Resources

• Words of Prince Ramiro’s Lament
• Demo Track for Prince Ramiro’s Lament
• Backing track of Prince Ramiro’s Lament
• Plot points 5-8
• Music to use for your fashion show as the costumes are judged. E.g. use something from a Fashion Week mix online or ask students to select pieces to create a track.

Summary

Here finally the class understand how this version of the Cinderella story ends. Much of the activity focusses upon story telling in the staging of a song. Also the students learn a new song to a familiar tune as Angelina and Ramiro both sing the same lament, indicating the frustration both are feeling with their different situations.

A core part of this session is the concept of the design competition which can be replicated in the classroom and create costumes for the final production.

Session Outline

Warm up activities:

1. Eyes Down, Eyes Up Game
2. Strike a pose Game
3. Ribbon of Sound
4. Ma, Ma will you buy me a banana
5. Learn the Dum Dum Song with the actions

Revise Angelina's Lament – teach Prince Ramiro’s Lament (same tune, different words) with the demo track.

Revise Tisbe’s Song and discuss how the songs show the different situations of each character.

Activity: Responding to narrative

Divide the class into four groups. Each group is given a scene to act out (Plot points 5-8) as it is read aloud. The children in each group are encouraged to improvise their drama being read. Then divide the class into groups to rehearse and refine their response to the narration.

To start the activity each group need to appoint one child to read the narrative; assign the other children to people or objects mentioned in their piece of narrative.

Each group rehearses for about 5 minutes and then performs their miniplay for the class. Encourage them to be aware of audience sight lines and to experiment with levels (standing, crouching etc) and spacing on the stage to make the visual varied and interesting.

Teacher to ask the class who everyone was in the play after and what had been happening and how each character reacted to the drama in the scene.

Staging a song

Once you have considered the directors perspective on clear storytelling, consider the following to the prepare to stage any song, but here use Ramiro’s Lament.

• How would Ramiro feel when he is singing this song?
• Who might he be singing it to?
• What might a prince sound like? (posh, well-spoken, maybe with an Italian accent etc) How can the way you sing this show these parts of his character?
• Consider all this in the way you use your body and voice and perform the song.

Once you have done this with the Ramiro’s Lament, do the same with Angelina’s Lament after considering the steps above. Experiment by having the two sing at the same time, set in different areas on your “stage” does that work? What message would that tell the audience?

Cross curricular option

Art: Design and create an outrageous costume (which would be worn in the performance by the child).

Use the internet to research how a fashion show is conducted so that the costumes can be paraded as part of your play. Choose a selection of outfits and create a fashion show, exhibiting these, while other students, also wearing their costumes, act as audience members and photographers.