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

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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 !