book they read for the rest of theclass.

I LIKE MY VERSION BETTERIn the musical, the narrator quickly changesthe story several different times. Assign each ofyour students a familiar nursery rhyme.Encourage them to do just what the narratordid in the musical and change up the plot orcharacters. Students can then write out theirnew story and share it with their classmates.

Post-SShow CCurriculum CConnectionsTHEATREI'M READY FOR MY CLOSE UP

Clear a space in your classroom where studentscan act out a scene from The Ant and theElephant for their fellow students. Begin bydivide your students into pairs or small groupsto select and rehearse the scene they would liketo perform. These scenes could be one theysaw in the musical or they can make up theirown scene based on the original Bill Peet book.Encourage them to use their voices and bodiesto help portray the animal characters for therest of the class.

IS THAT PIECE OF PAPER TALKING?Throughout the musical, the characters areintroduced through the use of shadowpuppets. You can create your own shadowpuppet theatre in your classroom by simplyhanging a thin white sheet and putting abright white light behind it. Give each studenta piece of thick black construction paper andask them to draw and create their own shadowpuppet. Divide the classroom into groups andhave each group create a story based on theirpuppets.

SCI ENCEWHERE DO I BELONG?

Animals are divided into a number of differentgroups and classes by scientists. Have yourstudents indentify all of the animals in thestory using the most basic of classifications(insects, mammals, birds, fish, reptiles,amphibians). Students should now create a listof the specific animal's characteristics thatmake it a part of its designated group.

DINNER'S READYIn the world of The Ant and the Elephant, all ofthe animals co-exist without physical threat inthe same environment. But in the real animalkingdom, there are definitely predators andprey that make up a food chain. Discuss withyour students which animals from the showwould co-habitat and which ones would keepaway from each other for the sake of theirlives.

SOCIAL SCIENCESWOULD THE GOOD GUY PLEASE STAND UP

Each of the characters in this story ends upneeding help from another of the character.Some ask nicely, some don't. Some givereasons why they can't help, some don't. Starta discussion with your students on what makesomeone a "good guy." Discuss if any of thecharacters in the show are good guys. Arethere any that are worse the others? Studentsshould discuss the times they were asked forhelp. Did they help? Were they happy to help?What about helping with chores around thehouse?

Post-SShow CCurriculum CConnections (Continued)

MATHOKAY, EVERYONE GET IN A LINE

There are a number of different animals in TheAnt and the Elephant; all of them played byhumans. Of course the animals are often muchdifferent from each other in size and shapethan humans. Have your students create a listof the animals from the show (ant, turtle, bird,giraffe, lion, rhino, elephant, warthog, andhorse) and then list them from the lightest tothe heaviest. Next have them create a list thatshows the animals from shortest to the tallest.Finally they should research the average sizeand shape of each animal and determine theaccuracy of their lists.

I CAN'T WAIT ‘TIL I GROW UPAt the beginning of the show, Bill is able tomagnify the Ant in order to see her better.Older students should calculate how manytimes they would need to magnify an ant inorder for the ant to be the size of a human.

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