EDUCATION PACK - ATG Creative...

EEDDUUCCAATTIIOONN PPAACCKK1981 - 2013

www.catsthemusical.com

www.catsthemusical.com

CATS is a unique and inspirational musical; a blend ofAndrew Lloyd Webber’s music, T S Eliot’s poems andthe creative talents of Trevor Nunn, Gillian Lynne andJohn Napier. CATS first appeared on the London stagein 1981 and went on to become the longest runningmusical both in the West End and on Broadway.

The cats gather together for the Jellicle Ball, and oneby one tell their stories for the entertainment of OldDeuteronomy. Despite interruption from Macavity, themystery cat, the cats end their celebration with thejourney of one of their number to the Heavyside Layer.

The magic of CATS makes it an ideal inspiration forclassroom activity. This pack offers a range ofactivities to introduce your pupils to the story andcharacters of CATS before seeing the show, plus in-depth background information, follow up activity ideasand useful resources. The Pack is generally aimed atpupils from Key Stage Two and Three, but can beadapted for any age or ability. The Pack is fullyphotocopiable for classroom use.

The CATS Education Resource Pack was written by Su Newell, Head of Education & Outreach at theLiverpool Empire Theatre. With thanks to Keith Kenny,Tony Pinhorn, Sally Bayes and the cast and companyof CATS.

Contents

Introduction to CATS 02

Synopsis 03

Introduction Activities 05

Background to CATS

n TS Eliot – his life and writings 08n Context 09n The Creative Team 09n The Design 11n Creating a Cat 12n CATS Facts 14n Reviews of CATS 14

Follow up Activities 16

Resources 20

Appendix 21

WELCOME

1

Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats – on which themusical CATS is based – was written by T S Eliotduring the 1930’s and first published in 1939 by Faberand Faber. Although Eliot generally intended his catpoems to be for children, they were also appealing andamusing to adults.

With a little adaptation Andrew Lloyd Webber usedEliot’s poems as lyrics and set them to music to createthe musical CATS. The inclusion of elements ofRhapsody on a Windy Night and some of Eliot’sunpublished writings enabled the character ofGrizabella the glamour cat to be used and so astoryline emerged that formed a shape for the poemsand a basis for a musical.

A set was designed by John Napier – to cat scale –creating a place where the cats could congregate forthe Jellicle Ball and dance pieces were choreographedby Gillian Lynne to enable the performers to move andexpress themselves as cats.

CATS first opened in May 1981 at the New LondonTheatre and went on to become a huge successthroughout the world, influencing not only futuremusical theatre but also the development of futureperformers and creators of musicals.

Over sixty years after Eliot wrote his poems and twentyyears after CATS first appeared as a musical the storyand characters still hold immense appeal for audiencesof any age or background. CATS takes you into aworld of fascinating creatures, with stories to tell andjourneys to take, expressed through music, song anddance.

INTRODUCTION TO CATS

2www.catsthemusical.com

Midnight. Not a sound from the pavement. Suddenlyan explosion of music and lights reveals a larger-than-life junkyard. Probing car lights tear across thedarkened landscape of bottles and boxes, brieflycatching the darting image of a running cat. Tonight isthe one special night each year when the tribe ofJellicle Cats reunites to celebrate who they are.

They emerge singing of their unique abilities andspecial traits. The cats are at first suspicious andreluctant to allow the audience into their domain. Theyare proud, however, and in The Naming of Cats explainto their human visitors who they are and reveal thatcats have three different names: the one the familyuses daily, a more dignified name and, finally, a secretname. It is the contemplation of these secret namesthat keeps cats deep in thought.

Victoria, a young white cat, dances to signal TheInvitation to the Jellicle Ball. Munkustrap, a large greytabby, explains that the Jellicle Cats meet once a yearto rejoice! They are waiting for their leader, the wiseOld Deuteronomy, who will choose which one of theJellicle Cats will journey to the Heavyside Layer to be‘reborn’ into a new life!

Jennyanydots, The Old Gumbie Cat, sleeps andlounges all day long. ‘She sits and sits and sits andsits, and that’s what makes a Gumbie Cat!’The Rum Tum Tugger is a contrary character that thefemale cats find extremely attractive, and who enjoysbeing the centre of attention.Grizabella, the glamour cat, is shunned by the rest ofthe tribe despite being a Jellicle Cat. She left the tribeyears ago to explore the outside world and now wantsto return.Bustopher Jones is a large ‘twenty-five pounder’,always clad in his signature white spats. He spendshis time eating and eating in one of the many Englishpubs and clubs that he frequents.

Suddenly a thunderous crash, followed by the sound ofpolice sirens and flashing red lights signals that thevillainous cat Macavity is on the loose! The catsscatter, leaving an empty stage.

Two off-stage giggles signal the entrance ofMungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, a fun loving, frolickingteam of pranksters who are always getting in troublewith the family with whom they live.

The entire tribe re-enters as their benevolent and wise

old leader Old Deuteronomy arrives. The cats adoreand respect him. ‘And now that the Jellicle leader ishere, Jellicle Cats can all rejoice!’

They entertain him with a special show thatMunkustrap narrates, The Awefull Battle of the Pekesand the Pollicles together with The Marching Song ofthe Pollicle Dogs. The cats dress up as the two rivaldog factions who bark ceaselessly at each other untilthey are frightened away by the great Rumpus Cat, asleek and powerful feline.

Yet another crash from the villainous Macavity is heard,which sends the cats scurrying. Old Deuteronomysoothes them as they come back one by one. It is timefor The Jellicle Ball, the great annual dance in which allof the cats celebrate.

Grizabella appears once more, wanting to rejoin herfamily and be a part of the celebration. She is left tocontemplate her Memory of the time before she left thetribe. She stretches out her hand behind her, hopinganother cat will touch her. She is still not accepted and,disappointed, slinks off into the night.

Interval

After the Jellicle Ball, the cats rest and contemplateThe Moments of Happiness before introducing morecats. Gus the Theatre Cat is an aged stage actor whoworked with the greatest actors of his day. Gus tells ofhis greatest theatrical triumphs, and yearns to performagain.

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat introduces himself. Afriendly uncle to all of the cats, Skimbleshanks attendsthe trains he rides, and makes sure every detail isperfect.

A third crash interrupts the celebration, and this timethe villainous Macavity appears. Two of his henchmeninvade the proceedings and kidnap Old Deuteronomy.Demeter and Bombalurina sing of what they know ofMacavity, whose evil deeds have resulted in his beingdubbed ‘the Napoleon of crime’.

Macavity returns, disguised as Old Deuteronomy, buthe is exposed and battles with Munkustrap and theother male cats. Tired and almost defeated, Macavityrigs an electrical explosion that puts out all the lights,leaving the Jellicles in the dark.

SYNOPSIS


But they still have to find Old Deuteronomy. The RumTum Tugger calls in Mr Mistoffelees, the conjuring cat,to use his magical powers to bring back their leader.Mistoffelees succeeds in reinstating the lights, locatingOld Deuteronomy and showing off his magic tricks,including his infamous conjuring turn.

At last the time has come for Old Deuteronomy tomake the Jellicle Choice and decide which cat will bereborn into a new Jellicle life. At that moment,

Grizabella reappears. Again she recalls her Memory ofhow things used to be. This time the cats accept herback into the tribe and it is she who is chosen toJourney to the Heavyside Layer and be reborn.

The Jellicle Ball has come to a conclusion, but first OldDeuteronomy instructs the human spectators in TheAddressing of Cats. For all of their unique qualities anddifferences, he says, ‘cats are very much like you’.


Before taking your class to see CATS there are anumber of Introduction Activities you can work throughto introduce them to the story and characters, givethem an understanding of Eliot’s poems and also toallow them to discuss their ideas and expectationsabout the musical.

It is suggested that you select from the activities belowthose most suitable to the age and ability of yourpupils. If you are working to a limited timescale thenthe activity introducing and exploring the story is mostimportant – some of the other activities can be returnedto after you have seen the show.

If possible you should try and see the show beforeembarking on these activities with your class (or atleast watch the video or listen to some of the music onCD), so you have a clear idea of the story and contentof the show and are able to tackle some of thequestions your pupils may ask. This pack will alsoprovide you with some of the answers.

Below is a list of suggested resources you may finduseful when undertaking the Introduction Activities.

Suggested ResourcesOld Possum’s Book of Practical Cats

CD recording of CATSPoster and/or leaflet for CATS

Video or DVD of CATS(Full details of these resources can be found on page 27)

Introduction Activities

1. Introducing the story and characters and CATS2. Exploring Eliot’s poems3. Creating a CATS environment4. Discussing CATS in the theatre

1. Introducing the story andcharacters and CATS

Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats does not tell asingle story, but the stories of many of the Jellicle Cats– each poem standing alone as an individual story.When creating the musical Andrew Lloyd Webber andTrevor Nunn felt it needed a narrative thrust, a way oflinking the poems together so that the audience couldfully engage with the characters and understand theenvironment they live in. A combination of the idea ofthe Jellicle Ball and the story of Grizabella (from anunpublished poem) and a fragment of an idea fromEliot about the Heavyside Layer came together to formthe narrative thread Andrew Lloyd Webber and TrevorNunn were looking for – that the cats gather togetheronce a year for the Jellicle Ball, a chance to sharestories and entertain one another, with the addedinducement that one fortunate cat will be chosen totravel on to the Heavyside Layer. The audience havebeen ‘allowed’ in to witness this magical and secretceremony in order that they will come to more fullyunderstand the nature of cats.

It is a good idea to introduce your pupils to this beforethey see the show, to enable them to recogniseelements of the story – and certain characters – sothey can more fully enjoy and appreciate theperformance, and also take more away from theexperience that they can develop through the FollowUp Activities.

To introduce the story discuss with your pupils any catsthey own as pets – what are their names, whatpersonalities do they have, what do they imagine theyget up to when they are out of sight? Introduce thecharacter of Munkustrap to the class (see the CATSCharacter guide in the Appendix) and tell the story ofthe musical as if it were told by him (see Appendix foran example). Once the story is told have a discussion,raising any issues your pupils may not haveunderstood, explaining Eliot’s vivid imagination and,also, the historical context (Eliot was writing in the1930’s).Keep a copy of Munkustrap’s story on display in theclassroom, at this point you may wish to ask your classto choose a character (see the CATS Character guidein the Appendix) and either write a short descriptivepiece, illustrate their chosen character or write a shortstory about them before you do any in-depth work onthe poems themselves.

INTRODUCTION ACTIVITIES


Read and display your class’ work and tell the story ofthe musical again at least once before your trip to thetheatre to see the show.

2. Exploring Eliot’s poems

It is important to introduce your pupils to some of Eliot’spoems before seeing CATS as it will give them anopportunity to explore the stories, language, rhythmsand structure of the poems leading to a familiarity withthe songs and characters when they see the show.Four poems have been selected, with linked activitiesfor each one, but you can choose which poems youfeel most suitable for your pupils to study and adapt theactivities accordingly. Each activity begins with readingthe poem and discussing the content, any languageyour pupils are not familiar with (Eliot often made up hisown words to use in his poems!) and the charactersdescribed.

n The Naming of CatsRead the poem aloud and discuss any unfamiliarlanguage.The poem explains each cat has three names – theone used by their human owner, one of their ownchoosing and one secret name that no one everknows.Discuss with the class why names are so important, isthere anyone who would change their name – to whatand why? – do they think it is a good idea to have threenames, especially if they can choose one of themthemselves?Ask them to work in pairs and choose one of the catnames from the poem, for example Alonzo, and write ashort description together of the cat’s appearance andcharacter suggested by the name.Read some of the descriptions aloud and display themall with the poem.

n The Old Gumbie CatRead the poem aloud and discuss any unfamiliarlanguage.Ask your class to describe the two different sides toJennyanydot’s character – by day and by night.Working in groups of five or six ask your class toimprovise scenes depicting Jennyanydot’s night timeactivities with the mice and cockroaches, or any othercreatures they think she might discipline, like spiders orwoodlice. They should think about Jennyanydot’scharacter and how she gets the mice and cockroaches

to behave. After a short time share and discuss theimprovisations – how do the depictions ofJennyanydots differ? Read the poem again and decidewhich is the most accurate.

n Macavity: the mystery catRead the poem aloud and discuss any unfamiliarlanguage.As a class make a spider diagram of words andphrases on the board or a large sheet of paper thatdescribe Macavity. What do your pupils think aboutMacavity – is he an exciting character or do theydisapprove of him?Make a second spider diagram of words and phrasesto describe the character of a detective cat who couldtrack Macavity down and capture him. Think of a namefor the detective cat.Using the spider diagram for ideas ask your class toeach write a short story about the detective cat whohunts for Macavity. Use information from the poemabout Macavity’s crimes, and explain how, eventually,Macavity is caught.Read some of the completed stories aloud and displaythem all with the poem.

n Gus: the theatre catRead the poem aloud and discuss any unfamiliarlanguage.Discuss the types of roles Gus has played in thetheatre, the performances he has seen or been in –and others he may have, such as Puss in Boots – withyour class, remembering that Gus is a cat fromVictorian times. Talk about the differences in theatre ahundred years ago, for example in the sets andlighting.Gus’ favourite character that he ever played – and hisgreatest triumph – was Fiorefrorefiddle, the Fiend ofthe Fell. Ask your class to imagine who or what thatcharacter was and do an illustration of Gus asFirefrorefiddle to accompany the poem.Display the illustrations with the poem.


3. Creating a CATS environment

To encourage your class to think about cats and theirmany different ways and habits, create a CATSEnvironment in your classroom.Collect together pictures of and books about cats tostart a display and ask your pupils to bring in photos oftheir own cats and any newspaper or magazine storiesor articles they may find.There are many other cats in fiction (such as SixDinner Sid, Orlando the Marmalade Cat, Gobbolino theWitches Cat, etc). Your pupils may enjoy searching thelibrary for other stories and poems about cats, whichcan be added to the display and may be useful for yourfollow up work.Any work that your pupils produce whilst you areworking on CATS (especially from the previous activity)can also be added to the display. You can obtainposters and leaflets for the show from your theatre toput on your display.

4. Discussing CATS in the theatre

Before you see the show you may wish to discuss thevisit to the theatre with your class.Discuss - What they expect to see.

How they think the performers may be dressed or made-up.What they think they might hear.

You can look at posters and leaflets advertising theshow and listen to one or two of the songs on the CD(perhaps choosing the ones from Activity 2: ExploringEliot’s Poems). Is the music the same or different fromwhat they expected?Ask your pupils to write down their thoughts andfeelings about CATS before they see the show, eitheras a collection of words, a letter to a friend or even apoem! You can then return to these after your trip tothe theatre and discuss how their expectations wereright or wrong.


TS Eliot – his life and writings

Thomas Stearns Eliot is widely regarded as one of ourgreatest writers, whilst mostly noted for his poetry, healso wrote verse plays and a range of literary andsocial criticism. He received many honours anddistinctions for his writing, including the Nobel Prize forLiterature and a posthumous Tony Award for CATS(1983).

Eliot had a lifelong affection for cats, often sendingletters and poems about his own cat to his godson,Tom Faber and making up unusual or outlandishnames for cats for friends – and complete strangers!Practical Cats was originally going to include poemsabout consequential dogs as well and ‘Mr Eliot’s Bookof Pollicle Dogs and Jellicle Cats’ was advertised inFaber & Faber’s 1936 Spring catalogue. Eliot felt,however, that it would be “impolite to wrap cats up withdogs” and the book became only about cats. Thereason the book was eventually titled Old Possum’sBook of Practical Cats, is that Possum was Eliot’s aliasamongst his friends.

Most of the poems were written between 1936 and1938. Many of the cats were modelled on other literaryfigures (Macavity is styled on Moriarty, the infamousvillain who challenged Sherlock Holmes andSkimbleshanks on a work by Rudyard Kipling – TheLong Trail) and some poems Eliot wrote with music inmind (The Marching Song of the Pollicle Dogs waswritten to the tune of ‘The Elliots of Minto’). Grizabella,the glamour cat remained incomplete and unpublishedas Eliot felt it was becoming too sad for his intendedyouthful audience.

Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats was firstpublished in October 1939, with illustrations by Eliothimself on the cover, at 3 shillings and sixpence a copy.Today they are recognised as classics, and have beentranslated into many other languages. Macavity, themystery cat was selected as number 66 in a BBC pollof the Nation’s favourite poem in 1995, and thepopularity of the musical CATS has sustained theworldwide interest in the original poems.

On the right is a timeline of T S Eliot’s life, featuring keyevents and his most important writings.

Timeline1888 T S Eliot born in Saint Louis, Missouri, US

1906-1909 Undergraduate at Harvard University

1909-1910 Post-graduate studies at Harvard. Early writing, including the beginning of Prufrock

1910-1911 Studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and in Germany. Completed Prufrock

1911-1914 Returned to study at Harvard

1914-1915 Further study in Germany interrupted by the First World War. Continued studying at Merton College, Oxford. Prufrock (verse) published in Chicago

1915 Married to Vivien Haugh-Wood

1915-1920 Settled in England and taught in two schools before working for Lloyds Bank and as a magazine assistant editor. Eliot continued to write whilst working for the bank. In 1917 The Love Song of Alfred J Prufrock (verse) was published in London.

1921-1922 Worked as a correspondent for ‘The Dial’. Founded ‘The Criterion’, which he edited until 1939

1922 The Wasteland (verse) published, his most famous work.

1927 Confirmed in the Church of England and became anaturalised British Citizen

1930 Ash Wednesday (verse) published

1932 Selected Essays (literary criticism) published

1935 Verse play Murder in the Cathedral commissioned for the Canterbury Festival

1939 The Family Reunion (play), Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (verse) and The Idea of a Christian Society (social criticism) published

1943 The Four Quartets (verse), generally regarded as his masterpiece, first published as a single work

1947 Death of Vivien, Eliot’s wife after a long illness

1948 Received the Order of Merit – bestowed by King George VI. Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature

1957 Married Valerie Fletcher

1958 The Elder Statesman (play) published

1965 January – Eliot died in London. There is a memorial to him in Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey.

BACKGROUND TO CATS


In order to help understand some of the complexitiesthat surround the musical CATS it is useful to explorethe context and timescale of the journey from T SEliot’s poetry to the London stage.

T S Eliot was born in America in 1888 but became aBritish citizen in 1927 after twelve years of living in theUnited Kingdom. His writing would have beeninfluenced by the different cultures he grew up with, thelong years he spent studying at different universitiesand the political and social changes he experienced,including the First World War.

Eliot wrote Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats duringthe late 1930’s and it was published in October 1939,just after the outbreak of the Second World War.

Eliot was writing of cats during a time when cats wereowned to be useful – to keep down mice – as much aspets. A time when a different class system existed andwhen the pace of life was very different to the early21st Century. His cat poems were mainly set inLondon, but one that we would not recognise, aLondon of theatre, gentlemen’s clubs and publichouses, telling of a bygone age with nostalgia andfondness. Gus the theatre cat mentions Henry Irving,a great actor in the Victorian era, Skimbleshankstravels on steam trains and Mungojerrie andRumpelteaser live in a house with a cook and otherservants to attend to their owners.

Andrew Lloyd Webber was born in 1948 and enjoyedreading Eliot’s cat poems as a child. He began writingCATS in the late 1970’s, after the success of Josephand the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus ChristSuperstar and Evita, on which he collaborated with TimRice. CATS opened in 1981, forty-two years after thepoems were published and was a close collaborationwith Trevor Nunn and Gillian Lynne, who hadpreviously worked together at the Royal ShakespeareCompany. All these different people, with their differentbackgrounds in the arts and various ideas had aninfluence when creating the show.

The current tour of CATS (2003/4) brings both thepoetry and the musical to new audiences, over half acentury since the poems were written and twenty-twoyears since the musical was first produced. Onceagain the attitudes and viewpoints of audiences haschanged and it is the nature of the enduring quality andcharm of both the poems and the musical that they stillremain so popular today.

CATS was the idea of Andrew Lloyd Webber, whocomposed the music to T S Eliot’s poems. Once he hadbegun to create the show Andrew Lloyd Webbergathered a number of other people together to work onCATS, including Trevor Nunn and Gillian Lynne.

Andrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd Webber has writtensome of the world’s best-knownmusicals in the world, includingJesus Christ Superstar, Evita andSunset Boulevard. He has alsocomposed film scores and a settingfor a Latin Requiem Mass. He haswon numerous awards for his work– from Tonys, Grammys andLaurence Olivier Awards to an Oscar and a GoldenGlobe. In 1982 he became the first person to havethree musicals running simultaneously in the West Endand on Broadway. In 1992 he was knighted and in1996 received the Richard Rodgers Award forExcellence in Musical Theatre. In 1997 he waselevated to the peerage as Lord Lloyd Webber ofSydmonton.

Late in 1977 Andrew Lloyd Webber began setting thepoems from T S Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of PracticalCats to music. He knew the poems well from hischildhood and wanted to attempt writing music to lyricsalready set, rather than the other way around, whichwas his normal practise. Initially the idea was as muchfor his own interest as for public performance, althoughhe did feel that it may form the basis for a concertpiece. In 1980 some of the songs he had set to musicwere performed at his annual Sydmonton Festival.They were seen by Valerie Eliot, T S Eliot’s widow, whogenerously gave access to many of his unpublishedwritings and enabled the creation of CATS to move onto a different level.

Creating a musical is a collaborative process andAndrew Lloyd Webber knew he had to have the rightteam working with him to make CATS work. He initiallyapproached producer Cameron Mackintosh with theidea that CATS could form a double bill with Variationsbut it was soon decided that it should form a completemusical on its own. It was vital to find the right directorand choreographer to work with Andrew Lloyd Webberand Trevor Nunn was approached as director, followedby choreographer Gillian Lynne who had collaboratedwith Trevor Nunn (at the RSC) and CameronMackintosh before.

CONTEXT


THE CREATIVE TEAM

Trevor NunnTrevor Nunn was Artistic Director of the RSC foreighteen years and his work there included a greatnumber of Shakespeare plays, alongside RestorationComedy and new writing. With his colleague JohnCaird, he co-directed Nicholas Nickleby and LesMiserables. He has also directed Starlight Express,Aspects of Love and Sunset Boulevard for AndrewLloyd Webber and a number of operas forGlyndebourne and the Royal Opera house. He spentseveral years as Director of the Royal NationalTheatre, has directed many television productions andthree films.

Trevor Nunn was intrigued by the premise of CATS butfelt that some sort of narrative was vital to making thepiece work. When Valerie Eliot sent the fragment ofEliot’s poem Grizabella, the glamour cat to AndrewLloyd Webber, Trevor Nunn felt it was the key to thewhole piece and could be used to form a story that theother poems and dance would fit in to. He workedalongside Andrew Lloyd Webber creating the musicaland even contributed lyrics – in the structure of thesong ‘Memory’. CATS was difficult to cast. At thebeginning there was no script and few of the catcharacters had names. Trevor Nunn knew Judi Denchfrom his work with the RSC and she expressed aninterest – asking if there was a sleepy old cat that shecould play. She was cast as the Old Gumbie Cat, andalso as Grizabella, and gradually the rest of the castcame together, including Paul Nicholas as the RumTum Tugger. Initially rehearsals were spent working onthe dancing and also improvisation and characterdevelopment. Several days into rehearsals, after alunch time spent in the pub, Trevor Nunn was able tocome up with sixteen cat names (all from the poems)and allocate them to the different performers based onthe improvisation work they had done, and so enableeach cat to have a character and begin to tell theirindividual story.

Gillian LynneGillian Lynne has been involved in over fifty West Endand Broadway shows as either director orchoreographer, as well as working extensively in filmand television. She was instrumental in thedevelopment of Jazz Dance in Great Britain and isrecognised world-wide for her groundbreakingchoreographic style.

Gillian Lynne was asked to go and see Andrew LloydWebber regarding a new project based on Old

Possum’s book of Practical Cats. She had never readthe poems, so quickly bought a copy to read on thetrain on her way to the meeting. He played her someof the music he had composed and she was instantlyvery excited by it and became involved in the creativeprocess. She worked with a small team (danceassistant, dance captain and one boy and one girldancer) and put together ideas for movement andchoreography for three quarters of the show, whichwas then presented to Andrew Lloyd Webber andTrevor Nunn. She observed her own cats indeveloping the dances, often creating completely newsteps and movements and helped Andrew LloydWebber develop some of the music, especially for theJellicle Ball, as he had never written music purely fordance before. Once rehearsals began, she workedwith the cast, alongside Trevor Nunn developing thepiece and making sure all the dancers were of thesame standard, fit and flexible enough to cope with ashow that demanded two and a half hours ofexhausting dancing. There were only five weeksavailable for rehearsal and when they began therewere still some songs incomplete and constantchanges to the music. Many characters weredeveloped through the way that they moved, withconstant reference back to the poems.

As rehearsals progressed the show began to cometogether more. It was a challenging time for everyone– a show like this had never been seen before andthere was great scepticism about whether it would work– even to the extent that the New London Theatre,chosen as the venue, had to be persuaded not to pullout at the last moment. Then disaster struck when JudiDench snapped her Achilles tendon during rehearsalsand had to go into hospital. An anxious wait to see ifshe would recover in time ensued, but when shereturned to rehearsals she fell off the stage and injuredherself again and it was obvious she would have to bereplaced. Elaine Paige, who had starred in Evita,agreed to save the day and, with minimal rehearsal,was ready for the first preview, even though the songshe has become famous for – ‘Memory’ – wasn’t.The show continued to be changed and developedthroughout the previews but was receiving a favourableresponse from the audiences. On opening night CATSwas well received by the critics and soon queuesbegan to form at the box office. Broadway producersexpressed an interest and CATS went on to become aworld-wide phenomena, changing opinions and ideasabout musical theatre along the way.


Once the New London Theatre, previously used as atelevision studio, had been chosen as the venue forCATS London opening, a designer had to be found totransform it into a unique setting for CATS.

John NapierJohn Napier has designed Starlight Express, LesMiserables, Miss Saigon, Sunset Boulevard and therecent revival of Jesus Christ Superstar. He hascreated numerous other designs for theatre and theSteven Spielberg movie Hook.

John Napier came on board due to his long workingrelationship with Trevor Nunn. He found the concept ofthe musical a strange idea and had the uniquechallenge of designing a show with no script to workfrom. Trevor Nunn wanted him to create an‘environment’ for the cats to exist in, and he wasinspired by seeing a derelict site, with a fallen billboardand scrapped cars, which formed a wasteland thatcould be a playground for cats. He was also aware heneeded to produce designs featuring a flat open spacefor dancing and lots of different levels and placeswhere the cats could hide away or appear from. Hedecided to scale everything up, so that the humanperformers would appear as cat sized, and have itemsaround on the rubbish dump that could be used asprops or costumes for performing the different poems.The New London Theatre itself influenced the design,the stage is virtually in the round, there is noproscenium arch and the stage has a revolve, so all ofthis was incorporated in to the design, so the wholetheatre became part of the cats environment not justthe stage.

The theatre and the design itself threw new challengesat Gillian Lynne as there were no wings or sides of thestage where the dancers could easily go on or off andregroup for different numbers. This was especiallydifficult in the Jellicle Ball, which is nearly fifteenminutes long. The choreography had to be tailored towork within the design, so one group of cats woulddance to take the focus of the audience off anothergroup of cats while they rested or regrouped onanother part of the stage.

John Napier became very involved in the collaborativeprocess of the show alongside everyone else. Many ofthe costume designs were influenced by watchingrehearsals, the dancers in their motley collections ofdance wear, leg warmers and gloves, the way certaincharacters moved – for example Bustopher Jones’

walk influenced the design of his coat – and alsoelements of the cats names suggested the colours andtextures of their costumes. Every cat had to have a wigas well as a costume and make-up was used to unifythe two and support the personality and character ofthe cat. John Napier’s involvement extended to doingeverything, especially in the final run up to the firstpreview – cutting wigs, spraying costumes anddemonstrating to the performers how to apply theirmake-up, often working all night to get everything right.

John Napier’s designs have had to be adapted anddeveloped for different theatres around the world,especially when the show goes on tour and must travelfrom theatre to theatre in six forty-foot trucks. CATShas now appeared in all types of theatre, includingproscenium arch and thrust stage and each time thesame magical environment is created, enabling themusical to come alive.

THE DESIGN


How Jemima came to be…

Creating a cat is a long process involving an individual,dedicated performer and a great many other peoplebesides.

The process begins with auditions. Sally was lucky –hers were all on one day – some cast members had upto three separate auditions. Sally was called by heragent and asked to go along to a dance audition. Thenext day she auditioned alongside about fifteen otherdancers. They were taught the opening of a dancenumber from the show by Chrissie Cartwright (whowould be recreating the show for the tour). Theydanced a number of times all together and then inpairs. Chrissie gave them notes on their performanceand then they tried again. Next they had to summonup the energy to sing. Sally had prepared a song in thestyle of the musical and was then asked to sings bitsfrom the classic ‘Memory’. She was asked to go backthat afternoon and sing again forthe Musical Director and otherpeople. They obviously liked her,as the very next day she wasoffered the role of ‘Jemima’.

The next stage is rehearsals.Only four weeks to memorise allthe songs and dance routinesand have everything ready foropening night. Rehearsals werelead by Chrissie and the musicaldirector, with the support of theresident director and dancecaptain, and began in London. On the first dayeveryone was introduced by name and what their roleon the production would be. Chrissie then told thestory of the show and talked through exactly how theshow would work in minute detail. The next step wasfor all the performers to learn the vocals – the lyrics,music and harmnies of the songs – this comes first asmany of the dance routines are based on the contentof the songs. Once the vocals are learnt then comesthe choreography. Also by the end of the first weekthey had to learn the Jellicle Ball – a gruelling fifteen-minute long piece of dance that appears before the endof act one. Week two involves continuing to learndances and also blocking the show (setting thepositions of the cast on stahe at each point throughoutthe show), to make sure everyone understands thesequence of events. At the end of week two there is a

run-through of act one and act two is run by the end ofweek three. In week four rehearsals moved toPlymouth, where the tour would begin. The rehearsalspace at Plymouth is the same size as the stage, sothat rehearsals can take place in as ‘real’ anenvironment as possible. This last week is spentworking on run-throughs and going over and over anyparts of the show that aren’t working. Time must alsobe found for costume and wig fittings and for theperformers to be instructed how to apply their make-up.

The rehearsal period is very intensive, with lots of newthings to learn and absorb. A number of the cast havebeen in CATS before, but it was a totally newexperience for Sally. Particular attention was paid togetting into behaving and thinking like a cat, often awhole morning or afternoon of rehearsal would bededicated to this. They would begin by lying on thefloor with their eyes closed whilst Chrissie talked tothem about the different sensations of being a cat, for

instance how it feels to have furall over your body. They wouldthen begin to physicalise this,thinking about movement, thechanges in posture and bodyshape and the differentviewpoint and perspective a cathas. This was developed byusing improvisation, looking athow cats respond to oneanother when they meet, withChrissie providing differentscenarios for them to work to.Sally feels mentally being a cat

has become second nature – she finds herself doingeveryday tasks like cooking and cleaning in her catcharacter ‘Jemima’. The addition of costume andmake-up also help and the fact that she is surroundedby other people pretending to be cats every night.

Rehearsals also involve preparing the understudies(each main character has two understudies and thereare four ‘swings’ who have to cover the parts of thosewho understudy main roles) so that by the time theyreach the second venue of the tour they can have a fullrun-through for all the first cover understudies.Understudies and swings must always be ready to goon at a moment’s notice, so regular rehearsals keepthem fully prepared at all times. Once the tour hasbegun the resident director and dance captain willregularly watch performances to make sure the show is

CREATING A CAT


Sally BayesSally is from Melbourne, Australia.She made her professional debutin Scrooge and has sinceappeared in Mame, Fame – theMusical and Mamma Mia inAustralia. She has also appearedin Neighbours on TV. CATS isher British stage debut.

running smoothly and everybody is performing theirroles correctly. Occasionally they may call a clean-uprehearsal to work on sections of the show that aren’tlooking right.

When the rehearsal period is over, creating a catbecomes the full responsibility of each individual. Theymust remember everything they have been taught andperform to a high standard eight times a week, usuallyfor three or four weeks in each different theatre. Sallyarrives at the theatre about three hours before theshow begins. Her first task is to apply her make-up, acoloured base with detail painted on, following thediagram of the make-up specially designed for hercharacter. Her eyes are accentuated and cat featuresadded and her ears and neck must be made up toblend in the gaps between wig and costume. One anda quarter hours before the show begins everyonecomes to the stage for the warm-up, some alreadyhave their costumes or wigs on but most are casuallydressed in comfortable dance gear. Technical checksare going on around them as the warm-up commenceswith the vocal warm-up led by the musical director. Hewill demonstrate what he wants them to do, using akeyboard to give them a note – usually they hum, la-laor yah-hah up and down scales to relax and warm theirvoices. After about fifteen minutes the physical warm-up begins, led by the dance captain. He will lead thecast through a series of exercises to stretch and flextheir muscles, preparing them for two and half hours ofenergetic dancing. As the sound of the orchestrawarming-up begins to interrupt the music for thephysical warm-up most of the performers return to theirdressing rooms to continue getting ready.

The technical team have made all their checks,including all the cast’s microphones, which aredelivered to their dressing rooms, water and ice packsare on standby and the dressers have prepared thecostumes for quick changes – enabling cats totransform into cockroaches or dogs and back again inthe blink of an eye. In the dressing room Sally adds thefinal details to her make-up – a good fixing of powderand a final coat of mascara. She then slips into hercostume – a lycra cat suit, dyed and painted in‘Jemima’s’ colours, with gloves and legwarners to addtexture, matching jazz shoes and a tail that slipsthrough a loop on the back of the cat suit and tiesaround her waist. The battery pack of her microphoneis concealed in her costume and the wire runs acrossher head, with the microphone on her forehead. Shefixes her hair with pins and a stocking cap before going

off to the wig room to have her wig fitted. The wigs arecared for and fitted by members of the wig department.Each one is individually made from yak hair, strongenough to withstand the dyeing and backcombingneeded to make Sally look more like ‘Jemima’. Thewig is pinned on and fine netting around the face isglued into position, Sally then blends her makeup overthe net, so there are no gaps.

Suddenly the five minute call goes out – beginners tothe stage. The ‘cats’ collect in the wings, stretchingtheir bodies to keep supple and singing snatches oftheir songs to make sure their voices are warm. In thebackground is the sound of the audience chatting, finaladjustments are made to costume and make-up, thelights go down and the overture begins. All the longhours of preparation are over and now ‘Jemima’ goeson stage and sings, dances and entertains. Soon it’sall over and the curtain falls. The ‘cats’ and crew gohome, ready to begin the process all over again thevery next day.

13www.catstour.co.uk

Since 1981The London Box Office used 1,179,800 envelopes,772,200 paper cups and 31,875 headache tablets!

The crew replaced over 6,124 seats, added 96,525new screws, used over 36,625 posters and 356 gallonsof varnish to cover the floor, replaced the wood for thestar trap 6 times a week and used 3 litres of cleaner aweek (2,316 litres).

The sound department used 30 new microphones ayear (450 in total), 50 new aerials a year (750 in total)and 50 batteries a week (39,000 in total).

Stage Management used 1,000 plastic cups a month,2,000 elastic bands a year, 50 painkillers a week and449,280 throat lozenges in total. They used a pint ofmilk a day (not for the cats) and over 200 loo rolls aweek – for everything but the loo!

The wardrobe department replaced 5 pairs of shoes aweek (3,900 pairs), sewed on six knee patches pernight. In total they sewed 3,450 costumes for 262different performers, using 11,954 lbs of wool and2,825 miles of cotton.

The stage electronics department changed 23,166bulbs in the London auditorium (there are 1,166 bulbsin total, 30 are changed per week and each has beenchanged roughly 12 times) and used 22,405 feet ofcabling.

The make-up department used 10,800 sponges and 72batches of each eyeshadow, pencil, blusher, lipstickand mascara per year. Cast members get through abox of tissues each every week.

‘Memory’ was aired on radio and television in theUnited Kingdom 46,875 times and over a million timesin the USA (if you listened to the song non-stop 1million times it would take five years!). There havebeen over 100 different versions and recordings of thesong.

The current tour of CATS will visit over thirty theatresaround the United Kingdom, entertaining audiences ofover one million people. The show requires six forty-foot trucks to move it from theatre to theatre,transporting the sets, musical instruments, and soundsystem, together with hundreds of costumes and wigsand over one hundred lamps for the lighting rig. A teamof at least twenty people will work around the clock toconstruct the set at each theatre.

CATS FACTS


REVIEWS OF CATS

CCAA TTSS IISS SS UURREE TTOO SSEE TT YYOOUU PP UURRRRIINN GGThese are surprisingly sociable cats, since they areattending the annual Jellicle Ball, at which one ofthem will ascend into the Heavyside Layer and beawarded a further set of nine lives.And apart from the cats’ individual and independentstories, that’s basically all the plot there is in thisfeline fantasy.T S Eliot’s poems might seem an unlikely subject fora musical, but they guarantee intelligent, witty lyrics.

As a spectacular dance show it’s critic-proof.

The auditorium is festooned with coloured lights, andthe set is an immensely imaginative rubbish dump, theitems larger than life-size to be in scale with the posseof personal pussies – even the boot hurled to curtailthe caterwauling. And the high voltage choreography,with its leaps, spins, taps, rolls, crawls, struts andtumbles, is not overburdened with the sinuousmovements of real cats.All the moggies grab their moment of glory –Grizabella the nicely raddled glamour puss, acrobaticclowns and cat burglars Mungojerrie andRumpelteazer, the never satisfied Rum Tum Tugger,the elegant cat about town Bustopher Jones, themysterious Mr Mistoffeles, the even more mysteriousMacavity, Skimbleshanks the railway train guardian,the quietly ga-ga theatre cat Gus, patriarchal OldDeuteronomy, the Gumbie Cat who sits all day andonly becomes active at night, and battered Growltigermaking his last stand. Favourites all.It’s a triumph of presentation and theatrical panachemasking a lack of substance, and the second half isbetter than the first, but patrons left the theatre feelinglike the cat that got the cream.

Bill StonePlymouth Evening Herald

LLOONN GG--RRUUNNNN EERR IISS JJ UUSSTT PPUURR RRFFEE CCTT !!Feline fanatics rejoice! Cats is back, after an absenceof several years, with over £1m in box officebookings and several shows already sold out.If you’ve ever read Old Possum’s Book of PracticalCats by T S Eliot to your kids, you may havewondered, as I did, how on earth anyone could makea musical out of so slight a piece of writing.Hats off then to both it’s composer Sir Andrew LloydWebber and director Trevor Nunn, who did just thatand created the most successful and longest-runningmusical in the world.Natalie AngelseyManchester Evening News

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And this is certainly a show not to be missed.How they do it, I have no idea – just the thought ofall the warm-ups the cast must subject themselves tobefore the show is enough to make your eyes water.Maybe it’s got something to do with yoga.But once they hit the stage they are the sinuous,graceful, and highly flexible embodiment of catsmade human. Moving in perfect unison, they leaparound the set with enough agility and enthusiasm tokeep a real-life moggy on its toes.Prowling around the audience right from the openingnumber, the ‘cats’ dominate the theatre throughoutthe show. That gives you the chance to see close upthe amount of work that goes into giving each actortheir own unique cat personality.Helen Tither Manchester Metro News


PPUURRRRFFEECC TT SS HHOOWWMemory, the show-stopping highlight of Cats,performed by former glamour cat, Grizabella, isprobably my all-time musical favourite and ChrissieHammond touches the necessary nerve in herrendition of this incomparable song.Pathos apart, I spent most of the performance with asmile on my face, not unlike the cat that got thecream, in appreciation of the exuberance, vitality –and ultimately the uniqueness – of this wonderfulshow.Diane LeachRochdale Observer

‘‘ CC AATTSS ’’ RREE VVIIEE WWNone of that matters; what does matter about thisproduction of Cats is the talent of those in the cast,and the design and direction: all are first class.The real strokes of genius about the show were thedecision to turn the poems of T S Eliot into a musicalin the first place – and then to make it work so wellthat it’s packed in the punters ever since.Pam Guyatt, Plymouth Extra

CCAA TTSS PPRROOVVEE SS TTOO BBEE AA PP UURRRRFF EECC TT NN IIGGHHTT OOUUTT

Totally and outrageously camp and OTT, butfantastic, Cats is a magical night out, a theatricaltreat that has justifiably just about sold out for itsthree week run in Plymouth.The whole production is of the highest calibre andno single feline can be singled out for extra petting.The orchestra, although hidden throughout the show,were a driving force with their big arrangements, andwere still playing as the audience left the theatre.Elaine McFadyenBBC Online

JJ UUSSTT PP UURRRRFF EECC TT FFOORR 2211SS TTAANNNNIIVV EERRSSAARRYY

But the success of the show, which in this latestincarnation opened in Plymouth at the start of a two-and-a-half-year tour, is down to more thanglitteringly impressive special effects, which includea stairway to the stars.There’s the fantastic feline costumes and make-uptoo but, more than that, the performance of themembers of the cast and musicians.They are just the cat’s whiskers when it comes toperfecting the movements, moods and mannerismsof cats through song, dance and music.Sue WhiteHerald Express

These activities are intended to develop your pupils’ideas and knowledge about CATS after you have seenthe show. They are divided into subject areas –

EnglishDramaDance

Art / Designplus ideas for a project inspired by poetry.

English Poetry writingPoetry writing can be tackled in many different waysdepending on the age of your pupils, their previousexperience of poetry writing or a particular poet or styleof poetry you may be studying. The activity belowoutlines creating a class or group poem and can usewhatever poetry style you choose.With your class (or set this as a group task) make aspider diagram of words describing cat behaviour, cats’appearances and the way cats move. Use the wordsas inspiration and ask your class to write three or fourlines of poetry in pairs in your chosen style. You canallow as much time for this as you like, developing theuse of language and redrafting as you wish. Onceeveryone is happy with their lines of poetry, ask themto select their favourite line. Write each favourite linedown on the board or a large sheet of paper. Once allthe lines are written down, work with your class to editone collective poem that everyone has created anddisplay it in the classroom.

Writing reviewsRefer back to the activity in Introduction Activities(page 5) that explored your pupils’ expectations ofCATS. Discuss the thoughts and ideas they recordedin preparation for writing a review; you may also wishto read them the extracts from newspaper reviewsabove (page 14). Writing a review of the performancewill give your pupils a permanent record of what theysaw and how they responded to it. It will also enablethem to begin to judge and assess differentproductions and use this to inform their ownperformance skills. Whilst at the theatre they shouldbegin to complete the review worksheet (seeAppendix), finishing it as soon after the performance aspossible. It is also useful for them to do a quick spiderdiagram of words and phrases to represent theiremotional response to the performance. They shouldwrite a more formal review, including a brief outline ofthe story and a description of how well performed andpresented they thought the show was a few days later,once they have had time to reflect.

Writing a character studyUsing Eliot’s poems as a starting point, this activitylooks at writing a character study.Choose one or two of Eliot’s poems (for example RumTum Tugger or Bustopher Jones). Begin by discussingwith your class what you are looking for in a characterstudy – what the character looks like, their personality,lifestyle and surroundings. Read the poems together,making sure everyone understands any unfamiliarvocabulary. Then ask your class to plan their characterstudy, reading and re-reading the poem and makingnotes. They should look for specific descriptions in thepoems but also less obvious clues to character thepoems may give away. Once they have completedtheir notes your pupils should write up the studies.Read some of the studies aloud and discuss anysimilarities and differences.If you wish the character studies could then be used asa basis for writing a monologue, as if the character isdescribing themselves and their life. The monologuescan then be performed.

Writing storiesEliot’s poems tell stories about lots of different cats andcan be used as inspiration for story writing. Begin byreading Macavity, the mystery cat to your class.Discuss some of the things Macavity gets up to, both inthe poem and during the musical, and write variousideas up on the board. The aim of the activity is tocreate a new story about Macavity and a crime he hascommitted. Give your pupils an opening or closing linefor their stories (see examples below) – depending onhow much you want to challenge them. Ask them toplan their stories, planning a clear beginning, middleand end and following their plan whilst they write.Once the stories are written read them aloud or displaythem in the classroom.

Opening line –“Macavity dodged behind the dustbins, quietly tuckinghis tail around his feet, out of sight of the…”

Closing line –“Despite everything the Inspector had done, he had noproof and Macavity was released from Scotland Yard.”

FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES


Drama Always begin a drama session with warm-up exercisesand games.

Poems as inspirationEliot’s poems can be used as inspiration forimprovisation in many ways; for example n Use the opening line of a poem as the opening lineof an improvised scene.n Improvise other events in the lives of the catcharacters in the poems.n Choose a cat character from the musical (one whodoesn’t have a poem) and improvise a story for them.n Collect words and phrases from the poems that willchallenge and inspire your class and use them as abasis for improvisation.All of these ideas can be used simply in a one offdrama session as a follow up to seeing a performanceof CATS or as a beginning to developing ideas forscript writing or devising a performance.

Perform a poemAs proved in the musical Eliot’s poems make an idealbasis for drama and can be performed in many ways.Select which poem you wish to work with and divideyour class into groups. Read the poem with your classand discuss the story of the poem. Allocate a part ofthe story to each group and ask them to think of a wayto perform it; they could use a narrator and mime, writea short script and act it out or use movement andsound to tell the story. Once all the groups have had ashort time to practise they should all perform for eachother. Discuss the different performance styles andinterpretations of the poems and decide the best wayof developing it into a performance that tells the wholeof the poem and uses as many of the pupils aspossible. You may wish to add to the performance bycreating masks or other simple costumes todemonstrate the characters. Once you haverehearsed your performance, find an audience toperform it for. Discuss the creative process with yourclass and compare it with what they have learnt abouthow CATS was created.

Character developmentChoose one of Eliot’s poems to use as a basis forcharacter development work. Ask your class to work inpairs and use the poem to gain as much informationabout the cat as possible (you may wish to link this tothe Writing a character study activity above). Theyshould then begin to improvise and develop different

scenes from the cat’s life to give a clearer picture ofhow their character was formed. They should alsoexplore the movement and physicality of the character,especially considering how to portray themselves as acat, maybe using some of the ideas Chrissie Cartwrightused in rehersals. Keep stopping the work and sharingdifferent pairs ideas to enable everyone to discussdifferent ideas and develop their own work.

Hot-seat GrizabellaAs a follow up to the above activity it is interesting toparticularly explore the character of Grizabella. Eliotnever completed his poem about her, but it can befound in CATS, the Book of the Musical (seeResources for further details). The character and storyof Grizabella were used by Andrew Lloyd Webber andTrevor Nunn as a basis for the narrative of CATS, soher character is very important. By taking on thecharacter of Grizabella yourself (or choosing one ofyour pupils to do it) you can set up a situation whereGrizabella can be questioned by the other cats abouther life, her experiences outside of the Jellicle tribe andwhy she now wishes to come back. You may also wishto explore what she expects to find when she travels tothe Heavyside Layer. You may find it interesting todiscuss the role of Grizabella within the musical, howshe is performed and costumed and how the other catsreact to her.

Dance - warm-upsIt is important to begin every practical dance sessionwith a warm-up. It is a useful activity for your pupils tocreate a warm-up in pairs; they can then be used at thebeginning of each sessionAsk your pupils to put together a 15-minute dancewarm-up. They should work in pairs and create anumber of structured exercises that include: generalstretching, exercises to focus on specific areas, (forexample abdominals, legs, arms), combinationexercises for strength and grace. They should selectdifferent pieces of music for their warm-up, choosingstyles and tempos to suit the exercises they havechosen. Once the warm-ups have been put togetherthe pairs should take it in turns to lead the rest of theclass in their warm-up at the beginning of eachsession. This will also help them learn the language ofthe exercises and movements they have used and howto communicate their ideas to others.


Cat movementThis activity aims to explore the different ways a catmoves and how this can be used as inspiration formovement and dance work.Begin by discussing with your class (and using picturesif you have them) the range of movements associatedwith cats, for example – cats sleeping, cats washing,angry cats, affectionate cats, cats playing.Ask your class to sit in pairs and explore some of theideas, using their heads, arms and upper bodies tobegin with. Discuss some of the difficulties in makinga human body move like a cat’s. It might help to putsome suitable music on in the background to makeyour pupils more relaxed. Ask some of the pairs toshare their ideas with the rest of the class.The next stage is to ask the pairs to use all of theirbodies to explore cat movements. It might be easier ifyou give them a starting point, for example – a catwaking up – and ask them to especially consider theway the movements flow into each other. When theyhave had plenty of time to develop their ideas, shareand discuss them with the whole class.

Cat choreographyThis activity explores how CATS the musical, picturesof cats, cat poetry or ideas from the activity above canbe used to create a complete dance.To begin you must decide what your initial stimulus orinspiration will be (this will depend on the age of yourpupils and their experience of creating dance). Youshould also choose a piece of music at this stage,either one of the instrumental pieces from CATS oranother piece that fits with the ideas you wish todevelop.Set up a discussion with your class to talk about thedance piece. Present them with your ideas and listen tothe music. Collect together their ideas and talk aboutthe ways they think a dance piece could be created.Your class should then be divided into groups of four orfive and asked to create a motif (a series of movementsthat are a starting point for movement development).The group should discuss ideas based on words andmoods associated with the stimulus or inspiration andwhat it means to them, what their emotional responseis. They should then move on to decision making -consideringnn ContentWhat is the movement about? How have theyinterpreted the stimulus?nnMovementHow have their ideas led to the qualities and dynamicsof the movement?

With whom – how will the group work? As pairs,individuals or as an ensemble?

They will need time to rehearse (keep playing themusic in the background) and try out their movementideas. Their motif should be complete, so that it beginsand ends with the same pose or frozen image – movingaway from it and back to it again. Once the groups areconfident in performing their motifs, share them withthe whole class.You then need to decide on a structure and order ofevents for your dance piece. You may wish everyoneto dance one motif together to begin the dance(unison) or for one motif to recur through the dance(repetition) or for some of the motifs (or movementswithin them) to be performed by a single group ,mirrored and followed by other groups (canon). Spendplenty of time structuring your dance, consideringentrances and exits and how the piece will start andfinish. Once the structure of the dance is complete andyou have rehearsed it, perform it for an audience. Youmay also wish to discuss with your class how you couldnotate the dance so others could learn it, and possibleideas for costume for performance.

AArrtt // DDeessiiggnnIllustrate a poemAs a follow up to seeing CATS ask your class toillustrate their favourite poem, either using theirimagination from the poem alone or drawing on ideaspresented by seeing the show. If you wish they couldplan their illustrations or experiment with differentmedia (such as collage, pastels or paint) beforeattempting their final piece of work. Their illustrationsshould convey a sense of the poem and the story it istelling as well as an image of the central character.Once the illustrations are complete, display them in theclassroom.

DesignThere are a number of different design tasks you couldset for your pupils, exploring set, costume, make-up orposter design.Discuss the set design after you have seen the musicaland read the section of the Pack that explores howJohn Napier arrived at his design. He describes it asan ‘environment’ for the cats to exist within and it formsa backdrop to the show as well as providing props tohelp tell the various stories. Imagine you are going tocreate a whole show based around one of Eliot’spoems and ask your pupils to design a set that would


work as an ‘environment’ for that particular cat, as wellas providing items that could be used to tell the story.Once the set designs have been completed then beginto look at costume and make-up design. The costumesin CATS were very important, not only in suggestingthe characters but also in reflecting the way that theymove, so helping the performers. The make-up wasthe final element that transformed the humanperformers into cats and it dramatically alters theirlooks and makes them more believable for theaudience. Divide your class into pairs and ask them towork together, so one designs the costume and onethe make-up for different characters. (It may help toprovide them with a basic outline of a face or body forthem to design on.)The last element is to design posters to advertise yourimaginary show. Look at the posters used to promoteCATS and discuss what information and what designelements they contain. Ask your class to design theirown posters, paying particular attention to a stronggraphic image that conveys a message about thecontent of your show.

This Project aims to use a number of differentelements in order to create a piece of performanceinspired by poetry. You can divide the project up intodifferent sections, depending on how much time youhave available and on whom you wish to perform thefinal piece for.

The first step is to select a poem, for example for KeyStage Three pupils – Preludes by T S Eliot, or for KeyStage Two pupils – Cats by Phoebe Hesketh. (Thereare other suggestions in Resources.)

Section OneUse some of the ideas from the Introduction Activitiesor the English and Drama activities above tointroduce the poem to your class and give them agood understanding of its content and meaning.Once your pupils are familiar with the poem, decidehow you wish to construct your performance. Spendtime writing and using improvisation and dance ormovement to develop character and a narrative. Putyour pupils into groups to develop their ideas andregularly share and discuss their ideas to help theircreativity and self assessment.

Section TwoWhilst you are developing the structure of yourperformance you may also wish to add someelements of design to give your performance aprofessional look. Pick ideas from the activitiesabove to help your pupils develop designs forcostume, make-up and sets. Discuss the time andmoney you have available for such elements andmake a class decision about what costumes and setsyou will actually create. You may wish to give a smallgroup of students the responsibility for developing theideas and creating the actual costumes and sets.

Section ThreeWhen you have all the elements of your performancein place then spend time rehearsing it so everyone isfamiliar with their role. Organise a date for theperformance and create posters and programmes.The performance could be part of assembly or an endof term show. Once you have performed take thetime to discuss with your pupils the process ofcreating the performance and anything they feel theywould change or develop.

Project


CATS ResourcesHighlights from CATS – CD Really Useful RecordsCATS – video / DVD Really Useful Films (Polygram Video)CATS – the Book of the Musical Harvest BooksT S Eliot Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats Faber & FaberProgramme and Brochure – available from theatre

Websiteswww.catstour.co.ukwww.reallyuseful.comFor T S Eliot sites use your search engine

BooksThe Nation’s Favourite Poems BBC Books(Includes T S Eliot’s Preludes and The Love Song of Alfred J Prufrock)

Other Cat Poems…

Cat Alan BrownjohnI had a Little Cat Charles CausleyExplorer Alan BrownjohnWhy Peter DixonCats Phoebe HeskethFish John CunliffeThe Owl and the Pussy Cat Edward LearThe Duel Eugene FieldJubilate Agno Christopher SmartThe White Cat of Trenarren A L RowseWind Cat Robert WestallCats Eleanor FarjeonThe Kitten at Play William WordsworthMagic Cat Peter Dixon

All from Read Me – A Poem a Day Macmillan Children’s Books

RESOURCES


I’m Munkustrap, a tabby cat, a member of the JellicleTribe. It’s all quiet and dark now but soon all the othercats will begin to arrive. Tonight is the one special nighteach year when the tribe of Jellicle Cats reunite tocelebrate who we are. We sing about our uniqueabilities and special traits.

You are very lucky to be allowed to witness this specialoccasion, we don’t let just anyone in. Did you knowthat all cats have three differentnames, here are some of them now:Demeter, Bill Bailey, Tantomile andVictoria. Those are their everydaynames, given to them by humans butcats choose their own – moredignified names – and also a secretname, that we like to sit andcontemplate. Victoria is a youngwhite cat (she’s very pretty) and shedances to signal the invitation to theJellicle Ball. We are waiting for ourleader, Old Deuteronomy, who willchoose which of us will journey to theHeavyside Layer to be ‘reborn’ into anew life.

Let me introduce you to some moreof the Jellicle Cats. Here isJennyanydots, the Old Gumbie Cat.She sleeps and lounges all day longbut at night it is a different matter asshe keeps the mice and cockroaches in order. TheRum Tum Tugger is a different cat altogether. He is avery contrary beast, who can never make up his mindbut he’s very, very popular with the female cats – I cantell you. I’m not sure why …

Another cat appears. Who’s that? Oh it’s Grizabella.We used to call her the glamour cat but you wouldn’tthink it to look at her now. She left our tribe years agoto explore the outside world. Now she thinks she cancome back and join us again but she’s not welcomeand I’ll see that the other cats don’t accept her either.There, she’s gone now, and here comes BustopherJones. He’s a very large cat (he likes his food) but healways looks smart in his white spats and has theimpeccable manners of a true gentleman. What’s that?Did you hear that terrible noise? Crashing and bangingand police sirens? I bet it’s that Macavity on the loose;he’s always up to no good. Where has everybodygone? Oh, I can hear laughing. It must be Mungojerrieand Rumpelteazer, they’re a right pair, always getting

into trouble with the family with whom they live. Theymay be cheeky, but they’re all right really!

Here’s everybody back now – they’re such a bunch ofscaredy cats! At last Old Deuteronomy has arrived,he’s our leader, a very wise old cat but we love andrespect him. We’re going to perform a special show toentertain him – The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and thePollicles together with The Marching Song of the

Pollicle Dogs. You wait until yousee all the cats dressed up as dogs,barking away at each other. And asfor the Great Rumpus Cat – well! Ihope they all remember what theyare supposed to do.

Yikes – it’s that Macavity again. OldDeuteronomy soon calmseverybody down, so we all dancetogether at the Jellicle Ball. There’sthat Grizabella back – she’scertainly got some memories ofpast times but she’ll go off into thenight soon. She’s not welcomehere.

After the Jellicle Ball we rest andcontemplate the moments ofhappiness. Then Gus appears.He’s old now but in his day he wasa marvellous stage actor, who

appeared in many a performance and had manytheatrical triumphs. Skimbleshanks is next; he’s arailway cat, a friendly uncle to all of us cats andcarefully looks after the trains he rides.

Look out – here’s Macavity. Two of his henchmen havegot Old Deuteronomy – they’ve kidnapped him!Demeter and Bombalurina have many tall tales ofMacavity and his criminal activities. Oh, wait, itsalright, Old Deuteronomy is back. Thank goodness.Hang on a moment – no – it’s Macavity in disguise.He’s asked for it now, come on boys, we’ll get him.Phew, that was a bit of a fight. Macavity cheatedthough, he caused an explosion and put out all thelights. The Rum Tum Tugger has called MrMistoffelees, he’ll soon put us back to rights. He’s aconjuring cat and can do all kinds of magic tricks –including making Old Deuteronomy re-appear.

Now it’s finally time for Old Deuteronomy to make hischoice about who will be ‘reborn’ into a new Jellicle life.

MUNKUSTRAP’S STORY


Grizabella has come back; some of the kittens thinkshe deserves another chance. Maybe, yes, maybenow it’s time to welcome her back into the tribe. OldDeuteronomy chooses her and she travels beyond usto the Heavyside Layer.

So, that’s this year’s Jellicle Ball over already – anotherwhole year before we all come together and celebrateagain. Before we go Old Deuteronomy just wants totell you about the addressing of cats – because really,you know, for all our unique qualities and differences,we cats are very much like you.


Munkustrap - a large, grey tabby, Munkustrap is aguide and protector of the other cats and acts as akind of narrator, helping to tell the story.

Victoria - a young white cat, Victoria is very curiousabout Grizabella.

Old Deuteronomy - a very old, very wise cat, theleader of the Jellicles, respected and loved by all thecats, he will decide who journeys up to the HeavysideLayer.

Jennyanydots - the Old Gumbie cat, also a tabby butmore brown and gold in colour. By day she sits andsleeps but by night she organises the mice and thecockroaches.

Rum Tum Tugger - a sleek and playful cat who likesa joke, is difficult to satisfy and is adored by thefemale cats.

Grizabella - the glamour cat, no longer glamourousnow she is old, her coat is worn and tatty. She isrejected by the other cats for seeking a life outside;but now she longs to return.

Bustopher Jones - a very large black cat with whitefeet who like nothing more than to eat and be seen inall the best places.

Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer - naughty, cockneytwins, always up to mischief and all sorts of tricks.They look so alike their family never knows who toblame.

Gus - the theatre cat, real name Asparagus. He isold, thin and shabby with shaky paws but has manywonderful tales to tell of his life in the theatre.

Growltiger and Griddlebone - Growltiger has aneyepatch and a missing ear and is a bit the worse forwear after his many battles, whilst Griddlebone is awhite Persian cat.

Skimbleshanks - the railway cat. A ginger cat withwhite legs and chest and bright green eyes. Heworks on the railway making sure all is in order on themail trains that travel at night.

Macavity - the mystery cat. A scruffy ginger cat, withcrumpled whiskers and dusty fur. He is a wickedcriminal who always gets away with it because he isnever caught at the scene of the crime.

Quaxo - or Mr Mistoffelees. A small black cat whoseems to be quiet and shy but actually has amazingmagical powers.

There are many other Jellicle cats who appear onstage (often as mice, dogs or cockroaches) to helptell the stories of the different characters. Here aretheir names –

AdmetusAlonzoBill BaileyBombalurinaCarbuckettyCassandraCoricopatDemeterElectraEtceteraGeorgeJellylorumJemimaTantomileVictor

CATS CHARACTER GUIDE


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