L L U G E D A I E U S G N I M N O E V O T H R U K U E B H T H D E C T MI A L N BY K O D H N T T E C E U BYAN LA T S TK S L A N U BYAI R A D C T P E A T I C R E R A DIM I R R U C TABLE OF CONTENTS Standards 2 Guidelines for Attending the Theatre 3 Artists 4 Themes for Writing and Discussion 9 Mastery Assessment 17 For Further Exploration 18 Suggested Activities 25 © Huntington Theatre Company AUTHOR CREDITS Boston, MA 02115 September 2013 This curriculum guide was prepared for the No portion of this Curriculum Guide Huntington Theatre Company by: may be reproduced without written permission from the Huntington Anneke Reich | Education Professional Intern Theatre Company’s Department of with contributions by: Education & Community Programs Alexandra Truppi | Manager for Curriculum & Instruction Inquiries should be directed to: Donna Glick | Director of Education Donna Glick | Director of Education Rebecca Curtiss | Communications Manager Huntington Theatre Company 264 Huntington Avenue Dan Pecci | Creative Services Coordinator Boston, MA 02115 Katelyn Diekhaus | Education Intern STANDARDS Student Matinee performances and pre-show workshops provide unique opportunities for experiential learning and support various combinations of the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts. They may also support standards in other subject areas such as Social Studies and History, depending on the individual play’s subject matter. Activities are also included in this Curriculum Guide and in our pre-show workshops that support several of the Massachusetts state standards in Theatre. Other arts areas may also be addressed depending on the individual play’s subject matter. COMMON CORE STANDARDS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details 3 Reading Literature: Craft and Structure 6 • Grade 8: Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or • Grade 8: Analyze how differences in the points of incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., aspects of a character, or provoke a decision. created through dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor. • Grades 9-10: Analyze how complex characters (e.g. those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop • Grades 9-10: Analyze a particular point of view or over the course of a text, interact with other characters, cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from and advance the plot or develop the themes. outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature. • Grades 11-12: Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop related elements of a story • Grades 11-12: Analyze a case in which grasping point of or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is view required distinguishing what is directly stated in a ordered, how the characters are introduced text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, and developed). or understatement). Reading Literature: Craft and Structure 5 Reading Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7 • Grade 8: Compare and contrast the structure of two • Grade 8: Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs each text contributes to its meaning and style. from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors. • Grades 9-10: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within • Grades 9-12: Analyze multiple interpretations of a it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, story, drama, or poem (e.g. recorded or live production flashbacks), create such effects as mystery, tension, or of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how surprise. each version interprets the source text (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American • Grades 11-12: Analyze how an author’s choices dramatist). concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. 2 MASSACHUSETTS STANDARDS IN THEATRE Acting Reading and Writing Scripts • 1.7 — Create and sustain a believable character • 2.7 — Read plays and stories from a variety of cultures throughout a scripted or improvised scene and historical periods and identify the characters, (By the end of Grade 8). setting, plot, theme, and conflict (By the end of Grade 8). • 1.12 — Describe and analyze, in written and oral form, • 2.8 — Improvise characters, dialogue, and actions that characters’ wants, needs, objectives, and personality focus on the development and resolution of dramatic characteristics (By the end of Grade 8). conflicts (By the end of Grade 8). • 1.13 — In rehearsal and performance situations, perform • 2.11 — Read plays from a variety of genres and styles; as a productive and responsible member of an acting compare and contrast the structure of plays to the ensemble (i.e., demonstrate personal responsibility and structures of other forms of literature (Grades 9-12). commitment to a collaborative process) Technical Theatre (By the end of Grade 8). • 4.6 — Draw renderings, floor plans, and/or build models • 1.14 — Create complex and believable characters through of sets for a dramatic work and explain choices in using the integration of physical, vocal, and emotional choices visual elements (line, shape/form, texture, color, space) (Grades 9-12). and visual principals (unity, variety, harmony, balance, • 1.15 — Demonstrate an understanding of a dramatic work rhythm) (By the end of Grade 8). by developing a character analysis (Grades 9-12). • 4.13 — Conduct research to inform the design of sets, • 1.17 — Demonstrate increased ability to work effectively costumes, sound, and lighting for a dramatic production alone and collaboratively with a partner or in an (Grades 9-12). ensemble (Grades 9-12). Connec tions • Strand 6: Purposes and Meanings in the Arts — Students • Strand 10: Interdisciplinary Connections — Students will will describe the purposes for which works of dance, apply their knowledge of the arts to the study of English music, theatre, visual arts, and architecture were and are language arts, foreign languages, health, history created, and, when appropriate, interpret their meanings and social science, mathematics, and science and (Grades PreK-12). technology/engineering (Grades PreK-12). AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE Attending live theatre is a unique experience with many valuable educational and social benefits. To ensure that all audience members are able to enjoy the performance, please take a few minutes to discuss the following audience etiquette topics with your students before you come to the Huntington Theatre Company. • How is attending the theatre similar to and different from going to the movies? What behaviors are and are not appropriate when seeing a play? Why? • Remind students that because the performance is live, the audience will affect the actors’ performance. No two audiences are exactly the same and no two performances are exactly the same — this is part of what makes theatre so special! Students’ behavior should reflect the level of performance they wish to see. • Theatre should be an enjoyable experience for the audience. It is absolutely all right to applaud when appropriate and laugh at the funny moments. Talking and calling out during the performance, however, are not allowed. Why might this be? Be sure to mention that not only would the people seated around them be able to hear their conversation, but the actors on stage could hear them, too. Theatres are constructed to carry sound efficiently! • Any noise or light can be a distraction, so please remind students to make sure their cell phones are turned off (or better yet, left at home or at school!). Texting, photography, and video recording are prohibited. Food and gum should not be brought into the theatre. • Students should sit with their group as seated by the Front of House staff and should not leave their seats once the performance has begun. 3 ARTISTS Chekhov’s family “Every work of art has to express some great idea. True beauty is The Playwright: always a serious matter.” Anton Chekhov — Dorn, The Seagull, Act I Anton Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860, in a town called Taganrog in southern Russia, the third child of six. His father, Pavel Yegorovich Chekhov, was the son of a former serf, who purchased freedom for himself and his family from the nobleman who owned him. A devout Orthodox Christian who owned a grocery store and was very musical, Pavel was also physically abusive. Chekhov’s mother, Yevgeniya Morozov, was known within her family as a wonderful storyteller. Her father was a traveling cloth salesman, so Yevgeniya raised her children on stories of her travels from when she was a young girl. In translations of Chekhov’s letters to his brother, Mikhail, Chekhov reflected, “Our talents we got from our father but our soul from our mother.” Chekhov — later in life — wrote very critically of his father and his abusive tendencies. It is thought that the common use of hypocritical characters in his stories and plays is based on Anton Chekhov, playwright (1898, by Osip Braz) Pavel. Chekhov was very close with his mother, however, and praised her greatly in his writing. 4 As a child, Chekhov attended the Greek Boys During his time at the Taganrog Gymnasium for School in his home town of Taganrog, where Boys, Chekhov enjoyed attending and performing he received a religious education, and then in amateur theatrical productions. He worked the Taganrog Gymnasium for Boys, from many jobs to pay for his education, from catching which he graduated in 1879. In 1876, Chekhov’s and selling goldfinches, to selling short sketches father went bankrupt, and most of the family to newspapers, and sent any leftover money to moved to Moscow. Chekhov, however, stayed his family in Moscow, accompanied by spirited, in Taganrog to continue his studies at the funny, letters. While still a young student, he Gymnasium and take care of his family’s home. wrote his first full drama, Fatherless, and read as While living apart from Chekhov, his mother much as he could. became both physically and mentally ill, which upset Chekov deeply. He wrote to his cousin, In 1879, Chekhov was able to move to Moscow, Mikhail, on May 10, 1877: and became financially responsible for his whole family. He continued to write sketches to make . . . If I send letters to my mother, care of you, money, and became skilled at composing short please give them to her when you are alone stories depicting contemporary Russian life. He with her; there are things in life which one can became known as a satirist of Russian street confide in one person only, whom one trusts life. In Moscow, Chekhov attended medical . . . My second request is of more importance. school at the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Please go on comforting my mother, who is Medical University and became a physician. both physically and morally broken. My mother’s Though he earned enough money through character is such that the moral support of his medical practice to support his family, his others is a great help to her. It is a silly request, income remained modest because he treated his isn’t it? . . . There is no one in this wicked poor patients for free. Medicine was Chekhov’s world dearer to us than our mother, and so occupation but his passion for writing only grew you will greatly oblige your humble servant by as his popularity as a writer did. comforting his worn-out and weary mother . . . Taganrog Gymnasium for Boys 5 the opportunity to discuss the trees and flowers he planted with visitors. The Seagull premiered at the Alexandrinksy Theatre in Petersburg, Russia, on October 17, 1896. The play was not well received. The audience booed, and the lead actress playing Nina, Vera Komissarzhevskaya, was so impacted by the audience’s negative response that she lost her voice following the opening performance. Chekhov was incredibly discouraged, and claimed in a letter the following day that he would “never either write plays or have them acted” again. However, one theater director in Petersburg was quite impressed with Chekhov and persuaded acting theorist Constantin Stanislavsky to see the show, which resulted in a longstanding relationship with the famous director/actor. Stanislavsky’s breakthrough style of realism, established in his book An Actor Prepares, supported Chekhov’s writing, so when The Seagull was performed at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898, with Stanislavsky himself playing Trigorin, it acclaimed. Chekhov’s friend, Vladimir Nemirovich, A young Anton Chekhov remembered the applause sounding like “a dam breaking.” Unbeknownst to his family, Chekhov contracted tuberculosis, a disease which would trouble him In 1901, Chekhov married Olga Knipper, the for the rest of his life. In 1887, with his health actress who played Arkadina in the Moscow suffering, Chekhov moved to Ukraine to rest. Art Theatre’s production of The Seagull. He had A theatre manager there hired him to write a remained disinterested in marriage longer than play. The result of this commission, titled was considered socially acceptable at the time, Ivanov, was the first play Chekhov wrote that was actually produced. In 1892, Chekhov bought Melkhovo, a country estate outside of Moscow, where he would write some of his best-known works including Uncle Vanya and The Seagull. Chekhov’s parents and a sister lived with him in the main house, and he was a responsible and helpful landlord to his tenants on the property. Despite his own health problems, Chekhov offered medical services and organized relief funds for local villagers suffering from cholera and famine. He took great pleasure in the garden surrounding the small cottage he built to serve as a writing space, and relished Chekhov & his wife, Olga Knipper 6 but his marriage with Olga was very special. They maintained a largely long distance relationship for the duration of their marriage, but corresponded frequently. Their letters have since become widely published and document their opinions of theatre, including criticisms of the popular acting styles at the time. Though Chekhov’s marriage played an important role in his life, he was not faithful to his wife — it is estimated that he had at least 33 other affairs. Chekhov had several significant relationships during his marriage to Olga, such as with opera singer Lika Mizinova, Lydia Yavorskaya, a young actress, and Lydia Avilova. Aspects of his relationships with these three women are depicted in pieces of The Seagull. For instance, when Lika Mizinova wished for a more serious relationship with Chekhov but did not receive it, she began an affair with a married novelist, Potapenko, who abandoned her when she became pregnant. This particular storyline is a direct reflection on the story of Nina and Trigorin. Pictured above: Stanislavsky in The Seagull In May of 1904, Chekhov’s tuberculosis became Pictured below: Chekhov, later in life fatal. Olga sat with him while he died peacefully. Though Chekhov did not achieve a great deal of popularity outside of Russia during his own lifetime, his legacy had an enormous impact on the literary and theatrical communities of the world in years to come. Pictured left: Guest cottage at a Melikhovo, where Chekhov wrote The Seagull 7 Chekhov and the Moscow Art Theatre, 1899, first reading of The Seagull “It is the feeling of beauty that speaks in us, and beauty cannot endure what is commonplace and trivial.” — Anton Chekhov in a letter to his uncle, January 18, 1887 The Seagull The Seagull is considered to be the first of Chekhov’s great plays and is defined by its complex, layered characters and heavy use of subtext. (Subtext is the message that is implied in the text, rather than what is directly stated.) Many well-known actors made their mark in the theatre world through playing a role in The Seagull. A few notable productions: • 1938: Uta Hagen made her Broadway debut playing Nina at the Shubert Theatre in New York. • 1992: Laura Linney starred as Nina, Jon Voight as Trigorin, and Ethan Hawke as Konstantin, at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre. • 2001: Meryl Streep starred as Arkadina, Christopher Walken as Sorin, and Philip Seymour Hoffman (among other notable cast members) in the New York Shakespeare Festival production in Central Park. 8 THEMES FOR WRITING & DISCUSSION Fame & Celebrity In The Seagull, Nina dreams of leaving behind her small town and restrictive family to make a glamorous, exciting life for herself as an actress. In her first one-on-one conversation with Trigorin, a famous Russian writer, she confesses her desire to live the sensational life of an artist. “What a wonderful life,” she gushes. “You don’t know how much I envy you! People’s destinies are so different. Some people just drag along, unnoticed and boring – they’re all alike, and they’re all unhappy. Then there are others, like for instance you – you’re one in a million! Your life turned out bright, interesting, full of meaning. You’re happy.” To this, Trigorin responds that his life is not all she perceives it to be: “I’m happy? Hmm. You talk about fame, about happiness, about some sort of bright, interesting life, but those are just big words. They don’t mean anything to me . . . It’s a stupid life! Here I am talking to you, I’m all worked up, and still I can’t forget for a minute that I’ve got a story to finish.” There is a clear difference between how these two characters view the idea of fame. Nina, who is not famous, sees celebrity as fulfilling, glamorous, and ideal. Trigorin’s rebuttal of Nina’s claim, however, in an insider’s perspective that offers a less glamorous look at what life in the spotlight is really like. He is obsessive and withdrawn, unable to take his mind off his work; the fame does not satisfy him. Trigorin’s assertion that he no longer even loves his art is lost on Nina, who claims that if she were in his shoes, she would tolerate the negative aspects of fame for the rest. It is clear that being on the inside and being on the outside of experiencing fame leads to very different perceptions of it. The mother and son pair of Arkadina and Konstantin also struggle with fame. Arkadina is 9