Chamber Theatre Productions ENCORE!! Teacher Guide Chamber Theatre utilizes a dramatic form that relies on the narrator’s point of view. One of the artistic features of CRT is that the narration can occur in inventive and creative ways. Sometimes the narrator becomes the principal character; sometimes the narration is shared between characters; sometimes the narrator leaves the action and becomes a non-participant. The “chamber” format poses other unique production challenges for theatre as well. It uses limited space for many settings, few actors for many roles, and challenges the audience to shift attitude from serious to frivolous.
Classroom Activities •
Group Reading Assignment: If the entire class cannot read all of the stories, you might break the class into groups and assign one story to each group. Ask students to provide details and insights into the work. You may choose to direct each group in a further study of history, biography of the author, literary genre, main ideas and themes, etc.
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Play Production: Have your students act out their own version of one of the stories. Designate or allow students to choose roles such as actors, playwrights, costume and set designers. You may split your class into groups so that all of the stories can be presented, or have the entire class work with their favorite story.
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Journal: Ask students to choose a character from one of the stories and ask them to write a “journal” entry as that character. Give them the choice of writing in the time before, during, or after the story takes place. Ask them to be clear about their choices, using words to describe the setting, actions, and feelings of the character.
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Theatre Review: Have your class write a review of the production. You may ask them to write individual or group reviews, use a specific ratings scale, or have a classroom discussion or panel. Ask them to review the plays in categories such as costumes, special effects, stage adaptation, characters, etc.
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“Page to Stage” Critique: Have your students think about the differences between reading the stories and seeing them onstage. What did they think worked well? Did they see any changes between the original text and what Chamber Theatre presented onstage? Did they think that these changes enhanced the experience? Are there challenges to adapting these stories, and how did Chamber Theatre address these issues?
Viewing Activities for All Short Stories •
How do the stage set and props establish the environment of each story including time, place and mood?
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Notice the various ways character and personality are established onstage, either through references by the narrator, actions that the character performs, body language or the way characters move onstage.
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How does the role of the narrator function in each story? Notice if he or she is a character in the story, a bystander, or a combination of the two.
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Look for ways the actors make the audience believe that settings have changed or that time has passed. What stage effects are used to make these changes believable for the audience?
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Are there instances where humor is found in the dialogue versus the action of the characters? How do the actors’ physical gestures embellish the humor?
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Several of these stories include a “twist ending.” What techniques are used by the authors and/or director to lead you down a different path so that the ending is a surprise?
The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe In this tale of obsession and guilt, the narrator addresses the reader directly, describing the obsession that drives him to murder a kindly old man in his care. Haunted by the old man’s “vulture eye,” the narrator plans with great care for the crime to go undetected. When the police arrive at his door and yet appear to have no suspicions, the narrator is convinced he has committed the perfect crime. However, he soon hears a rhythmic pulsing that becomes increasingly louder. Believing it to be the beating heart of the victim, he confesses the crime.
Post-Viewing Questions: 1) What does the story tell us about obsession, guilt and conscience? 2) What drives the narrator to commit his crime? 3) What is the overall mood of the story? 4) Based on the plot, are there any challenges to presenting this story onstage? What tools might be used to overcome these obstacles? 5) What props were used and did they help your understanding of the story? 6) How did the narrator speaking directly to the audience make you feel about the character? Did you respond differently than when you read the story? 7) Were there any special effects such as lighting and sound that you particularly noticed? How were they used to help you understand the story? 8) The narrator claims to be mad. Are you convinced of this statement or were there certain personality traits that contradict what the narrator claims?
Short Story Vocab: acute, foresight, sagacity, suppositions, cunningly, audacity, vehemently, derision, insult, hypocritical, profound, anxiety, wary, cautiously
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving This story takes place in New York’s Hudson River Valley, a colonial society flooded with superstitions and folk stories. Ichabod Crane, a stern school master as gangly as his name implies, is smitten by the flirtatious Katrina Van Tassel and dreams of the food and riches her father could bestow on him. While pursuing her affections, he is oblivious to how angry her real beau, the manly Brom Bones, has become. One dark night on the way home from the Harvest Party at the Van Tassel’s home, Ichabod is haunted by the image of the Headless Horseman at every turn. In dramatic form, Ichabod is chased by a cloaked, headless rider and disappears from the town.
Short Story Vocab: prudently, propensity, formidable, onerous, ingratiating, pedagogue, uncouth, perseverance, fervor, pensive, tranquility, specter, Post-Viewing Questions: 1) What sort of character is Ichabod Crane? How does his name aid in this description? 2) What happens to Ichabod at the end of the story? Do you think it is real or imaginary? Why? 3) Is there any action from the story that you hope to see onstage? Do you have any guesses as to how this will be staged, such as with props or movement? 4) How did the actors’ movement and language fit together to establish their personalities? 5) How did the company handle the challenge of showing the Headless Horeseman? Did it make you think the chase was real or imaginary? 6) Create your vision of Tarrytown a month later. What would it be like? Do you know enough about the characters to predict this?
The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs A mother, father, and their only son come into possession of a magical monkey’s paw which will grant them three wishes. Warned of the dark powers of the paw, yet intrigued, the father modestly wishes for a small sum of money. The following day, a man arrives to give them the grim news that their son has been mangled in the machinery at the factory. He is able to give them compensation for the death of their son which happens to be the exact amount they wished for. With two wishes left, the mother begs her husband to wish her son alive again, and waits by the door on a stormy night. Just as they hear someone approaching the door, the father realizes he wished for his boy to return as a monster and as his final wish, desires his son to be at peace.
The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant Set in the city of Paris during the 19th century, this story explores pride, greed, and misery. Matilda desperately yearns for a luxurious life filled with grand balls, jewels, and high society companions. When she and her husband are invited to a party given by the Minister of Education, Matilda borrows a diamond necklace from a rich childhood friend whose possessions she envies. On the way home from the party, the necklace is lost. Matilda and her husband use all of their savings and take out a substantial loan to purchase a duplicate to return to Mme. Forestier. After ten year of living in poverty to pay off their loans, Matilda meets Mme. Forestier on the street and recounts the reasons for her troubles. Mme. Forestier is stunned by her story, explaining that her necklace was made with false diamonds.
Short Story Vocab: desirous, visage, credulity, prosaic, avarious, bibulous, resignation, hospitable, fate, coincidence, talisman, eagerly Post-Viewing Questions: 1) Do you think what happened to the family was magical or just coincidence? Why? 2) If you had the monkey’s paw and were warned of its dark powers, would you wish or give it away? 3) How do you think the powers of the monkey’s paw will be shown onstage? 4) Compare/contrast this story to other stories that include the use of three wishes. 5) What special staging techniques created the dominant mood? 6) What did you think of the voiceover narration? How was it different from the narration in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? 7) How did the actors portray the final wish of the story? Do you think it was effective in telling the story? Why or why not?
Short Story Vocab: gallantries, inscrutable, petulantly, volition, ruinous, fickle, homage, catastrophe, remorse, pauper, envy, calamity, imitation Post-Viewing Questions: 1) What sort of things does Matilida want in life? Do you think these things are important? 2) How does the author describe the ball? How do you think it will be shown onstage? 3) Were you surprised by the ending? Why? 4) Was Mathilda’s fate justified? Why or why not? 5) How were the costumes and accessories used in the staging to help tell the story? 6) Did seeing the character of Matilda onstage change your opinion of her? Did you feel sorry for her? 7) How was the set used to show many different locales? Was it clear where the characters were? 8) How did the use of two narrators mirroring each other and changing roles help to emphasize the ironies of the tale?
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain
Short Story Vocab: yarn, garrulous, countenance, monotonous, exhorter, ornery, absurd, modest, myth, sincerity
In a frontier setting where boredom is fought with a good yarn around a campfire comes the story of Jim Smiley. This vivacious character would gamble on anything, including that his trained frog, Dan’l Webster is the best jumping frog in Calaveras County! Overly confident of his success, Smiley bets a stranger forty dollars that his frog will beat any other. The stranger accepts his challenge but having no frog, he asks Jim to find one for him . While Jim is away, the stranger takes the opportunity to pour lead pellets down Dan’l Wester’s throat. When the competition finally begins, Smiley’s frog cannot even get off the ground, and the stranger having outsmarted Jim happily collects his winnings.
Post-Viewing Questions: 1) Do you think the author intended for there to be a moral to his tale? If so, what would it be? 2) What is the mood of the story? 3) How has Twain used setting, character, events and language to create a humorous tale? How do these elements work together? 4) What was the mood onstage? How was it different from the other stories presented in the show? 5) How did the actors portray many different characters during the story? How did props and costumes help them achieve this? 6) Did the portrayal of the frogs onstage match how you pictured them when reading the story? 7) How is the character of Jim Smiley similar to other characters you’ve met in literature and film? Is he a stereotype?
Theatre/Literary Vocabulary Actor – An individual playing a character onstage Antagonist – Character working in opposition to the main character Backlight – To illuminate from behind, often used to create a special effect Blocking – Stage movement and positioning of the actors onstage Character – A role played by an actor Costume – Clothing worn by an actor onstage to create appearance of a particular character Critique – An artistic review Dialogue - Words spoken by the actors Diction - Clarity of the words spoken by the actors including style and quality Effects – Technical elements of a theatrical production, such as lighting and sound Foreshadowing - Hinting at the future events Gesture – Movement such as a shrug or wave that an actor uses as a means of expression Irony – When the outcome of a series of events differs from the expected result Metaphor - A figure of speech in which one word or idea is used in place of another to denote similarities Monologue – A speech made by one actor onstage Mood – The overall feeling of a play or story Plot – The main plan or story of a literary work Props – Any object handled by an actor onstage Protagonist – The main character of the story Reversal – A sudden change in action or outcome Role – A character written by the playwright Scrim – A special backdrop which can appear both opaque and transparent, depending upon how the light hits it Script – The dialogue and stage directions of a play Set – The environment of the play onstage including scenery and furniture Setting – Where the story takes place Stage – The part of a theatre space where the actors perform, often elevated from the audience Soliloquy – A narrative given by a character, usually reflective in nature when the character is alone onstage. Tension - The dramatic balance between opposing forces and elements Theme – The main subject or idea of a literary work Voiceover – A narrative heard from a sound effect rather than from the actors on stage Additional student worksheets and activities may be found at our website: www.chambertheatre.com.
