Instructions
As a member of the cast for "Alice in Wonderland," you're already exploring a world of creativity and performance. This worksheet connects your theatrical experience to your core academic subjects. Answer each question to the best of your ability, thinking about how the world of the stage and the world of Wonderland intersect with your studies.
Art
Set & Prop Design: The Mad Hatter's tea party is visually chaotic. Imagine you are the prop master. You need to design a "character teapot" that reflects the personality of either the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, or the Dormouse. Describe your teapot's design, including its shape, color scheme, and any unusual features. Explain how your design choices are influenced by the artistic movement of Surrealism (e.g., unexpected juxtapositions, dream-like imagery).
English
Character & Monologue: Many characters in Wonderland get a chance to speak their mind, but some are quieter. Write a short monologue (150-200 words) from the perspective of the White Rabbit just after he realizes he's late for his duties with the Queen of Hearts. Focus on conveying his anxiety, his sense of duty, and the internal conflict he feels. Consider using literary devices like repetition or rhetorical questions to enhance the frantic tone.
Foreign Language (French)
Translation & Context: The Cheshire Cat famously says, "We're all mad here." This line captures the essence of Wonderland. Translate this iconic quote into French. Then, provide a literal, word-for-word translation back into English to see how the meaning and structure differ.
Quote: "We're all mad here."
History
Victorian Context: Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) wrote "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" in 1865, during the Victorian era in Great Britain. This era had strict social rules and rapid technological change. Identify and explain three aspects of Victorian society (e.g., social etiquette, class structure, children's roles, scientific discoveries) that might be satirized or reflected in the seemingly nonsensical world of Wonderland. For example, how does the rigid and illogical "croquet game" reflect Victorian social rituals?
Math
Scaling & Proportions: In the play, Alice famously grows and shrinks. Imagine the set designer has a model of a door that is 6 inches tall. For the scene where Alice has grown enormous, she needs to appear 12 times her normal size. If the real door on stage is 7 feet tall, how tall would a new, "giant Alice" prop door need to be, in feet, to maintain the same proportion relative to the now-giant Alice? Show your work.
Music
Sound Design: Music and sound are crucial for setting the mood. You are the sound designer for the scene where Alice first falls down the rabbit hole. Create a list of at least five key sound cues you would use in sequence to create a sense of wonder, confusion, and gentle danger. For each cue, briefly explain its purpose (e.g., "A faint, ticking clock sound that grows louder and then distorts, to represent the distortion of time.").
Physical Education
Actor's Warm-Up: Playing a physically demanding or eccentric role, like the Queen of Hearts or the Mad Hatter, requires vocal and physical preparation. Design a 5-minute pre-show warm-up routine for an actor. Your routine should include at least two vocal exercises and three physical exercises designed to prepare the body and voice for performance, improve articulation, and prevent injury.
Science
Biology of Perception: The Cheshire Cat gradually disappears, leaving only its grin. This plays on ideas of perception and reality. Explain the biological process of how our eyes and brain work together to perceive an object. Then, hypothesize how a real-world phenomenon like an optical illusion or the concept of persistence of vision could be used on stage to create a similar disappearing effect for the audience.
Social Studies
Systems of Government: The Kingdom of Hearts is ruled by a tyrannical Queen who shouts "Off with their heads!" for any minor offense. In political science, this is a clear example of a specific type of government. Identify the system of government or leadership style that the Queen of Hearts' rule most closely represents (e.g., absolute monarchy, tyranny, dictatorship). Justify your answer with at least two specific examples of her behavior or the laws of her kingdom from the story.
Answer Key
Art
(Answers will vary, but should demonstrate understanding of character and Surrealism.)
Example Answer for the Mad Hatter: My teapot would be a classic shape, but with a clock face embedded in the side where the hands spin backward. The spout would be shaped like a question mark, and the lid would be a miniature, steaming top hat. The color scheme would be a jarring mix of clashing stripes and polka dots. This reflects Surrealism by taking a normal object (a teapot) and combining it with illogical, dream-like elements (the clock, the hat) that defy expectation, much like the Hatter's own personality.
English
(Answers will vary. Look for a clear panicked tone, sense of urgency, and character-specific details.)
Example Monologue Snippet: "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! My whiskers, my fur, I'm late! The time! The time! Did it say 3 o'clock or was it half-past? The Queen! She'll have my head, she will, she'll have it right off! What was the charge? A song? A tart? No, no, a trial! And the Duchess will be furious. Why do my paws tremble so? I must run faster. But which way? This way? That way? Every path seems longer than the last. If only time would wait, just for a moment, just for one... oh, my ears and whiskers, I'm late!"
Foreign Language (French)
French Translation: "Nous sommes tous fous ici."
Literal Translation back to English: "We are all mad here." (In this case, the literal translation is very close to the common English phrasing, though word order and conjugation differ.)
History
(Answers should name three distinct aspects and connect them to the story.)
Example Answers:
- Strict Social Etiquette: The Mad Hatter's tea party mocks the rigid and often nonsensical rules of Victorian tea parties, where there were specific rules for everything. The characters follow their own absurd rules, satirizing how arbitrary social conventions can feel.
- Class Hierarchy: Wonderland has a strict class structure with the King and Queen of Hearts at the top. The Queen's absolute power and the terror of her subjects reflect the rigid class divides and the immense power wielded by the monarchy and aristocracy in the Victorian era.
- Education and Logic: Victorian education for children heavily emphasized rote memorization and logic. Alice constantly tries to apply her lessons in Wonderland, but they always fail her, suggesting a critique of an education system that doesn't prepare one for the absurdities of the real world.
Math
The problem is about maintaining proportions.
Step 1: Find the scaling factor. Alice is 12 times her normal size. Therefore, objects relative to her must also be scaled up by a factor of 12 to look proportional.
Step 2: The normal stage door is 7 feet tall. We need to scale this up by 12.
Calculation: 7 feet * 12 = 84 feet.
Answer: The new prop door would need to be 84 feet tall to maintain the correct proportion for a giant Alice.
Music
(Answers will vary but should be logical and sequential.)
Example Soundscape:
- Cue 1: Distant, gentle wind chimes. Purpose: To create an initial magical, dreamy quality as she nears the rabbit hole.
- Cue 2: A sudden, rushing wind sound combined with a descending musical scale (like a xylophone). Purpose: To signal the beginning of the fall and build suspense.
- Cue 3: Faint, distorted conversational murmurs and ticking clocks. Purpose: To create disorientation and the sense that she is falling past different, strange worlds and through time itself.
- Cue 4: A single, deep, resonant "thump" sound effect. Purpose: To signify her landing, making it sound both soft and jarringly sudden.
- Cue 5: Silence for three seconds, then a single, curious musical note (e.g., from a flute). Purpose: To emphasize the strangeness of her new surroundings and draw the audience's focus.
Physical Education
(Answers should be practical and include both vocal and physical elements.)
Example Routine:
- (Vocal) Lip Trills (1 minute): Make a "brrrr" sound with the lips, going up and down in pitch. This warms up the lips and breath support.
- (Vocal) Tongue Twisters (1 minute): Recite articulation exercises clearly and at increasing speed (e.g., "The tip of the tongue, the teeth, the lips"). This warms up the articulators for clear speech.
- (Physical) Neck and Shoulder Rolls (1 minute): Gently roll the head and shoulders to release tension, which can restrict the voice and movement.
- (Physical) Full Body Shake-out (1 minute): Shake out arms, legs, and the whole body to release nervous energy and get blood flowing.
- (Physical) Character Stance (1 minute): Assume the core physical posture of the character and breathe deeply in that position, helping to center the actor and connect physicality to the role.
Science
Biological Process: Light reflects off an object and enters the eye through the pupil. The lens focuses this light onto the retina, which contains photoreceptor cells (rods and cones). These cells convert light into electrical signals, which are sent via the optic nerve to the brain. The brain's visual cortex processes these signals to interpret color, shape, and motion, creating the image we "see."
Theatrical Application: A stage effect could use an optical illusion known as the Pepper's Ghost effect. This involves using a large piece of glass or reflective film angled on stage, hidden from the audience. An actor (or object) in a hidden area is lit, and their reflection appears on the glass, looking like a transparent ghost on stage. By slowly fading the light on the hidden actor, their reflection on stage will seem to magically and gradually disappear, leaving the rest of the scene intact.
Social Studies
System of Government: The Queen of Hearts' rule is a form of Tyranny or Absolute Monarchy.
Justification:
- Absolute, Arbitrary Power: The Queen holds all the power and makes decisions based on her whims, not on law or justice. Her constant demand, "Off with their heads!," for trivial offenses like being a poor croquet player, shows she is not bound by any legal process.
- Lack of Due Process: During the trial of the Knave of Hearts, the Queen demands a verdict before the evidence is even presented ("Sentence first—verdict afterwards"). This demonstrates a complete disregard for justice and the rights of her subjects, which is a hallmark of a tyrannical regime.