Download the entire study guide here.

Peter Pan Study Guide

A Synopsis of the Peter Pan Ballet

Act I – The Lost Boys and the Beginnings of an Unforgettable Adventure

The ballet opens in the Darling’s children’s room. It’s a pleasant scene while Michael, John, Wendy and their dog, Nana, play one last time before the evening folds. Mr. and Mrs. Darling come into their bedroom with Liza, their maid, and prepare the children for bed. Mr. and Mrs. Darling are going to a dinner party after the children are tucked in. When the children finally fall asleep, their parents leave and the maid returns to her quarters. After thing quite down, Tinkerbell, Peter Pan’s fairy, flies through the open window with Peter Pan quickly following. Peter Pan is frantically looking for his shadow. He finds his shadow, but he can’t get it to stick to him. Wendy wakes up to see Peter Pan’s dilemma. She takes out a needle and thread and sews Peter Pan and his shadow back together. John and Michael finally wake up to the evening’s commotion. Peter Pan, with the help of Tinkerbell’s fairy dust, teaches all of them how to fly. The children fly out of the window following Peter Pan to Never Never Land.

Wendy, Michael, John, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell arrive in Never Never Land in the evening. Tinkerbell flies down to Tootle, one of the Lost Boys, and tells him that Peter Pan has brought some prey with him. Tootle takes out his bow and arrow and shoots Wendy down from the sky. When Peter Pan tells them what they have done, they realize Tinkerbell had tricked them out of jealousy. Tinkerbell heals Wendy and a celebration follows. Their celebration is cut short, however, when Captain Hook and his posse emerge onto the scene. The Lost Boys scatter in the forest. Captain Hook only wants to battle Peter Pan. As they begin to fight, Captain Hook hears a loud ticking sound. He realizes that it’s the crocodile that bit off his hand and swallowed a clock. Captain Hook and his crew flee to their ship.

Act II – The Kidnapping and the Great Battle

Back in the home of the Lost Boys Wendy prepares dinner and reads them a story after they have eaten. After the Boys retire to their beds, Wendy and Peter are left alone. They start to fall in love, but Peter Pan returns to his juvenile self and flies up to his bed. Wendy grabs her needle and thread and mends the Boys’ tattered clothing. After a while she falls asleep. Moments later Captain Hook and his crew break into the home and kidnap all of the children except for Peter Pan – Captain Hook couldn’t find him. Peter Pan wakes up to find everyone missing. Tinkerbell quickly explains to him what happened.

Peter Pan and Tinkerbell fly to Captain Hook’s ship, the Jolly Roger. Meanwhile, Captain Hook and his gangly crew are celebrating what they think is their victory. They start pushing the children to walk the plank, where beneath it the crocodile waits. Peter Pan comes to their rescue before the children are pushed overboard. A great fight takes place between Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Eventually Captain Hook is overpowered and falls into the water with the crocodile. The Lost Boys take over the ship now that the pirates have no leader. Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, the Lost Boys, Wendy and her brothers celebrate their victory. The celebration dies down and Wendy realizes that she is quite homesick. She doesn’t want to stay a child forever; she wants to go home. Wendy and her brothers tell everyone goodbye. Tinkerbell sprinkles fairy dust on them and they fly home.

Wendy, Michael and John come home to find Mr. and Mrs. Darling, along with Liza and Nana, stricken with grief over their disappearance. As soon as they show up, everyone is happy and tears of joy are shed. Wendy had asked Peter Pan if he would like to come back with her, but unlike Wendy he didn’t want to grow up.

Many of your Language Arts standards can be used with this field trip to see the Savannah Danse Theatres production of Peter Pan.

Activities K-2

- Read a simpler version of Peter Pan and have the students sequence the events by creating a flap book. The fronts of the flaps are labeled First, Next, Then, Finally. Students me write and/or illustrate the events in the book.

- Create a Beginning, Middle, End illustration of the ballet. Have the students write a sentence that relates to each illustration or have them dictate it to you.

- Following the ballet, students can compare the book, movie, and ballet. How are they alike/different?

- We all have a place like Neverland in our own imaginations where time stands still and everything is just the way we want it to be. Draw a picture of what your Neverland looks like as you see it.

- What would Tinkerbell look like if we could see her? In the ballet she is represented by a small light. Does she resemble other characters that we know? Or does she have another worldly shape and color? Draw what you see when you think of Tinkerbell.

Questions K-2 (These can be used as writing prompts, or as class discussions.

- What do you think about living forever as a kind and never growing up? Would you be interested in doing that? What are the good parts of that? What would you miss if you never grew up?

- Peter Pan is also about the idea of “play vs. work”. Do you still make believe, pretending you are Peter or Wendy or Hook? At what age do you think we start to tell children to stop pretending? Do you get embarrassed when someone catches you playing make believe? Do you think we should always be able to pretend? Do you think we let boys or girls play pretend longer?  When do we start to think its babyish?

- Never land is a fantasy world, but it is not perfect. There is dancer there in the form of pirates and the crocodile. Can you imagine a perfect world?

- What does Wendy bring into Peter and the Lost Boys’ lives? What good qualities? (I.e. kindness, generosity, organization, etc)

- What if Wendy was a boy and the Lost Boys were Lost Girls? How would this change the play? Try this with other plays/books/movies you know.

- The kids go to bed and then the whole adventure starts when Peter arrives. Do you think it’s like a dream? Do you remember your dreams? Have you ever had a dream where you were flying? Or one where you were chased by pirates?

- What do you think about the idea of having a dog baby-sit you like Nana, the Darling’s dog in the story? Have you ever had a pet that you felt took care of you in ways too? Do you know pets that care for humans like humans for children?

- What is it about being able to fly like birds without a plane that is appealing to humans?  Describe how you think it would feel to be able to fly away in the night to another place far away.

- Which group in Neverland of the three, the Lost Boys, the Pirates and the Indians, would you like to play with? Which character in that group most appeals to you?

- The Lost Boys eat imaginary food in Neverland. It seems that no one ever gets hungry or tired. Does that appeal to you?

- What is a world without adults to you? Fantasy? Nightmare? Boring?

Activities/Discussions for Grades 3-5

- Read a version of Peter Pan appropriate for your grade level. Have students compare different versions. Following the ballet, have students compare the books they have read to the ballet. How are they alike/different?

- Write a sequel to Peter Pan. Tell us what happens when Peter and Jane, Wendy’s Daughter, fly away to Neverland. Do they have similar types of experiences?  Does the fact that Jane has been raised 20-30 years later than Wendy change the way she reacts to Neverland?  Does the lack of technology seem odd to her?

- Cast your favorite actors in a movie version you are directing. Would you change the look of the Darling home? The locale? The year? How would you enhance Neverland for the movie going public? Would you add more special effects?

- Write a biography for your favorite characters in Neverland. Tell us their past. Where did they live before we saw them? What happened to them that put them there in Neverland?

- J.M. Barrie, author of the novel, Peter Pan, put elements of his own life into the book. He took a sad reality and turned it into a fantasy. Take something in your life and write a fantasy story that goes exactly as you would want it to.

- There is a certain level of violence in Peter Pan. How do you feel the violence was handled? Do you think it was like the violence in Grimm’s fairly tales?  Did you relate the pirate as they were portrayed as urban tuffs? What made them resort to violence? What do you think it represents in the world of fantasy that is Neverland?

- Describe how you think it would feel to fly through the air like Peter Pan. Make sure you try to use all five senses in your description of the experience! Write it in the first person and describe it to someone. Maybe it develops into a poem or song or rap.

- What is it about being able to fly, that appeals to humans so much? What other works of literature have the characters flying or being transported through space and time? Are there movies you have seen with flying in them? Do you think it’s better to read and imagine about these things or to see them interpreted by someone?

- What would be the pros and cons of being able to live forever as a kid? Would you be interested in trying it, taking the risk that you would like it?

More Activities – For any Age Group

Improvisation

- One night, when you are sleeping, a creature flies into your room, awakens you, and asks you to fly away with him/her to a place where there are no adults! Do you go? Would you leave a note? Would you wake up your brothers and sister and take them along? Would you call and tell your friends that you’ll be by to pick them up? Improvise the possibility in a small group.

- Once in Neverland, you see things take place that are dangerous, unfair, or illegal by your group. Do you speak up to teach them what you know? Do you try to stop them? Would you fight for what you believe is the right way to live? Improvise first in small groups of Indians, lost boys and pirates. Then add a fourth group of kids from here that are new to Neverland. Then combine the groups. Let the kids from here add on to whatever group they identify with. Then, once combined, have the groups interact and improvise how they will decide who should live where, who should be the leaders, who should do the work. Negotiate a living arrangement for this new society.

- Break the class up into groups of 3-5 students. Give them 10 minutes to decide what are the main ten points or events in the story. The group needs to find pictures to represent each of their main points. They will need to play as many characters and be creative about body language to communicate the ideas they choose because their group is so small. They will rehearse them in the next, freezing only ten seconds or so in between each to let the audience see. This exercise is lots of silly fun, but it quickly lets us all discuss what we think are the main events or plot points in the play. The discussion can then go further to critique whether or not the production made these clear and important as well.

Word Web

- To show the class how it works, start with one word in the middle of a circle on the board and ask the class to offer other words that it makes them think of when they see it. These other words can be any part of speech, but only one word at a time. Connect the words to the center with threads of a web that show the relationship between the two. You can start with Peter Pan in the middle at first, meaning the story of Peter Pan. Or you can start with a word like Childhood, Neverland, or Flying. (See attached)

- Then ask the class to do their own word web. Place their favorite character in the center of the circle and then connect the words/ideas that are related to that character.

- Then ask the students to put their webs on the board around the original web. If more than one person worked on Hook for example, they can work at the board as a team.

- Then as a class, find the words that are the same and connect these words with a line, even if they’re way across the board from each other. It will show how the characters are related to the ideas in the minds of the class and be a great jumping off point to discuss what the class feels are the main issues in the story.

Peter Pan Activity Pages

Download the entire Peter Pan Study Guide here along with activity sheets. Activity sheets include character coloring pages, grade specific story activities, and other fun class activities.

About the Savannah Danse Theatre

OUR MISSION STATEMENT:  “To develop and showcase the talent of dedicated Savannah Dancers in a positive environment, as well as to promote the arts within our community.”

Established in 1998 as a not-for-profit organization, the Savannah Danse Theatre has grown both in size and success.  With its reputation for excellence, artistic venture and outstanding performances, it has earned the distinction of being Savannah’s accomplished dance company.

The Lucas theater for the arts

The Lucas Theatre in downtown Savannah has a history all its own. Built in 1921 by Arthur Lucas and architect C.K. Howell, it is the only theatre of his (out of 20) that bears his name.  Mainly the Lucas was a movie house but was home to many other events.  The owner, being quite a promoter, sent out birthday cards to residents that gave them a free pass to the theater.  This made the Lucas very popular during its day.  But as television’s popularity grew and residents headed to the suburbs, the Lucas lost its reason for existing.  And in 1986 was headed for the wrecking ball.  But some citizens got together, pooled their resources and bought the Lucas to create the Lucas Theatre for the Arts, Inc. Eventually after 14 years of renovation, the Lucas opened once again in December 2000.  Now used for many renowned events, The Lucas shines like never before!  Affiliated with Savannah School of Art & Design, the Lucas’s future is now secure.  Now groups like Savannah Danse Theatre can show off their best dance steps surrounded by the unequalled brilliance of an elegant bygone era.

Watching Ballet and Theater Manners

There are many things to consider when watching ballet. The most important is to watch and listen. If you’re talking to your neighbor you might miss something important or disturb other people who are watching (or even the dancers).

Attending a LIVE performance is very exciting occasion for the entire audience.  But there are times when a member of the audience doesn’t understand how to behave. So, below is a list of good and bad behavior so that you-our special guest-will know the difference and will understand exactly how to be a respectful member of the audience.

• Be on time as the performance starts promptly.
• Noise distracts the dancers on stage so sit quietly until intermission
• Dress up if you like, however, school clothes are fine, too.
• Visit the restroom before the performance starts and be prepared to not leave your seat during the performance.
• Avoid talking or making noise
• No chewing gum or eating
• No leaving your seat before lights go on and the ballet is over.
• No iPods, CD players, cell phones in the theatre.
• DO: Watch the dancers, listen to the music, look at the costumes and set designs.
• Laugh when something funny happens on stage.
• CLAP to show you enjoyed the performance when the dancing is over. 
• DO applaud when the dancers take a bow.

Preparing your Students

DANCING CULTURES
Gr: 4-8……..Subjects: Visual Arts, Dance
Display materials (pictures, posters) showing the dance forms of different cultures. Have students choose a culture from one of the seven continents. Then ask them to match the culture they have chosen with one of the dance forms on display. If the student answers correctly, have them explain why they chose to match that dance with that culture.

THE ART OF MIME
Gr: 2-5……..Subjects: Language Arts, Theatre
Divide students into small groups and have them recreate a popular children's story using  movement only. Have them practice movements and then perform the story for the class. Have the rest of the class try to guess the story based on what they have seen.

DO THE MATH (Shape and Line Geometry and Patterning)
Discuss a variety of shapes and line patterns that are frequently used in ballet choreography.
Some line patterns include diagonal lines, parallel lines, perpendicular lines, grid formation, and staggered formation. Some shape patterns include circular, square, triangular (or angled), hexagonal and pentagonal. Formations may also resemble an object like a flower, a bicycle wheel, or a snowflake. Students can watch for a variety of these patterns and formations throughout the performance. Working in groups, have them create their own movements, incorporating specific mathematical elements.

IT HAPPENED WHEN? (History/Research)
Listen to tapes or CD’s of music, both classical and contemporary. Have students dance and move to the music. Encourage them to write/draw/paint/act/explain how the music makes them feel, or what it reminds them of.

Have students try out the five positions of the feet (see our general Teachers Guide online). Starting with first position, have them point their toes outward but don’t force them beyond where they are comfortable. Proceed with the remaining four positions. If there is a student in the class who has taken ballet classes, perhaps he or she could demonstrate.

DANCE AND DRAMA- The Art of Mime
Divide students into small groups and have them recreate a popular children's story using movement only. Have them practice movements and then perform the story for the class. Have the rest of the class try to guess the story based on what they have seen.

Language Arts, Theatre
Prior to the performance create groups of approximately five students. Assign each group particular questions. Answers can be jotted down in a notebook during intermission or on the way back to school. Upon returning to the classroom, information can be written down in the form of essays and/or shared with classmates.

Possible questions to explore:

• How are emotions expressed through the choreography/music/costumes?
  
• How does the lighting change the mood from one scene to another?
  
• How does the music change the mood from one scene to another?
  
• How does the set design enhance the story?
  
• How do the costumes help tell the story or reflect the mood?

IN REVIEW (Comprehensive Arts, Dance, Language Arts/English)
Assign the class to write a newspaper or magazine review of the performance. Discuss elements of a good review.

• What did you like about the ballet?
  
• Why?

Afterwards, compare class reviews.

Professional reviews may be found in newspapers and online.
More questions help you enjoy the ballet…

1. How many dancers are performing at one time? If there is more than one, how are they interacting with each other? Are they moving in unison, or is each of them doing different steps?

2. Different dancers in the ballet play different characters. How do the dancers’ movements let you know which character they are playing?

3. When was the last time you lifted a person above your head and have it appear effortless? Or performed several gravity-defying leaps?

4. Ballet can be enjoyed by boys, girls, men and women. It is very hard work and requires great athletic ability, coordination and strength.
Many dancers perform a 2 ½ hour ballet with only a few short breaks.
Male ballet dancers have to jump higher and turn more times than their female counterparts.

Compare and contrast qualities of professional dancers to those of other professional athletes. Make a list of qualities that are similar between a ballet dancer and a hockey player. basketball player? football player? soccer player?

Gr: 5-12…….Subjects: Language Arts, Foreign Languages
Dance
Ask students to describe the motions of the dancers in the performance that they saw and what they thought those motions symbolized. List these descriptions and symbols on the board. Then have students brainstorm movements from dances that they are more familiar with (break- dancing, hip-hop, mosh, etc.) and what they symbolize. Have students compare and contrast the styles.

Gr:3-8……..Subjects: Language Arts
Discuss the ballet and brainstorm figurative words that describe the ballet. Record these words on a word wall or chart. Discuss various forms of figurative speech (similes, metaphors, hyperbole…) and create examples with students. Record these also. Direct students to write a narrative description of a part of the ballet that caught their attention. Have them use figurative language to create the images of movement.

1. Have students write a review of the performance, trying to incorporate some of the glossary terms provided at the end of this guide. Another idea is to have them write thank-you notes to the dancers (DANCERS LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!) and/or to the sponsor.

2. Encourage students to try out some of the ballet steps they saw the dancers practicing or

3. Demonstrate to students the importance of turn out. Have them stand next to their desks and hold onto it for support, with their toes pointed forward (feet parallel to each other). Then, ask them to lift one leg to the side, keeping their torsos straight and in an upright position. At a certain point, the leg cannot be raised any further because it is blocked by the hip bone. Attempt the same movement again, this time with the feet and legs turned out in
first position. Make sure the leg stays turned out as it is raised. The leg should go quite a bit higher because the act of turning out has moved the hip bone back and out of the way.
You might also want to show your students what the hip bone looks like using a picture or model of a skeleton.

4. Discuss with students how the performance was different from what they expected. What parts did they like/dislike? Would they want to go to a ballet performance in the future? What did they learn? You may want to quiz them verbally on some aspects of the performance.

5. Have students draw, paint or color a scene that they liked best.

6. Discuss the similarities and differences of the ballet performance and theater to other performances students may have been to such as a movie, a sports event, a rock concert, or a school play. What are the differences between a live performance and one on television or video?

Glossary of Ballet Terms

adagio (a-DAHZH-ee-o): A slow dance movement.

allégro (al-LAY-groh): Quick and lively dance movement.

artistic director: The person at a ballet company who is in charge of choosing ballets to perform, hiring dancers, rehearsing the company for performances and other artistic decisions.

ballerina (bahl-lay-REE-nah): The female dancer in a ballet company who is usually an exceptional performer and performs many leading roles. The best ballerina is called the “Prima Ballerina”.

ballet master, ballet mistress (ba-LAY ma-stir, ba-LAY mis-tris): This is the title given to the person responsible for conducting company class for the dancers and rehearsing the ballets. He/she is also responsible for knowing the company's repertoire and teaching these ballets to the dancers.

choreographer (core-ee-og-rah-fer): The person who arranges movements and
patterns of dancers in order to form entire dances. They may also develop the concept or idea of a ballet.

corps de ballet (cor duh bal-Lay): The group of dancers other than principals and
soloists, who make up a ballet company. They work much like a chorus would for an opera.

divertissement (dee-vehr-tees-MAHN): a short entertaining dance.

premier danseur (pruh-MYAY dahn-SUHR): A male ballet star or leading dancer of the ballet company. He is the male version of the Prima Ballerina.
up in the air and performs one or more turns of the body.

tutu (too-too): A ballet costume made of a bodice and layers of netting. In most
classical ballets the ballerina wears a classical tutu which sticks straight out from the waist. In Romantic ballets, such as Giselle, the tutu is long, hanging below the calf.

Glossary of Theater Terms

Applause: Hand-clapping by audience to thank the performer for their work.

Audience: The people who come to watch a performance.

Auditorium: The area in which seats for the audience are located.

Curtains: The main curtain across the front of the stage that hides the stage area until the performance begins, or until scene changes are completed. Curtains along the sides and back of the stage hide backstage areas from the audience.

Dressing Rooms: The rooms where the performers change their clothes. Those with starring roles have their own dressing rooms; those with minor roles have to share, with men and women in separate rooms.

House Lights: The lights in the auditorium, where the audience sits. When these lights dim, the performance is about to begin.

Intermission: A break in the middle of the performance. School performances of the Nutcracker have a very short intermission.

Make-up: Used by performers to help create their character’s appearance. Stage make up is much heavier than regular make-up. Make-up can help create wrinkles to make a young performer appear older.

Scenery: Used to help audience imagine the setting of a story. The Nutcracker uses a kind of hanging scenery called a “drop.” This is a large piece of canvas, as wide as the stage, with a scene painted on. In Act I, the drop shows a home decorated for Christmas time, in Act II shows the Land of the Sweets.

Stage: The area of the theater, usually in front, where the performance takes place.

Wings: The areas to each side of the stage out of sight of the audience. These areas are where performers wait to make their entrance onto the stage.