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TRICKING THE TIGER: PLAYS BASED ON ASIAN FOLK TALES
Tricking the Tiger: Plays Based on Asian Folk Tales (2002, Phoenix Education) - a collection of eight plays for ages 10-14 years. 9 781876 580322. Publisher (Phoenix) www.phoenixeduc.com
A ghostly trickster, winning a princess, the exploits of a thief, brothers sharing an inheritance, a seductive portrait... and more. These folk tales are from Papua New Guinea, Korea, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Japan and Indonesia.
Asian folk tales
Asian folk tales are rich in fantasy, adventure and humour - excellent for reading, telling and acting. The tales in this collection were selected for their potential for performance, readers' theatre and radio, and for their interest to students in Years 4-8.
Some of the scripts were trialled with classes who were learning the particular languages. The tales came alive in the students' imaginations, and they suggested adjustments to the scripts.
Choruses
When adapting the folk tales to plays, choruses were added so that many students would be able to participate.
Feudal times
To appreciate folk tales - both western and eastern – two facts need to be understood. Firstly, in feudal times, the king or the lord of a castle or manor - being all-powerful - was obeyed. Death, at the whim of a ruler, could be inflicted for disobedience. As ordinary people had no rights, kindly rulers, such as the Rajah in the Indian tale, 'Son and Ghost', were greatly loved.
Secondly, feudal times were patriarchal, so many folk tales are male-active/female-passive. But, in most cultures, female-active stories evolved; for example, in the Japanese tale, 'The Picture Wife', an enterprising young woman tricks a cruel Lord of the Castle and saves her husband. In folk tale studies, these are called 'clever girl' tales.
LOTE
Students in schools involved with LOTE (Languages Other Than English) discover that studying a language is more than listening, speaking, reading and writing. They have entered a different culture.
Knowing something about a country's food, art, music, dance and oral tradition can help students to learn a language. Learning an Asian language is especially interesting for students from western cultures, and discovering Asian folk tales brings rich insights.
TRICKING THE TIGER: TEACHER RESOURCE BOOK
Tricking the Tiger: Teacher Resource Book (2002, Phoenix Education) 9 781876 580384
The scripts include performance plays, suitable for the classroom or stage, readers' theatre and radio plays. The resource book includes background notes on the folk tales, practical ideas for drama in the classroom, a wide range of activities for enrichment and to encourage language development and creativity, and photocopiable worksheets for student s. Below are some examples of activities.
- 'The Clever Thief' (Korea)
Students may suggest parallels of hypocrisy in modern life - in government, religion and business. These examples may be developed into short skits for rolé play.
- 'Tricking the Tiger' (Pakistan)
Students could imagine and discuss:
- how the story evolved
- how both adults and children responded to hearing it
- People feeling threatened by danger have always created stories; for example:
* in the distant past, 'slaying the dragon' tales
* in the late 20th century, 'star wars' films
- In what ways do 'tall tale' stories like this benefit a community?
- 'Son and Ghost' (India)
In many countries, the strong distinction between the classes has been overcome by means of revolution and education, but it has not disappeared altogether.
Students could debate: 'There is no class system in Australia.'
- 'Winning the Princess' (Vietnam)
A group - perhaps working in pairs or threes - could create myth-like stories to explain some aspect of the weather in their own location. They may share these, either by telling or by creating cartoons.
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