Mermaid
Theatre
Company of
Nova Scotia
McAninch Arts Center
College of DuPage
About Mermaid Theatre Company
• Founded in 1972, based in
Windsor Nova Scotia,
Canada
• Performed for more than
four million spectators on
four continents and in fortyeight states in the USA
• Each year, Mermaid Theatre
presents 400+ shows for
200,000+ audiences
Vocabulary and Show Etiquette
These are items that students should be familiar before coming to the show
• Black Light: Black lights look purple, but most of the light it emits is in
the ultraviolet (UV) range of the spectrum, which is invisible to the human
eye. Under a UV light, fluorescent colored items emit a bright glow. Watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps80qZbbdbM to understand more.
Black light is used in the performance on the puppets.
• Uses of Black Light: Money security, Reveal germs in bathroom and
restaurants, Expose finger prints in crime scenes, In space exploration to
show cracks or leaks in shuttles and telescopes.
• Puppetry: an art form in which objects are brought to life by puppeteers.
• Narration: the story is told through the use of a narrator who recites the
book’s text verbatim.
• Non-shushing show: Students are encouraged to clap and laugh when
they see something that pleases them. They may also help tell the story
along with the narration. Noises that help tell the story are okay – side
conversations are not.
About Eric
Carle
• Born in Syracuse, New York in 1929 – moved to Germany when
he was six years old.
• 1952, he arrived in New York and found a job as a graphic
designer with The New York Times.
• Bill Martin, Jr., asked Carle to illustrate a story he wrote (Brown
Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?) based on a striking
picture Carle had made of a red lobster for an advertisement.
This was the beginning of Eric Carle’s career as illustrator of
more than 70 books, many that he wrote.
• Eric Carle uses a Collage Style – using hand-painted papers, he
cuts and layers to form bright and cheerful images.
• Visit his website at http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html
Classroom Activities
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Move to the Life Cycle
of a Butterfly
1. Egg: hold ankle, bend down,
become round like an egg
2. Larva/Caterpillar: squirm and eat
3. Pupa: move into a pretend cave or use pillowcase/blanket. Be
still. Have colorful kerchiefs.
4. Butterfly: Pop out of the bag and sway with kerchiefs
Classroom Activities
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Sit in a circle and complete the following statement
1. My name is _______________ (first name)
2. And I am VERY ________________ (adjective)
Expanded activity
• Use an adjective that begins with the same letter as
their first or last name
• Use an adjective that has more than four letters, or
more
Classroom Activities
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
ABCDEFGHI
JKLMNOPQR
STUVWXYZ
Students cut twenty-six circles. Write a letter of the alphabet in
each. Give students a green circle to represent the head and
decorate. Then spell the following words using the circles to
complete a caterpillar body.
Inch
Fruit
Hungry
Leaf
Sun
Pear
Plum
Cake
Pie
Oranges
Classroom Activities
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
What food group
does the picture
belong to?
Fruits
Vegetables
Meat
Dairy
Sweet
Classroom Activities: Little Cloud
Science Experiment: Condensation
1. Fill a glass with room temperature water
2. Fill a second glass with ice, then add enough water to fill the
glass - Wait
3. Within a few minutes, condensation will appear on the outside of
the glass containing ice
Ask Questions:
• Why is there water on the outside of the glass?
• Where did the water come from?
• Did the water drops soak through the glass?
Explain that the water comes from the air. As the icy water cools
the air around the glass, the water vapor it holds becomes liquid
water droplets. Clouds form in much the same way as air rises in the
atmosphere and gets cooled.
Classroom Activities
The Mixed-Up Chameleon
• Create a book: The Mixed-Up Me
• Each student creates a page for the book.
• Ask students to think of an animal and select a feature
of an animal they would like to have.
• Hand out paper with the following on the bottom:
I Wish I Had a ______ Like a ________.
• Above the sentence, draw a picture of themselves with
the animal feature they chose.
• Put the images together and read the book as a group.
Assessment Activity-Write a letter
Goal: reflect on the performance experience and practice writing skills
Activity: After the show, discuss the experience with students using these
questions to guide the conversation:
• What was the show about?
• What parts were most exciting?
• Which character did you enjoy the most and why?
• What did the characters find? What did they learn?
• What was special about the puppets?
Beginning of letter:
Dear Mermaid Theatre performers:
My favorite part of the show was…
While watching your show I felt…because…
I have drawn a picture of the scene when…
If I could be in your show, I would play the part of…because…
Mail your letter: McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd, Glen Ellyn, IL
60137
Post Show Discussion Questions
• What was your favorite part about your trip to the
McAninch Arts Center?
• How was the performance different than the books?
How was it the same?
• What story was told First? Second? Last?
• Were you able to see the puppeteers during the
show? When?
• Describe how the puppets looked: big, small,
bendable, colors, serious, funny.
• Do you remember any of the music from each
story? If so, what did it sound like?
Special Thanks
SchoolStage Series is supported by
a grant from the Illinois Arts
Council.
Sources
•http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html
•http://www.eric-carle.com/books.html
•http://eric-carle.com/catexchange.html