Michelle Dorey Forestell MSc Education, MA Arts Leadership Candidate

4-3-2019

Thousand Islands Playhouse Presents:

Adapted for the stage by J. Carmichael

based upon the book by Chieri Uegaki and Quin Leng (KidsCan Press)

TEACHER GUIDE

Michelle Dorey Forestell MSc Education, MA Art Leadership Candidate

4-3-2019

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

Director – Mariah Horner

Hana -- Kelly Seo

Mom/Jas -- Cristina Goncalves

Rabbit/Kenji/Violin -- Katie Ready-Walters

Ojichan – Elina Jackson

THE CHARACTERS

Hana is learning to play the violin. She lives in Canada. Her family background is Japanese-Canadian.

Ojiichan is Hana’s Grandfather. He is a former member of the Kyoto Orchestra. He lives in Japan.

Kenji is Hana’s older brother. He likes to plays soccer.

Mom is Hana and Kenji’s single parent. Ojiichan is her father-in-law. She used to live in Japan.

Jas is Hana’s best friend. She loves to dance. Her family background is Iranian-Canadian.

Rabbit lives in the moon. Rabbit plays violin. Only Ojiichan and Hana see Rabbit.

The Book: Our play is based on the beautifully written picture book, of

the same name available from Kids Can Press.

The Story: Hana has signed up to perform in her school talent show.

She wants to play her violin but the trouble is, she has only had three

lessons. Her big brother declares it will be a disaster! With her

grandfather’s example as inspiration, Hana practises as best she can to

prepare. The talent show arrives and Hana is overcome with nerves.

She draws upon her connection to her grandfather and her vivid

imagination to help.

The Author: CHIERI UEGAKI is a second-generation Japanese-Canadian

who was born in Quesnel, British Columbia. By the age of one, she and

her parents had moved to East Vancouver, where she and her two

sisters grew up. Chieri’s first picture book, Suki’s Kimono, illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch, was released in 2003.

Chieri enjoyed working on the picture book so much that she decided to continue writing for students. Rosie and

Buttercup was published by Kids Can Press in 2008. Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin is Chieri’s third picture book.

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

The Playwright: JESSICA CARMICHAEL is a mixed non-status Abénaki/Euro director, actor, dramaturge,

playwright, and educator. Jessica trained at the National Theatre School of Canada, the Royal Academy

of Dramatic Art & King’s College London, the University of Alberta and the Michael Langham

Workshop for Classical Direction (Stratford Festival). She is an Assistant Theater Professor at

Concordia University in Montreal. Jessica spent three seasons as the Artistic Director of Carousel

Players, a professional theatre company for young audiences in St. Catharines, Ontario. There she

adapted the book Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin for the stage in collaboration with Chieri Uegaki and her

family. Hana Hashimoto was named a part of The 49. “The 49 is a list of forty-nine plays by women of

colour that can be programmed tomorrow.” Jessica has acted, directed and been a dramaturg all over

Canada.

Managing Artistic Director, Thousand Islands Playhouse: BRETT CHRISTOPHER works with many

theatre artists from across the country. Brett has been an active member of the Canadian theatre

community since graduating from George Brown theatre school in 2001. Celebrated as both a

professional actor and director, he has worked with a variety of theatre companies including, but not

limited to: Canadian Stage, Stratford Festival, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Theatre by the Bay, Segal

Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Western Canada Theatre, Magnus Theatre, Sunshine Festival, Port

Hope Festival, Actors Repertory Company, Convergence Theatre, and Theatre Kingston. He is also the

recipient of both the Masques and Mecca Awards for his performance of the solo show I Am My Own

Wife at the Saidye Bronfman Centre in Montreal. Brett’s love of the theatre began when he was

growing up in Toronto and his Grandparents bought him a subscription to the Young People’s Players for

Christmas. He still believes that YPT is one of the most important Theatre Companies in Canada for their

work with children.

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

Sample Lessons for Your Class Most Lessons in this study guide can be adapted for primary and junior learners.

LESSON 1 -- MUSIC IS EVERYWHERE Curriculum connections: Music, Drama, Science

Purpose: Hana’s music is quite different to the violin music her brother was expecting. She used her

imagination to imitate the sounds of the world around her. You can do a similar experiment with your

class by creating a Rain Storm together. This teaches students that you do not have to be an expert to

make beautiful music.

Materials Needed: None

Instructions:

Arrange your class around you in a circle.

Instruct students to start imitating your actions when you face them and to keep doing that action until

you face them again.

Slowly move around the circle performing the following actions, facing each student as you go until they

are all doing the action. It will sound like a rainstorm passing over.

rub hands together

snap fingers

clap hands

slap thighs

stomp feet

slap thighs

clap hands

snap fingers

rub hands together

An excellent video of a teacher doing this with a small class can be found at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOU5gAFV9v8

Take it Further: Have your class make up their own music or sound experiments to try as a class. In

small groups they could create the sounds of the Jungle, the ocean, a mountain top, a city etc. and then

lead the class through their own experimental soundscape.

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

LESSON 2 – LITERARY TALENT SHOW Curriculum connections: Drama, Music, Dance, Language Arts

Purpose: Hana is excited to take part in the school talent show because younger students love

to be a part of exciting performances for friends and family! They also enjoy sharing their

favorite songs, dances, poems, and stories. In this activity, students will incorporate these loves

into a talent show, complete with costumes, props, and programs for the audience.

When students act out a text such as a song, poem, or story, they have to make decisions about

which aspects of the text are most interesting and important to focus on. In order to make

these decisions successfully, students have to analyze the text and consider their audience.

What will people at the talent show need to know about the original story to make sense of it?

Which characters are the main characters and which ones can be left out of the talent show

rendition of the story? As students examine their favorite songs, poems, and stories in

preparation for their talent show, they will practice active reading, analysis, and audience

awareness.

Materials Needed:

Favorite song, dance, poem, or story for each student

Art supplies (materials to make costumes and props such as old clothes and hats, glitter,

feathers, construction paper, glue, tape, stapler, scissors, any other supplies you can think of)

Paper for the programs (This might be notebook paper, unlined printer paper, and/or

construction paper.)

Writing utensils (pencils, crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc.)

Instructions:

Part One: Selecting Materials & Discussing Texts:

Have each student choose his or her favorite song, dance poem, or story. It will be important for the text to be in front of each student, so for songs, you might search online for lyrics if they aren’t readily available. If students want to choose a poem or story and have trouble choosing, you might ask them to choose their favorite Dr. Seuss or Mother Goose story or Shel Silverstein poem to help them narrow it down. Share with the students that they will act out their chosen song, dance, poem, or story in a talent show for friends and family. Let them know that they will have a chance to make costumes and props and will think up dance moves to go along with their chosen texts if they want to. You might show them a clip as an example of how a story might be acted out. Give each student a piece of paper, and ask them to read their texts and copy their favorite lines, images, or events from their chosen texts that they want to pay the most attention to

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

during their skits. (For younger participants who aren’t proficient at writing yet, you might make a copy of their song, poem, or story and allow them to underline their favorite parts.) Help each student decide which characters, settings, conflicts, and events are important if their texts tell a story. If their songs or poems are more lyrical and less story-like, help them choose important rhythms, rhymes, and images to focus on during their skits. Discuss what the audience will need to know and want to see during the talent show. Will some texts need more than one student to act them out? What kinds of costumes and props will work best for each text? Should students bring the song, poem, or story with them during the talent show to more easily remember lines? Will dancing help audience members follow songs and poems better? What hand motions might help the audience enjoy a song or poem? Are there objects in the text that students might be able to turn into props for their skits? What materials might they use to make objects from their songs, poems, or stories? Part Two: Preparing for the Show: After brainstorming ideas about how the students might act out or perform their texts, use art supplies to start create costumes and props. Give them appropriate scheduled time to practice. Together, decide the order of performance. You might simplify this by alternating between genres: song, dance, story, and poem . . . Record each student’s name and the song, poem, or story each one will perform in the correct order so the students can reference it while they create programs. Have students create programs. Explain that a program tells the audience who will be in the show, what they will perform, and in what order they will perform. You can make old fashioned programs by hand or use this as an opportunity to do some computer publishing together Give students a few minutes to get into their costumes and organize their props. Take it Further: Turn the talent show into a musical extravaganza! Help students make their own musical instruments. Once assembled have them write their own songs. Open Mic Show! Encourage students to use their favorite songs, poems, and stories as examples to write and perform their own pieces.

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

LESSON 3 – INTRODUCTION TO SOCCER SKILLS: “TIGER TAILS” GAME Curriculum Connections: Physical Education

Purpose: Kenji, Hana’s older brother, is interested in trying out for the

school soccer team. He practises and practices, but even though he is

very good at it, he is still scared to try out. Younger students might not

be aware of all of the skills involved in soccer such as awareness,

reactions, change of direction, explosive speed, twisting, turning, and

screening, this lesson will introduce those skills and the importance of

practise for improving those skills.

Materials Needed:

Large indoor or outdoor play area

One “tail” per player -- you can make these with material or use touch football flags or other convenient

items.

One soccer ball per player

Instructions:

Discuss skills involved in soccer, particularly ways keeping the ball safe and stealing the ball from the

opposition.

Each player is a “Tiger” with a tail tucked into the back of their shorts. The tail must be visible so that

other tigers can steal it.

The tigers run around inside the area and trying to steal each other’s tails by pulling the tail out of

another tiger’s shorts. They may only touch the tail not the other player.

When a tiger steals a tail they add it to their own. Other tigers can now steal however many tails they

have.

If a tail drops on the floor any tiger can steal it. However, first to

touch the tail gets it to avoid a tug-of war.

Tigers cannot grip their tail to stop it being stolen. They need to

protect their tail by sprinting away, turning and screening.

The game can be played to a time limit (2 minutes, suggested). The tiger that has the most tails at the end wins. After more than one game, stop and discuss the importance of practice for getting better. Did the students find the game easier as they played more and more? Take it Further: To make it more of a challenge and to practise dribbling a soccer ball, give each player a ball which they must keep

under close control whilst trying to steal tails. When a tiger has their tail stolen they must now dribble around the outside of the area and the game is played until there is a winning tiger with all of the tails. Playing to the last 2 tigers might be more attainable, as one vs one could take a very long time.

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

LESSON 4 -- MOON RABBIT Curriculum Connections: Language, Social Studies, Geography, Science

Purpose: The rabbit and the moon play an important role in “Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin”.

Students will learn about the legend of the moon rabbit in Japanese culture.

Background: The moon rabbit appears in many legends all over the world, including Japan.

The moon rabbit is, simply put, the markings on the moon that look like a rabbit. This is what is

known in science as a 'pareidolia', or an image or sound that appears to be something

significant. The famous face on Mars or clouds that take different shapes are other examples of

this.

In Japanese the rabbit in the moon is known as "Tsuki no Usagi". There is a famous story about

him in Japan that goes:

"Many years ago, the Old Man of the Moon decided to visit the Earth. He disguised himself as a beggar and asked Fox (Kitsune), Monkey (Saru), and Rabbit (Usagi) for some food. Monkey climbed a tree and brought him some fruit. Fox went to a stream, caught a fish, and brought it back to him. But Rabbit had nothing to offer him but some grass. So he asked the beggar to build a fire. After the beggar started the fire, Rabbit jumped into it and offered himself as a meal for the beggar to eat. Quickly the beggar changed back into the Old Man of the Moon and pulled Rabbit from the fire. He said "You are most kind, Rabbit, but don't do anything to harm yourself. Since you were the kindest of all to me, I'll take you back to the moon to live with me." The Old Man carried Rabbit in his arms back to the moon and he is still there to this very day exactly where the Old Man left him. Just look at the moon in the night sky and the rabbit is there!"

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

This story is said to originate from the Buddhist Śaśajâtaka, where Śakra is the Old Man of the

Moon and the monkey, otter, and jackal are the rabbit's companions.

Also in Japan is the mid-autumn, or Jugo-ya, festival, people gather to watch the full moon and

children sing a song about the moon rabbit called "Usagi", or "Rabbit".

More elaborate versions of the story of the moon rabbit can be found online.

An animated video of the story can be found at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9VOxLzRO3g&feature=youtu.be

Instructions:

Read or watch the story of the moon rabbit

Discuss what a 'pareidolia' is “An image or sound that appears to be something significant.”

Have the students come up with other pareidolia (man in the moon, shooting stars, cloud

shapes etc).

Discuss how earlier generations did not necessarily have the science to explain many natural

phenomena, and would often make up fables to explain them. Fables are also used to teach

moral lessons, like the lesson of self-giving, and kindness found in the Moon Rabbit fable.

Have students make up their own fables that explain a phenomena they can’t explain. See if

they can include a moral lesson in their stories.

Take it further:

Have students research the natural phenomena they wrote their fable about to see if they can

determine the science behind it.

Have students research to see if there are other fables involving the phenomena they chose.

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

Lesson Five – How many people does it take to put on a Play? Curricular Connections: Drama, Social Studies

Purpose: Many students don’t realize how many important people play a role in creating a

professional piece of theatre. By learning about the number of staff that worked to bring Hana

Hashimoto, Sixth Violin to your school, they will learn how much work goes in to doing

something to the best of our abilities, and how collaboration and teamwork play a big part in

the working world. They will also learn some basic drama terms.

Materials Needed:

Copies of Theatre Jobs Cards

Copies of Theatre Jobs Worksheet

Elastics or paperclips to hold each deck

Instructions:

Copy a set of the “Theatre Jobs” cards. Each sheet is one deck of cards. Cut, separate and

shuffle each deck. You should make enough decks for your class to work in groups of three,

with one deck per group.

Split class into groups of three. Give each group a deck of cards. Give each student a “Theatre

Jobs Work Sheet.”

Have students deal the cards to their group members face down.

No student is allowed to look at the cards in someone else’s hand, they may only read their

own cards aloud to the group.

In this way, each person must answer all of the questions on the question sheet.

The first group with complete correct answers wins.

Take it Further:

For further research you could do a search to see what skills and what kind of education path

these jobs require.

Produce your own class play using variations of these jobs and present it to another class.

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

Everyone can enjoy a play!

Preparing Neurologically Diverse students for Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin

Helping students with ASD and other sensitive students to prepare for a live performance

ahead of time can increase their enjoyment of the play. Knowing what they will see and hear in

advance can provide students with the confidence they need to make the experience

worthwhile and enjoyable.

Hana Hashimoto features the sound of the Violin quite prevalently, you may wish to introduce

students to the violin and its unique sound ahead of time. The sound of a violin is the result of

interactions between its many parts. Drawing a bow across the strings causes the strings

to vibrate. This vibration is transmitted through the bridge and sound post to the body of the

violin, which allows the sound to effectively radiate into the surrounding air. Videos on You

Tube are an excellent resource to demonstrate this to students. For example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYSqIXuTnjM features Students's Music Workshop

instructor Desireé Deasy introducing two seven year old girls to the violin.

There is no use of bright lighting effects in our production of this play.

Stress balls, fidget toys, noise cancelling head phones for those who wish to see the

performance but not to experience the noises, and any other assistive devices are all

encouraged.

Contact Thousand Islands Playhouse if you have any questions or concerns.

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

When The Thousand Islands Playhouse Young Company performs, you get to see four talented actors on the stage. Did you know that there are many more people working behind the scenes to make Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin available for your school? Play the game to find out more:

Each group gets one of these instruction/quiz questions and one set of 27 Theatre Jobs cards.

Each group member needs a blank sheet to record answers on. Have one of your group shuffle the deck of 27 Theatre Jobs cards. Deal the cards to your group members face down. Each card has a clue to help you answer the question below. No one is allowed to look at the cards in someone else’s hand, but

you may read your own cards aloud to the group. In this way, each person must answer all of the questions on a

separate sheet of their own. The first group with complete correct answers on their sheets wins.

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE

Theatre Jobs Cards – cut out to play

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HANA HASIMOTO, SIXTH VIOLIN -- TEACHER GUIDE