This theatre resource guide for Ama and the White Crane by Maureen O'Toole is
designed to be used with students before and after attending the Festival ...
T H E A T R E R E S O U R C E G U I D E
e h T & Ama e n a r C e t i Wh e l o o T ’ O en e r u a M y b
Production team: Marilyn Mays, Director Amy Klein, Production Manager Josh Busick, Teachng Artist Danette Olsen, Executive Director
P O S T • P E R F O R M A N C E • FOLLOW UP Character Cues 2
For Teachers
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The Story
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Kabuki Theatre
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Staging the Story
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Lines of
Danette Olsen, Executive Director Amy Klein, Arts Education Director Pam Koch, Patron Services Sherri Matz, Financial Manager
Dialogue/Character Cues
Marilyn Mayes, Development
The Part YOU Play
Rod Sietsema, Technical Director
Liz Reddy Marketing Coordinator
For Teachers
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This theatre resource guide for Ama and the White Crane by Maureen O’ O’Toole is designed to be used with students before and after attending the Festival Theatre production. The guide includes information and activities that will increase student understanding of this and other theatrical performances. A special post-performance section will use examples of Ama’s excellent character qualities to prompt discussion with your students or family. The mission of Festival Theatre is to make the arts welcoming to all people as an
essential part of the well being of individuals and vitality of the community. We believe the arts are vital in the education of children. Art has a job to do in the development of a creative, concerned, caring society and our children are the perfect place to start. Live theatre is an excellent way for students to experience the arts and all the inherent benefits, both on stage and as part of the audience. 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 715-4833387,
[email protected] or P.O. Box 801 St. Croix Falls, WI 54024. Enjoy the show! Sincerely, Amy Klein Arts Education Director Festival Theatre
Kabuki actor’s crest by Cyrus Aluni, age 14
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The Story
技 stories that reveal information about the history, life, and customs of particular Folktales are culture. Japanese and American traditional folktales have many similar characters (animals, royalty, good guys/bad guys), plots (magical occurrences and transformations), and themes (kindness rewarded and evil punished). Maureen O’ Toole, the playwright of Ama and the White Crane, based her play on a Japanese folktale and a popular American story. After reading the synopsis below, see if you can tell which story O’Toole was thinking of. (Hint*)
On the Japanese island village of Sado,
Ama, a fisher girl (and her white crane puppet,) are certain all the fish are being chased away by the Demon with the Changeable Face--they has seen him! When she goes to tell her Grandfather about the Demon, she finds him ready to journey to the northern slope of Mount Sumero, the place of his birth and the legendary center of the Universe. There, under the Northern Lights, grows an iris flower he planted when he was young. He wishes to see it again--but he is too old and weak to travel. “Will you make the journey for me?” he asks Ama “…and bring back the iris and a bit of precious soil from Mount Sumero?”
Ama begins the journey, but immediately
encounters the Demon with the Changeable Face, this time disguised as the Demon of Thunder and Lighting. He is determined to spoil her trip. A fierce storm sent by the Demon lands Ama precisely on the road to Mount Sumero-and in the path of Sukeruko, a cowardly, sword-less samaurai and his man-servant Jiro. Sukeruko recognizes White Crane the bird in a dream who instructs him to follow the road to Mount Sumero. Since they are all going in the same direction, the threesome continue together to the mountain. Again and again the demon attempts to stop them, each time with a different face.
Characters Ama (A-MA), fisher girl White Crane (puppet) Sukeroku (Su-kay-DOH-ku) cowarldy samauri Jiro (Gee-doh), man-servant Mount Sumero (Su-may-du)_ Geza (Sound Captain) Kuroko (propsman) Demon with the Changeable Face •Demon of Thunder and Lightening •Water Sprite •Ferry Boat Demon •Yamauba (Yam-a-oo-bah) (Guardian Hag of the Mountain) •Yuki-ono (Snow Woman whose Embrace is Death)
Will Ama make it to Mount Sumero to get the soil and the iris her grandfather requested? Will Sukerko find a sword to regain his family’s honor? What must Ama and her friends do to stop the demons? *Hint: the answer may be just over the rainbow.
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(Kabuki)
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Ama and the White Crane is set in 17th century Japan and the play is presented in kabukistyle. The word kabuki literally means sing 歌, dance 舞, skill 技. We’ve used aspects of kabuki theatre as a tribute to this 400 year old Japanese theatre tradition.
Here are some basic things to know about Kabuki theatre: Ki or wooden clappers are struck together to mark the beginning of a play. The curtain in a kabuki theatre draws to the side instead of up in Western theatres. Geza or a music ensemble provide sounds that complement actors’ movements and character qualities. Flute, drums and a three-stringed instrument called a shamisen are the primary instuments. Kuroko or propsman wear black costumes and provide help with background set pieces and props during the show. Kabuki was invented by a woman approximately 400 years ago. It was performed first by woman but became so popular that woman were outlawed from the stage. Men called onnagata played the parts of women. Actors wear elborate makeup and costumes that reflect whether they play a good or evil character and to make their expressions stand out. Watch this man transform himself to play a female role. Actors train for many years to perfect the movements used in the kabuki style of acting. They may wear a crest on their costume to show the clan of actors they belong to.
Staging the story
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When you attend a play, you agree to pretend. You agree to suspend disbelief, to pretend that the stage action and characters are real. To present a story on stage, actors and other theatre artists often rely on theatre customs. These customs, or conventions, are accepted ways of acting or doing something stage.
As you watch the play Ama and the White Crane, watch for the following theatre conventions: •Characters freeze in positions on Japanese Kabuki theatre has it’s own stage. Even though you can still see them, “frozen” characters are unique conventions: not part of the action on stage. •Arogato: a loud, boisterio us style of act ing •Lighting is used to focus attention, show size, or create mood effects on stage. •Story theatre: Characters talk directly to the audience to narrate between scenes and advance the story.
•Wagota: soft, fem inine style of act ing •the Mei (mee-ay): a dramatic pose don e by a principal actor usually at a clim atic mo ment in the play. Watch for meis in our play that are paired with sounds cho sen to reflect the character qualities.
Solving Stage Problems
To present a story on stage, actors and other theatre artists often have problems to solve. Here are some problems that had to be solved for Ama and the White Crane. How might you solve them? You may use lights, sound effects , music, actors , costum es, and props (objects) in your solutions. (Hint: You may want to use some of the theatre conventions listed above.)
Problem #2: Problem #1:
How can the Northern Lights be shown convincingly?
How can characters be made to seem like they are on a long journey up a mountain--on a single stage?
Problem #3: What could be used to show a raging fire, a big misty cloud, a fierce wave and or lightening?
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Lines of Dialogue Playwrights are people who write plays. They write lines of dialogue for actors to speak and action to go along with the words. The dialogue gives information about the story, the characters and the themes within the play.
Read the lines of dialogue from Ama and the White Crane printed here. Actors experiment with different ways to say or “deliver” their lines. Work with a partner. Try delivering these characters’ lines in different ways (boldly, proudly, sadly, fearfully etc.) Which line deliveries do you like best? Why?
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DEMON: A little storm will spoil Ama’s trip! Ha! She will not find a way to overpower me! She will never reach Mount Sumeru! White Crane: SQUAK!! JIRO (Gee-doh): You lost your sword, sir…remember? And a samurai who loses his sword has disgraced his whole family!! It’s tradition…it’s… SUKEROKU (Su-kay-doh-ku): (cutting him off) Oh, Jiro…please stop!… I don’t need to be remind of my shame! JIRO: (irritation in his voice) All right! All right! Now where are we supposed to go…according to your Grandfather? AMA: To the northern slope…where the miraculous Northern Lights prevail. It is there we will find the iris flower…It is there that we shall scoop up a bit of earth to take to Grandfather.
P O S T • P E R F O R M A N C E • FOLLOW UP Character Cues Imagine you are a kid growing up in a small village that depends on a natural resource such as a river or lake for the livlihood of it’s people. All food, occupations, recreation comes from that waterway. Imagine that you suspect that something is threatening to harm that natural resource: pollution, overpopulation, careless people, development or something else. How did Ama save her village’s fish? Would Ama’s methods work where you live? When you think about protecting the natural resources in your community, what lessons can you learn from Ama? What character qualities were important in making Ama successful in restoring the fish to her villages waters?
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The part YOU play….
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To prepare for presenting Ama and the White Crane,
14 young actors learned blocking their movements (blocking,) memorized lines, and participated in theatre arts workshops over a 6-week period. They worked with director Marilyn Mays and professional actor Josh Busick who helped them move about the stage, play their parts well and work together to bring the story of Ama and the White Crane to life. A creative team worked to design costumes and a set that would reflect a Japanese environment. The production manager was ready to make sure everyone on stage and backstage does the right thing at the right time. All Festival Theatre needs now is
YOU. YOU have a part to play in Ama and the White Crane. You are the audience. Your part requires you to listen carefully and watch closely. It’s okay to laugh or applaud if you enjoy the play, but remember that you and the actors are in the same room. Talking or whispering to friends during the performance will distract the actors. Help the actors play their parts well by playing YOUR part well.
Reacting to the Performance •Which character was your favorite? Why? •What was the most important lesson that Ama learned as she made her journey? Sukedoku? Jiro? •What made Ama continue her journey even though the Demon with the Changeable face made it so difficult? •How did the actor who played Sukeduko show that he was a cowardly samauri? Did he ever show bravery? Do you ever try to act brave even though you are not? •What was your favorite part of Ama and the White Crane? •What is a positive message we can learn from the story of Ama and the White Crane?
Resources: http://asnic.utexas.edu.countries/japan/kabuki.html www..ibrary.thinkquest.org
