ORGANIZERS FOR STUDENTS

"From Page to Stage"

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Part 1: The Page

Your first task is to read your assigned literary work and answer the following questions.

Assigned work of literature and date of publication (if available):

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Author:

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Who are the primary characters in this excerpt or story? Record the characters' names as well as three or four words that describe each character.

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What does each character want in the excerpt or story? What would you say is each character's goal, objective, or primary interest?

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What is the tone or mood of the excerpt or story? How does the story make you feel? Write two to three sentences about how the story makes you feel, and why.

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If this work of literature were turned into a musical theater piece, which character do you think should be singing a song related to this excerpt or story? Should it be one character, or several characters? Why?

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Stop here and wait for further instructions from your teacher.



Part 2: The Stage
Your next task is to examine a song from a Broadway musical based on the literature you have read. You will be listening to a brief sound clip of a song. You may need to listen to the clip several times to answer all of the questions below.

Song title:

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Name of the musical from which the song is taken:

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Which character from the excerpt or story do you think is singing this song? Why?

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What words would you use to describe the song? How does the song make you feel?

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Is the song using specific words, phrases, or sentences from the story or excerpt? Has any of the exact text of the story or excerpt been written into the song?

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Once all members of your group have finished Part 2, you can move on to Part 3.


Part 3: From Page to Stage
Your task is to compare your assigned literary work to the song based on it.

How is the excerpt or story you read SIMILAR to the song?

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How is the excerpt or story you read DIFFERENT from the song?

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Does the song effectively capture the tone or mood of the work? Are the characters and themes preserved? Is the song "successful"? Why or why not?

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Once your group completes this activity, you will need to describe the following information to the rest of the class:

  • The story or excerpt your group read;

  • The Broadway musical song to which your group listened;

  • The similarities and differences between the literary work and the song.