TEACHERS' RESOURCES

Unless 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. The Pirates of Penzance 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 are notes with links to definitions as the words apply to this play. Many of the expressions used are not common 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.

There are several examples of a play on words in Pirates. (pirate vs. pilot and orphan vs. often) Have your students define what constitutes a play on words and find examples such as puns and other kinds. Be sure they understand why these work. This is especially difficult for students for whom English is their second language.

This play is a comedy. What makes this one funny? Have your students explain why they think it is. Use the synopsis to help them understand that it is a satire on the British sense of “DUTY”. The characters are caricatures and their nonsensical exaggerated feeling about orphans, for example, make them comical.

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

Have your students study the patter song of the Major-General from the opera. Ask them to compare it to a rap song. Have them write their own version, either as a patter song or as a rap.

The songs are written in verse. However, there is one line in the in the Finale to Act I that could create a lesson about commas. The line has been printed in two ways. “For what we ask is life without poetry” and “For what, we ask, is life without poetry” Have your students decide what the two lines mean with the different use of commas. Have them write one or two more lines that can be changed by moving or deleting or adding a comma.

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, or H.M.S. PInafore.

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.

CHARACTER STUDY AND SOCIAL STUDIES
Major-General Stanley and Sir Joseph Porter of H.M.S. Pinafore, have something very unusual in common. Each is in change of a major public entity (Stanley is a general, Porter an Admiral) Neither of them have ANY background to succeed in their profession. Compare the two men and determine how they rose to their current important rank (by social position) and if, in real life, they would have been able to be successful. (If your students have seen the movie The Pirates of the Caribbean they can remember the father of the leading lady as similar, with all the rank and none of the experience to assist him.)

Part of the plot of this play depends on the obsession of the characters with “rank” or social status. Have you students look at this phenomenon and find comparisons with society today.

Part of the present 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.

Notice how quickly the attitude of the Major changes when the pirates are found to be noblemen. What “kind” of people do your students think get that type of preferential treatment today? Is it deserved, in either case?

Although the pirates defeat the police, they surrender in the Queen’s name. Do people today have the same feelings of “DUTY” towards their queen or president? Have your students defend their opinions with evidence.

Gilbert and Sullivan enjoyed success both in Great Britain and in the United States. That brought with it some problems. H.M.S. Pinafore was a huge success in this country, but no royalties were paid to Doyle Carte, Gilbert or Sullivan. This was over the issue of copyrights. There were lawsuits in both cases. They developed a scheme to circumvent this problem with Pirates, but were again unsuccessful. Have your students investigate this issue. How would they manage today? Could they keep the rights to this play and receive royalties? This is similar to the issue of intellectual property being fought today over recording and streaming music. Have your students draw similarities and differences between the two issues. (See The Making of Pirates.)

Piracy
This is a satire on the nature of pirates. Many actual pirates were evil or certainly committed evil acts. Investigate historical piracy. Determine whether you think pirates were all evil. Some historical "pirates" were actually privateers who were sanctioned by various governments which gave them “Letters of Marque”. These allowed them to board and take over other ships. Look at this practice and form an opinion on it. Be sure to provide evidence to support your opinion.

Piracy exists today, as well. Look at news reports of piracy and find out why they still pirates exist are active. What are the reasons? Are they preventable? What course of action are modern governments taking to halt piracy around the world? Do you think these actions will stop piracy? Why or why not? Defend your opinion with evidence.

MUSIC
The Pirates of Penzance 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 Pirates, 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 (The Pirate King’s Song or The Major-General’s Song from the play for your students. Ask for their reactions.

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 for this production. Have them look for authenticity. 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.

Have your students criticize the costumes for this production. Have them look for authenticity. 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.

MATHEMATICS
The issue of Fredrick’s age presents an opportunity to look at leap year and how it affects the “age” of people born on leap day. Fredrick says he will return in 1940 when he is 21. He is incorrect in his calculations. (See The Birthday Paradox.)

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 2010
Please credit Lyric Opera San Diego when using this material.