Twisted Fairy Tale

Twisted Fairy Tales

For this project, you will be creating a twisted fairy tale -- in other words, you will be "fixing" it to reflect a completely different point of view!

An example of this is the TRUE story of the 3 little pigs, by A. Wolf:

This project can be a whole lot of fun. To complete it, you will first brainstorm a few fairy tales and think of a twist you could give each one.

Your twist can be done using only one fairy tale. Maybe Little Red Riding Hood is a member of a secret rebellion and the wolf was sent by the king to assassinate her on the way to her grandma's, who is actually the king's counsellor? Or, maybe the story is the wolf who cried boy and kept scaring the pack with stories of a hunter in the forest?

These were actually ideas from a previous rotation!!!

You can also mix two or more fairy tales, like Cinderella and Humpty Dumpty -- what if Humpty Dumpty killed Cinderella's pet chicken and she in turn cracked him and ate him?

There are unlimited ideas you can have... so let your imagination fly free!

Take three minutes now and talk to your table groups about this project.

Then, share with the class some ideas of twists for your fairy tales!

Here is a video with some twisted fairy tales to give you some ideas.

Some guidelines:

Groups should be between 4 and 6.
Scripts should be no shorter than 3 minutes and no longer than 10. Aim for 5! Use your phone or an online timer to keep track of how long your script is. It is very common to think you are done, only to find out your play is one minute only!
Share your story with Mrs. Jurgensen right away. Make sure to name it something meaningful, so she knows the title of the play and your team. For instance, "The wolf's revenge, Team C"
Props are limited. If you absolutely need something, plan time to make it. You can always bring props from home!

Task 1: The brainstorming

In groups of four or five, you will decide on a couple fairy tales to modify. Create a visual map of your chosen fairy tale.

Consider your central topic (your fairy tale). Your subtopics could be the characters, the plot, the props needed, some of the jokes and the twist, for instance. If you find that you can't come up with a strong enough twist after working on this, maybe you should try a different story.

Task 2: The Script Writing

Once you have decided on a fairy tale and a twist, you will be writing a script for your group. To make things easier, please use a Google Docs -- you can share it with me when your group is done and I can print it.

Please don't create something that looks like a long paragraph; scripts are based on dialogue, so focus on writing the best lines for your characters as you can.

The beginning of the script could look like this example:

Goldilocks and the three sewer rats

Characters:
Papa rat: Jack
Mama rat: Jill
Baby rat: Gordon
Grandma: Tully
Cat: Ogie
Goldilocks: Karla
Narrator: Ogie

Script:
Narrator - Once upon a time there was a girl named Goldilocks. She was always watching her cell phone and never looked where she was going. One day, she tripped and her phone fell down.
Goldilocks - Oh crap! My phone fell down in the sewers! (looking around) HELP! HELP? ..... Oh well, I guess I will have to fix it myself.
Narrator: Goldilocks crawled down into the sewers and started looking for her phone.
Goldilocks - EW. It smells down here. Where could it be? I thought I dropped it around here...
Cat: MEOOOOW
Goldilocks - Oh no! A crazy cat with rabies!!! .........

So, in other words, each line of dialogue on a different line; don't forget to add also any movements the characters are doing (see the purple line above).

Task 3: The Performance

You have finished writing the script. Good job! Now, you need to time it - read it out loud with your group and see if you have a long enough script.

Your twisted fairy tale play should be a minimum of 3 minutes long. 5 minutes would be better; 10 minutes is always awesome if you do it right!

You will need to memorize most of your lines. That will allow you to move around and express the role you were given.

One class before the performance, you will have 5 minutes to look at our props and decide on a few props your group may need to use; alternatively, you can also make your own props as needed (construction paper can be very effective!)

Your grade will be set as follows:

25 points - Script writing
10 points - Fairy tale twist
30 points - Acting your part (volume, intonation, being in character, lines memorized)
25 points - Ensemble and collaboration (the whole play working together)
10 points - length of play in the end

For a total of 100 :)

Below, check out the rubric for this assignment.