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Given out: Monday 7 December Hand in: Monday 14 December

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Drama Year 7 Home Learning Task

PANTOMIME

DAY ONE - RESEARCH For today’s task you must read the following information and then complete the quiz.

Pantomime: The word derives from the Greek word for actor. The term is used to describe

a musical comedy that is unique to the British Isles (although through colonisation and travel

it has spread throughout Australia, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar

and Malta).

Early Pantomime: Pantomimes first started as a way to entertain audiences during the acts

of an opera. As the scene changes could take a long time, short comical performances were

put on during these scene changes. Modern pantomime was first used as a performance in its

own right during the late 1800s.

Pantomime Traditions: There are lots of traditions which pantomimes follow. The most

famous of these is that pantomimes are performed during the Christmas period.

The stories of pantomimes are usually based upon famous fairy tales: Sleeping Beauty, Jack

and The Beanstalk, Dick Whittington.

There are also stock characters, this means the same types of characters appear in every

play (although names will change). These characters are:

Principal Boy: This is the name for the hero of the story, traditionally the principal

boy is played by a girl; however, this is becoming less popular. One play which still has

a female principal boy is ‘Peter Pan’.

Principal Girl: The heroine (female hero) of the story.

Dame:A man dressed as a woman. The dame character is there to interact with the

audience and should be the most comic role.

The Villain: Every pantomime needs a good baddy!

Sidekicks: Heroes and villains often have sidekicks. These are comic characters who

are usually a bit stupid.

Another important tradition is audience participation. This means that in a pantomime it is

expected that the audience joins in. Famous examples of this would be; booing the villain,

saying “oh yes it is!” if a character says “oh no it isn’t” (and vice versa), and joining in with a

good old sing-song towards the end!

Music may be original but is more likely to combine well-known tunes with re-written lyrics.

At least one "audience participation" song is traditional: one half of the audience may be

challenged to sing 'their' chorus louder than the other half.

The good fairy enters from stage right (from the audience's point of view this is on the left)

and the villain enters from stage left (right from the point of view of the audience). This

convention goes back to the medieval mystery plays, where the right side of the stage

symbolized Heaven and the left side symbolized Hell.

The Quiz Having read through the information, answer the following 10 questions.

1. What is a pantomime?

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2. Which side of the stage does the villain enter from?

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3. Why does the villain enter from this side of the stage?

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4. What gender is the actor who plays the principal boy?

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5. Name two countries (other than England) that perform pantomimes.

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6. What sort of stories are pantomimes usually based upon?

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7. When are pantomimes traditionally performed?

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8. Pantomimes were first used to cover scene changes in what type of performance?

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9. What does the term “stock characters” mean?

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10. What does the audience reply when a character says “Oh, no it isn’t!”?

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DAY TWO - Reading Task The rest of the booklet will be focused on the following scene from a pantomime.

Therefore today I want you to read the scene twice through. This is important so that

you really know the scene. Then answer the questions which follow.

ACT ONE SCENE ONE

The scene is a dusty prison cell. Four characters are huddled in rough blankets. They are King Rat, Abanazar and Baroness Hard-Up.

(There is a sudden scuffling from off-stage. The Villains all rush back to their opening positions. Prison Guard enters with Captain Hook. Hook has a black eye and is looking rather worse for wear). GUARD: Now then, what is all this fuss about? You should have realised that once we

fished you out of that crocodile’s stomach there was only one place for you! This

is the most secure prison in the world. You’ll never get out of here!

HOOK: That’s what you think!

GUARD: Yes I do! Look at the facts, a ten year old boy beat you in a sword fight, then

trapped you in a crocodile and sent that crocodile all the way from Never Land

to Panto Land. With that track record there’s no way you’ll get past me. You’re in

here for life!

HOOK: But I haven’t done anything wrong!

GUARD: Listen to him! Hasn’t done any wrong! I’ll tell you matey you’re the worst of ‘em

all! These two tried to take over the world and she kept her step- daughter as a

slave. Now these are all very evil things, but, you... you tried to kill a ten year old

boy! That’s cold, real cold!

HOOK: If you’d ever met him you would have done the same thing. That boy is the most

irritating, annoying and obnoxious brat that ever lived. And anyway it’s only the

magic of Never Land that makes him ten, if he travelled as far as here that

magic would be gone and you’d see that he’s actually one hundred and three!

GUARD: Is that supposed to make it better? So instead of trying to kill a young boy

you’re picking on the elderly now.

HOOK: Oh I give up, what time’s dinner?

GUARD: Dinner? What do you think this is an hotel? You’ll get your slop when I feel like

givin’ it to you! And if you complain then you won’t get nothin’ at all.

Guard exits still laughing to himself. Hook looks around and then sits down where he is stood. The other villains move closer to him.

KING RAT: So you’re the great and powerful Captain Hook?

HOOK: Yes, and you are?

KING RAT: King Rat, Dick Whittington’s arch nemesis. I’m sure you’ve heard of me.

HOOK: No!

KING RAT: Oh I’m sure you have. Dick Whittington and his dratted cat! Well you see I was

all ready to take over the world when...

HOOK: Look is this going to take long? It’s just I don’t care how you ended up in here!

King Rat is offended but Baroness Hardup finds this hilarious and begins cackling. HOOK: Oh somebody please shut her up!

Abanazar waves his fingers and Baroness is left unable to make sound. HOOK: Now that is interesting.

ABANAZAR: Allow me to introduce myself, I am Abanazar, former advisor to Emperor Wam

of Peking. I was beaten by an all powerful Genie, but what I want to know is how

did that pathetic Pan ever beat you?

HOOK: I don’t want to talk about it.

BARONESS: Oh but you must, it’s therapy darling!

HOOK: I thought she couldn’t talk?

ABANAZAR: Unfortunately the spell doesn’t last long. Otherwise don’t you think I’d have

them permanently silenced?

KING RAT: You just try it, I’d rip your throat out.

ABANAZAR: Oh yes?

KING RAT: Yeah!

ABANANZAR: Yeah!

BARONESS: Fight! Fight! Fight!

This continues in volume with KING RAT and ABANAZAR squaring up to each other. HOOK: Shut up!

There is a sudden silence. ABANAZAR and KING RAT sit sulking.

HOOK: Right if you are quite finished, I think it’s time we got out of here!

BARONESS: Oh you can’t dearie it’s quite impossible. The walls are five metres thick. The

Fairy Godfather and The Genie have but hundreds of spells on the place so

magic’s no good, there are no weapons, and they only ever give us a spoon to eat

with so we can’t even use cutlery against that guard. It’s quite impossible...

Anyone fancy a game of Snap?

HOOK: No way out... Hmmm, don’t worry they have yet to build a prison that Captain

James T Hook cannot escape!

KING RAT: Yeah right! Good luck with that, I think while you waste your time I’ll just have a

little sleep!

BARONESS: Now you listen to me and you listen good rodent! I have had enough of being in

this stinking pit of hell. You might like it? It might be very much like home to

you! But I AM NOT A FILTHY, DISGUSTING, RODENT! I have had enough of

smelling like I’ve been dragged through a pile of garbage. I am a woman, I need

to bathe, I need to look good, I need my makeup, and most of all I need to get

out of this place! The nice captain here he says he can come up with a plan to get

me out of here, and you are going to help him or I am going to do things to you

that you can’t even imagine in your worst nightmares! Do I make myself totally

clear?

KING RAT: Perfectly.

BARONESS: Wonderful, thank you love-e.

Re-enter GUARD

GUARD: Alright you ‘orrible lot. Exercise time. Come on out we go.

HOOK: But it’s raining.

GUARD: I know I wait especially for rain before exercise time. It’s not nice, I know, and

rather petty, but it’s my job to make you miserable. So come on, out you go.

HOOK: Oh we’ll be going out, we’ll be going out very soon!

GUARD: That’s the attitude come on then out.

DAY TWO QUESTIONS

1. What characters appear in the scene?

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2. In no more than three sentences write down what happens in the scene.

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DAY THREE - Design a Set For today and tomorrow I want you to be a set designer. Today is all about planning.

Look at the following pictures of sets to give you inspiration and then answer the

questions. The set design you are planning is for the pantomime scene you read

yesterday.

DAY THREE QUESTIONS

Remember: The set design you are planning is for the pantomime scene you read

yesterday. 1. What mood/ atmosphere do you want to create in this scene?

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2. What colours do you think your set should have?

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3. Are you going to have walls to the prison seen on stage?

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4. Where are you going to place your walls (if you use them)?

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5. How are you going to make it obvious to the audience that this is a prison cell?

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6. Are you going to have any raised sections on the stage?

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7. Where are the Guard and Hook going to enter from?

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DAY FOUR - Design a Set 2

Yesterday you got your ideas for your set; today you need to draw a picture of your

set. Use this page to draw three different rough designs for the pantomime scene you

read on Day 2.

DAY FIVE – Final Set Design

Decide which is your favourite design from yesterday. Take that design and now draw it

out neatly using this full page. Use a ruler and colours to make the design clear. You

may also wish to label your design. Most importantly, take your time to make sure this

is the best quality you can do.

DON’T FORGET TO DO THE EVALUATION ON THE NEXT PAGE!

Self Evaluation of my Homework

I am a R____________________ learner. I know this because:

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I believe that my effort and attitude to learning for this booklet is a:

1 2 3 4

I know this because:

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