Study Guide prepared by

Catherine Bush

Barter Playwright-in-Residence

The Call of the Wild Adapted by Catherine Bush from the novel by Jack London

*Especially for Grades 4-12

Barter Players Tour – January thru March, 2018

(NOTE: standards are included for reading

The Call of the Wild by Jack London and completing the study guide.)

Virginia SOLs English – 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, 4.5, 4.7, 4.9, 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7, 5.9, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4, 6.5, 6.7, 6.9, 7.1, 7,2,

7.4, 7.5, 7.7, 7.9, 8.1, 8.2, 8.4, 8.5, 8.7, 8.9, 9.1, 9.3, 9.4, 9.6, 9.8, 10.1, 10.3, 10.4, 10.6, 10.8,

11.1, 11.3, 11.4, 11.6, 11.8, 12.1, 12.3, 12.6, 12.8

Theatre Arts – 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.17, 6.18, 6.21, 7.6, 7.7, 7.18, 7.20, 8.5, 8.12, 8.18, 8.22, TI.10,

TI.11, TI.13, TI.17, TII.6, TII.9, TII.12, TII.15, TII.17, TIII.11, TIII.12, TIV.12, TIV.13

Tennessee/North Carolina Common Core State Standards English Language Arts – Reading Literacy: 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 5.1, 5.3, 5.4, 5.6, 6.1,

6.4, 6.6, 6.7, 6.10, 7.1, 7.4, 7.6, 7.7, 7.10, 8.1, 8.4, 8.6, 8.7, 8.10, 9-10.1, 9-10.4, 9-10.7, 9-10.10,

11-12.1, 11-12.4, 11-12.7, 11-12.10

English Language Arts – Writing: 4.1, 4.3, 4.7, 4.9, 5.1, 5.3, 5.7, 5.9, 6.1, 6.4, 6.6, 6.7, 6.9,7.1,

7.3, 7.7, 7.9, 8.1, 8.3, 8.7, 8.9, 9-10.1, 9-10.3, 9-10.7, 9-10.9, 11-12.1, 11-12.3, 11-12.7, 11-12.9

TCAPS Theatre – 4.6.1, 4.6.4, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8.1, 5.6.1, 5.6.4, 5.7.1, 5.7.2, 5.8.1

Theatre 6-8 –7.1, 7.2, 8.1, 8.2 Theatre 9-12 – 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.1, 7.2

North Carolina Essential Standards Theatre Arts – 4.A.1, 5.A.1, 5.AE.1, 5.CU.1, 6.C.1, 6.C.2, 6.A.1, 6.AE.1, 7.A.1. 7.AE.1,

7.CU.1, 8.A.1, 8.AE.1, 8.CU.1, 8.CU.2, B.C.1, B.C.2, B.A.1, B.AE.1, B.CU.1, B.CU.2, I.A.1,

I.AE.1, I.CU.2, P.C.1, P.A.1, P.AE.1, A.C.2, A.A.1, A.AE.1

Setting Various locations in the brutal Alaskan frontier of the late 1890’s as well as a prosperous farm in

the Santa Clara Valley at the same time period

Characters

The People

Keish – a gold prospector

Carmack – a gold prospector

Judge Miller – Buck’s original owner

Manuel – a gardener, works for Miller

Johnson – a friend of Miller

Hugo – a loan shark

Stranger – buys Buck from Manuel

Porter – works on train that carries Buck

Red Sweater – teaches Law of the Club

Sea Captain – captain of the Narwhal

Perrault – a mail courier in the Klondike

Courier – works at a mail station

Hal – a gold seeker

Mercedes – a gold seeker, Hal’s wife

John Thornton – the one Buck loves

O’Brien – Thornton’s friend, fur trapper.

Matthewson – a rich man in Dawson

Jim – Matthewson’s hired hand

Schneider – Matthewson’s hired hand

Yeehats– members of a native tribe

The Dogs

Buck – a sled dog, the hero of our story

Curly – a sled dog, black Newfoundland

Spitz – a sled dog, white husky

Sol-leks – a sled dog, wears eye patch

Dub – a sled dog

Huskies– savage sled dogs

Others

Snow – the element

Ice – the element

The Beast – a giant moose

Note: Cast Size and Doubling of Actors (“Doubling” means one actor plays more than one role in a production)

In this production of The Call of the Wild we will be using six actors; the actor

playing Buck will play that role only; the other five actors will play all the

remaining parts. Doubling (and tripling) of actors requires distinction between

characters. In this production, characters will be distinguished by costume, voice

and other physical character traits.

The Visual Aspects of the Production: Sets and Properties (Props)

The sets and props for this production will

be minimal. This further helps to focus the

audience on the human aspects of the play.

A good set is not necessarily one that

dazzles the audience with spectacle but

rather creates a visual and physical world

that allows the audience to participate in

the most important aspect of the play: the

journey of the main character(s).

Synopsis

Buck is a powerful dog. Half St. Bernard, half shepherd, he has a comfortable life

on Judge Miller’s estate in California’s Santa Clara Valley. Then gold is

discovered in the Klondike, and the demand arises for strong dogs to pull sleds.

Buck is kidnapped by the Miller’s gardener, Manuel, and is sold to Red Sweater, a

dog trader. Red Sweater teaches Buck to obey by beating him with a club. Buck is

then placed on board a boat sailing north for the Klondike. He is befriended by

another dog, Curly.

Arriving in the chilly North, Buck is amazed by the cruelty he sees around him. As

soon as Curly gets off the boat, she is attacked and killed by a pack of huskies as

another dog, Spitz, encourages them. Watching her death, Buck vows never to let

the same fate befall him. He also vows to avenge Curly’s death. Buck and Spitz

becomes the property of Perrault, a mail carrier working for the Canadian

government. Buck begins to adjust to life as a sled dog. He also rediscovers the

instincts of his wild ancestors and learns to fight. Soon Spitz challenges Buck to a

showdown. Buck kills Spitz and replaces him as lead dog. With Buck at the head

of the team, Perrault’s sled makes record time. However, Perrault receives orders

to leave and is forced to sell Buck and the others to a team of American gold

hunters—Hal and Mercedes.

Buck’s new masters are out of place in the

wilderness. They overload the sled, beat

the dogs, and plan poorly. Halfway

through their journey, exhaustion and lack

of food takes its toll; one of the dogs, Dub,

is shot. Buck and Sol-leks are two of the

dogs left when the team finally limps into

John Thornton’s camp, still some distance

from their destination. Thornton warns Hal

that the ice over which they are traveling

is melting and that they may fall through

it. Hal ignores him and tries to whip his

team into leaving, but Buck refuses to move. When Hal begins to beat him,

Thornton intervenes and claims Buck for his own. Hal curses Thornton and starts

the sled again, but before they have gone a quarter of a mile, the ice breaks open,

swallowing both the humans and the dogs.

Synopsis (cont.)

Thornton becomes Buck’s master, and Buck’s devotion to him is absolute. He even

wins a large wager for his new master by pulling a sled carrying a thousand-pound

load. But Buck’s love for Thornton is mixed with a growing attraction to the wild.

This feeling grows stronger when he accompanies Thornton in search of the Lost

Mine.

While Thornton searches for gold, Buck ranges far afield, befriending wolves and

hunting moose. He always returns to Thornton until one day, he returns to find that

Yeehat Indians have attacked and killed his master. Buck attacks the Indians,

killing several and scattering the rest, and then heads off into the wild, where he

becomes the leader of a pack of wolves. He becomes a legendary figure, a Ghost

Dog, fathering countless cubs and inspiring fear in the Yeehats—but every year he

returns to the place where Thornton died, to mourn his master before returning to

his life in the wild.

Vocabulary Words

frontier

discovery

hinterlands

Klondike

transport

iron horse

ferocious

slouch

ruction

hostility

territory

harness

landlubbers

Newfoundland

bully

savages

wheel dog

mush

gee

haw

whoa

survival

ancestors

ancient

breed

uncivilized

despair

protection

beast

toil

traces

trail

transfer

burden

provisions

carcass

thaw

wasteland

wager

hinder

bluff

Define each of the vocabulary words listed above then write sentences using

them. Remember: anyone reading your sentence should be able to understand

the word from the context in which it is used.

Biography of the Author Jack London was born John Griffith Chaney on January 12,

1876 in San Francisco, California, the illegitimate son of

Flora Wellman and Henry Chaney. Later that same year,

Flora married John London. John was a loving stepfather,

but an unsuccessful businessman. As a result, Jack was

forced to drop out of school at an early age and work to

help support the family. But he maintained a love for

reading and eventually finished high school in one year. He

attended the University of California for one semester

before traveling to the Alaskan Klondike with gold

prospectors. Upon his return to California, he began writing

stories. His fiction, most of which was set in the brutal Alaskan Yukon, was

heavily influenced by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution whose “survival of the fittest”

premise is a common theme throughout some of his most famous works including:

The Son of the Wolf (1900), The Call of the Wild (1903), The Sea-Wolf (1904),

White Fang (1906), The Strength of the Strong (1911), Smoke Bellew (1912), and

The Abysmal Brute (1913).

After a life of adventuring and alcohol abuse, London died on November 22, 1916

on his ranch in California. His life might best be summed up in his credo:

“I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out

in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb

meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

The proper function of man is to live, not exist. I shall not waste my days in trying

to prolong them, I shall use my time.”

Biography of the Playwright Catherine Bush lives in Abingdon, Virginia where she is

Barter Theatre’s Playwright-in-Residence. Her plays for

young audiences include Cry Wolf!, Sleeping Beauty,

Rapunzel, Frosty, The Scarlet Letter, The Adventures of Tom

Sawyer, All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth, My

Imaginary Pirate, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Call of

the Wild, The Princess and the Pea, Rudolph, The Red Badge

of Courage, Aesop’s Fables, Santa Claus is Coming to Town,

Mother Goose: The Musical, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Old Turtle and the

Broken Truth, Jingle All the Way, Antigone, Robin Hood, and Great Expectations.

www.catherinebushplays.com

A Brief History

Barter Theatre was founded during the Great Depression by Robert Porterfield, an enterprising young

actor. He and his fellow actors found themselves out of work and hungry in New York City. Porterfield

contrasted that to the abundance of food, but lack of live theatre, around his home region in Southwest

Virginia. He returned to Washington County with an extraordinary proposition: bartering produce from

the farms and gardens of the area to gain admission to see a play.

Barter Theatre opened its doors on June 10, 1933 proclaiming, “With vegetables you cannot sell, you can

buy a good laugh.” The price of admission was 40 cents or the equivalent in produce, the concept of

trading “ham for Hamlet” caught on quickly. At the end of the first season, the Barter Company cleared

$4.35 in cash, two barrels of jelly and enjoyed a collective weight gain of over 300 pounds.

Playwrights including Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams and Thornton Wilder accepted Virginia ham as

payment for royalties. An exception was George Bernard Shaw, a vegetarian, who bartered the rights to

his plays for spinach.

Today, Barter Theatre has a reputation as a theatre where many actors performed before going on to

achieve fame and fortune. The most recognized of these alumni include Gregory Peck, Patricia Neal,

Ernest Borgnine, Hume Cronyn, Ned Beatty, Gary Collins, Larry Linville and Frances Fisher. The list

also included James Burrows, creator of Cheers, Barry Corbin, and the late Jim Varney.

Robert Porterfield passed away in 1971. His successor, Rex Partington, had been at Barter in the 1950s as

an actor and in the 1970s as stage manager. Rex returned as chief administrator from 1972 until his

retirement in 1992. In March 2006, he passed away.

Richard Rose was named the producing artistic director in October 1992. In that time, attendance has

grown from 42,000 annual patrons to more than 163,000 annual patrons. Significant capital

improvements have also been made. Including maintenance to both theatres, and in 2006, the addition of

The Barter Café at Stage II and dramatic improvements to Porterfield Square.

Barter represents three distinct venues of live theatre: the Gilliam Stage at Barter Theatre (formerly

known as Main Stage), Barter Theatre Stage II and The Barter Players. The Gilliam Stage with over 500

seats, features traditional theatre in a luxurious setting. Barter Stage II, across the street from the Gilliam

Stage and beyond Porterfield Square, offers seating for 167 around a thrust stage in an intimate setting

and is perfect for more adventurous productions. The Barter Players is a talented ensemble of actors,

producing plays for young audiences throughout the year.

History is always in the making at Barter Theatre, building on legends of the past; Barter looks

forward to the challenge of growth in the future.

Good as Gold! Why is Gold Valuable?

Gold in one of the three “precious” metals. (Silver and platinum are the other two.) A metal may be considered precious for the following reasons: 1) Rarity. All the gold ever found would fit in a cube less than 150 feet. 2) Impervious to the elements. Gold will not rust or corrode when exposed to sun, wind, or rain. 3) Malleability. Gold can be hammered into different shapes. 4) Lustre/Color. Gold is beautiful to behold.

Gold Nuggets

Gold nuggets are solid lumps of gold. Nuggets are rare, making up less than 2% of all native gold ever mined. Gold is so malleable that a single ounce of it (the size of a quarter) can be beaten into a thin continuous sheet measuring roughly one hundred square feet. One ounce of gold could also be stretched into a thin wire (5 microns thick) that could stretch 50 miles. The largest gold nugget ever recorded – named “Welcome Stranger” – was discovered in Victoria, Australia in 1869. It weighed in at 172 lbs.

There’s Gold in Them Thar Hills!

More than 90% of all gold ever used has been mined since 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, CA sparking the greatest Gold Rush of all time.

Buried Treasure! The Federal Reserve Bank of New York holds the world’s largest accumulation of monetary gold. The vault is 80 feet beneath the street and holds $147 billion worth of gold bullion. The bedrock of Manhattan is strong enough to support the weight of the vault, its door, and the gold inside.

It’s a Dog’s Life! Powerful Pooch

Pound for pound, sled dogs are the most powerful draft animals on earth.

Who Needs a Pedigree?

Most racing sled dogs are mutts. Although there are purebred sled dogs (Malamutes, Siberian Huskies, Samoyeds), most racers are bred from a mishmash of breeds that exhibit certain desirable characteristics, such as the love of running, speed, stamina and being “easy keepers” (these dogs have slower metabolisms that allow them to do heavy work without needing a lot of extra food.)

Go, Dog, Go! Sled dogs can average 8-12 MPH over hundreds of miles (including rest breaks).

Balto

The most famous sled dog in history is Balto. In 1925, the town of Nome, Alaska was faced with a possible outbreak of diphtheria, a life threatening disease. The only medicine known to cure it was located in Anchorage, Alaska, nearly 1,000 miles away. More than 20 dog sled “mushers” raced their dog sleds in the 40-below zero weather to Anchorage. In only six days, with Balto as the lead dog, Gunner Kassen arrived before everyone. Balto soon became a hero. The route that Kassen and Balto took is the one used in a current-day dog sled race, the Iditarod.

Questions/Activities

These Stories Have Gone to the Dogs!

Call of the Wild is just one of several books based on the life of a dog. As a class, read one of the stories above: Lassie, Come Home by Eric Knight, Old Yeller by Fred Gipson, or Sounder by William Armstrong. How do these stories compare to Buck’s life in Alaska?

Research the Husky

The Siberian husky is the breed most closely associated with dog sledding. What is it about this dog that makes it a perfect fit for life in the harness? How are the huskies described in The Call of the Wild? Research the husky and present your findings to the class.

Write Your Own Survival Story

“The temperature dropped to fifty below zero and remained there the whole trip…” Buck was born in sunny California and had to learn to survive the frigid Northland. Write a story where you are forced to live in a foreign environment (underwater, the moon, the desert, etc.) Be sure to include details on what you did to survive.

Trace Buck’s Route to Alaska! Buck was born in the Santa Clara Valley (San Jose, CA). He was kidnapped and taken by train first to San Francisco then to Seattle, WA. From Seattle, he was shipped by boat to the beach at Dyea, Alaska. (The town of Dyea

no longer exists, reference Skagway, AK.) Using a map or atlas, trace the route Buck took. How many miles did he travel?

Gold Rush When was gold discovered in the Klondike? Who was credited? What happened to them? Research their story and the impact their discovery had on this country and present your findings to the class.

Be Descriptive! Read the description below of the man Buck

imagines as he stares into the campfire…

“Sometimes as he crouched there, blinking dreamily at the flames, it seemed that the flames were of another fire, and that as he crouched by this other fire he saw another and different man… This other man was shorter of leg and longer of arm, with muscles that were stringy and knotty rather than rounded and swelling. The hair of this man was long and matted, and his head slanted back under it from the eyes. He uttered strange sounds, and seemed very much afraid of the darkness, into which he peered continually, clutching in his hand, which hung midway between knee and foot, a stick with a heavy stone made fast to the end. He was all but naked, a ragged and fire-scorched skin hanging part way down his back, but on his body there was much hair. In some places, across the chest and shoulders and down the outside of the arms and thighs, it was matted into almost a thick fur. He did not stand erect, but with trunk inclined forward from the hips, on legs that bent at the knees. About his body there was a peculiar springiness, or resiliency, almost catlike, and a quick alertness as of one who lived in perpetual fear of things seen and unseen…”

Students: Find a picture of a person, place or thing from a magazine and write a description of him/her/it in your own words. Be as descriptive as possible.

Teacher: Number the pictures and place them on one wall of the classroom. Give the students copies of the descriptions and see if they are able to match them to the appropriate picture!

Be Artistic! Read the following descriptions from Jack London’s

Call of the Wild…

“Buck threw himself forward, tightening the traces with a jarring lunge. His whole body was gathered compactly together in the tremendous effort, the muscles writhing and knotting like live things under the silky fur. His great chest was low to the ground, his head forward and down, while his feet were flying like mad, the claws scarring the hard-packed snow in parallel grooves. The sled swayed and trembled, half-started forward. One of his feet slipped, and one man groaned aloud. Then the sled lurched ahead in what appeared a rapid succession of jerks, though it never really came to a dead stop again...half an inch...an inch... two inches... The jerks perceptibly diminished; as the sled gained momentum, he caught them up, till it was moving steadily along...”

“When the long winter nights come on and the wolves follow their meat into the lower valleys, he may be seen running at the head of the pack through the pale moonlight or glimmering borealis, leaping gigantic above his fellows, his great throat a-bellow as he sings a song of the younger world, which is the song of the pack.”

Now working in whichever medium you choose – paint, pencil, pen and ink, charcoal, etc. – illustrate one of the descriptions above.

Write a critique of The Barter Player’s production of The Call of the Wild. Be sure to include descriptions and analyses of the individual performances, the directing/staging choices, and the design elements (costume, set, props, sound). Why do you think some of these artistic choices were made? How

would you have done it differently?

How did the play compare to the novel? How do the structural elements of a play (using dialogue and action to tell the story) differ from that of prose?

Discuss.

In this play the actors have to change quickly from playing gold seekers to dogs to moose to ice to wolves to Yeehats Indians. What movements,

gestures, and other forms of physical expression did they use to accomplish these changes? Did you think they were effective? How were costumes used?

Discuss.

Define comedy and tragedy. Is The Call of the Wild a comedy or a tragedy? Cite three samples

from the book to support your position. How much does a character’s point-of-view determine whether an event is comic or

tragic? Discuss.

Compare and Contrast

After he is kidnapped, Buck is owned by three different men:

Perrault Hal John Thornton

Write a paper comparing and contrasting their relationship with Buck. Which one would you want as a master and why?

How did the play end for these three men?

The Man in the Red Sweater beat Buck when he arrived in Alaska, teaching him the Law of the Club. What is the Law of

the Club? Do you think Red Sweater was being cruel or helpful? Discuss.

Word Search Find the following words in the puzzle below: Buck, gold rush, Jack London, harness, Klondike, Club and Fang, snow, Red Sweater, mush, Alaska, trail, Lost Mine, ice, Yeehats, gee, Call of the Wild, haw, Curly, moose, Spitz, wolf, husky, slash, Judge Miller, howl, frozen, John Thornton, nuggets, uncivilized, sled

C Y N T S N S T A H E E Y N G

L A K Z J L O S T M I N E O K

U C L S B W A D E L S S L W L

B L E L U O I S N N O D R H O

A B U J O H N T H O R N T O N

N E Z O R F M V M U L A S W D

D N U G G E T S S Z Z K H L I

F N B E I E Y H F E B U C K K

A H R E L L I M E G D U J A E

N L M I R E T A E W S D E R J

G C A U N C I V I L I Z E D O

L R C S W I I P B E T L P U U

T I K O K O W V O I M Y D R X

B N L Z D A N A P F U I V H I

R F J F F M U S H C W R J R J

The Call of the Wild Place the following words in the puzzle using the clues below: Klondike, Alaska, Jack London, Call of the Wild, White River, moose, breakout, one thousand, The Barter Players, gee, haw, whoa, mush, California, huskies, Manuel, Buck, Red Sweater, Club and Fang, harness, Spitz, Curly, Solleks, Yeehats, Bush, six, snow, mail, tour, gold, Miller, Thornton

Across

2. Buck wears this at work

5. when actors travel with show

8. Great antlered beast

9. # of actors in play

11. He was kidnapped

13. Gardener with debt

14. Wolf's howl, to Buck

16. Buck loved him best

17. Go!

19. Pan for it in river

21. Two laws Buck learns

26. name of theatre troupe

28. The Land of Ice and Snow

29. Name of Judge

Down

1. Thornton's camp was here

2. Pull left!

3. Buck thinks it's white "mud"

4. How many pounds Buck pulled

6. Used club to beat Buck

7. adventurer/author

8. Perrault delivers this

9. Buck's mortal enemy

10. The Land of Sun and Grapes

12. They kill Thornton

15. Stop!

18. One-eyed dog

20. Friendly Newfoundland

22. Pull sled free of ice

23. Playwright's last name

24. where gold is reputed to be

25. Pull right!

27. savage sled dogs

True and False

Write T if the statement is True and F if the statement is False. 1. ____ The Call of the Wild was written by John Thornton.

2. ____ Buck was born to a life of leisure.

3. ____ Curly was a friendly, black Newfoundland.

4. ____ Red Sweater treated all the dogs gently and with tenderness.

5. ____ Sol-leks fell through the ice and drowned.

6. ____ Spitz and Buck hated each other.

7. ____ Hal and Mercedes were well-prepared and experienced gold seekers.

8. ____ Jack London saved Buck’s life.

9. ____ Buck was able to pull a sled weighing 1000 lbs. a distance of 100 yards.

10. ____ Manuel the gardener stole Buck from Judge Miller.

11. ____ Call of the Wild is based on the California Gold Rush of 1848.

12. ____ John Thornton was killed by the Yeehats.

13. ____ Perrault was a mail courier.

14. ____ Spring weather never comes to the Klondike.

15. ____ Jack London prospected for gold.

Matching Draw a line connecting person/place in the 1st column with the corresponding description in the 2nd. 1. Yeehats a. answers the call of the wild 2. Curly b. a native tribe 3. Sol-leks c. discovered in the Klondike in 1896 4. moose d. a friendly Newfoundland 5. Buck e. legendary location of gold 6. John Thornton f. the Great Beast 7. Red Sweater g. saves Buck 8. gold h. has only one eye 9. The Lost Mine i. the Law of the Club

Anthropomorphic Hero

In The Call of the Wild, Jack London writes about his main character, the dog Buck, as if the dog were human. The formal name for giving human qualities to animals is anthropomorphism. This word comes from the Greek words for “human” and “form.” To anthropomorphize something is to give it human form, or human characteristics. London doesn’t have Buck speak or walk upright, but he does give the dog human thoughts and emotions.

ACTIVITY: Rewrite the scene between Buck and Red Sweater from Red Sweater’s point of view. Is it possible for Red Sweater to be the hero in this scene? How could Red Sweater be helping Buck by teaching him The Law of the Club?

ACTIVITY:

Make a list of other books that have anthropomorphic heroes. How do they compare to The Call of the Wild?

Cry Wolf!

Wolves and domestic dogs are both members of the Canidae family, commonly referred to as canines. They share certain characteristics—such as powerful teeth and bushy tails—and differ in other details, such as size and weight. Scientists believe that dogs were the first wild animals to be domesticated. Evidence found in sites dating as far back as 8,000 years suggests that dogs were living with humans.

ACTIVITY: Research the history of the wolf in this country. How many wolves exist in the lower 48 states today? Was this always the case? Where are they most prevalent? Why? Present your findings to the class. ACTIVITY: How is the wolf usually represented in children’s literature? Cite some examples. Is this a fair representation? Why or why not?

DISCUSS “SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST”

From the Page to the Stage! How does a book become a stage play? Here are some of the elements that

went into the Barter Players’ production of The Call of the Wild…

1. Script It all starts here. A playwright (in this case, Playwright-in-Residence Catherine Bush) turns the prose of literature into dialogue and dramatic action. This is called “adapting”. Sound easy? Try it yourself! Pick a scene from your favorite story and adapt it into a scene for the stage. Try not to use the narrative voice – focus instead on creating “dialogue” between the characters.

2. Director/Actors The director and actors begin the rehearsal process. The director “blocks” the play, which means he tells the actors where to move and stand and sit. The actors work on learning their lines, finding their character’s motivation and creating the world of the play. The length of a rehearsal process for a Barter Player production ranges from 30 – 40 hours spread out over 3-4 weeks, depending on the play.

3. Set Design The set designer designs a set that will not only serve the aesthetic needs of the production by creating visuals that represent the various locations in the story (i.e. Judge Miller’s ranch, Thornton’s camp, the ice and snow of the Klondike) but also function as a safe environment upon which the actors will move (or be moved). A good set design will also allow the action to flow from one scene to another smoothly, with seamless transitions. Try it yourself! Using the scene you adapted, design a set that will both visually serve the story and function effectively for the actors.

4. Costumes/Wigs The costume designer is responsible for creating a different look for each character while maintaining the overall aesthetic of the production. Each actor’s costume must be tailored to fit and be built to take the wear-and-tear of 6 shows a week plus tour! Also, in a show where the actor is required to play more than one character, the design must incorporate a method to facilitate “quick changes”. The wig designer is responsible for designing, building and styling the wigs that will appear in the show. Like the costumes, wigs are necessary to help distinguish characters. Try it yourself! Design a costume/wig for the character in your scene. Make sure your costume includes a mechanism to make “quick changes possible.

5. Props Buck’s harness! Perrault’s sled! Hal’s gun! These are a few examples of the props designed and built by Barter’s props department for this production. A prop is defined as an object used on stage by actors for use in the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Try it yourself! Design and build the props you will need for your scene.

6. Lights/Sound Lights not only illuminate the actors and pull focus to various spots on the stage but, together with sound, help create a mood. Lights and sound can also, along with the set, help establish location. The sound of a wolf howling, moonlight washing over the ice and snow and voila! We are in the Alaskan wilderness! Try it yourself! Put together a soundtrack for your scene that establishes place and mood. Feel free to use recorded music/sound effects or perform it live!

7. Stage Manager The Stage Manager attends all the rehearsals and once the show goes into production, is “in charge”, calling all the sound and light cues and maintaining the integrity of the piece during its run.

In The Call of the Wild, Buck transforms from a pampered house pet to a savage dog-wolf. Make a list of the phrases Jack London uses to describe this transformation in the story. How is this transformation accomplished in the Barter Player’s production? Was it successful? Discuss.

The days when prospectors can find gold sparkling in the bottom of a creek bed are gone. Research why gold used to be found in river beds. In addition, find out where most of the world’s gold mines are. What geographic or geologic characteristics do these areas have in common? Create a map that shows the world’s major gold-producing regions. Display your map as you report on the common characteristics of these regions.

The Call of the Wild is set at the end of the 19th century. What was happening in the United States at that time? How did the population of this country change from 1880 to 1900? How did industry change at this time? Who were the minorities? What was their status? Why would the prospect of searching for gold hold such appeal to the population? Would the same hold true today? Discuss.

Suggested Further Reading/Links:

Other stories by Jack London

White Fang The Sea Wolf To Build a Fire The Iron Heel

Biographies about Jack London

Wolf: The Lives of Jack London by James L. Haley Jack London: A Life by Alex Kershaw

For more information about the life and works of Jack London, check out the links below:

http://london.sonoma.edu/ http://jacklondonfdn.org/index.html