PRE-SHOW ACTIVITIES
(Common Core Code: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1) HOW DO DESIGNERS ANALYZE THE SCRIPT OF TRAVESTIES TO CREATE DESIGN RENDERINGS?
In preparation for seeing Travesties, students will do a close reading of Tom Stoppard’s stage description and apply their understanding of the text to create their own set designs for the play.
MATERIALS: Paper, pencils, pens, crayons. Other articles in this Upstage Guide. PREPARE
Read and discuss “The Travesty of Travesties” article on page 15 of this Upstage Guide. Discuss the definition of “travesty” and ask students to make inferences about what kind of play this is (a false, absurd, or distorted representation of something; mockery, parody, or farce).
ANALYZE
Give students the opening stage description from the play (available at HERE). (You may choose to read it aloud, or break into smaller sections.) Ask students what clues Tom Stoppard gives to the designers. (For example, two locations, a library and a room; the action is Carr’s memory; the time period is WWI; and specifics about furniture, entrances, exits.) You may note the characters mentioned in this description and provide an introduction to them.
DESIGN
DISPLAY & REFLECT
Have students create a set design for how they think the set might look.
Post the designs around the room and allow the students to view all the design choices. Ask students how they used the text as evidence for their choices? How did they incorporate the idea of a “travesty” within their design?
HOW DOES A GRAPHIC DESIGNER EXPRESS THE WORLD OF THE PLAY IN A TRAVEL POSTER? (Common Core Code: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.7)
Before attending Travesties, students explore the world of the play through creating travel posters. MATERIALS: blank paper, art supplies, Upstage Guides.
PREPARE DESIGN
Read and discuss "Tripping Through Travesties: A Guide" on pages 6-7 of this guide. Where and when does this play take place? What are the selling points of Zurich in 1917?
Break the class into groups. Each group will create a travel poster advertising a trip to Zurich in 1917. Assign each group a different focus for their poster, based on the subjects of the primer: Tzara, Lenin, Joyce, Carr, Neutrality in WWI, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Students can conduct further research into each subject by reading additional articles in the Upstage Guide.
SHARE & REFLECT
Display posters around the room, and host a gallery walk. Which poster sells Zurich to you, and why? What’s intriguing about this location and the people in it? What might it have felt like to be a visitor to Zurich in 1917?
20 ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY
FOR EDUCATORS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24
