Wizard of Oz - REP Insight Pack

Contents

Page 2: Introduction

Page 3: Synopsis

Page 4-6: Themes and Characters

Page 7-8: Cast and Creatives

Page 9-16: Classroom Activities Activity 1 – Letter Back Home Activity 2 – Newspaper Headlines Activity 3 – Working With a Script! Activity 4 – Discussion Questions for Young People Activity 5 – Wizard of Oz Word Search Activity 6 – Whoosh! (Teacher-Led Activity)

Page 17 – Model Box Designs from the Set Designer – Angela Davies

Page 18-26 – Illustrations from Costume Designer – Samuel Wyer

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Introduction

Welcome to this REP Insight Pack uncovering the magical world of the Wizard of Oz. Whether you’re a teacher looking for a dynamic learning resource, a parent or child looking for fun ways to follow up your theatre visit, or a theatre goer wishing to gain an insight into the creative process behind this production, this two-part REP INSIGHT should prove invaluable. This REP INSIGHT is full of class room exercises and fun activities for Key Stage 1, 2 and 3 pupils.

These resources contain background information on the books, illustrations from the designer, interviews from the author and activities for children that are perfect before or after a visit to the theatre. We hope you find them useful.

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Synopsis

When farm girl Dorothy Gale runs away from the evil Mrs Gultch, she finds herself lost in a strange and wonderful new world. With her faithful dog Toto at her side, she sets off on an adventure to find her way back home.

Along the way she meets some peculiar but loveable characters who are also in search of something special – a Scarecrow needing a brain, a Tin Man looking for a heart and a Lion lacking in courage. Together they follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City in search of answers from the mysterious and all-powerful Wizard of Oz.

But the friends soon find themselves caught between the forces of good and evil as they are mercilessly pursued by the Wicked Witch of the West. Will they ever make it to Oz and find what they are desperately seeking from the Wizard?

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Themes and CharactersDorothy Gale is the main character of The Wizard of Oz. She is an orphan and lives with her aunt and uncle on their farm in Kansas, along with her dog, Toto.

Aunt Em or Aunty Emily is the Aunt of Dorothy. Aunt Em leads a busy and tiring life on her Kansas farm. Although she becomes preoccupied and harsh at times, she loves and cares for Dorothy very much.

Henry Gale or Uncle Henry is a busy man trying to keep his farm afloat which makes him stern and one track minded. However, you can tell that Uncle Henry is a goodhearted and good natured individual deep down.

Toto is Dorothy's dog and her constant companion. When he runs away right before the hot air balloon is supposed to take off from Emerald City, Toto costs Dorothy her chance to go home.

Miss Almira Gulch - The Wicked Witch of the West is an evil, conniving witch, and the Wizard of Oz orders Dorothy and her friends to kill her if they want his help. He makes this request because he does not believe anyone will actually be able to accomplish the task due to the Wicked Witch of the West's extreme power.

Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, is a benevolent soul, and after Dorothy misses her chance to go back to Kansas with the Wizard, Dorothy asks Glinda for help. Glinda is very nice. She helps Dorothy and also frees the Winged Monkeys from their enchantment.

Zeke (The Scarecrow) wishes he was smarter. The Wizard gives him bran to put into his head, which he calls 'bran-new brains.'

Hickory (The Tinman) wants a heart. To fix this, the Wizard gives the Tin Woodman a stuffed silk pouch resembling a heart.

Hunk (The Cowardly Lion) desires courage. In the end of the novel, the Wizard gives him a potion of 'courage.'

Professor Chester Marvel (The Wizard of Oz) rules the Emerald City until he goes back to the United States. He is originally from Nebraska. He does not have any real magical powers but uses technology to manipulate how people see him.

The Munchkins are a race of little people who are very grateful to Dorothy after she kills their cruel ruler, the Wicked Witch of the East.

The Winkies are also very grateful to Dorothy and her friends after they kill the Wicked Witch of the West, who was enslaving them.

The Winged Monkeys were put under an enchantment when they played a trick on the fiancé of a witch. The witch wanted to kill them, but she decided to just force them to do the bidding of the owner of the magical Golden Cap. They have been enchanted for generations. Glinda frees them after Dorothy gives her the Golden Cap.

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Themes:

There's no place like home

Dorothy lives in Kansas, a place which many people loathed to call home; it was full of dangerous cyclones and lacked colour and beauty. Oz, by contrast, is stunningly gorgeous and fantastical. It is occupied with strange folk, a marvellous emerald city, verdant fields of flowers and miles of healthy farmland, deep forests, and adventures galore. Most of its inhabitants are cheerful, helpful, and virtuous. It seems strange that Dorothy would want to leave this land for her home. However, she quickly learns the importance of home, her roots and her family. She finds much to love about Oz but knows it is not where she belongs. This story shows that even when children are surrounded by fascinating exotic place, it is always more comforting to be in a familiar setting.

Childhood

Dorothy is the typical child heroine, for she is non-judgemental, open-minded, simple, and frank. The Wizard of Oz was fairy tale, but unlike other fairy tales, his child hero does not enter into any sort of adulthood. Like Peter Pan she is still a child and remains a child even though she ventures in a sometimes-frightening journey facing many dangers. Dorothy's childhood is not unlike most people's childhoods - their home seems dull and boring, and an adventure is welcome and thrilling. Dorothy's journey in Oz can also be viewed as a typical childhood: there are close friends but some people to avoid; there are fantastic scenes and experiences but also obstacles and dangers and there are moral lessons to be learned.

Self-sufficiency

The Scarecrow does not think he possesses brains, the Tin Woodman expresses grief for his lack of a heart, and the Lion believes himself bereft of courage. Of course, the audience will see right away that none of these characters are correct: the Scarecrow is the most intelligent of the bunch, the Tin Woodman is filled with compassion, and the Lion is full of courage and nobility. All of them already possess what it is they think they lack, but they are unable to see this for themselves. They believe that they must ask the Wizard to help them. They did not need anyone else to fix them or solve their problems; they already had within them what they needed the whole time. The same suffices for Dorothy, who was already wearing the silver shoes that could have taken her home without help from the Witch.

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Themes (Continued):

The importance of friendship

The story makes it clear how important friendship is. First, Dorothy's only friend on the bleak and windswept Kansas prairie is her faithful canine companion, Toto. He is the only one who can bring light and joy into her life. She then builds further important friendships with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Lion. All three provide emotional and physical assistance to the young girl as she travels to the Emerald City to try and get back to Kansas. Her friends provide counsel and advice and together solve the journey's thorniest problems. They are her protectors; all three of them volunteer to accompany her on her final leg of the journey to Glinda's castle, although they all had other duties to fulfil. All in all, it is unlikely Dorothy would have gotten very far without them. Friendship in this novel is key.

Good and Evil

Good and Evil are literally and figuratively completely opposed to each other in The Wizard of Oz. There are two Wicked Witches and two Good Witches. They reside across from each other on the geographic axis of North, South, East, and West. The evil witches are distinguished by their rapaciousness, their enslavement of the people who live in the land they made their home, and their quest for power. The Wicked Witch of the West tried to destroy Dorothy and her friends numerous times. The Good Witches, however, provide counsel and guidance. The Witch of the North bestowed a sacred mark on Dorothy's forehead, which protected her from evil. Glinda shows good through her wisdom and kindness, showing Dorothy the way home; helping the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Lion realize their true callings; and freeing the Winged Monkeys from the Golden Cap.

The value of the journey

Dorothy's route back to Kansas is not simple. Even though there was a simple solution from the beginning - the silver shoes - she did not know about it and gained far more from the lengthier, more dangerous journey it took to get back to Kansas. This journey provided her with several life lessons. She learned the value of friendship through her three travelling companions. She saw the fight between Good and Evil play out through the Witches. She found herself tested emotionally and physically. And, finally, she learned to trust herself and that the answers to her problems lie within her. She benefited from the company of others but the solution of how to get back to Kansas could be found within all along. This journey, then, gave her much more insight into herself and taught her how to find the way in an oftentimes treacherous and confusing adult world.

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Cast and CreativesDirector Liam SteelSet Designer Angela DaviesCostume & Puppet Designer Samuel WyerDance & Vocal Arrangements Peter HowardNew Orchestrations George DyerCasting Director Will BurtonWith Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg Background Music by Herbert Stothart Orchestration by Larry Wilcox Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company Based upon the Classic Motion Picture owned by Turner Entertainment Co. and distributed in all media by Warner Bros

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CHISARA AGOR – DOROTHY

BEN THOMPSON - TOTO PUPETEER

SHANAY HOLMES - AUNT EM / GLINDA

THOMAS VERNAL -UNCLE HENRY / OZ DOORKEEPER

ED WADE - HUNK / SCARECROW

Wizard of Oz Activities

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DILLON SCOTT-LEWIS - HICKORY / TIN MAN

KELLY AGBOWU - ZEKE / LION

JOS VANTYLER - MISS GULCH / WICKED WITCH

LORNA LAIDLAW - PROF. MARVEL / THE WIZARD

ZAK NEMORIN - ENSEMBLE + DANCE CAPTAIN

From Left to Right - RHYS BATTEN, LUKE FRASER YATES, JADE DAVIESEMILY SQUIBB ,

ALL PLAYING THE ENSEMBLE

Activity 1 – Letter Back Home

Write a letter back home to Kansas.

Get young people to imagine they are Dorothy. Dorothy is currently in Oz and she has made many discoveries and made many friends. She is still yet to meet the Wizard of Oz and she is in trouble with the Wicked Witch of the West.

Use the below questions to write a letter back home to Uncle Henry and Aunty Emily.

What has she been doing in Oz and how did she get there? Does she miss home? What else does she want to tell Aunt Emily and Uncle Henry? What does she feel about her new friends? What has she seen and discovered Oz? What does Oz look like and how is it different from home? Does she want to go back to Kansas? What does she miss about being home? Is she scared of the Wicked Witch of the West?

Activity 2 – Newspaper Still Images

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It’s Kansas, and the newspapers are full of stories about the girl who went missing in a tornado!

In groups ask young people to think of what newspapers in Kansas may say when they hear about a girl who went missing in a tornado, and then get them to think of the most creative headlines.

Explain to young people what a still image is:

Still Image: A Still image is when actors use their bodies to create a picture that tells a story. No one is allowed to move, but are encourage to use their body language and facial expressions as well as a varied use of levels to clearly show what is happening in the story.

Once they have thought of some headlines, ask them to think about what sort of still image might go along with their chosen headline. Ask them to use their bodies, their facial expressions and any props they can to recreate the front cover pictures!

Extension: Ask young people to think about what was going on just before their chosen still image and create a scene leading up to their still image.

Activity 3 – Working with a Script!

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Below is a part of the official Wizard of Oz Script, ask young people to get into groups of four, read the scene and begin to act it out. This is the scene where Dorothy, The Tinman and the Scarecrow first meet the Lion.

ACT ONE — SCENE 12

The Lion — Wild forest.

The roar of lions and the screams of monkeys and tropical birds fill the air.

Dorothy: I don’t like this forest! It’s — it’s dark and creepy!

Scarecrow: Of course, I’m not very bright, but I think it’ll get darker before it gets lighter.

Dorothy: Do — do you suppose we’ll meet any wild animals?

Tinman: Mmmm — we might.

Dorothy: Oh —

Scarecrow: Animals that — that eat straw?

Tinman: A — some — but mostly, lions, and tigers, and bears.

Dorothy: Lions!

Scarecrow: And tigers!

Tinman: And bears!

Dorothy: Oh! Lions and tigers and bears! Oh my!

(sp. in rhythm) Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh my!

Near at hand we suddenly hear a loud ferocious roar. The Three Friends stop dead in their tracks. There is another roar and the Lion (Zeke) enters.

Dorothy: Oh look!

Scarecrow: Oh!

The Tinman and the Scarecrow collide and collapse to the ground as the Lion assumes a threatening pose.

Lion: Hah! Put ’em up! Put ’em up! Which one of you first? I’ll fight you both together if you want. I’ll fight ya’ with one paw tied behind my back! I’ll fight ya’ standin’ on one foot! I’ll fight ya’ with my eyes closed! Oh, pullin’ an axe on me, eh? Sneakin’ up on me, eh? Why!

Tinman: Here — here. Go way and let us alone.

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Lion: Oh, scared, huh! Afraid, huh? Hah! How long can you stay fresh in that can? Come on, get up and fight, you shivering junk yard! (Turns to the Scarecrow) Put your hands up, you lop-sided bag of hay!

Scarecrow: That’s getting personal, Lion:

Tinman: Yes, get up and teach him a lesson.

Scarecrow: Well — what’s wrong — with you teachin’ him?

Tinman: I — well — well, I hardly know him.

Toto in Dorothy’s arms suddenly barks, causing the Lion to spin round in alarm.

Lion: Well, I’ll get you anyway, Pee-Wee.

The Lion leaps towards Dorothy with a roar. Dorothy slaps him on the nose and he bursts into tears. The Tinman and Scarecrow get to their feet.

Dorothy: Oh, shame on you!

Lion: What did you do that for? I didn’t bite him.

Dorothy: No, but you tried to. It’s bad enough picking on a straw man,but when you go around picking on poor little dogs ...

Lion: Well, you didn’t have to go and hit me, did you? Is my nose bleedin’?

Dorothy: Well, of course not. My goodness, what a fuss you’re making. Naturally when you go around picking on things weaker than you are — why you’re nothing but a great big coward!

Lion: You’re right, I am a coward! I haven’t got any courage at all. I even scare myself. Look at the circles under my eyes. I haven’t slept in weeks.

Tinman: Why don’t you try counting sheep?

Lion: That doesn’t do any good — I’m afraid of ’em.

Scarecrow: Oh , that’s too bad. Why don’t you come along with us? We’re on our way to see the Wizard now. To get him a heart.

Tinman: And him a brain.

Dorothy: I’m sure he could give you some courage.

Activity 4 – Role on the Wall.

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In this activity young people can further explore the characters in the Wizard of Oz. You will need a large outline drawing on sugar paper of the character you want to discuss. Once you have an outline of your character do the following:

By the head of your character write what the character thinks about in the play

By the heart of your character write What the character feels in the play

By the mouth of your character write what the character says or mentions in the play about themselves or others

By the legs/hands of your character The actions their character does in the story, what things do they achieve or what physical things to do they accomplish in the story.

This exercise can be used to explore a characters personality, intentions and background in different scenes and can then be used to compare the character’s journey in different parts of the story.

Activity 5 – Wizard of Oz Word Search!

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S E Z N Y C S J D O R O T H Y T D M O L I W T F D J U O W I E X C S A S N A K B O R N W P O X N A M F L S Z I T O I G V A B V A F R A R W L J B F D P Y I U K S M G U T U J J E P E N Z R G K S I B H V D F N B O S I I G O P D X C S A I D C Y A T A J O C I D S R R C W G X T V X S X D W U D U V T G T E W I B N X H I A G W O O X N M O G F V C A G W Y R V W O Y V B K Z F U I Q B A P W V N Q G J A D X Y X I A C I C N S I R L T F H U L K F T Q X X M H N L K C D C T X K O X J A C R A W Q O M H D V D M C N R F J S K P R H D D C N H I Z E V Z H M S A G X J D B L B D T K E N F W O R C E R A C S Y U O W K U J J H H W H S I P B L I Y Z B M T W E U F R Z H H R T P S P X L T P G F D B K L U F K T C Y K T I Z Q W R I S G I J C A Z B J U J G N D L L X C M O A X Q X W W O C O E U F F M I R O U B Z P H I V Z D Q H K G G A R N N A J P A S M S B K C A X R B X O S Q L J F M A R Q Q U Y E H N T G U Y X V B F G L Z Q V R Y W R R O N O I P M H B W F J E C W G G T U F W U K N R I Z G P H E P F F J J E V G O M N T S N I K H C N U M P T S E E P X L V H B P L X W H G G F I H B L C O X L P S A R S L S D Y H L E E X L R Q O K C Z P E W E O H H Q Z M M F D T E M T A V S D Y A J V H X A C C Z P H C O K L A Z Y R B C F B G V H N C X M P A T K T W Q P W V V Y K W I

DOROTHYGLINDAKANSASLIONMANMONKEYSMUNCHKINSPOPPIESSCARECROWTINTORNADOTOTOWINKIESWITCHWIZARDYELLOW BRICK ROADActivity 6 – Whoosh! (To be led by a teacher)

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‘Whoosh’ is a drama activity used to interactively tell a story where participants are actively learning the story by performing it rather than passively just listening to it. In this activity you as the leader and storyteller also take up the role of a director and orchestrator. As you tell a story participants can play characters, objects, create soundscapes and anything else you can creatively think of.

How Whoosh Works:

The class all sit in a circle. As the leader tells the story they can pick students to jump up and become characters as the story goes on.

For example if the story starts with “Dorothy was chasing Toto around the field on a stormy day”

Point at one student to be Dorothy, another to be Toto, and ask the rest of the group to create the sound of a storm. At this point Dorothy can be encouraged to shout Toto’s name and Toto can be encouraged to embody a dog. You as the director can play with sounds, actions and dialogue as you wish. If at any time you say “Whoosh!, all participants should quickly return to their places, and any soundscapes should stop. As more characters or objects are introduced, move around the circle so that all the students are given a chance to take part. This means that different pupils get to play the same character at various times and everyone gets a chance at trying several roles, regardless of gender. At any point the whole group, when not playing characters can be objects and soundscapes. Pupils can interact with one another and even speak improvised dialogue or repeat lines spoken by you. If you like you can add some props for people to play with. If at any point you need to reset a scene or stop a scene (especially if it is becoming too lively or confusing), you can simply shout “Whoosh”. Below is a 15 point summary of the story, you can use this as a guide to tell the story of the Wizard of Oz.

1) Dorothy lives in Kansas with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em and her dog TOTO. One day a cyclone comes and Dorothy’s uncle and aunty manage to get into a storm cellar at the bottom of the house, but while Toto and Dorothy are still in the house, the entire house is lifted by the cyclone and they fly off into the sky.

2) When the house finally lands, Dorothy ends up in a beautiful land and is greeted by the good Witch of the North. Who thanks them for killing the Cruel Witch of the East. Dorothy is given the Witch of the East’s silver shoes. Dorothy wants to go home, but the Witch says only the Wizard of Oz can help you with that. He lives in the Emerald city at the end of the Yellow Brick Road.

3) Dorothy and Toto move down the road and they meet a talking Scarecrow who wants to go with them because he wants to ask the Wizard of Oz for a brain.

4) In the forest, Dorothy, The Scarecrow and Toto see a Tinman who has rusted away and cannot move. They find an oil can and pour it on the Tinman who then moves and speaks. He wants to join them so he can ask the Wizard for a heart and marry the girl he once loved.

5) The group then meet a huge Lion. Dorothy bravely protects TOTO and slaps the Lion on the nose. The Lion then cries and admits that he is a coward. He wants to go with them so he can ask the wizard for courage and bravery.

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6) During their journey the Scarecrow has clever ideas about how to easily get across the country. The Tinman never harms any living thing around him. The Lion roars at all the threatening monsters to frighten them away.

7) The group arrives at a huge gate that surrounds the emerald city. They all meet the Wizard of Oz individually. Inside the throne room Dorothy only sees a huge floating head. She asks to go home to Kansas. Each person asks for what they want. But the Wizard tells them they have to kill the Evil Witch of the West first.

8) They all head to the land of the Winkies, where the Witch of the West is the ruler. The Witch sends wolves after them, but the Tinman kills them with his axe. Then she sends crows to poke out their eyes, but the Scarecrow scares away all the crows. Then she sends bees but the Scarecrow takes all the stings. The Winkies tries to attack but the Lion scares them away with his mighty roars.

9) Finally the Witch orders the Winged Monkeys to attack the Tinman and the Scarecrow. The monkeys capture the Lions, Dorothy and Toto and take them to the Witch’s castle. The Witch of the West demands Dorothy’s silver shoes.

10) Dorothy get’s angry and throws a bucket of water onto the Witch who then suddenly melts! Dorothy frees the Lion and saves the Tinman and the Scarecrow. Everyone is shocked to see that they have all returned alive.

11) Finally they reach the Wizard of Oz, once they go to the throne room there is no big floating head. Just a voice telling them to go away and come back later. The Lion roars in anger, which scares Toto who then trips over and drops a big screen. Behind the screen is a little old man.

12) The man says he is the wizard of Oz, but he is a liar. He is from a different country, and came here by accident when his hot air balloon fell into oz. He had the people of Oz build the beautiful emerald city and soon became their leader.

13) The wizard was afraid of the wicked Witches of the east and the west. That is why he commanded Dorothy and her friends to kill them.

14) Everyone still wants their prizes for beating the Witches. So the wizard gets a box and pours a mixture of bran, pins and needles in the Scarecrow’s head and says “that is your new brain”. He then gets a red silk heart filled with sawdust, put it inside the Tinman and says “this is your near heart”. Then Lion is given a special drink and the wizard says “this will make you courageous”. He then says he will make Dorothy is a brand new hot air balloon so the Wizard and Dorothy can fly off back to home. Everyone is happy with their gifts.

15) When the Balloon is ready, Dorothy is busy trying to chase Toto and the balloon flies off without her. She does not know how to get back home. They then meet Glinda, the Witch of the south. The Witch tells the winged monkeys to take Scarecrow to rule the Emerald City. She asks the monkeys to take the Tinman to rule the land of the winkies, and the Lion to rule the forest. Glinda tells Dorothy to click her shoes three times so she can return back to home. Dorothy whirls through the air, he shoes fall off and Dorothy lands back at home in Kansas.

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Model Box Designs from the Set Designer – Angela DaviesBelow are Model Box Designs for the Wizard of OZ. Before a show a set is created and constructed for a performance. A Set Designer will design how the stage will look, what sort of entrances and exits actors may use, and which sections of the set may be flown on and off stage. Below are some images of Angela Davies’ design of Wizard of OZ. If you come and see the show, you will see how the production team made this design come to life!

Quote from Angela Davies about the Set Design Process:

“Designing the set for the Wizard of OZ has been an exciting process, finding the approach and concept for the production has been a team effort. The main collaborators have Liam the Director, Sam (Costume and Puppet design) and Nick (Lighting Design). We spoke about transformation; the cyclone propels Dorothy (and Toto) into an unfamiliar abstract landscape defined by light. Dorothy is lost, the adventure begins, however the

image and idea of ‘Home’ continuously frames the action.

The set design process starts with sketching in 2D and 3D and a sharing of reference images, as the design finalizes the set design is communicated to the creative and production team by using a scale model.”

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Kansas

Cornfield

Illustrations from the Costume Designer – Sam Wyer

The REP is a producing theatre, which means we make most of the things that you see on our stages. The costumes are created here, the set is created her, the props are made here and so on. Below are some TOP SECRET costumes designs for our upcoming production of Wizard of OZ, we can’t show you many, because that would ruin the surprise if you came to see it (which you should!)

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