Download ED442169.pdf - ERIC and more Summaries Theatre in PDF only on Docsity!
ED 442 169
AUTHOR
TITLE
INSTITUTION
SPONS AGENCY
PUB DATE
NOTE
AVAILABLE FROM
PUB TYPE
EDRS PRICE
DESCRIPTORS
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
DOCUMENT RESUME
CS 510 358
Freeman, Aakhu TuahNera "Sundiata, Lion King of Mali." Adapted by Kim Hines, Featuring Griot Alhaji Papa Susso, Cue Sheet for Students. John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC. Department of Education, Washington, DC. 1997-00- 10p.; Additional funding provided by The Kennedy Center Corporate Fund and The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/cuesheet/theater.html. Guides Classroom (^) Learner (051) MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. Audiences; *Characterization; Class Activities; Cultural Activities; Elementary Secondary Education; Foreign Countries; Multicultural Education; Playwriting; Production Techniques; *Theater Arts *Drama in Education; *Mali
This performance guide is designed for teachers to use with students before and after a performance of "Sundiata: Lion King of Mali," adapted by Kim Hines and featuring Griot Alhaji Papa Susso. The guide, called a "Cuesheet," contains seven activity sheets for use in class, addressing: (1) Sundiata: Man & Myth (discusses the real man and the 700-year-old epic legend behind this story, Sundiata's historical kingdom, and notes about the storyteller); (2) The Story and Characters (offering an outline with pictures of the story and characters); (3) Listening to Lines (presenting some lines from the play and examining how they help develop the story and give the audience information about the characters); (4) Theatre Collaborators (discussing the many people who work together to make a theatre performance happen); and (5) Collaborating on the Performance (explaining the important role of the audience in a live theatre event). Resources for further exploration are listed. (SR)
ReproductionssuppliedbyEDRSarethebestthatcanbemade
fromtheoriginaldocument.
"Sundiata,LionKingofMali":AdaptedbyKimHines.
CueSheetforStudents.
U.S.DEPARTMENTOFEDUCATION OfficeotEducations'ResearchandImprovement EDUCATIONALRESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER(ERIC) (^00) 0Thedocumenthasbeenreproducedas receivedfromthepersonororganization originating.1. I1 0Minorchangeshavebeenmadetoimprove reproduction(Malty.
C/) Pointsofneworopinionsstatedinthisdocu-
U mentdonotnecessanivrepresent°Moat OERIPositionorPol.Cy
byAakhuTuahNeraFreeman
2
BESTCOPYAVAILABLE
I
A A
'
hestoryofSundiata[soon-dee-AH-tah]isboth
factandfiction.Sundiatawasarealmanwith
realaccomplishments,butheisalsothesubject
ofa700year-oldepiclegendfilledwithmagic,
witchcraft,andfantasticdeeds.
ThetwelfthsonofthefirstkingofMali[MAH-led
Sundiatawassmallinstatureandhadmultipledisabili-
ties.Peopleshunnedandridiculedtheyoungprince
eventhoughapredictionsaidthatababywithsevere
disabilitieswouldgrowupanddefeatanevilrulerof
Mali.Throughpatience,perseverance,wisdom,and
strength,Sundiataovercamehisdisabilities,fulfilledthe
prophecy,andrestoredpeacetohiskingdom.
t
a
"Nr.: 11111-1-',
,A11411464A 414, tt'k. .. 4:
epic-along poem,toldin dignified language, celebratingthe actionsofahero
legendastory (especiallyone believedtobe historical) handeddown fromearlier times,
AihajiPapaSussowhoblendsAfricanstorytelling, music,andtraditionalperformancetechniquesin Sundiata:LionKingofMali.
4
ABOUTTHE
STORYTELLER:
KINGOM
TheancientMaliEmpireexistedasearlyas
1000AD,butitbeganitsrisetogreatnessand
powerundertheruleofSundiata.The
KingdomofGhana[GAH-nah]haddeclined
duringthemid-11thcentury.In1235,
Sundiatadefeatedthenearbykingdomof
Sossowhichwasledbythetyrant,
Sumanguru.FollowingSumanguru'sdefeat,
alltheleadersofsmallernationsunitedunder
SundiatawhothenfoundedthevastMali
Empire.ItstretchedwesttotheAtlantic
Ocean,southintotheforest,eastbeyondthe
Niger[NIE-jer]River,andnorthtotheSahara
Desert.
AlhajiPapaSussoisamasterkoraplayer,tradi-
tionalmusician,andoralhistorian.Hedirectshis
ownculturalorganization,theMandingMusicand
DanceLimited,andalsoperformswithsymphony
orchestrasaroundtheworld.Heisapremierper-
formerintheorchestralpiece,"AfricanPortraits"
byHannibalLokumbe.
Kora-a21-stringedharp-lute inventedbythe"Susso" familyoftheMandinkatribe andmeanttobeplayedby theprofessionalmusicians, singers,andgriotsattached totheroyalcourts
TheMaliEmpirehadfieldsofgoldand
fertilefloodplainsoftheNigerRiver.Ma
wasthesecondandlargestofthethreeg-at
successiveAfricanempires:thekingdoms
Ghana,Mali,andSonghai[SAWNG-hi].
Sundiatacontrolledtheentireregion'strado
goods,books,andgold.
Afteroneyear,Sogolonhasababyboy
blessedbythespiritofthebuffaloand
lion.HeisnamedSundiata.Astimegoes
by,itbecomesclearthatSundiatacan
neitherwalknortalk.Peopleeithershun
himorlaughathim.
Thegriotremindsthekingthatfromtiny
seedsgreattreesgrow,andtellshimthat
Sundiatawillgrowinhisowntime.
Noonepaysanyattentionto
theking'sfinalactofdeclar-
ingSundiataking.Sassouma
Bereteandhersonrulethe
land.Sundiatacontinuesto
growhealthierwhile
SassoumaBeretekeeps
puttingobstaclesinhispath
tothethrone.
Sundiataandhismotherareforcedto
fleefromMali.Foryearstheytravel
fromkingdomtokingdom.When
Sundiata'smotherbecomesill,they
staywithKingMemawhotreats
Sundiataashisownson.Histeachings
helpSundiatatogrowstrongandwise,
preparinghimforhisroleindefeating
evil,unitingsmallernationsunderone
rule,andleadingMalitogreatness.
Onedaythekingfallsill.Before
hedies,hetellsSundiatathatheis
destinedtobeking.Onthatday
Sundiatabeginstoovercomehis
disabilities.
BESTCOPYAVAILABLE
66
Aplaywrightwriteslines(dialogue)foractorsplayingcharacterstospeak.Thelines
helpdevelopthestoryandgivetheaudienceinformationaboutthecharacters.
Linesalsorevealhowcharactersgrowandchange.Thispagewillfamiliarizeyou
withsomeofthelinesinSundiata:LionKingofMali:
Youwillhearthe storyof
Sundiata,theLionKing...who over-
camemanythingstowalkwith 66
greatness. -TheGriot
"
You areeldersanditisforus
tocareforyouasyouhavecared
urmagicispowerful, butnot
powerfulenoughtohurtaheart
fullofkindness. -Witch1 "I
77 forothers. -Sundiata
nowreturnasyourking.
Henceforth, noneshallinterfere 77 withanothersdestiny. -Sundiata
owsmalltheseed fromwhicha 71 greattreesprings. -TheGriot
Discussthe
informationthat
theselinesreveal
aboutplotand
characters.
Thinkofdifferentwayscharactersmightsayeach
line,e.g.loudly,excitedly,lovingly,etc.Chooseone
linefromthelistandexpressitinasmanydiffer-
entwaysasyoucan.Duringtheperformance,lis-
tenforhowtheactorsintheplaysaytheselines.
BESTCOPYAVAILABLE
heuglylookingpricklypear
repelsuswithitsspines...butwe
forgetwhatthisfruitlookslikeon
theoutsideoncewehavegrownto
knowofitsbeautyandsweetness 11 ontheinside. -TheGriot
ometimeswisdomisbittertothe
taste...butonceitisinthestomach... / itiseversosweet. -TheGriot
3
'7,2 1
ry t-
,Iy
c....."4,
Theaterisacollaborativeartthat
requirestheworkofmanypeople.
playwright,director,designers,actors,
andthefinalcollaboratoryoutheaudience
Theperformanceisnotreallyaperformance
untilanaudiencearrives.Priortothat,itisstill
arehearsal.Yourimportantroleastheaudience
includeswatchingandlisteningcarefully
throughouttheperformanceAplaytakes
longertounfoldthanatelevisionprogram,so
'
yourattentionisimportantAlso,unliketelevi-
sionperformers,theactorsareintheroomwith
youUnexpectednoiseaffectstheirabilityto
playtheirroles,andinterfereswithotheraudi-
encemembers'enjoymentoftheperformance
Pleasefeelfreetolaughwhensomethingis
funny,crywhensomethingissad,orevengasp
whensomethingfantasticoccurs.And,of
course,youcanalsoapplaudtoshowyour
appreciation.
SOMEDIFFERENCESBETWEEN... MOVIES TV
Storyistoldbyperformersplayingcharacters. X^ X
Performersareinthesameroomasaudience.
Performersareawareoftheaudience.
Audienceresponseaffectsperformers.
PLAYS
X
X
X
X
1111111101111W TheKennedyCenter JamesA.Johnson,Chairman LawrenceJ.Wilker,President DerekE.Gordon, VicePresident,Education
SUNDIATA: LIONKING OFMALI CuesheetEditor: RosalindFlynn. Writer: AakhuTuahNeraFreeman. Illustrations: DavidWisniewski. Design: PaulDupreeCommunications. Cuesheetisfundedinpart throughthesupportofthe U.S.DepartmentofEducation, TheKennedyCenterCorporate Fund,andTheMorrisand GwendolynCafritzFoundation. 1997TheJohnF.Kennedy CenterforthePerformingArts.
Resources BertoLRoland. &Waste:TheEpicofthe LionKing.NY:ThomasY. Crowell1970.
CimILLeonE. ThroughAfricanEyes: CuffuresinChange-Unit NY:TheConferenceon WorldAffairs,Inc.1970.
Courlander,Harold. ATreasuryofAfrican Folklore.NY:Crown Publishers1975.
Davidson,Basil. TheLostCitiesofAfrica (RevisedEdition).Boston: Little,Brown&Company.
Wisniewslu,David. Sundiata:LionKingof Mali.NY:Houghton MifflinCo.1992.
U.S.DepartmentofEducation OfficeofEducationalResearchandImprovement(OERI) NationalLibraryofEducation(NLE) EducationalResourcesInformationCenter(ERIC)
NOTICE
ReproductionBasis
ERIC
Thisdocumentiscoveredbyasigned"ReproductionRelease (Blanket)"form(onfilewithintheERICsystem),encompassingall orclassesofdocumentsfromitssourceorganizationand,therefore, doesnotrequirea"SpecificDocument"Releaseform.
j ThisdocumentisFederally-funded,orcarriesitsownpermissionto
reproduce,orisotherwiseinthepublicdomainand,therefore,may bereproducedbyERICwithoutasignedReproductionReleaseform (either"SpecificDocument"or"Blanket").
EFF-089(3/2000)
