2 For Teachers UsingThis Resource Guide

3-4 Who, When, Where,What

5 Memories to Storyto Theatre

6 Staging the Story

7 Lines of Dialogue

8 The Part that YOU Play

9 “A Christmas Memory” Writing Activity

Table of Contents

Jean ShepherdJean Shepherd’’ss

AA C ChristmashristmasStoryStory

T H E A T R E

R E S O U R C E G U I D E

Danette Olsen, Executive DirectorAmy Klein, Arts Education DirectorPam Koch, Patron ServicesRod Siestema, Technical DirectorMarilyn Mays, Development AssociateLiz Reddy, Marketing Coordinator

Directed by Danette OlsenSet Design by Rod Sietsema & Tom JohnsonCostume Design by Mary MartinProp Master, Marilyn MaysSound Design by Justin Swanson

Adapted by Phillip Grecian

For Teachers

TThis theatre resource guide for his theatre resource guide for A Christmas StoryA Christmas Story is designed to beused with students before and after attending the Festival Theatreproduction. The guide includes information and activities that willincrease student understanding of this and other theatricalperformances.

We make it our mission at Festival Theatre to make the artswelcoming to all people as an essential part of their well being for thevitality of the community. We believe the arts are vital in the educationof children. Art has a job to do in the development of a creative,concerned, caring society and our children are the perfect place tostart. Live theatre is an excellent way for students to experience thearts and all the inherent benefits, both on stage and as part of theaudience.

You may reproduce any and all of the following pages to use as you

wish. The information will help you make the most out of your visit to

Festival Theatre. If you have questions or would like more information

please contact me at 715-483-3387, groups@festivaltheatre.org or P.O.

Box 801 St. Croix Falls, WI 54024. Enjoy the show!

Sincerely,

Amy KleinArts Education Director

Festival Theatre

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Who, When, Where, What3

Ralphie Parker, little brother Randy,Mother and the Old Man (that’s Raphie’sdad) lived on Cleveland Street in Hohman,Indiana. In this play, the year is 1955.If the Old Man wasn’t struggling with thefurnace, it was the Bumpus’ hungryhounddogs. Mother made oatmeal,meatloaf and red cabbage (something youcould depend on) and a run-in with ScutFarkus, the schoolyard bully, was in storeeveryday on the way to school.

‘Tis the holiday season again. Ralph Parker is grown up and with all the garland andlights and plastic reindeer and shoppers milling around, he can’t help but reminisce(that means remember) about the Christmases of another time.

THEN--1955 NOW--2008

Ask a grown up what they remember about Christmas in their childhood.What was the weather like? What were the signs that Christmas was on its way?

$7.00 per person$1 per carloadMovie

$2.09$.23Gallon of Gasoline

$1.34$.15McDonald’sHamburger

$75,510$5, 319Average Family Income

$2.50$.14A loaf of bread

Indiana this time of year was cold. The wind, screamingacross Lake Michigan, piled up snow in frozen drifts. Theair would crack and sing along with the creaking ice onthe power lines. But these were the sounds that signaledChristmas--”lovely, beautiful, glorious Christmas, aroundwhich the entire kid year revolved.” --Ralph Parker

“You’ll shoot your eye out!”

Important 1955 IndianaVocabulary

Triple Dog Dare: the most serious playground tauntthat absolutely could not be ignored.

Major Award: a said-to-be “valuable” prize from aSweepstakes or mail-in contest

Simoniz: spray on product for shining up the paintjob of a car

Oldsmobile or “Olds”: type of car the Old Manespecially liked (i.e. Chevrolet or Ford)

Department Store (i.e. Goldblatt’s): a store thatarranges it’s merchandise in departments such asclothes, jewelry, kitchenware, furniture.

Lifebuoy: a type of soap that comes in a bar; used forpunishing kids who said “dirty” words

Little Orphan Annie: a comic strip and radio show verypopular in the 1930’s through 1950’s.

Ovaltine: a delicious chocolate powder for mixing withmilk, advertised on Little Orphan Annie radio show.

A & P: the grocery store.

4Ralph remembers the only question more important than“What should I get my parents for Christmas?” was“What AM I getting for Christmas?”

CharactersFlick & Schwartz: Raphie’s best friends

Esther Jane: classmate and secret admirer of Ralphie

Helen: another classmate

Mrs. Sheilds: teacher and theme assignment giver

Scut Farkas: neighborhood bully

Bumpus Hounds: the neighbor’s vicious dogs

Santa: Jolly gift granter, made availableat department stores during theChristmas season accept children’srequests for gifts.

As a kid, Ralph wantedmore than anything to get anofficial Red Rider 200-Shot

Carbine Action Range Model,Air Rifle for Christmas.

Only it didn’t seem very likely since everyoneincluding his mother, father, teacher, the kids

at school, even Santa at Goldblatt’sdepartment store was convinced:

How will Ralphie get what he’s

always wanted?

Will the Parkers’ manage to

have the perfect Christmas

despite all the mayhem?

Memories to Story to Theatre 5Jean Shepherd was born in south Chicagoin 1921 and raised in nearby Hammond,Indiana. He loved telling stories and foralmost 30 years, he took bits and pieces of hisown life growing up in a mid-western steeltown and made up stories. He shared themon the radio, with live audiences andthrough written works for people to read.Eventually, these stories led him to televisionwhere he adapted his stories into humorousnarratives called “Jean Shepherd’s America.”His most famous work is the 1983 film, AChristmas Story, which he co-wrote andnarrated.

What parts of the film do you think had to be changed in order for the play to work on stage?

What parts of the play did Phillip Grecian have to use his imagination?

Based on means an a writer uses onestory as a starting point. Characters, thesetting and many details of the originalwork are included to keep the story likethe first. Many other parts may bechanged slightly or become completelydifferent depending on the creativity ofthe playwright or other artist.

In the early 1970’s, Phillip Grecian discoveredJean Shepherd’s stories about his Indianachildhood when he read them in a magazine.He LOVED them and so did his kids--theyeven asked they be read as bedtime stories!During the Christmas of 1983, he took his kidsto new movie called A Christmas Story. Theywere delighted to find the film based on JeanShepherd’s funny stories. In fact, it was Shep’svoice narrating the movie! Sixteen years later,after Phillip had become a playwright, hiseditor suggested he write a play based on themovie. It didn’t take him long to say “GREATIDEA!” Whether on the screen or the stage, AChristmas Story has become a Christmasfavorite.

Problem 1How can the deep

freeze of winter befelt on stage?

Staging the Story6 Theatre Conventions

When you attend a play, you agree to pretend. You agreeto “suspend disbelief,” to pretend that the stage action andcharacters are real. To present a story on stage, actors andother theatre artists often rely on theatre customs. Thesecustoms, or conventions, are accepted ways of acting ordoing something on stage.

A Christmas Story is a memory play. Ralph as an adultremembers his boyhood experiences. He talks to theaudience while his memories of what his boyhood was likeis acted out on stage. Some action is real and some isimagined--yet all of it is based on what Ralph remembers.Watch for the following theatre conventions:

•Split stage effect: Two sides of the stage are used for scenes that occursimultaneously in real or fantasy locations.

•Even though other actors really can hear them, characters, like Ralph and Ralphiespeak their inner thoughts aloud.

•Wagons are moveable platforms with wheels that hide and reveal additional settingsin the play where action will take place.

Solving Stage ProblemsTo present a story on stage that is insomeone’s memory calls for actors andother theatre artists to solve problems.Here are some problems that had tobe solved for A Christmas Story.

How might you solve them?

You may use lights, sound effects,music, actors, costumes, and props(objects) in your solutions.

Hint: You may want to use some ofthe theatre conventions listed above.

Problem 2

How can a house,a departmentstore, a school

yard and trip tothe grocery storeall be shown andthe same stage?

Problem 3How can a kitchen

be transformed to aconvincing junglescene or the Wild

West?

When you attend the play, watch for Festival Theatre’ssolutions to these stage problems.

Group One MOTHER: Ralphie, what would you like for Christmas? RALPHIE: A Red Ryder 200 Shot Range Model Air Rifle! MOTHER: No. You'll shoot your eye out. RALPH You'll shoot your eye out! The classic Mother-BB gun block. "You'll shoot your eye out" was not surmountable by any means

known to kid-dom.

Lines of Dialogue7

Playwrights are people who write plays. They write lines of dialoguefor the actors to speak. The dialogue gives information about the story andthe characters the way the actors deliver the lines help to make the storyconvincing or BELIEVABLE.

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Group Two RALPH: At recess, a select group of us always gathered around a lamppost in the corner of the playground to discuss the deep philosophers

and share information based on the latest research. SCHWARTZ: All right then, if you don’t believe me, I double dog dare ya! RALPH: The exact exchange and nuance of wording in this phrase of the

“dare”ritual is very important. FLICK: So you’re sayin’ if I put my tongue on this post it’ll stick!! SCHWARTZ: Yeah!

Group Three

THE OLD MAN: Don’t forget the Christmas Turkey. MOTHER: It’s a little early. Christmas isn’t for two weeks. THE OLD MAN: Mm. I guess so. Tell ya what…Let’s just go down the

block to the A&P and look at the turkeys. Huh? Huh? MOTHER: (considers with a sigh) Well , all right…

RALPH: The Old Man was an addict with no fear of kicking the habit. He loved cold turkey.

When you attend A Christmas Story, listen for these lines and for how they are delivered.

CHARACTER NOTE: Remember, these scenes are only in Ralph’s memory. Thus,

Ralph’s lines are not spoken to the other characters, but directly to the audience as if

telling a story.

Read the lines of dialogue from A Christmas Story.

What do the lines tell you about the story ?What do they say about the characters?

Actors experiment with different ways to say or “deliver”their lines. Work with a partner. Try delivering thesecharacters’ lines in different ways (boldly,.fearfully, proudly,sadly, etc.)

Which line deliveries do you like best?Why?

The Part that YOU play 8To prepare for presenting A Christmas Story,four adult actors and two complete casts ofyouth actors, 14 in all, memorized their lines,practiced their movements and learned theshow’s songs. They worked with directorDanette Olsen who helped them move aboutthe stage and play their parts well. Thecostume and set designers planned with thedirector to create a look that was correct. Thestage manager is ready to make sure everyoneon stage and backstage does the right thing atthe right time. All Festival Theatre needs now is

YOU.YOU have a part to play inA Chrismas Story. You are theaudience. Your part requiresyou to listen carefullyand watch closely.

Please laugh orapplaud if you enjoythe play, but rememberthat you and the actorsare in the same room.Talking or whispering tofriends during the performancewill distract the actors.

Help them play their parts well byplaying YOUR part well.

Reacting to thePerformance

After the performance, share your experience ofA Christmas story with your class, family andfriends:

What made you laugh? Have any ofRalphie’s experiences or somethingsimilar ever happened to you?

What did you learn about American lifein 1950’s? In what ways was this timedifferent than now? How was it thesame?

Who was the most memorablecharacter and why? Did you feel sorryfor any of the characters? Why?

If you have seen the movie A ChristmasStory, what was different about thisstage production? What was the same?

What do you think makes A ChristmasStory so popular?

Opportunities for Arts Educationabound at Festival Theatre!For information on our Youth and Family Theatre Series,Creativity Workshops, Summer Creativity Day Camps, Artist inResidency programs visit www.festivaltheare.org or contactAmy Klein, Arts Education Director at 888.887.6002

W R I T I N G A C T I V I T Y

A CHRISTMAS

MEMORYPlaywright, Phillip Grecian,chose to write A Christmas Storyas a memory play. Memory plays have been used in modern American drama as thestructure to show a story from the past on stage, according to the storyteller’smemory of it . The following activity will help you use memories to compose a pieceabout Christmases you remember.

Step #1 Close your eyes and think about amemory of one particular Christmas.(Have someone read these questions to you aloud.)•What do you see?•What can you smell?•What sounds do you hear?•Is there anything that can be felt?•What do you remember most clearly about thisChristmas?•What stands out in your memory? Is it thepeople? Is it what you were or what you weredoing?•Are there just a few faces are that clear in yourmemory or does everyone present stand out?•Do you remember all their names or just a few?•Is your memory in color or black and white? Ifit is in color, are some colors more vibrant thanthe others?•Is there any special focus in your memory on areal object: for instance, a painting, a sofa, a caror a playground or a present•How are you different now than you were then?Have you grown up? Are your interests differentnow?•Do you see these events from a different pointof view?•Is there any special focus in your memory thatmakes you think of a whole new memory?What made you think of it?

Step #2 Now open your eyes. Use this graphic organizer to recordthoughts, ideas, images, sounds, smells from what you remembered aboutyour Christmas memory.

A CHRISTMAS

MEMORY

Use this space to free-write about your memory. It’s important to worry aboutperfection at this stage. Just get your ideas on paper.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Step#3 Use the pre-writing ideas you’ve written to compose adescriptive story based on your Christmas memory. Include dialogue,colors, sounds and vibrant words to make what you remember interesting,even funny. Make sure it is written from your point of view. You are theonly person with your memories!

CHALLENGE: Use this composition to write a short memory play.Write lines for yourself as the narrator and lines for others in your memory.