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Original story by:

Carlo Collodi

Table of Contents
A Note to Teachers........................................ 2
So Youre Going to the Theatre.................. 3
Plot Summary................................................... 4
A Chat with the Playwrights......................... 5
About the Author............................................ 6
Setting.................................................................. 7
Characters.......................................................... 8
Vocabulary......................................................... 9
Suggested activity: Marionettes & Me.. 10-11
Suggested activity: Sticky Situations....... 12-13
Suggested activity: Funland Frenzy............ 14
Worksheet: Measure the Nose.............. 15-16
Worksheet: Living or Nonliving?.............. 17
Discussion Questions..................................... 18
Teacher resources..................................... 19-20

A Note to Teachers
Dear Educators,
Greetings! We are excited for you and your students to attend the
Birmingham Childrens Theatres rendition of Pinocchio! To prepare for
your upcoming visit we invite you to use this packet as a resource in your
classroom.
This packet is designed to assist you in introducing the plays plot,
characters, settings, language, and themes to your students. We hope you
find the material in this packet both educationally enriching as well as fun.
We encourage you to use these provided activities prior to the day of the
event in order to guide your students to a better understanding and
enjoyment of what they will see.
We hope your students let their imaginations soar as the curtains open
and they are invited to enter the magical world of Pinocchio at
Birmingham Childrens Theatre. Just as importantly, we hope you find this
packet full of helpful curriculum that cultivates a rich classroom
environment.
Thank you for helping to extend the learning process beyond our theatre
walls, and for instilling an appreciation of the arts in lives of the
Birmingham youths.
Kindly,
Birmingham Childs Theatre, City of Birmingham

So Youre Going to the Theatre...

Dear Theatre-goer,
Get excited! You are about to enter into a world of imagination and fun
where the impossible comes to life. Before you attend the Birmingham
Childrens Theatres performance of Pinocchio there are a few guidelines
we would like to share with you about theatre etiquette.

Theatre Etiquette:
Theatre etiquette is the proper and expected behavior for the audience (you!)
when watching a performance. Here is a list of the proper and expected behavior
at Birmingham Childrens Theatre:
Arrive on time
Have all electronics turned completely off and put away
Be respectful: keep your hands and feet to yourself; avoid talking, waving,
shouting during the performance; no eating or drinking; only exit in the
case of an emergency
Sit in your assigned seating
Throw any garbage in the proper receptacles

Play YOUR Part:

A live performance is different than watching a movie or a TV show. During a
play, the actors can see your reaction. Your responses help fuel the performance.
Dont be afraid to laugh, gasp, and applaud! The actors will feed off your energy
and both you and they will experience a magical theatrical adventure.

Plot Summary
In a small Italian village lives Geppetto, a
kindly woodcarver, who longs to have a son.
Geppetto creates puppet after puppet, hoping
that one might come to life and fulfill his
dream of fatherhood.

With the help of the Blue Fairy,

Geppettos dream comes true! The Blue
Fairy makes the puppet, Pinocchio, come
to life.

Pinocchio quickly realizes that being a puppet in a world of real

boys and girls can be very difficult. He must discover what it means
to be a good person, including: working hard, going to school, being
a good friend and putting others before yourself. Pinocchio must
learn how to be a truthful, brave,
and unselfish boy if the Blue Fairy
is to make him a real boy.
Ultimately, Pinocchio does learn
these life lessons and is
transformed into a real boy.

A Chat with the Playwrights

A Chat with the Playwrights, Leah Luker and Jean Pierce:
When did you write the play and was it a commissioned piece; if so, for whom?
The Play was written in January, 2009, exclusively for Birmingham Children's Theatre by Leah Luker
and Jean Pierce.
When/where did it receive it premiere?
The world premier will be on March 31st, 2009, at Birmingham Children's Theatre.
What prompted you to write this particular story about Pinocchio? What was/is your hope
audiences will take away from the play?
Ms. Luker: Jean and I were inspired to write the play after reading the original story by Carlo Collodi.
We saw so many wonderful things in the book that we felt needed to be shown on stage. More than
just lying- Pinocchio is called on to be brave, selfless and work hard. We just wanted to give people a
more well rounded view of the character rather than an innocent, but dishonest puppet.
Mrs. Pierce: A good script was needed, one that would allow Pinocchio, through hard work and
determination, to earn the right to be a real boy. This was my co-writers vision for the play. I hope our
audiences will remember the lessons Pinocchio learned about truth, loyalty, responsibility and making
wise choices.
Pinocchio is based on story written by Carlo Collodi... how was the original inspirational and
in what ways did you make changes to the original to suit the needs of your script? What
excited you about the original to make an adapted play about it?
Ms. Luker: Well, Jean and I made changes to the original story because it is a very long story to fit
into an hour. We did not want to loose the author's intention, so we kept the themes of the story in tact
by combining Pinocchio's lessons into five main story lines (The Puppet Master, The Fox and Cat, The
Land of Fun, The Whale, and the Medicine Woman). The Medicine Woman was invented by Jean and
I to help keep the Blue Fairy actively involved in the story, and to help Pinocchio learn the act of
selflessness. There are many times in the Pinocchio story when he helps someone who is in need at
the cost of his own happiness... we wanted to show that in one great action. Also, we knew that the
Blue Fairy and Cricket (though small parts of Collodi's story) are important teaching characters and
personify conscience and discipline, whichPinocchio lacks at first. Personification is one of the best
tools of a playwright. Especially when writing for young audience. [Personification is] making an idea
into a character trait of a person (The Blue Fairy=Conscience. The Cricket=discipline). Any time you
can replace an explanation of an idea with action or a character is always a good idea.
Mrs. Pierce: The story, originally published as a magazine serial, is filled with enough appealing
characters and fantastic adventures to inspire any playwright. It was necessary to choose only the
most stage-worthy episodes and to compress the whole into an hour-long play that would appeal to
todays young audience. I can imagine the eagerness of those children long ago as they waited to
read the next exciting chapter. I hope our audience will be just as eager to follow Pinocchios amazing
adventures as they unfold on stage.

About
the
Author
Carlo Collodi was born November 24, 1836 in Florence, Italy. Carlos
mother was the daughter of a farmer and his father was a cook. Carlo had ten
(yes, TEN!) brothers and sisters. Carlo was lucky enough to go to school where
he discovered his love for writing. Heres a fun fact about the writer Carlo
Collodi: the last name Collodi was actually Carlos pseudonym (sue-donim: a fake name). Carlos real last name was Lorenzini. Carlo chose the last
name Collodi to honor his mother who was from the tiny Italian city of
Collodi.
Collodi was interested in telling stories, both true and fictitious ( fik-tish-es:
not true). Before deciding to write stories for children, Collodi wrote for
newspapers. As he developed as a writer, Collodi realized he liked writing for
children most of all. The most successful story Collodi wrote was The
Adventures of Pinocchio. Since its publication, the story of Pinocchio has been
adapted (changed or adjusted) to entertain and delight audiences all over the
world. One of the most popular adaptations is the Disney movie Pinocchio.
Today, it is estimated that the story of Pinocchio has been translated in over
240 languages worldwide, fantastico!

Setting(s)
Geppettos Home: A simple, small, one bedroom apartment that is

also used as Gepettos workshop.

An Italian Village: Busy, crowded streets surround

Gepettos home.

A Marionette Theatre: A crowded, cramped theatre with a

stage that Maestro runs. Some of the

performing puppets there are Punch and
Judy.

The Land of Fun: A place where boys and girls go to

escape school and responsibility, they are
promised eternal fun. Really, the Land of Fun is
a trick and eventually the children who stay
there turn into donkeys because of a curse.

The Ocean: Vast and wet, the ocean is a scary place when

some of our characters are lost without a boat.

Inside a Whale: Inside the whale is so dark our characters need

lanterns just to see each other!

Characters
Narrators- the storytellers of the play
Geppetto- a kind, elderly woodcarver who desperately wants a son
Cricket- a magical talking cricket who is 127 years old; Cricket represents

discipline in the play, a trait that young Pinocchio must learn
Pinocchio- one of Geppettos wooden puppets that comes to life and wants to


be a real boy
Blue Fairy- a magical being who helps Pinocchio become real; Blue Fairy

represents conscience; a trait Pinocchio must prove to have before

he can be turned into a real boy
Crow- a character the Blue Fairy becomes to teach Pinocchio
Medicine Woman- a character the Blue Fairy becomes to teach Pinocchio
Lampwick- an orphan who befriends Pinocchio
Maestro- the owner of the puppet show
Punch- one of Maestros puppets
Judy- one of Maestros puppets
Fox- a trickster
Cat- the Foxs partner
Coachman- a greedy man

Pre-Show:
What do you imagine these
characters to look like?
Based on the descriptions,
which characters do you
predict will be good, and
which will be evil?
Post-Show:
Which character did you like
the most? Why?
Have you ever had
experiences similar to a
character in the play? What
were they?

Donkey Driver- one of the coachmans workers

VOCABULARY
Here are four new m words to learn before you watch our
Magnificent, Magic-filled, Masterpiece!
Maestro- noun ; a title of respect for a person who is an expert in an art form
Marionette - noun ; a puppet controlled from above by strings attached to its limbs
Mischievous - adjective ; when a person or animal causes annoyance, harm, or trouble.
Misfortunate - adjective ; having bad luck
Exercise 1.1
Directions: Using each word once, label each picture with the vocabulary word that best describes
what is being portrayed.

1. _______________

2. _______________

3. _______________

4. _______________

Exercise 1.2
Directions: Create a story using all of the following words in the order they appear in the list below.
Example:
flower
child
eternal
Once upon a time there grew a special,
rare FLOWER. One day as a small
CHILD was walking along, she spotted
the flower and decided to pick it. Not
knowing the flower had special powers,
the girl picked the flower and at once
was given the gift of ETERNAL life.

tiny
magical
strange
misfortunate
house
expensive
marionette
happy
love
mischievous
castle
sleeping
maestro

Remember to
have fun and
use your

imagination!

Marionettes
&
Me!

There are many types of puppets. Pinocchio is a marionette puppet;

marionettes are controlled by strings that are attached to the
puppets limbs. In the play you will be asked to think about what
makes human beings unique from all other creatures. In some ways
people are similar to puppets, but what qualities make a human
being a human being and a puppet just a puppet? Read the
statements below and circle if the statement is true for REAL
people or MARIONETTES or BOTH. Discuss your answers.

1) Has arms and legs

2) Has the ability to love

3) Does what other people want them to do

4) Can distinguish right from wrong

5) Can express emotions

6) Can teach others

7) Can learn

8) Is valuable

9) Is unique

10) Has hobbies, interests, habits

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Make your own

bird Marionette!
Materials:

Marionettes
&
Me!

- Colored Paper
- Glue
- Scissors
- Popsicle Sticks
- String
- Hole puncher
- Colored Marking Pens, crayons, glitter, etc...

STEP ONE:
Using strong glue, attach two popsicle-sticks into
a capital T shape.
STEP TWO:
While the glue is drying, assemble and decorate
your marionette bird. Older students may cut out
the silhouette on their own, while younger
students should have pre-cut silhouettes to
assemble. Have students decorate one or both
sides of the silhouette. Attach the wings to either
side of the bird with glue (or tape if desired) by
making a small fold along the edge where the
wings will be attached to the bird.
STEP THREE:
Using a hold punch make two holes: one at the
top of the head and one at the back end of the
bird. It is important to have two points with
which to suspend the bird. Tie string through
both holes and then ties the other end of the
strong to the popsicle-stick T; tada! your bird
is ready to take flight!

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Sticky Situations
Throughout the play Pinocchio finds himself in sticky situations. Pinocchio
must decide what is right and what is wrong. Sometimes, in the moment, it
can be tricky to know what your first reaction should be. Lets practice by
playing Good Choice, Bad Choice.
Preparation/Materials Needed:
- bell or some sort of buzzer
- blackboard to keep score

What is right is right, even if not one

is doing it.
What is wrong, is wrong, even if
everyone is doing it.
-Unknown

HOW TO PLAY:
Divide the class into two equal
teams and have each team in a
designated area.
Place the bell in the center of a flat
surface.
Each team will select one member
to go up to the bell. The teacher will
read a statement from the Good
Choice/Bad Choice activity sheet.
The first student to press the bell
answer good choice or bad
choice. Have students switch each
round.
Scoring: If a student pushes the bell
before the end of the statement the
point goes to the opposite team. If a
student answers incorrectly the
opposite team gets the point. The first
answer verbalized is final, a student
cannot change their vote.

RIGHT
WRONG

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Sticky Situations: Teacher Activity Sheet

Start each sentence with You make a choice to... and then read of each
statement, one statement per round. Feel free to make the situations more or
less challenging based on your students level of understanding. For older
students, have a challenge round where the students create the sticky
situations. Teacher may decide to allow students to debate their answer
choices and award points based on why explanations.

You make a choice to...
1. Take your classmates pencil without asking so you can complete an
assignment.
2. Tell your teacher if you notice she dropped her wallet, but look through it
first.
3. Go outside to exercise.
4. Go outside to play without permission, but leave a note saying where you
are.
5. Tell your friend a secret that another friend asked you not to tell.
6. Play with matches with your friends.
7. Walk away when someone starts to fight with you.
8. Get mad at your mother because she wont buy you a new toy.
9. Skip class to help a friend who is upset.
10. Tell your parents a lie so the wont ground you.
11. Stand up for yourself.
12. Stay up past bedtime to continue reading a book you are interested in.
13. Kick the dog because he chewed your shoes.
14. Tell your friends and family you love them.
15. Lie to a friend so you wont hurt their feelings.
16. Use your sisters toys because your guest asked to play with them.
17. Choose to do your math homework instead of your science homework
because it is worth more points.
18. Watch a movie your parents didnt let you watch at home while you are at
your friends house.
19. Tell a joke about someone that makes lots of people laugh.
20. Check your cellphone during class because you think your parent is
texting you.

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FUNLAND
FRENZY

In Pinocchio The
Land of Fun is a place
where cotton candy, toys,
and games are
everywhere! There are no
adults and there is no
school, sounds wonderful,
doesnt it? Well, dont get
too excited. The Land of
Fun is actually a cursed
land, over time the
children who go there
turn in to donkeys and
are forced to do hard

Why donkeys?

MATERIALS:

The donkey is a symbol in Italy for

laziness and stupidity. Carlo
Collodi is suggesting that when we
have too much fun and no
responsibility such as school, we
become lazy both physically and
mentally.

- Poster paper
- markers or crayons

ACTIVITY:
Divide into groups of 3-5. Each group is to have a poster paper and markers/crayons.
As a group decide how your own version of Fun Land operates. What are the rules? What
happens on a daily basis? Are there jobs? What do people eat? Are there parents? Write down
these decisions on your poster.
Also on your paper, draw a visual of what your groups Fun Land looks like. Present your poster
to the class.

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Measure Pinocchios Nose

Throughout the play, Pinocchio must learn to be honest. Pinocchio struggles, just like the rest of
us, to tell the truth. Unlike us though, when Pinocchio lies his nose grows!
Directions: Using a ruler, measure Pinocchios nose and write down how long it is for each unit
of measurement. For an extra challenge, use your imagination to decide what lie(s) Pinocchio
told that made his nose grow!

Inches _________
Centimeters _________
What did Pinocchio lie about?

Inches _________
Centimeters _________

What did Pinocchio lie about?

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Inches _________
Centimeters _________

What did Pinocchio lie about?

Inches _________
Centimeters _________

What did Pinocchio lie about?

Inches _________
Centimeters _________

What did Pinocchio lie about?

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Living or Nonliving?
The story of Pinocchio touches on what it means to be a living, active part of a society. How do we affect
our surroundings and everything and everyone in our surroundings? Also, what does it mean to be
human? How are humans unique from other living things?
Pinocchio makes us think about the differences between living and nonliving things. For example, a tree
is alive. Puppets, are made from wood which comes from tree, but they are not alive...that is, unless a
magic blue fairy helps them out! What distinguishes living things from nonliving things?

LIVING

Moves by itself
Grows and changes
Breathes
Needs food and water to survive
Reproduces

NONLIVING
Cannot move by itself
Stays the same
Is not breathing
Does not need any type of food
or water
Does not reproduce

Directions: Cut out the pictures below and place them on the side of living or nonliving.

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Discussion Questions
Here are a list of discussion questions that you may wish to incorporate into your
lessons. Pick and choose which ones you would like to pair with the activities. You may
want to revisit some of these questions after seeing the performance to see if your
students perspective change at all.

QUESTIONS:
1.What qualities do you think define a human?
2.What is peer pressure?
3.How do we counteract peer pressure?
4.What does it mean to learn from your mistakes?
5.Do you think we are born with a sense of what is right and what is wrong?
6.If you never studied and only ate candy, what do you think would happen?
7.How do you choose your friends?
8.How do your friends affect you?
9.Why is education important to our success in life?
10. Have you ever wished for something and your wish came true? Was it
what you expected?
11. What does it mean to be selfless?
12. Pinocchios nose grew when he lied, how do real people physically
change when they lie?
13. Why do people lie?
14. Is there ever a good reason to lie?
15. Is love necessary to be a real person? Is it possible to NOT experience
love?

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Teacher Resources:
Alabama State Standards
Grade K:

With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. [RL.K.3]
Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. [RL.K.4]
With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling
the story. [RL.K.6]
Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader
the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic
or book (e.g., My favorite book is ). [W.K.1]
Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative or explanatory texts in which
they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. [W.K.2]
With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to
strengthen writing as needed. [W.K.5]
Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing
a count of no objects). [K-CC3]
Describe measurable attributes of objects such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes
of a single object. [K-MD1]
Pantomime a variety of roles in real-life and make-believe through guided dramatic play.
Identify appropriate audience behavior in a variety of settings.
Compare size, shape, structure, and basic needs of living things.

Grade 1:

Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text. [RI.1.4]
Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify
something that is not understood. [SL.1.3]
Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and
feelings. [SL.1.5]
Order three objects by length; compare the lengths of two objects indirectly by using a third object. [1-MD1]
Arts education: Relate a personal experience to an incident in a dramatic production.
Arts education: Demonstrate behavior appropriate to specific types of performances.
Describe survival traits of living things, including color, shape, size, texture, and covering.

Grade 2:

Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
[W.2.8]
Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter
sticks, and measuring tapes. [2-MD1]
Measure to determine how much longer one object is than another, expressing the length difference in
terms of a standard length unit. [2-MD4]
Arts education: Describe different elements in a dramatization.

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Grade 3:

Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to
a Grade 3 topic or subject area. [RI.3.4]
Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to
a given topic efficiently. [RI.3.5]
Arts education: Create ideas for alternate settings, characters, and endings for a dramatic production.
Arts education: Identify different elements in a theatrical performance.
Arts education: Identify ways in which the arts are used for personal pleasure and enrichment.

Grade 4:

Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing
inferences from the text. [RI.4.1]
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a
Grade 4 topic or subject area. [RI.4.4]
Arts education: Identify the elements of a scripted drama, including dialogue, character, plot, and setting.
Arts education: Identify ways in which theatre reflects the social values and accomplishments of a culture.
Arts education: Identify possible connections between theatre concepts and concepts from other content
areas.

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