Another fine teaching tool from:

American Theater Arts For Youth, Inc.

© American Theater Arts For Youth, Inc.


Letter from the Producer…………………………………………….……….3

Before You Go……………………………………………………………..4

Theater Etiquette……………………………………………………………..5

Scenic Breakdown……………………………………………………………..6

Synopsis………………………………………………………………..7 & 8

History of Beauty & the Beast……………………………………………..9

After the Show…………………………………………………………….10

Interdisciplinary Activities………………………………………………11 & 12

Acrostic……………………………………………………………………13

Think Theatrically……………………………………………………………14

Fan Letter……………………………………………………………………15

Theater Vocabulary……………………………………………………………16

Write a Review……………………………………………………………17

Careers in the Arts……………………………………………………………18

Word Search……………………………………………………………………19

Draw a Picture……………………………………………………………………20

Dear Educator:

This guide contains suggested learning experiences for various grade levels. It is intended to help your students enjoy and utilize the theater-going experience. Please select those ideas that best relate to your curriculum and classroom needs. We would appreciate knowing which suggestions you actually incorporated into your lesson plans and how they worked for you.

Share your fun and ideas with us. We will be pleased to receive any projects that grow from this experience… letters, cassettes, original drawings, photos, etc. You may send them to:

American Theater Arts For Youth, Inc.

1429 Walnut Street

4th Floor

Philadelphia, PA 19102

Theater is, indeed, a superb learning tool that you and your students will share, cherish and remember. We look forward to welcoming you and your classes to the theater.

Cordially,

Laurie Wagman

Founder/Chairman


ASK the students to recall the story of BEAUTY & THE BEAST by telling it informally, as they remember it. Have they recounted the traditional story or an adaptation? Discuss the fact that there are many versions or adaptations of all tales. Identify the main characters and the basic story using the attached synopsis.

DETERMINE if they have seen the story of BEAUTY & THE BEAST performed before (On film? On stage? At school? In professional theater? Maybe on TV or video?) and in what art form. (Play? Ballet? etc.) Maybe they have read the book? Discuss any recollections in terms of similarities and differences. Do the different art forms affect their impressions? If so, try to make them aware of their varying reactions.

SET a part of the classroom aside for a ‘Beauty & the Beast Corner’. Ask students to bring in various books, CD’s, tapes, pictures, dolls, puppets, original drawings, etc. for perusing at their leisure.

EXPLAIN to students that they are about to see a live, on-stage production of BEAUTY & THE BEAST. There will be songs and dances, as well as acting, to tell the story.

Note: This original musical adaptation is presented by American Theater Arts For Youth for audiences across the country. Students can expect to see the traditional Beauty & the Beast characters.

ENCOURAGE the students to relax and get into the spirit of the play once they are in the theater. Tell them they should use their imaginations freely and feel comfortable to respond openly to the actors on the stage.

The audience plays a key part in the overall theater experience. Each audience member affects those around him or her as well as the performers.

Remind your class that everyone will have an especially wonderful time at the performance by remembering their theater manners.

Here is how students can help:

It is important to remain seated throughout the entire performance.

Restroom visits are best made prior to seating.

Photography and recording during the performance are not permitted.

Give your full attention and energy to the performers. In return, the performers give it back to you with a better performance.

Don’t talk during the show unless you are asked. Sometimes we think that if we whisper, it is okay. But if everyone in the audience whispers, it can be disruptive to the performers.

Turn watches, pagers and cell phones to silent.

Do not interrupt performers with comments that may disrupt the performance for others.

Show the performers your appreciation for their efforts by applauding.

Your cooperation will ensure a well-focused environment for everyone to enjoy, cherish & remember. Thank you.


Book & Lyrics: Donald Kersey

Music: Steven Leibman

CHARACTERS

Beautiful / Narrator
The Beast / Bavard
The Father / Jean Pierre
Lily – Beauty’s Sister / Mimi – the upstairs maid
Loriope – Beauty’s Sister / Fifi – the downstairs maid

SCENIC BREAKDOWN/MUSICAL NUMBERS

Prologue

“And the Story Goes On”………….……………Narrator & The Company

Beauty’s House

“It Could Be Worse”…………….………………Lily, Loriope & Father

“Paris”…………….……………………………...Beauty, Hydrangea & Forsythia

“What’s Your Pleasure”…………...……………Beauty & Her Sisters

The Castle

The Garden of the Beast

Beauty’s House

“There’s A Lesson We Learn”…………………Loriope & Lily

The Castle Library

“A Little Faith, A Little Hope”……………...….Narrator, Beauty, Mimi & Fifi

“You Don’t Want to Make Me Angry”………...The Beast

“The Magic of Our Memories”…………………Beauty & the Beast

The Castle

“She’s Our Sister”……………………………….Lily &Loriope

“The Lessons We Learn”…………………..……Father, Narrator & the Company

Finale

“The Story Goes On/Magic Memories” (Reprise)…………………The Company

The play is introduced by a narrator who, in a variety of guises, moves this wonderful story along.

A long time ago, before Beauty was even born, a Prince lived in a castle high on the hill above a village. One day, an old woman who was seeking refuge in the castle, was turned away by the Prince. Little did he know that the woman possessed magical powers. “Because you have no kindness or love in your heart”, she said, “you shall from this day on, look like a beast until you find someone who truly loves you.” And so, the handsome Prince was turned into a Beast.

Beauty is living quietly on a farm with her father and two sisters. The eldest daughter is Loriope. The youngest daughter is Lily and the middle daughter is named Beauty, because she was so exceptionally beautiful when she was born.

The three sisters live happily on their farm busy doing whatever has to be done… sewing, cooking and, cleaning, farming and milking the cow. Most of all, they love being together with their father who, long ago was captain of a cargo ship.

When Bavard, an old sailor friend, comes to visit and recall old times, Father decides to try to reclaim his ship so that his daughters might have a life more grand and less harsh. Before he leaves for the village, he asks each daughter to name a special treat that he can bring back with him. Lily wants a perfume. Loriope wants material for a new cape. Beauty however asks only for a single red rose.

Poor Father…it is a terrible stormy night and when he needs to find shelter, there is only the castle on the hill where he stays the night. The next morning as he leaves the castle, Beauty’s Father notices a large, flowering rose bush and remembers Beauty’s wish. Just as he picks one rose to bring to her, the Beast, furious that his roses have been disturbed, accosts

him. In return for the plucked rose, the Beast insists that Father send one of his daughters to live in the castle…or the castle dungeon will be his fate forever!

When Father comes home to tell his daughters about the strange beast and his demand, Beauty volunteers to be the one who goes to the castle. It was she, after all, who wanted a rose. She is frightened, but brave.

Father returns with Beauty to the castle doors where they say a sad goodbye to each other. After Jean Pierre, the butler, shows her in, Beauty is left to explore the grand castle rooms. When the Beast arrives, Beauty is shocked by the sight of him, but is surprised that he seems so gentle. She learns from Mimi and Fifi, two castle maids, that the Beast can be actually quite kind, that he loves his gardens, that he cherishes his memories and that ultimately, he is very sad and lonely.

When Beauty tells the Beast that she misses her sisters and father, the Beast gives her a magic rose. When one looks deep into the rose, sweet memories return like magic to bring happiness and peace.

Lily and Loriope miss their sister very much. They decide that they will brave the Beast to rescue their sister. With their father, they return to the castle, find Beauty and begin their escape.

The Beast senses that something is amiss. Beauty can not be found and with the realization that she will no longer be in his life, he begins to feel ill and weak… to fade.

When Beauty, about to leave the castle, takes one more look deep into the magic rose, she sees that without her the Beast has lost the will to live and is, in fact, dying! Realizing that she has come to love the Beast, she rushes back to him, to plead that he live, and to tell the Beast that she loves him.

The magic of her love breaks the old spell as the Beast becomes, once again, a handsome Prince!

The Prince declares his love for Beauty and asks her to be the Princess of his castle. It is a joyous moment for everyone and they all lived happily forever after.

The first tale of Beauty & the Beast was written in 1740 by Madame Gabrielle de Villeneuve but the story was not for children. She wrote it to entertain her friends at court.

Villeneuve’s version is very different from the one we know today. Today’s version is based on the story written by Madame Le Prince de Beaumont in 1756. Her story was much shorter and more interesting to children.

Although we know this story as Beauty & the Beast there were similar stories with different names from countries all around the world. Here are a few:


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Ask the students to express their feelings as they recall the story line of the production.

  • Why did Beauty’s father leave the village?
  • What was he to bring back for each sister?
  • How did the sisters differ in their requests?
  • What did these requests tell you about each sister?
  • What was the relationship between Beauty and her sisters? Beauty and her father? The Beast? How did that relationship change?
  • How did Beauty come to live in the castle? Why did she stay?
  • What happened to the father in the forest?
  • How did Beauty find out that the Beast was dying?
  • Why did the Beast want one of the daughters to stay at the castle?
  • In what ways were Thornbush & Stainsworth friends to Beauty?

Have you ever met someone who looked different than you? Acted different? How did you react to that person? Did you feel differently about them when you got to know them?

ALTERNATE TITLES

Have the students be creative and think of some other possible titles for the show.

BOOK LIST

Beauty loves to read. She says, ‘I can go around the world three times in one day, and be back in time for dinner! I can sail to Africa with pirates and discover buried treasures! It’s all in the adventures that I find in the pages of a book!’ Have the students make a favorite book list. Each student should pick a favorite book and write about why they like it and why the would recommend that other students read it.


HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY

At the beginning of our story Beauty’s Father is in Paris at the market. Use the internet and your school library to research the history of Paris. Practice using maps by locating important places.

MATHEMATICS

Math Challenge: Use this information about the Beast’s castle to practice math! Add them or subtract them; even find fractions or percentages.

…20 rooms upstairs, 20 downstairs and 13 bathrooms. Now the butler has already cleaned 4 rooms upstairs, 3 rooms downstairs and 5 bathrooms…

LANGUAGE ARTS

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS:

  • Change ‘Beauty’ to your name and write a story you and the Beast.
  • Write a sequel to the Beauty & the Beast story.
  • Have students play the character in the show and other students interview them and write articles about them.

VOCABULARY:

Use a dictionary to look up some vocabulary from the show. Be sure to use them in a sentence! Beast, beauty, castle, enchanted, magic

WORD GAMES:

  • Have the students find as many words as they can using the letters in:

B E A U T Y A N D T H E B E A S T

  • Unscramble these words from the show:

EUYBAT (Beauty) / NADGIN (Dancing)
TABES (Beast) / ETCLSA (Castle)
RPSAI (Paris) / OKBOS (Books)

TECHNOLOGY

Use the interviews and articles about the show and character to create a newspaper using a word processing program. Include advertisements too!

MUSIC

Collect as many soundtracks from musical versions of Beauty & the Beast as you can find. Have the class listen to them all. What are the differences? How do the versions use the music to convey each part of the story.

CRAFTS

Create your own ‘Magic Book’: The Beast shows Beauty his ‘Magic Book’. When you open this book it has ‘the power to see the faces of all those you truly love’.

Use any size flat box, attached the lid to one side only so it opens up like a book. Have the students either draw pictures of the people they love or put a picture inside to use as a picture frame. Let the students decorate their book to look like a book.

ART

There are many famous French artists. Here are a few for you to research. Who’s your favorite?

Paul Cézanne / Henri Matisse
Marc Chagall / Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Edgar Degas / Auguste Renoir

FORGEIN LANGUAGES

Learn some basic French words. Compare them to English. What words are similar and which are totally different?

un (one) / beaute (beauty)
duex (two) / danse (dance)
trios (three) / chateau (castle)
rouge (red) / livre (book)
jaune (yellow) / enchantent (enchant)
bleu (blue) / magie (magic)
SCIENCE

Study flowers, especially roses! Study the parts of the flower, growth, pollination etc.


An acrostic is a simple poem based upon a single word. Use the word Beauty & the Beast and try to find other words or phrases, beginning with those letters, that pertain to our show. The first one is done for you.

bo o k s

e______

a______

u______

t______

y______

the

b______

E______

a______

s______

t______

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION:

  • Describe the sets and how they establish the scenes for different parts of the story. (What did you actually see and what did you see with your imagination?)
  • How did the addition of music and dance add to the story?
  • What kind of dances did you see? (Ballet? Waltz? Etc.) How were they different?
  • What did the different costumes tell you about each character?
  • What do you think was the funniest part of the show? The scariest? The nicest?
  • Have you ever been to a live stage show before?
  • What role did the audience play in the production?
  • If you could be in the show, which role would you prefer?
  • What other stories do you think would be fun to see as a play?

Note: American Theater Arts For Youth uses highly technical special effects called intellibeams that create special effects with moving patterns of light and color both on stage and in the audience.

HOW ABOUT YOU:

  • Do you like to act? Sing? Dance?
  • Have you ever been on stage?
  • What did you do on stage?
  • Share your experience with your class.
  • Would you like to be in a show?

CREATE YOUR OWN MUSICAL:

Write your own story or choose a favorite storybook and make a musical out of it. Start by writing a script, music & lyrics. Decide who will play each part, who will sing and who will dance. Choreograph the song(s). Have the students not playing parts design sets and costumes and make them. Give everyone a job that best suits their capabilities! Perform your play for another class or grade.


Write a letter to your favorite actor in the show. Express how you feel about the character in the show.