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Written and directedby Hélène Ducharme

A coproduction ofThéâtre Motus of Canadaand theSô Company of Mali Hello,

teachers andparents!

Please see page 5for informationand activities.

Performances for Young Audiencesis made possible by

A Tree and a Story

T he baobab (pronounced BAH-oh-bab)

is a special tree in Africa that is

important in many stories. And in

this play, the storyteller—called a griot

(GREE-ot)—tells just such a story. In many

villages, griots are also important because

they tell and sing stories of history and

lessons—some are true stories (that’s

called the oral tradition) and some are

mythical tales about people and creatures

with unusual powers. In the performance,

your griot tells a mythical tale with help

from puppets, music, dancing, actors, and,

of course, the baobab tree.

What Happens in the Play?In a small village in West Africa, it has notrained in a very long time. This drought, ordry spell, makes life difficult for everyone.Then one day, an egg comes from the ancientbaobab tree. To everyone’s surprise, a boyhatches from the egg. The village adopts andnames him Amondo (ah-MAHN-doh). But heis no ordinary child (you already knew thisbecause he came from a tree!), and thevillagers soon realize he might be able toend the drought and save them. But first hemust find the courage to outsmart a witchand a monkey. Can Amondo do it?

The Tree of LifeYou can’t miss the baobab tree—it looks likeit is upside down! Although it seems a littlefunny, the tree is no laughing matter in Africa.Baobab trees produce a nutritious fruitsometimes called “monkey bread.” The wideshelf of branches gives people shade fromthe hot sun. And the thick trunk stores lots ofwater that helps the tree survive droughtsand keep providing food and shelter. You canprobably see why many Africans call it the“tree of life.”

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Washington, DC

West Africa

Europe

Africa

North America

South America

Atlantic O

cean

Telling Stories with PuppetsHow could you bring a magical story likeBaobab to life on stage? Some handy tools arelights, scenery, music, storytellers, actors, and,of course, puppets. People have used puppetsto tell stories, entertain, or teach lessons forthousands of years. In this performance, puppetsplay most of the roles. The puppeteers—thepeople who move the puppets—are also actorsand musicians, and you will often see themoperating the puppets.

Puppets Come in Many Shapesand SizesThe main types of puppets include:

Finger—the puppet body fits on one finger

Hand/glove/sock—one hand moves the

puppet from inside

Rod—named for the rods and sticks used

to move the puppet

String or marionette—held up and moved

by strings

Bunraku (boon-RAH-koo) style—body-shaped

puppets moved by hand by puppeteers you

can see

Shadow—the shadow of a cut-out shape

moved between a light and a screen

Over-Life-Size—operated from inside, or

if they are really big like parade balloons,

from outside

Object—created using everyday objects

In this performance, you will see body, string,Bunraku-style, object (hint: watch those musicalinstruments!), and shadow puppets. You willalso see brightly painted masks and costumes.

Meet the Village Animalsa spider

a crane (watch the stringed instrument

become this bird)

a caiman, a type of alligator not normally

living in Africa but sometimes appearing in

legends (watch the xylophone-like instrument)

a snake

an African tortoise

a marabou (a tall wading bird), who helps

Amondo understand the baobab’s message

a mandrill (a monkey related to baboons),

who guards the baobab tree

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Y ou’ll hear lots of African music inthe performance. Notice the manypercussive sounds made by hitting,

rubbing, or shaking instruments. They aremade in patterns of strong and weakbeats—that’s called rhythm. You’ll see andhear these African instruments:

The kora (KOHR-ah) is a stringedinstrument that is a cross between two

ancient stringed instruments, theharp and the lute. It features a longneck and 21 to 25 strings. Thedeep body is typically made fromhalf a gourd (a hard-shelled fruit)

that is covered in animal skin.

The balophone (BAL-uh-fohn) is a keyboardinstrument (similar to the xylophone) that ispart of the percussion family of instruments.It usually has 18 to 21 wooden bars held on abamboo frame. See the round thingsunderneath? Those are gourds that help makethe sound stronger. The balophone is played

by striking the bars with smallmallets or hammers.

Shekere (SHEH-kuh-ray) is a small gourd“rattle” wrapped in a net ofbeads. During the performance,watch how two of theseinstruments help create the eyes

of an alligator!

The djembe (JEM-bay) is a single-headeddrum shaped like a big goblet. The body ismade of wood and thedrum is covered withanimal skin and playedwith bare hands. It is apopular African drumbecause of its widevariety of sounds.

African Words to Your EarsYou’ll notice that some words spoken andsung during the performance are in a differentlanguage. That’s Bambara, a languagespoken in Mali, a country in West Africa.

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Stories and Theater in MotionTaking its name from the Latin word “motus,”which means “to move,” Théâtre Motus fromQuebec, Canada, has developed a distinctperformance style incorporating shadowplays, acting, and puppetry. Baobab,inspired by playwright Hélène Ducharme’stravels to West Africa, features the input ofcreative artists from Mali and Senegal.

Place and SpaceBaobab reflects the climate and culture ofWest Africa and its strong connection tothe natural world. Further children’sexploration by helping them:

locate West Africa on a map and learnmore about its climate.

learn more about solar eclipses.

Little LessonsAfter the performance, discuss withchildren what they learned from the story.Touch on the main themes:

perseverance

overcoming hardship takes a community

being resourceful and clever solvesproblems

Activities for ChildrenPuppet ShowIn the show, the performers turn musicalinstruments into animals by adding soundsand small costume pieces and by movingdifferently. Try finding any object aroundyour home or school and adding somethingto it (eyes, antlers, a mane, or a tail) to turnit into an animal. Move it as that animal andsee whether your friends and family canguess your animal.

Tell Your Baobab StoryStories sometimes help us explain unusualthings around us. In Baobab, you’ll hear oneidea for why this African tree looks like it isupside down. Now you try it: Imagine yourown baobab story and share it with friends.

You Name ItDuring the performance, you’ll hear Amondocalled “the one who unites”—a qualityimportant to him and his village. If you werecreating a nickname describing somethingimportant about you, what would it be?Why?

Dear Grownups:Please help your young theatergoers read andunderstand the information throughout this Cuesheet.This page features more background information foryou and some activity ideas designed to add to thechildren’s experience.

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During the PerformanceWatch for…

the traditional African clothing with its detailed patterns

how the kora turns into a bird and the balophone and shekereturn into an alligator

items you might find in an African marketplace, like basketsand containers

the dried grass—a regular African costume material—used forthe marabou’s body

how typical African materials like sand, beans, rice, orcouscous (tiny bits of crushed wheat) are used to createscreens or sound effects like rain

Listen for…

how the performers insert different people’s names (maybeyours!) in their opening song—that’s a traditional way toimprovise (make up on the spot) a song in West Africa

why Amondo is called the “one who unites” and what fourthings he brings together

After the PerformanceThink About…

the differences among the puppets and how they moved

which puppet you liked best, and why

how Amondo found his courage

Remember…

A GOOD AUDIENCE–Lends its ears when thestoryteller asks for them

stays quiet(unless the performersneed help or there’ssomething funny tolaugh at)

doesn’t eat,

doesn’t sleep,

and claps at the end!

David M. Rubenstein

Chairman

Michael M. Kaiser

President

Darrell M. Ayers

Vice President, Education

Additional support for

Performances for YoungAudiences is provided in part by

Adobe Foundation; The Clark

Charitable Foundation; Mr. James

V. Kimsey; The Macy*s Foundation;

The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz

Foundation; Park Foundation, Inc.;

Paul M. Angell Family Foundation;

an endowment from the Ryna and

Melvin Cohen Family Foundation;

U.S. Department of Education;

Washington Gas; and by generous

contributors to the Abe Fortas

Memorial Fund, and by a major gift

to the fund from the late Carolyn E.

Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.

Major support for the Kennedy

Center’s educational programs

is provided by

David and Alice Rubenstein

through the

Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Education and related artistic

programs are made possible

through the generosity of the

National Committee for the

Performing Arts and the President’s

Advisory Committee on the Arts.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge

Cuesheets are produced by

ARTSEDGE, an education program

of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about Education at

the Kennedy Center at

www.kennedy-center.org/education

The contents of this Cuesheet were

developed under a grant from the U.S.

Department of Education. However those

contents do not necessarily represent the

policy of the U.S. Department of Education,

and you should not assume endorsement

by the Federal government.

© 2013 The John F. Kennedy Center for the

Performing Arts

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