RLD PREMIERE K Nartsedge.kennedy-center.org/interactives/tyatours/barrio... · 2010. 10. 6. ·...
Transcript of RLD PREMIERE K Nartsedge.kennedy-center.org/interactives/tyatours/barrio... · 2010. 10. 6. ·...
A WORLD PREMIERE
KENNEDY CENTER COMMISSION
Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by
barrio:
A mostly Spanish-speaking community
or neighborhood in a U.S. city.
if you’re reading these
words, you’ve snuck inside my
secret journal. I’m Ana , mild-
mannered Ana Ortiz , but ( shhh! )
I'm really Barrio Grrrl, too! And you
know what? I’m gonna change the
world. Or at least I will when I
figure out how.
This is my story. It’s told w
ith
words , songs , flashbacks , fanta
sies ,
imaginary friends, even time tra
vel.
Here’s the deal… me , my family ,
my friends , and neighbors , we’
ve
got plenty of problems. But each
and every kid has the pow
er
to make a difference. Do you
want to get started? Easy !
Do something good for your
neighborhood.
Meet QUIARA ALEGRIA HUDESBorn to a Puerto Rican mother and Jewish father , Quiara was raised in thelargely African American neighborhood of North Philadelphia. While growingup , Quiara looked for ways to connect with people from differentbackgrounds and perspectives. During high school, shevolunteered to help sick kids , published herown literary magazine , and participated in anAIDS awareness program. Now that she’s allgrown up , Quiara puts that same energy intowriting plays , including Broadway’s TonyAward®–winning musical , In the Heights.
Meet BILL SHERMAN
Bill grew up playing baseball, clarinet, and the
saxophone. “I wasn’t going to be a professional
baseball player ,” says Bill, “so I concentrated
on becoming a musician.” At college , Bill was so
interested in West African music that he traveled
to Ghana. Back in New York , Bill listened to a
constant mix of the musical West Side Story , Eminem,
and salsa music. His fascination with Latin American
rhythms proved perfect when Bill was hired to work
on the music for In the Heights .
PLAYWRIGHT:someone whowrites plays ,a dramatist
Ghana
LYRICIST:someone whowrites wordsto a song
COMPOSER:someone whowrites music
My story is told through words and music. If it weren’t for Quiaraand Bill , there’d be no me , no Barrio Grrrl!, and you wouldn’tbe reading this right now. Wanna get to know them?
AFRICA
Sandip,Odette,& Oscar
Abuelomy grandfather
,o
ka
yh
er
es
my
st
or
y,
Cast of Characters
TheAmazingVoicemy imaginary
friend
Anathat’s me.
(Pssst! Secretidentity : Barrio Grrrl!)
I’M ANA ORTIZ, your average 9- year-oldgirl who lives with my abuelo (grandfather ) inPhiladelphia . Back in first grade , I realized thatlots of people need help…and to make that happen ,shy little me turned into fearless “BARRIO GRRRL ! ”
Mommy mom
I HAVE LOTS OFWILD ADVENTURES.Like getting into Harvardat nine , winning the NobelPrize , and vacationing inthe Caribbean. Sure ,they’re all fantasies.That’s because it’s noteasy in the real world.
WITH SUPPORT FROM THEAMAZING VOICE, my faithful best
friend , (okay , she’s imaginary , so what?),
I’ve set out to change the world !
my best friendson the block
Nobe l Peace Prize
THEN I TALK TO MY ABUELO about him askingfor a raise. My grandfather and I don’t talk all thatmuch , even though he’s in charge while my mom is inthe military in Iraq. Did I forget to mention that? Sandip Odette Oscar
SO FIRST I ORGANIZE A SIDEWALK COLLECTIONso that my friends Sandip , Oscar , and Odette can buyice cream over the long hot summer. It f lops.
I MISS MY MOM. A LOT ! Sometimes we talk on the phone , but mostly sheleaves messages on our answering machine ’cause it’s tricky to connect. To cheer meup , my friends build me an imaginary time machine so I can visit my mom in Iraq.Sure it’s all make - believe. Who cares?
I’M STILL DETERMINED TO CHANGE THE WORLDbut it’s harder than you think. Then a big surprisehappens — and I learn that changing the world canstart with the smallest act of kindness.Maybe…in your own home. IRAQ
And instead of tracking events as theyhappen , playwrights are free to insertmoments of pure fantasy or have acharacter tell the audience a secret.”Barrio Grrrl! works that way. The playjumps from straight - forward dialogue toflashbacks , to flash-forwards , to fantasies ,to songs , to poetry. “Kids who readcomic books ‘get it ,’ ” Quiara continues.“Comic book stories get interrupted bythought bubbles or ‘meanwhile , back inthe city.’ We do the same thing inBarrio Grrrl! , but we do it with songsand new characters and scenes .”
COLLAGE:A work
assembled
from fragments
of drawings,
images, or words
taken from
other sources.
Telling My Story…
T
“ There ’ s alot of hearts to
be saved.”
“I can’t sit byquietly while my neighborgoes without. Sharing is
what it’s about!”
“Let’s makesomething outof nothing.”
ypically , stories are toldin a straight line. You know , moststories have a beginning , middle , and
an end. But not all playwrights tell
stories in a straight line.
In telling my story , Quiara , theplaywright behind Barrio Grrrl!,definitely mixes things up. She writes
her plays like an artist creates acollage. “A story can be toldchronologically , A-B-C-D-E, tracking
what happens next in a nice neatline ,” she explains , “or a story canbe told by rearranging the order ,like A-G-B-D-M , for example.
YOU TRY!
It’s your turn. Track the five big events in the story
“Little Red Riding Hood.” You know…a girl heads off
into the woods ; she meets the wolf , and so on. Make
up three or four events that don’t usually get told in
the story. For example , choose a character —Little Red
Riding Hood , the Big Bad Wolf , the Grandmother , or
the Hunter— and insert his or her flashbacks ,fantasies , flash-forwards , or songs.
Romare Bearden
Sights of the
Neighborhood
Explore the work ofRomare Bearden thatinfluenced Quiara at
www.beardenfoundation.org“She’s
gonna changethe world.”
“Don’tgive uphope.” “I’m gonna
save every brokenheart.”
TELL IT:
“Ana, it’s Mami.Darn, I can’t believe
that I missed you.”
Now give each event a letter in alphabetical order.Then shuffle the order so that it’s all mixed up.(Example : A-B-C-D-E could become D-B-C-E-A.)Try to tell the story in this new order and see what happens.
Quiara told me that shewas inspired by collageartist Romare Bearden
( 1 9 1 1 - 1 988) who constructedlarge collages of whole entireneighborhoods made fromnothing but scraps from
magazines. “When you lookat his work ,” says Quiara ,“each window and every
doorway tells its own story.”In Barrio Grrrl! , Quiaradoes the same thing , butshe creates my entire
neighborhood with words.
According to Bill , “ if you listen to the music of Barrio Grrr l ! ,
you’ll hear all kinds of music , not one particular style.” My story
features many musical sounds from countries including Puerto Rico ,
Cuba , Dominican Republic , South Africa , Ghana , Brazil , and
Ireland. Plus , you’ ll hear music from Detroit , New York City ,
Brooklyn, and my home town of Philadelphia. On any day ,
you hear all kinds of music in a neighborhood—hip hop ,
rock and roll, rhythm and blues—just like you will in
the play. Bill explains , “The music is a sound collage of
what it’s like to live on that block .”
A SoundC llage
in
In the musical theater, characters burst intosong at the drop of a hat. Behind the scenes , however ,nothing happens by chance. The composer and playwrightwork really hard to make sure the music is in the rightspot. Songs are carefully placed to move the storyforward , to comment on what just happened , orsometimes to allow characters to say what doesn’tget said in words.
www.tenement.org /folksongs
Sounds of the Neighborhood
Visit Folk Songs for the Five Points and lis
ten
to the way the sounds of a neighborhood
make their own kind of music at
Each song in Barrio Grrrl! has a purpose.During the show, listen closely to each song.After the show, choose a song from the liston this page and decide if the song…
a. states what a character wants or wishes.
b. describes the world of the play.c. explains what is happening — past, present,or future.
d. delivers a message or shares a philosophy.e. permits the characters to say what can’t
be said in spoken words.f. says “I like you” or “I love you.”
Think About This. . .Hey, Hey,
Barrio Grrrl !
Summer in the Barrio
Something Out of Nothing
The Champ
Barrio Lullaby, Part 1
Change the World
Certified Imaginary Friend
Barrio Lullaby , Part 2
Amazing Ride
Barrio Lullaby, Part 3
Other Corners
Collage It:
You Try!
What would your c
ollage look like?
What inspires you
?
What are your in
terests?
Create a collage
that expresses
your ideas and in
fluences.
INFLUENCES: factors that
affect our thoughts and actions
If something interests or inspires me in a newspaper or a magazine,I tear it out and make a collage. If anyone looked at my collage ,
they could pretty much tell what was on my mind.In a way , this collage is what I’m thinking and feeling.
What other ideas
do you have ?
Wanna change the world?
Try starting small , right there in
your own house , block , or neighborhood.
Here’s a list of ideas to get you started.
Quiara says that each kid has the power and
potential to change the world. What I learned
in Barrio Grrrl! is that I don’t have to leave
my neighborhood to change the world ; I can
start by having a positive impact right at
home. So, find a friend…make a choice …
make a difference in someone’s life.
o Give your old toys , books , and clothes to
a shelter.o Plant flowers or a tree in an emp
ty lot
or parkway.o Pick up the litter on a street, a
park , or
a beach.o Organize an effort to collect item
s to send
to our troops.o Turn off a faucet or a switch to
conserve
water and electricity.
o Head a campaign to stop gossip and teasing.
o Collect eyeglasses or old cell phones and
donate them to be recycled.
o Start a recycling program in your classroom
or school.
Stephen A. SchwarzmanChairman
Michael M. KaiserPresident
Darrell M. AyersVice President, Education
Theater at the Kennedy Center ispresented with the generous support ofStephen and Christine Schwarzman.
Additional support is provided by theU.S. Department of Education, VerizonFoundation, Mr. Martin K. Alloy and Ms.Daris M. Clifton, the Estate of Joseph R.Applegate, the Carter and Melissa CafritzCharitable Trust, The Morris and GwendolynCafritz Foundation, The Clark CharitableFoundation, Clark-Winchcole Foundation,DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities,Fight for Children, Dr. and Mrs. Ronald A.Paul, The President's Advisory Committeeon the Arts, National Committee for thePerforming Arts, and Dr. Deborah Rose andDr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk.
Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE,a program of the Kennedy CenterEducation Department. ARTSEDGE is apart of Thinkfinity.org, a consortium of freeeducational Web sites for K-12 teachingand learning.
Join us online atwww.artsedge.kennedy-center.org
For more about the performing arts andarts education, visit the Kennedy Center’sEducation Department online atwww.kennedy-center.org/education
The U.S. Department of Education supportsapproximately one-third of the budget for theKennedy Center Education Department. Thecontents of this document do not necessarilyrepresent the policy of the U.S. Department ofEducation, and you should not assumeendorsement by the Federal Government.
© 2009 The John F. Kennedy Center forthe Performing Arts
Please recycle this Cuesheet bysharing it with friends!
MY ADVICE:THINGS TO DO BEFORE, DURING, ANDAFTER THE PERFORMANCE
before: Read this Cuesheet. Turn off your cell phones.Remind adults to turn them off, too.
Put away your wrapped candy.(The crinkly sound can ruin a performance.)
Say what’s on your mind to anyone sitting with you soyou can stop talking and stay quiet during the play.
during: Respect the performers. It’s okay to laugh andapplaud, but only when the actors expect it.
Respect the person in front of you.Don’t kick his or her chair.
Respect the person behind you. Don’t flop aroundtoo much or talk to your neighbor.
Have a good time!
after: Work on the exercises in this guide.
Talk about your impressions of the play with otherpeople who saw it.
Describe the performance to someone who didn’t see it.
And most important…
create a plan to change the world !