behind the scenes — dreams of anne frank - Lewis Family Playhouse

B E H I N D T H E S C E N E S - - 

DREAMS OF ANNE FRANK 

A Resource Guide for Teachers and Parents 

SHO WTI ME S… 

JAN U ARY 18 – FE BR U ARY 2, 2008 

FRI D AY S – 7PM, SAT UR D AY S – 2 P M & 7 PM 

SC H OOL PER FS: T UE S, WE D, T HU R S @ 9:15 AM & 11:15 

AM 

ABO UT ANNE F RA N K… 

Annelise Marie Frank (1929-1945) was born in 

Frankfurt, Germany on June 12, 1929. Anne 

wanted to be a writer. On Anne’s thirteenth 

birthday, she received a diary that she named 

“Kitty.” Shortly after that, her sister, Margot, 

received a notice saying the she needed to report 

to work - meaning that she would be deported to a 

Nazi “work camp.” Fearing for their lives, the 

Franks decide to go into hiding along with Otto 

Frank’s (Anne’s father) business partner, Mr. Van 

Daan, and his family. The two families stayed in the 

“Secret Annex” (as Anne refers to it) for about two 

years until they were betrayed and were sent to 

Westerbork, a Dutch “transitcamp”. Later, Anne 

and Margot were taken to Bergen-Belson where 

they died of Typhus. Bergen-Belsen was liberated a 

month after their deaths. Miep Gies (one of the 

people who kept the group hidden) found Anne’s 

diary and gave it to Otto Frank after the war. Otto 

was the only survivor of the group of eight. Otto 

Frank published parts of Anne’s diary so that his 

daughter would be remembered. 

INSIDE THE G UI DE… 

Introducing the play……….………2 

Bringing the play into the 

classroom………………………………4 

Extending the learning………...…5 

About the Theatre.………………...6 

About the Library……………..…...8 

ABO UT T HE P LA YWRIG HT: 

Be rn ar d Ko p s is an award winning playwright who lives in 

London, England. He was born in the East End of London of 

Dutch-Jewish working class parents in 1926. He achieved 

recognition with his first play, THE HAMLET OF STEPNEY 

GREEN which was performed all over the world. Since then 

he has written more than forty plays for stage and radio, nine 

novels and seven volumes of poetry. His autobiography THE 

WORLD IS A WEDDING was published throughout the 

world and has recently been followed by his acclaimed second 

installment of his autobiography, SHALOM BOMB. 

Bernard has written twenty eight stage plays including: 

PLAYING SINATRA, commissioned and presented by the 

Croydon Warehouse Theatre; WHO SHALL I BE 

TOMORROW? produced at the Greenwich Theatre; 

DREAMS OF ANNE FRANK for the Polka Theatre, and since 

been performed across the world; CALL IN THE NIGHT, 

commissioned by The West Yorkshire Playhouse, was 

produced in April 1995; GOLEM, was produced at the Royal 

National Theatre Studio in 1996. JACOB AND THE GREEN 

RABBI was performed at the Young Vic in 1997. CAFÉ 

ZEITGEIST, was commissioned by the Phar Democracy 

Movement in 1998 and has been performed throughout 

Eastern Europe. Latest Plays: RIVERCHANGE: THE 

OPENING: ISAAC BABEL: RETURNING WE HEAR THE 

LARKS, ROGUES AND VAGABONDS and KNOCKING ON 

HEAVEN'S DOOR. 

Three volumes of his plays are available from Oberon Books, 

and he received a new major award from the Arts Council to 

write ROGUES AND VAGABONDS, his major work on the 

birth of Yiddish Theatre. 

VICTORIA GARDENS CULTURAL CENTER | HTTP://WWW.VGCULTURALCENTER.C OM 

12505 CULTURAL CENTER DRIVE, RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA 91739 | 909.477.2775 

OWNED AND OPE RATE D BY TH E CITY OF RANCH O CUCAMONGA 

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ABOUT THE PLAY AND THE PRODUCTION: 

A C T I – I N T R O D U C I N G T H E P L A Y 

DREAMS OF ANNE FRANK was commissioned by the Polka Theatre (a well regarded theatre for young audiences in London) in 1992 

to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Anne Frank going into hiding. Bernard Kops used Anne’s diary to investigate the 

imagination and dreams of an adolescent girl who wanted so much to be a writer. 

The playwright believed that it was important to make young people aware that there is still prejudice in the world, and that they have 

the power to change it for the better. Otto Frank, Anne’s father, in publishing the diary after the war, wanted young people to be able 

to read her diary to open their eyes to the lessons of the past, but also to the realities of the present. Anne’s diary, and this play about 

her life, celebrates the spirit of creativity that thrives despite the hatred and the horror that humans continue to expose upon the 

world. 

The play focuses on Anne’s imaginary world. She used her writing and her dreams to help herself cope with the reality of the world 

around her. We hope that our production of the play will serve as a vehicle for more discussion about the Second World War, about 

prejudice, and about how war affects young people today. As Vicky Ireland, the Artistic Director of the Polka Theatre put it, “DREAMS 

OF ANNE FRANK is a play of substance which treats its young audience as intelligent and perceptive and talks to them on their own 

terms.” 

It is also a very theatrical presentation of the story. Since the play is based so much on Anne’s imagination, the setting is not realistic. 

The set, with it’s stark wall full of doors and a ladder that lead nowhere, serves as a metaphor for Anne and her family’s confinement in 

the attic, with the thriving city of Amsterdam just outside their reach. The production brings Anne’s dreams and imagination to life and 

makes them disappear again in the blink of an eye. 

CHA RA CT E RS I N TH E P LA Y: 

Anne Frank - a 14 year old Jewish girl living in 

Amsterdam during World War II 

Otto Frank - Anne’s father 

Edith Frank – Anne’s mother 

Margot Frank –Anne’s older sister 

Mr. Van Daan – Otto Frank’s business partner 

Mrs. Van Daan – wife of Mr. Van Daan 

Peter Van Daan –Mr. & Mrs. Van Daan’s son 

Mr. Dussell - A dentist who comes to live in the 

Secret Annex with the two families 

Important Dates in Anne’s Life: 

1929 Anne Frank is born in Frankfurt, Germany 

1933 Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. 

Boycott of Jewish businesses begins 

The Frank Family leaves Germany and moves to Amsterdam, 

in Holland 

1934 Anne starts kindergarten 

1940 Otto Frank starts his spice business 

The German army invades Holland, and the occupation 

begins. 

1942 Anne receives her diary as a birthday present 

Margot receives papers ordering her to register for mandatory 

work. 

The family moves into the “Secret Annex” 

1944 The inhabitants of the Annex are betrayed and are sent to 

Westerbork transitcamp 

1945 Margot and Anne contract typhoid and die at Bergen-Belsen 

concentration camp. 




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VOCA BU LA RY REF E RE NC ED I N TH E P LAY 

E mig r ate: t o lea ve a p la ce , e sp e ci a ll y a na ti ve coun tr y, t o g o a nd l i ve e lse whe re . The Fra nk fa mily 

Le f t Ger many i n 19 33, afte r the el e ct ion of A d olf H itler , and em ig ra ted to H olla nd. Thi s b e ca me more 

d if f icul t for othe rs a s the year s p a sse d , sin ce s o many count rie s were not wil ling t o a c ce p t Je wis h 

imm ig ra nts . 

Th e Y el lo w s t a r: All Jew s were re q ui re d b y the N a zi s to wear a y e l lo w Star of Da v id a s a “b a d g e ” to 

id e ntif y the m 

Me in Ka mf p/Nu rem be rg L a ws : Hi tler wro te Me in Kamf p b e f o re he ca me t o p owe r a nd i t wa s p u b lished 

in 19 25. In the bo ok , he w rote ab out h is p h ilo so p hy about the “p ur ity ” of the Ger man race , and a lso 

e x p re sse d h is a nti- se mit ic f e e li ngs. In 19 35 H itl e r sig ned t he Nure mb e rg La w s, whi ch se t ou t th e rules 

f or “t he Pr otec tio n of G e r man Bl ood a nd Ge rma n H onou r” . Unde r the se law s. Citi ze n s c ould only b e of 

G e rman b lood , and Jew s we re d e f ined a s not be i ng of G e rma n blo od . 

Oc cu p at io n : t o in va d e a nd t a ke con tr ol of a c ou ntr y. The Ger man a rmy i nvaded Hol land in M a y of 

1940 . In o nly a f e w days, all imp orta nt are a s w e re se i ze d . The Pr ime M ini ste r, hi s Cab inet , and t he 

Dut ch R oy a l F a mi ly a ll f led to E ng land. So on t he coun try wa s unde r G e r man O cc upati on. 

Th e A l li es: The gr oup of c oun trie s, i ncl uding En g land and, l a ter , the U nited St a tes that were f ig hting 

a g a ins t Ger many. O tto Frank kept a map o n the wall i n the Ann e x e in wh ic h he ch a rted t he prog r e ss of 

the Allie s a nd w hi ch ma int a ined the fa mi ly ’s h op e of lib e ra tion . 

H elp in g H an ds : Thi s p hr a se i s me nti oned th rou g hout t he play and re f e rs t o the many th ou sand s of 

non- Jewi sh peop le wh o p ut the ir o wn l iv e s in da nger to save ot hers . 

Bet ra y al : to d e l ive r s ome b od y or s ome thi ng to a n enem y. The r e sid e nts of the Annexe were e v e ntual ly 

b e trayed (no one kno ws b y w ho) a nd the Ger ma ns se n t the m a l l to W e sterb ork , whi ch wa s a c oll e cti on 

p oint t o tr a nsp ort Jew s to t he exter mina tio n ca mp s. 

THEAT RE GOLDE N RU LES 

Before coming to the Victoria Garden’s Cultural Center’s Lewis Family Playhouse, you may want to prepare your students for the 

experience by going over the basic rules of theatre etiquette. 

• Please remain quiet (silent) and seated during the performance. Remember, the actors on stage can hear you. Of course, 

laughter and applause at appropriate times are always greatly appreciated! 

• Photography is not allowed inside the theatre at any time. This is not only against our union agreements, but can be 

dangerous to the performers. 

• Please leave all food, candy and drinks (including water) outside the theatre. Eating during a performance is very 

distracting and could be very messy. 

• Because the theatre will be dark during the performance, if you need to use the restroom, leave the theatre or come in 

late, please alert an usher who can help you find your way during a break in the action on stage. 

• PLEASE turn off all pagers, cell phones and other electronic devices as they may interfere with theatre equipment and 

everyone’s enjoyment of the performance. 

• After the show, please stay in your seats until an usher guides you out. Your bus may not be in the same place it 

dropped you off! 




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A C T I I – B R I N G I N G T H E P L A Y INTO T H E CLASSROOM 

DISC USSI O N QU ES TI ONS 

1. Prejudice is a preformed opinion, usually an 

unfavorable one, based on insufficient knowledge, 

irrational feelings, or inaccurate stereotypes. It 

often causes suffering, and can lead to violence. In 

Anne’s world, prejudice against the Jews caused 

millions of people to be killed. Sadly, there is still 

prejudice in the world. How do we learn 

prejudice? Where does it come from? Have you 

ever been a victim of prejudice, or seen an incident 

where someone was behaving in a prejudiced way? 

2. Discrimination is the unfair treatment of a 

person, a racial group or any minority. Prejudice 

which leads to the different treatment of a certain 

group of people is called discrimination. This can 

lead to certain groups not being served in shops or 

restaurants, or receiving medical treatment, or 

jobs, etc. Does discrimination happen today? What 

makes people discriminate against other people? 

3. Religion has often been the cause of 

misunderstandings and hatred between people. In 

extreme cases it can lead to war. In World War II, 

Hitler singled out the Jews as the cause of all that 

was evil and bad in Germany. Many ordinary 

people continued their daily routine without trying 

to stop the fascists. Could this happen today? 

AFTE R THE SH O W ACTI VITI ES 

Create your own diary : Anne wanted to be a 

writer and spent her days commenting on the world 

around her. Have students spend a week writing in 

their own diaries. What do they observe about their 

living situations? Have them describe their family 

activities and also their thoughts. How is a diary 

like a blog? (English/Language Arts: Writing 

Applications 2.0) 

Maps: Otto Frank kept a map of Europe on the 

wall of the Annexe to track the progression of the 

war. Have students create their own maps. These 

can either be of Europe (compare the Europe of 

Anne’s time to now), or of their own 

neighborhoods. Use different types of materials to 

create the maps. (Visual Arts: Creative Expression) 

Religion and Ritual: In the play, Anne dreams 

that she and Peter get married, and they have a 

Jewish wedding ceremony. Compare the customs, 

stories and rituals of various religions or ethnic 

groups. (History- Social Science: Historical 

research) 

Essay Contest: Here are some ideas for student 

essays based on ideas mentioned in the play: 

imprisonment, heroism, loyalty, family, friendship, 

first love, nightmares, trusting people, working 

together, where we live. (English-Language Arts: 

Writing) 

Music: The play uses music to help tell the 

audience when Anne is using her imagination. The 

songs are sometimes exaggerations of what is 

happening in “reality”. Have students create their 

own musical compositions based on a dream or 

other piece of their imagination. (Music-Creative 

Expression) 

We’d love to see your essays or diaries! Send them 

to us at and we’ll post some on our website! Email 

us at: info@lewisfamilyplayhouse.com 




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A C T I I I – E X T E N D I N G T H E L E A R N I N G 

MAKING HISTORY COME ALIVE: 

INTEGRATING THE PERFORMING ARTS INTO THE CURRICULUM 

Using the performing arts is an excellent way to stimulate creative approaches to the traditional curriculum areas. Using 

film and music in the classroom, visiting museums with your students or inviting guest speakers are not just ways to 

make the subject more fun, but actually do improve the ability of diverse learners to understand and retain the material. 

Whether in history, math, science or any “non-arts” based subject, the performing arts can provide an invaluable way to 

scaffold the information for those who struggle with the material. When planning your lessons, you might consider the 

following: 

♣ Inviting students to make a visual representation or recording of a friend or family member recounting their 

experiences during a historically significant time. 

♣ Have students draw their impressions of significant events occurring in assigned readings. 

♣ Invite students to make physical models to demonstrate scientific concepts. 

DID YO U K N OW? 

• The Victoria Gardens Library has over 1000 

books and media in the Performing Arts 

collections for Adults and Children. 

• The Library also offers extensive online 

resources and tools you can use to bring 

technology and arts into the classroom. 

• The Library and Playhouse present joint 

performing arts programming that supports 

state curriculum standards. 

Useful Websites…. 

Anne Frank Museum (www.annefrank.org) 

Your online portal to the Anne Frank Museum in 

Amsterdam. This multimedia site includes information 

about Anne’s life, death and the lasting legacy of her 

diary. It also includes links to international projects 

dedicated to informing and educating people about the 

Franks and ending discrimination. 

Anne Frank Center (www.annefrank.com) 

The Anne Frank Center, located in New York, offers 

information for students and teachers regarding Anne’s 

life. The site also lists current exhibits of Anne Frank 

memorabilia throughout the United States. 

Museum of Tolerance 

(www.museumoftolerance.com) 

The Museum’s site offers a multimedia introduction to 

contemporary and historic incidents of injustice. 

Located in Los Angeles, the site also offers information 

for students and teachers including curriculum support 

and opportunities to speak with Holocaust survivors. 




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A B O U T T H E T H E A T R E…… 

N O T E S F R O M T H E A U T H O R: 

Excerpt from author’s introduction in the Methuan student edition of the play DREAMS OF ANNE FRANK: 

It is not surprising that young people identify with Anne Frank. Many young people feel trapped and locked within 

themselves, are trying to grow up and make sense of the senseless happenings going on in the world of adults 

happening around them… 

But why was I chosen to dramatize Anne Frank?…in 1904 my father left his Jewish community in Amsterdam in order 

to try to make a living in London. He settled in the East End and married my mother whose parents were also very 

poor Jews who hoped to find a better life in London…The poverty lasted until the outbreak of the Second World War. I 

was thirteen years old at the time; roughly the same age as Anne Frank. But whereas I was allowed the luxury and joy 

of growing up and marrying and having a career and a family, children and grandchildren, Anne remains forever locked 

in time; an eternal adolescent. 

As a child, I often used to wonder about my relatives back in Holland and sometimes we would get news of them. I 

dreamed of going there and was proud of my Dutch heritage. Just before the war broke out, a message arrived from 

Amsterdam. It begged us all to return to Holland. They were certain Holland would remain neutral. We were assured 

that we would be safer there and would escape the horrors of the inevitable approaching war. But our poverty in 

London was intense and we used to go to the soup kitchen every evening, just to survive. My father, however, was 

now fired with the idea that we all had to return to Holland and safety. To make this possible, he needed just fifty 

pounds to pay the fare for the entire family. He tried to borrow the money. He tried to beg the money. He tried 

everywhere, everyone. But money was in short supply. He failed and I still remember him wailing. Thus we were 

thwarted from returning to Amsterdam, and thus we survived the death camps. 

All our Dutch relatives went to their deaths. They evaporated into silence, forever. If my father had succeeded in 

borrowing the money, we all would have made the same journey as Anne; we would have been rounded up and sent 

to the transit camp at Westerbork and then to Auschwitz… 

The work is a total imaginative creation. All the events and dialogue during the action are imagined and subjective. I 

created the characters, relationships and events purely from the depths of my mind. Memory has no absolute 

chronology. But how to find the real Anne? The flesh-and-blood Anne? The girl who lived and breathed beneath the 

legend? How to make a living legend become human? When Anne entered that attic in June 1942 she also entered 

history. But I was interested in my Anne. The Anne of flesh and blood. The subjective Anne. The Anne of dreams. This 

is why I was not interested in dramatizing the diary. I needed to take another route, to find that specific human being, 

to strip away the deification and bring her down to earth. In order to do this, I needed dream logic, movement and 

song. I needed to create subjective events and personalities. If Anne could not move around in the real world of 

Amsterdam, she could move around in her mind. There, within her imagination, all is possible. Anne can travel to the 

Hollywood she dreamed about. She can go ice-skating; she can journey into the Black Forest in search of the 

gingerbread house; she can converse directly with Winston Churchill. She can get married. She can even assassinate 

Hitler and save her people. She can plead with the children of the world to bear witness to the madness of human 

beings…. 

Dreams of Anne Frank is not a dramatization of her diary. Rather, it is an original way of focusing upon the girl, to 

bring alive that unquenchable spirit and show how she managed to be creative in the darkest of times. To write the 

play, I went to the facts of her life for the spine of reality and to my imagination for the subjective matrix, the 

foundation of my drama. 




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THEATRE VOCABULARY 




Actor: A person, male or female, who performs a role in a play. 

Character: The personality or part an actor re-creates. 

Characterization: The development and portrayal of a 

personality through thought, action, dialogue, costuming and 

make-up. 

Context: The interrelated conditions in which a play exists or 

occurs. 

Design: The creative process of developing and executing 

aesthetic or functional designs in a production, such as 

costumes, lighting, sets, and makeup. 

Monologue: A long speech by a single character. 

Motivation: A character’s reason for doing or saying things in a 

play. 

Subtext: Information that is implied by a character but not 

stated by a character in dialogue, including actions and thoughts. 

Style: The distinctive and unique manner in which a writer 

arranges words to achieve particular effects. 

Premiere: The first time a play is performed in front of an 

audience. The MainStreet Theatre Company is proud to be 

doing the U.S. premiere of this play, which has been performed 

all over Europe, but not in the United States. 

MORE ABOUT THE THEATRE… 

THEATRE RELATED ACTIVITIES: 

♣ The play uses dreams and music to help to tell 

Anne’s story. Have students create their own 

short play using a dream or a story as a starting 

off point (Theatre: Creative Expression ) 

♣ The play takes place in the early 1940’s. Discuss 

the style the actors use to convey this to the 

audience. Have students perform monologues or 

scenes which incorporate the mannerisms that 

might be used in different time periods. (Theatre: 

Historical and Cultural Context) 

♣ Dreams of Anne Frank is not a conventional 

play. It uses many theatrical elements, such as 

music and lighting as the story moves from 

“reality” to what is only in Anne’s imagination. 

Have students discuss or write about the various 

elements used in the play to take us into different 

worlds. (Theatre: Artistic Perception) 

♣ In Anne’s imagination, Mrs. Van Daan becomes a 

witch and Mr. Dussell becomes a scary man in the 

street. Have students improvise exaggerated 

versions of themselves or their classmates. 

(Theatre: Creative Expression) 

♣ Write a review of the production, discussing the 

costumes, scenery and performances. 

(Theatre:Aesthetic Valuing) 

THE LEWIS FAMILY PLAYHOUSE has 536 seats, on 2 levels. The part of the theatre that the audience sees is called 

the “Front of House”. The Front of House has many components. When you first walk into the theatre, you enter 

the Theatre Lobby. The Lewis Family Playhouse lobby has been designed to look like a street, called Main Street. 

In the lobby you will also find the box office, which is where you buy tickets. 

In order to take your seat, you enter the auditorium. The Lewis Family Playhouse auditorium has two levels: The 

orchestra is downstairs, and the mezzanine (also called the balcony) is upstairs. The ushers are the people who tear 

your ticket and show you to your seat. They will also give you a printed program, which has information about the 

actors and the other people responsible for bringing the play to life. 




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UPCOMING EVENTS 

Saturdays, 2-4pm 

Family Saturdays 

Join us for a variety of fun family activities every 

Saturday afternoon. (for the family) 

February 9, 2008, 2-4pm 

Happy Birthday, Stinky Cheese Man! 

We’re celebrating the best in offbeat children’s 

literature! (for the family) 

February 28, 2008, 7pm 

Music Jam Fest 

Bring your instruments and jam with us or just sit back 

and relax and enjoy the music. (for Teens) 

March 27, 2008, 7pm 

Spring Break Movie Night 

Take a break and watch movies with us! (for Teens) 

LIBRARY TO U R IN FO RMAT IO N 

As part of your class visit to the Lewis Family 

Playhouse, why not take a tour of the Victoria Gardens 

Cultural Center Library? The second of two physical 

branches of the library (RCPL also offers an extensive 

virtual library), the facility has over 100,000 volumes 

housed in a beautiful, 23,000 square foot facility. 

Among the facility’s unique features are its 20 seat 

technology center, teen study area and a special 

performing arts collection. 

Pre- and post- show tours last approximately 15 

minutes and are scheduled on a first come, first served 

basis. To arrange a tour, call Casey Macarello, Adult 

Services Librarian at 909.477.2720 ext. 5064. 

This Curriculum guide was prepared by the staffs of the Rancho 

Cucamonga Public Library & the Lewis Family Playhouse. For 

questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact Mireya 

“Murry” Hepner at 909.477.2775 

A B O U T T H E LI B R A R Y 

BOOKS @ THE LIBRARY 

If you have any questions about any library 

resources, call the reference desk at 

909.477.2720. 

Diary of Anne Frank 

YA Frank 

The original unedited diary kept by Anne during her 

time in hiding. 

The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank 921 Frank 

Based on the documentary of the same name, this 

book features eyewitness accounts of Anne’s life in the 

camps. 

Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the 

Woman Who Helped Hide the Frank Family 

921 GIES 

Written by Miep Gies, upon whom the Frank’s relied to 

shield them from the Nazi’s, she gives insight into the 

daily life and struggles of the family and her own 

difficulties outwitting the occupying German forces. 

Anne Frank and Children of the Holocaust 

J 940.53 LEE 

The life of Anne Frank before and during her life in 

hiding is expanded upon as the author recounts the 

lives of other children who suffered similar fates, 

survived and even attempted dangerous acts of 

heroism in the face of Nazi persecution. 

Memories of Anne Frank 

949.2 GOL 

Anne Frank’s story, as told through the eyes of Hannah 

Goslar, one of Anne’s closest friends and one of the 

last people to see her alive. 




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behind the scenes — dreams of anne frank - Lewis Family Playhouse

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