Cinderella
October 25 through November 10, 2002
Directed by Michael Anthony. Music by Richard Rodgers. Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.
Playguide
This Playguide is prepared for teachers, students, parents and subscribers attending San Diego Junior Theatre productions. It is our desire to make the artistic experience of attending live theatre as enriching as possible for all of San Diego’s families.

History of the Cinder Maid
The story of Cinderella just may be the best-known fairy tale of all time. The Cinderella story is popular in many countries, and in many, many different versions. The version we are presenting on the mainstage is the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical from 1957, with some of the updates from the 1997 television version starring Whitney Houston and Brandy.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm wrote the original story, called Aschenputtel, in 1812 in Germany. Grimms brothers fairy tales are known for their graphic elements, and in their Cinderella the step-sister’s cut off their toes to fit into the glass slipper. There is other evidence of tales like Cinderella from other European countries around the same time. An English translation was developed in 1857. Below is a list of some of the Cinderella tales from other countries:

• The Little Glass Slipper (France)
• Katie Woodencloak (Norway)
• Fair, Brown and Trembling (Ireland)
• Rashin-Coatie (Scotland)
• Cinderella (Italy)
• Conkiajgharuna, the Little Rag Girl (Georgia)
• Pepelyouga (Serbia)
• The Wonderful Birch (Russia)
• The Baba Yaga (Russia)
• The Wicked Stepmother (India)
• Vassilissa (Russia)
• The Golden Slipper (Vietnam)
• Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughter’s (Zimbabwe)

The story of the Cinderella has been adapted into many different art forms, from theatre (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s famous musical), to classical music and opera (Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Perrault’s Cendrillon), to ballet (Prokofiev’s Cinderella), to Sesame Street (CinderElmo).

Fairy Tales
The oldest fairy tales were told and retold for generations before they were ever written down. In order to be considered a fairy tale, a story must include some special elements. There must be a supernatural character and something magical must happen to a character.

Can you figure out who the supernatural character is in Cinderella? What magical things happen in the story? Can you make a list of fairy tales of below?

After you have listed at least five fairy tales, see if they really are fairy tales by making sure they have a supernatural character, and that something magical happens to someone in the story. A story that is not a fairy tale may be a folk tale or myth. A folk tale will have a moral to the story, and a myth may also have a lesson attached or may explain why something happens. A fairy tale, folk tale or a myth may all have anthropomorphic characters, that is animals who exhibit human characteristics. After you have made you own list, look below and see if you can figure out how the other popular stories listed are classified.

Your list of fairy tales
 

Now try and figure these out and circle what kind of story you think each one is:

Activities

Geography

Using a map of the world, locate each county that has a Cinderella story as a part of its culture. You can use the list provided in this playguide, and find even more through your own research. Write the name of the story, and any special story elements on a post-it note and stick it on the location of the county on the map. Are there any countries that you found that do not have a Cinderella story that you could find? Are there regions of the world where there are more Cinderella versions that other regions?

Language Arts

• Read a version of Cinderella of your choice. Have the students in your class, or your family members read the same version. Together, make a list of the major events in the story and the order in which they take place. From here, group the events into sections known in theatre as “scenes.” Now you can take on roles and act out the story using improvisation (no script, just acting out the roles from your memory of the story).
   
  
• Pretend that you are Cinderella and create a journal. You will write three entries in your journal, the first will be when you have first come to live with your step-mother and step-sisters. Write about your first impressions of the house and your new family. What did you expect that it would be like before you came? The second entry will be after the ball when the Prince is looking for the person who owns the glass slipper. Write about the ball and your race to make it back before time ran out. The third entry should be after your marriage to the Prince. This is after the story ends, so you can use your imagination to create what happened next. If you like, now try writing a journal as if you are the Prince. How about trying on the part of the Stepmother?
   
  
• Create your own fairy tale with your family or classmates. First review the elements of fairy tales. Then, have three people stand next to each other. Person number 1 will tell the “beginning” of the original fairy tale, person number 2 will tell the “middle” of the story, building on what person 1 said, and person number 3 will wrap it all up with the “end” of the story. You can tell a story using a larger group of people by playing “One Word Story” or “And Then...” In “One Word Story” have all players sit in a circle. The first person will say the first word of the story (usually “once” as in “once upon a time.”). Each person in the circle must add one word to the story to create sentences. In “And Then...” the first person starts the story and when they are ready to pass it on says “and then...” and the next person takes over until they are ready to pass it on, and so on until the end of the story.

Visual Art

• Design a ball gown for Cinderella. What kind of fabric would you choose? What color? You can do some research by looking at a variety of illustrated versions of Cinderella and looking at ball gowns from each. There are also many books of period style clothes that you could use as a reference. Color in your drawing using pencils or markers. If you have a fabric store near you, you can shop for some small swatches of fabric to staple onto your design like fashion and costume designers do.
   
  
• Create a poster for a production of Cinderella. Use art work that you think will entice people to come see the production. Will you include a picture of Cinderella in her ball gown? Or a picture of the pumpkin carriage? Do some research and find art work from a variety of Cinderella plays and movies. What do you like most? You can create your poster using your own drawings or images from magazines and coloring books.
   
  Create a pumpkin carriage. Use a pumpkin (ask an adult to help carve out the middle of the pumpkin) and decorate it to look like your version of Cinderella’s carriage. You can make it easier by decorating the outside of it without carving out the middle. You can make wheels using sandwich cookies and toothpicks stuck into the side of the pumpkin, Give it some dazzle by using glitter paint or glue on jewels. Make sure to create a little window for Cinderella to look out on her way to the ball. Look at pictures of carriages for inspiration! Display your creation on your porch or mantel this Halloween.

Acting and Theatre

• Create a news show about Cinderella’s story. Decide on the characters, you may have an anchor person or two, an investigative reporter, and maybe even a director or cameraperson. Someone will need to play the characters in Cinderella that will be interviewed. Decide on the slant of your report. Is this a story about the mystery of the glass slipper and the Prince’s attempts to find the wearer of the shoe? Is it a promotional story about the upcoming royal ball? Is it an expose of the stepmother and the way she treats Cinderella? When you decide on what story you want to tell, you can begin to rehearse. You can create props like microphones using empty toilet paper roles. Cover them with black construction paper and put the call letters of your station on the front. When you are all finished rehearsing, make sure to share your hard work with an audience. Your parents, friends or classmates make great audiences!
   
  
• Try on the different characters in Cinderella. An actor uses their body, voice and face to create a believable character onstage. Of course, costumes and make-up help too, but a good actor can do it with just the face, voice and body. Start by walking around the room as if you were the King. How do you the think the king moves? Is he tall or short, fat or thin? The answers will help you know how to move. Is he a jolly king? A stressed out king? How about the Queen? The Prince? How does their age affect how they walk? Does Cinderella move differently when she is a cinder maid, than when she is dressed for the ball? How does clothing affect movement?
   
  Now try using you voice to create different characters. Use lines from the story for each character you try on. How does the stepmother’s voice sound when she is talking to Cinderella? How does her voice sound when she is talking to Joy and Portia (her daughters)? How does the fairy godmother’s voice sound?
   
  Finally, use a mirror to practice using your face as the different characters. How can you tell by Cinderella’s face that she is surprised to see the fairy godmother? How can you tell that she is unhappy living with her stepfamily? How does the Prince’s face look when he is disappointed that Cinderella is gone on the night of the ball?

Magical Moments

A big theatrical moment in Cinderella is what’s called the “transformation.” This is the moment when Cinderella’s rags turn into a beautiful ball gown. This is easy to do in a movie or television version where the special effect can be done through stopping the tape, but very difficult to do in a stage version. However, it can, and has been done. See if you can think of a creative way to have Cinderella change dresses in a matter of seconds, without leaving the stage. For a stage play, the designers of the show would get together in a production meeting to discuss challenges like this. The director, costume designer, set designer, sound designer and lighting designer would all be involved in the discussion. With your family, friends or classmates simulate the discussion by each taking on the role of one of the designers. You might want to watch the transformation scene in one of the movie-versions before getting started. Then, see if you can put your heads together and create an illusion that will dazzle your audience. When you see our production, see if you can figure out how the transformation was done. Did we fool you?

Holiday Links
Here are some ideas for infusing Cinderella into your fall or Halloween celebrations:

• Cook something using pumpkin. Try pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soup or pumpkin waffles.
• Hold a family Cinderella costume parade. Have each member of the family create a costume of one of the characters from the story- using only toilet paper! Then play the Cinderella Waltz as each member takes a stroll through the living room. You can award a prize for the most creative costume.
• Create mice out of Hershey’s kisses. Tip the kiss on its side and the pointy part becomes the nose. Attach another kiss flat side to flat side using icing. Use icing or small candies for the eyes. You can use almond slivers as ears and tiny feet, tiny licorice as whiskers and the tail. Attach parts using royal icing or frosting.
• Hold a family ball. Each member of the family can take responsibility for some part of the planning, the invitations, the meal, the music, the decorations, etc. On the night of the ball, everyone gets dressed in their best clothes. Dinner should be served on your nicest china, with place cards at each setting (a great job for young children) and flowers as a centerpiece. After dinner, all the guests (family) retire to the living room for dancing. Practice waltzing, and any other formal dances that you know or are willing to learn. Make sure to take pictures!

Waiting for a Prince
Fairy tales have long been criticized for trivializing the role of the female protagonist. The handsome prince saves Cinderella, and this theme is popular in most fairy tales. How do you feel about women’s roles in fairy tales? Are there any other characters in the fairy tale that are stereotyped? Is the character of the prince a stereotype? How about the stepmother and stepsisters? Are the characters all “good” characters or “bad” characters? What differentiates the good from the bad?

Read a version of Cinderella. Make a list of stereotyped characteristics of both Cinderella, and the Prince. How are each character’s genders portrayed? Is this an accurate reflection of gender roles today?

Do you know of any fairy tales that show a different version of either gender or social roles? Could you write a modern day fairy tale? What kinds of characters and situations would you include? How do you think a modern day fairy tale would hold up in 50 years? One hundred years? More?

Parents, you may enjoy James Finn Garner’s Politically Correct Bedtime Stories and Once Upon a More Enlightened Time: More Politically Correct Bedtime Stories.