Grades PreK-2

Passport TO CULTURE

Teacher’s Resource Guide

just imagine

Butterfly:The Story of a Life Cycle

Hudson Vagabond Puppets

S C H O O L T I M E P E R F O R M A N C E S E R I E S • S C H O O L Y E A R 2 0 0 9 - 2 0 1 0

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Generous support for Schooltime provided,

in part, by

just imagine

2 Passport to Culture • Butterfly: The Story of a Life Cycle

Arts Education and You The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Arts Education Department presents the 13th season of the Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series.

With Passport to Culture, Verizon and NJPAC open up a world of culture to you and your students, offering the best in live performance from a wide diversity of traditions and disciplines. At NJPAC’s state-of-the-art facility in Newark, with support from Verizon, the SchoolTime Performance Series enriches the lives of New Jersey’s students and teachers by inviting them to see, feel, and hear the joy of artistic expression. The exciting roster of productions features outstanding New Jersey companies as well as performers of national and international renown. Meet-the-artist sessions and NJPAC tours are available to expand the arts adventure.

The Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series is one of many current arts education offerings at NJPAC. Others include: • Professional Development Workshops that support the use of the arts to enhance classroom curriculum • Arts Academy school residency programs in dance, theater and literature, and Early Learning Through the Arts—the NJ Wolf Trap Program • After-school residencies with United Way agencies

In association with statewide arts organizations, educational institutions, and generous funders, the Arts Education Department sponsors the following arts training programs: • Wachovia Jazz for Teens • The All-State Concerts • The Star-Ledger Scholarship for the Performing Arts • The Jeffery Carollo Music Scholarship • Summer Youth Performance Workshop • Young Artist Institute • NJPAC/New Jersey Youth Theater Summer Musical Program

Students have the opportunity to audition for admission to NJPAC’s arts training programs during NJPAC’s annual Young Artist Talent Search. Detailed information on these programs is available online at njpac.org. Click on Education. The Teacher’s Resource Guide and additional activities and resources for each production in the Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Series are also online. Click on Education, then on Performances. Scroll down to “Download Teacher Guide in Adobe Acrobat PDF format” and select desired guide.

Permission is granted to copy this Teacher’s Resource Guide for classes attending the 2009-2010 Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series. All other rights reserved.

To Teachers and Parents The resource guide accompanying each performance is designed • to maximize students’ enjoyment and appreciation of the performing arts; • to extend the impact of the performance by providing discussion ideas, activities, and further reading that promote learning across the curriculum; • to promote arts literacy by expanding students’ knowledge of music, dance, and theater; • to illustrate that the arts are a legacy reflecting the traditional values, customs, beliefs, expressions, and reflections of a culture; • to use the arts to teach about the cultures of other people and to celebrate students’ own heritage through self-expression; • to reinforce the New Jersey Department of Education’s Core Curriculum Content Standards in the arts.

CONTENTSOn Stage 3

In the Spotlight 4

Theater Talk 5

Metamorphin’ and Transformin’ through Puppetry

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Before and After Activities 7

Teaching Science Through Theater

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Delving Deeper 8

FoundationKid Power!Through energy efficiency and conservation, kids can help preserve our planet’s rich natural resources and promote a healthy environment.

Tip of the DayThe number of butterflies in the United States and around the world is declining. This is due in part to global warming which boosts temperatures to a point where the climate is not suitable for some species. You can help reverse this negative phenomenon by using energy-efficient lights. Changing just one 75-watt bulb to a compact fluorescent light cuts roughly 1,300 pounds of global warming pollution.

Made possible through the generosity of the PSEG Foundation.

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Hudson Vagabond Puppets celebrates the magical lifecycle of the Monarch butterfly in this NJPAC performance. The puppeteers bring to life the microscopic world of insects through a variety of puppetry styles. Larger-than-life characters such as Ella, the nurturing ladybug, a tap-dancing robin and a “hep-cat” spider named Webster, gently guide Mari, an adorable caterpillar, as she completes her Monarch’s journey and captures the heart of the audience along the way. Award-winning composer John Glaudini and songwriter Bernie Garza provide the original musical score.

A short, swinging overture introduces the audience to the microscopic insect world as seen through colorful scenery reminiscent of a field of purple milkweed. A majestic Monarch rod puppet operated by two puppeteers floats onto the stage, flutters to an oversized leaf and lays a single egg. Thus begins the lifecycle of Mari (hand puppet), a fragile Monarch larva that will soon hatch.

Ella (hand puppet), a loving, motherly ladybug serves as a narrator. She welcomes Mari and is determined to guide her through the many changes soon to come. Under Ella’s careful tutelage, a hungry robin (body puppet) and a gruff, but concerned earthworm named Hughie Gooey III (hand puppet), Mari quickly learns about her symbiotic relationship to milkweed. As Mari munch, munch, munches her way through the larva stage to a hip, jazzy song titled “Ya Gotta Eat,” she encounters Webster (helmet and hand puppet), a hip, web-building spider that decides it is better to sing and scat with Mari than to have her for lunch. A praying mantis named Edna (body puppet) provides gentle words of encouragement that empower Mari to trust her feelings. “If that voice deep inside says turn upside down, then turn upside down,” she instructs Mari. Edna then watches as Mari successfully creates the familiar “J” shape all caterpillars make when they are ready to molt into their chrysalis. With Mari’s

metamorphosis nearly complete, Ella summons all the bugs to celebrate.

A sweeping clarinet glissando signals the beginning of the magical transformation as Mari slowly breaks free from the chrysalis and learns to spread her beautiful orange and black Monarch wings and fly. A gentle musical score, colorful scrolling shadow scenery and a determined Mari in shadow puppet form document the 1,500 mile journey to the Monarch migration grounds of Mexico. The audience witnesses the final appearance of Mari as she returns to the stage in rod puppet form and begins the miracle of life all over again.

Passport to Culture • Butterfly: The Story of a Life Cycle

On Stage

Mari the caterpillar

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4 Passport to Culture • Butterfly: The Story of a Life Cycleer Robinson Dance

Hudson Vagabond Puppets (HVP), founded in Blauvelt, New York in 1980, is a non-profit performing arts company. It is nationally known for its narrated ballets and larger-than-life puppetry performances that enrich school curriculum as well as engage whole families. Influenced by traditional Japanese Bunraku puppetry, HVP’s professional dancers and actors blend into the shadows of the stage while performing a variety of puppetry styles that range from masks to rod, hand and body puppets. The company’s most recent production, Guess Who Signed the Constitution, secured a third grant for the company from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The company’s renowned productions have been staged at prestigious venues including Avery Fischer Hall in Lincoln Center, Luther Burbank Center and Orange County Performing Arts Center. Narrated ballets, a specialty of the company, have accompanied performances with the St. Louis Symphony, Little Orchestra Society at Avery Fischer Hall and the United States Military Concert Band at Eisenhower Hall at West Point.

Lois Bohovesky (founding artistic director) has designed and built hundreds of puppets. Lois studied puppetry with Bil Baird, danced with Erik Hawkins and worked at Henson Associates. In addition to directing HVP, she presents workshops

on puppet manipulation, construction, character study, and improvisation in schools throughout the country.

Peter Bohovesky (technical director) serves as HVP’s technical director in addition to designing and building masks and puppets for the troupe’s productions including Mammoth Follies, The Silly Jellyfish, Jemima Puddle-Duck, The Snow Queen, and Ferdinand the Bull.

In the SpotlightEdward Winslow (director/choreographer) has choreographed productions for HVP since 1999. He is also co-artistic director of Incidents Physical Theater, a dance company based in New York City. Edward holds an M.F.A. in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he was the winner of the Seidman Award for Excellence in Dance.

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The robin

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Theater Talk

narrator - the person who provides spoken commentary in a production.

puppet - an inanimate object controlled by wire, hand, body, or other means to represent a person, idea or figure.

puppeteer - a person who controls and animates puppets.

rod puppet - a figure manipulated from above or below with rods made of wood, wire or other material.

script - the written text that describes what happens, including what is to be said, during a performance.

Passport to Culture • Butterfly: The Story of a Life Cycle

actor - a person who interprets a role and performs it in a play.

body puppet - a full-bodied figure worn by one or more performers. It may be operated by more than one person. One performer may operate the body movements and another may provide facial expressions (mechanical) or head movement.

Bunraku - a traditional Japanese puppetry style that emerged in the 17th century. In this style, three puppeteers are necessary for manipulation of different parts of the puppet’s body. The master puppeteer works in full view of the audience while the remaining puppeteers, clad in black from head to toe, are meant to be hidden.

choreography - the patterns of movement and stillness, including dancing, composed by a choreographer or director to enliven a production.

composer - a person who writes music.

director - the person who conceives of an overall concept for a production, supervises all elements of the production and guides the actors in their performances.

hand puppet - a figure that fits over and is moved by the hand. Fingers may be used to manipulate the head and arms/hands of the puppet. The moving mouth puppet is a variation on this style in which the puppet is operated by using the thumb to move the character’s lower jaw and the remaining fingers to control the upper jaw.

helmet mask - a mask worn on top of the performer’s head that usually obstructs the face from view.

manipulation - the operation of a puppet; the animation of a puppet.

musical score - the complete music for a production that shows all of the parts for the instruments, including voices.

shadow puppet - a cut-out figure that can be made of various types of material (leather, card stock, etc.) that is manipulated by rods and uses a light source to cast a shadow, usually on a screen or wall.

set - the arrangement of scenery and props on stage.

setting - the place or mood in which a play takes place.

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Edna the praying mantis

6 Passport to Culture • Butterfly: The Story of a Life Cycle

Did You Know?Ph

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Katherine Dunham

Metamorphin’ and Transformin’ through PuppetryPuppetry is an ancient art form that universally celebrates the ideas of transformation and metamorphosis. It incorporates the visual, theatrical, musical, and literary arts into one integrated presentation. Nearly every culture around the world has a puppetry tradition embedded in its present or past. Over the centuries, the applications of the art form varied and flourished according to the needs of society, and five main styles of puppetry emerged: shadow, hand, string/marionette, rod, and body.

In HVP’s Butterfly: The Story of a Life Cycle, puppets evoke a visual celebration of the metamorphosis of the Monarch butterfly. The transformation of Mari from a moving mouth hand puppet to a flying rod puppet mirrors nature’s metamorphosis of the Monarch from larva to butterfly. Each stage in the lifecycle of the Monarch is documented through a variety of puppetry styles and characters.

Below is a comparison of the metamorphosis in nature and how it transpires on stage:

Stage 1- The EggIn nature: Monarch butterflies seek out the milkweed plant to lay their eggs. Monarchs lay one egg per leaf in order to provide ample food for the hungry larva. Eggs are placed on the underside of leaves to protect

them from predators.On stage: The Monarch is represented by a large rod puppet with a wing span of 10 feet. The wings are constructed from a welded wire frame covered with stretched fabric. Operated by two performers/puppeteers (clad in black), the puppet floats gracefully to a large milkweed leaf to lay the egg. Ten-foot-tall screens provide an enlarged backdrop of purple milkweed.

Stage 2- The Larva (caterpillar)In nature: When the caterpillar hatches, it is no larger than a few centimeters. It will not only consume the milkweed leaf for food, but also the egg shell. The caterpillar consumes 15-20 milkweed leaves. Milkweed contains a toxin that does not affect the larva, but makes it poisonous to predators such as birds.

On stage: The main character, Mari, emerges from the egg as a moving mouth hand puppet constructed of circular wire boning, hand-carved foam and a stretchy Lycra fabric striped in black, white and yellow. The leaf is constructed of lightweight tubing and covered with a stretchy, green fabric. The caterpillar’s symbiotic relationship to milkweed is evident when Mari encounters the robin, a moving mouth body puppet with a bright orange stomach and sharp beak. Mari’s colorful stripes warn the robin that Mari is a Monarch butterfly larva. The robin

exclaims, “I won’t eat ya! I can’t eat ya!” Mari devours the leaf as the puppeteer skillfully releases and pulls the fabric from the flexible tubing.

Stage 3- The Pupa (chrysalis)In nature: The caterpillar creates a small lump of silk, hangs upside down in the shape of a letter “J” and carefully sheds its skins for the final time. A smooth, oval-shaped green pupa or chrysalis is the result. The caterpillar’s body completely breaks down into a liquid and reforms into the body parts of a butterfly. This is a complete change of form – a metamorphosis.

On stage: Edna, a body puppet with moveable arms, assists Mari in the upside down position as she hangs nine feet off the ground from the stem of a large leaf made of PVC pipe and fabric. The puppeteer carefully maneuvers the hand puppet Mari to surround herself with a pearl-like chrysalis constructed of fiberglass. Just before the chrysalis closes, the puppeteer carefully tucks Mari into a compartment inside one half of the chrysalis.

Stage 4- The ButterflyIn nature: After about 14 days, the chrysalis becomes translucent. The newly formed butterfly breaks open the chrysalis and pushes out its new body. The butterfly is about one and a half inches long, crinkly and wet. It will pump the liquid from its abdomen into its wings to fully extend them. Once the body is dry and the wings harden, the butterfly can take flight.

On stage: Separated internally by black fabric, the semi-transparent chrysalis has two compartments. One compartment holds the Mari caterpillar hand puppet. The second compartment holds the Mari Monarch puppet (without rods). The side with the adult Monarch butterfly is turned towards the audience and the new Mari emerges. The performers carefully pull the fabric butterfly from the chrysalis and unfold the soft wings. Mari then crawls upon the branch to dry and observes as a bumblebee and dragonfly encourage her to take flight. To her great surprise, Ella the ladybug pops open her shell and joins the flying fun. The puppeteers manipulate the soft, flexible wings of Mari as she flies and exits. When Mari returns to the stage, the wire-wing rod puppet is utilized.

A Monarch Butterfly

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In the ClassroomBefore the Performance

1. Prepare the class for the types of puppets they will see in the NJPAC performance. (See “Did You Know,” page 6) Provide pictures of different styles of puppets by visiting the Center for Puppetry Arts’ permanent exhibition at puppet.org/museum/permanent.shtml. Next, visit the Hudson Vagabond Puppet Company’s website at hvpuppets.org to download and print from the photo gallery. Identify the puppets (a caterpillar hand puppet and butterfly rod puppet) from these photos. What materials were used to create them? Can students identify the style of the puppets? Identify other hand and rod puppets from the Center for Puppetry Arts’ collection. (1.1.2.D, 1.3.P.D, 1.3.2.D, 1.4.P.A, 1.4.2.A)*

2. Move and groove to caterpillar poems. Go to CanTeach.com at canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems26.html and select a poem for students to read. Next, allow students to create their own dramatic movements or pantomimes to visually illustrate the poem. For example, students may wriggle on the floor like caterpillars or stretch and flutter their arms like butterflies. Have students recite the poem with the movements they created. (1.3.P.A, 1.3.2.A, 1.3.P.C, 1.3.2.C, 1.4.P.A, 1.4.2.A)

Teaching Science Through Theater (K-8)By Sharon J. Sherman, Ed.D.

Theater provides children with new experiences and allows them to see the world in different ways. Creative thought and the power of words bring imaginative new life to familiar objects, and a darkened theater can be transformed into a spatial canvas where new ideas germinate. A theatrical performance is also a wonderful way to introduce the concept of light, as objects are often illuminated, creating a sparkling world of drama and motion that captures the imagination.

In accordance with New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Science Standards, kindergartners should investigate light energy using one or more of their senses. Have the youngsters look for shadows on the playground at different times of the day and under different weather conditions. Then, ask them to create simple dramatizations to present their findings.

First and second graders learn that an object can be seen when light strikes it and is reflected to a viewer’s eye. If there is no light, objects cannot be seen. When light strikes substances and objects through which it cannot pass, shadows result. In the classroom, have the children apply a variety of strategies to collect evidence that if there is no light, objects cannot be seen. Have them present their evidence by acting out the relationship between a light source, a solid object and the resulting shadow. They should use variations of locomotor and nonlocomotor movement. (A locomotor movement involves moving from one place to another like running and sliding. A nonlocomotor movement is performed while remaining in one spot without going anywhere. Examples of non-locomotor movements are twisting, bending and swaying).

Third and fourth graders learn that light travels in straight lines. When light travels from one substance to another (air and water), it changes direction. Ask the students to create an improvisation to explain what happens when light travels from air into water. Fifth and sixth graders learn that light travels in a straight line until it interacts with an object or material. Light can be absorbed, redirected, bounced back, or allowed to pass through. They also learn that the path of reflected or refracted light can be predicted. Seventh and eighth graders learn that light energy from the sun is Earth’s primary source of energy, heating Earth’s surfaces and providing the energy that results in wind, ocean currents and storms. Have your students produce scripted scenes to illustrate these concepts. Sharon J. Sherman, Ed.D. is Dean of the School of Education and Professor of Teacher Education at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ. The Teaching Science Through the Arts content of this guide is made possible through the generous support of Roche.

After the Performance

1. Ask students to critique the performance they viewed at NJPAC. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the production? Can they name some of the main characters? What was the setting? What would they change? Have students explore the lifecycle of the Monarch through an original classroom production. Students can create props, scenery and puppets using the NJPAC performance as their inspiration. (1.1.2.C, 1.3.P.C, 1.3.2.C, 1.3.P.D, 1.3.2.D, 1.4.P.A, 1.4.2.A, 1.4.2.B)

2. Students observed several rod puppets during the performance at NJPAC. Create a butterfly rod puppet with your students. First, you will need to download a free wing template from the Center for Puppetry Arts (puppet.org/pdf/Butterflies-DL-StudyGdCURRENT.pdf - page. 4). Next, gather scissors, pencils, construction paper, popsicle or jumbo craft sticks, glue, and crayons/markers. Have students trace the wing template onto construction paper and cut it out. Next, glue the popsicle/craft stick to the center of the wings. Allow glue to dry. Students can then decorate the wings with crayons, markers or other materials. To manipulate the puppet, pick up the butterfly by the craft stick and make it flutter! (1.1.2.D, 1.3.P.D, 1.3.2.D)

*Number(s) indicate the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standard(s) supported by the activity.

Additional Before and After activities can be found online at njpac.org. Click on Education, then SchoolTime Performances. Scroll down and click on MORE: Teacher Guides and Curriculum Materials. Select the guide and resource pages desired in PDF format.

Passport to Culture • Butterfly: The Story of a Life Cycle

William J. Marino ……............................…………………………………………………………………….Chairman Lawrence P. Goldman …....……..................…………………………………..President & Chief Executive Officer Sandra Bowie………….……….....................……………………………………..Vice President for Arts Education Sanaz Hojreh ……………..................….……………………………..Assistant Vice President for Arts Education Donna Bost-White……......................….……………………………….Director for Arts Education/Special Projects Jeffrey Griglak………......................……………….………………………………..……..Director for Arts Training Verushka Spirito……........................…………………………………………...Associate Director for Performances Ambrose Liu…………….…........................……………………………………....Associate Director for Residencies Caitlin Evans Jones…………..........................………………………………….…Associate Director for Residencies Faye Competello…………........................…………………………………....Associate Director for Arts Training Mary Whithed………..................………..………………………………….....Program Coordinator for ResidenciesJoanna Gibson.......................................................................................Manager of Wachovia Jazz for Teens Kristi Henderson..............................................................................................Marketing and Sales Manager Laura Ingoglia…………............................................…................……......Editor of Teacher’s Resource Guides

Writer: Patty Petry Dees

Editor: Laura Ingoglia

Design: Pierre Sardain 66 Creative, Inc. 66Creative.com

NJPAC Guest Reader: Debra L. Volz

Teacher’s Guide Review Committee: Judith Israel Mary Lou Johnston Amy Tenzer

Copyright © 2010 New Jersey Performing Arts Center All Rights Reserved

One Center Street Newark, New Jersey 07102Administration: 973 642-8989Arts Education Hotline: 973 353-8009artseducation@njpac.org

NJPAC wishes to thank Edward Winslow of Hudson Vagabond Puppets for his assistance in preparing this guide.

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Delving Deeper Acknowledgmentsas of 11/06/09

Passport to Culture • Cleo Parker Robinson Dance

For even more arts integration resources, please go to Thinkfinity.org, the Verizon Foundation’s signature digital learning platform, designed to improve educational and literacy achievement.

Books for Teachers

Bernier, Matthew, and Judith O’Hare. Puppetry in Education and Therapy: Unlocking Doors to the Mind and Heart. AuthorHouse, 2005.

Burger, Joanna, and Michael Gochfield. Butterflies of New Jersey: A Guide to Their Status, Distribution, and Appreciation. Rutgers University Press, 1997.

Burris, Judy, and Wayne Richards. The Life Cycles of Butterflies: From Egg to Maturity, a Visual Guide to 23 Common Garden Butterflies. Storey Publishing, LLC, 2006.

Books for Students

Baric, Maija. Puppet Theatre. Hawthorne Press, 2007.

Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Penguin Group, 1994.

Freeman, Darlene. Butterflies! (Know It All). Learning Horizons, 2005.

Book/Audio CD

Wee Sing & Learn Bugs (Audio CD). Price, Stern, Sloan, February 2007.

DVD

NOVA: The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies (2008). PBS Home Video/WGBH, April 2009.

Websites

Hudson Vagabond Puppets official website- hvpuppets.org

The Center for Puppetry Arts official website- puppet.org

NJPAC Arts Education programs are made possible by the generosity of: Bank of America, Allen & Joan Bildner & The Bildner Family Foundation, The Arts Education Endowment Fund in Honor of Raymond G. Chambers, Leon & Toby Cooperman, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Amy C. Liss, McCrane Foundation, Merck Company Foundation, Albert & Katharine Merck, The Prudential Foundation, The PSEG Foundation, David & Marian Rocker, The Sagner Family Foundation, The Star-Ledger/Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Surdna Foundation, The Turrell Fund, Verizon, Victoria Foundation, Wachovia, The Wal-Mart Foundation and The Women’s Association of NJPAC.

Additional support is provided by: Advance Realty Foundation, C.R. Bard Foundation, Becton, Dickinson & Company, The Frank and Lydia Bergen Foundation, Bloomberg, Chase, The Citi Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Veronica Goldberg Foundation, Meg & Howard Jacobs, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, Marianthi Foundation, The MCJ Amelior Foundation, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The George A. Ohl, Jr., Foundation, Pechter Foundation, PNC Foundation on behalf of the PNC Grow Up Great program, The Provident Bank Foundation, E. Franklin Robbins Charitable Trust, Roche, TD Charitable Foundation, Target, The United Way of Essex & West Hudson, Lucy and Eleanor S. Upton Charitable Foundation, The Edward W. & Stella C. Van Houten Memorial Fund, and The Blanche M. & George L. Watts Mountainside Community Foundation.