ALLEY THEATRE ACTIVITY PACKET

T he Mission of the Alley Theatre’s Education and Community Engagement programs is to apply theatre practice in a wide range of community contexts — to use the practice of theatre to strengthen and promote the interpersonal goals of our community partners; to provide a vehicle for meaningful community discourse;

to create the most advanced training ground for emerging theatre artists; and to become a driving force for arts education within our schools.

Our Core Values: Empathy and collaboration through the practice of theatre Service to our community by teaching our art form in multiple settings Innovation and quality in our practice Excellence in developing exemplary replicable nationally recognized

programming

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Why the ARTS matter

T he Alley Theatre is firmly committed to the idea that participation in the arts and arts integration in education is more than enriching — it is essential!

Studies have illustrated that students who study the arts are:

More active in community affairs

Assume leadership roles

Are more likely to participate in math or science fairs

Have increased self-esteem and confidence

Additionally, research has demonstrated that what students learn in the arts helps them to succeed in other subjects and promotes skills that are vital to the future workforce. But developing a love of theatre is a progressive process, requiring sustained exposure.

Wilson Montessori Elementary School being and audience for Staging STEM at their school.

D ramatic conventions offer a safe harbor for trying out the situations for life; for experimenting with ex-pression and communication; and for deepening hu-man understanding.”

— James Catterall, Professor Emeritus, UCLA, Department of Education

The sections in this packet:

QUICK GRAB AND GOES FOR EASY ACTIVITIES MORE INDEPTH ACTIVITIES AND CONNECTIONS

IN PREPARATION—SHARE THE COMPANION GUIDE School- and community-wide discussion that includes administrators, parents, and other teachers before and after the play will help bring the ideas and lessons alive and help students make changes to their own habits and behaviors.

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QUICK GRAB AND GOES FOR EASY ACTIVITIES

Section 3

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Grab and Go: Before The Play

RECOGNIZE the difference between Bullying

and Conflict.

Discuss with students that sometimes people disagree. This is a conflict. It doesn’t happen all the time, and usually both people are upset. Bullying is when one person tries to hurt someone else on purpose, and it usually happens more than once.

ASK: Is this bullying?

Present different scenarios and have students identify whether or not they are bullying situations. If they think it’s bullying, ask students to stand up. If they think it isn’t, students should sit down.

Examples: 1. Michelle is calling Zach mean names again, just like she did yesterday and the day before that. Is this bullying? Yes, calling names is intended to hurt and it is happening more than once. 2. Mary and Tina are friends. Today they are having an argument. Mary called Tina a mean name, and Tina called Mary a mean name. Is this bullying? No, they are having a conflict. Both are being mean and will probably be friends again. Follow this link for Conflict is Inevitable, Bullying is Not for additional resources.

DEFINE the following terms:

BULLYING BEHAVIORS

TARGET

UPSTANDER

BYSTANDER

“When people hurt you over and over, think of them like

sand paper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up

useless.”

— Chris Colfer, GLEE

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Public Justice, 2013

H ere are some quick and effective exercises to start applying the lessons of the play to your students’ lives:

Discuss the moment in the play when Oskar watches Beth bully Frank. Ask your students if that has ever happened to them. For older students, have them do a quick writing exercise about this time in their life and how it felt without using any names. If they aren't old enough to write, ask them to either draw or to make a list on the board of words that might describe how they felt being a BYstander. What would they do if they were in Oskar’s shoes?

At the beginning of the play, Oskar did the bullying. Later, Oskar was a BYstander. Finally, Oskar became the UPstander. What happened in the play to make Oskar change his mind and

tell Mrs. Hooligan what he and Beth had done to Frank?

All the students make choices in the play. List and then discuss the choices that each of the characters made. For example, an important choice is made when Frank says nothing after Oskar bullies him. Oskar says nothing when Frank steps on his shoe. Beth chooses to follow Oskar because she likes him and wants to fit in.

Discuss the choices that your students have made in their lives now that they know the roles that take place in a bullying incident. Discuss what they would have done if they were in Oskar’s, Frank’s, or Beth's shoes, now that they have seen the play.

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Discuss this quote in class. What did Oskar and Beth do to help smooth things over with Frank? Do you think saying, "I'm sorry," makes things better? Have students a quick writing exercise about the last time they said they were sorry or received an apology. How did they feel about it? Was it easy to do? Did it make things better?

“As parents, this issue

really hits home for us. It breaks our hearts to think that any child feels afraid

every day in the classroom, on the playground, or even

online.”

— Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States

Grab and Go: After the Play

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“Stop Bullying Serbia”, January 5, 2012

A s your students watch the play, invite them to track which characters is portraying each role in the bullying episodes. There are three moments in this play that are I important to notice.

1. When Frank steps on Oskar’s shoe, was it an accident or not? Encourage your students to think about this moment in the play and how it starts all the bullying. How could Oskar have reacted differently? 2. When Oskar watches Beth destroy Oskar’s Super Duper Deluxe

and Magic Blue Box, what is he feeling?

What role is Oskar playing now: A Bully? An UPstander? A BYstander? 3. Oskar asks Frank to go to the teacher after Beth stomps on his

new toy. Frank says no. Why? Encourage your students to think about why Frank doesn’t go to the teacher and if they might make a different choice.

Grab and Go: While Watching The Play

#1 #2 #3

Draw each of these moments and discuss them.

“What if the kid you bullied at school, grew up, and turned out to be the only surgeon who could

save your life?” – Lynette Mather

THINK ABOUT IT!

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“Oskar, you always have choices. Life is all about

making choices. Everything you say,

every thing you do, is a choice.”

THINK, PAIR, SHARE!

This quote from the play sums up one of the most important themes. In pairs, have your students think about this idea and share their thoughts. Do they know that actions are choices that they make? Do they think that they have no choice in their actions? Have a class wide discussion of this idea.

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Section 3

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MORE INDEPTH ACTIVITIES AND CONNECTIONS

M ost children are born with empathy, but because some have certain life experiences, they learn to moderate this important ability. Children who have experienced domestic violence or other forms of abuse are especially at risk for diminished empathy.

1. Write on the board these definitions of empathy:

• The ability to feel what others are feeling • To see the world through others’ eyes • To understand another's emotions or situation 2. Write on the board: • Happy? • Sad? • Mad? 3. Individually or in small groups (depending on your age group), instruct your students to create a

tableaux (a frozen picture using their bodies) for each of the words listed in Step 2. Present each tableaux to the class. Ask your students, “What do you see?” Make sure they are specific. (For example: “I see that Sally is slumped and frowning. She looks sad.”) For students with more advanced vocabularies, use additional words from the lists below.

4. Ask students to take their seats and hand out paper to each student. Have the students divide the

paper into 3 columns and label the columns “Sad”, “Happy”, and “Mad.” For students who are ready for more advanced vocabulary, refer to words from the list below.

5. Ask students to write or draw a description of each emotion in the designated column. 6. After each set of words, ask for volunteers to share their answers. If a student says, "I get mad when I

can't go to the swimming pool." Ask him/her to verbalize specific reasons. “I hate to sit around all day especially if it's hot,” or “I want to become an Olympic swimmer, and I need to practice.”

7, Discuss how your students emotions make them act certain ways. Have a group discussion about how emotions sometimes make them act in angry ways toward their family or friends. Discuss strategies on how to make different choices that might help them make different decisions.

Alone

Angry

Awkward

Bad

Bored

Blissful

Confused

Cranky

Confused

Depressed

Distant

Empty

Excited

Fear

Fair

Friendly

Gentle

Greedy

Hate

Hurt

Inferior

Joy

Kind

Lazy

Left out

Neglected

Pleased

Powerful

Rejected

Respected

Silly

Small

Startled

Tense

Troubled

Tired

Unkind

Zesty

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WHAT AM I FEELING?

I n this exercise students will explore Frank’s reactions and Oskar’s actions.

1. In the play, Oskar, Beth, and Frank do many things that are considered bullying behaviors. Can your class remember what they were (i.e., cyber bullying, taunting, and physical bullying)? Can they add more types to this list? 2. The bullying moments in the play are never really done on stage — in fact, the actors don't even touch each other. However, you can always see the affects clearly in the characters. With your students, talk about what Frank did when he experienced bullying episodes. Make a quick list of what they saw. (Did he shrink? Did he hide? Did he frown? Did he look sad?) Encourage your students to think of descriptive phrases or metaphors (i.e., he looked deflated, looked like his heart hurt, looked like a tree branch that was broken). 3. Think back to the moment in the play when Frank finally gets the Magic Blue Box. Frank stands up on a cube and declares that he is finally somebody. Make sure each student has enough safe space around them and have them stand up and act out their best Magic Blue Box moment. Imagine a flower opening to the sun, reaching to the sky, or being a superhero. 4. From this position, have students start to move downward using the list of terms they created in Step 2. Instruct them to shrink, hide, frown, look sad, deflate, etc. 5. Repeat going from the open, happy position to the down, sad position a couple of times. End on the superhero position, up and open and happy. 6. Discuss how this exercise made them feel. What positions felt good? What positions felt bad? Explain to your class that this is the beginning of "Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes." During this exercise, students felt what it was like to be Frank. Discuss with the class why this exercise is important and why it is important to relate to others. 8. As a class, make a list of the kinds of bullying that students have witnessed at school. See if your class can, "Walk in Someone Else's Shoes" by drawing a picture or writing a story or poem about it.

ACTIVITY: Walking in “FRANK’s” Shoes

“If bullies actually believe that

somebody loves them and believes in them, they will love themselves, they will become better people, and many will even

become saviors to the bullied.”

– Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing

Photo by: Jon Oakley, December 7, 2007

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ACTIVITY: STEP INTO THEIR SHOES/SOCIAL AWARENESS

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T alking with children about others’ emotions can be difficult. Here is a tool to help start the conversation on the right foot.

It is important to understand your emotions , but it is also just as important to understand the emotions of others. Ask: Why do you think you should try to understand how others are feeling? It’s important to understand how others are feeling for many reasons. A few reasons are because this is how friendships form and because it allows one to have positive relationships with other people. By understanding how others feel, you are stepping into their shoes. When we say step in their shoes, we don’t meant that students will actually put others’ shoes on and walk or run around; we mean try to understand how the other person feels. Are they happy, sad, or angry? Why do they feel this way? Kind and caring friends try to understand how others feel. Here’s a helpful way to understand what people are feeling. • S — Sound of their voice (loud, quite, fast, slow) • H — How they are acting (what they are doing with their arms, legs, hands, etc.) • O — Outer appearance (how they look on the outside — sweating, blushing, etc.) • E — Expression on their face (mouth and eyes) • S — Surroundings (where they are and who they are with) Pay attention to the person and watch for how they are acting. Just listening or paying attention to one part of a person will not always tell you how they are feeling. For instance, a person with their arms crossed may not be mad, they may just be cold and trying to keep warm. You need to look at every part of someone’s SHOES. By using SHOES, you can tell if a friend is sad, lonely, or scared or happy and joyous. The last step in SHOES is thinking about how you would feel if you were that person. Think about how you would want someone to treat you if you were feeling the same way. Ask your class to draw pictures or write letters to express how they would feel in that other person’s shoes.

O skar and the Big Bully Battle depicts four key roles that occur during a bullying scenario. However, other roles exist, and it is important for your students to understand them as well.

Though your students didn’t see all of these roles onstage, they can explore these additional roles by creating a group tableau. Write the following roles on the board and explain the meanings.

A. STUDENTS WHO WANT TO BULLY — these students start the bullying and play a leader role

B. FOLLOWERS/HENCHMEN — these students support their bullying peer by taking an active part, but they don’t lead the action.

C. SUPPORTERS OR PASSIVE BULLYING — these students actively support the bully by doing such things as laughing and calling attention, but they don’t actively bully

D. PASSIVE SUPPORTERS OR POSSIBLE BULLYING — these students like their bullying peer but don’t show outward signs of bullying

E. DISENGAGED ONLOOKERS—these students think it’s none of their business or say “let’s see what happens.” They don’t take a stand

F. POSSIBLE DEFENDERS/UPSTANDERS — these students dislike the bullying and think they should help but don’t

G. DEFENDERS/UPSTANDERS — these students don’t like the bullying and are willing to do something about it

Now have students sit in a circle. Ask for one volunteer to come to the center and make a statue that shows someone who wants to bully. Tell them to freeze in their position. Continue to ask students to create statues of each role. You may have multiple followers or supporters. Once all of the roles have been filled ask each student to say something that character might say.

ACTIVITY: ROLES BULLYING, TARGET, BYSTANDER, UPSTANDER

Puppet Alternative: Have younger children create paper bag puppets to act out their own bullying scenarios, using characters based on the different roles listed above.

Supplies for paper bag puppets: paper bags, construction paper, glue, scissors, crayons or makers

This activity is based on an idea from Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center

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Photo by: lilivanili, September 27, 2011

This is a circle game that teaches social awareness.

T his game is for a larger group but can be adapted for a one-on-one scenario. Students will learn to understand the emotional state of others by observing facial

expressions, tone and pitch of voice, and physical gestures. 1. Have kids stand in a circle with the teacher in the middle.

2. Teachers point directly in front of themselves, close their

eyes, and spin around a few times.

3. When the teacher decides to stop, he/she will be pointing at a child.

4. The teacher walks up to the child he/she is pointing to. That child must shake the teacher’s hand and ask, “How are you?”.

5. The teacher must act out an emotion. He/she can use words but cannot explain the motion being felt. Words can only be used to show the tone and pitch of one’s voice. For example if the emotion is worried, the teacher can’t say, “I’m very nervous about my grandmother being sick.” The adult can say in a quivering, quiet voice, “I don’t know what to do.”

6. The selected child must guess the adult’s emotion by stating, “You are feeling ______________________.”

7. If the child guesses the correct emotion, he/she gets one letter of the word SHOES. If the child makes an incorrect guess, the teacher spins again and selects a new child to guess.

8. The children must keep track of the letters they have.

ACTIVITY: A MILE IN MY SHOES

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“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide. where to

go.” – Dr. Suess

9. Playing is continued until time is up or until someone spells SHOES.

10. Once time is up, discuss why it is important to recognize how others feel and step into their shoes.

Circle Game Learning Objective: Kids will learn what the different roles in a bullying situation look and feel like. This is also an excellent activity for listening and focus. A soft ball is needed and the kids stand in a big circle. The teacher is the “Caller”. Before you can play the game, you must first create statues with the group to represent each term: Bully, Target, UPstander, and BYstander. Include a word or phrase that can be said within these positions. It is important to elicit the group’s ideas for statues and phrases and not to make the decision for them. The caller will throw the soft ball, can give special commands to the group, and can change the command at any time. Examples of commands are: Catch with elbows, catch with thumbs, throw with your opposite hand, spin around three times before throwing, etc. The kids spread out and stand in circle and then toss and catch the ball to one and another, silently (hence the name, Silent Dynamite). When the caller yells, “Boom,” whoever has the ball must freeze. The adult calls out Bully, UPstander, Bystander, or Target. The child with the ball must “explode” into the appropriate statue and say the correct word or phrase chosen for the term. (If there is a statue that involves two or more students, the students closest to the child must quickly act to become part of the statue.) If the child doesn’t give a proper response, that child is out and must sit down in the middle of the circle. If a child cannot complete the given command or drops the ball, he/she joins the others who are out. The kids in the middle try to swat down or catch the ball as it is tossed around the circle. If a child in the middle successfully catches the ball he/she gets back into the game. The game is over when there is only one person left standing from the original circle.

ACTIVITY: SILENT DYNAMITE RESPONSIBLE DECISION MAKING

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Writing on Reflection After watching the Alley Theatre’s production of Oscar and the Big Bully Battle, we encourage you and your students to record your reactions to the play. Here are some ideas for written reflections:

What parts of the play did you enjoy and why? What are some specific lines you enjoyed and why?

How would you have performed one of the roles? Why do you like that character?

What did you learn about the difference between a conflict and a bullying situation?

Did you like the costumes and set pieces of the show? What would you have done differently?

Drawing on Reflection MATERIALS NEEDED: Crayons, markers, paper TIME NEEDED: 15 minutes Discuss Oskar and the Big Bully Battle with students. Ask how they felt about they play and what they want to tell their parents or family members about the performance. Ask the students to draw a picture of something they liked from the production that they would like to tell their parents or family members about. On the opposite side of the page, have the students write (or dictate depending on level) a description about their picture. Send these products home with the students to share with their family members.

Reflections

Write a Review Consider having students write reviews of Oskar and the Big Bully Battle and what they learned from the play. Make sure to include technical aspects such as sound and costumes as well as specific notes on acting, plot, and the overall experience of the production. Please email any theatre-related reviews, poems, scenes, and essays by your students to education@alleytheatre.org.

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Walk a mile in my shoes is good advice. Our children will learn to respect others if they are used to

imagining themselves in another's place.

Foundation

Ray C. Fish Foundation

George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation

William E. and Natoma Pyle Harvey Charitable Trust

National Corporate Theatre Fund Hearst Creative Impact

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™

Immanuel & Helen B. Olshan Foundation, Inc.

The Powell Foundation

Kinder Foundation

Robert W. & Pearl Wallis Knox Charitable Foundation

Lillian Kaiser Lewis Foundation

William Randolph Hearst Foundation

Government

Texas Commission on the Arts/Education

TCA/Public Safety/Criminal Justice

Harris County Department of Education

Corporation

Boeing

Deloitte

Enbridge Energy Company, Inc.

Macy's

Marathon Oil Company

Parker Drilling Company

Shell Oil Company

United Airlines

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Baby Dinosaurs in Staging STEM at the Play Makers

Summer Camp, 2013

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contact raganr@alleytheatre.org