Tag Archives: shadow theatre

Nov13

Tales of the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Rat

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Tales of the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Rat
Characters from the Year of the Rat

Characters from the Year of the Rat

THE YEAR OF THE RAT

Chin, Oliver. The Year of the Rat, Tales of the Chinese Zodiac. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2007.

Ralph, the baby rat, let out a “Squeak!” when he was born.

When Bing heard the news, he ran up to the attic to visit the newborn. He offered Ralph a piece of cheese and the two became friends.

Ralph was a free spirit who was always getting into trouble. When he got caught, he always promised to behave.

On the day of Bing’s birthday party, Bing’s parents ordered him to put Ralph in his cage. Bing promised Ralph to let him out when the party was over.

Ralph could see the decorations hanging outside and smell the food cooking. Presents and balloons arrived, too. Bing reached for the balloons but their knot came loose. Bing grabbed the strings but all of a sudden the balloon pulled him up, up and away.

Ralph looked out the window from his cage. He found a pin in his pocket and used it to open the lock on the cage door. Then he ran to the ladder that led to the hayloft. He jumped out and luckily landed on top of the balloons.

Ralph had an idea. He slid down the balloon’s strings and bit through several of them. One by one they flew away and Bing and Ralph descended closer to earth.

Slowly, they landed on an ox who promised to take them home. Everyone was happy to see them and every one forgave Ralph, the prankster!

Shadow puppets:

Ralph, the rat

Bing, a boy

Bing’s parents

Act out The Year of the Rat!  Add your own ending to the story!

Shadow Theatre

Shadow Theater made of recycled materials

 

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Nov7

Tales from the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Monkey

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Tales from the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Monkey
Characters from the Year of the Monkey

Characters from the Year of the Monkey

THE YEAR OF THE MONKEY

Chin, Oliver. The Year of the Monkey, Tales from the Chinese Zodiac. San Francisco, CA: Immedium, 2016.

The Jade Emperor sat on his cloud and observed the Monkey King and Queen’s new baby, Max.

“If this child follows in his parents’ footsteps, heaven below had better take notice,” the Jade Emperor said.

Max was a rambunctious monkey both in and out of school. He often reported to the principal’s office to answer for one prank or another.

He became friends with Kai. One day, their teacher introduced them to the game of shuttlecock or jianzi. Max and Kai showed talent for the sport and the friends practiced hard.

Max’s family heard about a shuttlecock tournament and encouraged Max and Kai to enter it. The friends had to make the team roster first so Max and Kai continued to practice. They learned many moves including the “Leopard Head” and Standing Crane.”

Max and Kai became one of the county’s best teams but they barely qualified for the tournament tryout.  But Max’s dad had a thought about how to improve his son’s game. He taught Max a new move.

When the contest began, Max and Kai made it through the first two rounds. They beat the Snake, a formidable opponent, in the semifinals and squeaked to the finals.

In the finals, they came face to face with Tiger and Dragon. Tiger and Dragon won the first set but Max and Kai hung on in the second. Max and Kai earned a match point.

Max served a hard shot but Dragon leashed a hard return. This was the moment.

Max leaped high and smashed through Tiger and Dragon’s defense utilizing the “Monkey Spike” move his dad taught him. This was the deciding move! Max and Kai won the contest.

“This upset shows us that magic can still surprise us all,” the Jade Emperor said.

Shadow Puppets:

Max the monkey

Kai, a friend

The Jade Emperor

Tiger

Dragon

Monkey Queen

Monkey King

Act out The Year of the Monkey. Show Max and Kai competing and wining in other sports, too.

Shadow Theatre

Shadow Theater made of recycled materials

 

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Aug29

Make a Shadow Puppet Theater and Shadow Puppets

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Make a Shadow Puppet Theater and Shadow Puppets
SHADOW THEATRE

SHADOW THEATER

MATERIALS FOR THE THEATER:

(1) Large cereal box 13 ½” x 7 ½”

Scissors

Box cutters

Masking tape or packaging tape

White glue or double-stick tape

Colored papers, i.e. construction paper, scrap booking papers, or material like craft foam or felt

Tracing paper or translucent papers

Small lamp

PROJECT:

  1. Measure the large cereal box and cut out the back. Tape down the sides of the box.
  2. Cut out a window in the front leaving 2” width wise and 1” lengthwise.  Discard   cardboard scraps or save them to use for another time.
  3. Select papers or felt or craft foam to cover the front and sides of the stage. Be colorful. The top, bottom, sides and the front of the stage do not have to match. Contrast colors and/or patterns.
  4. Measure the sides, top and bottom of the stage. Measure the front of the stage around the cut out window.  An easy way to measure the front is to turn it over, lay it on a sheet of paper and trace around the outside of the box and around the cut out. Cut the papers and glue them down.
  5. Measure the width and length of the window. Select either tracing paper or translucent paper and measure and cut it a slightly bigger than the window. Glue behind the stage so the ends of the paper won’t show.
  6. Test the lamp: does it work? The lamp will illuminate the puppets from behind.
  7. Add more embellishments such as columns or curtains.
  8. The Shadow Puppet Theater is (almost) ready to go!

BASIC APPROACH TO THE PROJECT OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS: MAKE SHADOW PUPPETS BASED ON STORIES OF THE CHINESE ZODIAC

The next step is to read the synopsis of the zodiac tale and make the shadow puppets. There are twelve stories, twelve animals and other characters that illustrate the stories of the Chinese Zodiac.

When looking for information on how to draw animals and people, select free downloads on the web. I have listed a handful of sites (below) but there are more. Be sure that the clip art is free!!

www.dragoart.com

www.wikihow.com

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/

MATERIALS:

White glue

Popsicle sticks

Dark paper

Scissors

Free clip art websites

PROJECT:

  1. Using free downloadable clip art, look up easy to follow instruction for tracing and cutting out the animals.
  2. Glue to a Popsicle stick and recreate the stories for friends and family. Charge a small fee and open the plays to the neighborhood.
  3. As a challenge, rewrite the endings to the stories or add or drop minor characters to make the stories unique!
  4. Act out the stories for friends and family!

 

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