Fire on theMountain

Play Guide

Getting The Most Out of ThePLAY GUIDEWe’ve designed this play guide to help you make the most of your theatre experience both before the performance and after you return toyour classroom. Inside you will find articles, vocabulary, worksheets,and cross-curricular extensions that will enhance your understanding ofthe play and the world surrounding it. Please feel free to make copiesof this guide, or you may download it from our website:www.ActorsTheatre.org. We hope this material, combined with ourpre-show workshops, will give you the tools to make your time atActors Theatre a valuable learning experience.

Before the PerformanceStudents will be more engaged in the performance with an understand-ing of the play!Fire on the Mountain articles include:o Historical information on Appalachiao In depth research on coal mining and problems with coal miningo Bluegrass Music and its rootso A timeline tracking Hillbillies in Americao A interview discussing mining and the community in Eastern

Kentuckyo Worksheets with special emphasis on the play’s themes and roots

After the PerformanceFire on the Mountain matinee and study guide address specific Ky CoreContent:o AH-1.3.1: Students will identify the elements of drama DOK 2o AH-2.3.1: Students will analyze how time, place and ideas are

reflected in drama/theatre DOK 2o AH-3.3.1: Students will explain how drama/theatre fulfills a variety

of purposes DOK 2o AH-2.1.1: Students will analyze or evaluate how factors such as time,

place and ideas are reflected in music DOK 3 o SS-HS-3.4.1: Students will analyze the changing relationships among

business, labor and government DOK 3 o SS-HS-4.2.2: Students will explain how physical and human

characteristics of regions create advantages and disadvantages for human activities DOK 2

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding our play guides,please feel free to contact Katie Blackerby Weible, Director ofEducation, at (502) 584-1265 or kblackerby@actorstheatre.org.

Play Guide compiled by Jess Jung, Sarah Rowan & Katie BlackerbyWeible

Actors Theatre Education Department

Katie Blackerby Weible, Education Director

Jess Jung, Associate Education Director

Lee Look, Playwriting in the Schools Coordinator

Sarah Rowan, Education Intern

What is Appalachia?Introduction to

Fire on theMountain

Fire on the Mountain, written and composedby Randall Myler and Dan Wheetman is atouching musical based on the hardships andtribulations faced by Appalachian coal min-ers. Here bluegrass music is used to explorecoal mining topics such as the companystore, mining injuries, mine disasters, andlayoffs. The narrative stems from Myler andWheetman's own interviews of miners andtheir families in the states of Kentucky,Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Fireon the Mountain was first performed at theDenver Theatre Center. Since then it hasplayed at Seattle Repertory Theatre and theNorthlight Theatre in Skokie Illinois.

Appalachia is a region of land surrounding theAppalachian Mountains. The land's 200,000 squaremiles extend from southern New York to NorthernMississippi. Labeled as “America's first frontier,” thisrough and rugged terrain was first home to NativeAmericans until Europeans swept in due to westwardexpansion in the 1700s.

Large families dwelled in small, self-sufficient farming communities in mountain valleys and hollows. Isolated from the rest of the country, thesecommunities developed intimate values committedto family, work, and church.

The industrial revolution at the turn of the 20thcentury brought significant technological advances tothe United States. However, Appalachia did notprogress as the rest of the country. As cities formedand Americans became more technologicallyadvanced, Appalachians continued to “live in thepast.” These developments also increased the needfor labor and resources, especially coal, which was used to make iron and steel. Major coal fieldsemerged throughout Appalachia including

eastern Kentucky. Randal Myler & Dan Wheetman,the creators of Fire on the

Mountain, interviewed Appalachian coal miners to find

the heart of the production you are about to see. The text and musicpay tribute to this unique region that

is currently home to 23 million residents.

If mountain top removal is so bad for the

environment, why is it still happening? Do you know

anyone who is or has been directly affected by

mountain top removal, and if it continues, who else

might be affected? What can you do to

conserve energy?

MountainTop Removal

The Process

Multiple layers of coal can be found under mountains – the trick is to get to it. In mountain top removal, coal industries begin by stripping the top layer of the forest. This includes trees, rock, and the top layer of soil. Then giant shovels and explosives are used to penetrate 200 ft. of sandstone, creating a path to the underlying coal. The old mountain covering or “overburden” is brought to nearby valleys or “valley fills” by large trucks. Back on the mountain, draglines (some stretching up to 20 stories tall) scoop out the coal to be transported throughout the country.

The Problems

Animal habitats are destroyed when forest areas are stripped. Deforestation has endangered 12% of the world's birds, 24% of its mammals, and 30% of its fish.

Valley fills have plugged 724 miles and damaged 1200 miles of streams. Clogged streams added to the loss of forest vegetation can cause severe flooding. 6700 valley fills were approved in Appalachia from 1985-2001.

Discussion

“Coal Industries begin by stripping the top layer of the forest”.

Debris from blasts, flooding, and contaminated water (created when the coal is being processed) is dangerous for both the mountain's human and animal residents.

Under current mining regulations more than 2000 square miles of Appalachia are expected to fall victim to Mountain Top Removal over the next decade.

The Facts…n 100 tons of coal are mined every 2 seconds in the United States!

n 56% of the electricity used in our country is generated from coal.

n Central Appalachia is the second most prominent provider of coal, following Wyoming's Powder River Basin.

How does the industry obtain so much coal?One cheap, fast, and highly controversial option iscalled strip mining or Mountain Top Removal. Thisprocess of extracting coal has affected nearly400,000 acres of forested mountains.

Coal Mining:What is coal?Coal is a burnable rock and fossil fuel. It is formed in swampy environments, from the remains of preserved plants and mud as a result of photosynthesis. Coal is burned to create energy that is used for heat and fuel.

How do we use coal?Before people began burning coal for heat andfuel, their only other resource was wood. It wasduring the urgency of the wood famine of the16th century that people began prominently burning coal. Coal quickly becamea hit, giving off twice as much heat as wood.Coal is used to fuel electric plants which sendelectricity to our homes and businesses.

How do we get it?Mining and Miner's Jobs: Coal is removed from the ground in a processcalled mining. In Fire on the Mountain we seean older process of coal mining than is usedtoday. In this process, the coal was taken fromthe ground, put into carts and pulled away bymules. Next the coal was loaded into tubs andpulled out of a hole in the ground by anothermule. Lastly, the coal was loaded onto a trainwhere it is shipped to various buyers. There were many different types of coal min-ers…Diggers - These are the men who extract thecoal from the ground using pix axes and shovels.Timbermen - These men also worked inunderground rooms, sawing timber for the diggers to create and enforce ceilings and doorways. (Now metal roofing and doorwaysare put in the mines for better safety.)Shotfires- Men who loaded gun powder andnitroglycerin into holes to set off an explosionallowing the diggers to gather more coal.Drivers - Men who steered the mules delivering the coal to trains for further transportation. The Driver's job was very dangerous because these large animals wereunpredictable and would often cause accident,injury, and even death to these miners.

Blacksmiths - The men who put horseshoes onthe mules.Trappers - These were usually young boys thatspent their days opening and closing trapdoorsto let coal cars move about the mine. There wasusually only one car per hour, so these boyswere very bored and would find ways to entertain themselves. A character from Fire onthe Mountain sings :

At eleven years of ageI bought myself a lamp

The boss, he sent me down in the mine totrap I sat there in the water

In the powder, smoke and dampMy leisure hours I spent killing rats

Pickers - Men who picked through tubs of coaland extracted any non-coal materials, specifically slate which is a rock made of thinlayers. This job was given to individuals thatcould not handle the physical strain of workinginside the mine such as young boys and elderlymen.

Today , because of modern technology, coalminers do not remove coal with a pick andshovel, and four-year degrees and computertraining is thought of as a valuable tool for coalminers.

Where did the miners live?Coal Camps:Coal camps were communities in which coalminers and their families lived. These communities were formed by the mine operators to help their company make a profitand keep their miners under their inspection.Usually miners had to be tenants of thesecamps as part of their contract. All of the miners lived in identical houses located together on the inner part of the mining camp.These miners were not allowed to own any private property because the companies fearedthat this would lead the miners to too muchindependence which would result in morestrikes on the companies. If a strike did develop, the coal miners would be evicted fromthe camp. The company provided all of thetown services to the coal miners.

The company provided all of the town servicesto the coal miners. These services includedmedical care, schooling, all of their utilities, andthe company store. The company store was theonly store from which the miners were allowedto buy anything. If a miner was caught buyingsomething outside of the coal camp he wouldmost likely lose his job. The miners were notpaid in U.S. dollars, but rather in a special formof money that could only be used in theircamps. This special type of currency was calledscrip. Scrip made it practically impossible forminers to spend money anywhere but withintheir camp and allowed coal companies to keeptrack of how miners spent their pay checks.Miners were not allowed to quit their jobs ormove out of these coal camps until after thecompany subtracted their rent, utilities, medicalcare, house coal (for personal use), and anycredit that the miner might have added up fromtheir pay. Each miner and their family had tostay in the coal camps until all of these thingswere fully paid off.

“If a minerwas caughtbuyingsomethingoutside thecoal camphe wouldmost likelylose hisjob”.

How much did they make?Mining Wages:Coal miners used to make an average of $1.68 aday of net wages (or wages after all deductionfor things such as housing and medical carewere taken out). That is less than a persontoday makes on minimum wage for eight hoursof work! These coal miners often worked muchlonger than eight hours. Today the average coalmining salary is about $130 a day.

Can you dig it?Did everyone have tobecome a miner?

Young MinersAn ideal life for a child in a coal mining familywas to attend school until the age of fourteen orfifteen. After that, children were consideredadults and started taking on adult roles in thehousehold. For a family of low income, this wasnot the case. If the family needs could not bemet by the father's income (for reasons such asfamily size or a father that is incapable of work-ing) children as young as seven or eight years ofage were put to work at the mine! Because oftheir small size, these young boys were put towork as Pickers (see coal miners jobs on previous page).

Was mining dangerous?Black Lung DiseasePneumoconiosis, or black lung, is a diseasecaused by years of inhaling coal dust. Whencoal miners breathe coal dust into their lungs, itturns them from a healthy pink to black. Oncethe coal dust is in a miner's lungs it cannot beremoved. Generally, the disease causes short-ness of breath, and sometimes respiratory andheart failure. Due to lack of ventilation, coalminers in the past were very susceptible to blacklung disease. Now, because of modern technolo-gy, black lung is not nearly as common. Todayless than 10% of coal miners acquire BlackLung. A character in Fire on the Mountainsings a song about a man that is dying of blacklung:

Black lung, black lung, oh, your hand's icy cold

As you reach for my life and you torture my soul

Oh, that black water hole down in that dark cave

Where I spent my life blood diggin' my own grave

Is it still dangerous?Mine DisastersAlthough modern technology has helped toincrease safety within coal mines, there are stillmany different dangerous elements such ascave-ins, gas leaks, explosions, and floods thatfrequently cause injury and sometimes death.There have been fatal mine disasters over theyears, and although they are not as frequent asthey used to be, they do still occur.

n Sago Mine Disaster - One of the mostrecent mine disasters took place on January 2,2006 in Sago, West Virginia. The Sago minedisaster was the result of an explosion thattrapped thirteen miners underground foralmost two days. Out of the thirteen miners,only one of them survived.

n Jim Walter Resources Inc. Disaster - Thisdisaster occurred at a mine in Brookwood,Alabama on September 23, 2001. At this minethere was a roof fall which was followed by anexplosion of methane gas. Thirteen minerswere killed.

n Southmountain Coal Company Disaster -This disaster happened in Norton, Virginia onDecember 7, 1992. The cause of this disasterwas a fire caused by an open flame from a ciga-rette lighter. Eight men were killed.

n Pyro Mining Company explosion - Thisdisaster took place in Sullivan, Kentucky onSeptember 13, 1989. This disaster was causedby a methane explosion. Ten men were killed.

n Fire at Emery Mining Corporation - Thisdisaster happened in Orangeville, Utah. In thisdisaster a fire ignited and cut off the escaperoute entrapping the men inside the mine.There were twenty seven men killed that day.

The coal mining disaster in U.S. history withthe most fatalities took place in West Virginiain 1907. There were 362 men killed.

Further Reading

Coal & MiningCoal in Appalachia: An Economic Analysis, by Curtis E.Harvey

Fire in the Hole: Miners and Managers in the AmericanCoal Industry, by Curtis Seltzer

Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America'sBloody Coal Industry, by Priscilla Long

Mountain Top RemovalLost Mountain: A Year in the Vanishing Wilderness, byErik Reece

AppalachiaA Handbook to Appalachia: An Introduction to theRegion, Edited by Grace Toney Edwards, JoAnn AustAsbury, & Ricky L. Cox

The Appalachians: America's First and Last Frontier,Edited by Mari-Lynn Evans, Robert Santelli, and HollyGeaorge-Warren

A History of Appalachia, by Richard B. Drake

Bluegrass MusicThe Big Book of Bluegrass, Edited by Marilyn Kochman

Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass, byStephanie P. Ledgin

“There have beenfatal mine disastersover the years, andalthough they arenot as frequent asthey used to be,they do still occur”.

Tracking Hillbillies In AmericaA stereotype of Appalachians as “yesterday'speople” or “backwards” materialized duringthe industrial revolution when the rest of thecountry was technology crazed. Here is a lookat the popularization of this stereotype throughAmerican pop culture.

1900: The terms debut in print! New YorkJournal writes “A Hill Billie is a free and untram-meled white citizen of Alabama, who lives in thehills, has no means to speak of, dresses as he can,talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he getsit, and fires off his revolver as the fancy takeshim.”

1915: The term appears in a movie title for thefirst time: Billie-The Hill Billie.

1923: When asked about his group's name AlHopkins of Al Hopkins and the Hill Billiesanswers, “We're nothin' but a bunch of hillbillies … Call us anything.”

1925: John Carson's “Hilly Billie Blues” withthe popular lyric “I am a billy and I live in thehills” sells half a million copies.

1934: The cartoon The Mountain Boys by PaulWebb is featured in Esquire magazine.

1943: King Records, specializing in country or“Hill Billy” music is created…If it's a King, It's aHillbilly - If it's a Hillbilly, it's a King

1950: “Hillbilly Fever” by Little Jimmy Dickenshits Number Three on the Country & Westernchart. Did you know country music was referred toas hillbilly music until the 1950s??

1960: The Andy Griffith Show debuts and runsfor 8 seasons. Barney Fife: [angry] Oh, you're just full of funtoday, aren't you? Why don't we go up to the oldpeople's home and wax the steps?

1965: Green Acres debuts and runs for 6 seasons.The sitcoms couple's hillbilly pet, Arnold thepig, was the only member of the cast to win anaward for the show: the “Patsy” Award, given tothe best performance by an animal in 1967.

1979: HILLBILLY LIKES YOU! The popularHillbilly Vac Shack opens in Canada and soonbecomes a hit with this slogan and a gorilla onrollerblades mascot.

1993: The Beverly Hillbillies movie, based on thehit 60s TV series, is released.

2002: The O Brother, Where Art Thou? sound-track, packed with Appalachian tunes, takeshome five Grammy awards!

Coal: Is that a fact?

For more coal facts check out www.teachcoal.org

DIRECTIONS: Read the following coal facts and guess if they are TRUE or FALSE

ANSWERS1. False. Kentucky supplies more than 138 billion tons of coal each year. That’s 27 elephants!

2. False. The United States is the second largest supplier, following China.

3. True. Coal ash is used as filler in all of these products.

4. False. A whopping 97% of Kentucky’s electricity comes from coal.

5. True. Texas uses around 100 million tons of coal per year.

6. True. Consider this the next time you are at the gas pump!

7. True. Kentucky has 246 underground mines.

8. False. The United States’ coal supply, if we continue to use it at the same rate, will only last us

another 245 years.

9. False. Kentucky has 162 surface mines (see Mountain Top Removal).

10. True. Each person in our country uses 3.8 tons of coal every year.

FACTS1. Kentucky supplies 100 billion tons of coal each year.

2. The United States is the number one producer of the world’s coal.

3. Coal is used in the production of tennis rackets, golf balls, and linoleum.

4. 75% of the electricity used in Kentucky comes from coal.

5. Texas is the tops coal consuming state.

6. Our country’s coal deposits have more energy than all of the world’s oil reserves combined.

7. Kentucky has more then 240 underground mines.

8. The United States has a coal supply that will last 500 years.

9. Kentucky has 150 surface mines.

10. Each person in the United States uses almost 4 tons of coal every year.

A Conversation withElizabeth Burchett Blackerby:Mining andCommunity inEastern KentuckyOur very own Education Director Katie Blackerby is from thehills of Eastern Kentucky! The following is a conversationbetween Katie and her mother, Elizabeth Burchett Blackerby,about what it was like to grow up in a mining community.

KB: Where did you grow up?

EBB: I grew up in Floyd County in a little community called Prestonsburg and my family hada farm about four miles outside of town. Thefarm was called Sugarloaf Holler.

KB: What were the family's ties to the coal industry?

EBB: My father and my uncle had a coal companytogether and it was call Libby Elkhorn CoalCompany. They had it for several years before thelarge mines began coming into Eastern Kentucky.

KB: What was it like growing up in that community?

EBB: There were many people around thatworked in the mines and some of them lived onmy family's farm. And as a matter of fact, oneof my best little friends on the farm was a girl bythe name of Barbara Baker. It was always anexperience for my cousin and me to go up to herhouse. My mother never wanted me to eat upthere because she didn't feel that they hadenough for themselves, but they always managedto have brown beans ready. My family helped alot with their clothing and my cousins and Igave them our hand-me-downs. I think that wasa real key part of my adulthood and my bringingup. There are all socioeconomic groups andthey all have needs and they all have worth andyou learn to value them for who they are. I lovedmy town and loved my home.

I went to UK and I didn't go back except to visitbut it was a good place to grow up. People caredabout each other. If a kid began to get off the rightpath then you called their parents. You workedtogether on it to help.

KB: I remember, as a kid, the coal miners coming into have their mail read to them because none ofthem could read. Would you say that coal miningwas important to your community in terms of whatit allowed?

EBB: Of course it provided jobs for an awful lot ofpeople. There were some larger mines, one in particular called the David Coal Company thattook a little town and made a company town out ofit. They provided very well for their miners. Theyhad a company store and they built housing forthem. The rent and so forth would come out ofthe miner's pay checks. One of the things that theydid for the children that I was most envious of wasthey hired one of the local music teachers to organ-ize a singing group of about 30-40 kids and theydid some traveling. They did a lot of things withthose young people that provided opportunities forthem that they would have never had the opportu-nity to do. Several of them went to college.

KB: When did the strip mining begin?

EBB: I can't give the exact year on it but in the late50s, 60s, and 70s it began to grow and flourish.

KB: If you were to go back to this place would yousee the mountain top removal?

EBB: No. Most of the people I knew that camealong after the strip mining reclaimed it. Peoplehave been building homes and they've startedgrowing trees again. So no, it doesn't look likesomebody has scalped the mountainside. I knowthat goes on and it shouldn't. This was land thatcould be rebuilt.

KB: Is there anything you would want other peopleto know or to understand about the coal industry?

EBB: I know about all of the draining into pondsthat goes on in some areas and it's like anythingelse; I think there is a right way to do things andthere is a wrong way to do things. I can't con-demn it entirely because I came from it. I knowthe advantages for a lot of people. The way peoplehave to get in there and work, it always did botherme, but I don't know any other way to do it. It isa lack luster job and always will be. There areways, right ways and wrong ways. There are somescallywags out there. There certainly are. Theycost any way they can and are not taking intoaccount the safety and the health of their miners. Ido know [mining] did provide jobs to people whodidn't have education and couldn't do anythingelse. That was all there was for people to do upthere. I don't think you can say that everyone isdoing a sloppy job with providing for their health.There is good and bad. I surely did enjoy it andthose were some of the greatest kids I've everknown.

“It tells a story; a lot of songs do. It justfits all classes of people or real countrypeople. Well, this type of music has notonly reached the old people and mountain people, it's gone out now and proved itself to the world.” - Bluegrass Musician,

Ralph Stanley

Post-show DiscussionWhat do you think it would be like to grow up with your career already decided for you? Think about your own life. What circumstances do you get to choose? What circumstances are beyond your control? How does this affect your everyday life?

Why is coal important in Kentucky? Do you know anyone who is supported by the coal industry? Do you think it is important for students in states outside of Appalachia to understand the importance of coal? Do you think it is important for them to see Fire on the Mountain? Why or why not?

What elements of drama, aside from “performance” or the actors, did you feel were important for this production of Fire on the Mountain? Were there any elements you felt stood out? How did these elements either enhance or distract from the world of the play?

BlueGrass Music ____________Bluegrass evolved out of early, acousticcountry music with its roots in the tunes of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Bands are typically composed of five key instruments: mandolin, guitar, fiddle, five-string banjo, and upright bass. Vocals are often high-pitched and the central melody is passed between singer and instrument. This uniquely American form of music is thought to be founded by musician Bill Monroe. Monroe named his band, The Blue Grass Boys, after his home state of Kentucky in 1938. It wasn't long before other bands began picking up Monroe's style and the term Bluegrass music was coined.

Still not sure what bluegrass is? Think of

the 2000 blockbuster O Brother Where Art Thou? Its soundtrack introduced bluegrass music to masses, and took home five Grammy awards in 2002!

How does music influence the action in Fire on the Mountain? Did you find it supported the storyline? Why do you think the creators of this musical chose this particular type of music? If you could write a musical about your life, what music would you choose? Why?

Discussion

BRIDGEWORK: Building Connections between Stage and Classroom

Core Content Connection - The following activities are designed using the Elements of Drama: Literary Elements, Technical Elementsand Performance Elements. (Core Content 4.1)

AT YOUR DESK ActivitiesTheme Lines Choose a character's line(s) from the script that reflect an important theme of the play. Write a brief thought of your own that

expresses that theme. What does it mean to you? Read both the script line and your own thought aloud to the class.

Journal EntryChoose a character from the play or create one who might live in the world of Fire on the Mountain and write a journal entry in this character's voice. Your entry can relate to an event before or after the action in the play or it may be an event that you make up for that character. Make sure it is an important event in his/her life.

Coal CollageUsing Coal: Can You Dig It?, search through magazines and newspapers to find images of how you use coal in your everyday life: lights, stereo, steel products, etc. To display, divide a large sheet of paper in half. Use one side for your collage of images and the other side to list ways you can reduce the amount of energy you use. Finally, as a class, discuss ways we can all do our part to con-

serve energy.

ON YOUR FEET Activities

In the Hallway: Exploring School Stereotypes Move desks and chairs so that there is enough room to walk around or “fill” the space. The teacher will call out types of people for everyone to imitate or embody. These should be broad “hallway stereotypes” (i.e. - jock, geek, prom queen, principal, etc.). Everyone should find a physical shape as each character and then add an action associated with this stereotype. Next, find a voice as each character and create a spoken thought. Take turns observing each other. When finished, discuss the meaning of stereotypes. How

do we label others? Why? Is this fair? How does this relate to Fire on the Mountain (you may need to reference Hillbillys inAmerica)? (This activity can also be modified solely as a class discussion)

Verbatim InterviewChoose a partner (preferably someone that you know least in your class). Create a question that you would like to ask your partner (i.e. - What is a strong memory from your childhood? Can you describe your family in detail? If you could have any career in the world, what would you do and why?, etc). If possible, record your partner's response and notate what is said. If there is no voice recorder available, copy what is said as accurately as possible. Try to capture your partner's speech pattern and use of “ers” and “umms” as closely as you can. Don't try to mimic your partner as much as accurately reflect his/her words. Rehearse your “monologue” and share with the class.

Exploring the MinesAs a class, brainstorm a list of words (50-100) that you think of when you hear “coal mining.” Divide into small groups of 4-5. Each group creates a thought from the generated list of words. Next, each group devises a way to present their sentence to the class. This can be through an image, movement, tableau (frozen picture), song, poem, etc., or any combination. Each piece can be performed for the class. Be creative!

WR

ITIN

GPO

RTFO

LIO

1. PERSONAL EXPRESSIVEIf you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be? Take a moment to thinkabout where you've grown up, who you live with, where you go to school. What makesyou special? What people and experiences have influenced who you are today? Now,write a personal essay explaining the word you've chosen. Make sure to include impor-tant people or memories to give your reader a clear image of what makes you … you.

2. LITERARYThe characters in Fire on the Mountain became coal miners, or wives of coal miners,because the generations before them had done the same. Consider a profession of yourparent or guardian. What would it be like to have to fill their shoes? What problemsmight you encounter on a day to day basis? Where might you live? What would your life“look like”? Write a short story depicting your “day in the life” of this profession. Be sureto describe the setting for your reader and include a clear conflict and resolution.

3. TRANSACTIVE

NEED MORE HELP?

After seeing Fire on the Mountain, write a theatrical critique of the production. Pretendyou are writing for a local newspaper. Describe three elements that stood out to you(maybe an actor's performance, the set, the costumes, etc.). Why should or shouldn'tsomeone go see this production?

Check out our Young Critics Workshops! Have an Actors Theatre teaching artist visityour classroom to give your students the inside scoop on how to write a theatrical critique.

Students who have written a critique on an Actors Theatre production may submit theirwork to be posted on our website!! To submit online, please send all critiques as emailattachments to JJung@ActorsTheatre.org with the subject heading 'Young CriticsContest.' Please be sure to include your name, school, teacher, grade, and contact information.

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