Pippi Longstocking:T - Seattle Children's Theatre
Pippi Longstocking:T - Seattle Children's Theatre
Pippi Longstocking:T - Seattle Children's Theatre
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<strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong>: The Family Musical<br />
Season Sponsor<br />
Valued Contributors, School Children Access Program<br />
THE NORCLIFFE<br />
FOUNDATION
Presents<br />
Table of Contents<br />
Synopsis .....................................................................................................................................................<br />
Washington State Learning Standards .........................................................................................<br />
Astrid Lindgren – Author and Activist ..........................................................................................<br />
A Chat with Elizabeth A. Friedrich, Prop Manager ..................................................................<br />
About the Set ...........................................................................................................................................<br />
About the Costumes .............................................................................................................................<br />
A Short <strong>Pippi</strong> History – On Page, Screen and Stage .................................................................<br />
How do you say “Långstrump?” – <strong>Pippi</strong>’s Name around the World ................................<br />
Peter, Huck, Anne and <strong>Pippi</strong>: <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong>’s Place in Child-Rebel Fiction .......<br />
Learning about Learning ....................................................................................................................<br />
That Can Be a Pet? .................................................................................................................................<br />
Talk to the Animals ...............................................................................................................................<br />
Words & Phrases That Might Be New to You .............................................................................<br />
Jump Start – Give This a Try ..............................................................................................................<br />
Drama in Action – Learn by Doing .................................................................................................<br />
Activity Pages ..........................................................................................................................................<br />
Booklist ......................................................................................................................................................<br />
Share Your Thoughts ............................................................................................................................<br />
3-4<br />
5-6<br />
7-8<br />
9-10<br />
11-12<br />
13-14<br />
15-16<br />
17<br />
18-20<br />
21<br />
22-23<br />
24<br />
25-26<br />
27<br />
28<br />
29-31<br />
32<br />
33<br />
2
SYNOPSIS<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong>, a boisterous young girl with freckles and pigtails, has just moved into her<br />
new home, the dilapidated Villa Villekulla. Fresh from her father’s pirate ship, she has<br />
brought along a big bag of gold coins; her only companions are a horse and<br />
a monkey named Mr. Nilsson. Climbing up on her roof to have a look around the<br />
neighborhood she sees a group of very prim and proper school children on an outing.<br />
Two students, Tommy and Annika, catch sight of <strong>Pippi</strong>’s horse inside the house, and<br />
go to investigate. As soon as they meet the irrepressible <strong>Pippi</strong>, the children realize<br />
they will all be the best of friends. <strong>Pippi</strong> proudly tells them about her father, a pirate king who went<br />
overboard and is presently lost at sea but is sure to come back to her soon. <strong>Pippi</strong> also lets them know<br />
that her mother keeps an eye on her from heaven. She introduces them to Mr. Nilsson, boasting that<br />
he once worked as a meatball chef in Shanghai. Tommy and Annika tell <strong>Pippi</strong> it’s not right to lie. While<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> insists she is telling the truth about her father and mother, she admits that sometimes her stories<br />
get away from her. She promises to do her best to stop telling tall tales.<br />
Mrs. Prysselius from the Social Welfare Office, having heard that there is a child living alone in the house,<br />
arrives to check on <strong>Pippi</strong>’s situation. <strong>Pippi</strong> informs her that Mr. Nilsson is living there with her, so Mrs.<br />
Prysselius asks to meet him. She is alarmed to be introduced to a monkey and insists that <strong>Pippi</strong> will<br />
need to attend school and go live in an orphanage. Unperturbed and insisting that she is just fine where<br />
she is, <strong>Pippi</strong> engages Mrs. Prysselius in a wild dance and the poor woman retreats, exhausted.<br />
Tommy and Annika ask <strong>Pippi</strong> to go to the circus with them. At the circus, <strong>Pippi</strong> enrages the Ringmaster<br />
but wows the crowd by besting the trick rider Miss Carmencita in equestrian skills. She even defeats the<br />
Mighty Adolf in weight lifting and a wrestling match, proving herself to be the strongest<br />
girl in the world. <strong>Pippi</strong> turns down the paper money award for defeating the wrestler,<br />
offering to share her “real money” with Mighty Adolf and generously tossing some of the<br />
gold coins to the circus patrons as well.<br />
A thief, Bloom, sees her distributing the gold coins and that night brings along Thunder<br />
Karlson to break into <strong>Pippi</strong>’s house in search of the loot. They are surprised to find <strong>Pippi</strong> awake,<br />
counting her coins and completely unafraid of them. They leave with plans to return once she is<br />
asleep. But when they come back <strong>Pippi</strong> wakes and readily tells them where to find the gold—then she<br />
overpowers and outmaneuvers them, leaving them in a heap on the floor. Telling them they must learn<br />
to be sweeter she gives them each a gold coin to buy a sweet and they depart, rubbing their bruises.<br />
Left alone, <strong>Pippi</strong> wishes upon a falling star for the return of her father, Captain <strong>Longstocking</strong>. She hears<br />
his voice as she relives seeing him fall overboard and sings to the winds to blow him home to her again.<br />
The following day, under orders from Mrs. Prysselius, Constables Cling and Clang arrive at<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong>’s house to take her to the orphanage. Tommy and Annika try unsuccessfully to convince<br />
them that <strong>Pippi</strong> can manage by herself. Always eager to play a game, <strong>Pippi</strong> leads the two<br />
policemen in a merry chase that ends with them stranded on her rooftop. <strong>Pippi</strong> rescues them<br />
with a ladder and they give up their attempts to corral her.<br />
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3
<strong>Pippi</strong> decides to go to school with Tommy and Annika, as she is jealous that they get holidays off and<br />
intrigued by the prospect of learning “pluttification tables.” She tries her best, but simply does not know<br />
how to behave or to properly answer questions in the classroom, and her infectious energy brings the<br />
room to chaos. Finally, School Mistress and <strong>Pippi</strong> agree that for the time being it would<br />
be best for her not to attend school.<br />
Tommy and Annika invite <strong>Pippi</strong> over to a tea party their mother is giving for guests<br />
who include Mrs. Prysselius and Mrs. Granberg, who believes in the strictest of rules<br />
for children. <strong>Pippi</strong> arrives with the friendliest of intentions.<br />
However, her playful forwardness and ignorance of even<br />
rudimentary manners manages to turn the tea party into a disaster. Even Tommy<br />
and Annika’s mother, who likes <strong>Pippi</strong>, suggests she leave, and she does so—after<br />
swinging from the chandelier and smearing cake onto Mrs. Prysselius’ cheeks.<br />
A few months later, as the three children play together outside <strong>Pippi</strong>’s house,<br />
Mrs. Prysselius appears to tell <strong>Pippi</strong> that she has not given up on her. She offers<br />
to take her into her own home where she will love her, spoil her and, incidentally,<br />
have lots of good, manual labor for her to do. <strong>Pippi</strong> declares she prefers to stay in her own house and<br />
Mrs. Prysselius leaves, promising that Constables Cling and Clang will soon return to take her away.<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> brushes away Tommy and Annika’s fear that <strong>Pippi</strong> might be taken away by showing them how to<br />
“snuff stuff”—how to find ordinary stuff they can use for imaginative play. With a discarded cake tin she<br />
creates a marvelous percussive dance which is interrupted by someone blowing a horn. It is Captain<br />
<strong>Longstocking</strong>, returned from the far seas! The captain announces that he will soon be sailing off on his<br />
good ship Hoptoad, taking <strong>Pippi</strong> with him.<br />
Tommy shouts that Mrs. Prysselius and Cling and Clang are coming. To have some fun, <strong>Pippi</strong> convinces<br />
her father to hide. <strong>Pippi</strong> amuses herself by proving too flexible and dexterous for Cling and Clang to<br />
handcuff. The constables once again end up exhausted and helpless. When Mrs. Prysselius accuses<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> of lying about the existence of her father, <strong>Pippi</strong> gleefully points to her father’s hiding place, and he<br />
triumphantly emerges to end the debate.<br />
As the Hoptoad prepares to sail away, Tommy and Annika are<br />
devastated. <strong>Pippi</strong> gives them her horse and gold coins as they<br />
take their leave, but this doesn’t console them. <strong>Pippi</strong> realizes how<br />
important their friendship is and tells her father that she is going<br />
to stay at Villa Villekula. Sad to leave <strong>Pippi</strong>, but knowing he will see<br />
his independent daughter again soon, Captain <strong>Longstocking</strong> takes<br />
the Hoptoad to sea along with his fearsome and hearty crew. When<br />
Tommy and Annika return home they are thrilled to find <strong>Pippi</strong> back<br />
at Villa Villekulla, ready for more adventures ahead.<br />
4
WASHINGTON STATE LEARNING STANDARDS<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> touches on many themes and ideas. Here are a few we believe would make<br />
good Discussion Topics: Authority, Independence, Confidence, Friendship.<br />
We believe that seeing the show and using our Active Audience Guide can help you meet the<br />
following Washington State Standards and address these 21st Century Skills:<br />
• Growth Mindset (Belief that your intelligence and ability can increase with effort.)<br />
• Perseverance<br />
• Creative Thinking<br />
• Critical Thinking<br />
• Communication<br />
• Collaboration<br />
In our 2014-15 season guides we will transition to Common Core Standards along with<br />
Washington State schools.<br />
<strong>Theatre</strong><br />
Reading<br />
Communication<br />
Writing<br />
Washington State K-12 Learning Standards<br />
1. The student understands and applies arts knowledge and skills.<br />
1.1 Understand arts concepts and vocabulary.<br />
1.2 Develops theatre skills and techniques.<br />
1.4 Understands and applies audience conventions in a variety of settings and performances of theatre.<br />
3. <strong>Theatre</strong>: The student communicates through the arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts).<br />
3.1 Uses theatre to express feelings and present ideas.<br />
3.2 Uses theatre to communicate for a specific purpose.<br />
4. The student makes connections with and across the arts to other disciplines, life, cultures, and work.<br />
4.4 Understand that the arts shape and reflect culture and history.<br />
4.5 Demonstrates the knowledge of arts careers and the knowledge of arts skills in the world of work.<br />
1. The student understands and uses different skills and strategies to read.<br />
1.1 Use word recognition skills and strategies to read and comprehend text.<br />
1.2 Use vocabulary (word meaning) strategies to comprehend text.<br />
1.3 Build vocabulary through wide reading.<br />
1.4 Apply word recognition skills and strategies to read fluently.<br />
2. The student understands the meaning of what is read.<br />
2.1 Demonstrate evidence of reading comprehension.<br />
2.2 Understand and apply knowledge of text components to comprehend text.<br />
2.3 Expand comprehension by analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing information and ideas in<br />
literary and informational text.<br />
2.4 Think critically and analyze author’s use of language, style, purpose, and perspective in literary<br />
and informational text.<br />
3. The student reads different materials for a variety of purposes.<br />
3.1 Read to learn new information.<br />
3.2 Read to perform a task<br />
3.3 Read for career applications<br />
1. The student uses listening and observation skills and strategies to gain understanding.<br />
1.1 Uses listening and observation skills and strategies to focus attention and interpret information.<br />
1.2 Understands, analyzes, synthesizes, or evaluates information from a variety of sources.<br />
1. The student understands and uses a writing process.<br />
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5
WHAT IS ARTS INTEGRATION?<br />
A definition and checklist from The Kennedy Center’s<br />
Changing Education Through the Arts program.<br />
Arts integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate<br />
understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an<br />
art form and another subject area and meets evolving objectives in both.<br />
Some educators confuse any effort to include the arts in their classroom with arts integration.<br />
While all types of arts-based instruction are encouraged, it is helpful for educators to know when<br />
they are engaged in arts integration. To achieve this awareness, an Arts Integration Checklist<br />
is provided. Educators answering “yes” to the items in the Checklist can be assured that their<br />
approach to teaching is indeed integrated.<br />
Approach to Teaching<br />
• Are learning principles of Constructivism (actively built, experiential, evolving,<br />
collaborative, problem-solving, and reflective) evident in my lesson?<br />
Understanding<br />
• Are the students engaged in constructing and demonstrating understanding as opposed to<br />
just memorizing and reciting knowledge?<br />
Art Form<br />
• Are the students constructing and demonstrating their understandings through an art form?<br />
Creative Process<br />
• Are the students engaged in a process of creating something original as opposed to<br />
copying or parroting?<br />
• Will the students revise their products?<br />
Connects<br />
• Does the art form connect to another part of the curriculum or a concern/need?<br />
• Is the connection mutually reinforcing?<br />
Evolving Objectives<br />
• Are there objectives in both the art form and another part of the curriculum or a concern/need?<br />
• Have the objectives evolved since the last time the students engaged with this subject matter?<br />
For more thoughts about this subject and a wealth of useful information<br />
(including lesson plans) go to:<br />
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators.aspx<br />
6
ASTRID LINDGREN – AUTHOR AND ACTIVIST<br />
“The best thing about my childhood was that we enjoyed just the<br />
right amount of safety and freedom.” - Astrid Lindgren<br />
Astrid Lindgren is one of Sweden’s most important authors. She wrote<br />
plays, film scripts and published over 100 books, which have sold tens<br />
of millions of copies and been translated into more than 90 languages.<br />
She revitalized children’s literature and combined artistic integrity with<br />
commitment to the rights of children and young people.<br />
Astrid Lindgren was born Astrid Anna Emilia Ericsson on November 14, 1907. She grew up on Näs farm<br />
near Vimmerby, in the county of Småland in southern Sweden. Her parents created a loving and secure<br />
home for their children, and she had a happy childhood on the farm. Lindgren and her siblings helped<br />
the maids and farmhands. But the children also enjoyed a great deal of freedom. In the kitchen of one<br />
of the farmhands Astrid heard fairytales and stories which ignited her<br />
love of books.<br />
Astrid Lindgren and her family. Astrid<br />
is standing in the back row.<br />
Astrid was inspired to write her <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> books when her<br />
daughter Karin was lying sick in bed. Karin wanted to hear a story and<br />
asked her mother to tell her about “<strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong>.” Astrid used<br />
the name, pulled out of thin air by her daughter, to make up stories to<br />
entertain her. She never thought of writing down <strong>Pippi</strong>’s tales until she<br />
twisted her ankle, slipping on the ice in a Stockholm park. Unable to do<br />
the things she usually did, she filled the time by writing.<br />
She sent a copy of the stories to the publisher Albert Bonniers Förlag, who rejected the manuscript. But<br />
Astrid discovered her love of writing books and wrote Confidences of Britt-Mari. This book won second<br />
prize in publisher Rabén & Sjögren’s writing competition for girls’ fiction. Rabén & Sjögren published<br />
Britt-Mari in 1944 and <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> in 1945.<br />
The publication of <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> changed Astrid Lindgren’s life. The book’s enormous success<br />
made her a world-famous author. However it also caused an outcry in Sweden. The free-spirited and<br />
unruly <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> worried teachers and parents, and some critics warned of the collapse of<br />
public morals. Lindgren, however, believed her books could be a good influence, saying, “All I dare hope<br />
for is that they may contribute a little bit towards a humane and democratic view of the world in the<br />
children who read them.”<br />
In 1946, Lindgren began a career that lasted 24 years as an editor for her publisher, Rabén & Sjögren.<br />
During this time, Lindgren also continued to write children’s books. In order to fit writing into her busy<br />
schedule, she used shorthand to write her stories in bed in the mornings before going to work in the<br />
afternoon. She would later type out her manuscripts on a typewriter at home. She introduced a number<br />
of new and interesting characters—such as Emil, Kalle Blomquist, the Brothers Lionheart and the<br />
Bullerby children—but none achieved the overwhelming popularity of <strong>Pippi</strong>.<br />
While Lindgren was best known in Sweden for her books, she also became known for her support for<br />
the rights of people and animals. She participated in social debate, shaping public opinion in speeches<br />
and newspaper articles. She expressed her concern for the welfare of children and supported legislation<br />
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7
to protect animals against abuses by factory farms. She argued in<br />
favor of peace and democracy and against all forms of violence. She<br />
also pointed out the disastrous effect of Sweden’s high tax rate in a<br />
satirical story called Pomperipossa in Monismania which she wrote<br />
when the government began taxing her income at a rate of 102%.<br />
Because of the high regard in which Lindgren was held, her words<br />
made an impact on legislators and spurred changes in many areas.<br />
During her life, Astrid Lindgren received numerous awards and<br />
honors, including the Hans Christian Andersen Medal (1958), the<br />
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (1973) and UNESCO Book Award (1993).<br />
In 2005 the collection of her original manuscripts in Stockholm’s<br />
Royal Library was placed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.<br />
Surrounded by her fans, 1969<br />
In 1967, the Astrid Lindgren Prize was instituted by Rabén & Sjögren.<br />
The prize is awarded every year on her<br />
birthday in November for meritorious<br />
authorship in Swedish children’s and<br />
young adult literature.<br />
The center of attention during the filming of<br />
The Brothers Lionheart, 1977<br />
In 1996, The Russian Academy of<br />
Science requested the asteroid No. 3204 be named after Astrid Lindgren.<br />
Astrid said that maybe people should start calling her Asteroid Lindgren<br />
instead.<br />
She founded Astrid Lindgren’s Children’s Hospital in 1998.<br />
She died in Stockholm on January 28, 2002. Lindgren’s burial ceremony was televised in Sweden, and<br />
her death was headline news internationally. One obituary, in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet,<br />
referred to Astrid Lindgren as “...the whole world’s queen of fairy tales.”<br />
After her death, the Swedish government founded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s<br />
largest monetary award for children’s and youth literature, in the amount of five million Swedish<br />
crowns ($700,000).<br />
In April 2011 the Bank of Sweden announced that the new twenty-kronor bank notes planned for<br />
2014-15 will bear a portrait of Astrid Lindgren.<br />
Excerpted and adapted from:<br />
Astrid Lindgren Official Website - http://www.astridlindgren.se/en/<br />
Floris Books - http://www.florisbooks.co.uk/authors/astrid-lindgren.html<br />
About.com - http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/authorsillustrato/a/astridlindgren.htm<br />
THE BOOKS<br />
Astrid Lindgren wrote over 100 books. These are a few of her most popular.<br />
• <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> (series)<br />
• Bill Bergson (series)<br />
• The Brothers Lionheart<br />
• Emil (series)<br />
• Karlson on the Roof (series)<br />
• Lotta (series)<br />
8<br />
• Mio, My Son<br />
• Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter<br />
• The Six Bullerby Children (series)
A CHAT WITH ELIZABETH A. FRIEDRICH, PROP MANAGER<br />
Please tell us a little bit about your working process.<br />
As a prop manager, my job is to work with directors, designers and<br />
my fellow employees to produce the properties needed for SCT’s<br />
plays. Think of properties as things you can move. If you imagine<br />
your house or apartment as the set, everything you move with<br />
you to a new house is a prop. That includes furniture, pictures,<br />
throw rugs, food and even your pets! Although some theaters treat<br />
animals as actors, some put the prop department in charge of them.<br />
My daily jobs include: reading and understanding the scripts;<br />
creating prop lists for each show and deciding which props will<br />
be built and which purchased; shopping for props and materials;<br />
reading rehearsal and performance reports and then forwarding information to my staff if there<br />
are notes about props that need to be taken care of; hiring and supervising staff; attending design<br />
and production meetings; collaborating with other production departments on “crossover” props<br />
(props that may be partly built by the scene shop, need to use costume elements on them or<br />
that need the lighting department’s help for electricity run to them, for example); creating show<br />
archives (records) after the shows have closed; and maintaining the shop in good working order.<br />
What is a particularly interesting or unusual challenge on this project and how are you<br />
setting out to solve it?<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> presents us with two interesting challenges: a<br />
gramophone (an old-fashioned record player) and consumable food.<br />
The gramophone will be a built prop because it needs to be light enough<br />
to be carried by an actress but sturdy enough to take some abuse—as<br />
part of the action of the show it gets kicked. Real gramophones are heavy<br />
and delicate, so that won’t do. In addition, because we want the record<br />
to spin we’ll have to engineer the box to protect the motor while it gets<br />
tossed around. Since the gramophone does not have to be “practical” (in<br />
A gramophone<br />
prop language that means it doesn’t have to work—it doesn’t have to actually<br />
play records or produce sound) we will make the bell out of some lightweight and durable<br />
material: maybe plastic or foam. We might build two gramophones in case one breaks during the<br />
run of the show.<br />
Real food on stage can be trickier than it seems. During the play, <strong>Pippi</strong> needs to eat part of a cream<br />
cake. To produce this prop we’ll need to find out if the actress has any allergies or food preferences:<br />
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9
she may be vegan or lactose intolerant. We will have to make<br />
something that she can eat that 1) will look like cream cake, 2)<br />
won’t spoil under hot stage lights before she eats it and 3) she<br />
likes to eat and can stand to eat for 11 shows a week. Cream<br />
will not work for this—it would spoil. So we will have to use<br />
something else, maybe mashed potatoes or frosting.<br />
What in your childhood got you to where you are today?<br />
We had a piano at home and music and art were all around<br />
me while I was growing up. I have a long history in theater<br />
stretching back to a 6th grade play of Charlotte’s Web (when I<br />
understudied Charlotte) to high school musicals where I played<br />
oboe in the orchestra for Fiddler on the Roof, South Pacific, Annie<br />
Get Your Gun and Brigadoon. I got my Bachelor’s degree in Fine<br />
Arts in Design at Buffalo State College and have spent 17 years<br />
working in professional theaters. I love the collaborative part of<br />
Even prop food that is not eaten onstage<br />
often gets special treatment. These<br />
sandwiches were used in A Year with Frog<br />
and Toad. In the action of the play they had<br />
to get soaking wet then squeezed to show<br />
water coming out of them. They are made<br />
using sponges instead of bread. Fabric<br />
trim is sewn onto a piece of felt and glued<br />
between the two sponges to look like lettuce.<br />
theater and music. I love that in lyrics and in a play we can explore our lives and the lives of people<br />
very different from us. I think we can learn from stories and<br />
become more empathetic and generous people as a result.<br />
The pizza was made by creating a mold of<br />
the pizza, and then “casting” the prop out of<br />
liquid vinyl (a kind of plastic) that hardens<br />
but stays flexible. Anyone who has made ice<br />
cubes has made a casting: the mold is the ice<br />
cube tray and the ice cubes are the cast item.<br />
I also love that I use a little bit from all the classes I took in school.<br />
I use history to learn when something was invented (matches and<br />
pencils are good ones to know). Math is used in the shop all the<br />
time to calculate lumber needs and to engineer projects. We use<br />
science to decide which glue will hold different things together<br />
(plastic to rubber, for example) or which dye or paint to color<br />
different materials with. And I use my English writing skills every<br />
day to communicate clearly with my co-workers about what we’re<br />
building and how. Art class? We couldn’t do without art!<br />
Elizabeth A. Friedrich was previously prop manager at Intiman and La Jolla Playhouse and has built<br />
props all over <strong>Seattle</strong>, Southern California and Buffalo, NY. She built props for SCT for several years<br />
before she became prop manager here. She built Harold’s boat and crayons for Harold and the Purple<br />
Crayon and carved Morla’s shell for The Neverending Story.<br />
10
ABOUT THE SET<br />
From Jennifer Lupton, Set Designer<br />
Believe it or not, somehow I managed to miss reading the <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> books when I<br />
was a kid, so it’s been great fun getting to know her during this design process. Since Astrid<br />
Lindgren, the author, is from Sweden, I wanted to research folk art in her country and I found<br />
that their traditional woodcarving had great, simple, fun shapes I thought <strong>Pippi</strong> would love.<br />
For example, I used these carvings in the frame around the stage (the proscenium), the wall at<br />
the back of the stage (the crossover wall), and on <strong>Pippi</strong>’s bed.<br />
The most important set piece in the show is <strong>Pippi</strong>’s house.<br />
It needs to be big enough to hold a horse, sturdy enough<br />
to climb on and we need to be able to show the inside and<br />
the outside of it. It will be a big piece of scenery taking up a<br />
lot of room on stage. My big challenge was what to do with<br />
it during the scenes that don’t take place there, like the<br />
circus, school and the ship scenes. All those places are part<br />
of <strong>Pippi</strong>’s world, so I decided not to hide the house in those<br />
scenes but to use it to become part of the other places. The<br />
next question was how to make that happen. By spinning the<br />
house, we get to use the different sides of it to be different<br />
places. A house this big would be too difficult to just push<br />
around, so the plan is to use a track cut into the floor that<br />
hides a cable attached to a motor and computer to spin the<br />
house and move it where we need it to be—with additional<br />
help from our stage crew. See how you think this idea works.<br />
Side view of <strong>Pippi</strong>’s bed showing carving detail<br />
Technical drawing for one of the panels that<br />
frames the stage, based on traditional<br />
Swedish woodcarving<br />
Continued on the next page...<br />
11
Photograph of the set model of <strong>Pippi</strong>’s house, Villa Villekulla<br />
These ground plans show<br />
an overhead outline view<br />
of the placement of <strong>Pippi</strong>’s<br />
house in different scenes.<br />
The shaded area is the<br />
position of the house<br />
in the photo of the set<br />
model next to it. This first<br />
position is used for scenes<br />
at <strong>Pippi</strong>’s house.<br />
Circus<br />
The house is rotated so<br />
that the back of the house<br />
becomes the circus wall.<br />
The back wall is painted<br />
with stripes that match<br />
the curtain lowered in<br />
front of it. The curtain has<br />
a section cut out of it to<br />
make an entrance.<br />
School<br />
This side of the house is<br />
used for the school<br />
Ship<br />
12<br />
On the pirate ship,<br />
Hoptoad. You can just<br />
see part of <strong>Pippi</strong>’s house<br />
under the sail farthest to<br />
the right.
ABOUT THE COSTUMES<br />
From Catherine Hunt, Costume Designer<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> is brave, strong,<br />
not afraid to be who she is and lots<br />
of fun to be around. When we first<br />
started talking about the way our<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> should look, we knew that she<br />
had to have red hair, braids and long<br />
stockings (of course!), but that she<br />
also had to have a way of dressing<br />
that was all her own. We decided<br />
to make her a collector of sorts—a<br />
girl who has many clothes from her<br />
past adventures and wears them in<br />
fun, interesting and artful ways. We<br />
wanted the clothes to have a sense<br />
of charm and innocence, so for color,<br />
texture and shape, I am using the look<br />
of the 1950s. It was also important to<br />
me to keep in mind that this story has<br />
its origins in Sweden, so in places I’m<br />
using fabrics and patterns that remind<br />
us of Swedish folk designs.<br />
Sketch of <strong>Pippi</strong>’s costume<br />
Example of Swedish folk art<br />
embroidery (designs sewn on fabric).<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> has some embroidery on her<br />
pockets and the top of her dress.<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> puts on<br />
a fun hat and<br />
vest to go to<br />
the circus<br />
Dressed up for<br />
the tea party<br />
Continued on the next page...<br />
13
Oh, and I forgot to mention <strong>Pippi</strong> gets to dress like a pirate!<br />
Pirate research image, Howard<br />
Pyle’s illustration from his book<br />
The Ruby of Kishmoor, 1908<br />
Ready to get back on board the good<br />
ship Hoptoad in her pirate gear<br />
Captain <strong>Longstocking</strong><br />
Because some of the women in the<br />
cast (besides <strong>Pippi</strong>) are playing<br />
pirates, we used research inspiration<br />
like this image from The Ballad of<br />
the Pirate Queens by Jane Yolen,<br />
illustrated by David Shannon. The<br />
women are Anne Bonney and Mary<br />
Reade, two of the most famous<br />
pirates of all time.<br />
A member of the Hoptoad crew<br />
14
A SHORT PIPPI HISTORY – ON PAGE, SCREEN AND STAGE<br />
In 1945 Astrid Lindgren created <strong>Pippi</strong> Långstrump, the strongest girl in the world who lives<br />
with her horse and monkey on the outskirts of a small Swedish town. <strong>Pippi</strong> has come a long<br />
way since then. She quickly became very popular in Sweden, and Lindgren<br />
followed up <strong>Pippi</strong> Långstrump with two more chapter books: <strong>Pippi</strong> Långstrump<br />
går ombord (<strong>Pippi</strong> Goes on Board), published in 1946 and <strong>Pippi</strong> Långstrump i<br />
Söderhavet (<strong>Pippi</strong> in the South Seas), published in 1948. Lindgren also wrote<br />
several <strong>Pippi</strong> picture books, beginning in 1950 with <strong>Pippi</strong> har julgransplundring,<br />
literally “<strong>Pippi</strong>’s Christmas-tree plundering,” published in English as <strong>Pippi</strong><br />
<strong>Longstocking</strong>’s After-Christmas Party.<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> first made the jump to movies in 1949, but her landing was a little rocky.<br />
Per Gunvall, the writer/director, took many liberties with the plot of the books,<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> was played by a 26-year-old actress and Lindgren did not like the film.<br />
Viveca Serlachius<br />
as <strong>Pippi</strong> in Per<br />
Gunvall’s 1949 film<br />
But that didn’t keep <strong>Pippi</strong> down for long. In 1954 <strong>Pippi</strong> Långstrump, was<br />
translated into English and published as <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong>—and when<br />
the stories appeared in English, <strong>Pippi</strong> quickly became popular all over<br />
the world. Her books have been translated into more than 90 languages.<br />
Gina Gillepsie as <strong>Pippi</strong> in Shirley<br />
Temple’s Storybook–<strong>Pippi</strong><br />
<strong>Longstocking</strong>, 1961<br />
International popularity led to <strong>Pippi</strong>’s small-screen debut in 1961. The<br />
American TV series Shirley Temple’s Storybook (hosted by Shirley Temple)<br />
included a 14-episode adaptation of <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong>—the first American<br />
adaptation, first in color and first to feature a child actor playing <strong>Pippi</strong>.<br />
But <strong>Pippi</strong> made her most successful leap to the screen in the Swedish<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> television series, which aired in 1969. Because Astrid<br />
Lindgren was unhappy with the 1949 adaptation, she<br />
wrote the script herself for this version. Nine-yearold<br />
actor Inger Nilsson managed to capture <strong>Pippi</strong>’s<br />
spirit and the series was re-broadcast many times<br />
all over Europe. The series was re-edited (crudely<br />
hacked up, really), poorly dubbed into English, but<br />
still retained enough of the original magic to become<br />
successful as two feature films in the United States—<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> and <strong>Pippi</strong> Goes on Board. The cast<br />
reunited to make more feature films, which were also<br />
Poster for the film made<br />
from the TV series<br />
successful in the U.S.—<strong>Pippi</strong> in the South Seas (<strong>Pippi</strong> Långstrump på de sju<br />
haven) and <strong>Pippi</strong> on the Run (På rymmen med <strong>Pippi</strong> Långstrump).<br />
In versions by a variety of different playwrights, <strong>Pippi</strong> has also been popular on stage, but<br />
she’s never played Broadway and, so far, no definitive stage version of the story has emerged.<br />
Continued on the next page...<br />
15<br />
Inger Nilsson as <strong>Pippi</strong> in the<br />
Swedish television series<br />
written by<br />
Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Lindgren herself authored a Swedish adaptation, which served<br />
as the basis for a version by Thomas Olson and Roberta Carlson,<br />
developed by The Children’s <strong>Theatre</strong> Company of Minneapolis in<br />
1982. The Children’s <strong>Theatre</strong> Company took that version on a national<br />
tour in 1990. SCT’s production uses the script <strong>Pippi</strong><br />
Staffan Götestam<br />
<strong>Longstocking</strong>: The Family Musical which premiered<br />
in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the Danske Theater in 1999. It was developed<br />
by the Danish one-name folk-rock musician Sebastian and Staffan Götestam,<br />
a Swedish actor, playwright, director and chef who rose to fame in Sweden<br />
playing Jonatan in an acclaimed Swedish feature film adaptation of another<br />
Astrid Lindgren book, The Brothers Lionheart (Bröderna Lejonhjärta).<br />
Sebastian and Staffan’s musical has had productions all over the world,<br />
Sebastian including Israel, Spain and, in 2013, Taiwan.<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> has survived countless other adaptations,<br />
repackagings, cartoons, etc. and powered a longrunning<br />
industry of <strong>Pippi</strong> products all over<br />
the world. One example of the affection people<br />
have for her is Pika’s Festival, the most popular<br />
children’s festival in Slovenia (<strong>Pippi</strong> is known as<br />
“Pika Nogavička” in Slovenia) which has been held<br />
every year since 1990. The festival features a wide<br />
variety of performances and events, most of<br />
which are not directly related to <strong>Pippi</strong> but all of<br />
which are inspired by the strength, originality,<br />
independence, tolerance and imagination that<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> embodies.<br />
Information compiled from:<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong>-related<br />
merchandise includes<br />
everything from dolls,<br />
toys and clothing (socks<br />
are no surprise), to<br />
puzzles, video games<br />
and apps.<br />
The Guardian – http://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/15/featuresreviews.<br />
guardianreview30<br />
Sebastian – http://www.sebastian.info/<br />
Junibacken – http://www.junibacken.se/om-junibacken/personerna-bakom-junibacken/<br />
staffan-gotestam<br />
Pika’s Festival – http://www.culture.si/en/Pika%27s_Festival<br />
Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<strong>Pippi</strong>_<strong>Longstocking</strong><br />
16
HOW DO YOU SAY “LÅNGSTRUMP?”<br />
One of the many fun things about <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> is saying her name, something <strong>Pippi</strong><br />
herself enjoys. Here are some of the ways people say her name around the world.<br />
Chinese – 长 袜 子 皮 皮 (Changwazi Pipi)<br />
Czech – Pipi Dlouhá Punčocha<br />
Esperanto – Pipi Ŝtrumpolonga<br />
Estonian<br />
Greek – Πίπη<br />
– Pipi<br />
Φακιδομύτη<br />
Pikksukk<br />
Chinese Faroese – <strong>Pippi</strong> 长 袜 子 Langsokkur 皮 皮<br />
Filipino – Potpot Habangmedyas<br />
Chinese Finnish Hebrew – Peppi 长 בילבי 袜 子 גרב-בת Pitkätossu 皮 皮<br />
Swedish<br />
French – Fifi Brindacier (literally “Fifi Steelwisp”)<br />
Greek Chinese – Πίπη<br />
German – 长 <strong>Pippi</strong> 袜 Φακιδομύτη 子 Langstrumpf 皮 皮<br />
Japanese – 長 靴 下 のピッピ<br />
Greek – Πίπη Φακιδομύτη (Pipe Phakidomyte, literally “<strong>Pippi</strong> the freckle-nosed girl”)<br />
Hebrew Bat-Gerev) (Bilbi גרב-בת בילבי –<br />
Greek Hindi Korean – <strong>Pippi</strong> Πίπη 말괄량이 Lambemoze<br />
Φακιδομύτη<br />
גרב-בת בילבי – Hebrew<br />
소녀 삐삐<br />
Hungarian – Harisnyás <strong>Pippi</strong><br />
Japanese – 長 靴 下 のピッピ<br />
Icelandic Lína Langsokkur<br />
גרב-בת בילבי – Hebrew<br />
Japanese Indonesian – 長 – <strong>Pippi</strong> 靴 下 のピッピ Si Kaus Kaki Panjang<br />
Italian – <strong>Pippi</strong> Calzelunghe<br />
Korean – 말괄량이 소녀 삐삐<br />
Japanese – 長 靴 下 のピッピ (Nagakutsushita no <strong>Pippi</strong>)<br />
Korean Serbian, – Croatian 말괄량이 and 소녀 Bosnian: 삐삐 (Malgwallyang’i Пипи Дуга Чарапа Sonyŏ Ppippi)<br />
Kurdish – <strong>Pippi</strong>-Ya Goredirey<br />
Korean Latvian – 말괄량이 Pepija Garzeķe 소녀 삐삐<br />
Lithuanian – Pepė Ilgakojinė<br />
French<br />
Serbian, Norwegian Croatian – <strong>Pippi</strong> and Langstrømpe Bosnian: Пипи Дуга Чарапа<br />
Persian – Pipi Joorab-Bolandeh<br />
Serbian, Polish – <strong>Pippi</strong> Croatian Pończoszanka, and Bosnian: or Fizia Пипи Pończoszanka<br />
Дуга Чарапа<br />
Italian<br />
Portuguese – Píppi Meialonga (Brazil), Pipi das Meias Altas (Portugal)<br />
Serbian, Romanian Croatian – <strong>Pippi</strong> Şoseţica and Bosnian: Пипи Дуга Чарапа<br />
Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian: Pipi Duga Čarapa / Пипи Дуга Чарапа<br />
Slovak – Pipi Dlhá Pančucha<br />
Slovene – Pika Nogavička<br />
Spanish – Pipi Calzaslargas (Spain), Pepita Mediaslargas (Latin America)<br />
Sinhalese – Digamasedaanalaagee <strong>Pippi</strong><br />
Swedish – <strong>Pippi</strong> Långstrump<br />
Thai – <strong>Pippi</strong> Thung-Taow Yaow<br />
Turkish – <strong>Pippi</strong> Uzunçorap<br />
Vietnamese – <strong>Pippi</strong> Tất Dài<br />
Welsh – <strong>Pippi</strong> Hosan-hir<br />
جوراب ب ل نده پ ی پی – Persian<br />
جوراب ب ل نده پ ی پی – Persian<br />
جوراب ب ل نده پ ی پی – Persian<br />
جوراب ب ل نده پ ی پی – Persian<br />
17<br />
Chinese<br />
Japanese
PETER, HUCK, ANNE AND PIPPI:<br />
PIPPI LONGSTOCKING’S PLACE IN CHILD-REBEL FICTION<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> Långstrump, published in 1945, continued a great tradition of rebellious child protagonists<br />
in literature. <strong>Pippi</strong> does things that children are not supposed to do. She tells outrageous lies<br />
and refuses to accept the authority of adults, including policemen and teachers. She is eccentric<br />
on principle. She sleeps with her head under the covers and her feet on the pillows. She shares<br />
her house with a monkey and a horse. However, our enjoyment of <strong>Pippi</strong>’s adventures is less<br />
complicated than our reaction to many of the great earlier child-rebel stories because, unlike<br />
other fictional child rebels, her cheerful nature, more positive social environment, unlimited<br />
wealth, superhuman strength, ability to make friends and common sense keep her insulated<br />
from the traumas that those protagonists undergo.<br />
What sort of society is <strong>Pippi</strong> rebelling against? In 1945 Sweden was on the brink of an<br />
extraordinarily rapid transition from a backward, impoverished, agrarian country into one of the<br />
richest places on earth. That transformation was made possible by the strictest social consensus<br />
in the democratic world. Sweden valued cooperation over originality and created a vast cradleto-grave<br />
welfare state, supported by very high taxes, where it was almost impossible to be either<br />
very rich or very poor. The Swedish sociologist, Ake Daun, in a study published in 1989, stated<br />
that the Swedish “national self-stereotype is a peaceful person who dislikes unruliness and<br />
disorder and prefers calm…clean, quiet, industrious and modern.” <strong>Pippi</strong>, of course, embodies a<br />
fantasy version of the exact opposite of that stereotype. Here she is making pancakes:<br />
And then she got out three eggs and tossed them high in the air. One of the eggs landed on<br />
her head and cracked open, making the yolk run into her eyes. But the other two she easily<br />
caught with a saucepan.<br />
“I’ve always heard that egg yolks are good for your hair,” said<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong>, wiping her eyes. “Just wait and see, my hair is going to start<br />
growing like mad.”<br />
Another great child-rebel protagonist, Huckleberry Finn, is like <strong>Pippi</strong> in<br />
many ways. He, too, acquires an enormous fortune in gold that allows<br />
him to live as he pleases and he, too, rebels against society for some of<br />
the same reasons as <strong>Pippi</strong>:<br />
The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she<br />
would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the<br />
time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was<br />
in all her ways; and so when I couldn’t stand it no longer I lit out.<br />
I got into my old rags and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free<br />
and satisfied.<br />
Huck Finn, illustrated by E.W.<br />
Kemble for The Adventures of<br />
Huckleberry Finn by<br />
Mark Twain, 1884<br />
Continued on the next page...<br />
18
Dialect aside, that sounds like something <strong>Pippi</strong> might say. However, the evils of the society which<br />
surrounds Huck go far deeper and transform his rebellion into something far more serious when<br />
he decides to rescue his friend Jim from slavery:<br />
I […] says to myself: “All right, then, I’ll go to hell” […]<br />
It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and<br />
never thought no more about reforming. I […] said I would take up wickedness again,<br />
which was in my line, being brung up to it, and the other warn’t. And for a starter I would<br />
go to work and steal Jim out of slavery again; and if I could think up anything worse, I<br />
would do that, too.<br />
Like Huck Finn and Peter Pan and many another child protagonist,<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> has absent parents. She has no practical need for them. Neither<br />
does Peter Pan. His magical abilities provide the same freedom that her<br />
money, common sense and super-strength do. Peter claims to prefer<br />
freedom to family so much that he ran away on the day he was born to<br />
live with the fairies. But he is clearly haunted by the absence of a mother<br />
in his life. He takes Wendy to Neverland to be a mother to the lost boys,<br />
and tells her:<br />
I thought […] that my mother would always keep the window open<br />
for me, so I stayed away for moons and moons and moons, and then<br />
flew back; but the window was barred, for mother had forgotten all<br />
about me, and there was another little boy sleeping in my bed.<br />
Peter Pan, illustrated by F.D.<br />
Bedford for Peter and Wendy by<br />
J.M. Barrie, 1911<br />
By contrast, <strong>Pippi</strong> suffers no serious trauma from her parents’ absence, although her mother<br />
is dead and her father washed overboard in a storm at sea. She misses both, but is consoled by<br />
the thought of her mother looking down on her as an angel from heaven and remains eternally<br />
confident that her father will return. She never doubts that her parents love her, and when her<br />
father does return, she chooses to stay with her friends rather than to rejoin him.<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> keeps her innocence—she stays always happy and free. Peter Pan always seems on the<br />
verge of losing his, and Huck does lose his innocence as he learns about the world and himself.<br />
But for better or worse, <strong>Pippi</strong> never comes close to learning any lessons from her experiences.<br />
Why should she? She’s happy, healthy and safe. She doesn’t need to flee to Neverland or down<br />
the Mississippi on a raft. She lives the completely carefree, adventure-filled existence that Huck<br />
and Peter Pan strive for and only partly achieve.<br />
Although <strong>Pippi</strong> lacks the depth and complexity of Huckleberry Finn and Peter Pan, her rebellion<br />
against society is, in some ways, even more radical. For unlike Huck and Peter, <strong>Pippi</strong> is a girl. The<br />
first <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> book came out in 1948 when the social pressure on girls to conform to<br />
social standards was intense. <strong>Pippi</strong> shares a great deal with another famous rebellious fictional<br />
heroine: red hair, freckles, charismatic high spirits, absent parents, resilience, imagination,<br />
difficulty following rules and a love for fantastic stories. Anne of Green Gables also succeeds<br />
Continued on the next page...<br />
19
in making close friends when she moves to a new house. But where<br />
Anne’s personality and appearance often make it difficult for her to fit<br />
into a society she longs to join, <strong>Pippi</strong> is perfectly happy with herself<br />
just the way she is. Here is Anne on red hair, for instance:<br />
“...what color would you call this?”<br />
[Anne] twitched one of her long glossy braids over her thin<br />
shoulder and held it up before Matthew’s eyes. [...]<br />
“It’s red, ain’t it?” he said.<br />
The girl let the braid drop back with a sigh that seemed to come<br />
from her very toes and to exhale forth all the sorrows of the<br />
ages.<br />
“Yes, it’s red,” she said resignedly. “Now you see why I can’t be<br />
perfectly happy. Nobody could who has red hair. I don’t mind<br />
the other things so much—the freckles and the green eyes and<br />
my skinniness. I can imagine them away. I can imagine that I<br />
have a beautiful rose-leaf complexion and lovely starry violet eyes. But I CANNOT imagine<br />
that red hair away. I do my best. I think to myself, ‘Now my hair is a glorious black, black as<br />
the raven’s wing.’ But all the time I KNOW it is just plain red and it breaks my heart. It will<br />
be my lifelong sorrow.”<br />
By contrast, in addition to feeding them an egg, <strong>Pippi</strong> braids her<br />
own fiery red pigtails so tight they stick straight out from her head,<br />
drawing as much attention as possible. She always wears pigtails,<br />
though. <strong>Pippi</strong> has some traits more typically associated with boys,<br />
such as physical strength and a tendency to resolve her problems<br />
through action, but she is perfectly happy being a girl. She is not a<br />
tomboy. She is something far more threatening to the society around<br />
her—a girl who does whatever she wants rather than what is<br />
expected of her. She is a release valve from the pressures of society,<br />
able to share her enjoyment of life with her friends and readers<br />
without the darkness and difficulties that fall in the way of more<br />
serious child rebels like Anne, Peter and Huck.<br />
Sources:<br />
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), by Mark Twain<br />
Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up (1904), by J.M. Barrie<br />
Anne of Green Gables (1908), by Lucy Maud Montgomery<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> Långstrump (1948), by Astrid Lindgren; Quote from <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> (2007), translated<br />
by Tiina Nunnally<br />
The Guardian –http://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/15/featuresreviews.<br />
guardianreview30<br />
20<br />
Anne Shirley, illustrated by M.A.<br />
Claus and W.A.J. Claus for Anne<br />
of Green Gables by Lucy Maud<br />
Montgomery, 1908<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong>, illustrated by Ingrid Vang<br />
Nyman for <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong>’s<br />
After Christmas Party, 1950
LEARNING ABOUT LEARNING<br />
In <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong>, Mrs. Prysellius from the Social Welfare Office comes to check on <strong>Pippi</strong> at home<br />
because she’s been hearing rumors of a child living alone. When she meets <strong>Pippi</strong>, she insists that<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> go to school because she has a lot of things to learn.<br />
MRS. PRYSELLIUS: Suppose someone asked you what the capital of Portugal was. You wouldn’t<br />
know the answer, would you?<br />
PIPPI: Of course I would. I’d just say, “If you really want to know what the capital of Portugal is,<br />
then just write a letter to Portugal and ask them.” Anyway, I’ve been to Lisbon with my dad.<br />
Mrs. Prysellius is right that school is an important part of children’s lives. But <strong>Pippi</strong> is right, too.<br />
There are other ways to learn. <strong>Pippi</strong> knows that if you don’t know the answer to something, you can<br />
ask. And she knows that you learn things by doing—she didn’t have to read that Lisbon is Portugal’s<br />
capital; she learned that by going there.<br />
Learning is what happens when your brain gets new information and you figure out what it means<br />
or you find a new way to think about something you already know. That information could be about<br />
multiplication, dancing, playing baseball, poison ivy, outer space or a million other things.<br />
We all learn things in our own way. You and your sister or brother or your best friend may be a lot<br />
alike, but one of you might like to read about things and have them explained to you before trying<br />
something new, and one of you might like to start the something new right away. (<strong>Pippi</strong> sure seems<br />
like a start-right-away person.) It depends on what works best for you, but also on what you are<br />
learning. I think we can agree that it would be a better idea to see pictures of poison ivy and read<br />
about it instead of just touching a lot of plants to see which one made you itch. But if you want to<br />
learn to dance, you can start by putting on some music and dancing however you want.<br />
Most of the time we use a combination of ways to learn. If you want to play baseball, someone<br />
needs to teach you the rules, but until you grab a bat and try to hit a ball you can’t play the game.<br />
After you’ve started to dance on your own, you might start taking classes or watch videos of people<br />
dancing to see what you can learn from them. And we also can mix unexpected things together to<br />
help us learn. Maybe you are someone who can memorize 3 x 7 = 21 more easily if you sing it as a<br />
little tune while you do your multiplication tables. Or can understand outer space better if you write a<br />
poem about it.<br />
The whole world is a classroom. We learn things every day<br />
of our lives. School is great because it’s all about learning,<br />
with teachers there to help you figure things out including<br />
what is the best way for you to learn. But sometimes, you<br />
just have to dance.<br />
21
THAT CAN BE A PET?<br />
TOMMY: Why is there a horse in the kitchen?<br />
PIPPI: Because the hall is very small and he doesn’t like the living room.<br />
- from <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong><br />
When Tommy and Annika first meet <strong>Pippi</strong>, they know right away that<br />
there is something unusual about her. Not only does she have a horse<br />
living in her house, she has a pet monkey named Mr. Nilsson! Who<br />
wouldn’t want to be her friend?<br />
Pets have a strong effect on us. We don’t know for sure when people<br />
started taming animals, but we do know it was a long, long time ago.<br />
Around the world, dogs were used for hunting or protection. Cats were<br />
in charge of getting rid of mice and rats. Ancient Egyptians kept cats; the<br />
Romans had dogs and birds, too. These animals could<br />
live a healthy life in captivity and could be trained.<br />
There are many wonderful<br />
and varied animals in<br />
Pet crickets in bamboo cages in Beijing, China<br />
the world, but not all of<br />
them make good pets. Many are too dangerous, and many others<br />
would not be able to live a healthy life away from their natural<br />
habitat. But beyond dogs, cats, birds, fish, lizards and guinea pigs,<br />
there are animals that, under the right conditions, might fit well<br />
with a family. Just remember that no animal, no matter how cute<br />
or interesting, should be brought into a place where it cannot be<br />
cared for properly or get the kind of attention it needs.<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> and her animal<br />
friends depicted on a<br />
Swedish stamp<br />
While animals still guard us and chase away the rodents,<br />
over the years they have become part of the family. In<br />
return for their companionship, it is our responsibility to<br />
treat these animals with love and respect and to care for<br />
their needs.<br />
In China and Japan, people do keep dogs and cats, but crickets<br />
are also a very popular pet. They are usually kept in wooden or<br />
bamboo cages in bedrooms so that they can sing their owners<br />
to sleep. They are considered good luck and they act as a kind of<br />
reverse alarm bell—they stop singing when someone approaches.<br />
Bird cages hanging on trees in a<br />
Beijing park<br />
Continued on the next page...<br />
22
A girl and her pet chicken in<br />
Afghanistan<br />
Songbirds are also very common pets in China, and it is not unusual to see<br />
people taking their birds for walks in the park. They keep them in their<br />
cages as they walk, so maybe they are taking the cage for a walk and the<br />
bird just happens to come along for the ride.<br />
Children of families who work with and are surrounded by animals,<br />
like farmers, sometimes adopt goats, chickens or lambs as pets. In the<br />
deserts of northern Africa a child might adopt a baby camel as her or his<br />
companion.<br />
In the Arignar Anna Zoo in southern India, orphaned elephant calves that<br />
have been rescued from the forest are cared<br />
for by local families. The elephants carry the<br />
children home from school on their backs, play soccer and even<br />
sleep curled up with them.<br />
The Yanomami Indians of the Amazon rain forest hunt for their<br />
food, but they have such respect for the animals that feed their<br />
families that they adopt any orphans that are left behind. These<br />
new family pets—monkeys, sloths, opossums, birds, and others—<br />
are fed and cared for the rest of their lives.<br />
And what about <strong>Pippi</strong>’s horse and monkey? <strong>Pippi</strong> may be able to<br />
keep a horse in her kitchen, but that’s not the best idea for anyone<br />
else to try. However, some horses do much of their work indoors.<br />
You probably know something about service animals—seeing-eye<br />
dogs that help guide the blind, for example. But did you know that<br />
miniature horses are being used as guides, too? Like dogs, they are also used as therapy animals<br />
in hospitals and to help people who are mobility impaired.<br />
It’s not only horses and dogs that are helpers. There are a variety of animals that make life<br />
better for their owners: parrots that help the hearing impaired, ferrets that can sense when<br />
their owner is about to have a seizure, pot-bellied pigs<br />
that guide the blind or can open and close doors. And<br />
yes, monkeys can help people, too. Some Capuchin<br />
monkeys are trained to assist individuals who are<br />
paralyzed or unable to perform certain physical<br />
actions. They become that person’s hands, opening<br />
doors, turning on light switches and picking up objects.<br />
All these animals go through a great deal of training to<br />
be calm, reliable and able to do their work well—so Mr.<br />
Nilsson will not be taking on this job. But these animals<br />
don’t only help their owners with tasks. They provide<br />
Children sleeping with the young elephant in their<br />
care at the Arignar Anna Zoo in India<br />
the same love, companionship and joy that pets bring<br />
to all of us who care for them.<br />
23<br />
Scout, a miniature horse, leading his<br />
blind companion
TALK TO THE ANIMALS<br />
A cat meowing in <strong>Seattle</strong> sounds just like a cat meowing in Japan. But the way people imitate the<br />
sound of the meow can change in different languages.<br />
Take a look at some of these examples from different countries. They are all awfully fun to say out<br />
loud. And if you practice them, you’ll be ready to say hello to a pig in Sweden or a rooster in Italy.<br />
Cat<br />
English: Meow<br />
French: Miaou (myou)<br />
Japanese: Nyā (nyaa)<br />
Korean: Yaong (yawng)<br />
Spanish: Miau (mee-ou)<br />
Dog<br />
English: Woof<br />
Chinese: Wāng (wang)<br />
French: Ouaf (woof)<br />
Korean: Meong (mung)<br />
Spanish: Guau (wou)<br />
Rooster<br />
English: Cock-a-doodle-doo<br />
French: Cocorico (koh-koh-ree-ko)<br />
Italian: Chicchirichì (kee-keeree-kee)<br />
Japanese: Kokekokkō (ko-kay-ke-koh)<br />
Spanish: Quiquiriquí (kee-keery-kee)<br />
Sheep<br />
English: Baa<br />
German: Mäh (meh)<br />
Japanese: Mē (may)<br />
Korean: Maemae (may-may)<br />
Swedish: Bä (bah)<br />
Duck<br />
English: Quack<br />
Chinese: Gāgā (koo-koo)<br />
French: Coin Coin (kwe kwe)<br />
Italian: Qua Qua (kwa kwa)<br />
Spanish: Cuac Cuac (kwak kwak)<br />
Pig<br />
English: Oink<br />
Danish: Øf (oof)<br />
Japanese: Būbū (boo boo)<br />
Russian: Khryu (heh-roo)<br />
Swedish: Nöff Nöff (nuhf nuhf)<br />
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WORDS & PHRASES THAT MIGHT BE NEW TO YOU<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong>lotta, Pantry-cleaner, Pepperminta, Gaberdina, Ephraim’s<br />
Daughter, <strong>Longstocking</strong> – small room where food is stored<br />
I can spell “insipidness” – boringness<br />
I can spell “obsequiousness” – over eagerness to obey<br />
Hello, Mrs. Priss! Prysselius – <strong>Pippi</strong> is using the sound of Mrs.<br />
Prysselius’s name to make a comment about her. “Priss” is<br />
short for “prissy” which means too proper and fussy.<br />
I’m from the Social Welfare Office and... – office in charge of<br />
helping people in need<br />
MRS. PRYSSELIUS: You know, you need a special permit to keep monkeys as pets.<br />
PIPPI: Not for Mr. Nilsson. He permits anything and everything.<br />
Mrs. Prysselius uses the word as a noun to mean “official written permission.”<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> uses it as a verb meaning “allow.”<br />
No, we want to know what you’ve done with all that lolly you had before. – money. A British<br />
slang word.<br />
Back on the job, no longer linger – take your time<br />
We’re your friendly constables, so happy that you rang! – police officers<br />
Can you imagine anyone wanting to live in a hovel like this? – small, dirty house<br />
In the name of the law and statues concerning juveniles and young people...<br />
statues – Constable Clang is confusing words and really means “statutes,” written laws.<br />
juveniles – young persons<br />
Oh, they’re just a couple of busybodies who want to know all about me. – people who are too nosey<br />
Your imagination is unbounded. – unlimited<br />
And when he ate his liverwurst sandwiches, the pigeons had every other bite. – liver sausage<br />
Harboring a runaway?<br />
harboring – giving shelter to<br />
runaway – person who runs away from home<br />
Continued on the next page...<br />
25
Eh, Clang, don’t you think we ought to get some reinforcements? – extra<br />
people to help<br />
We don’t really need to catch this whelp – young dog or wolf. The word<br />
can be used to describe a rude child.<br />
Actually, I think a child should be silent when it’s with its elders – people who are older than the child<br />
They really ought to be taboo – forbidden<br />
I just can’t stand insolent children. – rude<br />
She’s absolutely lethal! – deadly<br />
Quite frankly, I don’t care at all. – honestly<br />
I promise I won’t throttle you<br />
I’ll really mollycoddle you<br />
throttle – choke<br />
mollycoddle – spoil<br />
Do you really want to share a house with a horse on the verandah, a monkey in my hair and cream<br />
cake all over me? – porch<br />
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?<br />
woodchuck – groundhog<br />
chuck – throw<br />
rusty sabers – swords<br />
The best helmsman on the seven seas! – person who steers a ship<br />
We weigh anchor tomorrow morning at ten. – raise. A ship<br />
“weighs anchor” before sailing away.<br />
I’ve had to acknowledge that doing the impossible is<br />
impossible. – admit the truth<br />
Yeah, they sang ‘til their tankards they rang – large<br />
drinking cup with a handle<br />
26
JUMP START<br />
Ideas for things to do, wonder about, talk about or write about before or after you see<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong>.<br />
What happened to <strong>Pippi</strong>’s father between the time he fell overboard from his pirate ship and the<br />
time he came back to <strong>Pippi</strong>?<br />
Think of some names for <strong>Pippi</strong>’s horse.<br />
What would you tell <strong>Pippi</strong> is the best part of going to school? What is the hardest?<br />
Draw a costume for <strong>Pippi</strong>’s monkey, Mr. Nilsson.<br />
What are different ways that people are strong?<br />
What animal is the perfect pet for you? Why?<br />
Invent a game for <strong>Pippi</strong> to play with you. Try it out with your friends.<br />
Would you like to live in a house by yourself? What would it be like?<br />
Dance like a pirate.<br />
Make up a story about an adventure Mr. Nilsson had in a foreign country.<br />
What circus act would you want to be part of?<br />
Why is <strong>Pippi</strong>’s name so long? Make up a long name for yourself.<br />
Have you ever broken a rule without knowing it was a rule?<br />
What would it be like having <strong>Pippi</strong> for a neighbor?<br />
Why is it good for friends to be different from each other?<br />
Make a map of <strong>Pippi</strong>’s neighborhood.<br />
Why does <strong>Pippi</strong> dress the way she does?<br />
If you were moving into a house by yourself, what’s the first thing you would do?<br />
Do some poses like Miss Carmencita and <strong>Pippi</strong> do on top of<br />
the circus horse.<br />
How do you think <strong>Pippi</strong> spent her time when she was living<br />
on the pirate ship?<br />
If you had a sack of gold coins, what would you do with it?<br />
Did <strong>Pippi</strong>’s choice at the end of the play surprise you? What<br />
choice would you have made?<br />
Mrs. Prysselius, Constables Cling and Clang, and <strong>Pippi</strong>’s teacher<br />
all have a lot of trouble with her. Are there ways they could have<br />
dealt with her more effectively while still doing their jobs?<br />
27
DRAMA IN ACTION<br />
This is a customized <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> Dramashop* exercise for you to try.<br />
EXERCISE: It Is What It Isn’t<br />
GRADES: First and up<br />
TIME: 10 minutes<br />
SET-UP: This exercise can be done sitting at desks or in a circle<br />
SUPPLIES: Wooden spoon; a ruler would also do<br />
INSTRUCTIONS:<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong> doesn’t do things the traditional way. She keeps her horse in the kitchen and<br />
sleeps with her feet on the pillow! Inspired by <strong>Pippi</strong>’s way of doing things in unexpected ways, we<br />
will use our imaginations to turn an ordinary object into something else entirely.<br />
Present the wooden spoon to the class. Ask for a volunteer to come up to the front of the room<br />
and demonstrate how the object is usually used. Ask the observing students to put their hand on<br />
their head if that is how they use that object.<br />
Mime using the spoon as a hairbrush. Rub your hands together if you can guess what I have turned<br />
it into. Call on a student to guess.<br />
Once the new object is identified, invite a student up to the front to turn the spoon into<br />
something else by miming how it is used. Remind the students to use actions, but no sound.<br />
Encourage them to be specific about the object they are imagining and the way they use it.<br />
State aloud the facial expressions you see incorporated into the action. Ask the students if the<br />
facial expressions help make it clear what the object is.<br />
Repeat with more students. Or challenge the students with a new object of a different shape, like<br />
a roll of masking tape.<br />
*A Dramashop is an interactive drama-workshop that <strong>Seattle</strong> Children’s <strong>Theatre</strong> offers to schools and community groups<br />
through our Education Outreach Program. Dramashops explore the themes, characters, historical context and production<br />
elements of SCT Mainstage productions. Professional SCT teaching artists work with students for an hour, fleshing out<br />
themes and ideas through dynamic theater exercises. Dramashops can occur either before or after seeing the play and can<br />
be held at SCT or at your location. Students get on their feet in these participatory workshops, stretching their imaginations<br />
while learning about the play.<br />
For information about bringing a Dramashop to your classroom or community group, email educationoutreach@sct.org.<br />
28
Complete <strong>Pippi</strong>’s letter by filling in the blanks with the appropriate type of word to create a brand new story.<br />
Once you have made your story, ask your friends to select words without showing them the story and see<br />
what they create!<br />
Today was ____________ (adjective)! Tommy and Annika invited me to a ____________ (noun).<br />
You know how I love ____________ (previous noun plural). Especially the ones where they ____________<br />
(verb) ____________ (plural noun)!<br />
I decided to wear my ____________ (color) ____________ (article of clothing) with my<br />
____________ (adjective) ____________ (article of clothing). I was ready to go, so I ____________<br />
(adverb) ____________ (verb ending in -ed) onto my ____________ (animal) and off I went! When I got<br />
there, Tommy and Annika’s ____________ (type of relative) was ____________ (verb ending in -ing) with a<br />
few people. I said hello, but my ____________ (body part) was ____________ (verb ending in -ing) so I<br />
went to see if they had any ____________ (noun). I found a large ____________ (noun) filled with lots of<br />
different ____________ (noun plural). There were ____________ (noun) ____________ (plural noun) that<br />
were ____________ (adjective) and almost as big as my ____________ (body part). There was even a<br />
____________ (noun) that was ____________ (color) and shaped like a ____________ (adjective)<br />
____________ (noun). It was ____________ (adjective)!<br />
I was feeling pretty ____________ (adjective) so I decided to teach everyone that game we learned<br />
in ____________ (exotic location) when you and I were visiting ____________ (important person). You<br />
know, the one where everyone gets a ____________ (noun) and you sit in a ____________ (shape) and have<br />
to figure out who has the ____________ (adjective ending in -est or -er) one. Then you take<br />
turns____________ (verb ending in -ing) your____________ (previous noun) around the room. Tommy and<br />
Annika loved it, but everyone else left before it was over. Too bad. They missed the ____________<br />
(adjective) part!<br />
Dear Dad,<br />
I wish you were here dad so that we could ____________ (verb) together every day, like we used to.<br />
I love you and I miss you.<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong>lotta Pantry-cleaner Pepperminta Gaberdina Ephraim’s Daughter <strong>Longstocking</strong>
Unscramble each word and write it correctly on the line below it.<br />
Write each circled letter in order at the bottom of the page to<br />
complete the sentence.<br />
How is each word part of <strong>Pippi</strong> <strong>Longstocking</strong>’s story?<br />
NROWG- PSU<br />
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ — ___ ___ ___<br />
SDNFRIE<br />
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___<br />
RHOSE<br />
___ ___ ___ ___ ___<br />
DTUREVENA<br />
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___<br />
NGSTRO<br />
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___<br />
KEYMON<br />
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___<br />
ESRUL<br />
___ ___ ___ ___ ___<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> grew up on a ship full of ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .
SCRAMBLE HINTS<br />
All the words used in the scramble are in the box below.<br />
Check it if you need hints.<br />
STRONG RULES MONKEY<br />
FRIENDS<br />
GROWN-UPS<br />
ADVENTURE<br />
HORSE
BOOKLIST<br />
For Children & Young Adults:<br />
Finn Family Moomintroll<br />
Tove Jansson<br />
Gooney Bird Greene<br />
Lois Lowry<br />
Harriet the Spy<br />
Louise Fitzhugh<br />
A Little Princess<br />
Frances Hodgson Burnett<br />
Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism<br />
Georgia Byng<br />
Peter and the Starcatchers<br />
Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson<br />
<strong>Pippi</strong> Moves In<br />
Astrid Lindgren, comic book illustrated by Ingrid<br />
Vang Nyman<br />
Scandinavian Mythology<br />
Jason Porterfield<br />
Snipp, Snapp, Snurr series<br />
Maj Lindman<br />
Clementine<br />
Sara Pennypacker<br />
Armed with attitude, individuality and a<br />
penchant for disaster, Clementine, a wonderfully<br />
wacky girl who is the heroine of a great series of<br />
books, and the inventor of the world’s first pair<br />
of bologna glasses, makes her first appearance.<br />
For Adults Working With Children<br />
& Young Adults:<br />
Braiding Hair: Beyond the Basics<br />
Jen Jones<br />
Manners Mash-up: A Goofy Guide to<br />
Good Behavior<br />
Tedd Arnold and many others<br />
Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World<br />
Jane Yolen<br />
Not One Damsel in Distress: World Folktales<br />
for Strong Girls<br />
Jane Yolen<br />
Drawing from stories around the world,<br />
renowned author Jane Yolen celebrates the<br />
smart, strong and sassy heroines of legend and<br />
lore in a collection that will encourage bravery in<br />
every child.<br />
Booklist prepared by Sara Jensen and Julie Miller<br />
King County Library System<br />
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SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS<br />
Engaging young people with the arts is what we are all about at SCT. We hope that the Active<br />
Audience Guide has helped enhance and extend the theater experience for your family or your<br />
students beyond seeing the show.<br />
Send us your comments<br />
We’d love to hear your feedback about the guide. You can email us at info@sct.org.<br />
Educators<br />
We need your help. Please take a moment to go online and answer this brief survey:<br />
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SFQ2DCK<br />
Thank you for your support.<br />
<strong>Seattle</strong> Children’s <strong>Theatre</strong>, which celebrates its 39th season in 2013-2014, performs<br />
September through June in the Charlotte Martin and Eve Alvord <strong>Theatre</strong>s at <strong>Seattle</strong> Center. SCT<br />
has gained acclaim as a leading producer of professional theatre, educational programs and new<br />
scripts for young people. By the end of its 2012-2013 season, SCT had presented over 230 plays,<br />
including 110 world premieres, entertaining over 4 million children.<br />
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