Teachers pack

The Granny Smith Show An intimate, interactive performance piece mixing

theatre, French, English and cooking!

Summary

The Show Questions and activities after the show

The Character

Set design

Granny Smiths favourite activities

French Various documents that can be used for an «easy» introduction to the french language

Crumble à la poire

– A little background information – The recipe (la recette)

A few songs

Masked Theatre Various documents with spoken, written and practical exercises

– Mask use

– Mask work

– Bibliography

The Granny Smith Show

A comic, interactive, one woman show

text and mask by Tracey Boot

Role of Granny Smith Tracey Boot

The Character The central character is called Granny Smith. Granny Smith is a retired, British, home economics teacher who has been living in France for a number of years. She speaks both French and English and sometimes both at the same time!

She is a rather active granny who talks about her home, her likes and dislikes, her friends and activities…

Question: What does Granny Smiths look like ?

Activity: the students can either draw a picture or give a written account ie. french passeport / CV (name, address, physical appearance, hobbies…

The Set Design: Granny Smiths house

Our set is a simple but efficient interpretation of a small house: Stage right - a little living room (Petit salon) Stage left - the kitchen (cuisine)

Question: What does Granny Smiths house look like ? Activity: the students can either draw a picture or give a written account Question: Who comes to Granny Smiths back door ? Answer: the post man (facteur)

Granny Smiths favourite activities

Granny Smith has lots of activities, she’s a very active granny! Here are some of her activities:

1) Gym (gymnastique) Granny Smith likes to keep fit she loves gym, jogging, football ... but watch out she thinks everyone should keep fit!

She also likes to sing to keep her vocal cords in tune!

Question: What song does Granny Smith sing while warming up? Answer: Head and shoulders- tête, épaules...

2) Cooking (cuisine)

Granny loves cooking and she frequently invites her friends for coffee.She often invites Marjory, her best friend.

Question: What is Margorys favourite dessert ? Answer: Pear crumble (Crumble à la poire)

3) Drinking herbal tea (tisane)

Une petite tasse de tisane à la menthe

An infusion is a very simple chemical process used with botanicals that are volatile and dissolve readily, or release their active ingredients easily, in water, oil or alcohol. The botanicals are typically dried herbs, flowers or berries. The liquid is typically boiled (or brought to another appropriate temperature) and then poured over the herb, which is then allowed to steep in the liquid for a period of time. The liquid may then be strained or the herbs otherwise removed from the liquid. Unless the infusion is to be consumed immediately, it may then be bottled and refrigerated for future use.

Question: How do you make mint tisane ?

French Granny Smith makes a Crumble à la poire (an

pear crumble) during the show. Here’s a little history and a recipe to share with younger

students.

Crumble: a little history! A crumble is a dish of British origin containing stewed fruit topped with a crumbly mixture of fat (usually butter), flour, and sugar. The crumble is baked in an oven until the topping is crisp. It is often served with custard, cream or ice cream as a hearty, warm dessert after a meal.

Popular fruits used in crumbles include pear, blackberry, peach, rhubarb, gooseberry, and plum. The topping may also include rolled oats, ground almonds or other nuts, and sometimes sour milk (e.g. vinegar and milk) is added to give the crumble a more extravagant taste. Brown sugar is often sprinkled over the crumble topping, which caramelises slightly when the pudding is baked. In some recipes the topping is made from broken biscuits (cookies in American English) or even breakfast cereals, but this is not traditional.

Crumbles originated in Britain during World War II. Due to strict rationing the ingredients required to make the bases of pies contained too much of the necessary flour, fat and sugar to make the pastry. So a simple mixture of flour, margarine and sugar was used to make the top of the crumble. The dish was also popular due to its simplicity.

Crumble à la poire: la recette

Pour huit personnes (8 servings)

Préparation (preparation): dix minutes (10 minutes)

Four à 200°C (therm.7-8) (oven at 200°C (therm.7-8))

Ingrédients (Ingredients) • farine (flour), une tasse (1 cup)

• sucre (sugar), demi tasse (1/2 cup)

• beurre (butter), 75g (75 grammes)

• Trois poires (3 Pears)

Méthode (Method)

1.pèle et coupe les poires (peel and cut the pears)

2.coupe le beurre en petits morceaux (cut the butter into small pieces)

3.mélange la farine et le sucre (mix together flour and sugar)

4.ajoute le beurre (add the butter)

5.frotte les ingrédients avec tes droits (rub with fingers (“crumble”))

6.saupoudre les poires avec le crumble (sprinkle the pears with the crumble

7.fait cuire pendant 35 minutes (Bake in oven for 35 minutes)

Songs Granny Smith likes to sing! Here are a couple of her favorite songs

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (Anglais) Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,And eyes and ears and mouth and nose, Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes

Tête et épaule, genoux et pieds (Français) Tête et épaules, genoux et pieds, genoux et pieds,Tête et épaules, genoux et pieds, genoux et pieds,Yeux et oreilles et bouche et nez Tête et épaules, genoux et pieds, genoux et pieds,

If you’re Happy and you know it If you’re happy and you know it… Frappe tes mains!

If you’re happy and you know it… tape tes pieds!

If you’re happy and you know it… crie “Hoorah!”

Masked theatre

Mask use:

Parties, ritual dances, carnivals, religious ceremonies, fancy dress, therapy and healing... masks have been used for many, many years and through out the world.

Here are some examples:

The theatre mask – used by actors or dancers (the wearer interprets a character or animal (he or she is not is not changed by the mask)

Carnival masks – often satanic or grotesque (it protects and liberates the wearer)

The death mask (destined to fixe or hold the soul)

Masks as a means of communication: In West Africa, masks are used in religious ceremonies to communicate with spirits and ancestors.

false face masks: the Iroquois made spectacular wooden false face masks, used in healing ceremonies and carved from living trees.

Other masks

Make up, moustaches, false noses, beards, glasses... any object that covers or changes the face is a type of mask.

Working with masks

Written and vocal expression:

Look at pictures of masks from different cultures: => describe: what are they made of? what do they inspire?

Observing faces (photos): different types, different emotions => imagine their backgrounds, their story

Have a look at caricatures (Daumier – B.D. – T.V. etc.) => what fault has been exaggerated?

Practical exercises Draw faces: happy, sad, angry, shy…

Make masks: You can make simple masks from paper bags or more complicated versions using papier mâché. Or simply create new faces using simple accessories: glasses, false noses, wigs and hats...

Mask play

Choice of mask => observe: which masks the student chooses initially? Wearing a mask=> find the movements that work with the mask (how does it walk, talk...)

Bibliography (English books)

General

➢ The Moving Body. Jacques Lecoq. London, 2000. ➢ Masks of the Spirit. Roberta H. Markman and Peter T. Markman.

California, 1994. ➢ Masks of Black Africa. Ladislas Segy. New York, 1976. ➢ The False Faces of the Iroquois. William N. Fenton. USA, 1987. ➢ Spirit Faces. Gary Wyatt. San Francisco, 1995. ➢ Mythic Beings. Gary Wyatt. Canada, 1999. ➢ African Masks. Franco Monti, Paul Hamlyn. Middlesex, 1969. ➢ Mask Arts of Mexico. Ruth D. Lechuga & Chloë Sayer. London, 1994. ➢ Masked Performance. John Emigh. USA, 1996. ➢ Gods and Masks of the Kathmandu Valley. Anne Vergati. India, 2000. ➢ Noh Masks. Toru Nakanishi & Kiyonori Komma. Japan, 1986. ➢ Mind, Man and Mask. Inger Zielfelt och Michael Meschke. Dramatiska

Institutet, Stockholm, 1998. ➢ Masks, Transformation and Paradox. A. David Napier. London, 1984. ➢ The Italian Comedy. Pierre Louis Duchartre. New York, 1966. ➢ The Commedia dell’ Arte. Giacomo Oreglia. Stockholm, 2002. ➢ Crossing the Borderlines. Nigel Pennick. U.K. 1998. ➢ Making Faces, Playing God. Thomas Morawetz. USA, 2001. ➢ Puppets, Masks and Performing Objects. John Bell. London, 2001. ➢ Origins of Drama in Skandinavia. Terry Gunnell. Cambridge, 1995. ➢ The Viking Way. Neil S. Price. Uppsala, 2002. ➢ Exposed by the Mask. Peter Hall. New York, 2000. ➢ The Mythic Imagination. Stephen Larsen. USA, 1990. ➢ The Way of the Mask. Claude Lévi-Strauss. USA, 1988. ➢ Masks in Modern Drama. Susan Harris Smith. London, 1984. ➢ The Meaning of Masks. Carl Pickhardt. USA, 2002. ➢ The World of Masks, Erich Herold. Prague, 1992. ➢ The Masks of prof. Agostino Dessi, Agostino Dessi. Italy 2004.

Mask making

➢ Three-dimensional Makeup. Lee Baygan. New York, 1982 ➢ The Technique of the Professional Make-up Artist. Vincent ➢ J-R Kehoe. USA, 1995. ➢ Special Make-up Effects. Vincent J-R Kehoe. USA, 1991. ➢ Figure Making Can be Fun? Michael Brose. USA, 2001. ➢ The Artist’s Complete Guide to Facial Expression. Gary Faigin. USA, 1990. ➢ The Prop Builder’s Mask-making Handbook. Thurston James. USA, 1990. ➢ The Prop Builder’s Molding & Casting Handbook. Thurston James.

USA, 1989. ➢ Maskwork. Jennifer Foreman. U. K. 1999. ➢ Successful Cold-casting and Mould Making. Robert Spenik. London, 1998. ➢ The Materials and Methods of Sculpture. Jack C. Rich. New York, 1988. ➢ Paper Mask Making. Michael Grater. New York, 1984.

Mask performance

➢ Commedia dell’ Arte, an actors handbook. John Rudlin. London, 1994. ➢ Commedia dell’Arte, A handbook for troupes. J. Rudlin. London, 2001. ➢ Playing Commedia. Barry Grantham. London, 2000. ➢ Commedia Plays. Barry Grantham. London, 2006. ➢ Mask Improvisation. Sears Eldredge. USA, 1996. ➢ Impro. - Keith Johnstone. Stockholm, 1985.

Bibliography (French)

(*) recommended Généralités sur le masque

➢ ALLARD (Geneviève), LEFORT (Pierre), Le Masque, PUF, 1984

➢ AYALA (Pier Giovani d’), BOITEUX (Martine) (sous la direction de), Carnavals et mascarades, éd. Bordas, 1988

➢ CARO BAROJA (Julio), Le Carnaval, éd. Gallimard, 1979

➢ COUSSEE (Bernard), Sacré carnaval, éd. Bernard Coussée, 1989

➢ FABRE (Daniel), Carnaval ou la fête à l’envers, éd. Gallimard, 1992

➢ FEUILLET (Michel), Le Carnaval, Les Editions du Cerf, 1991

➢ GAIGNEBET (Claude), FLORENTIN (M.Claude), Le Carnaval, éd. Payot, 1979

➢ GLOTZ (Samuël), (sous la direction de), Le Masque dans la tradition européenne, Bruxelles, Ministère de la Culture, 1975

➢ HEERS (Jacques), Fêtes des fous et carnavals, éd Fayard, 1983

➢ KITAMURA (Kazuyuki), CESCO (Frederica de), Cents belles fêtes d’Europe, éd, Hatier, 1990

➢ LOMMEL (Andreas), Les Masques, éd. Braun, 1973 (*) - Le Masque : du rite au théâtre, Editions du Centre National de la

Recherche Scientifique, 1985 - Les Masques, éd. Gründ, 1992 - Les Masques et leurs fonctions, Rennes, Maison de la Culture,

1980

➢ REVELARD (Michel), KOSTADINOVA (Geurgana), Le livre des masques, éd. La Renaissance du Livre, 1998 (*)

➢ SIKE (Yvonne de) (sous la direction de), Fêtes et croyances populaires en Europe, éd. Bordas, 1994

Fabrication de masques (pour enfants) ➢ BRODY (Vera), DOLARD (Marie), Masques en fête, éd.

Le Temps Apprivoisé, Pierre Zech, 1994 (*)

➢ ROCARD (Ann), Masques de fête, éd. Dessain et Tolra, 1986

Commedia ➢ La Commedia dell’Arte a Travers les Masques de Amleto et Donato

Sartori. Padova, 1982.

Bibliography (other languages)

General

➢ Rito e Mito della Maschera. Paola Piizzi. Firenze, 1987. ➢ Le Origini del Teatro Italiano. Paolo Toschi. Torino, 1976. ➢ Prosopon. Thanos Vovolis. Dramatiska Institutet. Stockholm, 1995. ➢ Mummenschanz. Michel Bührer. Switzerland, 1986. ➢ Grønlandske Masker/Greenlandic Masks. Ib Geertsen. ➢ Krop og Masker. Torben Jetsmark. Danmark, 1989. ➢ Netsuke Masks. Raymond Bushell. New York, 1995. ➢ Masken, Für ein Imaginäres Theater. Werner Strub. Lausanne, 1987. ➢ Maschere, la Commedia Continua. Antonio Fava. Reggio Emilia, 1994. ➢ Máscaras Peruanas. Arturo Jiménes Borja. Perú, 1996. ➢ La Máscara en el Teatro Peruano. Maria Luisa De Zela / Jerry Galarreta.

Peru, 1995. ➢ Vintersolståndet. Göran Stålbom. Stockholm, 1994. ➢ En Väg till den Nordiska Masken. Gunilla Kindstrand, Andreas Sohlberg

och Donato Sartori. Järvsö, 2001. ➢ Stjärngossarna. Hilding Celander. Stockholm, 1950. ➢ La Maschera Comica nella Commedia dell’ Arte. Antonio Fava. Italia,

1999.

Mask making

➢ Maschera e Maschere. Donato Sartori e Bruno Lanata. Firenze, 1984. ➢ Los Moldes, Materiales y Técnicas. Rafael Spínola Romero. Sevilla, 2001. ➢ Fysionomiska Studier. Sophus Schack. Stockholm, 1976. ➢ Läder, dess Kemi, Tillverkning och Egenskaper. K. Helmer Gustavson.

Stockholm, 1944.

Mask performance

➢ Hemliga Masker. My Walther och Suzanne Osten. Stockholm, 2006.