Tempest in a Teacup teachers' notes
The Tempest is believed to be the final play Shakespeare wrote, around 1610-1611 – almost four hundred years ago! The original play centres around Prospero, the Rightful Duke of Milan who was banished, along with his then-baby daughter Miranda, to an island in order for his brother to take his rightful throne. Twelve years later, we see him using magical powers to conjure a storm to bring a nearby boat ashore. The native inhabitants of the island, the spirit Ariel and the 'monster' Caliban help and hinder his work.
To make the story easily accessible to primary students we've taken the script and given it to some cooky clowns. They probably weren't the safest choice to give the script to, but they said they'd do a good job, so how could we say no?
The characters you will meet
Stariel – an honest faerie of limited intelligence
Cranky-Pants – a creature with an unfortunate resemblance to a root vegetable
Profiterole – a wizard who takes himself a bit too seriously
Princess Gary – a middling maiden of the princess variety
Frank – an evil plotting villain with a big red sack
Perkyman – a Captain of untold (until now) bravery with an annoying habit of bringing home sticks
Some themes that are explored
Friendship
Loyalty
Bravery
Competition
Tolerance and respect for difference*
Discovery and colonisation*
*These themes could tie in with a number of SOSE topics.
A day in the life of Princess Gary ...
What do you think Princess Gary does all day on the island? In groups or individually, ask students to draw, paint, write or act out what things Princess Gary might get up to.
A postcard from the island
In groups of four to ten, the participants are given a moment from the play to portray - creating a still image or 'postcard'. The students should be encouraged to think beyond the physical objects which might be in the scene but also abstract ideas, for example one child might chose to represent the friendship between Cranky and Stariel, or the impending change on the island when the red sack arrives.
Some of the postcards that could be asked of the participants may not be included in the play, for instance, they could be asked to physical portray the thoughts in each of the characters' minds at significant moments in the story, with some explanation and discussion throughout and after the postcard is created. This could be specialised to suit a theme that might relate to current schoolwork the class in undertaking.
Design your own costume
Photocopy the finger-puppet template below and distribute a copy to each child.
In a group of four to six, the children should then each choose a different character from Tempest in a Teacup and make a corresponding finger puppet. If available, scraps of material and different coloured scraps of paper could be used to glue on to create their puppets. They should be encouraged to be creative with their finger puppets and not just copy the costumes which they saw in the show; this could be a good activity to explain costumes and costume design.
When complete (and, if using wet glue, dry) the children should be encouraged in their groups to recreate their favourite part of the play, or create new adventures for Stariel, Cranky-Pants, Profiterole, Gary, Frank and Perkyman using their finger puppets.
