original musical adaptation, performed by five actors playing a variety of roles,
with live musical accompaniment ... While Pinocchio is dancing to the music, he
is.
Olympia Junior Programs presents
Pinocchio produced by StoryBook Theater, Kirkland WA
March 20-22, 25-27 & 29, 2013 The Washington Center for the Performing Arts
A Study Guide for Teachers of Grades 1 - 3 To Prepare Students for a Positive Theater Experience “The Adventures of Pinocchio” is one of the earliest stories written specifically for children. It was written in Italian by Carlo Collodi in 1883 and has become a favorite fairy tale of children throughout the world due, in part, to the animated movie produced by Walt Disney in 1940. This production is an original musical adaptation, performed by five actors playing a variety of roles, with live musical accompaniment played by the composer herself.
STORY SYNOPSIS FOR THIS PRODUCTION The lonely toymaker Geppetto has never had a son. One day, he carves a puppet out of wood and names him Pinocchio. A magical blue fairy visits Geppetto that night and brings the puppet to life, although he is still made of wood and not yet a real boy. The Blue Fairy explains to Pinocchio that in order to become a real boy, he must learn to listen to his father and always tell the truth. Geppetto is so excited to have a new son, he goes out into the village to sell his own coat so that he can buy Pinocchio a schoolbook. Pinocchio sets off for school the next day, but is distracted when he sees a puppet show in the village. He exchanges his new schoolbook for a ticket to the show. While Pinocchio is dancing to the music, he is noticed by the Fox and Cat, who are up to no good. They think that a live wooden puppet can be their ticket to getting rich! They convince Pinocchio to go up on stage with the other dancing puppets so that the Puppet Master will see him, but instead, the Puppet Master is angry that Pinocchio interrupted his show. He begins to carry Pinocchio away to use him as firewood to cook his dinner, but Pinocchio pleads with him and sings a song that makes the Puppet Master so sad that he lets Pinocchio go. He also gives Pinocchio five gold pieces to buy a new schoolbook and a new coat for his father. The Cat and Fox then convince Pinocchio that if he plants his gold pieces in the Field of Miracles, they will grow a tree with five thousand gold pieces. Pinocchio does as he is told and falls asleep. The next day Pinocchio realizes that the Cat and Fox have stolen his gold while he was asleep. The Blue Fairy visits Pinocchio to tell him that Geppetto is lost at sea looking for him. When she asks him questions about why he didn’t go to school, Pinocchio lies and his nose grows. Pinocchio rushes to the sea to rescue his father. He is swallowed up by a giant shark, but he finds Geppetto in the shark’s belly! He tells his father the truth about what happened and that he is very sorry for what he did. Together they come up with a plan to tickle the shark to make him cough, and when he does, they surf back to freedom. At home, Pinocchio does not wake up and Geppetto thinks he has lost Pinocchio. The Blue Fairy’s magic brings him back to life and she explains to Pinocchio that because he has learned his lesson and was a very good and brave wooden puppet, he has finally become a real boy.
THEATER TERMS Characters – the people in the play (Blue Fairy, Geppetto, Pinocchio, Fox, Cat and Puppet Master) Set – the things on the stage, such as furniture, that shows the place where the action is taking place Plot – the sequence of events Props – objects used by a character in a play (e.g. Geppetto’s tools, Pinocchio’s school book)
BEFORE ATTENDING THE PERFORMANCE 1. Review the OJP Etiquette Guide regarding student behavior. 2. Read the story to the children, using several adaptations. VOCABULARY abandon, alert, consider, disguise, expectation, generosity, glum, portray, rascal, resemble, shame, sympathy SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES AND DISCUSSION IDEAS 1. Bring into the classroom a few different versions of the story by different adaptors and illustrators. Talk about the ways they are alike and how they differ. Print a copy of the original illustration of Pinocchio from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinocchio to compare to the Disney character at http://www.disney.go.com/disneyinsider/history/movies/pinocchio . 2. Pantomime means to act without words using only movements. Ask each child to pantomime a different simple activity and ask the rest of the class to guess what it is. (Examples: digging a hole, raking leaves, running a vacuum cleaner, washing a window, getting out of a car, filling a bucket with water.) 3. Talk about how most fairy tales were not written in English. Explain the word “translation”. Examples of other fairy tales that were written in other languages are: German “Hansel and Gretel” “Rumplestiltskin” Danish “The Ugly Duckling” “Thumbelina” French “Puss in Boots” “Sleeping Beauty” Norwegian “The Billy Goats Gruff” 4. Talk about what it means to present something. Ask each child to present his or herself to the class by telling the class about their favorite fairy tale or story. Each child should tell the title of the story and explain what they like about the story or book. 5. Many stories for children are based on old folk tales and teach a moral or lesson. In Pinocchio, the puppet lies to Geppetto. Talk about the difference between telling the truth and telling a lie. Is it ever okay to tell a lie? Why is it important to tell the truth? What did Pinocchio do to become a real boy? 6. Geppetto and Pinocchio are swallowed by the giant shark. Have the students draw a picture of what they think it would look like in a shark’s belly. AFTER THE PERFORMANCE Tell what you did or didn’t like about the play, the characters, costumes or set. Send letters to Olympia Junior Programs, PO. Box 1371, Olympia, WA 98507-1371 Information about this production and some activities/discussion were taken from the study guide from Storybook Theater. To download the Educator’s Guide for other ideas, go to http://storybooktheater.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Pinocchio_Guide_2013.pdf
