Look Inside!Page 2 Go behind-the-scenes

Page 3 Ideas for post-show activities

Page 4References and additional information

CLASSSTUDYGUIDE

Pre-Show ActivitiesIn The Bag IN-CHAIR ACTIVITY • 5-10 MINUTES

Objective: Students will warm up their imaginations by naming items in their bags.

Discussion: In the play, Lilly gets a purple, plastic purse where she can store important items. If you had a special purse/backpack, what are some things you would store? Why?

Modeling: Start by answering the question yourself. Begin the answer with an introduction “Hi my name is ________” and the students will all greet you, “Hi ________!” After the greeting, answer the question. For example, you might say, “If I had a special backpack, I would put my comic books in it so I could hide them from my little brother.”

Activity: Go around the classroom, giving each student the chance to answer the question, making sure to ask the students open-ended questions to get them thinking deeper about their answer: “Why do you want to keep that item in your bag?”

Side Coaching: What are some items that you might want to carry with you everywhere? Are there any items that you own that make you feel happy when you have them with you?

Theater Etiquette IN-CHAIR ACTIVITY • 5-10 MINUTES

Objective: Students will actively explore proper theater etiquette.

Discussion: How should you act when you see a play? Is it the same way you should act when watching a movie or playing at recess? Is it okay to laugh during a play if you think it is funny?

Brainstorm: As a class, create a list of good and bad theater behaviors. Write the list on the board.

Modeling: Invite one student to sit in a chair at the front of the class and act out one of the poor behavior scenarios for about ten seconds. Ask the class to discuss what was inappropriate about the behavior. Next, ask the student to change his/her actions to be proper theater behavior for about ten seconds.

Activity: Select various good and bad theater behaviors from the list and ask students to act them out individually from their seats. After each scenario is acted out, initiate a discussion about the behavior. When is it appropriate to behave like this? How would you react if other audience members around you did this? Conclude with the entire class acting as a good theater audience.

Lilly’s PurplePlastic Purse

Adapted from “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse” © 1996 by Kevin HenkesTheatrical adaptation © 1998 by Kevin Kling

Performed with permission from Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing

2 STUDY GUIDE

BEHIND THE

SCENES

A Spotlight on Lighting Design

An interview with Lighting Designer Kyle Toth

Q: How do you come up with your ideas for lighting effects? A: My inspiration comes from many places. For instance, I pay attention to the world around me. There are so many neat lighting effects created by nature: sunsets, the night sky, shadows from the clouds, reflections on water…even reflections in other people’s eyes! No matter where I am, I see neat shadows, interesting reflections, and cool colors of light. When I see light doing something neat, I think about how I could recreate it onstage. I pay attention to artificial lighting, as well. As a Lighting Designer, it is hard not to notice the lighting at a concert or in a movie.

I also get ideas from the show I am lighting. For me, lighting is very emotional. I see colors the way some people hear music. Colors have their own melodies and harmonies and when I read a script, I often see that color “music” in my head, the way a composer might hear or see notes of music when reading song lyrics.

The director and my fellow designers are also great sources of ideas. Put three or four creative people in a room to talk about a show and lots of neat things happen!

Q: What is the best part of your job? A: The best part is that I get to use my creativity along with my interest in science, and I get to work with other people doing it! Theater is very collaborative, and being on a creative team is a really special experience.

Q: What was challenging about this show?A: This show takes place in a number of locations. Some scenes are at a physical place. In these scenes, we help the audience understand the story by providing a setting. Other scenes take place in the mind of one of the characters. In these scenes, the goal is less about recreating a specific setting, and more about helping the audience see the world of the character’s imagination. The biggest challenge was designing a light plot that would give me the flexibility of some natural, or at least familiar, settings as well as do some wildly imaginative things.

Q: How do you get the stage lights to become different colors?A: The two basic methods for altering the color of light are SUBTRACTIVE and ADDITIVE mixing. White light is a mixture of every color of light, and the colors can be separated…like with a prism! Colors can also be combined, sort of like paints, to make an infinite number of colors. Many stage lights use lamps that are brighter than house light bulbs. When I want to change the color of this kind of light, I will place a filter (also called a GEL) in front of it. This special plastic filters out all of the light except the color we want to see. For instance, a green gel will absorb all the colors except green, so only the green light comes out. This is an example of SUBTRACTIVE mixing, since we are removing or subtracting colors.

Another way to SUBTRACTIVE mix a color is by using DICHROIC FILTERS. These are similar to gel filters, but they are made of glass and instead of absorbing colors, they reflect them. If I want a light to be red, a red dichotic filter will reflect all the colors of light except red. Since gels absorb light, and light is energy, they will fade and eventually burn out. Dichroic filters can handle heat much better because they are glass and because they absorb very little energy.

ADDITIVE mixing works in the opposite way. The primary colors of light are RED, BLUE and...GREEN. They are different from the primary colors of pigment or paint. In fact, white light is actually made up of equal parts red, blue and green light! And guess what color of light you get if you mix red and green…YELLOW! In SUBTRACTIVE mixing to get RED, we subtract GREEN and BLUE. To make PURPLE light, one way is to ADDITIVE “mix” a RED light and a BLUE light shining on the same thing at the same time. In fact, some stage lights have lots of little tiny lights called LED’s (Light Emitting Diodes) inside them. These LED’s are different colors so we can ADDITIVELY mix any color we want from a single stage light.

Q: What advice would you have for a student who was interested in lighting design?A: If someone wanted to be a Lighting Designer I would suggest they get involved with the drama club or AV club at their school. Volunteering at local theaters is also a great way to meet other people interested in Lighting Design, and meet real Lighting Designers.

There are lots of good books about Lighting Design, too. Most are geared towards older students, but some are very accessible to younger readers. Often there are chapters about Lighting and Lighting Design in general theater books.

Exploring the Job ofa Lighting Designer

Using Color to Show FeelingsIN-CHAIR ACTIVITY • 20-25 MINUTES

Objective: Students will understand how color can be used to affect the mood of a scene.

Discussion: A lighting designer’s job is to create the setting and mood for scenes that you see on stage with lights. For “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse,” the lighting designer had to decide which colors would be appropriate for different moments in the play. For example, the color red can make people think of many different things – anger, love, or being embarrassed. What sorts of feelings does the color green make you feel? Blue? Yellow?

Preparation: Gather art supplies, such as scraps of construction paper, colored pencils, etc. Find or draw a blank generic stage and copy enough for each student in your class.

Modeling: Tell the students that lighting designers sometimes draw a sketch of what colors they will use in certain scenes. Show students your prepared example of that sketch.

Activity: Give each student a copy of the stage and coloring utensils. Ask students to think of a familiar story (fairy tale, bedtime story, etc.) and then take three suggestions from them to put on the board for different moments in the story. (For example, in “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” the scenes could be 1. when Goldilocks finds the house, 2. when Goldilocks tries all the bears’ things, 3. when the bears discover Goldilocks.)

Tell students to draw, with a regular pencil first, one of those three scenes on their stage sheet. Then, ask them to design with colored pencils which colors of light to use in the scene. Is it a sad scene? A happy scene? Ask them how they think the characters on stage would feel at those moments and ask which colors would be appropriate. Encourage students to use the whole page.

Post-Show Activities

Backwards LanguageIN-CHAIR ACTIVITY • 15-20 MINUTES

Objective: Students will work together to create and understand strange sounding messages.

Discussion: In the play, Lilly teaches Chester and Wilson to speak backwards. Why do you think Lilly chooses to speak backwards sometimes? Could it be because she wants what she says to be secret?

Modeling: Ask the students a question, but have them answer using only one word. For example: “What is your favorite food?” Write the answers on the board, first forwards, then backwards. For example: “apples” would become “selppa.” Have the class try to say these backwards words.

Now write a secret message such as “I am hungry” on the board, backwards only, and ask them to read it backwards and try to translate it. Next, come up with a backwards message and read it aloud to the students, making sure to not write it on the board. Then ask them to write down what you read and see if they can tell you what the secret message is without seeing it.

Activity: Ask students to all take out a piece of notebook paper and a pencil, and on the top line of their page, write a short secret message about themselves. For example they could write, “I like cheese” or “My name is Sara.” Then ask them to write that secret message backwards on their own paper, but to keep it secret from everyone else.

Once everyone is done, take volunteers to read out their backwards messages. Ask everyone else to write the volunteer’s name on their paper, and then write down what they think that person’s secret message is. Once all students who want to volunteer have done so, take guesses as to what each volunteer’s secret message was.

Lilly’s Story CircleOUT-OF-CHAIR ACTIVITY • 10-20 MINUTES

Objective: Students will work together to tell a new story.

Discussion: When Lilly’s baby brother Julius is born, Lilly’s mother asks her to tell him a story. What is the story like? Does the story make sense? Most stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Let’s work together to create a new story that Lilly can tell her brother.

Modeling: Have the students join you in a circle. Tell them that they will be working together to create a new story that Lilly can tell. Each person in the circle will contribute to the story by only using one word.

Activity: Start by having students suggest possible story topics that Lilly may tell Julius (bedtime stories, fairy tales, adventure stories, etc.). Once the class has agreed on a topic, you can start the story. Begin by having a student start the story with one word. Then go around the circle having each student contribute another word to the story.

For example, the first student may say “The” and the second student in the circle would say “teacher” and so on. Write each word on the board as the story progresses as a reminder. Once each student has had a turn adding a word, keep going around the circle until the story has an ending.

Side Coaching: The story could be one that everyone already knows, like “The Three Little Pigs,” or it could be a brand new one. Remind students that the stories must have a beginning, middle, and end. Encourage them to find ways to move the story along and make choices, but stay true to the story topic.

A Day in the Life of a MouseOUT-OF-CHAIR ACTIVITY • 15 MINUTES

Objective: Students will be able to use their bodies, voices, and imaginations to create their own mouse characters.

Discussion: When we saw “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse,” the actors in the play had to pretend to be mice to tell the story. How did the actors show us with their bodies and voices that they were mice? Now we are going to use our bodies, voices, and imaginations to pretend to be mice.

Modeling: Clearing an open space in your classroom, ask students to each find their own place in the room. Once they are seated ask the students to think of their favorite mouse characters from the show. How did they walk? How did they stand? Tell the students to close their eyes and imagine that they are becoming a mouse character.

Activity: Have the students open their eyes and move around the room as their new mouse characters. Ask the students to silently show you how their mouse character would do the following activities during the day:- Wake up- Get dressed - Eat breakfast (What do they eat? Cheese? Toast? Crackers?)- Go to mouse-school- Take a math test- Play at recess (What do they play? Kickball? Soccer? Baseball? How?)- Travel back home- Eat dinner - Get ready for bed

Side Coaching: During certain parts of the “day” ask students to freeze, and then ask them to raise their hands to answer specific questions about the activity they are completing. For example, you may ask “What do you wear to school?” or “What are you eating for dinner?”

Light Bulb Lab StatuesOUT-OF-CHAIR ACTIVITY • 10-15 MINUTES

Objective: Students will use their bodies, voices, and imaginations, to create statues of different emotions.

Discussion: In the play we just saw, Lilly’s teacher, Mr. Slinger has a Light Bulb Lab where his students can go to draw their feelings. What sorts of feelings does Lilly decide to draw when she visits the lab? What are some other feelings that could be drawn? Let’s work together to create statues with our bodies of what these feelings could be.

Brainstorming: Ask the class to think of some feelings that were felt in the play and list them on the board. For example: Lilly felt anger towards Mr. Slinger, Chester and Wilson felt scared of the bullies, Lilly felt excited when she got her new purse.

Modeling: Select some students to stand in front of the class. Have the students use their bodies to create a statue of one of the feelings listed. For instance, if the feeling is excited, they could stand with their arms in the air and huge smiles on their faces.

Activity: Have the students split into small groups and work together to create statues of different emotions. Assign a different emotion to each group. Remind them to use their whole bodies and faces to create the statues. When each group is finished creating their statues, take turns sharing the emotions with the entire class.

STUDY GUIDE 3

BibliographyIf you enjoyed “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse,” you might also enjoy these great resources:

Books for Kids and Teachers“Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse ” by Kevin HenkesIf you enjoyed the play, check out the book that started it all! Lilly’s Grammy buys her an extra-purple, extra-plastic, extra-awesome purse for a new year at school. But when Lilly brings it to school, she interrupts the class and her teacher takes it away for a day. Drama ensues!

“Julius, Baby of the World” by Kevin HenkesJulius’ parents love their new baby, but his older sister Lilly is not so impressed. He can’t play, he can’t walk – all he can do is gurgle and scream! Lilly hopes he will go away – but what will happen when Lilly’s cousin Garland comes over to meet Julius? Will she feel the same way? More importantly, will Lilly?

“Sheila Rae, the Brave” by Kevin HenkesSheila Rae is the bravest mouse of all – she growls at stray dogs and steps on every sidewalk crack! Sometimes she bosses around her little sister, Louise. But when Sheila Rae gets lost in the forest on the way home, she needs someone else to be brave!

“Chrysanthemum” by Kevin HenkesChrysanthemum and her family think her name is “precious and priceless.” She loves having that name! But the other kids in her class begin to whisper that her name is too strange, and too long. What will Chrysanthemum do?

Websites for Kidshttp://illustrationforkids.blogspot.com/ Kevin Henkes’ books have lots of colorful illustrations . Here you can look at cool illustrations from upcoming illustrators and maybe even get a few ideas for an illustrated book of your own! These artists must have visited Mr. Slinger’s Light Bulb Lab…

http://library.thinkquest.org/4272/interest.htmThis site was made by kids, for kids! Explore this site to find out all about MICE! Learn about how mice live, what they eat, how they can hurt us, and how they can help us too!

http://cheese.com/Did you know that in real life, mice actually DON’T like cheese?! But humans sure do! Surf this site to find some interesting facts about cheese-making, different types of cheese around the world, and how it all began!

Websites for Teacherswww.kevinhenkes.comThe acclaimed author’s official website. See the book list, browse in which books favorite characters appear, and check out more activities from the world of Kevin Henkes’ children’s books.

http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/authors/henkes/main.asp A wonderfully-written article about the author and his life, including how he got started writing and illustrating. Also includes links to a book list, an awards list, and other links concerning the Henkes’ works.

http://www.creativedrama.com/theatre.htm If your students enjoyed the games in this study guide, give this site a glance for more ideas on how to incorporate theatre games into your classroom. Also includes links to improvisation games as well as a book list for more creative drama games.

4 STUDY GUIDE

Bring The Rose toYour ClassroomThe Rose offers a variety of classroom workshops, residencies, and touring productions! For your next engagement, please consider one of the following:

• The Big (Not-So) Bad Wolf Students will be transfixed by the jolly-not-so-scary Big Bad Wolf portrayed by a professional Rose teaching artist. This show features stories about wolves that have a “wolfish” edge to them and provides a fun way to explore themes such as honesty, trust, and good behavior.

• The Wonderful World of Dr. Seuss The world of Dr. Seuss comes to life when The Cat in the Hat arrives to share the places he’s been. The show features beloved songs and stories such as “Green Eggs and Ham,” “The Sneetches,” “The Grinch,” and of course, “The Cat in the Hat.“

• The Bully Show “The Bully Show” was selected for The Kennedy Center’s prestigious New Visions/New Voices program. The play takes place at the taping of a new game show, YOU WANNA BE A BULLY!, with the kids acting as the studio audience and contestants. It challenges students to reconsider their assumptions about bullies, victims, and spectators.

Three- to five-day curriculum based workshops are also available! Topics include Bringing Literature to Life, Acting & Characters, Tall Tales, and more! For more information, please contact Brian Guehring at (402) 502-4636 or briang@rosetheater.org.

Please feel free to contact us!Letters may be written to:Michael Miller(or cast of “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse”) 2001 Farnam StreetOmaha, NE 68102

Emails may be sent to:Michael Miller at michaelm@rosetheater.org

S P O N S O R E D BY