THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH - Sandler Center for the Performing Arts

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Projects 8 Th e Cr a f t o f Ad a p tat i o n Norton Juster and Sheldon Hartnick took a work of fiction and translated it into another form, the musical. Retaining the essential characters, plot and themes of The Phantom Tollbooth, they created a whole new work of art. Find a work of literature that interests you and adapt it to another form. Turn a short play into a poem, a poem into a short story, a short story into a play. What sorts of decisions do you have to make as you compose your work? What differences do you see in the way writers create characters in each of your two forms? How about plot? Theme? Yo u r Jo u r n e y Milo finds himself in a wondrous world of places and people unlike anything he’s ever encountered. That’s kind of like your very first day at school. Try to remember what that day was like. Were you scared? Excited? Did the other kids seem like friends or strangers? What was your teacher like? Write a description of everything you can remember from that day. Then add a paragraph covering some of the things you’ve learned since then. Did some of those kids become friends? Did you discover you liked reading? Art? History? Let your reader know something of how far you’ve come since then. Ap p r e c i at i n g t h e Th i n g s o f Ev e r y d ay Life Milo’s boredom comes from his inability to appreciate the world around him. His room is full of toys he doesn’t care about anymore. Once in the Lands Beyond, he finds a number of people who have also taken the things in their lives for granted. Sometimes we are too close to our lives to notice what is best about them. Spend some time thinking about the best aspects of your own life. What did Milo learn about what’s most important? Write an essay titled: Why I Want to Be Me. A Fe w St e p s Fu r t h e r Norman Juster created a unique world and set of characters to give readers an entertaining way to explore his themes of the importance of thinking, perspective and appreciation for the world around us. Here are some activities for you to take your experience with the performance a bit further. Create your own short fantasy story in which you drive through the Phantom Tollbooth into a make believe land. What made The Phantom Tollbooth a fantasy story? Remember to include the elements of plot: problem, key events, suspense, and a solution. Use descriptive words and illustrate your story. Imagine that you want to let the people of another world know about this one. Create a road map that shows the best things about our world as if they lie beyond a phantom tollbooth. The Whether Man, the Princess of Sweet Reason, Tock and others have names that tell you something about them. What does your name tell about you? How was your first name chosen? Does your last name tell people about where your family came from? Ask questions and learn more about it. Then write a brief report. Now consider creating a name that would tell us even more about who you are, what you like and how you think. Explain how you came up with that fantasy name.
Read More About It 9 Th e Be s t Fa n ta s y Bo o k s f o r Ki d s Readers 12 and over BooksEnder’s Game by Orson Card One of the greatest science fiction novels ever. Voices by Ursula Le Guin Well-wrought fantasy explores pacifism and violence. Readers age 8 to 12 The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1) by Philip Pullman Violent fantasy, with elements of mystery and Dickensian melodrama. The Pit Dragons by Jane Yolen Jakkin, a bondservant on a distant world, steals a dragon egg to train the hatchling to fight in the Dragon Pits. Three books, starting with Dragon’s Blood. Eragon by Christopher Paolini A teen wrote this engrossing fantasy story. Animorphs by K. A. Applegate Young teens are given the power to turn themselves into animals in order to fight invading aliens. Rather violent, but exciting. The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper This classic fantasy is enthralling. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede Cimorene is one princess who knows what she wants-- and it doesn’t include sitting around doing embroidery-- so she goes to live with a group of dragons! The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling Proves that kids really can love great books. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle Madeleine L’Engle’s classic story still inspires. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia sequence, Book 1) by C. S. Lewis Classic fantasy story for kids. The Indian in the Cupboard series by Lynne Reid Banks A fast-paced, exciting adventure series about a boy who discovers a cabinet that can bring plastic toys to life. Five books, starting with The Indian in the Cupboard, plus many other books in this subgenre. The Oz books by L. Frank Baum, Ruth Plumly Thomson, and others Many of these are back in print now, and they have lost none of their excitement and appeal. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander With its roots firmly in Celtic myth, the series concerns the adventures of a lowly Assistant Pig-Keeper who takes part in quests against evil and enchantment. Five books, beginning with The Book of Three. List compiled by Commonsense Media (www.commonsensemedia.org) a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose aim is “to provide parents with trustworthy information to help manage their kids’ media lives.”
Page 1 and 2: Student Education Guides Ke n n e d
Page 3 and 4: Welcome to the Sandler Center 3 We
Page 5 and 6: Know Your Artists 5 No r m a n Ju s
Page 7: Activities 7 Wo r d p l ay The dold

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