War of the Worlds

War
l.a. theatre works
of
| susan albert
the
loewenberg,
Worlds
producing director
by h.g. wells | adapted by howard koch
teacher’s guide
college of fine and applied arts
university of illinois
at urbana-champaign
2009-10 youth series

inside
about the performance
stagepage materials & additional resources
about the performance 2
how to use this guide 2
stagepage materials
& additional resources 3-11
war of the worlds
by H.G. Wells
adapted by howard koch
thursday-friday, September 17-18
10am
colwell playhouse
approximately 60 minutes
ILINOIS LEARNING STANDARDS
Grades: 7-12
English Language Arts
Fine Arts
Social Science
Social/Environmental Learning
campaign for young audiences
Monsignor Edward J. Duncan
Phyllis and Kyle Robeson
JSM Development
WCIA 3
youth series programming
Dorothy Buzzard
Karen Grano
Lisa and William Libman
Sybil and Louis Mervis
Prudence and Bernard Spodek
Champaign West Rotary
about l.a. theatre works
L.A. Theatre Works (LATW ), America’s premier radio theatre company for the past two
decades, broadcasts its productions on NPR, XM Satellite Radio, the BBC, CBC, Voice
of America, and many other national and international stations. This innovative group
provides millions of listeners with the finest dramatic literature from Eugene O’Neill,
David Henry Hwang, Athol Fugard, Wendy Wasserstein, Neil Simon, David Mamet,
Charlayne Woodard, Arthur Miller, and numerous other contemporary playwrights and
authors of the classics. The LATW has toured major cities throughout the United States
with its theatre-style performances that allow audiences to deeply connect to this
stillburgeoning genre in a setting ripe for spontaneity and animated with live sound
effects.
The LATW ’s Audio Theatre Collection includes more than 400 works from theatre
standards to edgy new pieces and is available in over 8,000 libraries. These sophisticated
performances feature fine actors such as Paul Giamatti, Kate Burton, Patrick Stewart,
and Laura Linney in productions with high-quality sound. More than 2,000 high schools
nationwide use the LATW ’s recordings and study guides to teach language, literature,
history, and civics through the Alive & Aloud educational program. For more information
on the LATW , visit: http://www.latw.org.
about the author
The English author Herbert George Wells is sometimes credited as the “Father of
Science Fiction” for works such as The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, The War of the
Worlds, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. In addition to his more than 100 publications, he’s
recognized for his contributions as a historian, socialist, pacifist, futurist, and educator.
Some people even view him as a prophet since his 1898 novel The War of the Worlds
foreshadowed advanced technology, world wars, the nuclear age, and combat strategies
including aerial bombing, tank warfare, and chemical weapons—and he would live to see
all of these by the time he died in 1946. His increasing skepticism about the nature of
humanity and his unfulfilled visions of utopian society led him toward the end of his life
to cast a human future as dark and pessimistic and his human characters as ruled more
by instinct than by intellect. Adaptations of his science fiction for the screen continue
into the present, with The Island of Dr. Moreau in 1996 featuring Marlon Brando as
Dr. Moreau, The Time Machine in 2002, and the 2005 box office hit War of the Worlds
directed by Steven Spielberg and staring Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning. For more
information on Wells, head to: http://bit.ly/ThlyM.
war of the worlds
The students’ StagePage says:
“At 8:50pm, a huge, flaming object, believed to be a meteorite, fell
on a farm in the neighborhood of Grovers Mill, New Jersey, 22 miles
from Trenton.”
Imagine if you heard these words coming from your television or
car radio. Minutes later, you’re informed that it’s not a meteorite
at all but a large metal cylinder that’s emitting an eerie hum. And a
mysterious scraping sound rises from deep within. Next a reporter
breaks in with these stunning exclamations: “The top is beginning to
rotate like a screw! The thing must be hollow!”
This live radio play conveys gripping suspense, fluttering panic, and
sensational developments as eyewitness accounts of a Mars invasion
flood in. Sobering reflections on present-day environmental damage,
military conflicts, and advancing technology take equal billing with
the breakneck pace, the agility of the actors, and the awe-inspiring
soundscape in this drama that allows your own imagination to carry
you away.
and discuss how the same scenes would look if the characters were
acting out their scripts while they were filming a movie instead of
performing a radio play. You may need to prompt them to notice
that while the characters are being radio performers, they’re relying
on their voices rather than their bodies and facial expressions to
portray the action and convey their emotions. Because of these
characters’ approach to this type of material, you could ask students
to speculate about what the actors in the radio drama adaptation of
War of the Worlds might do that would differ from what the actors
did on the screen in the 2005 Steven Spielberg-directed film.
Your students won’t see the actors making full-bodied dramatic
movements, as they obviously would in a typical play or movie, so
they’ll need to be prepared to key into their active listening skills. It
might be useful for them to hear part of a radio play in advance or
even to listen to a chapter from an audio book in class. You could ask
them to pay special attention to the tones, pitches, and emotions
that the human voice can convey. In addition to enhancing their
powers of observation, focusing on the actors’ speech and nuances
of expression will increase their knowledge about the functions of
literary techniques such as character development, plot, setting, and
theme.
For more detailed information on radio dramas and the Golden Age
of radio, consult the Encyclopedia of Radio Communications (New
York: Routledge, 2003). This work (also available in an electronic
edition that can be accessed through the Urbana Free Library)
edited by Christopher Sterling and Michael Keith and produced
in association with the Museum of Broadcast Communications in
Chicago covers the history of radio dramas, the personalities linked
to the genre, illustrations from behind the scenes, and the evolution
of the field. The museum itself is home to 5,000 radio programs, and
its online archives can be searched (after free registration) to find the
individual programs your students would be interested in hearing:
http://www.museum.tv.
You may also want to check out some of the original broadcasts by
the Mercury Theatre on the Air: http://www.mercurytheatre.info.
Sirius Satellite Radio offers a free online trial to its catalog of shows
from this period, like The Shadow: http://bit.ly/fwa3D.
printed by
2
how to use this guide
The suggested activities are designed for grades 7-12 but can easily be modified and
adapted for your classroom and the differing abilities of your students. Please feel free to
photocopy the materials in this guide for classroom use. We have included a StagePage
folder for each student attending the performance. If you find that you need additional
materials, simply call the Engagement Office at Krannert Center (217.333.9727), and we’ll
get them out to you as quickly as possible.
StagePage activities and materials in this Teacher’s Guide have been written with the
state goals for learning in mind. These activities help students reach one or more of the
goals in the arts and other curricular areas. While the performance experience itself is
a primary way for students to achieve the state goals in the arts, both pre- and post
performance activities in the classroom can significantly enrich a student’s encounter with
this production.
Even if you’ve never had an opportunity to be in the audience
during a live radio theatre performance, the genre might not be as
new to you as you may think. Perhaps you’ve seen the 2006 movie
A Prairie Home Companion featuring Tommy Lee Jones, Garrison
Keillor, Lindsay Lohan, John C. Reilly, and Meryl Streep or maybe you
remember the radio play scene in the 1973 movie The Way We Were
featuring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. Watching these films
will give you a glimmer of what will happen during this production
of War of the Worlds when you’ll feel the energy of the performers,
sense the spontaneous moments, and let your imagination get
caught up in the amazing coordination of the actors, movements, and
sounds.
For a slightly different flavor, try the web sites for the BBC, which
continues to produce original radio dramas on its Radio 3, Radio 4,
and Radio 7 stations:
http://bit.ly/fSWek
http://bit.ly/fp1Dr
http://bit.ly/1UduQa.
Your students are probably most accustomed to the natural action of
filmed drama and listening intently to talk radio, so it may be helpful
for them to be prepared for this different performance experience.
Maybe they’d enjoy watching a scene from A Prairie Home
Companion or seeing Katie and her friends put on their show in The
Way We Were. Afterward, you could let them dissect these vignettes
3

all things change
The students’ StagePage says:
In his lifetime, H.G. Wells was renowned more for his politics than
for his writing. A staunch socialist, he believed that eventually all
nations would unite in a world state that could end divisions between
countries and ethnicities, allow science to flourish, and end every
religion and democracy. Because he believed that people should
achieve success through their own merits rather than through
favoritism or privileges of birth, he wanted only those with adequate
intellect and awareness of social and political issues to make world
decisions. In fact, after the rise of totalitarianism under Lenin, Marx,
and Stalin and the bloodshed of two world wars, he became so
pessimistic about humanity that he envisioned its annihilation as a
positive step.
With his worldview, it’s easy to see why Wells would turn to science
fiction in The Time Machine, The Invisible Man (not to be confused
with Ralph Ellison’s novel with a similar title), and The Island of
Doctor Moreau. When War of the Worlds was written in 1898, the
Victorian era was awash in imperialism, repression, earnestness, and
tremendous scientific progress. The Industrial Age had moved much
of the Western economy away from agrarian life to one based on
trade and manufacturing. It was a time for booming cities, the rise
of the middle class into a vibrant and economically powerful group,
questions about women’s roles, segregation, efforts to reform social
institutions, and war.
It was the period of Freud, Darwin, and Swan Lake. The Spanish-
American War was surging while steam-powered model airplanes and
gliders were being flown. The bubonic plague was killing thousands
each year in China and India. It was the time of Dracula and Oscar
Wilde’s release from prison for “gross indecency” with men and
his descent into ill health and death. Marie Curie and Pierre Curie
announced the discovery of radium and El service began in Chicago.
The British Empire stretched to encompass nearly one-fifth of the
world’s lands and nearly one-quarter of its population. The Boston
Marathon was run for the first time and the first uniform bankruptcy
laws were established in the United States. Cracker Jack, Birkenstock
sandals, and Jell-O were introduced.
For some people in the West, this time of dynamic change and
increased technology had ushered in a society of wealth, serenity,
and security that set aside a reliance on the natural world. For others,
this time had brought poverty, fear, and destruction that irreparably
damaged the natural world. Which view is dominant in War of the
Worlds? Which view is dominant in your mind about today’s world?
A free electronic version of the novel The War of the Worlds is
available for download from Project Gutenberg:
http://bit.ly/1ChHZA.
4
H.G.Wells
Local Connection
The University of Illinois’ Rare Book and Manuscript Library is home
to the original manuscript of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. The
collection includes the handwritten version, the first typeset copy
with annotations, and correspondence about the text. The Rare Book
and Manuscript Library is located at 346 Main Library at 1408 West
Gregory Drive in Urbana, Illinois. For additional information, call
217.333.3777 or visit: http://bit.ly/3sPyS2.
Study guides and lesson plans for The War of the Worlds and other
works by H.G. Wells can be found at: http://bit.ly/j4Szt.
Classroom Activity Idea
As a class project, students could compare values in the Victorian
period with those of modern society. A tangible way to make this
comparison is through an examination of Sears and Roebuck catalogs
from the 19th and early 20th centuries and current Sears catalogs
or Sears.com. A class discussion regarding the transformations that
the Industrial Revolution introduced as outlined in the students’
StagePage is a great way to start. Students will need to have a firm
grasp on the basic innovations of the Industrial Revolution, including
merchandising and the standardization of products. Have the class
focus on mainstream products (like laundry equipment or grocery
items), clothing and style, advertising methods, and target audiences.
Direct students to describe Victorian-era values and give examples
from the catalogs for their points. Ask the students:
• What Victorian values are still prevalent in society today?
• How did mass production affect society in the Victorian era?
• How did those changes lead to the values we hold today?
• How do marketing techniques in the two eras differ?
• What are the positive and negative long-term effects of the
technology introduced during the Industrial Revolution?
• What are the positive and negative long-term effects of the
technology-driven society we have today?
Vintage Sears and Roebuck catalogs can be located by consulting
with a librarian at The Urbana Free Library or a reference librarian at
the circulation desk at the University of Illinois Main Library.
“radio thriller panics nation”
The students’ StagePage says:
This actual headline from the Bismarck Tribune conveys only an
inkling of the events that transpired around Halloween in 1938.
Orson Welles—best known for his masterpiece film Citizen
Kane—directed and narrated the Mercury Theatre on the Air in an
adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds that was
broadcast on the evening of October 30. Although this radio play
began with the usual introduction of the theatre series and although
listeners would have known Welles’ name and distinctive bass voice
from other radio productions (he was the voice of The Shadow, an
extremely popular vigilante who would also star in comics, television
shows, and films), apparently not everyone understood what they
were about to hear.
The play began simply enough with Welles reading directly from
the introduction of the novel, and then a series of news bulletins
interrupted what appeared to be live music being played at several
locations around the country. As the fictionalized reports from the
field began increasing in frequency and as the tension mounted,
listeners were lured more deeply into the story. Welles and his actors
and technicians at the studio inserted sound effects and introduced
new characters as though the actions were occurring in real time—
and yet they also interrupted the broadcast several times to identify
the program as part of the Mercury Theatre series. Nevertheless, the
New York police and the New Jersey State Police received so many
panicked calls that they issued bulletins announcing that the “news
story” was fictional. Dozens of people rushed into police stations to
ask for instructions on where to evacuate to safety from the invaders.
Some even fled into the streets or nearby parks in an attempt to
escape the danger—and with their most precious belongings in hand.
The New York Times received 875 calls, and the phone lines were as
snarled as the roads when families in New Jersey and New York tried
to drive away from the Martians. A few people even grabbed gas
masks as they waited for the inevitable encroachment of the alien
attackers.
Once the word that this was only a fictional program became
widespread, this panic turned to outrage, and that outrage soon
led to more action. The newly established Federal Communications
Commission, which still maintains oversight of what is broadcast on
the radio and on television, received more than 600 letters about
the program. Thousands wrote CBS and the Mercury Theatre (and
hundreds of others even wrote NBC, which had no involvement in
the radio play). The commission did investigate the events but chose
not to sanction any stations for carrying the drama (unlike the TV
stations that were fined for broadcasting the Super Bowl during
Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” in 2004—although
those fines were appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, so far
the legalities of the fines have not been determined).
if I didn’t know what I was doing . . . but I’m afraid it was about as
hypocritical as anyone could possibly get!”
• Which story about Welles’ plan do you believe? Why?
• What elements of the radio play made it believable at the time?
How about today?
• How did Welles and his colleagues manipulate the audience?
• What “news stories” have you initially believed to be true but were
actually false? How did you first hear the stories?
• What elements make modern hoaxes (like e-mail scams) believable?
orson welles
War of the Worlds caused mass hysteria not only throughout the
United States when it hit the airwaves. A Spanish version of the
radio play produced in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, 11 years
later sparked extensive rioting that led to several deaths. Perhaps
the unintended consequences of both broadcasts point toward
our own daily interactions with overstimulated (not to mention
overstimulating) and fragmented media. Careful examination of the
information we gather from television, radio, and news web sites is
necessary, but perhaps more insidious is the misinformation that can
so easily spread through e-mail scams and social networking sites
including Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.
The day after the broadcast, Welles announced to reporters that
he and the production team were “deeply shocked and deeply
regretful” at causing such confusion and disruption but pointed
out the numerous ways that the theatrical nature of the program
had been made clear to listeners. In an interview with David Frost
in 1970, he elaborated that his intent was not to terrify people, yet
in 1975, he implied to Tom Snyder that this in fact was his plan all
along: “There are pictures of me made about three hours after the
broadcast looking as much as I could like an early Christian saint. As
5

Classroom Activity Idea
Articles published by Time magazine and Skeptical Inquirer looked
back at the Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast of War of the
Worlds to examine if a similar media-induced panic could occur in
our current society. Have your students read both online articles and
then voice their own opinions during class. The discussion could be
broadened to identify present-day media hoaxes and scams they
may not initially recognize, such as misinformation about swine flu,
misconceptions spread during the presidential campaigns of 2008,
or false stories that still exist surrounding the events of September
11 or the Columbine shootings. Now that many young (and not
that young) adults readily admit to obtaining the majority of their
news from The Daily Show and The Onion, your class could also
debate what knowledge they gain—perhaps a better appreciation
for multiple sides of an issue—and lose—aside from accuracy—from
relying on these outlets.
The Time article “Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds”:
http://bit.ly/3ti2PG.
The Skeptical Inquirer article “The Martian Panic Sixty Years Later”:
http://bit.ly/117LC9.
To gather more evidence about Orson Welles for this activity, head
to: http://www.war-ofthe-worlds.co.uk
http://www.wellesnet.com.
Dave Cullen covered the Columbine shootings from the beginning,
and his book Columbine is a nine-year attempt to get the facts
straight: http://www.davecullen.com.
For alternate takes on the events and consequences of September
11, students could view both Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore (but
note that the film is rated R for violent images and strong language)
and Why We Fight by Eugene Jarecki (which addresses warfare
including the fighting in Iraq from a broader perspective):
http://bit.ly/EUwWi
http://bit.ly/lI1In.
The Daily Show’s web site has clips that students could view and
critique: http://www.thedailyshow.com.
The Onion has text as well as video content that could contribute
material for this activity: http://www.theonion.com.
war of the 21st century
The students’ StagePage says:
You are Orson Welles and want to offer a version of the War of the
Worlds radio drama for the 21st century. What would you do?
Some things to consider:
• Would your audience believe that Martians were invading the
earth? If not, what kind of invasion might they believe?
• Would the United States be the most appropriate or appealing
setting?
• What medium would be most likely to get your audience to
respond in the way you’d like? Do you need words only? Images?
Sound?
• How would you disseminate your new version of the story?
Obviously, this activity could be shaped to take a variety of forms
that would best suit your students, most aptly connect with other
topics you’re currently covering, or allow for the greatest bursts of
creativity. Options range from a brief classroom discussion, studentdirected
original radio play performed in front of a live audience, and
a broadcast on YouTube to podcasts from small groups, a live blog as
the events enfold, and a special Facebook page covering the action.
Students may even want to post their reenactments or revisions on
FanFiction.net for peer feedback. On this forum, fanfic writers and
readers share their love for original fiction, and students could garner
tremendous encouragement and receive ample suggestions from the
enthusiastic contributors.
Be sure to energize your students to think about this activity in
atypical ways—you might ask them to specifically ponder how they
would incorporate today’s technology into their projects. Here’s one
fresh idea: Two University of Chicago students have partnered with
Penguin Books to rewrite classic novels and plays through tweets of
140 or fewer characters. You could challenge your students with a
War of the Worlds Twitterature activity—who could make the scariest
news tweet or best capture the atmosphere? Is it possible to convey
the drama of the entire radio play with just a handful of characters?
breaking news
The students’ StagePage says:
As we discovered during the events of September 11, despite the
inroads of technology, the most powerful means of communication
can easily be overwhelmed during a national emergency. Even two
major news stories occurring at once—like the death of Michael
Jackson while the unrest in Iran boiled following that country’s
election—can bring widespread outages on Twitter, Google, and
elsewhere across the Internet.
When War of the Worlds was first aired, people primarily received
breaking news through the radio. Television had been invented but
there were no stations broadcasting yet, newspapers were published
only once or twice daily, and phone calls were an inefficient way to
gather information.
Today, of course, there are multiple options for news: RSS feeds,
television broadcasts, Twitter updates, news web sites, e-mail alerts,
phone texts, radio announcements, and more. What’s your choice?
Pick a major national or international event from the past and reflect
on your interaction with news outlets.
• How did you first learn about the event?
• Did you tell someone else? If so, at what point and how did you tell
that person? If not, why didn’t you?
• Did you have difficulty communicating during or after the event
because of jammed phone lines, web outages, or your own
emotions?
• Did you receive any inaccurate information that you passed on to
others?
• Did your experiences during that event affect how you approach
significant news events today?
Imagine if you were sitting at home doing homework and received an
e-mail alert that a plane had crashed in downtown Chicago. Would it
seem like fiction?
On the evening of December 8, 2005, thousands of people received
just that message when a Southwest Airlines jet slid off the runway
at Midway Airport (not downtown), smashed through a barrier
fence, and stopped on a neighboring street. As it cut a treacherous
path through blowing flakes and seven inches of snow piled on the
ground, the plane charged across a busy intersection, crushed a car,
killed a six-year-old boy, and injured 10 other people.
If you had received that initial message, would you have believed it?
What would you have done next?
Classroom Activity Idea
If you would like to focus this activity as a collaboration instead of as
an individual reflection exercise, you could choose one major news
story for your class to concentrate on. The possibilities are endless:
the 2008 bombings in India, China hosting the Summer Olympics,
presidential election night 2000, or even something from more
distant history like the invasion of Normandy. Have your students
research all web, print, television, and social networking sources on
the subject chosen—or divide them into groups to tackle each genre.
As a class, examine each source for accuracy, honesty, and reliability.
See if your students uncover any myths or incorrect information that
gets perpetuated or debunked. Did your class find certain sources or
types of sources more reliable than others? Were your students able
to detect any bias in a source that affected how the story was told?
For a more formalized lesson plan created by the New York Times
that’s based on telecommunications technology during September
11, visit: http://bit.ly/LNI8m.
For insight into urban legends, myths, and critical thinking, students
could turn to Barbara Mikkelson and David Mikkelson, who’ve won
two Webby Awards for their efforts to combat fallacies, rumors, and
gossip on a wide range of topics (note that not all material will be
suitable for your students): http://www.snopes.com.
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry is committed to investigating
pseudo-scientific claims through critical thinking, thorough scientific
inquiry, and reason-based arguments. Its publication Skeptical
Inquirer regularly takes on topics like the efficacy of acupuncture,
dinosaur extinction, ghost sightings, and religion:
http://www.csicop.org/si.
6
Helpful Hint: For their live dramas—whether they’re recorded as
podcasts, performed in front of an audience, or transmitted via
another medium—remind your students to consider designating a
sound effects operator and stage manager so that they’ll have great
coordination on when to make sounds, speak their lines, and switch
roles.
7

news archive
The students’ StagePage says:
If the War of the Worlds had been a broadcast of actual events
as they happened, the evening would have unfolded a little like
the events of September 11 or the Columbine and Virginia Tech
shootings did. Information would have been sketchy at first, on-thescene
reports would then have filled in some details, some facts
would have gotten garbled as news sources struggled to sift through
conflicting information, and the full sequence of events would have
been revealed only later when the event was over.
Pick one of those events (or another prominent national or
international event, such as the start of the second gulf war or
Hurricane Katrina) and examine first your own recollections.
• Write a paragraph or two about everything you recall. Be sure
to include your reactions to hearing significant details, your
emotions during the time, sights or sounds that are still particularly
memorable, and any personal connection to the event.
• Research the news reports of the event and compare your own
account. What details differ? What important points did you forget
or did the news stories overlook?
• Did reading about the event cause you to remember anything new
or change your feelings about it?
• Follow the reporting over time. One hour after the event began
or one day later or one week later, what information has changed
or emerged?
• How have your emotions about the event changed over time?
• How did this event affect your life? What effect did it have on your
family or school?
Your students might find more personal connections to this project if
they target an event closer to home, such as the recent Rod Blagojevich
indictment, the allegations of impropriety in the University of Illinois
admissions process, or a current hot topic in your local community or
school. This activity could stretch beyond a class discussion and into a
sharing exercise in which students interview one another or people they
know who were affected by the event, a journal writing exercise, or a
significant research project.
If your students would enjoy exploring the more distant past rather
than the present, you might turn this activity into an autobiographical
research project. Students could conduct family interviews, research
online, or head to the archives at their library to learn about local,
national, and international news headlines during the year (or even the
day) they were born. Their research could be turned into a newspaper
with photos and the appropriate advertisements for the period, a web
site with links to pop culture trends at the time, or a podcast to cover
the highlights.
what’s that sound?
The students’ StagePage says:
“Boiling oatmeal sounds like bubbling volcanic lava.”
—Fred Ginsburg
You’re familiar with the soundtrack for a film or TV show—this features
songs like “Take a Chance on Me” from Get Smart or “Down to Earth”
from WALL-E or “Signal Fire” from Spider-Man 3—and you also know
about the score, which is the background music you hear behind the
action in Star Wars or the raucous moments in Evan Almighty or during
your cruise down a Monte Carlo highway in Need for Speed. The
grinding of tank treads, swooshing light sabers, Godzilla’s roar, explosive
cannon fire, and crickets chirping are created by sound effects masters
through live recordings or the digital manipulation of sounds.
growl—or fill in the background noises of wind whistling through
some branches in a storm.
Imagine walking into your kitchen and preparing a bowl of cereal.
What sounds do you hear as you walk across the floor (tile or carpet,
bare feet or slippers)? Where is your bowl and spoon and how do
you get to them (pull open a drawer or dip into a utensil cup)? How
many steps does it take to get the cereal into the bowl? Plastic or
waxy milk carton? A Foley artist would know immediately how to
reproduce all of those sounds realistically for a movie (and it may
have nothing at all to do with pouring cereal and milk). Foley artists
have an arsenal of odd objects to make everyday sounds: rubber
tires, rocking horses, vacuums, saws, electric drills, vegetables,
thimbles, dog leashes, metal sheets, swim flippers, toy cars, and
much more.
Your challenge: take one ordinary household item and see how many
sounds you can make with it. A cardboard tube from a roll of paper
towels could be torn into a spiral and whipped through the air; held
by one end so that coins could be slid through it; blown into; soaked
in water until soggy and then slapped against an empty metal pot;
or bent until the ends are facing, filled partway with rice, taped into
a closed circle, and shaken. Experiment by taking your object apart
and using its pieces (what could you do with a belt strap and its
buckle?). Move items gently (sliding paper across a table) or roughly
(crumpling it in your hand). Try striking your object on different
surfaces or hitting it with other objects.
You don’t even have to stop there. Free audio editors like Audacity
for Macintosh computers or a more sophisticated all-in-one program
like iLife allow you to manipulate sound. On the Windows side, Movie
Maker and even PowerPoint can help you edit your audio. Some
video cameras have settings for sound—and what about your phone?
What surprising noise did you make with that fork? What genius way
did you make thunder? Could everyone recognize your artistry?
Before they embark on this project, your students might benefit from
watching a Foley artist at work. Have your students explore the work
of Ben Burtt, a four-time Academy Award-winning sound designer
for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and WALL-E. Go to this link to see Burtt
host a tour behind the scenes and into the tricks of giving life to
WALL-E: http://bit.ly/qQOWU.
Or take a peak at some of the Foley work on Jurassic Park:
http://bit.ly/18mSTK.
If your classroom doesn’t offer easy access to the Internet, you could
check out The Lord of the Rings trilogy from the local library or video
rental store to play for the class. The DVD extras include extensive
segments on the Foley artists who contributed to the film, sound
design, scoring, and sound effects.
Local Connection
The Urbana Free Library
Krannert Center has partnered with the Urbana Free Library to help
expand your students’ Youth Series experience. The Urbana Free Library
has placed materials that relate to War of the Worlds on display, and
librarians are prepared to help your students immerse themselves in the
wide-ranging subject areas that are covered by the play. These resources
will be available approximately two weeks before through two weeks
following the performance.
The Urbana Free Library is located at 210 West Green Street in Urbana,
directly west of Lincoln Square Village. Below are the library’s hours of
operation:
Monday-Thursday
9am-9pm
Friday-Saturday
9am-6pm
Sunday
1pm-5pm
Please feel free to share this information with your students and their
families. We hope that you are able to take advantage of this exciting
partnership!
10
You may not have heard of Foley artists, but you’ve definitely heard
their work—perhaps without even realizing it. Foley artists add realism
to a scene by syncing sounds with the action on the screen. They make
the noises of doors opening, chairs scraping, footsteps (Godzilla’s or
a human’s), breaking glass, clothes rustling, a squeaking saddle, and
any of the small sounds that occur throughout a filmed scene. They can
add depth and dimension to larger effects—like beefing up Godzilla’s
Additional background and insight into Foley artistry can be found at:
http://filmsound.org
http://foley-artistry.blogspot.com
http://www.marblehead.net/foley.
11