Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.pdfVIP

TWO BEANS PRODUCTIONS, LLC. Rob Barron, Artistic Director Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Study Guide Dear Teacher: We have created the following study guide to make your students’ theater experience with Two Beans Productions’ Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day as meaningful as possible. For many, it will be their first time viewing a live theatrical production. We have learned that when teachers discuss the play with their students before and after the production, the experience is more significant and long-lasting. Our study guide provides pre and post performance discussion topics, as well as related activity sheets. These are just suggestions; please feel free to create your own activities and areas for discussion. We hope you and your class enjoy the show! Introduction Two Beans’ musical is very closely based on the classic book by Judith Viorst. In fact, Ms. Viorst adapted her own story, writing the lyrics (words to the songs) and book (dialogue and story structure) for this musical. She worked very closely with her collaborator, composer Shelly Markham, to create the songs. The Story When six-year-old Alexander wakes up with gum in his hair, then trips on a skateboard, and then accidentally dries his wet face on his sweater rather than his towel, he can tell: it’s going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! In the following scene, the day gets progressively worse as his teacher doesn’t like his drawing of an invisible castle, his lunchbox doesn’t have any dessert, and his best friend Paul declares that Alexander is only his third best friend. It’s enough to make Alexander wish be could move to Australia! After school, the dentist finds a cavity in Alexander’s tooth, the shoe store is out of the shoes he wants, and he makes a big mess at his father’s office. It really has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, but Alexander learns