the elephant man alley companion
DESCRIPTION
A teacher, student and audience member preparation material for The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance. Performed at the Alley Theatre April 2013. Directed by Gregory BoydTRANSCRIPT
Understanding what’s BETWEEN THE LINES
Welcome to the Alley Theatre
T he Mission of the Alley Theatre’s
Educa on and Community
Engagement programs is to apply
theatre prac ce in a wide range
of community contexts — to use the
prac ce of theatre to strengthen and
promote the interpersonal goals of our
community partners; to provide a vehicle
for meaningful community discourse; to
create the most advanced training ground
for emerging theatre ar sts; and to
become a driving force for arts educa on
within our schools.
Our Core Values:
Empathy and collabora on
through the prac ce of theatre
Service to our community by
teaching our art form in
mul ple se ngs
Innova on and quality in
our prac ce
Excellence in developing
exemplary replicable
na onally recognized
programming
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Foundation Ray C. Fish Founda on
George and Mary Josephine Hamman Founda on
William E. and Natoma Pyle Harvey Charitable Trust
Na onal Corporate Theatre Fund Hearst Crea ve Impact
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™
Immanuel & Helen B. Olshan Founda on, Inc.
The Powell Founda on
Kinder Founda on
Robert W. & Pearl Wallis Knox Charitable Founda on
Lillian Kaiser Lewis Founda on
William Randolph Hearst Founda on
Government Texas Commission on the Arts /Educa on
TCA/Public Safety/Criminal Jus ce
Harris County Department of Educa on
Corporation Boeing
Deloi e
Enbridge Energy Company, Inc.
Macy's
Marathon Oil Company
Parker Drilling Company
Shell Oil Company
United Airlines
Our Partners in Education
"Drama c conven ons offer
a safe harbor for trying
out the situa ons for life;
for experimen ng with
expression and
communica on; and for
deepening human
understanding.” — James Ca ell, Psychologist
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Alley Theatre Teaching Ar st in ac on.
Education at the Alley Theatre
A lley Theatre is firmly commi ed to the idea that par cipa on in the arts
and arts integra on in educa on is more than enriching — it is
essen al!
Studies have illustrated that students who study the arts are more
ac ve in community affairs, assume leadership roles, are more likely to par cipate
in math or science fairs and have increased self‐esteem and confidence.
Addi onally, research has demonstrated that what students learn in the arts helps
them to succeed in other subjects and promotes skills that are vital to the future
workforce. But, developing a love of theatre is a progressive process requiring
sustained exposure.
Arts Education —
♦ Improves critical literacy skills for all learners
♦ Sparks curiosity and foster personal growth
♦ Celebrates diversity and cultural heritage
♦ Encourages creativity and critical thinking
♦ Inspires civic participation
Become a School PARTNER-in-EDUCATION
Becoming an Alley PARTNER provides teachers with a valuable outside resource
that augments exis ng curriculum. School partnerships are tailored to meet
individual school needs and can involve par cipa on in mul ple programs.
Students and educators par cipate in observing plays. They discuss the characters
and language. They take part in playmaking, theatre design and produc on
workshops with guest teaching ar sts and with each other. Together, the school
and the Alley design an experience to suit your teaching needs and address the stu‐
dents’ needs.
If you are bringing students to a performance of The Elephant Man, please consider
scheduling a pre‐ and post‐performance workshop for your group or classes. To
check availability, please contact our department at 713.228.9341 or at
educa [email protected].
This teacher guide includes eight lesson plans. The first and last ones are the most
essen al in order to prepare students for the play and to help them process the
experience. We have included TEKS sugges ons here for your convenience. Please
adjust the lesson plans for The Elephant Man to suit the needs of your classroom.
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HYPE actors embracing the drama.
Please discuss the
PUBLIC
and
LIVE
quali es of theatre
with your students
before a ending a performance at
the Alley Theatre.
THANK YOU!
What to Bring to the Theatre
T heatre is very public and it happens before a live audience. This makes
each performance as unique as the group of people who gather as a
community to see and hear it. In the theatre, the audience affects the
performance. An engaged, a en ve and enthusias c audience will get
a be er performance from the cast and crew than a disrup ve audience. People
play games, text, surf the Internet and watch television in private. They can also
stop and rewind a program or a clip if needed, not so in the theatre. Therefore,
there are different expecta ons of you and your students when you step into a
theatre.
So here are some general guidelines that anyone new to the theatre should know.
(Teachers don’t expect that all of your students will know this e que e, so please
go over these common sense rules.)
• All electronic devices must be turned off upon entering our theatre, especially
cell phones, portable gaming devices, and MP3 players. These items produce noise
that is distrac ng to others and interferes with our equipment. (IF POSSIBLE,
LEAVE BACKPACKS WITH CELLPHONES ON THE BUS OR LOCKED IN THE CAR.)
• The use of recording or photo equipment of any kind is not permi ed in the
theatre before, during or a er the performance.
• Food and drink are never allowed in our theatre, even for the evening
performances.
• Applause is used to acknowledge the performers and to voice apprecia on or
approval. Dimming the lights on the stage and bringing up the house lights usually
signals intermission. A curtain call in which the cast returns to the stage for bows
follows a performance. Applause can erupt naturally from an engaged audience:
this is great.
• We welcome genuine reac ons to the work on stage. However, conversa ons
and discussions must wait un l intermission or a er the curtain call.
• Visi ng the theatre should be an entertaining ac vity, but it is also one that
requires considera on for fellow audience members, as well as the actors on
stage.
DISCUSSION: How is a ending a play different from going to the movies?
How should you react to any loud noises during the play?
Why is it so important to not talk during a play?
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What to bring to
the theatre:
RESPECT
CURIOSITY
QUESTIONS
WONDER
CONSIDERATION OF OTHERS
What to leave behind:
CELL PHONES
FOOD
ATTITUDE
JUDGEMENT
DISRESPECT OF OTHERS
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From the Artistic Director
B ernard Pomerance’s play The Elephant Man was premiered in a small theatre in London in 1977, not far from the events it depicts in Whitechapel, in the city’s East End.
Joseph (‘John’) Merrick’s medical condi on was for a long me a mystery. A er his death in 1890, he was retroac vely diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis, a gene c disorder – but research in the 1980s pointed toward Proteus Syndrome, a congenital disorder, of which macrocephaly is a symptom (the head abnormally large). That seemed a plausible answer – Merrick’s hat measured three feet in diameter. DNA tests on his bones and hair in 2003 seemed to indicate he had both condi ons. But no one can be certain.
The Victorian interest in Science spurred a pursuit of deeper understanding of medical knowledge among both the profession and the public. Publicly performed opera ons were common. And the most popular scien fic lecture topic was the examina on of not the average condi on, but the extraordinary – the devia on from the normal.
The Freak Show was a phenomenon in Victorian London too. A variety of human abnormali es – birth defects, disfiguring disease – were exhibited as cheap entertainment to the curious.
Merrick’s life is singular in that it straddled the worlds of the side show and of medical research – he met Princesses and aristocrats, it is true. But he remained mainly alone.
The play is an examina on of different kinds of freakishness. The Other has been among us since the beginning – and we fear it most when we understand it least.
The true freak, as Leslie Fieldler iden fied, s rs both our horror and our sympathy, since unlike the mythological monsters, he is one of us, the human child of human parents.
He has become altered by forces we do not understand into something monstrous. We avert our eyes, or we stare. He challenges our conven onal boundaries between male and female, sexed and sexless, animal and human. But in Montaigne’s fine remark, “what we call monsters, are not so to God – who sees in the immensity of his work the infinity of forms that he has comprised in it.”
I look forward to seeing you at the Theatre.
Gregory Boyd
Reprinted from The Elephant Man Playbill.
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“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept and
celebrate those differences.” — Audre Lorde, Poet
B ernard Pomerance was born and raised in New York City and educated at the University of Chicago; he moved to London in 1968. His first play, High in Vietnam, Hot Damn was performed at the Interac on Almost Free Theatre in 1972 and directed by Roland Rees. Along with Rees and
David Aukin, Bernard helped to found the theatre company FOCO NOVO in 1972. The name was taken from Pomerance’s play of the same tle, the company’s inaugural produc on (Oval House, 1972). Others include Someone Else is S ll Someone (Bush Theatre, 1974), Melons (RSC 1985‐6) and an adapta on of Bertolt Brecht’s A Man’s a Man (Hampstead Theatre, 1975). His best known play, The Elephant Man, premiered at Hampstead Theatre in 1977. It was performed in repertory at Britain’s Na onal Theatre and several mes off and on Broadway. For The Elephant Man, Bernard Pomerance won a Tony Award, the New York Drama Cri cs’ Award, an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, and the outer Cri cs’ Circle Award. Of the many revivals worldwide this play has enjoyed, the most significant was presented by David Aukin/ACT Produc ons on Broadway in 2002.
Reprinted from The Elephant Man Playbill.
About the Author
Photo credit: Mark Lindberg
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"Never, no, never ... nothing dies. The stream flows, the wind blows,
cloud fleets, the heart beats. Nothing will die." — Bernard Pomerance, The Elephant Man
The Peculiar Case of Joseph Merrick
Joseph Merrick, 1889
Source: Royal London Hospital, 1971
J oseph “John” Carey Merrick was born on August 5, 1862, in Leicester. As an infant, Merrick appeared normal, but by age two he began to develop severe skin and bone abnormali es. At age 10, Merrick’s mother passed away and his father remarried. Merrick’s stepmother was shocked by his condi on and
grew to resent him. As a teenager, Merrick a empted to contribute to the household by peddling gloves and stockings from his father’s haberdashery shop; however, this venture failed miserably as his appearance frightened and repelled customers.
At age 18, u erly deformed, Merrick le home. Unable to find work, he sought relief in a workhouse, a charitable prison‐like establishment; but a er less than a year, this too became unbearable to him. Desperate to survive, Merrick contacted a freak show manager and offered himself for exhibi on.
Merrick was displayed as “the Elephant Man, Half‐a‐Man and Half‐an‐Elephant” across England before se ling in the East End of London, at a shop directly across from the London Hospital. There, curious medical students visited his exhibit and told their anatomy professor, surgeon Frederick Treves, of the extraordinary con‐di on of “the Elephant Man.”
Reprinted from The Elephant Man Playbill.
CONNECTIONS: In the Victorian era, freak shows provided entertainment by displaying the unusual traits of others. Does our society con nue this prac ce today? What are some examples of contemporary freaks and freak shows? Could reality TV stars and troubled celebri es/entertainers (i.e., Lindsay Lohan) be classified as freaks, or do they have more agency than freaks from the Victorian era?
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"Some mes I think my head is so big
because it is so full of dreams!" — Bernard Pomerance, The Elephant Man
TEKS Applica ons‐ Social Studies
“This very crude produc on depicted a frigh ul creature that could only have been possible in a nightmare … There was nothing about it of the pi ableness of the misshapened or the deformed, nothing of the grotesqueness of the freak, but merely the loathsome insinua on of a man being changed into an animal.” – Frederick Treves
P eaking in popularity during the 1840s ‐1860s, freak shows appealed to all social classes; even Queen Victoria’s 1837 corona on fes vi es included an array of extraordinary “freak” performers. Those suffering from birth defects, disfiguring diseases or possessing odd talents were displayed in
sideshow tents and storefronts throughout Europe and the United States. Colorfully illustrated posters lined shop windows adver sing a plethora of horrific and grotesque marvels — dead and alive — ready to shock and terrify eager audiences.
At 123 Whitechapel Road, directly across from the London Hospital, hung one such sign adver sing Joseph Merrick, “the Elephant Man”:
In Bernard Pomerance’s play, The Elephant Man, Joseph Merrick’s freak show is managed by a man named “Ross;” however, in reality, Merrick had mul ple man‐agers.
Ancient concepts of monstrosity dominated early Victorians’ understanding of freak show subjects. Pamphlets detailing the origins of freaks’ physical oddi es, fantas c in their descrip ons, were distributed liberally throughout London, perpetua ng Victorians’ primeval fears.
Primarily, physical abnormali es were considered acts of God, or worse, acts of the Devil, or a ributed to “maternal impressions.” It was believed that pregnant women, by experiencing an unpleasant sight or a trauma c event, could imprint direct manifesta ons of their fears onto their unborn children’s bodies. Using this logic, a pregnant woman rescued from a house fire will give birth to a child spo ed with red birthmarks; a woman trauma zed by an animal will bear a child resembling that animal; and if one is frightened by a deformed human limb, one’s child will exhibit the same deformity. This fear of contagion, of transmi ng deformity, abnormality – of monstrosity – through sight, physical contact and even thought, was widely held.
As the 19th century pressed on, scien fic discovery bore a new age of reason and enlightenment. The Victorians’ new‐found impulse to control and explain, define and categorize, challenged the legi macy of freak show narra ves. The spectacle of abnormality became taboo, tawdry, immoral and indecent; but to medicalize monstrosity, to approach disfigurement and defect with scien fic inquisi veness was a respectable objec ve. Voyeuris c freak shows were shut down and “freaks” became prized subjects of Victorian medical forums.
Reprinted from The Elephant Man Playbill.
The Victorian Freak Show
Source: Marci, 1928
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TEKS Applica ons‐ Social Studies
Beauty in Victorian Society
Emily Neves – Princess Alexandra.
Costume rendering by Fabio Toblini.
T he Elephant Man’s London Hospital doctor Frederick Treves wrote a lengthy pamphlet tled The Influence of Clothing on Health in 1886, a chapter of which details the grotesque ailments caused by women’s corsets.
In 1865, 5% of London’s working class women were pros tutes. Approximately 80,000 walked the streets, skirts tucked up to expose their ankles, signaling their trade.
Princess Alexandra was well known for her beauty, which is said to have reached its heights in the late 1880s – precisely when she met Joseph Merrick. However, Alexandra was born par ally deaf and a bout of rheuma c fever in adulthood le her with a permanent limp. As she aged, Alexandra became increasingly reclusive.
Reprinted from The Elephant Man Playbill.
Emily Neves and Melissa Pritche – Pros tutes.
Costume rendering by Fabio Toblini. 10
TEKS Applica ons‐ Social Studies TEKS Applica ons‐ Fine Arts
Beauty: “A combina on of quali es, such as shape, color,
or form, that pleases the aesthe c senses, especially the sight”. It is a characteris c that
provides an experience of “pleasure or sa sfac on”. Beauty, when experienced, o en gives off the impression of being, “ in harmony with nature, which may lead to feelings of a rac on and emo onal well‐being.”
— Dic onary.com
CONNECTIONS: What does it mean to be a racted to someone? Does the object of your a rac on appeal simply to your eye? Is it their personality, or world view, that draws you? What is beau ful and who is to be the judge? In groups of three or four, discuss what you find beau ful and try to describe why. Choose four things that everyone agrees are beau ful and share them with the class.
The Price of Beauty Members of socie es throughout history have implemented strict and o en painful measures to achieve their idea of beauty. In the Victorian Era, women were expected to wear corsets to constrict their waist and torso to a pleasurable size. Despite serious bodily injury, this prac ce persisted as long as the corset provided the ideal shape. What is our society’s idea of beauty? How do we achieve this ideal? What products, methods or prac ces do we use to alter our natural appearance?
Beauty in Today’s Society
Source: The Ladies Home Journal, 1900
Source: Le Corset, 1933
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“In the strictest sense of the term, the body of a normal woman who is ght laced must be regarded as deformed.”
– Frederick Treves TEKS Applica ons‐ Social Studies
Beauty Inside and Out
“Outsiders o en have an insight that an insider doesn't quite have.” ‐Diane Abbo , Poli cian
“Share our similari es, celebrate our differences.” — M. Sco Peck, Author
“Keep away from people who try to beli le your ambi ons. Small people do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” — Mark Twain, Author
T he Elephant Man is in many ways a study in percep on and posture. How we perceive people is o en based on the way they stand, by the authority with which they speak and by their ability and willingness to look us directly in the eyes. If, for instance, a person’s shoulders are
slouched we may construe the person as unconfident. If they don’t look at us directly in the eyes, we may, without forethought, perceive them as untrustworthy.
When a person is disfigured, our senses may not know what to make of their body language. And so, not knowing whether or where to gaze, we (and they) may become uncomfortable. In some cases we may choose not to engage at all rather than to risk embarrassing them or ourselves.
Though we know that the original Elephant Man, Joseph Merrick, was deformed physically, the actor upon the stage is most o en portrayed as a normal man with an uncomfortable or awkward posture. Though he is not fully disfigured, our minds wonder whether and where to look at him. Is his disfigura on transferrable, we may wonder? Are we at risk by engaging him?
In the case of the Elephant Man, there is no harm to come from simply speaking with or si ng near him. Yet, for most of his life he was caged and cut off from humanity as a spectacle. In the end, only one man, a doctor, and one actress could see past his physical deformity (or at least make it appear so).
Is the Elephant Man simply a novelty to be glared at, or is there someone capable of possessing beauty lying within him? Is beauty merely skin deep?
CONNECTIONS: Draw two circles on the board, one inside the other. Consider the inside circle to be those internal a ributes that can be considered beau ful. The outer circle represents those things that are externally perceived as beau ful. Make a list beside or inside the circle of a ributes in both categories.
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TEKS Applica ons‐ Social Studies TEKS Applica ons‐ Fine Arts
Normal:
“The usual, average, or typical state or condi on.” It is conforming to a standard that meets with our
defini on of being usual, typical or expected. — Dic onary.com
CONNECTIONS: Like beauty, no ons of what is normal vary from culture to culture. What may be normal in one society (a scarf for a woman’s hair, for instance) may be strange in another.
Who decides what is normal? The church? The state? Psychologists? All are looking at behavior and judging what is healthy, morally and socially acceptable.
ACTIVITY: Clear a large space so that everyone can stand and move around. Imagine that you are on an unsteady boat and that the passengers have to balance it by standing at an equitable distance from each other. The waves, however keep shi ing the boat so that everyone has to keep moving — all the while trying to maintain the larger balance. The lesson? It takes everyone, normal or not, to keep society afloat.
What Is Normal?
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“Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.”
— Albert Camus, Author
Photo a ributed to Anuar Salleh
Source: Wikimedia Commons, 2009
Photo a ributed to Steve Evans
Source: Wikimedia Commons, 2005
TEKS Applica ons‐ Social Studies TEKS Applica ons‐ Fine Arts
Joseph Merrick on Beauty
“'Tis true my form is something odd, But blaming me is blaming God;
Could I create myself anew I would not fail in pleasing you.
If I could reach from pole to pole Or grasp the ocean with a span, I would be measured by the soul;
The mind's the standard of the man.” ‐ Joseph Merrick, from False Greatness by Isaac Wa
CONNECTIONS: This poem is a ributed to Joseph Merrick and reveals his individual perspec ve on beauty and normality. Discuss his poem. What does Merrick think of beauty? Of greatness? How does he feel about his par cular circumstance? How does he wish to be treated? How does this perspec ve affect the way you treat those around you?
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“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”
— Confucius
Joseph Merrick, 1889
Source: Bri sh Medical Journal, 1890
TEKS Applica ons‐ English Language & Reading
Costumes
C ostumes play an important role in how we view characters on stage. Just like in everyday life, an audience will make judgments about characters based on their appearance. In The Elephant Man, we see characters from every rank of Victorian society, from Princess Alexandra of Denmark to actress Margaret Kendal to freak
show Pinheads. The ways in which these characters are dressed molds our perspec ve and helps us understand the meaning of this play. The costume designs challenge our ideas of normalcy.
CONNECTIONS: Here are pictures of characters from all ranks of society. No ce the billowing plumes of feathers, large skirts, and ght corsets, all used to contort the natural appearance of the body into something unnatural. Which characters look more strange? What cons tutes as normal or natural in these appearances? What do these costumes suggest about society?
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John Merrick
Pinheads
Countess
Duchess TEKS Applica ons‐ Social Studies TEKS Applica ons‐ Fine Arts
All costume renderings by Fabio Toblini
Terms You Should Know
T his play is filled with popular terms from the 19th century that have become less common in our me. It may be helpful to revisit these an quated words.
Anesthe ze: to numb using an anesthe c
Aperture: an opening, as a hole, slit, crack or gap
Apotheosis: the eleva on of a person to the status of a god
Asphyxia on: to die or lose consciousness due to a lack of regular breathing
Banal: trite, devoid of freshness or originality
Benefice: a religious posi on that guarantees a fixed income or property
Benighted: intellectually or morally ignorant
Boon: blessing, benefit
Climes: climate
Consonant: in agreement or consistent with Cre ns: stupid or mentally defec ve people
Cruciform: resembling a Chris an cross
Da : stupid, senseless, foolish
Demi‐Urge: the deity who created the physical world, in some beliefs
Dewlap: a fold of skin under the chin of an animal, such as a cow, turkey or lizard
Dosshouse: flophouse, cheap lodging
Dropsy: a disease of fishes, including a swollen body and protruding scales
Elephan asis: a chronic disease resul ng in obstruc on of the lymph nodes, causing bodily enlargement
Ether: vola le, flammable liquid formerly used as an inhaled anestethic
Navvy: an unskilled manual labor
Nosh: noun, Bri sh slang for “food”; verb, slang for “to eat”
Occluded: closed or shut; in chemistry, to incorporate as by absorp on
Osseous: composed of, containing, or resembling bones
Papillomatous: a benign tumor of the skin, as a wart
Perambula ng: walk about or stroll
Pollarded: cut back a tree nearly to the trunk
Tete‐a‐tete: French for “head‐to‐head,” a private conversa on usually between two people
Toute suite: A French expression meaning at once, immediately
Voked: joined, connected 16
Frederick Treves
Costume rendering by Fabio Toblini
TEKS Applica ons‐ Fine Arts TEKS Applica ons‐ Social Studies TEKS Applica ons‐ English Language & Reading
A er viewing the Alley Theatre’s produc on of The Elephant Man, we
encourage you and your students to record your expecta ons and reac ons to the play.
Here are some ideas for wri en reflec ons:
What parts of the play did you enjoy and why? What are some specific lines you enjoyed and why?
How would you have performed one of the roles? What draws you to that character?
Has your perspec ve on beauty or disability changed?
Do you agree with the choices of the director and designers? What would you have done differently?
Activity: Consider having students write reviews of The Elephant Man. Make sure to include technical aspects such as sound and costumes as well as specific notes on ac ng, plot, and the overall experience of the produc on. For more informa on on wri ng a review, visit h p://www.latrobe.edu.au/drama/assets/downloads/reviews.pdf.
Please e‐mail any theatre‐related reviews, poems, scenes, and essays by your students to educa [email protected].
Reflections
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Dr. Mitra Ray, 2011
“One of the greatest things drama can do, at it's
best, is to redefine the words we use every day
such as love, home, family, loyalty and envy.” — Sir Ben Kingsley, Actor
To learn more about the Alley Theatre Education programs, visit alleytheatre.org/Education.