House:Ed 2013 Miss Ophelia

Introduction
These teachers’ notes have been designed to assist you with classroom preparation in relation
to the performance of Miss Ophelia. We hope that this resource will assist your students to
further enjoy and enhance their performing arts experience back in the classroom. The
activities are designed for students from Years 3 - 8.
The activities included in this resource, provide opportunities for students to explore theatre
and theatre spaces, themes about friendship and relationships and ideas about how the sharing
of stories can build connections between people.
NSW Board of Studies Syllabi has been used as guides for the planning of these activities. You
should adapt the activities to suit the student age and stage of your class and the curriculum foci
and outcomes used in your school.
Some websites are suggested throughout this resource. It is recommended that you first visit
the sites and assess the suitability of the content for your particular school environment before
setting the activities based on these.
Performance Description and Synopsis
Based on Miss Ophelia’s Shadow Theatre by Michael Ende, the production of Miss Ophelia by
Danish theatre company, Het Filiaal, is a delightful and moving adaptation of this much loved
children’s story.
Miss Ophelia includes simple yet effective staging ideas. A mixture of puppetry, shadow
puppetry, miniatures and live action work together to create an entertaining and visually
appealing performance. As the character of Ophelia embarks on her remarkable journey, the
performers continually transform the set and themselves to change characters, location and
time. The design of the theatre objects, puppets and set pieces creates an innocent and childlike
world that not only appeals to younger audiences, but helps to soften some of the darker themes
about loneliness, age and death covered in the action towards the end of the play.
This is a valuable opportunity for English and Drama students to explore puppetry, character,
narrative structure and storytelling, theatrical techniques and playbuilding.
Classroom Context and Curriculum Links
This performance provides the classroom teacher with many opportunities for learning
activities that link to the following curriculum areas:
English Structuring a Narrative, Complication and Resolution in Narrative
Creative Arts (Drama) Characterisation, Dramatic Storytelling
SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE
HOUSE:ED 2013
2 Miss Ophelia Teachers Resource Notes