CYRANOA Study and Resource Guide

STudy Guide Created BY Kaleigh Malloy

January 20, 2012

Dear Teacher:

We are thrilled that you are interested in using the Study Guide for CYRANO in your classroom. We look forward to inter-acting with you and your students this winter. We hope that you will use the following Study Guide as you discuss Edmund Rostand in your classroom and possibly attend a performance of CYRANO at Arden Theatre Company.

The following academic standards are met in this curriculum:

PA Academic StandardsReading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening 1.1A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H; 1.2A; 1.3A,B,E,F; 1.4A,C; 1.5C,D; 1.6A,B,C,D,EArts and Humanities 9.1A,B,C,D,E,F,G; 9.2A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H; 9.3A,BHistory 8.1A,B; 8.4A,C,D

NJ Core Curriculum Content StandardsReading Grades 6-12 ELALiterature 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.10Informational Text 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6Writing 10.1, 10.2Speaking and Listening 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6Language 10.1, 10.4, 10.5Visual and Performing Arts 1.1C; 1.2; 1.3C

National Arts Education Standards:Theatre Content Standards 1-6

Feedback, comments, and concerns are always welcome. Please feel free to contact me directly at any time if you would like to discuss our program. Our teaching artists look forward to visiting your schools before and after your trip to the theatre. We look forward to hosting you here at Arden Theatre Company soon.

Sincerely,

Maureen Mullin FowlerMaureen Mullin FowlerDirector of EducationArden Theatre CompanyPhone: 215.922.8900 ext.28

To the Educator

Page 2Playwright Biography:

Edmond Rostand

Pages 3About the Adaptors:

Aaron Posner and Michael Hollinger

Page 4Cyrano: A Timeless Tale

Pages 5-6Let’s Debate!

Pages 7Cast of Characters

Pages 8-9Act One Summary

Page 10-11Act Two Summary

and Discussion Questions

Page 12-13The Role of the Theatre

Page 14-15Improv Insult Activity

Pages 16-17Sonnet Writing Exercise

Pages 18-19Production Spotlight:

Scenic Design

Pages 20-21Production Spotlight:

Costume Design

Page 22-23Production Activity:

How to Make a Prosthetic Nose1

To the Educator

* Le Gant Rouge, 1888 * Les Musardises, 1890 * Les Deux Pierrots, Ou Le Souper Blanc (The Two Pierrots or The White Supper), 1891 * Les Romanesques (The Fantasticks), 1894 * La Princesse Lointaine (The Princess Far- Away), 1895 * La Samaritaine (The Woman of Samaria), 1897 * Cyrano de Bergerac, 1897 * L’Aiglon: A Play in Six Acts. 1900 * Chantecler: A Play in Four Acts, 1910 * La Derniere Nuit de Don Juan (The Last Night of Don Juan, in Poetic Drama), 1921 * Le Cantique de L’Aile, 1922 * Le Vol de la Marseillaise, 1922

edmond RostandAbout the Playwright

Other Works by Rostand

Edmond Rostand was born in Marseille into a wealthy and cultured Provençal family. His father was an econo-mist and a poet, a member of the Marseille Academy and the Institute de France. Rostand studied literature, history, and philosophy at the Collège Stanislas in Paris. In the 1880s he published poems and essays in the literary review Mireille. Rostand’s first play, LE GANT ROUGE, was produced at the Théâtre Cluny with little success, but the lighthearted LES DEUX PIERROTS, OU LE SOUPER BLANC (1891) attracted the attention of the Comédie Française.

Rostand’s first successful play was LES ROMANESQUES (1894, The Romantics / The Fantasticks). It was pro-duced at the Comédie Française and was based on Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Three years later produced Cyrano de Bergerac became his most popular and enduring work - at that time he was 29-year-old. L’AIGLON (1900), a tragedy based on the life of Napoleon’s son, the Duke of Reichstadt, was also considered a masterpiece.

In 1901, at the age of thirty-three, Rostand was elected to the Académie Française. However, Rostand found his fame and unwanted publicity hard to bear. Suffering from poor health, he retired to his family’s country estate at Cambon, in the Basque county. He continued to write plays and poetry, but his subsequent works did not gain the popularity of Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand died of pneumonia in Paris on December 2, 1918. His last dramatic poem was about Don Juan. The posthumously performed play failed totally

“The success of Cyrano de Bergerac was a turning-point in Rostand’s life,” writes Sue Lloyd in her biography on Rostand (2003). “His future was assured but he had to live up to the expectations of the French people... the fame he had set out to achieve from his very first book of poems turned into a crushing burden from which only death released him.” 2

About the Adaptors:

edmond Rostand

Michael Hollinger Aaron Posner

3

Michael Hollinger, Translator and Adaptor

Aaron Posner, Adaptor and Director

Aaron Posner is a director, playwright, teacher, and consultant. He is a founding Artistic Director of The Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia, and the former Artistic Director of Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey. He is currently a freelance director and playwright based in the Washington, DC area. Aaron has directed over 100 productions at major re-gional theatres including Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Ameri-can Player’s Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Arden Theatre Com-pany, Arizona Theatre Company, Barrington Stage, California Shakespeare Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company, Cleveland Playhouse, Folger Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Portland Center Stage, and many more.

Directing awards include a 1998 Barrymore Award for A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Arden, and the 2005 Helen Hayes Award for The Two Gentleman of Verona at the Folger. Aaron is an Eisenhower Fellow, holds a B.S. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University is origi-nally from Eugene, Oregon, and currently lives in Riverdale, Maryland with his wife, actress and teacher Erin Weaver, and his daughter, Maisie.

Philadelphia’s very own Michael Hollinger has been “hailed as one of America’s brightest new comic voices, celebrated for his razor-sharp wit and clever wordplay,” by the University of Iowa Press News release. Hollinger’s plays have been produced in New York City and in regional theatres throughout the United States and Europe. Hollinger is an assistant professor at Villanova University and resident playwright for New Dramatists. He received a Bachelor of Arts in viola performance at Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Fine Arts in theatre from Vil-lanova University. His plays include A Wonderful Noise, Opus, Tooth and Claw, and Red Herring. He has also written plays for young audiences such as Eureka! and Hot Air, and screenplays include Incorruptible and Pipe. His awards include Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ American Critics Association New Play Citation for Opus, Barrymore Awards for Outstanding New Play for Opus in 2006 and Red Herring in 2000 and fellow-ships from the Independence Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and Pennsylvania Council for the Arts. CYRANO marks Hollinger and Posner’s first collaboration.

4

Cyrano: A Timeless Tale Cyrano: A Timelss Tale CYRANO DE BERGERAC, the classic romantic story about the poetic long nosed swordsman who helps another man woo the woman he loves, Roxane has become so universal we can find it in our films, tv shows, and plays today!

• The 1987 film ROXANNE, a contemporary comedy version with a happy ending added, starred Steve Martin as C.D. Bales, Daryl Hannah as Roxanne, and Rick Rossovich as Chris.• The 1996 film THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS is a modern gender reversal of the story starring Uma Thurman. A successful veternarian & radio show host with low self-esteem asks her model friend to impersonate her when a handsome man wants to see her.• The movie THE UGLY TRUTH starring Katherine Heigel has a similar plot, with a reverse varia-tion involving Cyrano’s counterpart advising his own love interest how to date another man, but even-tually falling for her himself.• The 2010 movie MEGAMIND features a plot that echoes the play, including a titular character with an outlandishly large body part. Megamind falls in love with Roxanne and woos her as Bernard, believing that he would never win her heart as himself.• A BRADY BUNCH Episode entitled Cyrano de Brady, Peter wants desperately to break the ice with his pretty classmate, Kerry, but nerves get in the way. Greg hides in a bush and tells him things to say. But Kerry has been studying Cyrano de Bergerac at school and concludes that Greg is the one in love with her.• The SEINFELD episode The Soul Mate appears to parody the balcony scene of Cyrano as Kramer attempts to win over Jerry’s girlfriend Pam with Newman supplying the poetry.• THE POLICE song Roxanne was written after Sting saw an old theatre poster for a production of Cyrano de Bergerac hanging in the foyer of a Parisian hotel in which he was staying. • The 2001 episode of tv’s WILL AND GRACE starring Patrick Dempsey.

Guided Practice: Tell the students you are going to begin with a debate. Ask for definitions of what a debate is. Read through and discuss the rules of a four corner debate. Answer any questions about how the debate will work. Hang the four corner debate signs in the four different corners of the room. Explain the difference between strongly agreeing or disagreeing with something and simply agreeing or disagreeing.

Four Corners Debate Instructions

• Teacher reads the sentences that relate to the themes of Cyrano to the class.

• Students decide whether you:

1. Strongly Agree 2. Agree 3. Disagree 4. Strongly Disagree

• Move to the appropriate corner of the room.

• Ask for volunteers to explain why they chose the answer they chose. Make sure to hear from someone in ach corner.

• After listening to each group, if anyone in a certain group made a convincing enough argu-ment, you may change your opinion and move to that group. If no group swayed your thinking remain where you are.

• Repeat this activity for each of the statements on the following page.

5

LET’S DEBATE!

LET’S DEBATE! (Continued)

6

FOUR CORNER DEBATE STATEMENTS • I would date someone who’s personality I really enjoyed but was not considered to be among the popular group at school.

• Looks are more important to me than smarts.

• It doesn’t matter the size of the nose. It matters how you rock it.

• It is difficult for me to speak my mind and articulate my thoughts when in the presence of someone I want to impress.

• I believe in love at first sight. (Roxane-Christian)

• I would enlist in the armed forces if my country needed me to fight. (Gascon Guard)

• Words and ideas are personal property. If someone uses them, credit needs to be given where credit is deserved. • I am equally entitled to anything and bow down to no one.

• Even if I really do care what other people think about me, I keep it to myself and don’t let others see how I really feel on the inside.

The Cast of Characters

6

Note: The Arden Theatre Company’s production of CYRANO is intended to be performed by eight men and one women.

CYRANO, late 30s to late 40s. Energetic, impulsive, emotional, a wizard with words as well as swords--a warrior poet.

ROXANE, late 20s to mid-30s. Beautiful, elegant, smart, romantic. An impetu-ous heart and a deep soul. (Doubles as Woman and Columbina.)

CHRISTIAN, late 20’s. Handsome, proud, bold with men but shy with women. Aware of his expressive shortcomings. (Doubles as Actor/Arlecchino, Angry Subscriber and Fighter.)

LE BRET, 40s to late 50s. Captain of the Gascony Guard and Cyrano’s best friend. Moderate, sympathetic, articulate, but not flashy. Our guide to the play.

DE GUICHE, 40’s to early 50s. Aristocratic, enamored of Roxane. An intriguer who is married to power. Alternately resents and admires Cyrano. (Doubles as Gambler and Fighter.)

RAGUENEAU, late 30s to early 40s. Big-hearted pastry-chef and lover of po-etry, to the point of obsession. (Doubles as Man, Philippe and Fighter.)

DE VALVERT, early 30s. Aristocratic, stylish, vain, an expert swordsman. (Dou-bles as Etienne, Fighter, and Sister Marthe.)

LIGNIERE, 30s. A drunken poet, or poetic drunk. Occaisonally removes the bottle long enough to stick his foot in his mouth. (Doubles as Citizen, Jacques, Jean-Pierre, and possibly Sister Marthe.)

DESIREE, 40s. Roxane’s old nurse and current chaperone. Watchful over Rox-ane’s honor; cranky about soldiers. (Doubles a pickpocket, Montfleury, Belle-rose, Marcel, and Fighter.)

7

“Excusez-moi, Monsieur: Is

that your hankie, or your bed-

sheet?”

-Cyrano, Act 1, sc. 1.

The crowd gasps as Cyrano gives Montefleury three seconds to exit the stage. Much to the audience’s chagrin, Montefleury vanishes. As Cyrano remains onstage, armed with his sword, he is challenged to a duel by Vicomte. Vicomte informs Cyrano that his “nose is...very large,” and Cyrano leaps to this insult wondering if that is the best Vicomte can do. Cyrano begins to unleash a flurry of poetic insults about his own, mocking Vicomte’s lack of oringinality. In the midst of swordplay between the two, Cyrano begins to improvise a sonnet, with Vicomte as the subject. Cyrano foils Vicomte with both sword and speech, but we eventually learn that Cyrano’s nose is a source of great insecurity for him. Just as Cyrano exlaims his undying love for Roxane to his best friend and the captain of the Gascony Guard, Le Bret., Roxane’s nurse, Desiree, enters to inform Cyrano that her lady requests a private visit with her valiant cousin.

8

In the year 1640, a crowded Parisian theatre buzzes with activity minutes before a performance of the play LA CLORISE, as we are introduced to the philosopher, the dramatist, the versifier, the play’s title character, Cyrano. People mill about and converse, divided according to their social class. A thief moves through the crowd, stealing handkerchiefs and purses--gamblers playing card, actors hawking cider and tobacco, and solid citizens introducing their guests to the “Theatah.” The lamps are lit, and the crowd cheers, knowing the performance will soon begin.

Ligniere enters, arm in arm, with the handsome young nobleman, Baron Christian de Neuvillette. We meet Ragueneau, a big hearted pastry chef on the look out for Cyrano, who has banned the actor Montfleury from performing in the evening’s performance.

Suddenly, Christian catches the eye of the beautiful and elegant Roxane and falls instantly in love. Christian learns that Roxanne is the second cousin to Cyrano. Though Christian has never heard of this man, he is warned by Lignere and Ragueneau never to mention or acknowledge Cyrano’s “very prominent friend,” his nose.

Roxane sits in her booth, accompanied by DeGuiche, “ a lord with a big labido,” who is already married and wants her to wed The Vicomte de Valvert. The stage brightens and play begins, with no sign of Cyrano. Montefleury enters, begins his speech and suddenly a voice is heard from the crowd. It is the voice of our hero, Cyrano.

With expectations as high as the stars, Cyrano anxiously awaits his meeting with the beautiful, Roxanne. In the meantime, Cyrano duels and defeats eighty men at The Porte de Nesle, leaving with his pride in tact and a small scrape on the palm of his hand. The next day, when Cyrano goes to visit Roxanne, she thanks him for defeating Vicomte and notices the scrape on his hand. Roxanne tenderly examines the wound and begins to tell him she has fallen in love. Roxane informs her dear cousin that her heart belongs to Christian de Neuvillette, the handsome soldier who will be joining the Gascony Guard in the morning and begs her cousin to take mercy on him upon his arrival to the Guard. Immobilized with heartbreak, Cyrano promises to protect Christian from the other guards who might want to torment the new recruit.

Summary Act One

9

Cyrano’s company of guards, and their newest member, Christian, tumble into the Armory singing the praises of their leader and his successes of the previous evening at the the Theatre. Cyrano enters abrupt-ly as Christian watches him closely and the others beg him for more details of his duel with Vicomte. LeB-ret and DeGuiche enter baring a message of adoration to Cyrano and the LeBret requests that he introduce the company to the Count with the song he wrote about the Gascons. Cyrano obliges and the guardsmen join in the merriment. Amused, DeGuiche asks Cyrano to become his poet and informs him that his uncle, Cardinal Richelieu, was impressed by the spectical caused by Cyrano’s sword. Cyrano denies DeGuiche’s request and exits the stage. LeBret questions Cyrano’s resistance to becoming DeGuiche’s poet, arguing that within the year his poems and plays could be published. Miffed that LeBret would question his artistic integrity, Cyrano launches into verse, claiming “I like to reduce the number of bows I have to make in the course of a day.”

The guardsmen request that Cyrano entertain them with yet another story, and Cyrano proceeds. In the midst of his storytelling, Cyrano is frequently interrupted by Christian’s comments about his nose. He hurls himself toward Christian, but manages to restrain himself, due to his beloved cousin’s request. Christian’s rude comments are relentless. Cyrano abruptly ends his story and clears the room to have a word alone with his new guard. Petrified, Christian is invited into Cyrano’s arms. Cyrano informs Christian that he is Roxane’s oldest friend and that she expects a letter later that evening. Christian’s thrill is crushed when he hears this element of the equation. He claims he is an idiot, and terrible with the “language thing.” Cyrano tells Christian that he will lend him his own words and together they could make a man worthy of Roxane’s love.

Roxane receives several letters from her suitor and is more overcome with love for Christian than she ever thought possible. She reads the letters to her dear Cyrano and informs him that he now has a rival poet. Cyrano and Roxane are interruped by DeGuiche’s arrival. Roxane insists that the count refuses to take no for an answer and begs Cyrano to bring Christian to meet her. Roxane is left with DeGuiche who informs her that he wants to take revenge on her cousin by sending him into the line of fire. Roxane uses her femi-nine charm and wit to fool DeGuiche into believing that the real revenge would be to make Cyrano and the Gascony Guard stay behind in Paris while the rest of the French soldiers go to war.

Roxane falls deeper and deeper in love with the facade that Christian and Cyrano struggle to maintain. Christian calls up to Roxane’s balcony professing his love to her as he is prompted by Cyrano, but has dif-ficulty hearing what to say. Cyrano pushes him out of the way and calls up to Roxane pretending to be the young lover and is interrupted by DeGuiche just as Christian is granting Roxane the kiss from the voice she hears below her balcony, the voice that she believes belongs to Christian. DeGuiche has come to inform her that he and the Gascon Guard had been called to war. DuGuiche and and Cyrano quarrel about the moonlight and their mutual love and are spotted by Desiree. Desiree calls her lady to the window and all three men are revealed below the balcony. Awkwardly and in a pinch, Christian announces that Roxane is his fiance when he learns he is to leave for battle the next morning. As the three men leave, Roxane begs pleads with Cyrano to ensure that her love writes to her everyday from battle.

“If only I had your mouth to express my soul...” -Cyrano Act 1, sc. 4

10

As the lights rise on the first light of dawn, it is August and the Gascon Guard is away at war. Cyrano, untarnished by battle, torments himself over Christian’s fragility. Roxane expects frequent letters from her dear Christian, who is, like the rest of the soldiers is dying of hunger in the Gas-con encampment. Cyrano provides the soldiers with uplifting words to get them ready for battle. Eventually Cyrano shows Christian the most recent letter he has written for Roxane and informs Christian that he has been writing to her in his name every day since they’ve been away. De-Guiche appears onstage and there is yet another spatter between him and Cyrano. In the heat of their disagreement they see a young boy racing towards them.

As soon as the youth arrives, they remove their hat and her hair spills down. It is Roxane, in search of her dear Christian. She tells the men that she had been disguising herself as a Span-ish farm boy heading home to Cantabria. DeGuiche tries to send her back to Paris but she claims that she did not ride and run all this way to be sent home. LeBret hands her a sword as she delivers letters to the men that their loved ones he had written them. Roxane begs Christian to forgive her for loving him on his looks before she knew his heart. When Roxane proclaims that she would love him even if he were ugly, it dawns on Christian that it is not himself she loves, it is the hero, Cyrano. Christian insists that Cyrano tell her everything. Just as Cyrano begins to con-fess, war breaks out and the all of the guards race away to fight.

Fifteen summers and fifteen autumns pass and we learn that Roxane is still in mourning for her lost love, Christian DeNeuvillette. She has since moved into a convent since the passing of her beloved. Cyrano who is stubborn and careless as ever, yet manages to visit his Roxane every Sat-urday, is now growing old and sickly.

Ragueneau, who has left his duties as a pastry chef and now works for the theatre, rushes in to warn the others that Cyrano has been bludgeoned on the head that dropped out of a window. Our hero has experienced massive head trauma and Raguenau warns LeBret that he may not live to see tomorrow.

Cyrano pays one last visit to Roxane, here he is in and out of consciousness and asks to read Christian’s final letter. As he reads the letter he once wrote aloud, Roxane realizes that it was Cyrano all along who loved her and was writing to her. Ragueneau bursts in once again and informs Roxane that Cyrano has practically killed himself to visit her. In the midst of his distress, Ragueneau informs Cyrano that the playwright, Moliere has stolen a scene from him. Cyrano re-plies “Christian got the kiss, and Moliere the laugh.”

Sobbing, Roxane bids her dear cousin adieu. Cyrano dies in his love’s arms as he swears to the heavens to never stop fighting.

Summary Act Two

8 11

Essay Questions:

1. People borrow and use one another’s ideas throughout life on a regular basis. In your opinion, what was Rostand trying to prove when he mentions the famous comedic play-wright, Molière, stealing one of Cyrano’s scenes for a play? What does this say about a the value one takes in their artistic and intellectual property?

2. In act two, scene one, LeBret tells Cyrano that “War, like love, provides plenty of [irony.]” What do you point do you think the playwright was trying to make with this statement. Where else does irony live within words and actions of the characters in the play?

Discussion Questions:

1. What values do Cyrano live by? How does he put his values into practice? How does his ridiculous nose affect his life?

2.What would Cyrano’s life be like if he did not have such a protruding nose? Would he have the same personality, feelings, or outlook on the world?

3. Compare and contrast Cyrano and Christian. Do they have any similarities besides their love for Roxane? Why is Cyrano so sad when Christian dies, apart from his realization that he himself will never be able to tell Roxane he loves her? Is there any other reason?

4. Do you think Cyrano knows Christian to be a poor writer when he informs him that Roxane is ex-pecting a letter later that evening? Is Cyrano setting Christian up for failure or is he presenting him with an opportunitiy in earnestnest? What does Cyrano gain by using Christian’s face to portray his own verbiage? Justify your answer with textual evidence.

5. Does the play have a happy ending? Why or why not?

“The dream, alone, is of interest. What is life, without a dream?” - Edmond Rostand

France: 1640

The Time And Place

12

The Battle of the Arras, 1640 http://www.fortified-places.com/sieges/arras1640.html

In 1640, under Cardinal Richelieu’s ruling, French troops were poised to strike against Spain at the capital of the province of Artois: Arras. The French planned to bluff the Spanish into weakening the gar-rison of Arras then to attack suddenly before it could be reinforced.

The plan worked perfectly - when Maréchal de Châtillon threatened the Spanish-held fortresses of Aire and Béthune, troops from the garrison at Arras were sent to reinforce them. Maréchal de Châtillon then linked forces with Maréchal de La Meilleraye and the two commanders invested Arras on June 13th with a vast force of 23,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry. The French dug an extensive number of lines of fortification keeping the enemy immobile. Though, the encirclement was made difficult by the nature of the ground around Arras - the lines need-ed to cross 4 wide waterways. This proved in favor or France, as the blocked waterways posed numer-ous communication difficulties for the Spanish, who could not move large amounts of troops across the rivers quickly.

Source: http://www.fortified-places.com/sieges/arras1640.html#

The play’s action begins in Paris, France 1640, in the midst of the Thirty Years War. This was a war that began as a religious dispute between the Protestants and Catholics gradully developed into a more general conflict involving most of the Eu-ropean major powers. A war that most countries lost sight of what they were fighting for ,France’s involvement was generated by their rivalry with The German House of Habsurg, Holy Roman Em-pire and Spain.

Cardinal Richelieuhttp://www.nndb.com/people/894/000092618/

Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) was a powerful figure in late 15th century and early 16th century France. Acting as the king’s chief minister, he was also a lover and patron of the arts.

1. Would you consider Cyrano to be a tragicomedy? Explain. 2. Just as the way the Thirty Year War developed, how did Cyrano lose sight of what he was fighting for? How does the last scene of the play justify this?

3. How is the character Cyrano a symbol for integrity and originality in the artistic and political climate of France in the 1600s?

The French Playwright, Molière

In the 1630s and 1640s, influenced by the long baroque novels of the period, the tragicomedy be-came the dominant theatrical genre. A tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare’s time to the nineteenth century, tragi-comedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood. We hear mention of Corneille’s LE CID in the opening scene of Cyrano. A tragicom-edy by Pierre Corneille, that was a massive success and deemed worth of Richelieu’s Academie Fran-caise.

Comedy in the second half of the century was dominated by Molière. A veteran actor, master of farce, slapstick, the Italian and Spanish theatre. Molière’s output was large and varied. He is credited with giving the French “comedy of manners” and the “comedy of character” their modern form. His hilari-ous satires of avaricious fathers, doctors and pompous literary types were extremely successful among the public, though his satirical material about religious figures were often times banned by the church.

Class DiscussionQuestions

13

The Role of The Theatre:

17th Century France

Survey the group and briefly discuss:

• “Does anyone know what improvisational acting (widely called Improv) is?” --Instead of memorizing scripted lines, improvisational actors react spontaneously to the audience and their fellow actors to create theatre.• “Who can do Improv?” --Anyone can!• “How many of you have taken part in an Improv activity before?”

Materials needed: -Enough copies of the following page of insults so that each student will have their own.

On the next page you will find three lists of Shakespearean insults. Instruct the students to break up into groups of two or three.

Once the students are divided into groups they will construct a Shakespearean insult by selecting one word from each of the three columns and prefacing them with the word “Thou.” Example: “Thou saucy, common-kissing, flap-dragon!” “Thou fobbing, fat -kidneyed, giglet!”

Each student will take a turn insulting their partners and will continue the activity by making more combinations with the words.

Now have the students create their own ways of insulting the size of Cyrano’s nose, using their lists of words to guide them.

After each group has created a new way to insult Cyrano’s nose, they will share their sentences in front of the class.

14

INSULT IMPROV Shakespearean Style

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 artless base-court apple-john bawdy bat-fowling baggage beslubbering beef-witted barnacle bootless beetle-headed bladder churlish boil-brained boar-pig cockered clapper-clawed bugbear clouted clay-brained bum-bailey craven common-kissing canker-blossom currish crook-pated clack-dish dankish dismal-dreaming clotpole dissembling dizzy-eyed coxcomb droning doghearted codpiece errant dread-bolted death-token fawning earth-vexing dewberry fobbing elf-skinned flap-dragon froward fat-kidneyed flax-wench frothy fen-sucked flirt-gill gleeking flap-mouthed foot-licker goatish fly-bitten fustilarian gorbellied folly-fallen giglet impertinent fool-born gudgeon infectious full-gorged haggard jarring guts-griping harpy loggerheaded half-faced hedge-pig umpish hasty-witted horn-beast mammering hedge-born hugger-mugger mangled hell-hated joithead mewling idle-headed lewdster paunchy ill-breeding lout pribbling ill-nurtured maggot-pie puking knotty-pated malt-worm puny milk-livered mammet qualling motley-minded measle rank onion-eyed minnow reeky plume-plucked miscreant roguish pottle-deep moldwarp ruttish pox-marked mumble-news saucy reeling-ripe nut-hook spleeny rough-hewn pigeon-egg spongy rude-growing pignut surly rump-fed puttock tottering shard-borne pumpion unmuzzled sheep-biting ratsbane vain spur-galled scut venomed swag-bellied skainsmate villainous tardy-gaited strumpet warped tickle-brained varlet wayward toad-spotted vassal weedy unchin-snouted whey-face yeasty weather-bitten wagtail

16

“I’d love to skewer you all day, But sonnets end at fourteen lines...Touche!”

By the thirteenth century, the sonnet signified a poem of fourteen lines that follow a strict rhyme scheme and specific structure. Conventions as-sociated with the sonnet have evolved over its history. One of the best-known sonnet writers is William Shakespeare, who wrote 154 of them (not including those that appear in his plays). A Shakespearean, or Eng-lish, sonnet consists of 14 lines. The rhyme scheme in a Shakespearean sonnet is a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g; the last two lines are a rhyming couplet.

From the perspective of Cyrano, write a sonnet that he would hypatheti-cally direct to another character in the play, of your choosing. Feel free to use words from the list of insults on page 15 of the study guide.

Write your sonnet in the space provided on page 17. Be sure to follow the a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g rhyme scheme while composing your poem.

Once each person has completed their sonnet, the instructor will collect each poem and pass them all back out randomly.

The student will read over their peer’s sonnet and then present it to the class.

Guided Practice and Performance:

The Sonnet

17

a

b

a

b

c

d

c

d

e

f

e

f

g

g

Compose sonnet in the space provided below:

Production spotlight

DAN CONWAY has been the scenic designer for numerous productions at The Arden Theatre Company including, Ben Franklin’s Apprentice, Crime and Punishment, ThePavillion, and My Name Is Asher Lev, all directed by Aaron Posner. Mr. Conway is the

recipient of the 2000 and 2008 Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Set Design,and heads the M.F.A. in Design program at The University of Maryland, College Park.

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Production Spotlight

Dan Conway: Scenic Design

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CYRANO’S ground plan, as pictured above, was drafted by Dan Conway. The ground plan is typically a scale drawing of a bird’s eye view of the stage. It aids the designer in developing the scenic design. It is also used by the director for establishing the flow of the action. For the lighting designer it is a manda-tory instument for planning the lights. And for the technical director, it is invaluable in determining the placement of the scenery and building the set. Below are some examples of symbols used when drafting ground plans.

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Luigi Sotille:CHRISTIAN

Production Spotlight:

Devon Painter: Costume Design

Jessica Cummings:ROXANNE/WOPMAN/

COLUMBINA

DEVON PAINTER, created the costume designs for CYRANO. She has been a professional costume designer for the past fifteen years and has worked at many theatres across the country, including The Guthrie, The Folger Theatre, and The Old Globe Theatre.

Eric Hissom:CYRANO

Roxanne Christian

Cyrano

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Scott Greer:DESIREE/MONTFLEURY/BELL-

ROSE

Doug Hara:LIGNIER/JACQUES/JEAN-PIERRE:

Benjamin Lloyd: DE GUICHE

David Bardeen:RAGENEAU/PHILLIPE/FIGHTER

Montfluery Rageneau

Lignier

Le Bret

Keith Randolph Smith: LE BRET

De Guiche

Roxanne

Workshop Activity:

How to make a prosthetic nose

Prosthetic noses are an integral part of the Arden Theatre Company’s production of CYRANO, worn by the play’s leading actor, Eric Hissom. Making your own homemade nose prosthetic pieces is also one of the easier forms of facial latex works---one that doesn’t require a full life mask in order to cus-tomize and shape to your liking. Here’s how!

Things You’ll Need And Could Find At Your Local Art Supply Store

* Oil-based modeling clay * Liquid latex * Disposable craft brush or rags * Toilet paper

Instructions

1. Sculpt the nose in oil clay. Hold the finished nose shape up next to your own while looking in a mirror to judge the size and proportions and make sure you like the way it looks. Make the back of the nose flat where it’s supposed to attach to the face. 2. Adjust the color of the liquid latex. Most liquid latex has an orangey-beige color once dry, so it’s a good idea to adjust it to be closer to your actual skin color by mixing it with some acrylic paint; bear in mind that the dry color will be darker than the color when it’s wet. Don’t worry about getting the color perfect, and err on the side of too pale; you can finish matching the color using makeup later.

3. Coat the nose sculpture in liquid latex. Use a disposable brush or rag to cover the nose sculpture (except for the back) as if you were painting it. Apply at least four coats of latex, letting each one dry before you add the next (this will take 10-20 minutes for each layer; you’ll know when the latex is dry because it will firm up and darken in color).

4. Peel away the latex nose from the clay. If you have to manipulate the shape of the clay to keep from stretching the nose shape too much, do so (though it should be easy to peel away the latex without too much stressing of its shape). Try to remove all traces of clay from the inside of the nose.

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5. Line the inside of the nose. Give the inside four or more new layers of latex, applying them just as you did with the outside to make the wall of the nose stiff enough to have body on its own. If the nose is particularly large or long, stuff part of it with small pieces of latex-soaked toilet paper. Leave room for your nose, erring on the side of too much empty space. Let dry.

6. Create nostril holes using scissors or a craft knife; these are necessary for comfortable wear and breathing.

7. Apply the nose. Use spirit gum to adhere the nose over your own, applying the gum only to the edges of the back of the nose. Apply thick stage makeup to the nose itself, and to the surround ing skin on your face, blending the makeup at the edges.

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Sources: http://www.fxsupply.com/prosthetics/nosep.html and http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6210659_make-fake-nose.html