For plays in our Chicago Playworks or Theatre School Showcase seasons, The Theatre School prepares a Teacher Guide and/or a Curtain Raiser for use in your classroom. Our intention is to create connections between our performances and all areas of the elementary school curriculum for Chicago Playworks and the high school curriculum for The Theatre School Showcase. Also included are a variety of activities, discussion topics and assignments that teachers may use in their classes. The Teacher Guide is sent to everyone who purchases tickets for a group; they are also available to patrons on request.

Before the Teacher Guide is published, we release the Curtain Raiser, a shorter guide presenting some background material on each production in our season for teachers and parents.

Teacher Guide: Playworks

Title Run Date Credits Teacher Guide
The Boxcar Children01/14/06 by Barbara Field, adapted from the novels by Gertrude Chandler Warner, directed by John Jenkins, teacher guide prepared by Caitlin Hansen
Bridge to Terabithia01/14/97 adapted by Katherine Paterson and Stephanie S. Tolan, music by Steve Liebman
Charlotte's Web10/08/96 adapted by Joseph Robinette
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory10/03/00 by Roald Dahl and Richard George, from the book by Roald Dahl, directed by Rachael Slavik
Cinderella Eats Rice and Beans: A Salsa Musical03/29/05 books and lyrics by Karen Zacarias, music by Debbie Wicks La Puma, directed by Lisa Portes, musical direction by Mark Elliott, teacher guide prepared by Lenora Inez Brown and Elizabeth A. Schramm, spanish translation by Enrique San Miguel
Coyote and His Brothers01/12/99 by Lin Wright and the original cast of the production, based on Pima Indian Legends by Anna Moore Shaw
Duke Kahanamoku and the Surfnappers03/27/01 by Eric Overmyer, directed by Ric Murphy
The Kingdom of Grimm03/28/06 books, music and lyrics by Douglas Post, musical arrangements by Mark Elliott and Jeff Richards, vocal arrangements by Mark Elliott, keyboard programming by Jeff Richards, directed by Barry Brunetti, musical direction by Mark Elliott, .
Grimm Tales03/28/00 adpated by Carol Ann Duffy, dramatized by Tim Supple for the Young Vic Company, directed by Ric Murphy, musical direction by Mark Elliott
The Highest Heaven01/15/04 by Jose Cruz Gonzalez, directed by Lisa Portes, teacher guide prepared by Rob Cohn, Dramaturg
Icarus Blue01/14/03 by Naomi Iizuka, directed by James Ostholthoff
The Little Prince10/05/99 books and lyrics by Arthur Perlman, music by Jeffery Lunden, based on a book by Antoine De-Saint, directed by Besty Hamilton, musical direction by Mark Elliott
Mango Leaf magic11/01/05 by James Ambrose Brown, directed by Ann Wakefield, teacher guide prepared by Lyssa Cook
The Owl and the Pussycat Went to See04/01/03 a musical play by Sheila Ruskin and David Wood based on the verses and stories of Edward Lear, directed by Ann Wakefield
Peter Pan10/24/97 a musical based on the play by James M. Barrie, music by Mark Charlap, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, additional music by Jule Styne, additional lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Ramona Quimby10/07/03 dramatized by Len Jenkin, directed by Trudie Kesller, teacher guide prepared by Ernie Nolan, Dramaturg
Rip Van Winkle01/13/00 adapted by Frederick Gaines, from the story of Washington Irving, directed by John Jenkins, musical direction by Mark Elliott
The Secret Garden01/13/98 by Frances Hodgson Burnett, adapted by Pamela Sterling
The Selfish Giant and Other Wilde Tales04/02/02 the world premiere of an adpation of Oscar Wilde's Complete Fairy Tales by Carolyn Hoerdemann, directed by Ric Murphy
Stamping, Shouting and Singing Home10/08/02 by Lisa Evans, directed by Phyllis E. Griffin
Steal Away Home10/06/98 by Aurand harris, based on the novels by Jane Kristof
There's a Boy, in the Girls' Bathrrom01/15/06 by Louis Sachar, directed by Damon Kiely, teacher guide prepared by Elizabeth A. Schram
Threadheads03/30/99 by Dean Corrin from an idea by David L. Avcollie, music adapted and arranged by Mark Elliott, directed by David L. Avcollie, musical direction by Mark Elliott
Tokoloshe 11/02/04 by Pieter Scholtz, directed by Ann Wakefield, teacher guide prepared by Gretl Satorius
Tuck Everlasting04/01/97 adapted by Mark Frattaroli
The Wrestling Season02/02/04 by Laurie Brooks, directed by John Jenkins

Teacher Guide: Showcase

Title Run Date Credits Teacher Guide
A Bright Room Called Day02/06/97 by Tony Kushner
The Grapes of Wrath05/21/99 adapted by Frank Galati, from the novel by John Steinbeck, directed by Michael Maggio
Hedda Gabler04/28/00 by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Christopher Hampton, directed by Patrice Egleston
Misalliance11/07/96 by George Bernard Shaw
A Murder of Crows02/15/02 by Mac Wellman, directed by James Ostholthoff
Othello10/07/05 by William Shakespeare, directed by Henry Godinez, insider's guide prepared by Evan Fillon and RJ Hodde
The Perpetual Patient05/15/98 by Keith Reddin
Sight Unseen11/03/00 by Donald Margulies, directed by Peter Hobert
Six Degrees of Separation03/06/98 by John Guare
Yerma04/20/01 by Federico Garcia Lorca, translated by W. S. Merwin, directed by Henry Godinez

Teacher Guide: Curtain Raisers

Season Shows Curtain Raiser
2006-2007 The BFG, Cloud Nine, Einstein is a Dummy, Life's a Dream, Like a Cow or an Elephant, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, The Trial
2005-2006 The Boxcar Children, The Kingdom of Grimm, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Mango Leaf Magic, Othello, Pentecost, Two Trains Running
2004-2005 Cinderella Eats Rice and Beans, Dinner at Eight, Insurrection, Saint Joan of the Stockyards, Tokoloshe, There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, Under Milk Wood
2003-2004 Flyin' West, The Highest Heaven, Lapin Lapin, Marisol, Pinocchio 3.5, Ramona Quimby, The Servant of Two Masters
2002-2003 Assassins, Don Juan Comes Back from the War, Icarus Blue, The Owl and the Pussy Went to See, Stamping, Shouting and Singing Home, The Three Sister, Waiting for Godot
2000-2001 Anna Karenina, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Duke Kahanamoku vs. the Surfnappers, Jungalbook, Noises Off, Sight Unseen, Yerma

If you have any questions about our season or resources for teachers, please feel free to contact:

Linda RM Jones, Group Sales Representative, (312) 922-0999