Rumpelstiltskin
Study Guides and Materials

Rumplestiltskin Written by Michele L. Vacca, Classics on Stage of Chicago, IL

School Performances: Sept. 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22 & 23, 2005, at 9:30 & 11:30 a.m. daily
Public Performances: Sept 10 at 7:00 p.m. & Sept 11 at 2:30 p.m.
All performances of Rumplestiltskin are at Theatre Bristol’s ARTspace.
Performances run approximately 60 minutes

Dear Educator:
We are excited that you have chosen Theatre Bristol’s production of Rumplestiltskin as part of your curriculum.
Enclosed are numerous materials to facilitate understanding and initiate responses from your students in relation to the play Rumplestiltskin. The information and activities provided can be used to enhance your curriculum standards in many subjects. You know best the needs and abilities of your students. Please feel free to adapt the suggested materials for discussion or activities with your students. You are invited to make copies of the enclosed materials for other teachers as well as your students. We hope you will all enjoy Rumplestiltskin.

Sincerely, Stephany McEvoy
Director, Rumplestiltskin

Media Sponsors: Bristol Broadcasting, Charter Media, Bristol Herald Courier

Theatre Bristol is a not-for-profit cultural and educational organization whose activities are made possible in part by generous financial support from the National Endowment for the Arts; Tennessee Arts Commission; Virginia Commission for the Arts; Johnson City Area Arts Council; Rose Center & Council for the Arts; City of Bristol, Tennessee; City of Bristol, Virginia; and corporations, foundations and individuals from throughout the region. Theatre Bristol is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization and all contributions are tax-deductible.

Theatre Bristol continues in our tradition of providing the theatre experience to children with our Children’s Theatre Series. Performances reach over 25,000 children a year from 60 school districts & 5 states. Performances are possible through sponsorship by corporations, individuals, season ticket sales & souvenir program advertisement sales. Performances will transport children of all ages to magical faraway lands, through the pages of history & literature to amazing times & cultures . . . And we want you to join us!!!

Synopsis of the Play
As the play begins, Rumplestiltskin, a mischevious but oddly sympathetic little dwarf, is bored with his life in the forest despite the companionship of his nagging (but still loving) wife Griselda. So the clever little dwarf decides to mix up a batch of mischief and take it into the nearby village to see what trouble he can cause.
King Reginald Rex is out with his adviser, Count Edgar of Egberton, trying (unsuccessfully) to collect taxes from his subjects, none of whom have any money. When the King and Count arrive at the home of Milton Millbourne, the Miller, Rumplestiltskin tricks Milton in to telling King Reginald that his daughter Roxanne can spin straw in to gold. Since the royal treasury is as empty as the pockets of his subjects, Reginald decides to take Roxanne (along with Milton and Fillburt, Milton’s dim but enthusiastic apprentice) back to the palace and see if she can really do it.
Later that night, Roxanne is locked in a room in the castle with a spinning wheel and vast quantities of straw. Rumplestiltskin appears and offers to spin the gold for her in exchange for her necklace. Reginald is thrilled with the gold and promptly marries Roxanne, which he had already decided to do even if she didn’t spin the gold.
A year passes peacefully. Roxanne and Reginald have a baby boy and there is much rejoicing. Then tax time comes again and once more the treasury is dry. Reginald, Edgar, Milton and Fillburt persuade Roxanne to spin gold again. Once more, Roxanne is left alone with the spinning wheel and straw.
Rumplestiltskin appears and offers to spin the straw for a price to be named after he is finished. While he is spinning, he hypnotizes Roxanne into saying he can have her baby. She pleads with him to change his mind but he refuses. Finally, weakened by her tears, he offers her a chance to keep her baby- three nights to try and guess his name. If she fails, the baby is his.
Roxanne tells Reginald everything, and the entire kingdom is searched for unusual names. On the third night the name is discovered by Fillburt and the baby is saved. Rumplestiltskin promptly throws a huge temper tantrum and runs off.
At his home back in the forest, Griselda gradually cheers him up until he is his cackling and giggling self, planning to go back to work on his neglected spells. And, in Griselda’s words, “now things can get back to normal around here.”

History of Rumpelstiltskin
The story we know today as Rumplestiltskin was first published in 1812 in Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm’s first published collection of German folktales. It was compiled from at least 5 different versions and is much different from the version we know today (published in 1857). There was no mention of spinning or spinning wheels, the king discovers Rumplestiltskin’s name, and when the queen guesses his name Rumplestiltskin runs off instead of tearing himself in two. In one unpublished version, a young girl is given flax to spin into linen thread but is only able to spin gold. This isn’t useful because gold cannot be spun in to cloth to be worn so when Rumplestiltskin appears, he offers to help her by having a prince come and carry her off to marry her.

About the Brothers Grimm
Jacob Grimm (January 4, 1785-September 20, 1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (February 24, 1786-December 16, 1859) were the oldest surviving children of lawyer and court official Phillip Grimm and his wife Dorthea. Two years after their father’s death in 1796, the two boys moved to their mother’s home city of Kassel to live with their aunt and attend secondary school. In 1802 Jacob entered the University of Marburg to study law, followed by his brother a year later.
Inspired by the folk poetry collections of Clemens Brentano & Achim Von Arnim, and desiring to help create a sense of German national unity in what was then an area of hundreds of principalities connected only by a common language; Jacob & Wilhelm began collecting folk tales. One of the many families they interviewed, the Wilds, would eventually become a part of the Grimm family when Wilhelm married Henriette Wild in 1825. Upon their mother’s death in May of 1808, the brothers returned to Kassel to work as librarians and take care of their younger brothers and sister.
In 1812, they published the first volume of their folktales collection, Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Childrens’ and Household Tales), and containing 86 numbered folktales. The second volume followed 2 years later with an additional 70 stories. These volumes would see six additional additions, and eventually come to include 200 numbered stories plus 10 “Children’s Legends.” It eventually become one of the best known and most influential books ever created in the German language. Between the years of 1816-1818 they published Deutsche Sagen, a two-volume collection of 538 German legends.
During the years 1830-1841, the brothers work as professors at the University of Gottingen , until they are fired along with 5 of their colleagues for leading a formal protest against a constitutional violation of Ernst August, King of Hannover. The brothers received many offers from other universities, eventually accepting appointments at the University of Berlin where they stayed until retiring (Jacob in 1848, Wilhelm in 1852) to fully devote their time to their own studies and research for the remainder of their lives.

Fun Fact!
Between 1990 and 2002 (when the euro was introduced), the Grimm Brothers were depicted on the 1000 Deutsche Mark note- the largest denomination available.

Discussion Questions
In the play, Rumplestiltskin tricks Roxanne in to giving him her baby in exchange for spinning gold. Have you ever tricked someone in to doing something they didn’t want to do? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? How did the person you tricked feel about it afterwards?

Everyone in the kingdom goes out to try and find a name to guess. They are cooperating with each other to get the result they want. Ask your students if they can think of anything that can only be done if several people co-operate. What do they think would happen if they didn’t help each other?

Rumplestiltskin and Griselda live in the woods. What sort of place do you think they would live in? A cave? A big tree? Or in a house? Draw a picture of what you think their home looks like.

King Reginald is out collecting taxes from his subjects, most of whom have no money to pay taxes, so they give him things like flowers, food and a handmade rug. If someone has no money, what sorts of things could they pay their taxes with? If someone does have money, how much would be fair for the king to take? You could even use fake coins and have your students “pay taxes” after figuring out how much they need to give.

In the play, Reginald breaks a promise to Roxanne by asking her to spin straw in to gold a second time. Discuss the effects of breaking a promise.

Extension Activities
Rumplestiltskin has many magical powers (even though we only see one of them.) Have your students look through a magazine and pick out a picture of a person. Make up a story that gives that person fantastic powers or abilities. Describe the abilities and powers. Try to make the reader really believe the person can actually do those things.

When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm wrote their books of fairy tales, they compiled the stories for many different sources. Often they had several different versions of one folk talk because everyone tells a story differently. Give your students a basic storyline for their own folk tales (humble stable boy wins out over evil wizard, farmer finds treasure in his field, etc.) and let them write or tell their own versions and see how they differ.

Spinning wheels produce thread which is then woven into fabric. Have your students learn basic weaving techniques without a loom. Give the students equal amounts of thick yarn in 2 colors. One color should be lined up with each piece next to the other on the desk. Tape one side of the yarn to the desk. Explain the “over/under” weaving process and have the students weave the yarn together. The finished product can be mounted to paper or cardboard and glued around the edges. For fun (and to tie it into the story even more), look for gold yarn to be the straw that’s been spun into gold!

What would the story have been like if it had been told from Rumplestiltskin’s point of view? Rewrite the story from the title character’s point of view, or write a pretend interview with Rumplestiltskin as he tells what “really” happened.

What was your favorite part of the show? Have your students draw pictures of their favorite scene or character and send it to us so we can put them up in our front window.

Create a fairy tale mural. Have students choose their favorite fairy tale and then paint or draw a picture illustrating the tale. Hang the pictures together on a wall to form a large mural.

Vocabulary
cackling- To laugh or talk in a shrill manner; foolish chatter
confiscate- Take without permission or consent, especially by public authority
dwarf- A small creature resembling a human, often ugly, appearing in legends and fairy tales
Hollandaise sauce- A sauce consisting essentially of a seasoned emulsion of butter and egg yolks with a little lemon juice or vinegar
mischief- An inclination or tendency to play pranks or cause embarrassment.
mill- A building equipped with machinery for grinding grain into flour or meal.
miller- One who works in, operates, or owns a mill, especially a grain or flour mill.
straw- Stalks of threshed grain, used as bedding and food for animals, for thatching, and for weaving or braiding, as into baskets.

Websites
Grimm Brothers’ Home Page www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm.html
Very complete listing of stories and information about the Brothers Grimm. Simply arranged and easy to navigate

Tales Collected by the Brothers Grimm www.ucs.mun.ca/~wbarker/fairies/grimm/
Story archive staying faithful to Margaret Hunt's original 1884 translation. Includes all 200 original tales, plus the ten "Legends" they wrote.

Grimm’s Fairy Tales www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm
Texts of 12 of their tales, some with audio, based on a 1914 translation. Lovely graphics and well put together.

The SurLaLune Fairy Tales Site www.surlalunefairytales.com
Very comprehensive fairy tales resource site. Aimed mainly at those studying fairy tales & folklore on a college level, this site has the texts of the tales from many different cultures.

Absolutely Whootie: Stories to Grow By www.storiestogrowby.com
Fairy & Folk tales courtesy of “Whootie Owl”. An award winning site with stories geared at young children, searchable by keyword with a large multi-cultural story section

A Guide To Appropriate Behavior at the Theatre
We think attendance at a live theatrical performance is not only exciting, it is a privilege; and as such demands certain behavior. Kids may act as they wish in their own homes. When guests come to your home, you want them to enjoy themselves, but you expect them to follow the rules of your house. For those of us at Theatre Bristol, the theatre is our home, and you are our valued guests! We ask that you - our guests—obey the rules of our home. Consideration is the key word. Just give others in the audience the same consideration that you expect of them, and everyone will have a great time!

1. Please, no talking during the play. When the lights go dim or completely out, it’s hard to sit quietly. But in the theatre, the lights always come right back up, usually on a new scene! Don’t be afraid, just sit quietly and wait a moment and the play will continue.

2. Please don’t move around or change seats.

3. Please go to the bathroom before the show begins.

4. NO FOOD, GUM OR DRINK ALLOWED IN THE THEATRE.

5. No cameras, video or audio recording allowed.

6. Please turn off all cell phones, pagers & watch alarms.

7. Please do laugh, clap, and otherwise let the actors know you enjoy the show.

Theatre Bristol’s 40th Anniversary Season!
Children’s Theatre Series 2005-2006 Season
(all show dates and times subject to change)

Rumpelstiltskin
September 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, & 23, 2005, at Theatre Bristol’s ARTspace
Auditions: August 1 & 2, 2005 at 7 p.m.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
November 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 & 11, 2005, at the Paramount Center for the Arts
Auditions: October 3 & 4, 2005 at 7 p.m.

I Never Saw Another Butterfly
April 4, 5, 6 & 7, 2006, at the Paramount Center for the Arts
Auditions: February 27 & 28, 2006 at 7 p.m.

Hansel and Gretel
May 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 & 12, 2006, at the Paramount Center for the Arts
Auditions: March 27 & 28, 2006 at 7 p.m.