Teachers' Resources

Your first lesson should always be the Mandatory Lesson or a review of that lesson. If you have time for only one other lesson, please make that a review of the synopsis (or plot line) of the play. A Little Night Music is singing theatre. For the history of this art form, go to this link. If you have time for more than one lesson, or if your students already understand the rules of live theatre, please feel free to choose one of the additional lessons. They are divided roughly by general subject matter, e. g. language arts, social studies, et cetera.

Language Arts
If your students are having trouble using quotation marks correctly, Introduce the concept of a script and use it to help them understand who is talking when. Then have them write a mini-play using the script format. Follow up by having them write additional dialog outside of the script format to ensure they understand the use of quotation marks.

Many of the songs in musical plays is written in verse. Depending on your class's level of experience/expertise, have them write a verse to replace one of the those of a song in the play. (For example, see Send in the Clowns.) Be sure they understand that it must “fit” the ideas of the place where it is to be used. Sondheim was particularly interested in that concept. Be sure they understand his point of view. He also stressed that the audience needed to be able to understand the words as they were sung. Have students notice whether that is true in their own music today.

Compare and Contrast
Obtain a copy of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Show it to your students. Have your students compare and contrast the music of the two plays by Sondheim. Which do they prefer? Why? Which was more popular? Why do they think that is true?

Critique
Have your students write a review of the play. Be sure they support their opinion with data from the performance. Be sure to make this assignment before they attend so they can be thinking about it as they watch the performance. Choices could include the music as performed by the orchestra, the music as performed by the vocalists (either collectively or individually), the sets, the staging and the directing. Have your students read several such newspaper columns before they attend the performance so they can be familiar with the professional’s manner of critiquing.

Rewrite/revise
Have your students’ revise of rewrite a portion of the play that they either did not like or that they felt would be strong/funnier/better if written differently. synopsis Have the remainder of the class offer opinions on whether they think the revision is an improvement.

Social Studies and Language Arts
This play is an operetta. Use the Background Information on operetta to help them understand that type of singing theatre. Have them listen to several different pieces from the various types of operettas and determine which they prefer. Have them provide evidence to support their opinion.

Author Study
Stephen Sondheim came from an affluent background. Yet his early life was not easy and perfect. Have your students study his life. Then have them look at his most famous works like Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Sweeney Todd and A Little Night Music. Have them look for evidence that his life affected his art.

Your students should understand that singing theatre is a collaboration between a composer (who writes the music of a song) and a lyricist(s) (who writes its words). Stephen Sondheim was an exception to this rule. Your students may be familiar with one of the other famous people who were also exceptions, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. Have your students research the backgrounds of these people and see if they have clues to the writing of this play/musical. They are a diverse group, and you may alter the assignment to suit your class.

Although Sondheim wrote the words and music for the songs, he had a librettist who wrote the “book” or the spoken words to his plays. In this case, the librettist was Hugh Wheeler who also worked with Sondheim on Sweeney Todd. (Your students may be familiar with the movie of Sweeney Todd. In American musical theatre, it is not uncommon for the audience to have to search to find the name of the lyricists or librettist(s). There is a strong movement today, (perhaps based on the concept of intellectual property) to bring the lyricists and librettists’ names back to prominence. Have your students discuss whether the music, words or the story has a greater impact on their choice of musical theatre. Do they support the need to bring the lyricists and librettists into a more prominent place in musical theatre?

Music
Write new lyrics
Have your students write new lyrics for one of the songs in the play. The song Bring in the Clowns could be rewritten as a happy, rather than sad song. This song is often misunderstood. Be sure they understand the real meaning of it. If they choose, it could be rewritten to be about real circus clowns, although it would no longer “go” in this play.

Tempo and Rhythm
All of the music in this play is written in variations of waltz (3/4) time. (See the synopsis for the titles of the songs and the time signature for each.) Have your students study the variety of time signatures and types of music this represents (waltz, mazurka, sarabande, polonaise, gigue). Have them listen to other pieces set in the same type or signature. Have them discuss the diverse nature of this musical signature. Let them decide if they have a favorite. Have them take one of the pieces from the play and determine if the time signature affects the feeling of the play.

Art
Hold a discussion about the staging, including the scenery and costumes. Have your students choose a scene or a character that they would like to "dress." Have them present their work to the class, explaining why they chose that scene or character, what they did differently and why. Have the class comment on how well the changes affect the play.

Have your students create a playbill to advertise this play. Decide in advance if they should use the performance you are to attend (or have attended) or if they should create one from the time of Voltaire, a possible date in the distant future, or other options. Another project would be to create a handbill.

Write a review of the costumes. Include such things are your opinion of their authenticity, their effectiveness, and how they help or hinder the success of the play.

Draw a new set of costumes for this play. (The original is set in Sweden in about AD 1900.) Be sure to write a justification for the changes you make. Be sure to think of the constraints such as budget and ease of use by the performers. Also, costumes must be reused by different people at other venues (rentals).

Set Design
Design a new series of sets for this play. Be sure to write a justification for your design. Remember, things such as budget and size of stage area affect what sets are used. Also, all sets must be portable as many companies rent sets and all companies must store their sets for reuse.

This operetta uses a very different staging. Have your students decide if they like the “split” scenes, where several different ones are shown at once. Have them justify why or why not.

Careers
There are many people other than performers involved in this kind of production. There are two links to help you here. The first link Creating an Opera will tell your students about creating the performance itself. There are numbers of people who are involved in this process. The second link to Unsung Heroes will provide you with the people who are rarely, if ever, seen. Have your students look at this list and determine an area that interests them. Have them research the opportunities in that area and write a report on it.