Your first lesson should always be the Mandatory Lesson or a review of that lesson. If you have time for only one other lesson, please make that a review of the synopsis (or plot line) of the play. Man of La Mancha is singing theatre. For the history of this art form, go to this link. If you have time for more than one lesson, or if your students already understand the rules of live theatre, please feel free to choose one of the additional lessons. They are divided roughly by general subject matter, e. g. language arts, social studies, et cetera.

Language Arts
This musical is a fictional story about the author Cervantes and it includes episodes from his novel Don Quixote which are given in the form of a play-within-a-play. Have your students discuss this form of writing and decide if they like it. Be sure they defend their opinion with material from this musical.

Several expressions common in our daily conversations have come from this novel. One is "tilting at windmills" and another is the term "quixotic". Have your students determine what these mean. How have they come into use? Have them cite other examples of expressions in common usage that have come from literature.

Compare and Contrast
If your students have read other plays using the literary devise of a play-within-a-play such as Hamlet, have them compare and contrast both. Does one work better than the other? Why or why not? Give evidence.

Don Quixote was voted by the Nobel Institute as the "greatest book of all time." If your students read or have read it, have them decide if they agree or not. Be sure they understand the importance of the time in which it was written. (See Notes on Don Quixote) Details such as the arrival of the printing press, the use of short stories within the text that were suitable for reading aloud, etc. all contributed to its status.

If your students read or have read Don Quixote, have them compare and contrast the two pieces. Be sure they are aware that much of what has been written about Don Quixote is opinion, rather than fact. Very little other than the actual manuscript is extant. (see Man of La Mancha versus Don Quixote)

Don Quixote immitates Chivalric literature. If you have read other examples (King Arthur, etc.), have your students compare and contrast the two pieces. The quest for the Holy Grail has been the subject of much literature. If you have used one of them in class, have your students write a "compare and contrast" piece. If your students have read the latest Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, have them compare and contrast the two "quests". Have them decide if Harry Potter is on a quest and provide evidence to support their case, either way. Ask them to decide if this is an example of chivalric romance.

Man of La Mancha was made into a television production in 1959 and into a movie in 1972. (The Making of Man of La Mancha) Find a copy of the film and have students watch it after attending the performance. Have them compare and contrast the film and the musical. There are some differences. Do they make a difference to the enjoyment of the story? If you (the student) were the writer of the screen play, are those the choices you would have made? Why or why not? Be able to defend your position with evidence. Which format do you prefer? Why?

Rewrite/revise
Have your students rewrite or revise a portion of the play that they did not like or think should/could be strong/better. Have them cite evidence to support their version. You may wish to have some examples presented to the class for the class's opinion.(See Synopsis)

Critique
Have your students write a criticism of the play. Be sure they support their opinions with data from the performance. Be sure to make this assignment before they attend so they can be thinking about it as they watch the performance. Choices could include the music as performed by the orchestra, the music as performed by the vocalists (either collectively or individually), the sets, the staging and the directing. Have your students read several newspaper columns before they attend the performance so they can be familiar with professionals' manner of critiquing.

Author Study
Your students should understand that singing theatre is a collaboration between a composer (who writes the music) and a librettist (who writes the words). The librettist is Dale Wasserman. Your students may be familiar with another of his works, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Have your students research his background and see if it gives clues to his writing of this play/musical.

The lyricist for Man of La Mancha was Joe Darion and the composer was Mitch Leigh. Theirs are two very different stories and backgrounds. Have your students study them and decide if this was an easy collaboration. What made them think that? What about the collaboration with Dale Wasserman? Have them write about collaboration from their own experience. Is it easy? Hard? What makes the difference?

Miguel De Cervantes is the author of Don Quixote, on which Man of La Mancha is based. He is often spoken of as the author of the first modern novel. Have your students read his biography and find incidents in his life that are present in Man of La Mancha. Do these episodes seem to "ring true?" Do your students consider this autobiographical i.e. of Cervantes? (Because Man of La Mancha was written by some one else i.e. Wasserman, it is not truly autobiographical, however, a case can be make that the incidents are.)

Character Study
Have students compare the character of Don Quixote in the novel or of Cervantes in the musical, to a leading character in a story they have studied in class. Tell how he is the same as that character AND how he is different. Which character is more interesting? Why? Be sure they cite examples to support their opinions. Have them compare Sancho Panza in the same way.

Social Studies
The story is set about 16th Century Spain. How have living conditions changed since that time? Means of travel? Education? Gender roles? Forms of government?

The San Diego Connection deals with the "discovery" and naming of San Diego, California. Have your students research the first explorers to come to what we now call San Diego. (Editor's note: "Discovery" is the common term for European explorers' visits to New World sites. That is offensive to many Native peoples who lived in these places for thousands of years before they were "discovered" by white men. "Exploration" is a much more acceptable term.)

One of the most misunderstood institutions of this time was the Inquisition. It is often called the Spanish Inquisition, implying that is existed only in Spain. In fact, the Inquisition in Spain was separate from the Inquisition in the rest of Europe. Have your students research this subject and present factual information about it. Be sure they understand the implications of religion and government being intertwined. Have them give other examples that have led to abuses. Can they find examples of when it was a positive thing? Have them write a position paper concerning the United States and the separation of church and state. Be sure they support their opinion with facts on both sides of the argument.

Much has been made of pirates recently. Movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean have drawn attention to this old life style. The life of Cervantes (and the lives of many others) was affected by the Corsairs of Algeria. Have your students research pirates and privateers. See if they can find names of men who were famous and those who were infamous for the same action. There is a United States connection to the Barbary pirates. Have one or more students investigate the Barbary wars and report on them. (There is an interesting movie, The Wind and the Lion, which depicts a story of Americans caught by pirates and the US government's reaction.)

Music
Man of La Mancha 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 Carmen. Although they may not know the music from Man of La Mancha, they should be able to discuss how music affects us as we watch and listen to various forms of entertainment. Play one of the important songs from the play for your students. (Suggestion: The Impossible Dream), and ask for their reactions.

Have your students take one of the songs from Man of La Mancha and rewrite the lyrics or the music. This is easier if the student is not already familiar with the piece. That should give them a feeling for the difficulty of collaborating to write a song. Have each student decide which is easier for him/her and provide the seasons that it true.

Have your students take a song they are familiar with and rewrite the words. Have them decide in advance if they are going to change the purpose of the song or are attempting to keep it the same. Have them state which way they think will be easier. Have them report on which was actually easier and why they think so. Be sure they provide evidence to support their opinion.

Art
Have students closely observe the sets for Man of La Mancha and write papers describing their opinions of the scenery as presented. Be sure they provide evidence to support their opinions. As a follow-up activity, have students design a set they would like to see used for this production. Have them tell why they think the set they have designed would improve it.

Have students closely observe the costumes for Man of La Mancha and write a papers describing their opinions of the costumes as presented. Be sure they provide evidence to support their opinions. As a follow-up activity, have students design costumes they would like to see used for this production. Have them tell why they think the costumes they have designed would improve it.

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 past, a possible date in the distant future, or other options. Another option would be to create a handbill.

Career and Technical Education
There are many people other than performers involved in this kind of production. Here are two links to help you. The first link to 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 link to 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.

Return to Man of LaMancha Home Page

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