Some thing to consider: Shadow Puppetry

During the Dynasty of Empress Ling, shadow puppetry first emerged as a recognized form of theatre in China. There were two distinct forms of shadow puppetry, Cantonese (southern) and Pekingese (northern). The two styles were differentiated by the method of making the puppets and the positioning of the rods on the puppets, as opposed to the type of play performed by the puppets. Both styles generally performed plays depicting great adventure and fantasy, rarely was this very stylized form of theatre used for political propaganda. Cantonese shadow puppets were the larger of the two. They were built using thick leather which created more substantial shadows. Symbolic color was also very prevalent; a black face represented honesty, a red one bravery. The rods used to control Cantonese puppets were attached perpendicular to the puppets’ heads. Thus, they were not seen by the audience when the shadow was created. Pekingese puppets were more delicate and smaller. They were created out of thin, translucent leather (usually taken from the belly of a donkey). They were painted with vibrant paints, thus they cast a very colorful shadow. The thin rods which controlled their movements were attached to a leather collar at the neck of the puppet. The rods ran parallel to the bodies of the puppet then turned at a ninety degree angle to connect to the neck. While these rods were visible when the shadow was cast, they laid outside the shadow of the puppet; thus they did not interfere with the appearance of the figure. The rods attached at the necks to facilitate the use of multiple heads with one body. When the heads were not being used, they were stored in a muslin book or fabric lined box. The heads were always removed at night. This was in keeping with the old superstition that if left intact, the puppets would come to life at night. Some puppeteers went so far as to store the heads in one book and the bodies in another, to further reduce the possibility of reanimating puppets. Shadow puppetry is said to have reached its highest point of artistic development in the eleventh century before becoming a tool of the government

Not an activity, Just something interesting to share

MUMMING
Records indicate that Mumming was a processional visitation to a private house of a social superior. The 'visitors' would be masked and possibly in costume, and they would devise some game to be played (such as dice), to generate the giving of a gift.

John Stow finds the earliest full description of mumming in a Survey of London. It tells of 130 people who rode in costume to the palace of Richard 2nd at Kensington in 1371. Once there they played dice with the young king making sure he would win the prize of 3 jewels. The entertainment ending with music and dancing. In another account of Mumming, a group arrived silently at a house, employed a herald to beg leave for their intrusion, and explain why they were there. Leave being granted they danced among themselves but not with their host, presented their gifts, and then departed as silently as they came.

In 1418, 1479 and 1511 mumming was banned on an issue of public safety. After 1418 mumming changed and became an arranged visit by disguised friends and dice playing almost exclusively replace by gift giving.

A disastrous case of mumming is recorded from the French court of 1393, where a group of mummers entered dressed as wild men. During an accident with a torchbearer, the costumes caught fire and all but one of the mummers died.

Mumming should not be confused with the Mummers plays from the 17th century.

Workshop # 1

MORALITY
Rising from the message of the mystery plays came the onset of the morality play. These plays were mainly focussed on the trials and a tribulation of mans day-to-day life and the moral decisions he had to make within it. One of the most famous Everyman, (c. 1485-95), tells the story of how God becomes angry at mans materialistic desires and pursuits and so orders Death to summon him. Everyman then goes on to try and find a companion for his trip into death. Appealing to such characters as Fellowship, Kindred and Cousin, he approaches Good Deeds, who does not offer to go with him but suggests his sister Knowledge. She takes Everyman through his journey to many other characters, until, the moral of the story is revealed when Everyman is left abandoned by all except Good Deeds.

Other well known Morality plays include The Pride of Life (c. 1410), Mankind (c. 1465), Hickscorner (c. 1500) and written sometime between 1400 and 1425 is

"One of the longest and best-preserved morality plays is The Castle of Perseverance. Like most morality plays, it takes a central figure who represents all of us, and confronts him (he is always a male) with a situation which involves a moral decision. The central character in The Castle of Perseverance is mankind"
http://ise.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/drama/moralities.html


Take 15 minutes to write a short script depicting your life. It does not have to be a biography, it could be a metaphore. Choose several people to portray this.

Drama Club President

This is my senior year and I have been elected "Drama Club President". I want to make this year memorable so I'm going to try many new things. If you have any suggestions PLEASE let me know! Thanks!