PCPA PACIFIC CONSERVATORY THEATRE

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH presents

Tomás and the Library Lady

Based on the book by Pat Mora Adapted for the stage by José Cruz Gonzalez

Used by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd. Copyright ©1997 All Rights reserved.

A TEACHER’S GUIDE

PCPA's Outreach Tour is generously Sponsored by: Franca Bongi Lockard

The Towbes Foundation PXP

Santa Barbara Foundation

A TEACHER'S GUIDE A NOTE TO THE TEACHER Our actors will present a brief outline of theatre etiquette as part of their introduction; however, it would make a stronger impression on your students if you covered the same information prior to the performance. Here are a few ideas that may help: *Sometimes we forget when we come into a theatre that we are one of the most important parts of the production. Without an audience there would be no performance. Your contribution of laughter, quiet attention and applause is part of the play. *When you watch movies or television, you are watching images on a screen, and what you say or do cannot affect them. In the theatre the actors are real and present in person, creating an experience with you at that very moment. They see and hear you and are sensitive to your response. They know how you feel about the play by how you watch and listen. *An invisible bond is formed between actors and a good audience, and it enables the actors to do their best for you. A good audience helps make a good performance.

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDENT ETIQUETTE *You share the performance with everyone in the audience. Your talking, movement or any other distracting activity, once the show has begun, can not only disturbs the actors onstage, but the audience around you as well. * Your comments and ideas about the play are important, but save them for after the play to discuss them. Or even better, write a letter to the performers. *Before entering the performance area, get a drink of water or visit the restroom if you need to. *Once you are seated, you should remain seated. When the play begins, because the actors are directed to move all about the room, it's important for everybody's safety that the walk ways and stage areas remain clear of students. PCPA – Pacific Conservatory Theatre is proud that your school has selected our Outreach Tour performance of Tomás and the Library Lady to be featured as a part of your school year. We hope that our visit will be followed by many more. Thank you for hosting Leo Cortez Director of Education and Outreach

Tomás and the Library Lady

Directed by Chris Forrer

THE CAST Ambre Shoneff

Edgar Lopez Galen Schloming

Tatem Trotter

Stage Manager Michelle Roberson

Set Designer Abby Hogan Costume Designer Jane Pivovarnik Sound Designer Elyse Fink Props A J Bradley

THE PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE This study guide contains suggested activities that will help students to participate actively in the production. The goal for these pre-performance activities include the following:

o to stimulate interest and enhance comprehension o to imagine how the play will be performed by the actors o to familiarize students with the style of theatre used in this production and the importance of the collaboration between the actor on stage o to identify the physical and personal attributes of the characters in the book

AFTER THE PRODUCTION

The actors from PCPA – Pacific Conservatory Theatre welcome questions and comments from students after the show, and encourage students to write to us at:

PCPA Outreach 800 S. College Dr.

Santa Maria CA 93454 In addition, this study guide contains activities and discussion topics that may further stimulate your student's interest. The goals for the post-performance activities includ the following:

o to encourage students to use what they have learned from watching the performance. o To discuss the students' expectations of the production and talk about the ways in which the show was presented o To explore how using the voice differently can produce a different character o To find creative ways to tell a story

INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

A Synopsis of the Play The story begins when Tomás Rivera and his family, Ama Ofelia (his mother), Apa Florencio (his father), Enrique (his little brother) and Papa Grande (his grand father) travel from Crystal City, Texas to Hampton, Iowa to work harvesting corn, beets and spinach (Vamos Para el Norte). While Tomás sleeps in the back seat on this long voyage, he is haunted by dreams of a teacher at his school that would punish him for speaking Spanish in school and day dreaming. His mother worries about his bad dreams and comforts him with positive thoughts about how smart he is, and his wonderful imagination. To put Tomás at ease, Ama sings a soothing lullaby to help him sleep (Duereme Duereme). Once they arrive in Iowa, Ama is shocked to discover their new home is nothing more then a chicken coop. Apa helps Ama accept their humble dwelling by reassuring her that he will turn the little coop into a fine and livable home for them. That night Tomás dreams of “pan dulce”, sweet bread, which turns into a nightmare with the mean teacher yelling at him for not paying attention in class. The next day, the family begins work in the fields, picking corn (Elotes). While the adults play, Tomás and little brother Enrique play with a ball Ama has fashioned out of an old Teddy Bear. Working in the fields is a heard life but the family hopes that one day life will get better for them. As summer progresses, Ama asks Tomás to deliver a letter (el correo) to the post office. Along the way, he discovers the Carnegie Public Library. Mistakenly reading the first part of “Carne-gie” Tomás thinks the building is a “Meat Library, as carne in Spanish means meat. But he is corrected by the Library Lady, who then invites him into the building to see what is inside. Tomás is thrilled and excited to discover shelves full of books about every topic one could imagine. The Library Lady offers Tomás the chance to borrow a few library books, which he can read, and return in exchange for more books. This is the beginning of Tomás’ journey into the world of the written word and the magic of printed stories (Big Green Dinosaur). He visits the

Carnegie Library every day and the Library Lady helps him learn how to read. In exchange Tomás teachers her Spanish words as well. They come to understand each other very well. One day while at the dump, while search for coal to keep the family fire warm, Tomás and Enrique find a few discarded books. The books are dirty and smelly, but it does not hinder Tomás dreams of starting his own library. He can’t wait to tell the Library Lady about it (Libros, Libros, Libros). As Tomás becomes more confident with his reading, his nightmares have come less regularly. As summer comes to an end and the family must begin their return to Texas, Tomás realizes that his nightmare teacher no longer has any power over his fears of school. As a result of becoming an veracious reader, he now realizes he understands everything that is said to him in English. He banishes his nightmare teacher forever and no longer has fears attending school. The last day in Iowa, Tomás takes pan dulce to the Library Lady as a good gift for all she has done for him. He teaches her a “sad word” in Spanish (Adios) which means “goodbye”.

Set design rendering by Abby Hogan

About the real Tomás Rivera

Rivera was born on December 22, 1935, in Crystal City, Texas, to Spanish-speaking, migrant farmworkers,

Florencio and Josefa Rivera. At eleven years old, Rivera was in a car accident in Bay City, Michigan. After the

accident, Rivera decided to write his first story about the wreck and called it "The Accident". In an interview with

Juan D. Bruce-Novoa, Rivera explains: "I felt a sensation I still get when I write. I wanted to capture something I

would never forget and it happened to be the sensation of having a wreck". Rivera continued writing throughout high

school, creative pieces as well as essays. He dreamed of being a sportswriter as an adult, inspired by what he read most, sports articles and adventure stories. In the same article, Rivera explains the reality of growing up with

ambitions to be a writer in a migrant worker family. He explains that "When people asked what I wanted to be, I'd tell them a writer. They were surprised or indifferent. If

people don't read, what is a writer?". His grandfather was his main supporter though and provided him with supplies

and encouragement.

As an author, Rivera is best remembered for his 1971 Faulknerian stream-of-consciousness novella ...y no se lo tragó la tierra, translated into English variously as This

Migrant Earth and as ...and the Earth Did Not Devour Him. This book won the first Premio Quinto Sol award.

Rivera taught in high schools throughout the Southwest USA, and later at Sam Houston State University and the

University of Texas at El Paso. From 1979 until his death in 1984, he was the chancellor of the University of

California, Riverside, the first Mexican-American to hold such a position at the University of California.

Taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomás_Rivera

A Biography for author Pat Mora In her own words

Born in El Paso Texas

I was born in El Paso, Texas, and grew up in a bilingual home where books were an important part of my life. I can speak and write in both English and Spanish am I lucky! I've always enjoyed reading all kinds of books and now I

get to write them too to sit and play with words on my computer.

Family, Mexican-American culture, and the desert are all important themes in my children's books as well as in my poetry and nonfiction for adults. Many of my book ideas come from the desert where I grew up the open spaces, wide sky, all that sun and all those animals that scurry

across the hot sand or fly high over the mountains. I also

like to write about my family, like my aunt who danced on her 90th birthday, and my mother who wanted to be a

rainbow tulip when she was in grade school. I take pride in being a Hispanic writer. I will continue to

write and to struggle to say what no other writer can say in quite the same way. I write, in part, because Hispanic

perspectives need to be part of our literary heritage including children's literature and juvenile poetry. I have

strong feelings that Chicano children need good children's books, well illustrated, and from big publishing houses that

is something I would really like to pursue. I want to establish pride in heritage for young Chicanos.

Pat Mora, the mother of three children, has been a teacher, university administrator, and consultant. She is the

recipient of a National Endowment of the Arts Poetry Fellowship, a Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship, and

three Southwest Book Awards. She speaks about multicultural literature, cultural conservation, creative writing, and leadership at conferences, schools, and

universities. She enjoys encouraging audiences to view their cultures, homes, and landscapes as catalysts for

writing and for creativity. Taken from the Scholastic Reader’s page:  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/pat-mora

About the Playwright José Cruz Gonzalez

José Cruz González's plays (in addition to Tomas and the Library Lady ) include The Sun Serpent, Super Cowgirl and Mighty Miracle, Invierno,

Sunsets and Margaritas, The Heart's Desire, The Blue House and September Shoes. A collection of his plays, Nine Plays by José Cruz González: Magical Realism and Mature Themes in Theatre for Young Audiences, was published by the University of Texas Press in 2008. González has written for The PAZ Show, the Emmy Award-nominated television series produced by Discovery

Kids for The Learning Channel. He was a recipient of a 2004 TCG/Pew National Theatre Residency grant. In 1997, he was awarded an NEA/TCG Theatre Residency for Playwrights. González teaches theatre at California State University, Los Angeles. He is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America and TYA/USA. He is a playwright-in-residence with South Coast

Repertory (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Childsplay (Tempe, Ariz.) and an associate artist with Cornerstone Theater Company (Los Angeles, Calif.).

Photo: Cory González. Taken from Dramatic Publishing: http://www.dramaticpublishing.com/AuthorBio.php?titlelink=10081

About Migrant Workers

Migrant farm workers are predominantly Mexican-born sons, husbands, and fathers who leave what is familiar and comfortable with the hopes and dreams of making enough

money to support their families back home; feed themselves; purchase land and a home; and – like many immigrants who came before them – ultimately return to

their homeland.

A host of push-pull factors contribute to the overwhelmingly immigrant farm worker labor pool. Some

push factors in farm workers’ countries of origin are economic instability, political unrest, population growth,

land reform shortcomings in rural areas, and scarce employment opportunities. Push factors that impact

immigration patterns vary from country to country and

from individual to individual. This is to say that the circumstances that cause an individual to emigrate from

Colombia, South America may be different from those that cause an indigenous person from the states of Michoacán, Oaxaca, or Guanajuato in Mexico to come to the United

States. A Colombian immigrant fleeing political persecution and civil unrest seeks asylum as a political refugee, while the indigenous Mexican treks across the

desert into the US in search of work and income to support their family back home or just to be able to eat.

Pull factors within the United States include the ongoing desire for a low cost labor force to fill jobs no longer attractive to US citizens due to low pay, limited or no

benefits and/or substandard work conditions. Other more direct pull factors have included federally enacted and administered farm labor programs such as the Bracero

contract labor program that recruited workers from Mexico to harvest crops in the Southwestern United States from 1942 - 1964. Today, larger numbers of Mexican farm workers have moved into other regions of the country, including the Northeast, through a similar farm labor

contract program known as the H-2A agricultural guest worker program enacted by Congress in 1952 and more widely used when the Bracero program ended in 1964.

One of the key dynamics that detrimentally impacts the

lives of migrant farm workers is their lack of legal status within the U.S. Unlike other immigrant groups that came

before them these workers have not been granted legal status to live in the U.S. The undocumented status of an

overwhelming number of farm workers has given way to increasing injustice and abuse against them. While not

always making headlines, reports of injustice and abuse against farm workers abound including those of

opportunistic crew leaders, substandard housing, violence against farm workers by community members of the

dominant culture, exclusion from labor laws, inadequate housing, pesticide violations, and the inferior education of children of farm workers. Out of fear of displacement and deportation, farm workers often remain unable to protest inadequate conditions or report employer’s violation of

labor, health or safety laws to state authorities. Furthermore, despite their overwhelming representation

and contribution to the agricultural community, farm workers lack political leverage, therefore remaining a

disenfranchised population. This lack of legal status sets the stage for farm workers’ lack of voice, agency and

advocacy – in essence it creates their invisibility.

Taken in parts from Extention.org: http://www.extension.org/pages/9960/migrant-farm-workers:-our-nations-invisible-population#.VDcQAkubERE

Terms that are used in the show and their meaning:

Migrant worker: a person who moves away from their home to find work in another city, state or country. Chicano: a term used to refer to Mexican people who grow up in the United States. Mexican American or Hispanic are also terms that are used today. Crops: plants and agricultural produce. Tomás and his family travel to pick crops, including corn. Coop: a small hand made shed to keep or house small animals such as chickens. Borrow: to take or receive with the intention of returning it.

Edgar Lopez, Galen Schloming, Amber Shoneff

Words that are spoken in Spanish and what they mean:

Adiós : goodbye Carbón: coal Carro: car Cuento: story Elote: ear of corn Escuela: school Español: Spanish Luna: moon Libro: book Maestra: teacher Mañana: tomorrow No entiendo: I don’t understand Pan dulce: sweet bread Prestar: to borrow Tejas: Texas

Pre-show Activities and Discussions Read “Tomás and the Library Lady” by Pat Mora. 1. What are the 2 states that are mentioned in this story? 2. Papa Grande was the best storyteller in the family. True or False 3. What are the 2 things that Tomas’ family picked in the winter? 4. How do you say the following in Spanish: “goodbye”? How do you say book? 5. What are the 2 things that Tomas and Enrique did when their parents worked in the fields? 6. How did Tomas feel when he was at the library? 7.What did Tomas give the librarian when he went there to say good-bye? Who made it? 8. What did Tomas and Enrique look for at the town dump? What did they find as well? 9.Tomas got to check out 3 library books at a time. True or False

Spanish was Tomás’ first language. Ask students: How many different languages are spoken in your home? Identify the state of Texas and the state of Iowa on the United States map. Ask: How long is the trip between Texas and Iowa. How many days would it take to drive that distance? Ask: What is the longest trip your students ever took in a car? Was it comfortable? Imagine what it would have been like for Tomás and his family driving that distance in 1945 in an old beat up car with no air conditioning. Ask: Has there ever been a time you were scared about going to school? What was it that made you afraid? How did you handle it? Ask: Have you ever read a book that was so good you could imagine it was you in the story? What was that book and what was it about? Tomás made friends with a Library Lady that helped him find love for reading and books. Ask: Is there an adult that has influenced your life or helped you to learn about something new in your life? Tomás has nightmares about his teacher back in Texas. Ask: Do you have bad dreams when you are facing certain challenges? What is the best way to make those bad dreams go away?

Post show Assessment

All stories have a beginning a middle and an end. How did the play begin? What happned in the middle of the story? How did the play end?

Themes The Library Lady taught Tomás how to love the written word. What did Tomás teach the Library Lady? What are other ways young people can teach the older generation? Papa Grande tells Tomás that in order to be a good reader and English speaker, he must practice. What is something you have spent a great deal of time practicing to become better at? Tomás dreams of having his own library and writing his own stories. What are you dreams for your future? What do you want to be in life? Tomás over comes his fears of his teacher in Texas. What is it that helped him over come that fear? Is there something that was very frightening you that you had to over come?

Visit Your Local Library! By: Colorín Colorado (2007)

Many communities in the United States have a public library. Libraries are a wonderful resource for everyone because they have books, videos, music, newspapers, computers, and much more for children and adults — and these resources are available to the public for free! You can take books and other materials out of the library by signing up for a free library card. Usually you will be able to check out materials for a few weeks at a time. When you're done with those books, you return them to the library, and exchange them for more. If you forget to return books and materials on time, you may need to pay a small fine. Many libraries now offer books for children and adults in both English and Spanish, and have employees who can answer your questions in Spanish. Most libraries also have sections for children and teens. The library is often a special place for children, especially during the long summer, and visiting the library regularly can help them develop an early love of reading. Here are a few thoughts for getting started: • To find your local library, check your telephone book for

listings under "Libraries" in the municipal section (city, county, and state information).

• To get a free library card, bring in one proof of identification that has your current address, such as a driver's license or phone bill. Many libraries offer library card applications in Spanish.

• Many libraries will issue a library card to any children who can print their names and whose parent will countersign for them. See that your children get their own library cards as soon as possible so that they can check out their own books — it's a big step for children and young adults!

• During your first visit to the library, introduce yourself and your child to the librarian and ask for a tour. Don't be shy — it's part of the librarian's job!

• A librarian can also recommend books that you or your child might like if you ask for suggestions.

• Libraries provide year-round activities such as author discussions and story times. Some events are for children, while others are for families, teens, or adults. Many are at night or on weekends for parents who work. Ask the librarian if there are any events in Spanish.

• Libraries may also have books on tape or CDs, Internet access, movies and educational DVDs, games, computers you can use, ESL classes, homework help, and more. Visit your closest library to see what is available!

There are usually summer reading programs at the library. This can be an important and fun way to keep kids reading through the summer, which will help them from falling behind once they go back to school in the fall. Taken from colorincolorado.org: http://www.colorincolorado.org/families/letsread/libraryvisit/

Draw a picture of your favorite part of this story.

Write 2 sentences about your picture. Be sure to color your picture.