Study Guide

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE! + STUDY GUIDE +

Thank you for attending Schoolhouse Rock Live at OCTA! Whether you are a teacher using this guide to more fully take advantage of the educational opportunities this production inherently offers for younger students, or if you are a parent or grandparent exploring the topics in the show further with your children or grandchildren ... enjoy!

OLATHE CIVIC THEATRE ASSOCIATION

Olathe Civic Theatre Association (OCTA) is a nonprofit organization which has been producing theatre in Olathe since 1974. Performing in the historical Buddy Rogers Family Playhouse, a former Presbyterian Church built in 1870, OCTA produces five high-quality, engaging, and thought- provoking theatre productions a year.

SHOW Summary Schoolhouse Rock Live! follows Tom, a nerve-wracked school teacher who is nervous about his first day of teaching. He tries to relax by watching TV when various characters representing facets of his personality emerge from the set and show him how to win his students over with imagination and music, through such songs as Just A Bill, Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, and Conjunction Junction.

Cast / CHARACTERS Tom (Guy Gardner): A young teacher who has just received his degree. He has a good heart and is excited about the future, but still unsure and nervous. Joe (Delano Mendoza): Tom's cool side. Very slick and laid back, but also fun loving. Dina (Kristen Altoro): Tom's mature side. She is thoughtful, grounded, and the voice of reason. Dori (Jennifer Coville): Tom’s goofy side. Endearing, cute, and very playful. Shulie (Micayla Miller): Tom's sweet side. An earnest and sweet ingénue.

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SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE! BAND

Frank Annecchini, Bass

Nick Yoder, Guitar Blake Vignery, Drums

Kevin Hershberger, Keyboard

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE!

Production Team

Director: Shelly Stewart Banks Musical Director: Kevin Hershberger

Choreographer: Guy Gardner Stage Manager: Rita Marks

Lights/Video/Projections: J. Patrick Inlow Set design: Ken Schmidt

Set construction: Max DeShon Costumes: Kerry Schafer Props: Shelly

Stewart Banks/ Rita Marks

Teamwork Rocks!

History OF SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK

Inspiration: Schoolhouse Rock Live! is based on the original Schoolhouse Rock television series. This series was the brainchild of an advertising executive who noticed his son could remember all the words to popular songs on the radio, but could not remember the multiplication tables. He reasoned that if important educational information was coupled with exciting animation and catchy music, children would be able to learn and remember it. From this simple idea, Schoolhouse Rock was born and quickly adopted by ABC-TV, which broadcast the series on Saturday mornings from 1973 to 1985. It returned due to popular demand in 1992 as part of the ABC Bugs Bunny Hour, and many new songs were added to the repertoire. Stage Productions: On August 26, 1993, Theatrebam Chicago's musical hit, Schoolhouse Rock Live! opened at Chicago's Cabaret Voltaire. The show was originally conceived by writer/director Scott Ferguson. Schoolhouse Rock Live! played for eight months to sold-out houses in a record breaking run. Schoolhouse Rock Live! moved to The Body Politic Theatre in June of 1994 and continued to sell out for another seven months. Theatrebam Chicago teamed up with Move On Productions and took Schoolhouse Rock Live! to New York City in 1995. The show opened first at the Atlantic Theatre and then at the historic Lamb's Theatre for an Off-Broadway run of eleven months. It then moved triumphantly back to Chicago in 1996 and ran for a year at the Victory Gardens Theatre and The Theatre Building. Summary, characters, and history from Music Theatre International: http://www.mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000171 See the “Additional Facts” for show trivia and a video of show creator Bob Dorough singing I’m Just a Bill.

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2 Before THE Show 2

1. Familiarize yourself and your students with the following songs - all lyrics can be found at: http://www.schoolhouserock.tv/. Most videos can be found on YouTube ACT I • Verb: That’s What’s Happening (Grammar Rock - Verbs) • A Noun is a Person, Place, or Thing (Grammar Rock - Nouns) • Three is a Magic Number (Multiplication Rock) • Mother Necessity (America Rock - Inventions) • Sufferin’ Till Suffrage (America Rock – Women’s Rights) • Lolly, Lolly, Lolly (Grammar Rock - Adverbs) • Unpack your Adjectives (Grammar Rock – Adjectives) • Just a Bill (America Rock – Law Making Process) • The Preamble (America Rock – US Constitution) • Ready or Not, Here I Come (Multiplication Rock) • Do the Circulation (Science Rock – Circulatory System)

ACT 2 • Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla (Grammar Rock – Pronouns) • Figure Eight (Multiplication Rock) • Victim of Gravity (Science Rock – Universal Law of Gravity) • Zero, My Hero (Multiplication Rock) • Conjunction Junction (Grammar Rock - Conjunctions) • Great American Melting Pot (America Rock – American Immigration) • Elbow Room (America Rock – Westward Expansion) • Interplanet Janet (Science Rock – Solar System) • Interjections! (Grammar Rock - Interjections) • The Tale of Mr. Morton (Grammar Rock – Subject/Predicate)

2. Have your students research the origins of Schoolhouse Rock. Do they know Michael Eisner (from Disney) was involved with the creation of these videos? How many videos were produced in all? (65) What year did they start? (1972) What subjects do they cover? (Math, Grammar, Science, America, Computer, Money, Earth) What was the last year these videos were aired on ABC? (1999) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolhouse_Rock

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3. Review Theatre Etiquette. As members of the audience, you play an important part in the success of a theatrical performance. Attending a live theatre performance is different than watching television at home or a movie in a cinema. As it is a live performance, it cannot be stopped and restarted. We want you to laugh, cheer, clap and really enjoy your time at OCTA, but there are a few rules that need to be followed:

• Do not talk, whisper, sing or hum during the performance unless encouraged by the

actors on stage. • Keep feet on the floor, not on the seats. • Performers appreciate enthusiastic applause, but not whistling or shouting. • No photography or videotape recording of any kind. • Please turn off all cell phones. • If you enjoyed the show, please share with your friends and explain why!

4. Discuss the difference between seeing a play and a movie. A play happens in front of an audience. The actors need to recreate the same play over and over again giving the audience the illusion that it is the very first appearance. Since theatre happens live, each performance may be a little bit different than the next. When a production closes, the play is no more than a memory. In movies, a performance is captured on film, can be accessed any time and becomes part of history.

5. Review the job descriptions of the many talented people it took to produce this show. Live theatre is takes collaboration and teamwork!

• Director: Provides the vision of how a show should be presented, who works with

the actors on their roles, develops the blocking, and is in charge of the rehearsals.

• Musical Director: Works with the director, actors and musicians to get the desired musical effects for a show.

• Choreographer: Creates dances and arranges movements for a musical.

• Stage Manager: Runs the show from opening curtain to closing curtain and is in charge of everything on the stage and in the back of the stage.

• Lights/Video/Projections Designer: Designs the lighting, video and projections for a show and works with the director to get desired effects.

• Set Designer/Builder: Designs the sets for a show...in smaller theaters this person also builds the sets. For our show we had both a designer and builder.

• Costumer: In charge of designing, collecting, organizing the costumes for a show.

• Props Mistress/Master: Designs and/or collects all the props (or properties - objects used on stage or on screen by actors during a performance. A prop is anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct from the scenery and costumes) and who usually works with them during a show.

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+ After The SHOW ACTIVITIES +

SCIENCE ROCKS!

What Is a Planet Today? + In the song Interplanet Janet, they sing about our 9 planets. Don't forget to that we now only have 8 planets, due to Pluto's ‘demotion' to a dwarf planet in August, 2006. After the satellite fly-by this July, however, the debate has begun again. Review the new definition of a planet below, research the topic online (including the possible 10th planet Eris), and you decide – does Pluto deserve the title of planet?

An object must meet three criteria in order to be classified as a planet. First, it must orbit the Sun. Second, it must be big enough for gravity to squash it into a round ball. And third, it must have cleared other objects out of the way in its orbital neighborhood. To clear an orbit, a planet must be big enough to pull neighboring objects into the planet itself or sling-shot them around the planet and shoot them off into outer space. Pluto does not meet this third requirement. It is this third part of the definition that has sparked debate. – from http://missionscience.nasa.gov/nasascience/what_is_a_planet.html

Remember the Names of the Planets in Order!

+ Have students color the solar system, then teach them how to memorize their names in order with this easy trick – “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles” (see below). If Pluto regains full planet status, what word could be added to the sentence?

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

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Learn More about Our Circulatory System + In the song Do the Circulation, we learn how blood flows through our bodies from the heart. Have students color this drawing and look up any words they don’t know to learn more about our circulatory system.

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MULTIPLICATION ROCKS!

Three Times is a Charm + In Three is a Magic Number, we learn the three times table, as well as items that can only be found in threes. Ask your students: What comes in threes? If you had three of something, what would it be? Review the table below with your students or use flashcards.

Race to the Moon

+ In the song Ready or Not, Here I Come we learn about multiplying by 5. Play the game on the next page to see who can get to the Moon first using multiplication up to 5x5! You’ll need to gather 20 items such as buttons or dried beans for one player and coins or macaroni noodles for the other to place on the game board as counters.

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AMERICA ROCKS!

The Melting Pot + Discuss your students' heritage with them. What does their last name mean? Where did their ancestors come from?

+ Make a Melting Pot Recipe Book. Have students bring in a recipe that represents their heritage.

Mother Necessity

+ In the song Mother Necessity, we learn about famous inventions that made our lives easier and more comfortable. Have your students research an invention or inventor. There are many inventions that have made our lives easier. Have your students pick one (any one!) and create a short presentation for the class.

The Preamble to the Constitution

+ The Preamble informs us about the rationale or reasons for the United States Constitution. In order for your students to better understand the meaning of this important paragraph, first distribute copies to your class and have them read it. Next, either individually or in groups, have them paraphrase each phrase in their own words. Share completed works with the class. To learn more about the Constitution visit http://constitutioncenter.org/

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Unscramble the Preamble

Instructions: -Print page on 8 1/2 X 11 card stock -Use crayons or markers to color the puzzle pieces. -Cut out each puzzle piece -Scramble the pieces and learn the Preamble as you put it back together!

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Just a Bill + Discuss bills that have become laws and why they are important laws to have. If your students were president, what laws would they pass?

A great resource to find bills that have become public laws is www.congress.gov. The link below takes you to laws that have been passed by the current 114th Congress: https://www.congress.gov/public-laws/114th-congress

+ Review how a bill becomes law – have students look up any terms they don’t know:

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Grammar ROCKS!

A Visit to the Theatre

+ In the songs Verb: That’s What’s Happening, A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing, Unpack Your Adjectives, Interjections!, and Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, we learn about grammar. Together, you and your students can complete this story in the style of Mad Libs. First, ask your students for each of the parts of speech before they read it. Fill in the blanks as they give you the words. Then have a student read it aloud. Since the story will likely be very silly, have a discussion about their actual visit to the theatre, what they enjoyed, if they would go again, and why.

When I see a(n) ___________ at the theatre in ______________, it’s exciting when the lights ___________ [noun] [city] [verb]

and the show ______________. When the ___________________ are on stage and the ________________ [verb ending in "s"] [plural occupation - [adjective] firemen, teachers, dancers, etc.]

music starts, I feel ______________. The ________________________ are __________________ talented and [adjective-emotion] [reuse plural occupation] [adverb–how/how often]

are _______________ storytellers. I wonder how they _______________ all those words and songs. [adjective] [verb]

When a song is over, I ____________ to show that I enjoyed it, but I don’t shout __________ because [verb] [interjection]

we’re inside. When the show is over the ____________________ take a bow. Going to the theatre is [reuse plural occupation]

____________________ fun and I hope to go again someday. [adverb–how/how often]

In the Manner of the Word

+ To demonstrate how adverbs modify verbs, try out this fun activity. Have one student leave the class. Have the rest of the class pick a verb or activity (skipping, ballet dancing, playing air guitar, etc.) that the student who just left the class will act out (no words!) in front of the class when s/he returns. While they are discussing, the teacher and the student that left the class secretly decide on one adverb that dictates the manner in which s/he will act out the activity. Then the student returns, the class reveals the activity, the student performs the activity in the manner of the word until the class guesses the adverb. It is not necessary (and actually preferable for entertainment value) that the verbs “match.” For example, air guitar gracefully or skipping nervously.

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THEATRE ROCKS! Rock on!

+ Have your own Schoolhouse Rock! Assign students to write and perform (with props and rhythm instruments) their own songs about a subject matter that they're having difficulty memorizing. Monitor their song writing closely to be sure that the songs are accurate.

Discussion and Essay

+ After seeing Schoolhouse Rock Live!, discuss it with your students and have them write a short essay. What did they learn from the show? Were the songs accurate? Did they have any questions on the material covered on stage? What would they do to make the songs more memorable?

SOURCES AND THANKS + If not otherwise credited, sources and inspiration for this guide came from the following organizations and websites:

-Arveda Center for the Arts and Humanities: 2010 Study Guide written by Cayle Townsend -CAPA Columbus: Theatre Definitions -Childsplay Arizona: 2014 Study Guide for National Tour -Musical Theatre International: Schoolhouse Rock and Schoolhouse Rock Live! History -Readbag.com: Uncredited/Undated Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Study Guide All photos by Shelly Stewarts Banks and Rita Marks

Contact Us!

+ Feedback about this guide (please mention that it is “version 2”) or questions about our theatre can be sent to talk_to_us@olathetheatre.org or visit our website at www.olathetheatre.org.

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