BEHIND THE SCENES The Secret Garden - Lewis Family … · The Secret Garden A Resource Guide for Teachers and Parents Synopsis: The play is set in 1911, and opens in a ritish household

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BEH I ND THE SCENES—

The Secret Garden A Resource Guide for Teachers and Parents

Synopsis: The play i s set in 1911, and opens in a Br it ish household in colon ia l India . There’s been a cholera epidemic, and Mary Lennox wakes up to d iscover that everyone in the house has d ied. She has been forgotten. Mary i s taken to stay at the home of an Eng l i sh c lergyman, but she i s so contrary that the other chi ldren there tease her. Soon she’s on a sh ip headed for Eng land , the “home” she’s never been to. When the ship arr ives, she’s met by Mrs. Medlock, the housekeeper at Misselthwaite Manor, in Yorkshi re. Mar y wi l l move there to l ive with her unc le , who was her mother’ s brother . She learns that the house i s s ix hundred years o ld and has a lmost 100 rooms. When they f ina l ly arr ive, Mary th inks i t ’ s just as g loomy as Mrs. Medlock descr ibed it . She’s g iven two roo ms to l ive in . In the morn ing , Mary meets Martha, a housemaid. Martha speaks in Yorksh ire, the d ia lect f rom that part of the world , and Mary doesn’ t understand her at f i r st . Martha i s surpr ised to learn that Mary doesn’ t know how to dress hersel f , and te l l s her that she needs to learn. Mary, having a lways had servant s look ing a fter her in Ind ia, ca l l s Martha names, and star ts to cry . Martha tr ies to get her to eat , and te l l s Mary about her brother Dickon, who has a specia l way with animals. Mary is inter ested, but i s so contrary that she doesn’ t show it . Martha convinces Mary to go outside to p lay on the moor. Outside, Mary meets Ben Weathersta f f , the gardener. Mary wanders through a l l the var ious wal led gardens, and i s cur ious about one that seems to h ave t rees in i t , but no door. There’s a Rob in in one of the trees, and Mary is surpr ised that i t comes when Ben whist les for h im. He tel l s her that they’ re fr iends, and Mary confesses that she doesn’t have any f r iends. The Robin seems to l ike Mary. Mary spends many days in the gardens, and spending t ime outs ide f ina l ly g ives her an appet ite. Mary asks Martha why no one wi l l tel l her about the garden with no door, and Martha te l l s her that i t ’ s Mr. Craven’ s orders. I t was h is wi fe ’s garden, but one day a br anch she was s it t ing on broke, she fel l , and d ied the next day . Mr. Craven was so d istraught that he buried the key and forb id anyone f rom going inside i t . Later, Mary hears cry ing in the house, but Martha tel ls her i t ’ s just the wind. She t r ies to f ind out what i t i s , but Mrs. Medlock f inds her and makes her go back to her room. A few days later , Martha br ings Mary a present – a sk ipping rope! Mary i s de l ighted and doesn’t know how to thank Martha for being so k ind to her . No one had ever rea l ly been k ind to her before. Mary goe s outside and i s determined to master her new toy. Even Ben Weatherstaf f comments on how much better she looks .

SHOW T IMES JA N U A R Y 23 – FE B R U A R Y 12, 2016 S CH O O L P E R F O R M A N CE S : WE E K 1: MON, TUE 10:00 AM WED, THURS, FRI: 9:15 AM & 11:15 AM WE E K S 2 & 3: WED, THURS, FRI : 9:15AM & 11:15 AM

SA T U R D A Y S 1:00 PM* & 4:00 PM SU N D A Y S 1:00 PM ( N O 1: 00 P E R F O N J A N . 28 T H )

INSIDE THE GUIDE:

Synopsis ……………..…….………………..…….….. 1 Author Bios …………………………………..………. 3 Characters in the play ….....…………..……..… 4 Discussion & Classroom Activities……........ 5 About the Production ………………………….… 6 Fun Activity to try………………..………….…….. 7

http://www.lewisfamilyplayhouse.com/

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Synopsis (continued): Spr ing i s in the a ir , and Ben says that below the garden , th ings are gett ing ready to grow. Mary is s t i l l cur ious i f there i s anyth ing growing in the wal led garden, but Ben wont’ ta lk about i t . The Rob in appears, and helps Mary f ind where the key i s bur ied. With h is help , she a lso f inds where the door has been covered over with vines . She steps inside, but everything looks dead and sad. When she gets back to the house, she te l l s Martha that she wants to buy a l i t t le spade, so that she can plant th ings . She doesn ’t tel l Martha about the garden. Martha suggests that Mary wr ite to Dickon, who knows everything about nature. Mary asks i f he’d br ing her a spade and some seeds. Later that n ight , Mary hears the cry ing aga in, but Martha tel ls her i t ’ s nothing. The next day , Mary meets Dickon, who she th inks i s wonderful . D ickon can understand the Rob in, and Mary dec ides to t rust D ickon with her secret , about f inding the key and the Secret Garden. He promises to help her br ing i t back to l i fe . Mary i s amazed to be mak ing f r iends! Later, Mary i s taken to se e her uncle, Archibald Craven, who she’s barely seen since arr iving in Yorkshi re. He tel l s her that he was go ing to get her a governess, but Mary asks i f she can p lay in the gardens instead. He agrees that she’s st i l l too weak to go to schoo l , and asks w hat she wants. Mary asks for her own b it o f earth to p lant th ings in . He i s surpr is ing ly moved by th is, because the wi fe he loved was a lso fond of gardening. Mr . Craven leaves Yorkshi re to go travel ing . Mary hears the cry ing again , and eventual ly fo l lows i t down a long corr idor, where to her surpr ise, she meets Co l in . Co l in i s her cousin , who has been sick ly and in bed h is ent ire l i fe – ever s ince h is mother d ied when he was a baby. Co l in i s just as mean and spo i led as Mary was when she arr ived in Yorksh i re . She helps h im go to s leep, but when she comes back to see h im the next day , Mrs. Medlock and the Doctor are fur ious! Co l in convinces them not to be angry, and they agree to a l low Mary to v i s i t h im.

Mary and Col in start to trust each other, and Mary f inal ly te l l s h im her secret . Col in wants to see th e garden, and Mary convinces the Doctor to let D ickon help her br ing Col in outs ide. As t ime passes, th e three fr iends go to the garden every day, unt i l Co l in i s st rong enough to wa lk, and everyth ing i s in b loom. Mr. Craven, st i l l on h is travels, has a dream about h is dead wi fe, who urges h im to come home. He wonders i f he should , but even a fter 10 years he fears seeing h is son, who reminds h im so much of h is dead wife. He a lso receives a letter from Ma ry and Dickon’s mother, te l l ing h im that i f h i s wi fe were al ive, she would want h im to come home. When Mr. Craven arr ives back in Yorkshire, he heads to the Secret Garden, where he sees Col in , now perfect ly healthy, running a race with Mary and Dickon. He i s amazed, and Col in te l l s h im he’s wel l as they a l l fa l l in to each other’ s arms.


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About the Authors…

Pamela Sterling (adaptation) is a writer, director, and teacher who has served as Artistic Director for The Coterie in Kansas City, the Honolulu Theatre for Youth, and the Idaho Theatre for Youth. Among her honors are awards for best director from the St. Louis Dispatch for her direction of To Kill a Mockingbird; the Po’okela Award for theatre excellence in Honolulu; and awards for best director and production for her work with Romeo and Juliet, Spoon River Anthology, Tofa Samoa and Paniolo Spurs. She earned an AriZoni Award for Excellence in Theatre Production for Anne of Green Gables and Alicia in Wonder Tierra. Sterling is also a 1981 Winifred Ward Scholar. Her published plays include: Friday’s Child, The Secret Garden and The Adventures of Nate the Great, published by Dramatic Publishing Company. Her play, The Ugly Duckling is published by New Plays, Inc. She won the Kansas City Best of Theatre award in the Best New Play category for The Adventures of Nate the Great. Sterling’s play, The Secret Garden won the American Alliance for Theatre Education’s Distinguished Play award. Her adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie has been produced by professional theaters across the country. Sterling also has written several plays for Historyonics, a professional theatre company affiliated with the St. Louis History Museum. She is an associate professor of Theatre at Arizona State University.

Frances Hodgson Burnett (Book author) (1849 – 1924) was born in Manchester, England. Her father was

an ironmonger, who died three years after her birth. Her mother ran the business until it failed when

Frances was 15, and the family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. Frances began to write, in order to

supplement the family income, assuming full responsibility for the family upon the death of her mother,

in 1870. In 1872 she married Dr. Swan Burnett, with whom she had two sons, Lionel and Vivian. The

marriage was dissolved in 1898. In 1900 Burnett married actor Stephen Townsend until 1902 when they

got divorced. Following her great success as a novelist, playwright, and children's author, Burnett, who

became a U.S. citizen, maintained homes in both England and America, traveling back and forth quite

frequently. She died in her Long Island, New York home, in 1924. Primarily remembered today for her

trio of classic children's novels - Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret

Garden (1911) - Burnett was also a popular adult novelist, in her own day, publishing books such as

Through One Administration about corruption in Washington, DC (1883), a historical novel called A Lady

of Quality (1896) and romantic stories such as The Making of a Marchioness (1901).

Suggestions for Pre- Show activities:

Read the novel in class and talk about the themes and the characters.

Look at Yorkshire on a map, to know where the story takes place.

Do some research on the types of clothes people wore in 1911. What do you think the costumes might look like in the play?


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Characters in the Play

Narrators Actors who help tell the story by speaking to the audience.

Mary Lennox 10 years old. After her parents die in India, she’s taken to a house called Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire, to live with an uncle she’s never met. She’s sour and contrary because she’s always been neglected. Coming to Yorkshire and discovering the garden gives her a place to belong, friends, and a real family.

Mrs. Medlock The dour, no-nonsense housekeeper at Misslewaithe Manor, she’s a stickler for propriety, and runs a tight household, even if underneath the crabbed layers there is a spark of human kindness, warmth and humanity.

Martha Sowerby Housemaid at Misselthwaite Manor. She’s a warm, unpretentious young woman, who tells it like it is, and is full of good cheer. If Misslewaithe was run like a normal house, Martha would be too rustic to be allowed upstairs. She becomes Mary’s first friend.

Dickon Sowerby Martha’s brother, who has a special way of understanding all of nature. He’s good natured, trustworthy, and can be relied upon to keep important secrets. He sees the good in all living things.

Archibald Craven Mary’s uncle, the master of Misselthwaite Manor. He has been sad and distracted ever since his wife died 10 years before, and this makes people afraid of him. Underneath, he is a kind man who is lonely and doesn’t know how to connect with his son.

Colin Craven Mary’s cousin, also 10 years old, Colin has been bedridden for his whole life. He knows that everyone has to do whatever he wants, so he acts imperious and bossy, but he’s secretly afraid of dying, and once he meets Mary he works hard to get well.

Ben Weatherstaff The old, crotchety gardener at Misselthwaite Manor. He’s prickly when approached, but he has a soft heart, and loves both the Robin and his dead mistress tenderly, which is why he’s attempted to keep up her garden for ten years, even when it meant climbing over a wall to do it.

Doctor Craven Archibald Craven’s cousin, and Doctor to Colin. He’s a persnickety, slightly uptight man who wants to do the right thing for his patient, but also knows that if Colin dies he’ll inherit the mansion.

The Robin A very special bird, who befriends Mary and shows her the key and the door to the garden. In our production, the Robin is played by a puppet.


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Using the Play in the Classroom

1. GEOGRAPHY: Mary grows up in colonial India to

British parents, but she’s never been to England. Find India on a map, and see how far it is from England. Find Yorkshire on a map of England. Calculate how far away they are from each other, and discuss how long it might have taken to get from India to Yorkshire before there was such things as an airplane.

2. HISTORY: Mary finds herself very confused when she first arrives at the manor, and tells Martha England is very different than India. Have students do research about India in the early 1900’s, when the story takes place. What did it mean to be a British colony? How were native people treated by the British? Older students might think about comparisons to when America was also a British Colony.

3. SCIENCE AND NATURE: Mary meets a Robin Red Breast, a bird that is common in Northern England, but not in India where she grew up. What kind of birds live in your neighborhood? Have students research and report on the birds that inhabit Southern California. What do they eat? Where do they make their nests? Younger children can draw pictures of birds.

4. MORE SCIENCE: Mary finds the garden, and tending it and making things grow helps her and Colin to become healthier and happier. The Secret Garden is filled with roses, blue larkspur and other flowers. What kind of flowers and plants grow in your neighborhood? Do a class project where students plant seeds in pots. How much water do they need? How long does it take for them to grow? Do different plants need different types of soil and sun to come alive?

5. WRITING: Susan Sowerby writes a letter to Mr. Craven asking him to come home. Have students write their own letters to someone they know who is on a trip or lives far away. What would you say to convince them to return? Practice writing letters about other topics, too. How is writing or receiving a letter different from sending a text or an email, as we do today?

Discussion Questions: 1. When Mary arrives in Yorkshire, she’s scared and

lonely because it’s so different from where she lived before. What’s it like to move to a new place? Have you ever felt lonely?

2. Mary confesses to Ben that before coming to Yorkshire, she didn’t have any friends. When she makes friends with Dickon and the Robin, she’s happier than she’s ever been. Have the students talk about their friends, and why they are important.

3. Mary decides to share her secret about finding the

garden, first with Dickon, and then with Colin. What’s it like to have a secret? Why do you think Mary felt that she could trust them with her secret?

4. Colin never met his mother, who died when he was

born. His father is so sad that he never sees him. Mary’s parents both die from cholera. Both of the children think they have no family until they meet and realize they are cousins. The death of a loved one can be very confusing as well as sad for children. If your students have suffered this type of loss, have students discuss their feelings about it. Talk about how their behavior is different or similar to Colin’s, Mary’s or Mr. Craven’s.

5. Mary is confused at the strange dialect that is spoken in Yorkshire, but soon she’s able to understand it. Do people have different accents in your school or neighborhood? How does it make you feel when you can’t understand? How do you learn to understand people who speak a little different than you do?

6. In Mary’s time, there was no television or video games. Her first toy is a skipping rope, which Martha gives to her. She learns to plays with it, and it helps her to be outside and get exercise. What kinds of things do your students like to do or play outdoors?

Did you know?

The Secret Garden was serialized in a magazine before being

published as a book. During Frances Hodgson Burnett’s

lifetime, it wasn’t as popular as her other novels, such as Little

Lord Fauntleroy and The Little Princess. Now it’s much more

well-known. The Secret Garden has been made into several

movies, as well as a Broadway musical.


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Vocabulary Words

Here are some words that are used in the play. Do you know what they mean?

Disagreeable Moor

Ayah

Governess

Cholera

Spade

Gloomy

Pinafore

Wick Contrary

Hysterics

Curiosity

About MainStreet’s Production

Pamela Sterling’s award-winning adaptation stays very true to the novel, and manages to capture all of the important scenes in the 75 minute time-frame suitable for a production for young audiences. In addition to playing the characters, the cast of eight also take turns becoming narrators, helping to move the story along. For MainStreet’s production, composer and sound designer John Nobori has created an original musical score in addition to some great sound effects, to help take the audience from India to the Yorkshire Moors. The Robin is a very important character in the story, and in this production he is played by a puppet, created specifically for the show by Michelle Zamora, who won an Ovation Honors award for her puppets for MainStreet’s production of Roald Dahl’s The Magic Finger in our 13/14 season. As with all MainStreet shows, our aim is for the audience to use their imaginations to fill in the details of the various locations depicted in the story. For this show, the creative team really wants the audience to be uplifted as the flowers begin to grow, and we hope that the “magic of theatre” will make every child in the audience experience the same joy that Mary, Colin, and Dickon feel as the garden comes alive and transforms their lives.

Some tips for teachers and students to make your field trip fun and successful: 1. Please arrive in plenty of time so the ushers can seat

your group. 2. Please make sure your electronic devices are off or

on mute. 3. Please don’t take any photos or video –it’s not only

distracting to the rest of the audience, but can be dangerous to the performers. (plus, it violates our agreements with all the theatrical unions)

4. Please be polite to the people who are sitting around you.

5. Remember that this is a live performance, which means the actors can hear you. Please wait until the play is over to talk about it – but do show your appreciation by laughing or applauding!

6. Encourage your students to write letters telling us what they liked (or didn’t like) about their experience.

7. Teachers – please fill out the post show surveys you’ll receive by email after the show.

8. Post comments on our Facebook Page and share your experience with your friends!

Keep up to date with by signing up for the “MainStreet Scoop”, which

you can do right from our Facebook page! While you’re there, post

questions and comments about the play or your field trip experience!

Keep up to date with by signing up for the “MainStreet Scoop”, which

you can do right from our Facebook page! While you’re there, post

questions and comments about the play or your field trip experience!

Write a review of the play, describing the scenery, lighting,

music, costumes, and performers.

What was your favorite part of the play and why? Can you draw a picture of it?

Keep up to date by signing up for the “MainStreet Scoop”, our e-newsletter which gives you news and inside info about all of our shows for young people. It’s easy - you can sign up right from our Facebook page! While you’re there, post questions and comments about the play or your field trip experience!


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FUN ACTIVITY TO DO AT HOME OR IN THE CLASSROOM: Make a Puppet! One of the characters in The Secret Garden is the Robin. He is one of Mary’s first friends, and helps her find the key to the garden. The Robin is a rod puppet controlled by a puppeteer so that he can look like he is flying around the stage. Another type of puppet is called a marionette, which is controlled by strings instead of by rods. This is how you can make your own marionette bird! Here's what you will need: 6 Pom poms: 1 large, 3 medium, 2 small (contrast color) 1 mardi gras bead chain 2 popsicle sticks yellow felt (or construction paper) 2 wiggly eyes 2 metal washers (or coins) 2 feathers fishing line. Tools: hot glue/gun, a big needle and scissors Putting it together! 1. Hot glue your popsicle sticks together like a cross. 2. Cut your bead chain into 3 pieces (you don’t have to use the whole string, 9 beads should

work.) 3. Take the small pom pom and glue it to the medium pompom. 4. Put hot glue on a washer, and stick it to the pom pom foot! 5. Take a bead chain and hot glue it to the small pom pom. 6. Repeat for the second leg and foot. 7. Hot glue those legs to the large pom pom body! 8. Cut a diamond shape out of the yellow felt. 9. Put a dot of hot glue on it and pinch the top to form a beak shape. 10. Hot glue the beak on the last remaining medium size pom pom. 11. Add your wiggly eyes! 12. Hot glue a plume to the top of the head. Glue the remaining bead chain to the head of the

bird and to the body, forming the neck! Now for the string attachments: 1. Tie one end of the fishing line to the bead chain near the ankles and the other end to the edge

of the popsicle stick cross. Repeat for the other leg. 2. For the head, tie one end of the fishing line to the bead closest to the head, and attach the

other end of the string to the popsicle stick that points forward. 3. For the body, attach fishing string to the big pom pom, either by sewing it, tying it, or gluing it.

Then attach the other end of the fishing line to the intersection of the popsicle sticks. 4. The back of the popsicle stick cross doesn’t have any strings attached to it, so you can use that

to control the puppet!

Images and instructions from DoodleCraftBlog.com


http://www.doodlecraftblog.com/2013/04/easy-silly-bird-marionette-diy-tutorial.html

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BEHIND THE SCENES The Secret Garden - Lewis Family … · The Secret Garden A Resource Guide for Teachers and Parents Synopsis: The play is set in 1911, and opens in a ritish household