TEACHERS' RESOURCES

Unles your class regularly attends live theatre, your first lesson should always be the Mandatory Lesson or a review of that lesson. In any case, a reminder of the rules is in order. If you have time for only one other lesson, please make that a review of the story (or plot line) of the play. lolanthe is singing theatre. Follow that link for the history of this art form. There is a synopsis and notes provided for your use. In addition to the synopsis, there is a glossary list with links to definitions as the words apply to this play. Many of the expressions are not in common use today and all students should look at this list. It may be especially useful to your ESL students, and you might wish to use this list before going through the synopsis.

LANGUAGE ARTS
Many potential lessons are available from this play. This is just a brief list of suggestions.

Have your students write a review of the play (after the performance.) Be sure they understand that they must justify their opinion. Give this assignment before they attend so they will be looking for evidence.

If your students are having trouble using quotation marks correctly, use a script to help them understand who is talking when. Introduce the concept of a script. Then have them write a mini-play using the script format. Follow up by having them write additional dialog outside of the script format to ensure they understand the use of quotation marks.

This play is a comedy. What makes this one funny? Have your students explain why it is a satire. Use the synopsis to help them understand that it is aimed at poking fun at the Parliament's and the Peerage's pretensions, not at their policies.

Much of this play is written in verse. Depending on your class's level of experience/expertise, have them write a verse or a poem to replace one of the poems in the play. Be sure they understand that it must "fit" the place where it is to be used.

Author Study
Your students should understand that singing theatre is the result of collaboration between a composer (who writes the music) and a librettist (who writes the words). In this case, Gilbert and Sullivan were a very successful team. Have your students study several of their works and determine why they think that is true. They could compare and contrast this work with The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance or H.M.S. Pinafore. Pirates would be a good fit because it focuses and spoofs the British tradition of "DUTY" before everything.

Have your students compare and contrast the personalities of William Schwenk Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan. Have them determine if they believe they were similar or different. Be sure they use evidence to support their claim. You may choose to have them offer an opinion about the probability of these two men collaborating successfully over time. What factors seem to have affected the actual collaboration?

Gilbert and Sullivan were closely associated with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Have your students research Richard D'Oyly Carte and his influence on this collaboration. Be sure they find out how critical this role was. See the article on the creation of lolanthe for further information.

Fairy Tale
lolanthe could be called a fairy tale. Certainly, it includes fairies as principals in the cast. Have your students decide what makes a creature a fairy. Are these fairies similar to any others they have read about? (Cinderella's fairy godmother?) What about in the movies? (Tinkerbell and the Little Mermaid come to mind.) What is different about these fairies?

For older students, be sure they understand that Gilbert was using fairies with the implication of what we today would call "gay." He was aware of that usage in his time and intended to make people uncomfortable by using it. How little some things have changed! Depending on your class's age and need, you may wish to have them write about this and or other terms that have become "derogatory" with common usage.

CHARACTER STUDY AND SOCIAL STUDY
The character of The Lord Chancellor has many nuances in this play. Have students write a compare and contrast piece looking at the real role and the fictional role.

After looking at the fictional Chancellor, have students research the real Lord Chancellors of this time frame or earlier. Some of them may recognize Thomas à Becket, especially if they have seen the movie Becket. Have students write a biography of Becket. You may choose to have them view the film and contrast the actual historic Becket and the film version.

There were two important later Lord Chancellors named Thomas, Thomas Wolsey and Thomas More. Both had colorful lives (and similar bad ends). You could choose to have students write biographies of these men, as well. There are potentially several compare and contrast pieces for these three Chancellors. Having one student from a small group study each of the three (or four if you wish to include the fictional one) and have them combine to create a chart or essay comparing two, three or four of them could shorten the time needed for all of the figures to be included. The possibility exists to expand the list to include today's Lord Chancellor, Charles Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton (2003-). Note: Since the reforms of 2005, his role and responsiblities are very different.

Have students compare and contrast the British Parliament and the United States Congress. Be sure they look at both houses of each system, the House of Lords and the House of Commons for Britain and the Senate and the House of Representatives for the United States. After they have a solid understanding of both systems, have them list and defend the best and worst of each system. Ask them to create a "more perfect system" and tell why their system would be better than either of the others.

Have students compare and contrast the Court systems of both the United States and Great Britain. (See The Lord Chancellor and The Courts.) Be sure they outline the difference between lawyers under the United States system and barristers and solicitors in Britain. Have them offer an opinion about which is the better system and defend their opinion with facts. Have them look further into the Court systems of both and decide which they prefer. Have them defend their opinion with facts.

Part of the British class system is the use of titles. The British Peerage includes the royal family, at this time Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip and their children. In addition, there is an entire list of titles. While these are very nominal today, they were far less so at the time of this play. Have your students examine the peerage titles and investigate what "perks" go with those titles. (Look at the royals, especially.) Why could such a system lead to abuses? Is the class system alive today? In Britain? In the United States? In other countries of the world? Name some countries and compare and contrast the formal and informal class systems that exist today.

Combine art and social studies by having your students create a series of coronets for a group of people. Perhaps they could do one for families: Father, Mother, Son, Daughter; for school personnel: Principal, Vice Principal, Counselor, Teacher, Aide, etc. or, if they are sophisticated enough, for the United States government: President, Vice President, Cabinet, Senate, House, etc.. Be sure they can tell why they choose each decoration and what the hierarchy is for their choice. You may allow them to decide on a "group" and defend who is in that group and why as well as the differences in "rank."

MUSIC
lolanthe is singing theatre. You should consider an early lesson on singing and the part music plays in our enjoyment of the theatre and other performance venues. Your students will know and recognize many theme songs from movies and some music from opera, such as The Toreador Song from Bizet's Carmen, Figaro;s aria from Rossini's The Barber of Seville, the Wedding March from Wagner's Lohengrin, or the "Lone Ranger Theme" from Rossini's William Tell. Although they may not know the music from lolanthe, they should be able to discuss how music affects us as we watch and listen to various forms of entertainment. Play one or more of the important songs from the play for your students such as the Lord Chancellor's Nightmare Aria. Ask for their reactions.

Have your students study the patter song, The Nightmare Aria. Ask them to compare it to a rap song. Look closely at The Nightmare Aria and the notes on the text. Have them write their own version, either as a patter song or as a rap. Have them highlight words and phrases that are unique to "here and now". Ask them to provide definitions such as those provided in our glossary and notes.

Sullivan was influenced by many other composers. If your students are familiar with the works of Mendelssohn and his music for Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream or Wagner's Ring Cycle, have them listen for similar strains in this play. The procession of the peers has been compared to other famous marches. Ask your students to think of marches and martial music that they think is similar. Have them indicate why this music affects them.

The role of the Queen is sung by a contralto. Compare this role to Katisha in The Mikado. Does the use of this range of voice affect the character? How? If not, what other range of voice would be appropriate and why?

ART
Hold a discussion about the staging, including the scenery and costumes. Have your students choose a scene or a character that they would like to "dress." Have them present their work to the class, explaining why they chose that scene or character, what they did differently and why. Have the class comment on how well the changes affect the play.

Have your students create a playbill to advertise this play. Decide in advance if they should use the performance you are to attend (or have attended) or if they should create one from the time of Gilbert and Sullivan, a possible date in the distant future, or other options. Another option would be to create a handbill.

Have your students criticize the scenery or costumes for this production. See Notes about Arcadia and time to help them understand what the original intent was. Would that be necessary in the United States today? Have them recommend any changes that they feel would enhance the play. Have them support their changes with sketches or drawings.

CAREERS
There are many people other than performers involved in this kind of production. There are two articles to help you here. The first, Creating an Opera, will tell your students about creating the performance itself, There are numbers of people who are involved in this process. The second, Unsung Heroes, will provide you with the people who are rarely, if ever, seen. Have your students look at this list and determine an area that interests them. Have them research the opportunities in that area and write a report on it.

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Revised February 2007
Please credit Lyric Opera San Diego when using this material.