An Active Audience Guide — Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

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Table of Contents
Synopsis .....................................................................................................................................................
State Learning Standards ...................................................................................................................
Fleming. Ian Fleming. ...........................................................................................................................
Bang Bang. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ..............................................................................................
A Chat with Molli Corcoran, Understudy .....................................................................................
About the Set ...........................................................................................................................................
About the Costumes ..............................................................................................................................
I Have an Idea! – Where Inventions Come From .....................................................................
The Lives of Edwardian Children ....................................................................................................
We Are Family .........................................................................................................................................
Fear of Children – Reaching Across the Divide .........................................................................
Words & Phrases That Might Be New to You .............................................................................
Jump Start – Give This a Try ..............................................................................................................
Drama in Action – Learn by Doing .................................................................................................
Activity Pages ..........................................................................................................................................
Booklist ......................................................................................................................................................
Share Your Thoughts ............................................................................................................................
2
3-5
6-7
8
9
10-11
12-14
15-17
18-20
21-23
24-25
26-28
29-31
32
33
34-35
36
37
SYNOPSIS
Be warned: This is a complete synopsis of the play, so it is full of spoilers.
While their father Caractacus Potts is searching Coggin’s Garage for a part for one of his eccentric
inventions, Jeremy and Jemima are playing out front in a broken-down old racing car. They pretend
they are defeating the nasty Vulgarians in the 1910 British Grand Prix,
one of many races this car famously won. As Coggins goes off to get the
needed part, Potts joins his children in another imaginary race. They
dream about restoring this car to its former glory.
Meanwhile in Vulgaria, the Baroness has promised the legendary car
to her husband, the Baron, for his birthday. She telephones Boris and
Goran, two bumbling Vulgarian spies who are in England, and orders them to find it.
Truly Scrumptious drives her motorcycle to Coggins’ Garage in search of a part and nearly runs
into the old racing car. Potts offers to fix her motorcycle but Truly insists she does not need his
help. She asks why his children are not in school and remarks on their eccentric upbringing.
Potts seems put off by her assertiveness, but the children like her. After she leaves, a junkman
offers to buy the old car from Coggins for 30 shillings, to Potts’ and his children’s alarm. Coggins
agrees to sell the car to them instead if they can come up with the money.
Boris and Goran, who have been spying on the garage and are excited to
have found the car, set off to come up with the money themselves.
That evening, Grandpa joins Potts and the children in their windmill home
for supper, which Potts prepares in his breakfast-making machine. Potts
also shows Grandpa the sweet-making machine he has been working on.
They discuss the difficulty of coming up with money for the car. Later, when
Grandpa tries Pott’s latest candy invention he discovers that it makes a
lovely sound. It toots! His son has invented something that works!
The next morning, Potts is full of hope that he can sell his whistling candy. He goes to the Sweet
Factory to seek an interview with Lord Scrumptious, but he has no appointment and will not
be let in. Then Truly, Lord Scrumptious’ daughter, arrives and
escorts Potts and the children to her father. He demonstrates
his invention—Toot Sweets, the eatable, tweetable treat! It is a
success, until the whistling attracts packs of dogs into the factory.
Meanwhile, Boris and Goran have come up with 30 shillings and plan
to disguise themselves to buy the car since they don’t think Coggins
will sell it to two Vulgarians. And if they can’t buy it, they’ll steal it!
Continued on the next page...
3
Back home, Jeremy and Jemima offer to sell their most precious keepsakes, such as a “stone that
might be from Stonehenge,” to buy the car. Potts reassures them he has another invention to
peddle to raise the 30 shillings. The next morning at the Fun Fair,
Potts tries out his experimental haircutting machine, but nearly sets
a customer’s head on fire. Fortunately, a turkey farmer purchases it
for plucking and cooking turkeys.
Potts uses the money to buy the car and works on overhauling it
in the garage. While his children excitedly wait, Grandpa regales
them with tales of travelling the world. Potts finally brings out
the rebuilt car. They name it Chitty Chitty Bang Bang after the sounds it makes when starting
up. Boris and Goran, eavesdropping, mistakenly believe that Grandpa rather than Potts has
refurbished the car. Potts, Jemima and Jeremy take their
new friend Chitty on a drive in the countryside. Truly
encounters them on her motorcycle, and they invite her
along. While enjoying a picnic on the beach, Truly realizes
her love for Potts and the children, and they in turn hope
she will never leave them.
Jeremy notices the tide has come in, surrounding Chitty.
A thunderstorm peals out along with cannon blasts—a
Vulgarian ship, alerted by Boris and Goran, is firing on Chitty and demanding Potts surrender the
car. Potts maneuvers his instruments and Chitty amazingly turns into a
boat and floats off into the water where they elude the pursuing ship.
Boris telephones the Baron and Baroness in Vulgaria to report
Chitty’s escape. Hearing that Chitty can travel on water, they are more
determined than ever to capture it so they can learn the secrets of the
car and make Vulgaria great once more. But upon hearing of children in
the car, the Baroness faints—she can’t even bear the word, she loathes
them so! The Baron calls in the dreaded Childcatcher to prepare for the
arrival of Jeremy and Jemima.
Back in England, Boris and Goran kidnap Grandpa, whom they believe
to be Chitty’s inventor, while he is in his outhouse. Using a blimp and
large balloon, the outhouse is transported to Vulgaria. Potts, his children and Trudy pursue in
Chitty. Reaching the coastal cliffs, Chitty surprises even Potts—she flies above the sea!
Continued on the next page...
4
In the Vulgarian Town Square, the Baron and Baroness welcome
Grandpa as “inventor extraordinaire.” Grandpa goes along with the
mistaken identity. They introduce him to the Toymaker who makes the
world’s best toys—toys for the Baron alone because, of course, children
are forbidden in Vulgaria. The Baron provides Grandpa with assistants,
brings out his own car and orders him to make it float and fly, just as
Chitty does. If he fails, he will be made into a sausage.
Potts, Truly, Jeremy and Jemima arrive and see Grandpa locked up in the
castle. The Toymaker hides them from the roaming Childcatcher. The
Childcatcher can smell them and enters the toy shop but is unable to
find them. Potts insists on rescuing Grandpa. The Toymaker offers to show him a secret way to
the prison through the sewers where the Vulgarian children live hidden from the Childcatcher.
Truly remains in the shop to guard Jeremy and Jemima. They are hungry, and Truly locks them in
the shop while she goes in search of food. The Childcatcher returns and lures Jeremy and Jemima
outside by posing as a candy seller. Truly returns to find them gone.
In the palace, the Baroness tells the Baron that for his birthday he will be receiving not only a
flying car but a special toy promised by the Toymaker. Meanwhile, the Toymaker has brought
Potts down into the sewers where the banished children survive on scraps stolen from the
palace kitchens above. Truly arrives, revealing that Jemima and Jeremy have been imprisoned
by the Childcatcher. Potts persuades all the children to join him in breaking into the palace to
overthrow the Baron and Baroness, and free not only the captives, but themselves from their
lives in the sewer.
The Baronial couple begins the birthday celebration. Summoning the guests, they order the
Toymaker to present the gifts. He reveals two life-sized mechanical dolls and an enormous
birthday cake. The dolls come to life—they are actually Truly
and Potts in disguise—and the banished children burst from the
cake and tie up the Baron and Baroness. The Childcatcher tries
to capture the children, and a chaotic fight breaks out. Suddenly
Chitty flies in, having rescued Grandpa, Jeremy and Jemima from
prison. Mesmerized by the amazing machine, the Childcatcher is
finally overpowered.
Truly and the Potts family celebrate their victory with the
liberated children and Vulgarians. All are grateful to Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang—their fine, four-fendered friend!
5
WASHINGTON STATE LEARNING STANDARDS
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang touches on many themes and ideas. Here are a few we believe would
make good Discussion Topics: Family, Fantasy and Heroes.
We believe that seeing the show and using our Active Audience Guide can help you meet the
following State Standards and address these 21st-Century Skills:
• Growth Mindset (belief that your intelligence and ability can increase with effort)
• Perseverance
• Creative Thinking
• Critical Thinking
• Communication
• Collaboration
WASHINGTON STATE K-12 LEARNING STANDARDS
Theatre
1. The student understands and applies arts knowledge and skills.
1.1 Understands arts concepts and vocabulary.
1.2 Applies, experiences and practices basic arts skills and techniques.
1.3 Creates, experiences and examines performances based on genres and styles of various artists,
cultures and times.
1.4 Understands and applies audience conventions in a variety of settings and performances of theatre.
2. The student uses the artistic process of responding to performance to demonstrate thinking skills.
2.3 Applies a responding process to an arts performance.
3. Theatre: The student communicates through the arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts).
3.1 Uses theatre to express feelings and present ideas.
3.2 Uses theatre to communicate for a specific purpose.
4. The student makes connections with and across the arts to other disciplines, life, cultures, and work.
4.2 Demonstrates and analyzes the connections among the arts and between the arts and
other disciplines.
4.3 Understands how the arts impact and reflect personal choices throughout life.
4.4 Understands and shares how the arts influence and reflect culture and history.
4.5 Understands how arts knowledge and skills are used in the world of work, including careers in the arts.
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS
Exact standards depend upon grade level, selected text(s), and instructional shifts to meet the standard.
English Language Arts
Reading:
Literature
Reading:
Informational
Text
CCSS.ELA - RL.1 Ask and answer questions such as who, what, where, why and how to demonstrate
understanding of key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA - RL.2 Retell stories, including key details.
CCSS.ELA - RL.3 Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the
sequence of event.
CCSS.ELA - RL.4 Identify words and phrases in stories that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
CCSS.ELA - RL.5 Refer to parts of dramas, using terms such as scene; describe how each successive
part builds on earlier sections.
CCSS.ELA - RL.6 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters.
CCSS.ELA - RL.9 Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
CCSS.ELA - RL.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
CCSS.ELA - RI.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring
explicitly to the text as the basis for answers.
CCSS.ELA - RI.2 Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
CCSS.ELA - RI.3 Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas or pieces of
information in a text.
Continued on the next page...
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WASHINGTON STATE K-12 LEARNING STANDARDS
Reading:
Informational
Text (cont’d)
Speaking &
Listening
CCSS.ELA - RI.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases
in a text relevant to a grade-specific topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA - RI.5 Use text features (table of contents, headings, links, etc.) to locate key facts or
information in a text.
CCSS.ELA - RI.6 Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to explain or describe.
CCSS.ELA - RI.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
CCSS.ELA - SL.1 Participate in conversations about grade-specific topics and texts.
CCSS.ELA - SL.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or presented
through other media.
CCSS.ELA - SL.4 Describe people, places, things and events with relevant details.
CCSS.ELA - SL.5 Add visual displays to descriptions as described to provide additional details.
CCSS.ELA - SL.6 Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings and ideas clearly.
History/Social Studies
Reading
History
CCSS.H/SS - RH.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of sources.
CCSS.H/SS - RH.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
vocabulary specific to history/social studies.
CCSS.H/SS - RH.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose.
CCCS.H/SS - RH.7 Integrate visual information with other information in print texts.
WHAT IS ARTS INTEGRATION?
A definition and checklist from The Kennedy Center’s Changing Education Through the Arts program.
Arts integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through
an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject area and meets
evolving objectives in both.
Some educators confuse any effort to include the arts in their classroom with arts integration. While all types of
arts-based instruction are encouraged, it is helpful for educators to know when they are engaged in arts integration.
To achieve this awareness, an Arts Integration Checklist is provided. Educators answering “yes” to the items in the
Checklist can be assured that their approach to teaching is indeed integrated.
Approach to Teaching
• Are learning principles of Constructivism (actively built, experiential, evolving, collaborative, problem-solving,
and reflective) evident in my lesson?
Understanding
• Are the students engaged in constructing and demonstrating understanding as opposed to just memorizing
and reciting knowledge?
Art Form
• Are the students constructing and demonstrating their understandings through an art form?
Creative Process
• Are the students engaged in a process of creating something original as opposed to copying or parroting?
• Will the students revise their products?
Connects
• Does the art form connect to another part of the curriculum or a concern/need?
• Is the connection mutually reinforcing?
Evolving Objectives
• Are there objectives in both the art form and another part of the curriculum or a concern/need?
• Have the objectives evolved since the last time the students engaged with this
subject matter?
For more thoughts about this subject and a wealth of useful information
(including lesson plans) go to: The Kennedy Center ArtsEdge
7
FLEMING. IAN FLEMING.
Ian Lancaster Fleming, famous for his James Bond series of spy novels, was born
in London on May 28, 1908, the second of four brothers. He was educated at Eton
College and then abroad in Germany and Austria.
After an early career at Reuters news agency, he became a stockbroker. During
World War II he worked as assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence in the
Admiralty in London and was privy to many secrets. It was his experience in this
job that was to provide many of the characters and incidents that he was to write
about later in the Bond books.
Following the war he became foreign manager, in charge of foreign
correspondents, for Kemsley newspapers, owners of The Sunday Times and other papers. But his
creative imagination remained under wraps until 1952, when, at the age of 43, he settled down in
his house in Jamaica, and produced—in not much more than two months—Casino Royale, the first
adventure of James Bond. He published an additional 13 James Bond titles and lived to witness their
enormous success, and to see his character played by Sean Connery in the first two films, Dr. No and
From Russia with Love.
Married to Anne Rothermere, his only son Caspar was born in 1952. While recovering from a heart
attack in 1962, one of Fleming’s friends gave him a copy of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
to read and suggested that he write up the bedtime story he used to tell Caspar each evening—the one
about the amazing flying car.
In May 1961, Fleming sent his publisher the manuscript for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He did not live to
see it published. He suffered another heart attack on August 11, 1964, and died in the early morning of
the following day—his son Caspar’s twelfth birthday—in Canterbury, Kent. The book was published in
three volumes with illustrations by John Burningham, the first volume being released two months after
Fleming’s death. It was the only children’s book he ever wrote.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
• Never say “no” to adventures. Always say “yes,” otherwise you’ll lead a very dull life.
• I never correct anything and I never go back to what I have written, except to the foot of the last
page to see where I have got to. If you once look back, you are lost. How could you have written this
drivel? How could you have used “terrible” six times on one page? And so forth. If you interrupt the
writing of fast narrative with too much introspection and self-criticism, you will be lucky if you write
500 words a day and you will be disgusted with them into the bargain. By following my formula, you
write 2,000 words a day and you aren’t disgusted with them until the book is finished, which will be
in about six weeks.
• I would tell [a youngster who is concerned with making a career of writing] to write more or less
as he speaks. To try to get an accurate ear for the spoken word and not, so to speak, put on a top hat
when he sits down at his typewriter. He must not think that literature has to be literary…not that
we should write in a less literate manner, but that we should avoid pretentiousness. This may be an
oversimplification, but I’d tell the youngster to learn to type well and to avoid literary myths.
Sources:
ianfleming.com: Ian Fleming’s Life
ajb007.co.uk: Ian Fleming’s Last Interview
8
BANG BANG. CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG.
Ian Fleming loved cars.
In the book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, when the Potts family is
car shopping and sees the old wreck of a race car at a
broken-down garage, Fleming writes:
They all had the same look in their eyes. The look said,
“This must once have been the most beautiful car in the
world. If the engine’s more or less all right and if we all
set to and scrubbed and painted and mended and polished, do you suppose we could put
her back as she used to be? It wouldn’t be like having just one of those black beetles that
the factories turn out in hundreds and thousands and that all look alike. We’d have a real
jewel of a car, something to love and cherish and look after as if it was one of the family!
It was love at first sight.
Chitty was inspired by a series of real English racing cars called Chitty Bang Bang, built and
raced by Count Louis Zborowski in the early 1920s. Zborowski’s Chitty 1 had a gray steel
body with an eight-foot-long hood and weighed four tons. The cars used aircraft engines, and
supposedly they were so loud that Canterbury passed a law prohibiting them from entering the
city. Fleming’s Chitty is a combination of this race car and Fleming’s own Standard Tourer, which
he had driven in Switzerland in the late 1920s.
Some other Chitty Chitty Bang Bang facts:
Ian Fleming borrowed the names of people he knew for characters in his novels. Jemima, for
example, is named after the daughter of his employer when he was a stockbroker.
The first draft of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang included a scene in which Chitty soars over the spire of
Canterbury Cathedral. Fleming removed this scene after taking his son Caspar to see the Disney
film The Absent-Minded Professor, which featured a flying car circling a church spire.
The film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was co-written by children’s author Roald Dahl.
The film and the play are very different from the book. Here’s what’s different in the book:
•
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•
•
•
•
•
Jeremy and Jemima’s mother is alive. Her name is Mimsie, and the family’s last name is Pott, not Potts.
Caracatus is an explorer as well as an inventor.
Jeremy and Jemima go to boarding school.
There is no Grandpa Potts, Truly Scrumptious, Vulgaria, Baron and Baroness of Vulgaria
or Childcatcher.
There is a sweets factory called Skrumshus Limited where Potts successfully sells his musical
candy, named Crackpot Whistling Sweets. He is paid 1000 pounds and a sixpence for every
1000 candies sold. He makes a lot of money.
The family flies to France in Chitty on their adventure, not Vulgaria.
The villains in the book are “wreck-burglars.” They sneak out in the night to ships that have
wrecked and steal everything on board.
Jeremy and Jemima are kidnapped by the wreckers and tricked into taking part in a robbery,
but they find a way to outwit the villains and become the heroes of the story.
9
A CHAT WITH MOLLI CORCORAN, UNDERSTUDY
Molli is not working on this production, but she kindly took the time to
answer a few questions about the job of understudying.
Please tell us a little bit about your working process.
When I am cast as an understudy, I am assigned specific roles in the play
to learn. This means that if two different actors play five parts each, then
I am responsible for ten different parts. When I say “learn a part,” that
means I am not only memorizing the lines, but I am also memorizing the
blocking (where that actor walks, what they do and when). If an actor
is too sick to perform, I get a phone call and immediately come to the
theater. I will fill in for them during that performance.
I have had quite a lot of experience understudying at SCT. I feel pretty
lucky to have a good memory because memorization is one of the
most challenging aspects of understudying. Understudies start coming to rehearsals two weeks
before the show opens. At the beginning of this process we simply observe rehearsals. If I
am understudying more than one actor, I generally select the larger of the two roles to begin
focusing on. I watch that actor like a hawk and write down every single movement they make. I
take notes on their attitude and body language. My job is to learn every little thing that they do.
Every night, when I come home from rehearsal, I work on memorizing the lines. Usually I enlist
the help of a friend to read the other characters’ lines. We sometimes get stuck on a line that I
just can’t figure out and I have to say it 12 times before it finally sticks. If I am really focused, I
can memorize all of my lines within a few days.
Once I have the lines down, I use my
imagination to turn my bedroom into
the set of that play. My bed becomes
an ocean, my dresser a tree trunk.
I walk the path that that character
takes. So much of memorization for
me is getting the movement and the
words in my body at the same time.
Muscle memory is a remarkable thing.
After the play has opened, the
understudies begin rehearsals with
the stage manager. We start working
through the play one scene at a time
on the actual set. We rehearse three
A page from Molli’s Pinocchio script. She highlighted the lines of different
characters she was understudying in different colors, and has added notes
days a week for about four hours
on the action and the way lines should be delivered.
a day. I like to have my lines 100%
memorized by this point so I can use this time to get comfortable walking on the set and using
the props that my character touches.
Continued on the next page...
10
At any point during this process I could get called in to perform. If I do get this call, I try to stay very
calm and focused. It’s easy to be nervous. If time allows, the cast of the play will gather an hour
before show time and run a tricky bit of blocking so that we all feel confident doing it together.
We aren’t always lucky enough to have the time to do this. I have definitely messed up during a
performance, but my fellow actors are such pros, they help cover my mistake and we keep going.
What is a particularly interesting or unusual challenge on this project and how would you
set out to solve it?
Understudying multiple roles in a musical can be very challenging. The reason this is difficult is because
usually the actors you are understudying all sing different harmonies within the same songs. Trying
to learn complicated harmonies is tricky enough, but trying to learn multiple different harmonies
and assigning a specific character to that harmony can feel impossible. Whenever I find myself in this
position, I try to find little tricks to help me remember who sings what line and when. For example, if a
character’s name starts with an “S” and she also sings the “Soprano” harmony line, I may tell myself to
think of an “S” whenever I am stuck and then I remember what I am supposed to do.
In Chitty Chitty Bang Bang many of the actors who play ensemble roles are also understudying a
larger role. This is called “internal understudying.” It means that not only do they have to memorize
their own parts, but they also need to memorize another part.
What in your childhood got you to where you are today?
When I was little I had a really hard time sleeping. I was
terrified of the dark. I started reading through the night
to pass the time. I did this a lot. I mean, A LOT. I flew
through book after book. I loved adventure and fantasy
stories. I loved how they let me hang out in another
fantastical world for a few hours. I started imagining that
I was one of the characters in the books I was reading. I
specifically remember when I was Mr. Popper, from Mr.
Popper’s Penguins. I had 12 of my own penguins and we
performed our traveling circus show all over the house.
In this photo of a Goodnight Moon technical rehearsal, you
I loved playing make believe. Using the stories I read as
can see the understudies sitting in the audience at a table
inspiration, I would create elaborate imagination games. where they can watch the action and take notes. Molli was
in the regular cast for the show, not an understudy, and is
I should mention here that all of the characters in my
onstage holding the ribbon.
games sang songs. I was always singing. As my mom
loves to remind me, “You started singing at four weeks old and have never stopped.” It only makes sense
that my characters were always singing too. By the time I was about eight years old, I was doing musical
theater summer camps and after-school classes. In elementary school I got to play Jacob Marley in A
Christmas Carol. I like to think that this is the role that ignited my passion for acting but, in all honesty,
I think I just really loved my costume. All I remember is that I found metal chains in my dad’s garage to
attach to my shirt and put white paint in my hair so I would look older. After that, I never really thought
I would do anything but become an actor. Nothing else brings me as much joy as acting does. Well, aside
from ice cream.
Molli Corcoran works as an actor, singer, teacher and aspiring podcaster in Seattle. Over the last
four years she has been cast in eight shows at Seattle Children’s Theatre (you may have seen her
as Pippi Longstocking), four of them as the female understudy. Other than SCT, Molli has worked at
Village Theatre, 5th Avenue, Balagan, Seattle Public Theatre and Mt. Baker Theatre.
11
ABOUT THE SET
From Carey Wong, Set Designer
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang poses a number of challenges for the set designer. There are many
different locations, the plot moves quickly from place to place, and a full-size car holding as many
as four people needs to appear to be driven, function as a boat and fly.
The story is set in England during the Edwardian Era, a period of time at the start of the
twentieth century. Director Linda Hartzell and I were drawn to illustrations with the beauty,
grace and sweeping curves of “Art Nouveau,” a French term meaning
“new art” which describes a style of design most popular from
1890 to 1905. We chose to frame the stage in a pair of oversized
Art Nouveau sweeps on the proscenium (the frame around the
stage), and then repeat them as decorative details that first appear
in the candy factory and multiply further when the action moves to
Vulgaria. Art Nouveau illustrations, with their outlined images that
were set against solid color backgrounds had a modern look to them.
A series of shaped scenic cutouts that defines each location in the
show reflects that feeling.
Photo of an 1897 poster by
Alphonse Mucha, one of the most
famous Art Nouveau artists. This
poster is an advertisement for
Mucha’s printer and lithographer,
Ferdinand Champenois.
Research images for England…
An example of vinework typical of
Art Nouveau style which inspired
the sweeps framing the stage
The technique of placing a detailed, cleanly
outlined image against a simple background
was one of the influences that led to
designing cutout scenery pieces to define
scene locations.
Continued on the next page...
12
…and Vulgaria. The set does not use specific
details from these images, but they show the
extremely different feel of the two countries.
The show’s design is an intentional
contrast of visual styles. It starts
in the English countryside, near
King’s Lynn on the coast, as the
Funfair banner tells us. Coggin’s
garage and Potts’ windmill house
and garage all share an earth tone
color palette and rural character.
England is a calm environment,
even though there are lively
bursts of color—for example,
teal in the candy factory and
yellow-orange at the Funfair,
Photograph of the set model for
a place where people could go
the brightly colored Fun Fair
to see the latest new machines,
scene. Notice the sweeps framing
exciting fairground attractions
the stage. This is a working
model,
which means it is still in
and amusements. Meanwhile,
process, so some of what you see
Vulgaria is a fantasy of eighteenthin these photos may be changed
in the final production.
and nineteenth-century CentralEuropean architectural styles, daring color combinations,
and exuberant flights of visual fantasy and fashion. The
final scene in Vulgaria at the Baron’s birthday party will
hopefully delight audiences with its crazy stylistic mash-up
of elaborate golden scrollwork, Art Nouveau sweeps, Latin
American foliage and exotic birds.
Scrumptious Sweets Company. The teal color of the floor is emphasized in the scene
and will be echoed in the factory workers’ costumes as well. The sweeps on the front
of the stage are repeated in the back.
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The Potts family windmill house, with
Caractacus’ breakfast-making machine
ready for action.
Drawing of one of the buildings in
Vulgaria’s town square. The elaborate
architectural details and bold color are a
big change from the scenes in England.
Chitty was modeled after this
1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
Skiff. Even though this car isn’t
magical, it costs a lot more that
30 shillings. It sold at auction
for $773,402 in 2009. And yes,
that is a snake on the fender.
It’s the car’s horn.
Drawing of Chitty showing the car from all angles.
The back of the car is shaped like a boat—perfect
for Chitty. In fact, the car has the word “skiff” in
its name because that is a type of small boat.
But as you might expect, the largest challenge is
creating a full-size, fully-detailed period car that
appears to move around the stage, float on water
like a boat and sprout wings to fly. My drawings
for the car were inspired by Ken Adam’s original
The scene shop will use detailed drawings like this and ones
with even more exact measurements to build Chitty.
drawings for the movie, but I had to adjust the
details and dimensions to fit the size of our stage
and the needs of our production. The design will continue to be refined as it is built in the SCT shop
and fitted to the size of the cast members. The car will be created through the combined efforts of the
carpenters, electricians, props artisans and scenic artists. Then it will be up to the director, actors,
lights and sound to bring Chitty to life onstage.
14
ABOUT THE COSTUMES
From Catherine Hunt, Costume Designer
Linda Hartzell, the director of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, was quite keen on setting this play
around 1915 to about 1917. This was such a fabulous time for invention and automation. It was
also a great time for women’s fashion. While still referred to as the Edwardian period, the use of
corsetry, or tightly fitting undergarments worn to shape a woman’s figure, had started to become
almost non-existent. So for women, this meant a new freedom in clothing as well as life.
I wanted to keep the clothes in each location really controlled in color. In England, Caractacus,
Jeremy, Jemima, Grandpa, as well as the country people at the fair and crowd scenes, are in
warm-colored plaids, cottons, hand-knit sweaters and soft silhouettes (shapes). I was able to
find some hand-tinted photographs from the time period showing people in
their everyday clothes, and they really helped me a lot. So, even if the colors
seem a little more intense than what we think of when we see black-and-white
photographs of the period, they are real.
Costume sketches for Caractacus, Jemima and Jeremy
Two fairgoers
A class photograph of a group of schoolchildren,
and artwork by Norman Rockwell from 1919
inspired Jemima and Jeremy’s costumes.
The colors in this handtinted photograph were
very helpful for choosing
costume colors for the
townspeople.
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A corset from the late 1890s. No amount
of flowers and bows could make this
comfortable to wear. Edwardian women
were not sorry to see them go out of style.
Truly Scrumptious is a modern heroine.
She is the most fashion-forward and should
always look delightfully fabulous, whether
she is riding her motorbike or visiting her
family’s candy factory. Luckily, there is good
research, including actual women’s clothing
from the time, that shows the style, the fit,
the kinds of color and the hats that women
of Truly’s social status wore. Oh, the hats!
One of Truly’s dresses
Dresses designed by Coco Chanel in
1917 led to the simple elegance of
Truly’s dress
The hats in the show aren’t as wild as
some of the ones from the period. This
is a pretty crazy hat, right?
The candy factory scene is one of my favorites.
Who doesn’t want to work in a candy factory?
I love the controlled color palette that the
workers have. I matched the aqua for their
uniforms to Carey Wong’s set color. They
are really fun, with stripes and fun hats. The
aqua color shows up in the costumes for Lord
Scrumptious and Miss Phillips, as well.
Costumes for workers at the Scrumptious candy factory
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She doesn’t look very happy to be
working in a candy factory, but her
apron and hat were good inspiration
for the costumes.
The Baron of Vulgaria
The wonderful decorative
elements of this Greek
Cavalry officer’s uniform are
perfect for the Baron.
The Baroness of Vulgaria
Color and details of this
dress designed by Lady
Lucy Duff Gordon in 1911
was one of the influences on
the design for the Baroness.
The Baron and Baroness of Vulgaria are much more showy and bold. Their colors are
jewel-toned with lots of gold. The Vulgarian look for Boris and Goran, the spies, is
somewhat Bavarian, and somewhat 1918. When they are working undercover in England,
they are dressed as country gentlemen, inspired
by the Duke of Windsor. Linda loves the idea that
they pop up in every scene with a hat or apron or
something as a disguise suited to the scene that they
are in, so watch for that!
Boris and Goran, the Vulgarian spies
17
The Duke of Windsor’s
casual but classic look was
the starting point for the
spies’ costumes.
I HAVE AN IDEA
How do people invent things? And why? We are surrounded by tools, devices, ways of doing
things and new ideas that we take for granted in our daily lives, and someone invented each of
those things. Or did many people working together do so?
Think of some of the very first inventions: using fire, taming and raising
animals, growing plants. These inventions made it easier to be warm and
provide food and clothing. Was it just one person that first took a branch
from a smoldering forest fire and brought it back to camp to warm their
family and cook food? Or was it many, many people over many years
sharing ideas, trying, failing and finding different ways to preserve and
then create fire? How many people talked about feeding that first wolf
or fencing in that wild goat, before others finally tried it? And how many
more needed to help, offer better ideas and keep trying until their efforts
were successful? As different generations keep experimenting, most
inventions are improved. We now have countless ways of making fire,
we have hundreds of different breeds of dogs just for pets, and we have discovered plants from
around the world to enjoy in our gardens, homes or for dinner.
Caractacus Potts’ breakfast-making machine is certainly not his first
invention. He probably started inventing when he was a kid and just
never stopped. All children are born with curiosity and a desire to
invent. They can’t wait to find out what the older folks are up to and
join in the fun. Just look at how a baby starts playing and making
sounds when first learning to speak. It starts imitating the sounds
it hears adults making and learns a language—any language in the
world—in an amazingly short time. And babies do it without any
lessons and much faster than an adult could. Some children even invent special words that they use
just around their family or friends. Perhaps you have invented your own “secret”
language or written code.
This is what the lamp
made by Thomas
Edison and his team
in 1879 looked like.
Maybe you have built hideaways or forts at home, or tree houses in the yard.
You experimented with building materials, tested tools and tried out different
plans until you were satisfied. That’s what inventing is all about. What kind
of wood is soft for carving, and what kind is hard for digging or prying? How
do different materials lean against and support each other? How do different
colors of cloths let in or shut out light?
Inventors constantly test and reevaluate. The more ideas and testing, the
better. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb among many other things,
did not invent it all by himself. He created one of the first research laboratories.
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18
He hired a large team of engineers to test lots of ideas over and over until they achieved success.
They tested thousands of different kinds of filaments until they found the right one that lit up the
bulb without melting or burning out.
Perhaps you like to draw or sketch ideas on paper.
Fifteenth-century Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, one
of history’s most famous inventors, began sketching
when he was a boy. He lived in the country and sketched
everything he saw—clouds, water, animals. In doing so he
was looking very closely at things and observing how they
worked—how water and air flowed in currents, how birds’
wings carried them in flight. He later drew designs for a
parachute, a glider, a helicopter and an underwater diving
suit, among many others. Few of his ideas were built, partly
because his ideas were ahead of the technology of his time,
and, also, because he had trouble sticking with one
thing—he was always on to the next idea!
Leonardo da Vinci’s design for a helicopter. His
notes are very difficult to read because not only
are they in Italian and in a kind of shorthand
he invented, but he wrote backwards, from the
right side of the page to the left.
Do you notice how things work in nature? George De Mestral,
a Swiss electrical engineer, noticed that cockleburs would stick
to his dog and his own clothing after a walk in the fields. He
examined the tiny hooks on the burs that stuck to the tiny loops
in clothing and fur. Then he wondered if he could make those tiny
loops and hooks with fabric. He succeeded and invented Velcro!
Maybe you like to take things apart to see how they work. Lots of
toys and household gizmos today are powered by computer chips,
so we can’t really see what is going on. But you can still find things like gears and swivels and other
mechanical parts in many toys—just make sure you are not fooling around
with electricity! The gasoline powered car motor of yesterday is becoming
the battery-powered motor of tomorrow because young inventors took
apart old motors and imagined how to build new ones.
A cocklebur, the inspiration for Velcro
Inventing is often finding a new way to use something we already have.
Gutenberg used the wine press to make the printing press. Instead of
pressing down on grapes to squeeze out juice, he pressed inked letters
onto paper. Cassidy Goldstein, age 11, found it hard to keep using her
Cassidy Goldstein’s
crayons when they were broken or worn down into short pieces. She
crayon holders
saw that florists used plastic tubes to keep the ends of rose stems
wet. So she invented a plastic “crayon holder” for herself. She then realized it would also be
helpful for children with fine motor difficulties to use for drawing with pastels.
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Some inventors turn failure into a success, as Caractacus Potts does when his disastrous
haircutting machine becomes a perfect turkey plucker. When one scientist tried to make a strong
adhesive for NASA, it turned out to be very weak. Someone else decided to put this adhesive on
the back of their bookmarks so they wouldn’t keep falling out, and
the Post-it note was invented.
A diagram from Frank Epperson’s
patent application for the “Epsicle”
Some inventions are created by accident. In the 1950s Percy
Spencer was trying to make radar more powerful by using a strong
magnetic device. Then he noticed he had melted the chocolate
bar in his pocket. So he used the magnetic device to invent the
microwave oven. At the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, ice cream
was selling well in the sizzling summer weather, but hot waffles
were not. But when the ice cream sellers ran out of paper cups, a
quick thinking waffle maker rolled one of his waffles into a cone
and created the first ice cream cone! The X-ray machine, plastic,
matches, popsicles (Frank Epperson, at age 11), chocolate chip
cookies and potato chips were all invented by accident.
Perhaps the most enjoyable inventions are games. Children
invent games all the time. Or they change the rules of a game
to make things easier or more challenging. Basketball began in 1891 when a Canadian P.E.
teacher wanted his students to be able to exercise
indoors during the frozen winters. He had them throw
soccer balls into peach baskets nailed up onto posts.
More rules came later.
Perhaps you have invented a game to pass the time while
bored. Try having a contest to see who can make up a
board game to learn about a geography or history lesson
in school. Or suppose you had four spoons, four tennis
balls, a tub, two buckets, a wooden spatula and a Frisbee.
Could you make up the rules for a game using these
things? What if you decided to use one of these verbs
from other games: dribble, toss, knock over, hit or flip?
Peach baskets and what is believed to be the
original basketball, found with the belongings of
James Naismith, the inventor of the game
We use our powers of invention often, perhaps without realizing it, to satisfy our curiosity,
to entertain ourselves, to make a difficult task easier and to help others. We all have a bit of
Caractacus Potts in us.
20
THE LIVES OF EDWARDIAN CHILDREN
The characters in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang lived during the last years
of a time known as the “Edwardian Era,” named for England’s King
Edward VII. Historians identify the Edwardian Era as being from 1901
to 1915. In the play, young Jeremy and Jemima live a life of fun and
adventure. But the truth is, Edwardian children’s lives were not like
what we see on stage.
A child’s life was really determined by how much money their family
had. While there is much written about the upper and lower classes
during this time, there is little recorded about children in families known as the “middle class.” So we
will be looking mostly at differences between the lives of wealthy and poor children.
Wealthy children might enjoy daily excursions to the park, or trips to the country or seaside. Many
of these kids had nannies, who might take them to the toy shop or the circus. Little girls might have
tea parties in the nursery, while little boys would play with tin soldiers, tops or blocks. On trips to the
cool, green parks of London, children might spend the afternoon flying paper kites or launching small
sailboats onto the pond. Sometimes, children would enjoy funny puppet shows there as well.
Middle class families might have parents that were bankers, shop keepers or workers in some of the
cleaner, more modern factories. We do know that middle class children went to school and were able
to have schedules that were pretty much the same from day to day. These
families might be able to hire a maid, but did not have servants like the very
wealthy manor houses.
Childhood was very difficult for poor children. Luckily, the Edwardian Era
was a time when the English government made decisions to improve the
lives of children. Many of today’s laws affecting the health and well-being of
English children were developed during this time. For example, laws were
created in the early 1900s that required that children be allowed to go to
England is not the only country
where young children were put school. But sadly, many adults ignored these laws, and poor children as young
to work. These American boys as nine years old were sent to work as servants, or in mines, construction,
worked long hours at a fish
shipyards and factories. In some of these factories, children made matches
cannery in Maine.
and were exposed to poisonous chemicals that often made them very sick.
In larger cities, children might be forced to beg for coins or become pickpockets. For these children,
going to school was a dream that many never got to experience. These children grew up not knowing
how to read or having a chance to just spend time playing with other kids. Many were hungry and ill.
Sometimes these children might go for weeks without taking a bath or brushing their teeth.
What was school like?
Edwardian schools were not like classrooms today. You might have to share a classroom with 50 other
students! Also, boys and girls were often taught separately and not allowed to play together. Children
went to school from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Classrooms were heated with a small coal-burning stove, and
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so they were often very chilly. Children usually sat on hard, wooden benches. Classes were taken in
the “3 Rs”—Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic—and there were also physical education lessons. Girls
were generally also taught how to cook, clean and run a
house properly. Usually, children would go home for lunch
and return for afternoon lessons. Children might also attend
Sunday school where their lessons were taught by their
regular school teacher.
What was life like at home?
In wealthier households, most children didn’t see too much
of their parents. Kids would have dinner with the family, but
spent much of their time in the nursery with their brothers
With so many students in a classroom, the desks
and sisters and a nanny.
were set on steps so that the teacher and students
could see each other.
Some families had pets,
but animals were usually kept outside. At this time in history,
many families had 10 or more children. Sadly, many children died
as babies or from diseases such as smallpox and diphtheria. Childdeath struck both rich and poor families.
In a typical English town, it was easy to tell who was rich and who
was poor. Wealthier children were well fed, wore warm clothes
and had shoes on their feet. They did not work and often had lessons at home. In the summertime,
wealthy families might go on picnics at the beach, a park or the zoo. These children were allowed to
ride elephants and camels, and could watch the lions being fed.
A group of children playing, with the older
children looking after the younger ones
Poor children often looked thin and hungry, wore ragged clothes and had no shoes. These
children didn’t get to go to concerts or plays.
What did kids do for fun? What kinds of toys and games were popular?
When in the nursery, children might play with dolls, puzzles, trains, toy
animals and rocking horses. When outdoors, children played chasing
games such as tag (which had lots of other names, such as “Touch” or
“Tigg”). They also played a version of musical chairs, using cushions
or old rags to sit on. At Easter, children played “Egg-Shackling.” In this
game, everyone put an egg with their name on it in a basket which was
shaken until the eggs broke. The last egg left unbroken won. In street
games, children shared toys like hoops, marbles and skipping ropes.
A girl in her bedroom
with her dolls
Boys learned to play a game called “Cricket” which is still played today
throughout the United Kingdom. Cricket is a lot like modern day baseball. If they didn’t have a real ball,
they made one from old rags, and made bats from pieces of wood. They also played hopscotch. Children
were able to play out in the street as there was less traffic than today. Cars were new, very unusual and
very expensive. And even though some looked like the car in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, they didn’t fly.
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What were some popular children’s books?
During the Edwardian era, children’s literature became more popular. Some books that children
were reading back then are still being enjoyed today. Do you recognize any of these titles?
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
The Jungle Book & Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Did Edwardian children eat yummy foods and snacks?
Children had meals high in carbohydrates without much meat or fresh
Children have rolled hoops for fun for
fruit. Fresh meat was expensive and required refrigeration. There was
centuries all over the world. The game
no such thing as a refrigerator back then. Wealthier homes might have was very popular during the Edwardian
Era and early twentieth century. This
had an “icebox” which held big blocks of ice that were delivered once a
picture from the 1920s shows boys
week. Fruit was difficult to come by. In fact, many people were scared
playing in Canada.
to give fresh fruit to children. This is because
fruits were often nibbled by insects before reaching the food markets. Fruit
would be badly bruised, slightly rotten or damaged while it was transported
long distance. Tree fruits like apples and pears were available, but many
children had no idea what an orange or pineapple even looked like.
Children in wealthy families would have eaten a portion of hot or cold meat with
potatoes and gravy, and a vegetable such as cabbage. Meals were almost always
followed by something sweet. Dessert might be a steamed pudding or creamy
custard served with sweet jam. Cookies, called “biscuits,” were very plain. They
did have candy though! In England, a piece of candy is called a “sweet.” Boiled
sweets were small, hard candies. In the sweet shop, you would find peppermint lumps, boiled lemon
sweets, licorice allsorts, butter caramels and “cinder toffee” (better known as “Crunchie”).
Children in poorer families might only have bread and margarine or jam. Butter was too
expensive, and also required refrigeration. They would also have an occasional stew or soup.
So, here are some questions for you.
Now that you know some of what life was like for real Edwardian children, how do Jeremy and
Jemima’s lives compare to them?
Are some things the same for children today as they were back then?
What would you miss the most if you had to go back in time and live like an Edwardian child?
Sources:
The BBC archives: Victorian Britain – teacher resources
hiddenlives.org: Hidden Lives Revealed – A Virtual Archive
The Imperial War Museum, UK: Childhood, Culture, and the First World War
23
WE ARE FAMILY
When Chitty Chitty Bang Bang begins, Jemima, Jeremy and their father Caractacus Potts sing
that “teamwork can make a dream work.” Their dream at the moment is of driving Chitty in an
imaginary race against the Vulgarians. That dream becomes a true and perilous adventure when
the Baroness of Vulgaria sends spies to capture Chitty and they kidnap Grandpa Potts instead. The
Potts family, along with their new friend Truly, is a strong team, and they set off to save Grandpa.
After flying Chitty to Vulgaria, they find a large group of children hiding in the sewers under the
Baron’s castle who also need rescuing. They realize that “if we all pitch in and try…great teams make
impossibilities come true. Many sparks can light a mighty fire.” So they
band together with the children and overthrow the Baron and Baroness.
The Potts family becomes part of a larger team, and everyone benefits.
Families don’t often have such dramatic adventures, but they have
worked together as teams since the very beginning of history. Parents
and children needed to share lots of work if they were fishing, raising
crops, tending herds of animals or hunting and gathering food from
the wild. Think about fishing far out on the sea with your family, or
traversing grasslands herding sheep. It would be much safer to go with
as many boats or horses as possible. That would mean having lots of
cousins and aunts and uncles and friends along. We call this an extended family. And extended
families would have even more safety and success when they banded together in “kinship” as
tribes and communities. Kinship can mean we are connected by family ties, but we can also feel
kinship to others based on shared experiences, feelings and interests.
Families come in all shapes and sizes, from one parent to sets of stepparents, stepbrothers and
stepsisters. A family could be grandparents raising children, with the help of aunts and uncles
or cousins, and close friends. You can be in a family by birth, by adoption, by marriage or simply
by sharing love and responsibility for each other. We might even use the word family to include
people we work with, play with or learn with. In fact, we are all members
of the human family—a very large team indeed! And every one of us needs
help from time to time.
Helping others starts at home. It is the place where you learn how good it
feels to get help when you need it and to give help in return. Sharing, taking
turns and pitching in with chores, even when you are tired or feeling cranky,
makes for a pleasant day. Home is also where you learn how to put up with
each other’s little quirks. And to get over squabbles. And to put a smile on
someone else’s face when they are feeling down. These are all the same skills
you can use to help people outside your family.
We can easily help other families who live close by in many ways. We might
babysit, pet sit, walk the dog, pick up mail or newspapers, help take care of
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the yard or watch the house. We might end up sharing picnics or walks to the park, celebrating
birthdays and holidays together, lending and borrowing things, and sending cards or meals if
someone is sick. Someone who is sad or having a problem
might want someone to talk to outside their own family. It
really helps just to listen, even if we feel like we can’t fix things
for them. Sometimes a parent loses a job or even their home.
If there is an emergency such as a fire or flood, families might
need extra clothes, food or a place to sleep. We can ask our
parents how we can help these families we know directly.
But there are families outside our neighborhood who need
our help, too. You can donate food to a food bank at the local
grocery store. Put in a can or carton of food that will not spoil.
Many places in or near Seattle accept other kinds of donations. These places include Salvation
Army, Seattle Goodwill, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Puget Sound, and Sight Connection.
They know that many families are in need of kitchen tables and chairs, bookcases, small desks,
dressers, beds, sofas, dishes, pots and pans, towels, bedding and clothing. If you have more than
you need, you can take things there so other families can use them. And think of children whose
families can’t afford to buy them presents on a birthday or holiday. You can donate an old toy or
even buy a new one for a toy drive during the holiday season.
An extended family gathered
to celebrate a birthday
There are many different organizations, all sharing the same name, Families Helping Families,
in many states across the country. They help in different ways. Some help by caring for family
members with disabilities. Some help those who are homeless.
Others help with clothing and school supplies. And some help by
finding foster care for children.
Some organizations help families all over the world. The Red Cross
helps with disaster relief. Habitat for Humanity builds, renovates and
repairs homes here and in other countries. Skilled volunteers work on
the carpentry and repair, but everyone can donate building supplies,
furniture and appliances for the homes. Cash donations also help.
A girl donating toys to charity
Besides providing the necessities for life, there is another important way families help each
other. They pass on their beliefs, values and stories from generation to generation. We have
books today to read about our history, but for many thousands of years the history of families
and communities was passed down by word of mouth. Some individuals in each generation
needed to learn these stories by memory. Families also shared their stories, both real and
imaginary, with other families. Some of these shared stories became famous legends such as the
epics of Beowulf and Mwindo.
We all learn from each other’s stories. There is still nothing more enjoyable than sitting around
the table and hearing stories from grandparents, aunts and uncles, both within our own family
and when we are guests of another family. We can encourage each other to write down or record
these important stories so we will have them to pass down when we are older. Then we are
thinking of the families of the future.
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FEAR OF CHILDREN
BARONESS: No, No, No! Anything but children! …call the Childcatcher!
The Baroness is one of many characters in literature with a dislike for children.
They include Mrs. Trunchbull in Matilda, Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Bill Sikes in
Oliver Twist, Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, Ms. Hannigan in Annie and a
host of maligned witches and stepmothers from fairy tales. We can only guess
what is behind their fear and loathing of children. But that fear has a name.
In 2009 a Cincinnati teacher was transferred from teaching high school to middle school. Soon her
blood pressure soared and, apparently unable to function, she retired early. Her exposure to seventh
and eighth graders, she claimed, triggered her phobia of young children—“pedophobia.” She sued the
district and lost.
Pedophobia does not describe someone who just doesn’t like to be around children. It is a psychiatric
condition related to anxiety, with symptoms that match that disorder—panic, shortness of breath, rapid
heartbeat, nausea, trembling. Its cause isn’t known, but like other
phobias, in some cases it is likely the result of traumatic experiences
in childhood.
For many adults, even those who do not suffer from the extremes
of pedophobia, being around children is not easy. Those of us who
have never been around groups of seventh and eighth graders might
be uneasy with the loud and wild voices, raucous laughter and
impetuous physical movement of burgeoning adolescence. Being thrust into the middle of a room full of
first graders might be even scarier—non-stop energy, bouncing, jumping, perhaps even some crying!
Uneasiness for most of us comes from inexperience. And the cure for that is more experience. It is like
swimming with the current rather than against it. Going with the flow of children’s energy, gaining
confidence and becoming used to it, we may find we actually enjoy it and even thrive on it.
But there are also adults who quite simply do not enjoy being around children. They recognize that they
are not “kid people.” They are kind and courteous to children, but are forthright about preferring the
company of adults. There are parents who are open about being uncomfortable around other people’s
children. There are lots of online posting boards devoted to this issue. Some accuse them of being
“ageist,” but perhaps it is good to be honest about one’s preferences. When we are with children, it is
unfair to expect them to behave like adults.
Society’s attitude towards children has changed dramatically over the centuries. Up until the
seventeenth century, two-thirds of children born in England died before the age of four. The historian
Barbara Tuchman suggested some of the societal violence of the fourteenth century was due to
the difficulty of parents bonding with children in the face of such mortality. During the Industrial
Revolution, the life expectancy for children increased dramatically. However, they had few rights and
were vulnerable to exploitation in factories and poorhouses. Eventually, movements arose to extend
certain legal rights to children. Laws aimed at protecting children from abuse continue to evolve in
various parts of the world today.
Some historians maintain that our modern concept of childhood as a time of innocence deserving of
protection is only a few hundred years old. Before the 1600s, most depictions of children in paintings,
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illustrations or monuments showed them as miniature adults. Many traditional
societies have marked the end of childhood at the onset of puberty by an
initiation rite conferring adulthood. In pre-Industrial Europe, children could
be sent off to another family around the age of 12 to train in a craft as an
apprentice. When public schooling arose in the United States in the 1870s,
attendance was compulsory only to age 14. This reflected the fact that most
teenagers needed to work for their families or for their own living. In fact, the
concept of a “teenage phase” did not exist until after WWII with the rise of
a large middle class, increasing high school and college attendance, and the
widespread use of automobiles.
This portrait of Daniel
The medical profession of the nineteenth and early twentieth century did not
Crommelin Verplanck painted
exactly encourage affection towards children. G. Stanley Hall, the first president
by John Singleton Copley
shows the then 9-year-old
of the American Psychological Association, advocated authoritarian discipline
boy in adult-style clothing
and corporal punishment. Luther Emmett Holt, who pioneered the science of
pediatrics, recommended that children under the age of six months should not be comforted when
screaming and should never be played with. His contemporary, John B.
Watson, wrote, “Never hug and kiss them, never let them sit in your lap. If
you must, kiss them once on the forehead when you say goodnight. Shake
hands with them in the morning.” From this kind of attitude came the
saying, “Children should be seen and not heard.” Indeed, wealthy folks like
the Baron and Baroness, if they did have children, could have them tended
by a nurse or governess and rarely see them.
Fortunately this attitude changed after WWII due to the recommendations
of Dr. Benjamin Spock and many others. Society now recognizes the absolute necessity of nurturing and
loving engagement with children from infancy through adolescence. But there are thousands of books
advocating so many different kinds of parenting philosophies and styles that it can seem difficult to trust
one’s own common sense and instincts.
In today’s world our culture has become very youth-oriented, and we will encounter children pretty
much everywhere. Whether we are a “kid person” or not, it helps to know a bit about their world, just in
case we find ourselves in a group of them with no hope of escape.
Children are born with different temperaments. These temperaments can range
up and down a scale of emotional sensitivity. We might recognize this from our
own children, nieces or nephews, or our siblings. Some children are very aware
of and influenced by their feelings and can become upset for hours over the
smallest incident. Other children rarely become upset and are much less aware
not only of their own feelings, but those of others. In addition, children may
have a learning or behavioral challenge such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD) or Asperger’s syndrome. All this can result in children
displaying emotions that may seem inappropriate to the occasion. A child may be
emotionally overwhelmed. He or she may appear to over react by crying, arguing
or physically acting out. Or a child may appear to under react—she or he may
appear unaware or uncaring of someone else’s feelings or needs. In both of these
instances, the child is simply behaving according to how he or she perceives, or
does not perceive, their inner and outer environment.
Continued on the next page...
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This can be very frustrating for adults who are used to, or are expecting, a child to behave in a certain
“appropriate” manner. It can be particularly challenging when one sibling or student stands out from
others who are behaving “normally.” The child not meeting our expectations will often internalize blame
and label him or herself as different, or even worse, as bad.
Children who might be at the outer ends of these emotional, behavioral
and learning spectrums bring valuable gifts to the world. We need their
unique ways of seeing and working with the world. They need to know
from the beginning that they are loved and appreciated for who they are.
It is the responsibility of adults to help children grow into maturity with
a sense of what their society expects as norms of behavior, and to help
them recognize and take into account the needs and feelings of others.
But we must avoid negative labeling such as
“cry baby,” “whiner,” or “selfish.” Children need
us to be the adults in the room. That means not taking things personally. We
must learn to incorporate calm, empathetic listening along with consistent
but flexible expectations. We can even help rehearse ways in which they can
express their feelings safely. We can involve them in problem solving when
outbreaks occur. We can give them positive messages about who they are,
such as “You have very strong feelings,” or, “You can learn to understand other
people’s feelings and what they need.”
In January 2013 a man in a Houston restaurant was annoyed at the
presence of a five-year-old child with Down syndrome. He was heard
to say, “Special needs children need to be special someplace else.” The
waiter overheard this and, offended by the comment, refused to serve
the rude man. The restaurant owner backed up the waiter.
This is an extreme example of insensitivity. But parents, caretakers
and teachers in charge of children in public are keenly aware of
negative comments when dealing with normal but challenging
kid behavior. A mother who is handling a four-year-old having a
meltdown in the middle of a grocery store or restaurant can’t simply
make her child be quiet. She may have to walk her screaming child
Sometimes, you just have to laugh.
patiently all the way out to the car for several meltdowns until her
child internalizes expectations about how to behave in public. Unless we have been in that situation, we
can’t really appreciate what parent and child are going through. We could be like the Baroness and wish
the Childcatcher could remove the noise and inconvenience. Or we could go with the flow. Think of what
an understanding smile might mean in that situation.
Sources:
centerforparentingeducation.org: Parenting Education
huffingtonpost.com: Too Much Mother Love: Proving the Necessity of Nurture
lovethatmax.com: Special Needs Blog
Recommended books:
The Difficult Child, by Stanley Turecki with Leslie Tonner
Raising Your Spirited Child, by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
Understanding Temperament; Strategies for Creating Family Harmony, by Lyndall Shick
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WORDS & PHRASES THAT MIGHT BE NEW TO YOU
No car ever went so far in winning every great Grand Prix. – international sports-car race.
A French term meaning “great prize.”
Open the throttle. – device that controls the flow of fuel to an engine
Nothing is too good for the Baron of my dreams. – man who is a member of a low rank of nobility.
“Baroness” is a woman of that status.
TRULY: What’s wrong with a stove and a skillet?
JEREMY: Inefficient. – wasteful of time, energy or materials
Breakfast making machine? Rather eccentric...
wouldn’t you say? – strange or unusual
I’ll give you ten bob for it.
30 shillings is a lot of money, Children.
bob, shilling – a British coin used before
1971 that was equal to ¹/₂₀ of a British pound.
A pound today is worth about $1.50, so divide
that by 20 and that’s how much a shilling or
bob would be worth now.
You don’t be daft. – crazy
The Autoplane, invented in 1917 by Glenn Curtiss, an
American aviation pioneer, is believed to be the first
attempt to build a flying car. It was able to take short
hops, but never managed complete flight.
Well, Blimey O’Reilly, he’s invented something that works! – I’m very surprised. A British
expression.
There are no vacancies. – empty spaces
Well sir, the fundamental novelty of this particular brand of confectionery is its musical quality.
fundamental novelty – important new part
confectionery – sweet food
Too late! Had your chance. Muffed it! – failed
By raising the boiling point of my sugar, the resulting porosity and
cylindrical shape...
porosity – surface covered with pores or holes
cylindrical – cylinder shaped
Their values intrinsic… – built in
Continued on the next page...
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Goran, one only has to look at you to know how
vulgar you are. – tasteless
Keep your nose up high and spout an English
platitude. – unoriginal remark
Roll up, roll up, a positive snip at threepence a
time! – a coin worth three pennies. Formerly used
in Great Britain.
Not been courting a month and she’s trying to
change the way I look. – acting in a way that shows
I want to get married
Jess Dixon of Andalusia, Alabama, built the Dixon Flying car.
This picture was supposedly taken around 1940, but there is
no proof the car was actually able to fly.
Now just you relax Sir, and we’ll have you done in a jiffy. – very short time. In science, the word
“jiffy” can be used to describe several different units of time, the most common being .01
seconds long.
Be sure your cabin’s port side, or the sun is going to singe-ya
And when you’re sailing home again, the starboard side’s for you
port – left-hand side of a ship facing forward
singe – burn slightly
starboard – right-hand side of a ship facing forward
Some people believe “posh,” meaning elegant and upper-class, comes from the first letters
of the phrase “port out, starboard home,” which, as Grandpa Potts sings, were the sides you
wanted your cabin on a ship to be when taking a voyage from England to India and back.
No one knows for sure where the word posh comes from.
Oh, it’s just a little something I cobbled together. – put together clumsily
How very convenient... You go up... Lower the grappling hook... – tool
with several hooks for grasping or holding
Help, I’m being abducted by an alien! – kidnapped
Improbable but true. – unlikely to be true or to happen
You are too modest. – humble
Continued on the next page...
30
In fact they are banned from this kingdom by act of parliament. – the highest law-making authority
Our observatory has seen a car flying across the border. – building from which scientists study
and watch the sky
I hope that chap is jolly well joking.
We had a bloke once came here, just like you.
chap, bloke – man
Shoulders to the grindstone. Noses to the wheel. – work hard. Both these phrases mean the
same thing, but they are a bit mixed up here. The sayings are usually “shoulders to the wheel”
and “noses to the grindstone.”
There’s magic in the wake of a fiasco. – disaster
Right! This jalopy needs a spit and polish.
jalopy – old broken-down car
spit and polish – cleaning and shining
I had plenty of better plans, if you’d have only let me get a word in edgeways. – slip into the
conversation when someone is talking constantly
It’s all because of the Baroness. She loathes them. – hates
The Baron wants you back at the castle. The intruders have been located. – people who
entered uninvited
And what are we doing? Squabbling over scraps.
– arguing loudly about unimportant things
BARONESS: What are you singing?
BARON: I heard it in the bathroom.
BARONESS: Catchy. – pleasant and easily
remembered
It’s all the rage. I’ve made all the Vulgarians learn
to Samba. – lively Brazilian ballroom dance
You are henceforth banished!
henceforth – from now on
banished – forced to leave and never return
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The American inventor Moulton Taylor built the Aerocar
in 1949 in Longview, Washington—and it worked! There
were six models of the Aerocar, all of them able to fly. This
is the Moulton Aerocar III, which can be seen
at Seattle’s Museum of Flight.
JUMP START
Ideas for things to do, wonder about, talk about or write about, before or after you see
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
What other secret, special ability do you think Chitty might have? When would she use it?
The Potts family lives in an old windmill. What kind of unusual building would you like for a home? Draw it.
Got an old, beat up toy around that you don’t play with anymore? Got some things in your recycling bin
you can attach to the toy to turn it into an amazing one-of-a-kind car? Ask permission first, then go for it!
Tell the story from Chitty’s point of view.
When Caractacus’ haircutting machine fails, it gets a new purpose as a turkey plucker. Look around where
you are. What unexpected uses could there be for some of the things you see?
Draw some disguises for Boris and Goran. Where could they hide in the outfits you designed?
There are some real foods with funny names in this story—Toad in the Hole, Bubble and Squeak, Bangers and
Mash. What do you think they are? What is the strangest sounding food you have ever heard of or eaten?
Have a slow-motion sports car race with some friends in which you are the cars. Have everyone give
themselves a car name and make car noises as they run. One of you could be the announcer for the race.
How are Jeremy and Jemima the same as each other? How are they different?
Is there a chore you have to do every day that gets boring—like making your bed, feeding your gecko or
throwing your dirty clothes in the hamper? Think about each thing you do to complete the chore and
design an invention that does those steps for you.
Why is the Baroness so afraid of children? What would you do to help her get over her fear?
Play hide-and-seek as spies with some friends. Change your hiding places when the seeker isn’t looking.
With some friends, write the names of the characters in the story on separate small pieces of paper, fold
them, then drop them into a bowl. Take a paper out of the bowl and, without talking, act out something
that character does in the story. Whoever guesses the character, acts the next one out.
Write a new adventure for Jeremy, Jemima and Chitty. No grownups allowed.
Invent a new candy that does a trick. What does it do? What does it look like? What does it taste like?
Act out a trip in Chitty to anywhere in the world. Describe what you see as you fly, drive or float there.
Why do the people of Vulgaria obey the law forbidding children?
Draw a map of the Baron’s castle, with a path the Vulgarian children
could use to get inside.
Move like Truly and Caractacus do as the toy dolls while you sing your
favorite song.
What would you have done to raise the money to buy Chitty?
Tell the story with the Baroness and Baron as the heroes.
Why does Caractacus work so hard to buy Chitty for Jemima and Jeremy?
Write a letter to the Childcatcher explaining why she should get a different job.
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DRAMA IN ACTION
This is a customized Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Dramashop*
exercise for you to try.
EXERCISE: Caractacus Potts’ Invention
GRADES: 2nd and up
TIME: 10 minutes
SET-UP: This exercise works best in an open space.
SUPPLIES: None
INSTRUCTIONS:
Caractacus Potts spends much of his time imagining and inventing all sorts of machines that make
his family’s life easier and more whimsical. Not only does he fix Chitty Chitty Bang Bang so that she
floats and flies, but he also invents a breakfast machine that perfectly scrambles eggs and a sweets
machine that produces musical and tasty treats! What parts help these machines do their job? In
this exercise, students work together to create machines using their bodies and voices.
Ask the students to imagine Caractacus Potts’ breakfast machine. What moving parts make this
machine? What sounds does it make? Is it fast or slow?
Choose one student to be the first part of the machine. The student should choose a stationary,
sustainable action with a complementary sound. This action can be done standing, sitting or
kneeling. Once this student has chosen their action and sound, add another student. Encourage
students to relate their actions to other students’ actions. Continue adding students until the
whole group is a part of the machine. Next, experiment with tempo. What happens if you slow
the machine down or speed it up?
After creating the breakfast machine, try making Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or a completely
brand new invention!
*A Dramashop is an interactive drama-workshop that Seattle Children’s Theatre offers to schools and community groups
through our Education Outreach program. Dramashops explore the themes, characters, historical context and production
elements of SCT Mainstage plays. Professional SCT teaching artists work with students for an hour, fleshing out themes
and ideas through dynamic theater exercises. Dramashops can occur either before or after seeing the play and can be held
at SCT or at your location. Students get on their feet in these participatory workshops, stretching their imaginations while
learning about the play.
For information about bringing a Dramashop to your classroom or community group, email educationoutreach@sct.org.
33
A BRAND NEW CHITTY
Here’s your chance to create a fantasmagorical car of the future.
Think of a special ability you want your car to have.
Have a friend choose a second thing the car should be able to do, and write both ideas here.
1. ____________________________________ 2. ____________________________________
Now combine those ideas and, using the shapes below as part of your design, start drawing!
What A Name!
You may have noticed some odd names in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. For example, Chitty is named for the
sound she makes. Truly Scrumptious’ name literally means “Sincerely Delicious,” which reflects both her
honest kindness and her family’s candy-making business. The Toymaker is named after his job. Each
name provides information about the character.
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZ z
Write a character description for the following names. Think about what their job might be, how
they communicate, where they live, and what their personality is like.
Dr. Veronica Molar
Lucky N. Deed
Fly T. Flounder
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz
Now come up with names that fit these characters.
______________________________________________ is a futuristic robot with super-human
capabilities. For the most part, it runs smoothly, but every now and then its joints begin to squeak and
spat. This robot still relies on beeps and boops in order to speak to its friends and family.
______________________________________________ grew up on a farm caring for animals and
tending crops, but travelled to town on a unicycle and entertained people with jokes and egg juggling.
This person is high spirited and wants to be a world famous farm clown.
______________________________________________ is a 13 year-old hula hoop champion who
plays soccer and is a chess master. When not competing, this person likes to spend time at the local
flower shop creating bouquets for events such as weddings.
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz
What is your personality like? What do you enjoy doing? Create a new name for yourself!
BOOKLIST
For Children & Young Adults:
For Adults Working with Children
& Young Adults:
The Flying Hand of Marco B.
Richard Leiter
Around the World in 80 Days
Jules Verne
Space Taxi: Archie Takes Flight
Wendy Mass
Amelia Earhart: The Turbulent Life of an
American Icon
Kathleen C. Winters
In this nuanced and often surprising biography,
acclaimed aviation historian Kathleen C. Winters
moves beyond the caricature of the spunky,
precocious pilot to offer a more complex portrait.
The Candy Shop War
Brandon Mull
Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor
Jon Scieszka
Hot Rod Hamster
Cynthia Lord
Website:
The official website of Ian Fleming, creator of
James Bond and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang:
Ian Fleming
The Adventures of Nanny Piggins
R. A. Spratt
The Mount Rushmore Calamity: Flat Stanley’s
Worldwide Adventures #1
Sara Pennypacker
Howtoons: Tools of Mass Construction
Dr. Saul Griffith
Zephyr Takes Flight
Steve Light
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again
Frank Cottrell Boyce
Down on their luck, the Tooting family buys
an old camper van and begins repairing it. But
after installing an engine that once belonged
to an extraordinary car, they set off to find
other original parts, pursued by a sinister man
who wants Chitty for himself.
Booklist prepared by Robin J. Howe
King County Library System
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SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
Engaging young people with the arts is what we are all about at SCT. We hope that the Active
Audience Guide has helped enhance and extend the theater experience for your family or your
students beyond seeing the show.
Your input is very valuable to us. We’d love to hear your feedback about the guide.
Please take a moment to go online and answer this brief survey: SCT Audience Guide Survey.
You can also email your comments to us at info@sct.org.
Thank you for your support.
Seattle Children’s Theatre, which celebrates its 41st season in 2015-2016, performs
September through June in the Charlotte Martin and Eve Alvord Theatres at Seattle Center. SCT
has gained acclaim as a leading producer of professional theatre, educational programs and new
scripts for young people. By the end of its 2014-2015 season, SCT had presented over 235 plays,
including 110 world premieres, entertaining over 4 million children.
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