Denver Center

Inside Out
Theatre Company

A S TUDY G UIDE

I
produced by the education department September 1999

n a shabby, isolated cottage

in western Ireland, specifi-
cally the village of Leenane
in Galway County, Connemara, a
“Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone....”
mother and daughter are engaged
in an epic battle of ordinary life.
W.B. Yeats, Responsibilities. September 1913. Stanza 3.
Mother Mag is an aging, ailing
lump of a woman who whines and
bullies to get her own way.
Maureen, Mag’s plain, unmarried
daughter passing 40 without a boy-
friend in sight, resentfully
carries out her mother’s orders.
Onto this familial battleground step
the Dooley brothers–Pato, a possi-
ble knight in shining armor to res-
cue Maureen, and Ray, his younger
brother and message bearer. In this
black comedy, the playwright turns
his focus on a simple village full of
ordinary lives that complexities,
contradictions and cruelties con-
ceal.

“The back of the hand [has

been] given to the customs
and manners of the old.–It
can’t be helped, I suppose,
because life is changing as
the years are passing along.”
—Peig Sayers,
An Old Woman’s Reflections. The
Beauty Queen
of Leenane
Photo by Gary Isaacs

SPONSORED BY
 M
artin McDonagh was born in England in 1970. His father, a con-

THE PLAYWRIGHT “[His plays are set

in rural Ireland]
struction worker, and his mother, a part-time domestic, had left
Connemara, Ireland in the mid-1960s and settled in South
London where they raised Martin and his older brother, John. In 1991,
both parents moved back to Ireland where they now live in semi-retire-
where you can’t ment in a village on the west coast near Galway. When they left England,
they gave the brothers the family’s row house in Camberwell, a working-
kick a cow without class neighborhood in South London where the two still live.
The younger McDonagh despised school. After quitting high school,
someone bearing a Martin spent most of the next five years unemployed, supported by gov-
ernment aid. Eventually, he became so bored that he read a few books
grudge for 20 owned by his brother, who was well-read and interested in screenwriting.
years.” Martin became interested in writing, too, partly because he didn’t have
to wake up at a set time and leave the house in the morning. Also, he
could watch television whenever he wanted to take a break.
—Martin McDonagh1 After McDonagh turned 21 and lost his unemployment benefits, he
took a job as a clerk at the Department of Trade and Industry. He contin-
ued to write and wrote some TV scripts and short stories but had no
success in marketing them. He also sent 22 radio scripts to the
BBC but they were all rejected. He next moved on to plays for
the legitimate stage. He admired the works of Harold Pinter
and David Mamet, and his first attempts were bad Mamet
rip-offs. He discovered his own playwriting voice in his
memories of childhood summer vacations spent in Ireland
and conversations he had with his relatives. McDonagh’s
first play (not counting the ones he scrapped) was The
Beauty Queen of Leenane. It was quickly followed by A
Skull in Connemara and The Lonesome West and the three
plays became known as the Leenane trilogy.
Garry Hynes of the Druid Theater Company of Galway took a
chance on The Beauty Queen of Leenane and produced it in
1995. It was a huge success and subsequently toured Ireland.
The production then moved to London where it played in the
West End. In 1998, Beauty Queen opened in New York at the
Atlantic Theater, an off-Broadway theater. Its six-week run sold out
almost immediately and it moved to Broadway. The play garnered
four Tony Awards for Best Director, Best Actress, Best Featured Actress
and Best Featured Actor. In the meantime, the entire Leenane trilogy
was staged at the Druid; The Cripple of Inishmaan was produced in
London and then in New York. This spring, The Lonesome West opened in
New York to favorable reviews.

M
cDonagh doesn’t see many plays and feels that art that concerns
politics and social issues is dull. “My kind of theater incorpo-
rates as many cinematic elements as possible, because I like
films better than theater.”2 Indeed, he has often said he is using theater
to gain enough recognition and capital to begin making his own films.
In the meantime he has four plays that are waiting to be produced.

“I find that I enjoy telling interesting stories. It’s

fun. I love to surprise myself and make myself
laugh. And you know, you have to attempt to
leave something decent behind you.”3
2
 Connemara,
tection against wind and water erosion.
The shoreline is rugged and dangerous,
offering little shelter for harboring, and

Ireland
leaving fishermen exposed to the sudden
violence of Atlantic storms. As a region,
A BRIEF HISTORY the west of Ireland is ill-suited for either
AND DESCRIPTION farming or fishing.
The climate, too, is unfriendly most of
the year. In December and January, a low

T
he wild, stony mountainous region of introduced new industries like lace-mak- pressure system over the Atlantic brings
Connemara is in the county of Galway ing and herring-curing. There was also a strong winds and frontal rain. From
where the village of Leenane can be renewed interest in the Gaelic way of life February to June, the weather is dry, but
found. The name Connemara comes from and the Irish language, which had almost cold. From late June or early July, a
the tribe of Conmac, or Conmaiene, a disappeared in the 18th and 19th centu- westerly, water-laden airflow produces
warrior tribe which was sent into the area cloud cover, humidity, and rainfall which
can last until August or September. In
by the ancient Gaelic kings of Connaught
to secure the territory. Modern Connemara “To see Ireland happy you October and November, rain may continue
extends south from Killary Harbor almost
to Galway City, and westward from the must carefully select your but daytime weather can be decent. May
tends to be the sunniest month with an
west shore of Lough Carrib to the Atlantic
ocean.
point of view, look for average of six to seven hours of sunshine
per day.
some narrow, isolated spot
D
From the sixth through the tenth cen- espite the inhospitable climate and
turies, the area was home to Christian the unfavorable soil, there are still
mystics, hermits and raiding Viking
tribes. In the 13th century, the Normans
and shut your eyes to all communities of people living in
Galway. One of these villages is Leenane
tried to conquer it, but they lost it to the
O’Flaherty clan who held it until the mid-
the objects that surround or Leenaun. “The village consists of ter-
races of color-washed houses, a bar, a
17th century when they were dispos-
sessed by the Cromwellians of England.
it, but wretched Ireland, shop, a hotel, and a few modern bunga-
lows.”5 It stands by the head of the tidal
After the sack of Galway City in 1652,
“the rampaging armies of Oliver Cromwell
on the contrary, bursts Killary Harbor and is the meeting point of
several ranges of mountains, including
told natives to go “to hell—or to
Connaught.” The western province,
upon your view every- the Mweelrea, Ben Gorm, Maamturks and
Partry mountains.
including Connemara, was so bleak and where.” Because the land in Connemara is so
poor, most farmers require another source
infertile that the [English] planters will-
ingly ceded most of its badlands to the A French visitor to Ireland in the of income to survive. Many have turned
Irish. Ever after it became a byword for 1880s in R.B. McDowell’s Social their homes into guest houses, while
all that was primitive and undeveloped.”4 Life in Ireland 1805-1845. some work in factories, hotels or restau-
Connemara was hit particularly hard by rants. All are concerned with securing the
the Great Famine of the 1840s when the peat (turf), which is the main source of
potato crop failed. Mass emigration was ries. Dr. Douglas Hyde founded the Gaelic fuel for Connemara homes. The peat is
the only alternative to mass starvation; League in 1893 to encourage interest in cut during May or June and laid out to
between 1841-1851, the population of the Irish language and folklore. dry. Later it is turned over, stacked to

T
County Galway fell by 27 percent. But the he quality of the land still remains continue drying and finally brought home
next three decades brought a gradual poor today. Top soil is thin, infertile at the end of summer. The cutting and
recovery from the trauma of the famine. and rocky. There are huge tracts of drying of turf is traditionally a man’s job.
The tenants mobilized and demanded the soft bog, only the edges of which could Though modern technology has reached
British government make major reforms in be drained and fertilized enough for a Western Ireland, the area is still viewed
the land tenure system; they improved crop. The land has been stripped of its as primitive and provincial by many other
harbors, subsidized fishing fleets and trees, leaving the ground with little pro- Irish.

“It is a country where the bones of the earth

stick through its starved skin.”
—George Russell, describing the Rosses region of Donnegal.

3
 COMMENTARY The Leenane Trilogy and Irish Rural Life by Sally Ga
ss

T
he plays of Martin McDonagh’s communities engaged in dancing, singing depressants than headache tablets.”9
Leenane trilogy are loosely inter- and storytelling; in winter, a community Typically, the mental breakdown alter-
linked in that they take place in the came together for winter festivities. The nates between sobbing withdrawal and
same village with a level of violence that last three decades have seen a decline in the destruction of household property.
is demonstrated or underlies the action. such activities, and community life has The latter act is demonstrated in The
The Beauty Queen of Leenane, the first become weak and intermittent. For exam- Lonesome West, when one brother
play of the trio, is the story of a stifling ple, when young people married they tra- destroys the other’s religious artifacts.
relationship between a spiteful old ditionally returned to the bride’s home In a traditional Irish home, the father
was dominant. Hugh Brody, mentioned
above, reports on the erosion of this
“All of McDonagh’s plays reveal dark undertones dominance when he describes a group of
young men going out to gather turf. The
sod packets were loaded onto a cart and
barely below the surface of rural Irish life.”6 the boys sat on top. As they traveled
back along a tiny winding lane, the boys
began to hurl turf at the houses and
woman and the unmarried daughter who for a wedding celebration; today, the other carts. As the cart progressed down
looks after her. In A Skull in Connemara, couples hold the reception in the smart- a very narrow line of houses, the eldest
a gravedigger initiates his young assis- est hotel the bride’s family can afford. brother pulled out a pocket knife and
tant in the art of “moving” the dead to In addition, mutual aid is disappearing began to slash at the bindings that held
make room for new arrivals. This task from the land. Today there is more of an thatch to the roof rafters. His gestures
comes around every seven years, and this emphasis on the privacy and self-reliance were not playful and seemed to confirm a
time the remains include those of the of each household. The separate farm tremendous inner tension. When the
gravedigger’s wife, who is rumored to families have withdrawn into themselves; author and boys reached their home, it
have been killed in an automobile acci- thus, Maureen is left alone to deal with was time for tea. Instead of sitting with
dent. In The Lonesome West, two brothers Mag in The Beauty Queen of Leenane. their parents, the boys sat by themselves
live together in a state of constant war- Both decline and imbalance in popula- telling Brody how stupid their parents
fare. One of them has killed their father; tion continue to dominate rural Ireland. were, how old-fashioned, how little they
the other, using some sharp blackmail, In Inishkillane, the largest population knew. Throughout these exchanges the
has inherited the family property. After group consists of those between 56-60 father said nothing. “It became obvious
the local priest drowns himself, they try and the smallest between 26-30. A break- that in the relationship between parents
to honor his last wishes by making up. down by households in the parish shows and children of the family, the behavior
Predictably, their good intentions soon 56 bachelors living alone, 61 spinsters and attitudes I was witnessing, were
result in worse mayhem than before. living alone, 68 widowers living alone, 66 accepted. It was certainly a far cry from
McDonagh’s plays convey the sense of widows living alone. Forty-two bachelors the traditional farm family.”10
desolation and isolation that pervade
this particular village. “The inhabitants
say and do cruel things merely to keep
Tradition: “The longer I live the more keenly I feel that
themselves occupied and to distract them
from the feeling the world has passed
whatever was good enough for our fathers is not good
them by.”7 Hugh Brody writes of these
factors and more in his book Inishkillane: enough for us.” —Oscar Wilde.
Change and Decline in the West of Ireland.
He notes that the increasing awareness live with their mothers, 42 bachelors live Parish priests, too, are regarded with
of the urban industrial society (seen on with their fathers. Couples who live alone little respect. Though most of the villag-
television) brings to rural people a new with children number 73 and 65 couples ers attend Sunday services, they find the
level of self-criticism. This consciousness without children live alone, etc. The mid- priests’ sermons irritating when they
of a life style different from one of sub- dle-aged and elderly inhabitants have appeal to the young to stay at home and
ordinating all things to the family farm possession of the parish and in none is the old to farm with greater enterprise
causes restlessness, uncertainty and there the possibility of a younger genera- and fuller cooperation. After services,
stress. For some, the preference is emi- tion emerging. Additionally, 12 of the many of the householders go to bars,
gration and leaving the traditional sys- 231 households in Inishkillane contain while many women go off with their
tem. For those remaining, there is a people suffering from mental illness asso- daughters and sons to shop. Sunday may
sense of demoralization; “they have lost ciated with isolation and depression. begin with mass for all, but after church,
belief in the social advantages or moral “The nurse who comes each week to the the divisions reassert themselves. As The
worth of their own small society.”8 small surgery at the back of the village Beauty Queen of Leenane shows, the
Brody notes that in summer, rural Irish bar claims she dispenses more anti- characters in the village are really not

continued on page 5
4
 e r T h e at r e
C e n t
continued from page 4

sure of the parish priest’s name.

e r
Denv any Design
Comp
In Declan Kiberd’s book, Inventing

nce e
Ireland, his essay on “Fathers and

o n f e r
Sons” speaks of the sons’ disenchant-

C
ment with the Irish male as seen in
the works of James Joyce, John

n y P o w e l l ’s
ho
t
Millington Synge and Sean O’Casey.
They write of an older generation that

Di r e c t o r A n
o n
cannot break through to a newer sys-
tem; of an erosion of the “self-confi-
dence of the elderly, to a point where
Pr e s e n t a t i
T
their influence ceases to exist. The
result is a fatherless society—and so he Beauty Queen of Leenane is the When a man suddenly enters Maureen’s
it is no surprise when the vacuum first part of Anglo-Irish writer life, the daily wrangling between moth-
thus created is filled by the self-creat- Martin McDonagh’s Leenane trilogy, er and daughter slowly escalates into
ed codes of the young.”11 a harrowing and hilarious cycle of plays an all-out war of attrition. No quarter
McDonagh’s plays seem to fit this all set in the same rough, backwater is given, no prisoners taken.
thesis. In the Leenane trilogy, there town on the western coast of Ireland. McDonagh’s plays are exciting to read
are no parents, except for Mag, who is (The other two plays are A Skull in and laugh-out-loud funny. McDonagh’s
no example of a caring mother. In Connemara and The Lonesome West.) As version of spoken
their lonely, isolated, leaderless lives,
depicted by language is quite
all the children can do is smash the
icons and traditions their parents McDonagh, a wonderful
have lived with—as the gravediggers Leenane is a thing, seemingly
smash the bones in The A Skull in completely realistic but
Connemara—and try to live with the awful place, really a highly
skeletons—or invent new selves. stricken by pov- stylized cre-
erty and seeth- ation all his
ing with petty own. (The lan-
resentments that guage spoken
lead, often as in McDonagh’s
not, to mayhem. Leenane is to
Leenane is not a Irish speech
place to live, it is what
a place to leave. Faulkner’s
As the suicidal language
priest of the par- was to the
ish, Father Welsh, American
points out in one of South.)
the plays, Leenane is McDonagh
a town in which God borrows from, and also
himself seems to have no parodies, (sometimes so hard that it
jurisdiction. hurts) classic Irish drama. In Beauty
Beauty Queen’s plotline is almost Queen, as in the rest of the trilogy,
absurdly simple, but the psychological characters must suffer through the
story underpinning it is rich and com- same dramatic travails we associate
plex. This is very much an actor’s play, with the folks in Synge’s Riders to the
with four wonderful roles and substan- Sea and the plays of O’Casey but with
tial subtext. Maureen Folan is a an awful, absurdist edge. There is a
40-year-old woman who still lives with bracing meanness to his plays. The rap
her grasping and manipulative old on McDonagh is that his plays are bril-
mother, Mag. The two spend their days liant but lack heart. The director
in a grinding, acrimonious struggle doesn’t necessarily agree. Yes, the
over nothing, responding to slights plays are cruel, but McDonagh seems to
both real and imagined. Their relation- be saying that this is life on planet
ship is based on a mutual loathing so Earth and we’re all in the same mon-
extreme that it borders on love. Both strous tangle. He’s never above the
women bring hideous new meaning to action, commenting. He seems to be in
the expression “passive-aggressive.” the trenches, right alongside.

5
 BLACK “The genre screams Think About It!
COMEDY as it scrambles one’s complacency by
juxtaposing humor and horror.”
he Beauty Queen of black comedy has three central themes—man as
Leenane has been beast, the absurdity of the world and
described as a black the omnipresence of death.
comedy. According “These terrible realities belie the
to Losman’s veneer of rationality that ‘civi-
Lair of Horror located on the lized’ man too often accepts
Internet, black comedy is a movie as a norm. The genre screams
(or drama) which draws its humor Think About It! as it scram-
from dark subjects like murder, war bles one’s complacency by
and suffering. It employs these juxtaposing humor and hor-
events or circumstances which nor- ror.”14
mally would not be funny and uses Finally, J. L Styan in his
them in a macabre and twisted book The Dark Comedy, writes
way. that “dark comedy is drama which
Dave Barry, the Pulitzer-prize win- impels the spectator forward by stimu-
ning humorist, said in a Time magazine inter- lus to mind or heart, then distracts him, muddles
view on July 3, 1989 that all humor “is based in the fear that him, so that time and time again he must review his own activ-
the world is not very sane or reliable or organized and that it’s ity in watching the play.”15 Thus, the playwright of dark or
not controlled by very responsible people. Anything can happen black comedy must show us the duller aspects of human person-
to you, and you have no say in it, and it could be bad.”12 ality in order to extend the content of the drama and point out
This opinion is very close to that of Hennig Cohen who, writ- the same foibles in ourselves. We are witness to stupidity, bore-
ing a century earlier about Herman Melville’s The Confidence dom, carelessness, doubt, disappointment, reluctance, vacilla-
Man, said the novel’s problem is “how to live in a world in tion, bungling, mediocrity—all the things that seem paltry in
which nothing is what it appears to be, in which the only thing human beings. All these elements are present in The Beauty
knowable is that nothing can be known, and the only thing Queen of Leenane as we both laugh and despair.
believable is that nothing can be believed.”13
Wes Gehring, in his book American Dark Comedy, says dark or

Notes Sources
1. Green, p. 12 Brody, Hugh. Inishkillane. New York: Lyman, Rick. “Most Promising (and
2. Green, p. 13 Schocken Books, 1974. Grating) Playwright.” New York Times
3. Current Biography, p. 422 Current Biography Yearbook. New York: Magazine. January 25, 1998.
4. Kiberd, p. 5 H. W. Wilson, 1998. Styan, J. L. The Dark Comedy. London:
5. Jennett, p. 129 Gehring, Wes D. American Dark Comedy. Cambridge University Press, 1968.
6. Current Biography, p. 421 London: Greenwood Press, 1996. Whilde, Tony and Fitzpatrick, Trish.
7. Current Biography, p. 421 Green, Blake. “The Doings of West of Ireland. Chicago: Passport
8. Brody, p. 16 McDonagh.” Newsday. March 8, 1998. Books, 1995.
9. Brody, p. 100 Jennett, Sean. Connacht. London: Faber
10. Brody, p. 119 and Faber Limited, 1970.
11. Kiberd, p. 388 Kiberd, Declan. Inventing Ireland.
12. Gehring, p. 3 Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University
13. Gehring, p. 3 Press, 1996.
14. Gehring, p. 49 Kiberd, Declan. “The Real Ireland,
15. Styan, p. 262 Some Think.” New York Times. Sunday,
April 25, 1999.

6
 Activities
1. Geography: • How does the ocean influence the
Model Content Standard # 5.2 for
Geography. (Students know how physi-
cal systems affect human systems.)

8. Traditions:
• Have an Irish day. Have food that is tra-
ditionally Irish. Play traditional music.
• Where is Ireland? Find its location on weather? a. What ingredients do the Irish use in
the globe, maps and other geographic • What other countries or places on the their food? Is it significantly different
tools. How large is the land mass in earth surface have a similar climate? from ours?
square miles or kilometers? Activities 4 and 5 contribute to b. What is the usual method of preparing
• Identify Ireland’s latitudes and longi- Colorado Model Content Standards the food?
tudes. How far is it from the North and Standard #4 Earth and Space Science. c. What instruments are used in their
South poles? How far is it from the equa- (Students know and understand the music?
tor? What zone is it in? processes and interactions of Earth d. Describe traditional Irish clothes.
• Create your own map of Ireland. List systems and the structure and dynam- • Watch traditional Irish step dancing
important cities, mountains, rivers, lakes, ics of Earth and other objects in such as the video Riverdance.
the ocean, sea, etc. space.) 4.1 (Students know and under-
• What is Ireland’s farthest point from the stand the composition of Earth, its his- 9. Legends:
Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea? The sea tory, and the natural process that • Investigate historical characters, folk-
is a dominant influence. How does shape it.) 4.2 (Students know and lore, legends and legendary heros of
Ireland’s geographical location effect the understand the general characteristics Ireland. Look up leprechauns, banshees,
people who live there? of the atmosphere and fundamental Fion (Fin) MacCumhaill, The Hound of
• Are there any other places that are geo- processes of weather.) Culann (or CuChulainn), Tir-Na-N-or (coun-
graphically similar? try of the young), pookas, Tuatha de
• Are there any other places where people 6. The Irish People: Danaan (the people of ancient Ireland
confront the same issues? • Research the history of the Irish people. (see the video Willow.), Lugh, sun god of
• What alternatives do people have to Where did they come from? Irish and European Celts and his festival
improve their situation? • Explain the population distribution. of Lughnasa, the shamrock, Grainne or
This activity contributes to Colorado What is the current demographic structure Granuaile (Grace O’Malley) the pirate
Model Content Standard #1 for of Ireland’s population? queen, Mahon MacMahon, a giant, and
Geography. (Students know how to use • Over the centuries, where did the people Saint Patrick.
and construct maps, globes, and other come from and how did the people live, This exercise contributes to State of
geographic tools to locate and derive i.e., farming, fishing, warring, trading Colorado Model Content Standard #6.3
information about people, places and etc.? (Students know how various forms of
environments.) • Describe the evolution of Ireland’s politi- expression reflect religious beliefs and
cal structure? philosophical ideas.)
2. What is the political difference between • Research the patterns of migration,
Northern Ireland and Ireland? invasions and conquests. What were the 10. What does it mean to “kiss the blar-
physical and cultural impacts of human ney stone?”
3. What do the Irish call their country? migration in this area.
This exercise contributes to Colorado 11. Art:
4. Research the geology of Ireland (you Model Content Standard #4 for • Research the art of Ireland, including
may want to include all of Great Britain): Geography (Students understand how Celtic art forms and the illumination of
• What natural processes shaped this economic, political, cultural and social books (see the Book of Kells).
land? processes interact to shape patterns of • Why did this form of art exist? Who were
• Describe with special emphasis on the human populations, interdependence, the people who created the art? How were
eastern coast, this land’s composition, its cooperation and conflict.) 4.1 they trained?
resources and plant life. Are their any (Students know the characteristics, This exercise contributes to State of
other places on the globe that are geologi- location, distribution and migration of Colorado Model Content Standard #4 for
cally similar? Do they have similar resourc- human populations.) Visual Arts. (Students relate the visual
es? arts to various historical and cultural
7. Land: traditions.)
5. Climate: • How do the Irish live with their land?
• Describe the climate of Ireland? Describe What concessions do they have to make to 12. Druids:
Ireland’s weather and analyze weather their environment, i.e., land formations, • Research Druids (priests of the pre-Chris-
patterns of the Irish coast; collect, plot climate, nearness to water, resources, etc.? tian religion). What do we know about
and interpret the data. Explain the factors • Does the physical environment provide them and their religion?
that influence its weather and climate. opportunities or place constraints on • When did Christianity come to Ireland?
• Describe the seasons. What is the tem- human activity? What happened to the Druidic religion?
perature range of each season? What is • Find a land that is very different from • Also research the ancient seasonal festi-
the average rainfall? Yearly? Seasonally? the coast or Ireland. How have it people vals including: the Spring festival Beal-
• How many hours of daylight are there in adapted to their land? Contrast the two taine (May 1), the midsummer festival of
Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall? How peoples and the two lands. Lughnasa (Lunasa), the Fall festival of
long is the growing season? This activity contributes to Colorado Samhain, and the festival called Imbolg,
7
held on February 1. How were they cele- ue the scene until another student enters,
brated? What was their significance? at which time one of the former two stu- 4. Women’s Liberation.
This exercise contributes to State of dents must find a reason to leave. a. The objectives are:
Colorado Model Content Standard #6 Students may enter the kitchen as many 1. To understand some of the issues of
(Students know that religious and times as they want as long as they remain the women’s liberation movement.
philosophical ideas have been powerful in the same character throughout the exer- 2. To develop empathy for women’s
forces throughout history.) cise. issues.
Variation: Allow the students to change b. This is for a large group. Play takes
13. Ancient Sites characters when they reenter the scene. about 30 minutes.
• Look up the stone circles, megaliths, (Exercise 1 & 2 are from Atkins, Greg. c. Copy of handout for each player (see
dolmens and burial mounds that are a Improv: A Handbook for the Actor. New text below).
part of Ireland’s landscape. Hampshire: Heinemann, 1993.) d. Read handout aloud.
• What other ancient structures populate e. Look at each statement. Write down
the landscape of Ireland? What are the 3. Absurdist exercise. examples that prove or disprove each one.
theories behind why these ancient site a. Divide the class into pairs. What are the “other reasons” mentioned
were created? b. Use 3x5 cards and on each card write in the concluding statement? Discuss you
This exercise contributes to State of an action. For example, hop on one foot thoughts with the group.
Colorado Model Content Standard #6.3 and recite Mary Had a Little Lamb; take
(Students know how various forms of off your partner’s shoe; walk in a circle Extensions:
expression reflect religious beliefs and while singing the “National Anthem”; pro- 1. Investigate some of the pioneers of the
philosophical ideas.) pose to your teacher; go around the class women’s liberation movement. Choose one
and tell everyone you love them; take all pioneer and write a short biography of
14. The Yew, the Hawthorne, the Oak the your books out of your backpack; shake her.
Rowan trees were held in special regard by the hand of the other students while ask- 2. Scan the newspapers for local women’s
the Celts. Mistletoe was special also. Why? ing them to vote for you; pretend you are liberation leaders. Write a list of qualities
a chicken; sing the alphabet song; pretend that they share.
Exercises: you need to go to the bathroom really
1. Family Portraits: Divide the class into bad; do cartwheels. You get the idea, but Handout: Women’s Liberation
groups of four or five. Form a circle with make the last card for each and every Because women’s work is never done, we
the class. The first group goes to the cen- player be to enact an overly dramatic and are unpaid or underpaid; because our jobs
ter of the circle and creates a “family por- noisy death scene. It is probably a good are temporary or part-time, we’re the first
trait” based on a type of family you idea to come up with 20 to 30 actions to be fired or downsized; because we want
announce. After three seconds, shout and then shuffle the deck after each pair community care for our children, we are
“freeze.” The actors must freeze in their and take the first 14 off the top to give to unfit mothers, but if we stay at home
portrait positions. When you call change, the next pair. we’re lazy; and if we stand up for our
the first group moves back to the circle c. Ask the first pair to go to the front of rights, we’re aggressive and unfeminine,
and the second group enters and creates the class and place a stack of seven cards but if we don’t we’re typical weak females;
its family portrait. Then the third and the on two chairs. When you say “flip” the we’re the lousy women drivers and the
fourth. Have fun; make the changes fast students flip the first card and perform interfering mothers-in-law, the sad spin-
to enliven the students. Examples: lion the action. After ten seconds say “flip” sters and the bad witches; if we want to
family, school of fish, Eskimo family, fami- and the students flip another card and get married we’re out to trap a man, and
ly of rock and roll stars, family of musi- perform that action. The actions should be if we don’t we’re lesbians; if we enjoy sex
cians, sports family. performed quickly and the actors should we’re sluts, and if we don’t we’re frigid;
go through their stack in about one min- because of these labels and many more we
2. Family Reunion: Ask students to create ute. are part of the women’s liberation move-
characters who are attending a family d. After the exercise, think about what ment.
reunion. Two students begin the scene, you saw. In the actions of each pair, a This activity is from Maureen Cech’s Global
which takes place in the kitchen of the story (absurd though it may be) unfolds. Sense: A Leader’s Guide to Games for
home where the reunion is being held. Ask the class what they thought might be Change California: Addison-Wesley
When a third student enters, one of the going on. Why was each character doing Publishing Company, 1996.
initial characters must find a reason to what they were doing? Can you make a
leave. The two remaining students contin- story out of actions alone?

Inside Out is intended for students Sally Gass, Contributing Writer

and teachers but may be enjoyed Danny Tamez and Linda Eller, Activities
by audiences of all ages. Linda Eller, Editor
Diane Iovin, Designer

The Student Matinee program is sponsored by Denver Center

Theatre Company
Donovan Marley, Artistic Director
A division of The Denver Center for the Performing Arts
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