Danny, King of the Basement - Seattle Children's Theatre

EDUCATOR RESOURCE GUIDE

Presents
Danny, King of
the Basement
Table of Contents
Synopsis .....................................................................................................................................................
Curriculum Connections & EALRs ..................................................................................................
David S. Craig, Playwright ....................................................................................................................
A Chat with Chris Walker, Sound Designer ...................................................................................
Make Some Theatrical Noise .............................................................................................................
About the Set ..........................................................................................................................................
About the Costumes ..............................................................................................................................
No Place to Call Home ...........................................................................................................................
Seattle Challenge and Urban Plunge .............................................................................................
I Want to Help ..........................................................................................................................................
Talk Yourself into It ................................................................................................................................
Words & Phrases That Might Be New to You .............................................................................
Activity Pages ..........................................................................................................................................
Booklist ......................................................................................................................................................
Evaluation Form .....................................................................................................................................
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SYNOPSIS
Danny’s mother, Louise, wakes him to tell him that her latest boyfriend didn’t turn out to be Prince
Charming and they are moving again. So they head out, pushing a shopping cart and towing their
tattered luggage. It’s their eighth move in two years because they never have enough money to
pay the rent. It’s cold but they make it a long way across the city, with Danny navigating a number
of bus routes to get them to their new home, a basement apartment in a house on Clinton Street.
Danny doesn’t mind moving. In fact, he’s good at it. He can pack quickly, knows the bus system,
and he can “make a best friend in a day.” He gets to the apartment first. While he’s waiting on the
street for his mother to catch up, he passes the time assuming his imaginary
secret agent identity, using a toy microphone to communicate with a master
control station. When a neighbor boy, Angelo, comes along, Danny hides and
watches as Angelo picks up the microphone and pretends to order a pizza.
Angelo is a young hockey player who has never managed to score a goal
and struggles for attention from his unemployed dad. Startled by Danny,
Angelo quickly puts down the toy, but Danny encourages him to continue
pretending. Louise arrives, Angelo goes home and it’s time for Danny and
his mom to go into their new place.
But Danny insists that Louise get them some food before they settle in. He
gives her the last of their money—$6.98—and tells her exactly what she
can afford to buy. He refuses to go into the basement apartment until she
returns with their meager groceries.
As he’s waiting for his mom, he spends some more time with Angelo and begins building a
friendship with him. He also meets the house owner’s privileged daughter, Penelope. She
demands he remove his belongings from the front of her private property, and refuses to believe
Danny when he says he lives in the house, too. Danny goads her into betting her brand new coat
on it and then he reveals the key to the basement apartment. Penelope says she’ll do anything
to get out of the bet. Danny asks her to swear on whatever is most important in her life. He also
gives her an example of what he means; more than anything, Danny wants his father, a firefighter
in the Rocky Mountains, to live with him and his mom.
Penelope feels a little uncomfortable sharing with
this stranger, but says that she wants her separated
parents to talk to each other so that she won’t be
caught in the middle of their fights. Danny doesn’t
take her coat. Instead, he asks only that she be nice to
his friends—specifically, Angelo.
Continued on the next page...
3

Though Angelo and Penelope are neighbors, they haven’t gotten along for years. But Penelope
upholds her promise to act nice and Danny’s good games quickly bring the three kids together.
Anything is possible with a great imagination, and the three pretend to be professional hockey
players, secret agents and even a medical team operating on Angelo’s brain to improve his
hockey skills. Danny believes he can solve anything with a game and he even ventures to talk to
Angelo’s intimidating dad, who can often be heard up and down the street, yelling and growling
like a dinosaur.
Danny’s mother gets a job as a waitress, and Danny’s life seems okay. Danny still
manages the money because otherwise his mom spends it as soon as she gets it.
But things are getting better.
Until one day when Louise’s boss ends up in the hospital and she
thinks she is going to lose her job. That same day Danny is called
on to read aloud in school and his friends realize he can’t read. He
flees in embarrassment. He’s ready to move again. He wants to be
with his dad. But the biggest blow of all comes when he gets home.
His mom hasn’t lost her job—in fact, she’s been promoted—but
she finally admits she’s been lying about Danny’s father. She has
never had any idea where he is. Danny runs away to find his father,
certain that will solve his problems.
Wandering the streets in the cold without proper clothes, Danny is in serious danger. His mother
and friends search for him desperately, and eventually find him in critical condition at the
hospital. It’s touch-and-go as the hospital staff revive Danny. At first Danny isn’t sure he wants to
go on living until he realizes how much his mother needs him. When he finally agrees to see his
friends again, he discovers how much they missed him, too. Angelo shows him the puck, signed
by his father, from his first hockey goal. Danny realizes what’s most important: a true home with
the love of his mother and good friends.
4

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS & EALRs
Danny, King of the Basement touches on many themes and ideas. Here are a few we believe would
make good Curriculum Connections: Homelessness, Community, Employment, Materialism,
Friendship, Parental Responsibility, Empathy, Resilience, Imagination, Literacy.
We believe that seeing the show and using our Educator Resource Guide can help you meet the
following EALRs:
Theatre
Reading
Social Studies
Communication
State Standards
1. The student understands and applies arts knowledge and skills.
1.1 Understand arts concepts and vocabulary, specifically, identifies and describes
characters, setting, actions, conflict, sounds.
1.2 Develops theatre skills and techniques.
1.3 Understands and applies theatre genres and styles of various artists, cultures, and times
1.4 Understands and applies audience conventions in a variety of settings and
performances of theatre.
3. Theatre: The student communicates through the arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts).
3.1 Uses theatre to express feelings and present ideas.
3.2 Uses theatre to communicate for a specific purpose.
1. The student understands and uses different skills and strategies to read.
1.1 Use word recognition skills and strategies to read and comprehend text.
1.2 Use vocabulary (word meaning) strategies to comprehend text.
1.3 Build vocabulary through wide reading.
1.4 Apply word recognition skills and strategies to read fluently.
2. The student understands the meaning of what is read.
2.1 Demonstrate evidence of reading comprehension.
2.2 Understand and apply knowledge of text components to comprehend text.
2.3 Expand comprehension by analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing information and
ideas in literary and informational text.
3. The student reads different materials for a variety of purposes.
3.1 Read to learn new information.
3.2 Read to perform a task.
3.4 Read for literary experience in a variety of genres.
2. ECONOMICS The student applies understanding of economic concepts and systems
to analyze decision-making and the interactions between individuals, households,
businesses, governments, and societies.
2.1 Understands that people have to make choices between wants and needs and evaluate
the outcomes of those choices.
1. The student uses listening and observation skills and strategies to gain understanding.
1.1 Uses listening and observation skills and strategies to focus attention and interpret
information.
1.2 Understands, analyzes, synthesizes, or evaluates information from a variety of sources.
5

DAVID S. CRAIG, PLAYWRIGHT
Danny, King of the Basement has been performed all over
Canada and the United States and in other parts of the world as
well. This is an interview that playwright David S. Craig gave a
middle-school student from Vienna, Austria about five years ago.
When did you start writing plays?
I was an actor and I wanted some good roles to perform in
so I started writing plays. At first the plays were very simple.
The first play I wrote was The Bearded Lady Loves the Mayor.
I played the bearded lady! We performed it in parks and it
involved a lot of running!
Why do you write plays for children and not adults?
Actually, I write plays for adults, too. But I am best known for my plays for children. I don’t know
why that happened. I wrote one and it went well so I wrote another and it went well and then
people started asking me to write plays so I did and then I was a “Children’s Playwright.” I do
love making kids laugh and trying to say complicated things in simple ways.
How did you get inspired to write Danny, King of the Basement?
I was driving in my car listening to the radio. The news was on and the announcer was talking
about a report on homelessness in Toronto, where I live. Now I knew there was a problem with
homelessness (we’ve all seen that, right?) but I didn’t know that 25 percent of the people who
are homeless are children under the age of 12. That really, really surprised and saddened me
because Toronto is the richest city in Canada and probably one of the richest cities in the world. I
decided, right then, that I had to do something—as a father and a citizen and a playwright—and
what I decided to do was write a play.
Why do you think your play is so successful?
I don’t know. I think it’s a miracle. None of my other plays have been understood so well and
so quickly. People say the story is universal, but as you can see from what I wrote above, the
motivation for the play was very personal and very local.
Which of the parents we see on stage (Danny’s mother, Penelope’s mother or Angelo’s
father) would you choose if you were a child and had to choose?
That is a very interesting question. I think I would choose Danny’s mother because she seems
like a lot of fun. But my own parents made sure I had warm clothes, lots to eat and took me
skiing which I loved. Danny’s mother couldn’t afford those things.
Continued on the next page...
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We don’t know what memories Danny has of his father or if he has memories at all. What is
your opinion?
I think Danny’s father left shortly after Danny was born. I think he never intended to be a father
and so one day he just left. This meant Louise had to raise Danny on her own. When Danny
started getting older and began asking questions about his dad, Louise made up a story of how
his dad was away being a fire-fighter in the Rocky Mountains. She even sent Danny a postcard
of the Mountains as if it came from his dad. The postcard became Danny’s most treasured
possession.
When you were a boy, what were your dreams? Did you dream of working in the theater?
When I was a boy I sang in a church choir and I dreamed of being a Vienna Choir Boy. It’s true. I
had seen a Walt Disney movie about them and I wanted to learn German and move to Austria. I
asked my choir master how long it would take to learn German and he said a long time. No one
encouraged my dream so I eventually believed it was impossible. Sigh.
What do you like most about your kind of work?
Working with other artists and theater professionals. I love being part of a team. Instead of
winning a game, we work together to put on a show. I love putting on shows.
David S. Craig has written more than 20 professionally produced plays including the international
hit comedy Having Hope at Home. His adaptation of The Neverending Story premiered at the
Imagination Stage and the Seattle Children’s Theatre and recently played to rave reviews at Young
People’s Theatre in Toronto and the Skirball Center in New York. For Roseneath Theatre he has
written the internationally acclaimed Danny, King of the Basement (Dora Mavor Moore Award for
Best Production, German Children’s Theatre Prize nomination) as well
as Tough Case, Smokescreen and Rocket and the Queen of Dreams.
With Robert Morgan he has written Morgan’s Journey, Head à Tête, The
Book of Miracles, Health Class and Dib and Dob and the Journey Home.
His one-man show Napalm the Magnificent was performed extensively
in Canada and at the John Houseman Theatre Centre on Theatre Row
in Manhattan. His plays have received the Chalmers Award twice and
the Dora Award for Outstanding Production four times. For CBC Radio,
David created a fifty-one part series for Morningside based on his stage
play Booster Crane, P.M. and for Metro Morning he created a 50-episode
series titled The Diamond Lane. NOW magazine has called David S.
Craig, “one of the top twenty playwrights in Canada.”
7

A CHAT WITH CHRIS WALKER, SOUND DESIGNER
Please tell us a little bit about your working process.
My job as a sound designer is to put together all the sound
elements for a play. That means I write and record the music
and create the sound effects you hear.
When I first read a play, I’m not really trying to figure out what
it sounds like—not right away. Of course what I’m eventually
going to have in my head is the combination of environmental
sounds (street noises, wind, rasping sand on stone) and
music—but not right away. At first I just want to know what the
show feels like, how it hits me emotionally. After reading it a
couple times maybe then I’ll have an idea of the sound, and after
I talk with the director, then I’ll REALLY know a lot more and I’ll start to put together a rough
demo of the score (the music for the play).
But hands down the most important thing for me is listening to the actors say the words. For
me there is nothing more useful than the first read-through of the play. Once I hear the sound of
the words coming out of the actors’ mouths, then, and only then really, do I fully know what the
show is going to sound like. How the music of their voices is going to combine with my sounds
and music…then I know the feel that we’ll bring to the stage together.
What is a particularly interesting or unusual challenge on this project, and how are you
setting out to solve it?
On this project I think the most interesting thing is the conflict between the real world and
the fantasy worlds that the characters get caught up in. The tricky thing is not to wallow in the
grim part of real life…I tend to go there easily. But in this play there’s a lot of happiness, love,
excitement and energy. My job is to help bring that out with the sound and music.
Currently I’m planning on having almost two separate kinds of scores. Different instrumentation
will help that: for instance, maybe when we’re in real life it’s only one instrument playing the
music, like a piano. And then when we’re in the various fantasy worlds perhaps we’re using a
full orchestra for music, or at least a small band—something that’s a difference from the solo
instrument of the “real” world. At least that’s what I’m thinking right now.
What in your childhood got you to where you are today?
My Dad played the piano, my Mom played the piano and the violin. They were musical and
they wanted me to be musical, so they started me on piano lessons at age seven. I took to it big
time. At nine I started playing clarinet, and at ten, guitar. I loved all of it. Oh, and I also started
composing almost immediately, really from age seven on.
Continued on the next page...
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In high school people started commenting to me that the music I composed would remind them
of things. They’d say “Oh, you must have been thinking about this when you composed that
piece.” They never got it right, because I was never particularly thinking about any one thing, but
I realized the music I made put pictures in people’s minds. So I figured I should go with that—I
should make music for visuals. Film, theater, dance—that’s what I’m good at scoring.
I decided to go to an arts college (Cornish), and majored in Classical Piano Performance. Once
there I started composing music for the theater department, and over the next four years I
started designing more and more shows outside of college. By the time I graduated, I had enough
of a reputation that I was able to move right into a job running sound and scoring shows for the
Intiman Theatre. And that began my professional career.
Chris R. Walker is returning for his eleventh season as resident sound designer at SCT. In Seattle, he
has designed at Seattle Rep, ACT, the 5th Avenue Theatre and Intiman. Nationally, he’s designed in
San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Boston, Chicago and New York. Chris holds a BFA in
Classical Piano Performance from Cornish College.
MAKE SOME THEATRICAL NOISE
How does the sound of each of these instruments make you feel?
Trumpet
Big drum
Violin
Kazoo
Piano
Bell
Which instrument would you use most if you were writing music for a:
Bus ride
Hospital visit
Boring phone conversation
Raccoon attack
Hockey game
Dream
Class at school
Snowstorm
Pick your favorite of those actions and decide what non-musical sound effects you would add to
your music to complete your score. What other instruments would you add?
Using just your voice and body, act out the sound and the music you imagine.
9

ABOUT THE SET
From Carol Wolfe Clay, Set Designer
Even though this play is called Danny, King of the Basement, we never actually go inside the
basement. The play takes place mostly outside, where Danny is most comfortable. But his
basement home is a very real and very big part of the play. So, for me, the design challenge was
to create a three-dimensional and real-looking group of homes on stage, but at the same time
leave lots of open space where Danny and Penelope and Angelo could imagine and the story
could be told.
I started by looking at pictures of city neighborhoods and pictures of streetcars, wet streets
and concrete for inspiration. I wanted the floor and the sky to look painterly, like a canvas for
Danny’s imagination, and I wanted the group of homes to look solid and strong but also a bit
mysterious. Rita Giomi, the director, wanted to make sure that it was clearly a place in a city, not
in the country, and that it looked familiar, like it could be one of our own neighborhoods. We
chose brick for the buildings, concrete steps and metal railings to help with this.
Picture of homes on Clinton Street in Toronto,
which inspired some aspects of the set design
This picture of a streetcar on a wet city street provided a number of design ideas,
including adding shiny patches to the floor
Concrete pattern that influenced some of
the floor design
Continued on the next page...
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Model of the set
It was a challenge to create three
complete homes on stage in such a
small space. If you look, you’ll notice
there isn’t much room around the
windows and doors. I played with
height changes to help define the
spaces. I added a tiny window in
Danny’s apartment as mentioned in
the script, gave Penelope’s window
more of a formal look with black
lacquered details and made sure to
give Angelo’s house a big window
so we could see his “dino dad.” I
used some real and some painted
architectural detail in order to pack
a lot into a little space and to keep a
balance between the realness of the
buildings and the imaginative painted
sky and floor.
It was fun to design the houses as
such a close little group with multiple
rooflines and angles and varied
architecture. It was even more fun to
paint the colorful concrete floor and
the sky with a shadowy city skyline!
Technical drawing of Penelope’s house showing where three-dimensional
bricks and trim will be added to the painted ones
11

ABOUT THE COSTUMES
From Rose Pederson, Costume Designer
One of the things that is important in this play is the different finances of each of the families.
This is very challenging to show with costumes because kids from different backgrounds tend
to wear clothes that all look very much alike.
I looked through many magazines, searched the Internet for photos of children who are
experiencing homelessness and visited schools to see what people were wearing, trying to find
unique elements.
Sketch of Danny’s first
costume
Danny’s second costume. The
actors change costumes several
times during the play to help us
understand the passage of time.
Angelo’s first costume shows
what he wears home from
hockey practice
Angelo’s second costume
It seemed a good idea to choose Danny’s clothes from a thrift store, since that’s where he
would get them and they would be less current. Also his clothes are a little big to show he
doesn’t have the option to get anything he wants and that his Mom is not necessarily paying
enough attention to him.
Angelo’s family has more money and more current clothes, so he has the choice to wear sports
gear and clothes depicting his favorite sports team.
Continued on the next page...
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Penelope gets the most of what she wants. She has more clothes and newer popular clothes,
along with a fresh expensive haircut from a salon.
Penelope’s second costume
Sketch of Penelope’s first costume.
She will be wearing her new coat
over this dress.
The greatest thing is that Danny’s clothes may be the least
interesting, but with his imagination he turns even his very
plain jacket into something magical.
One of the most exciting challenges was finding a way to
costume Penelope’s mother in a way that would keep her as
mysterious and invisible as Danny’s and Angelo’s fathers. So
the director and I researched images of women in clothes
that almost swallowed them up.
When I dress, I want to make sure I am wearing the clothes
and the clothes are not wearing me. In Penelope’s mother’s case
Penelope’s mother is hidden by the
clothes she wears
we wanted her to be unreachable, so we wanted her clothes to take over, make her almost
a non-person, so busy in herself that we don’t actually see her—the same way she doesn’t
really see Penelope.
13

NO PLACE TO CALL HOME
When people hear the word “homeless,” most still think of the more visible faces of
homelessness—people standing at highway on-ramps, or those who sleep under bridges
or on park benches. A homeless person is legally defined as an individual who lacks a fixed,
regular and adequate night-time residence or a person who resides in a shelter, welfare hotel,
transitional program or place not ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations. The
U.S. Department of Education’s definition includes children and youths “who are sharing the
housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason.” Families
with children represent nearly half of the homeless people in Washington state. These are the
invisible faces of homelessness: parents and children “doubling up” with family or friends, living
out of their cars or in motel rooms, or moving in and out of shelters.
Homeless families with children struggle to navigate a complex web of support and service
providers to get help and access to stable housing. If a family becomes homeless in Washington
state, they must look for help by contacting many different service agencies for different kinds of
assistance. Since few services are coordinated, it is hard for families to even know what kind of
help is available, and harder to get into a permanent home. During the 2009–2010 school year,
the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction identified nearly 22,000 homeless children
attending public schools in Washington state.
Families become homeless for many reasons. Today’s weak economy means that more families
experience unemployment, lower incomes, and housing foreclosures. Other factors—such as
domestic violence, medical crises, and mental health or addiction issues—also make families
vulnerable.
Continued on the next page...
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Whatever the cause, homelessness has a profound impact on a child’s health and education. The
constant movement and disruption associated with homelessness means that too many children
are forced to move from school to school. National Alliance to End Homelessness research
reveals that proficiency rates for homeless children in reading and math are, on average, 16
percent lower than the scores for all students. Homeless children have twice as many learning
disabilities and three times as many emotional and behavioral problems as children who are not
homeless. Half of school-age homeless children experience anxiety, depression, or withdrawal.
Fewer than one homeless child in four graduates from high school.
Preventing and ending family homelessness will take the continued commitment of partners in
government, nonprofits, advocates, the private sector and people in families that are recovering
from homelessness. It won’t be easy. But our communities will be stronger when we break the
cycle of poverty and crisis that can lead to family homelessness across generations.
Excerpted and used by permission of the Gates Foundation
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/topics/Pages/housing-homelessness.aspx
TO GET HELP CONTACT:
Washington Information Network 2-1-1
An integrated system for people to call for health
and human service information and referrals and
other assistance to meet their needs.
Call: 2-1-1
or 206-461-3200
800-621-4636 Toll Free
206-461-3610 TDD
Or search the website for resources at
http://www.resourcehouse.info/WIN211
King County 24-Hour Crisis Line:
1-866-4CRISIS (1-866-427-4747)
15

SEATTLE CHALLENGE AND URBAN PLUNGE: EXPERIENTIAL
AND SERVICE LEARNING ABOUT URBAN POVERTY
DANNY: How would you know, Penny? How would you know what it’s like to be me?
You don’t know anything.
–from, Danny, King of the Basement by David S. Craig
Every spring, 8th graders at Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences (SAAS) go through an
experience called the Seattle Challenge. For three days they walk through the city, visit agencies
and organizations that provide help to people who may be without money, food, or a place to
stay, and work for local social service agencies. They are asked to feed themselves for a day on a
two-dollar budget. At night, they sleep in simulated shelters.
The program allows students to experience some of the feelings of frustration and discomfort
that many members of our urban community cope with on a regular basis. They also learn about
the resources available to help people.
At the end of the Challenge, students attend a debriefing session designed to help them process
their experiences. When they are asked to express what they felt they learned during the threeday
trip, some common themes emerge:
• They widen and change their ideas about who might be without a home and what it means
to be homeless.
• They learn that life can go on and they can learn a lot simply by not always being around a
familiar social group of family and friends.
• On the other hand, they also gain a new and increased appreciation of the life they have,
learning especially to value their education and relationships.
• They learn that privacy is a gift, which people with no home do not have, whether in
shelters or on the streets.
• They feel pride in knowing that they can endure without the usual comforts of life.
• They gain a new feeling of independence through the knowledge they could do hard
physical work.
One SAAS 8th grader said, “I will never look at the streets of Seattle the same way again.”
Continued on the next page...
16

SAAS modeled the Seattle Challenge after a program called Urban Plunge that Seattle Pacific
University (SPU) has been running for many years. Urban Plunge, a five-day immersion
experience that takes place during Christmas and Spring Breaks, is designed to give SPU
students a taste of what it is like to live without a home and what resources are available to
people in Seattle who do not have one. Nights are spent sleeping in a downtown church. During
the day participants walk the streets, learn from representatives of local social service agencies,
and experience some of the challenges that homelessness brings.
According to Scott Jackson, director of the Urban Plunge program:
The goal of Urban Plunge is to give students a personal experience that will equip them to
engage the homeless population with empathy and compassion. We hope that students will
leave with a better understanding of homelessness and its myriad of causes. We encourage
students to enter the experience humbly; students are not seeking an “extreme experience”;
rather, they seek to understand another individual’s perspective. It is also our hope that
students will also gain the knowledge and resources to get involved and serve in our local
community.
Of course, programs like Urban Plunge do not mean that participants have experienced
homelessness. As one participant in an Urban Plunge put it, “Urban plunging to experience
homelessness is like shoveling a sidewalk to experience Eskimo. No one becomes homeless
because they have something to gain from the experience.” Scott Jackson agrees:
We stress at the end of Plunge that we have no right to say, “I lived on the street for 5 days;
I know what it’s like!” Urban Plunge is only a small glimpse of what certain aspects of
homelessness are like, for instance, having no money, having to find your own food, and being
ignored by mainstream society. The goal of Urban Plunge is to help students develop empathy
and compassion. We hope our students will never know what it’s like to be homeless, but also
that they will have a better understanding of what this experience is like for others.
17

I WANT TO HELP
You don’t have to be rich to help someone who has no home. Think about all of the things that you
need during the day, and all the things you like to do. Kids who may not have a home right now
need and like those things, too. All you need is permission from a parent or teacher to get started:
• Look through your closet for clothes that you don’t wear anymore. Shelters provide
temporary places for people to stay and welcome most donations. Make sure the clothes are
clean and in good condition before you donate them.
• There are many other things you can collect from family and friends to donate to a shelter:
o toys, games and sports equipment
o gently used books
o unused shampoo and soap—sample-size ones are good, too
o good used coats are always needed
• Think of something you like to do or have a special talent for that you can use to earn some
money. If you like to cook, have a bake sale and give the money to a shelter. Maybe you
and your friends could put on a talent show in your neighborhood, or offer to walk your
neighbors’ dogs to make some money to donate.
• Ask your parents to help you plan and serve a meal at a shelter. Sometimes you can do
something as simple as make sandwiches to take the people living there. Check with the
shelter first to see what they need.
• For your next birthday party, instead of asking for presents, pick something you’d like
everyone to bring that you can donate to other kids, or ask your friends and family to bring
canned food that you can give to your local food bank.
• See if your class or school can organize a penny drive to raise money for a shelter, a canned
food drive to help keep the food banks filled, or collect school supplies for kids who need
them.
These are two places that would be happy to have you volunteer your time:
• Food Lifeline is a local organization that feeds hungry people. They have opportunities for
volunteers age 5 and up. http://www.foodlifeline.org/help/index.html
• Habitat for Humanity builds houses for and with families who need them. You have to be 16
to do any building, but they have other ways for kids from 5 and up to help.
http://www.habitat.org/youthprograms/
But the most important thing you can do to help is to
be kind to other kids. You can’t tell just by looking at
someone whether or not they have a home and you never
know what someone else’s life is like. No matter what
they might be struggling with privately, they are still kids
and need the same things all kids need—friends, a safe
place to play and learn, encouragement, fun and respect.
Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated.
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TALK YOURSELF INTO IT
In Danny, King of the Basement, Angelo feels like a loser because he has a hard time scoring goals
in hockey. Danny asks him why he can’t score.
ANGELO: Sometimes when I get a breakaway I go to shoot and then this thought
comes into my head that says “You’re going to blow it, you’re going to blow it”
and I blow it.
PENELOPE: That’s a brain freeze.
Penelope has the right answer. When anyone else calls Angelo a loser he gets mad, but he says
the same thing to himself all the time. Why does he do that?
Our brains are trained by what we think, and what we think changes the way we feel.
If we always think negative things about ourselves, our brains get stuck that way.
They freeze. Every time you tell yourself, “I can’t. It’s too hard. I don’t know how.”
you’re teaching your brain to believe that. Yes, sometimes you make mistakes and
you don’t win every game you play, but that doesn’t make you stupid or a loser. It just
makes you human. Part of growing up is learning to focus on your strengths and to
accept and work on your weaknesses.
Here are some good ideas from kidshealth.org about ways to unfreeze your brain.
• Make a list of the stuff you’re good at. It can be anything from drawing or singing to
playing a sport or telling a good joke. If you’re having trouble with your list, ask your mom
or dad to help you with it. Then add a few things to the list that you’d like to be good at. Your
mom or dad can help you plan a way to work on those skills or talents.
• Give yourself three compliments every day. Don’t just say, “I’m so
great.” Be specific about something good about yourself, like, “I was a
good friend to Jill today” or “I did better on that test than I thought I
would.” While you’re at it, before you go to bed every night, list three
things in your day that really made you happy or that you feel thankful
for.
• Remember that there are things about yourself you can’t change. You
should accept and love these things—such as skin color and shoe size—
because they are part of you.
• When you hear negative comments in your head, tell yourself to stop. Sometimes we
don’t realize that we are shifting from figuring out how to do something to telling ourselves
we can’t do it. When that happens, remember that list of things you’re good at. Whether you
are learning a new skill (karate, dance, a musical instrument) or getting better at something
you know how to do, it helps to get your brain on your side.
You can do it. Show your brain who’s boss.
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WORDS & PHRASES THAT MIGHT BE NEW TO YOU
This is a good one, Danny, first class, blue chip, solid gold. – excellent. The term “blue chip” comes
from the stock market and refers to companies that are reliable and less likely to cause investors
to lose money.
I will cancel your ballet classes, cancel your acting classes and I will stuff all your movies into the
Garberator. – garbage disposal (Canadian term)
My dogs are so sore, they’re barking. I’m bagged. The bag’s bagged. We’re both bagged.
dogs – feet
bagged – exhausted
This is a code red. I’m losing power. – emergency alert
DANNY: Who do you want to be?
ANGELO: Number 17 – Ryan Kesler.
DANNY: O.K.
ANGELO: No. I wanna be Jackie Chan.
Ryan Kesler – American professional ice hockey center for the Vancouver Canucks
Jackie Chan – a Hong Kong-born Chinese stuntman, actor and director whose stunts made
him an action-film star
I’m trying to do Grand Jete and Madam says VITE! VITE! VITE! And I get so freaked I jump like a frog.
Grand Jete – big leap. This French ballet term refers to a long horizontal jump, starting
from one leg and landing on the other.
VITE – quick. A French word.
Cripes, you sound like a caseworker. – a social worker who helps fix the problems of a person
or family
Truth, Danny. True blue. – faithful and loyal
You know what you get with a hundred Pennys? A Loonie.
Angelo is making a joke using two meanings of Penny. It’s short for
Penelope but also means one cent. 100 cents make a dollar. The
Canadian dollar coin has a picture of a loon on it so it’s sometimes
called a Loonie. Loonie is also short for lunatic, which means crazy.
So 100 pennies is a dollar, but 100 Pennys would be crazy.
DANNY: Who am I?
ANGELO: You’re Crosby.
Sidney Crosby – Canadian professional ice hockey player who is captain of the Pittsburgh
Penguins
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Going $hopping
In Danny, King of the Basement, Danny is often in charge of money and has to choose how to
spend it wisely.
Imagine you have just moved to a new city. Your mother asks you to go shopping and buy food
for dinner and things you would like for yourself. You have $40 to spend. Choose items to help
you start your life in a new place.
Circle the items you want to buy then use the space below to figure your total.
Bananas
$3.50
Book
$9.00
DVD
$6.00
Candy Bar
$1.05
Rain jacket
$17.00
Soap
$2.25
Puppy
$27.00
Bread
$2.75
Milk
$4.00
Eggs
$4.00
Tomatoes
$2.75
Chair
$22.00
Lettuce
$1.00
iPod
$30.00
$40.00
(total purchases)
- ______
If you have change left over, what will you do with it?
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Danny, King of the Basement
Classroom Activity: Imagination and Creative Play
Imagine if, in the middle of a hot, dry desert, a rain cloud suddenly appears…
Imagine & Create
Sitting in a large circle, invite students to picture a rain cloud in front of them. Together,
encourage them to describe what they see: what color are the drops and how do they
move? Are they sharp, fluid or unpredictable? Do they fall, pop or glide? What shape are
they? Are they blue, silver, white or clear? Create a picture as a group, not only seeing
the rain but feeling the coolness and relief it brings to the hot environment.
Experiment & Empower
Once a mental picture has been established, invite the students to individually create the
“storm.” Instruct them to spread out through the room and visualize the way their own
rain cloud expands and morphs. Lead the students to physically embody the raindrops
themselves, as well as the cloud, starting by breathing and making sounds and eventually
moving their bodies. Is each cloud slow or fast, high or low, fierce or peaceful?
Encourage the students to experiment with different levels, sounds and gestures. Using
musical or sound effect accompaniment can help them explore different types of
movement.
Reflect
Instruct the students to gradually allow their “storms” to lessen, until they evaporate.
Students physically and vocally embody this shift. Once the exercise has run its course,
let the students share their experience. Ask them to describe their rain cloud: what color
was it? Was it fast or slow? High or low? What were some similarities between their
creations and their classmates? What did they find funny, strange or exciting?
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BOOKLIST
For Children & Young Adults:
Fiction:
Becoming Naomi León
Pam Muñoz Ryan
How to Steal a Dog
Barbara O’Connor
Extra Credit
Andrew Clements
Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face
Paul Acampora
Wonder
R. J. Palacio
For Adults Working With Children
& Young Adults:
E is for Ethics: How to Talk to Kids about
Morals, Values and What Matters Most
Ian James Corlett
What the World Eats
Faith D’Aluisio; photographs by Peter Menzel
What does a week’s worth of food look
like in Japan? In Kenya? This collection of
photographs shows families from all over
the world, surrounded by a typical week’s
worth of groceries, highlighting differences in
nutrition and standards of living.
Sahara Special
Esmé Raji Codell
With the help of her unusual and amazing
5th grade teacher, Sahara finds the courage to
reveal her true self.
Nonfiction:
The Everything Kids’ Money Book: From Saving
to Spending to Investing – Learn All about
Money!
Diane Mayr
New Kid, New Scene: A Guide to Moving and
Switching Schools
Debbie Glasser, Ph.D. and Emily Schenck
Booklist prepared by Lupine Bybee Miller,
Seattle Public Library System
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HOW DID WE DO?
We’d love to know what was helpful to you as you read and used this guide. Please fill out and
return this short survey to us. We appreciate your feedback.
1. For which play/plays did you use the Educator Resource Guide?
□ Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat
□ The Edge of Peace
□ Danny, King of the Basement
□ Adventures with Spot
□ The Wizard of Oz
□ Crash
□ Dot & Ziggy
2. Was it easy for you to find and download the Educator Resource Guide?
□ Very □ Somewhat □ Not very □ Not at all
3. On a scale of 1 – 5 (5 being the highest), how useful was the Educator Resource Guide?
□ 1 □ 2 □ 3 □ 4 □ 5
4. What did you use from the Educator Resource Guide?
5. Is there something you would like to see included in the Educator Resource Guide that wasn’t here?
6. Which of the following best describes you? I teach:
□ Preschool □ Elementary school □ Middle school
□ High school
□ Home school
Other Comments:
THANK YOU!
MAIL to: or EMAIL: or FAX:
Seattle Children’s Theatre schoolshows@sct.org 206.443.0442
201 Thomas Street
Seattle, WA 98109
Attention: School Shows
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