Pre-Show Activities PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY #1: How does an artist use color to express moods and feelings?
Helen Martins, the real woman who inspired The Road to Mecca, strived to fi ll her life with color and light. She used glass and paint to escape her gray existence by creating a colorful environment around her. Activate:
Create a color collage that expresses emotion and mood, using: Magazines (fashion, interior design, travel); construction paper and/or tissue paper Poster board or cardboard or cardstock for “canvas” Scissors
Glue and/or scotch tape
Find as many colors or hues (shades of the same color) that evoke a strong feeling or mood for you. Cut or tear the papers into shapes. Arrange the shapes on your “canvas.” Think about how these colors make you feel as you create your collage.
Write: Reflect: Write a paragraph discussing the color choices you made and the feelings you associate with your collage. Why did you choose these colors?
What associations do we make with different colors? (cool vs. warm colors; light vs. dark; pastels, vs. bold.) Why does a color create different feelings for different people? How is color an important tool for an artist?
PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY #2: How does a playwright explore conflict between an elder and younger character?
Central to The Road to Mecca is the concern of how Miss Helen will live on her own as she grows older. This is a problem faced by many families, everywhere.
Imagine an elderly person who is unable to take care of him/her self, but who still wants to live alone. A younger relative (son/daughter, grandchild, niece/nephew) wants this person to move into an assisted living situation. How will they handle this confl ict?
Write:
1) For each character, identify their objective (or goal), and make a list of the reasons why s/he wants this. 2) Write a dialogue (a conversation between two characters) in which the elder and younger person meet and discuss the confl ict. Allow BOTH characters to explain their wishes and state why their views are important. You decide whether the confl ict is resolved or not.
Activate: Work with a scene partner and perform your written dialogue. Make a few acting choices to distinguish the elder character from the younger character.
Reflect:
How did each character express their objective and reasons? Why is this a diffi cult problem to solve? What are some ways you might help an elder relative?
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