Digging Up Dessa

Presenting Sponsor of Performances for Young Audiences

WELCOME to Digging Up Dessa, a new play commissioned by the Kennedy Center about 12-year-old Dessa’s efforts to dig through the past and answer some tough questions. Here are some ideas for extending your young theatergoers’ experience.

Grownup Guide

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Before the ShowIn a rush? Then…n Use the Cuesheet! The Digging Up Dessa Cuesheet performance guide (https://artsedge.

kennedy-center.org/students/kc-connections) is written to help audiences learn about and enjoy the performance. Please review it together to make sure young theatergoers understand the play and the characters, and discuss the questions and activities (and return to some of them after the show). If time is super short, review pages 3 and 12 first, and then try to read pages 6–7 about Mary Anning.

n Review that this show is a play, or a story told on stage with actors, costumes, lights, sets, props, and sound effects. This particular play has some music, too, but it is not actually a musical (which is a story told partly through songs).

n Discuss visiting the Kennedy Center—what the experience will be like and ways to be a good audience member. Take a quick virtual tour of the Family Theater: http://www.kennedy-center.org/Pages/VirtualTour/Familytheater

Got a few more minutes? Then…n Brainstorm what the title of the play might mean. Some questions to consider include: What

are others ways Dessa might be “buried”? Have you ever heard someone talk about “digging up memories” or “digging up past experiences”? How do we “dig” within ourselves to solve a problem or understand something better?

n Discuss fossils and paleontology (the scientific study of ancient life through fossil evidence). Look at the “bones” on the cover of the Cuesheet. Ask: How could these be important clues about this story—and the earth’s story? Point out that fossils from millions of years ago can be found anywhere, even our own backyards. Learn about your state’s fossil backyard here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_fossils. What kind of fossil would you most like to discover, and why?

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After the Show As you leave the theater, explore theatergoers’ first impressions of the show with these questions to discuss on the ride back.

n What story did you see being told on stage?

n What are some moments from the play you are still thinking about? Were there times when the story made you laugh? Or feel sad? When?

n How would you describe Dessa, Mary Anning, Esther, and Nilo? In what ways are you similar to one (or even more) of these characters?

n What surprised you the most about the performance? Why?

n How did Dessa and Mary use science to solve problems and find answers? How could you use scientific methods to solve your problems?

n What was your favorite sound effect? How might you create or record a similar sound?

n Why is it important to learn about people like Mary Anning? What historical person would you like to learn more about?

In the days afterward, as time allows, here are some other questions and extended activities you might explore together.

The StoryQuestions: Why do you think Dessa was so angry? What did Mary help her understand? Why was this important? Do you agree with Esther that a little hyperbole (“obvious exaggeration”) is okay, and why or why not? Do you agree with Dessa that it’s a miracle for her to become a scientist today?

Go Deeper: n Processing loss and grief is a big theme of the play. If age appropriate for your young

theatergoers, explore this idea with them. Ask: How did the car accident affect Dessa and Esther, and how do they each deal with their feelings and the changes in their lives? What advice would you give either Dessa or Esther? Write letters to them sharing your advice.

n Although women make up 47 percent of the U.S. workforce, only 39 percent of chemists and material scientists and 28 percent of environmental scientists and geoscientists are women (according to U.S. News & World Report). Discuss possible reasons why and possible solutions. Then explore: How did Dessa and Nilo support each other’s interests despite the big obstacles to achieving their dreams? What is your career dream, and how you can you achieve it—and help others achieve their dreams?

n Imagine that a person from history could visit the present, as Mary does Dessa. What do they think that person would tell you? Compile ideas in writing or in a brief video.

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TheaterQuestions: What did you like about seeing a play performed live on stage? Explore how creating a theater performance is a rewarding, creative, collaborative, and exciting way to tell a story (see p. 11 of the Cuesheet). Which jobs on the creative team would you like to do, and why?

Go Deeper: n Recreate a sound effect from the show using simple items from around the house.

n Brainstorm other ways to show the mastodon skeleton on stage and share your ideas. Consider together what role the audience’s imagination plays in creating new places on stage.

GeographyQuestions: What did you know about how and where fossils could be found before seeing the show? What did you learn about Mary Anning’s home town of Lyme Regis from seeing the show?

Go Deeper:n Locate together Lyme Regis and the Jurassic Coast of England on a map or globe. Discuss a

few facts: We all might easily associate “Jurassic” with the dinosaur movies Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, but the name actually refers to a geologic time period known for large reptiles and dinosaurs (though the large predator Tyrannosaurus rex actually came later).

The coastline of southern England, which includes Mary Anning’s town of Lyme Regis, received that name because it is home to many fossils from the Jurassic period along with two other time periods—in all covering more than 185 million years of Earth’s history. The location also helps people discover the fossils because the waves crashing into the coast erode the dirt, constantly exposing new rocks and finds. Fossil hunters like Mary often rushed to explore the coastline after strong storms caused especially dramatic erosion. For its “outstanding evidence of the natural history of the earth,” the Jurassic Coast was declared a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site (a protected international landmark) in 2001.

n Research together other places around the world that have particularly rich fossil resources (for example, the western United States has been a great source of dinosaur fossils) and why that is so.

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Science and HistoryQuestions: What did you learn about Mary Anning, and why do you think her story was overlooked for so long? How did Dessa, Nilo, and Mary find the mastodon tusk? What did they do to confirm their hypothesis that it belonged to the fossil in the museum? What fossil would you like to discover?

Go Deeper: n If possible, plan a trip to a natural history museum or local park that features fossils to observe

some actual fossils and learn about the time periods they are from. Work with theatergoers to choose a fossil, learn more about it (including where and when it lived and what other creatures roamed the planet with it), and create sketches and share findings with friends and family.

n Choose a simple issue or event from daily life to understand better and practice thinking scientifically about it. Work with theatergoers to identify the issue (for example, being late to school), make an observation, and look for patterns to help better understand what happened. Discuss how scientific thinking is important not only for scientific problem solving but also helping people in everyday life, and find some examples of both from the play.

n Challenge kids to become Junior Paleontologists. They can even receive a badge from the National Park Service! See https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/junior-paleontologist.htm

John F. Kennedy Center Citizen ArtistQuestions: President John F. Kennedy (who the Center is named after and who was born 100 years ago in 1917), championed five ideals. One of those is justice, or seeking what is right, fair, and true. How did Digging for Dessa playwright Laura Schellhardt draw attention to the lack of justice for female scientists through history? How does the play try to change that? How does Dessa embody this ideal?

Go Deeper: n Work with theatergoers to identify something in their communities that they believe is not fair or

right and come up with ways to help people learn more about the issue or bring about change.

n Discuss all of President Kennedy’s ideals—courage, freedom, justice, service, and gratitude—and how the arts can enrich our society through those ideals. Encourage budding artists to take the Citizen Artist Challenge. Check out: https://www.kennedy-center.org/jfk c/ https://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/students/kc-connections/festivals/jfkc.aspx

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More ResourcesThese resources may help you in creating your own lessons or activities or compiling more information to share with your theatergoers.

WebsitesThe National Park Service Junior Paleontologist page (with downloadable activity booklet): https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/junior-paleontologist.htm

National Geographic’s Paleontology Encyclopedia: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/paleontology/

BooksThe Fossil Hunter: Dinosaurs, Evolution, and the Woman Whose Discoveries Changed the World (a book chronicling the life of Mary Anning, by Shelly Emling)

Articles“Northwestern Faculty Member’s Play to Premiere at The Kennedy Center” (an article about playwright Laura Schellhardt): https://dailynorthwestern.com/2017/10/25/ae/northwestern-faculty-members-play-premiere-kennedy-center/

“Mary Anning” (an overview from the Lyme Regis Museum, also featuring links about the fossils of Lyme Regis): http://www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk/collection/mary-anning/

“Ten Historic Female Scientists You Should Know” (an overview of some remarkable women scientists and their contributions): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ten-historic-female-scientists-you-should-know-84028788/

“The 50 Most important Women in Science” (a look at women making contributions to more recent science): http://discovermagazine.com/2002/nov/feat50/

“Ask a Dinosaur Expert” (a Scholastic Teacher’s Guide interview with field paleontologist and marine archaeologist Sue Hendrickson, who discovered a nearly whole Tyrannosaurus rex fossil—named, accordingly, Sue!): http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/dinosaurs/expert/transcript.htm

The National Park Service’s Fossil Day “Frequently Asked Questions” about Fossils: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossilday/faq.htm

“Mammoths and Mastodons: All American Monsters” (an article about how discovering these North American fossils became intertwined with early American pride and identity): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/mammoths-and-mastodons-all-american-monsters-8898672/

“List of U.S. State Fossils”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_fossils

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Videos“The Foley Artist” from the Los Angeles Times (a one-minute clip showing a few techniques of the Foley artists): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNvKhe2npMM

“The Magic of Sound: That’s Amazing” (a six-minute video more broadly exploring the use of sound to help tell stories on film): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO3N_PRIgX0

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. RutterPresident

Mario R. RosseroSenior Vice PresidentEducation

Additional support for Digging Up Dessa is provided by A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Funding for Access and Accommodation Programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2018 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts