LIGHT VS DARK THE ADVENTURES OF RAMA ACTIVITY PACK

LIGHT VS DARK THE ADVENTURES OF RAMA ACTIVITY PACK

SYNOPSIS WHAT HAPPENS IN THE PLAY There is a great contest to win the heart of Princess Sita. Many suitors try and fail including the 10-headed King of Lanka, Ravana, until Rama (Prince of the Circular City Ayodhya) steals Sita s heart. But Rama and his new wife must leave Ayodhya, and go to the forest and as they say goodbye to the city all of the lights go out. In the forest they live happily for many years, but on the island of Lanka Ravana is still fuming about losing Sita! He disguises himself as magic creatures and kidnaps Sita, taking her to his island home. When Rama discovers Sita is gone he is in despair until Hanuman, the Monkey King, arrives and agrees to take a message to Sita. Full of hope Rama and Hanuman build a bridge of stones over the ocean to Lanka where they battle Ravana until his death. When Sita and Rama are reunited they return to the Circular City and all of the lights come back. What was your favourite scene? Draw what you saw: Did you have a favourite part of the story that we heard about, but didn t see in the show? Like Hanuman flying to Lanka, or Rama and Sita s wedding? Draw it here and give your scene a title. LIGHT VS. DARK: THE ADVENTURES OF RAMA ACTIVITY PACK 1

Who was your favourite character? Write down five things you liked about him or her. CHARACTER S NAME: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Circle the words that you think apply to your character! Cheeky HERE ARE SOME WORDS TO DESCRIBE CHARACTERS What other adjectives (describing words) can you think of for your character? LIGHT VS. DARK: THE ADVENTURES OF RAMA ACTIVITY PACK 2

PLAYING WITH PROPS The performers used simple objects like pieces of cloth and boxes to make all sorts of things they used (props). What are some of the props you remember them making in the show? Use these pictures from rehearsals to jog your memory. DRAMA ACTIVITY Try coming up with some other ways you could use a piece of cloth or a box! See how many different ideas you can create together using your imaginations LIGHT VS. DARK: THE ADVENTURES OF RAMA ACTIVITY PACK 3

OLD STORIES MADE NEW The story of Rama and Sita is very old it is a story from a long time ago and part of a much longer story, an epic poem called the Ramayana. Do you know any other Ramayana stories? What place in the world do you think it comes from? What makes you think that it comes from there? EXTENSION: Research Ramayana and find out more about it. To help old stories stay alive, people change things to keep it interesting and entertaining for the audience of their time. LIGHT VS. DARK had some modern things added to the story. What were some of the old and new things? OLD THINGS ABOUT THE STORY NEW THINGS ADDED TO THE STORY THEMES DISCUSSION What do you think the story of Rama and Sita was about, and why? Discuss in pairs and write your answers here. LIGHT VS. DARK: THE ADVENTURES OF RAMA ACTIVITY PACK 4

DRAMA ACTIVITY The performers rehearsed together to tell the story and create their characters. They worked with a Director to watch them and help them. Here are some of the activities they did in rehearsals to prepare for the show, and that you can try too, as a class or in smaller groups. BEING MONKEYS Move like a monkey! Let s all move around as monkeys. How fast can we move? How slow? Are we low to the ground, or can we jump up high? Try some different sounds that a monkey might make. How does it talk to other monkeys (without words)? How does it move and sound when it is happy? What about when it is scared? Angry? Be big and brave with your body and voice. FLOCKING / SCHOOL OF FISH In a group of five or six, stand close together like a bunch of grapes, with one person at the front. The front person starts to move, and the others follow, copying the leader s movement. When the group changes direction, there will be a new person in the front; they become the leader and start a new movement. Practice staying together doing the same movement; listen and watch carefully and soon you ll be moving like a school of fish! Be imaginative! What movements are interesting and fun to do? Use your whole body and lots of different levels up high, down low, side to side. Experiment with freezing as a group. Try moving very slowly, or very fast. Stay together. DISCUSSION TALK ABOUT: How do you jump, crawl, slither on your tummy etc and stay together? How does it feel when everyone is works together? Was it hard to change leaders without saying your turn? What helped you stay together as a group? When you are experts, try adding sound too. Can your group become an instrument? How can you make noises without using your voice? (For example, slapping, clapping, stamping your feet ) SPEED & FREEZE STORY In groups of 5, appoint 1 person as storyteller. Their job is to tell the audience the story while the other 4 act out everything the storyteller says. Once you have practiced, the storyteller can speed up the story, meaning the actors have to work fast to keep up! The storyteller can also freeze the story at any point.this is a fun way to re-tell Rama s story, but you can use other stories too. EXTENSION: Everyone in the group shares the storytelling as they act out the events and anyone can call freeze at any time. ADDING MUSIC Is there a song you know and could sing to help tell the story? Or would your favourite pop song help make the show exciting? Can anyone in your class play an instrument? Could you all drum or sing together? LIGHT VS. DARK: THE ADVENTURES OF RAMA ACTIVITY PACK 5

LIGHT VS DARK THE ADVENTURES OF RAMA BY --- AHI KARUNAHARAN COMMISSIONED BY ------------------- AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY CREATIVE ---------- Director AHI KARUNAHARAN Designer AMY SNAPE ATC Associate Director LYNNE CARDY PRODUCTION ------------- Stage Manager ADAM BURRELL Tour Coordinator WHETU SILVER CAST ----- Sita KALYANI NAGARAJAN Rama MAYEN MEHTA Ravana MEL ODEDRA Hanuman RAVI GURUNATHAN Musician ADAM OGLE CREATIVE LEARNING -------------------- Activity Pack Writer AMBER McWILLIAMS Contributing Writer and Editor LYNNE CARDY Design WANDA TAMBRIN Workshop Director LYNNE CARDY ATC Youth Arts Coordinator NICOLE ARROW By arrangement with AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR HELP WITH THIS PRODUCTION: Asia NZ Foundation, Jatinder Singh, Vanessa Kumar, Kathryn Rawlings Agency, Anna at Human Garden Agency, Gail Cowan Management, Playmarket. Touring 16 October 3 November 2017 Duration: 35 minutes without an interval Auckland Theatre Company receives principal and core funding from: PRINCIPAL FUNDERS CORE FUNDER ATC Creative Learning thanks the ATC Patrons and the ATC Supporting Acts for their ongoing generosity.