9THE NEW VICTORY® THEATER / NEWVICTORY.ORG/SCHOOLTOOL © THE NEW 42ND STREET, INC.

before | ROBIN HOOD

COMMON CORE STANDARDSWriting: 3; 4Speaking and Listening: 1; 2Language: 1; 2

NEW YORK STATE STANDARDSThe Arts: 1; 3; 4ELA: 1; 4

BLUEPRINT FOR THE ARTSTheater: Theater Making; Developing Theater Literacy; Making Connections

This section is part of a full New Victory® School toolTM Resource Guide. For the complete guide, including information about the New Victory Education Department check out: NEWVICTORY.ORG/SCHOOLTOOLS

INSIDE BEFORE EN ROUTE AFTER

®

Ready-to-implement classroom activities that explore the themes and artistry of the show.

ACTIVITY: A CAST OF CHARACTERS

Use this activity to introduce your students to the charactersthey will see in ROBIN HOOD!

Materials: Characters handout (on the next page); Newspaper

1. Have your students form a standing circle in your classroom.

2. Guide your students in warming up their bodies. Lead them in a few physical stretches and solicit other stretch ideas from your students.

3. Write on the board the names of the four characters they will be exploring today: Robin Hood, Much, the Sheriff of Nottingham and Maid Marian. Ask your students to tell you what they know about each character (if anything). Write all that is known next to that character’s name.

4. Have your students walk slowly around the room. When you count to 3, have them freeze. While they are frozen, read one of the character descriptions from the handout and have the kids strike a frozen pose as that character. Notice and highlight specific students and their poses.

5. Repeat walking and freezing as different characters.

6. Have your students choose two of the characters they most enjoyed physicalizing. Give your students a challenge: using only newspaper, create one costume piece that BOTH characters might wear (they could wear it very differently). Explain that in the show ROBIN HOOD, the actors transition between characters, sometimes with only subtle costume changes, or by adopting a different physicality.

7. Present these characters and their costumes to the group! Have students in small groups come to the front of the classroom and physicalize their two characters using their costume piece. See if the other students can guess who they are!

8. Distribute the handout of the characters to students for reference.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Which character did you most enjoy portraying and why?

Which costume pieces surprised you?

Based on the costumes and physicality of these characters, which characters do you think have high status and which have low status? How can you tell?

10THE NEW VICTORY® THEATER / NEWVICTORY.ORG/SCHOOLTOOLS © THE NEW 42ND STREET, INC.

INSIDE BEFORE EN ROUTE AFTER

®

before | ROBIN HOOD

A CAST OFCHARACTERS®

ROBIN HOODThe leader of the poor and everyday good people of Nottingham. He fights for justice and what he believes is right. He is a master of archery and disguise. He falls in love with Maid Marian.

MUCHA young, innocent boy and a dedicated follower of Robin Hood. He is committed to Robin’s cause.

SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAMThe main villain of the story who takes taxes from the poor, even when they cannot afford them. He is greedy, cunning, untrustworthy and mean. He is out to get Robin Hood.

MAID MARIANA strong woman and protector of her family, specifically her father. She falls in love with Robin Hood and lies to the Sheriff to save him.

BE A PART OF YOUR KID'S FIELD TRIP!®

WATCH

• Check out the video trailer and watch a message from the company! NewVictory.org

• While you're there, do the suggested Family Activities to learn more about the show.

NewVictory.org/FamilyActivities

ASK

Ask your kid BEFORE the show: • What are you most excited about for your trip to 42nd Street?

Ask your kid AFTER the show: • What was your favorite part of seeing ROBIN HOOD?• Who was your favorite character in the show? Why? • How was ROBIN HOOD different from other shows you’ve seen?

VISIT

The New Vic is New York City’s only performing arts theater exclusively devoted to kids, their families and classmates—bringing exhilarating

stories, innovative art forms and unparalleled performers from around the world to our historic stage in Times Square. For

a full list of shows in the New Vic’s 2015-16 season, visit NewVictory.org.

CREATIVITYPAGE®

IMAGINE YOU ARE ONE OF ROBIN HOOD’S BAND OF MERRY MEN (AND MAIDENS)! CREATE YOUR PROFILE BELOW.

MY MEDIEVAL NAME:

A PICTURE OF ME IN NOTTINGHAM (YOU CAN TAKE A PICTURE OR DRAW IT!)

MY SPECIAL SKILL:

HOW I JOINED ROBIN HOOD’S BAND OF MERRY MEN:

WHY I SUPPORT ROBIN HOOD:

JOIN THE BAND

[TITLE (DUCHESS, COUNT, LORD, KING, QUEEN, SIR, MAID, ETC.)] + [HALF OF A FIRST NAME] + [HALF OF A LAST NAME]EX. FOR BEN SMITH WHO LIVES IN CROWN HEIGHTS: SIR BITH OF CROWN HEIGHTS