Resource Guide - Doggie on my Doorstep

About the show

When a mischievous stray dog shows up on a grumpy old man’s doorstep, mayhem ensues! Jam-packed with physical comedy, breathtaking puppetry, and an incredible storyline, this heartwarming adventure is sure to become a new tradition for the entire family. Crafted with love and sprinkled with holiday magic, Doggie on my Doorstep is a testament to the power of companionship and what can happen when we open our doors—and our hearts—to the unexpected.
Themes: FRIENDSHIP, HOLIDAYS, SHARING, KINDNESS, LOVE, JOY

The BIG questions before the show

  1. Have you ever been kind to someone? How did that make you feel? How did it make the other person feel?
  2. Do you have a special friend? What makes them special? 
  3. What are games you like to play with your special friend?
Goal LDC-2: Children participate in conversations with peers and adults in one-on-one, small, and larger group interactions. Goal CD-9: Children explore concepts connected with their daily experiences in their community.

Activities

Pantomime
Pantomime is a type of acting using gestures and facial expressions but no sounds or words. Pantomime is prominent in the performance of Doggie on My Doorstep. Lead students through a creative pantomime activity in the classroom. Encourage the class to act out the activity together as a class.
Describe an event or environment to students (we list suggestions below) and explain they’ll act out activities within this environment without using any words or sounds. After the class has had an opportunity to explore, ask them to sit on the floor and encourage a few students to show their activity. See if the rest of the class can guess what they’re doing!
  • Walking outside in the snow
  • Ice Skating
  • Shoveling snow
  • Opening presents
Goal HPD-4: Children develop the large muscle control and abilities needed to move through and explore their environment.
Just A Little Kindness Dance Party
Being kind can always brighten up someone's day. This activity will teach students the power of saying something nice. Draw a smiley face on a ball, balloon, or bean bag. Stand in a circle. Put on some upbeat music and ask the kids to toss the smiley face to each other one person at a time. Whoever is holding the smiley face when the music stops has to say something kind to members of the group. The goal is to make them smile. Put a 15-second timer on, and the child scores a point for every smile they get.
Goal HPD-5: Children develop small muscle control and hand-eye coordination to manipulate objects and work with tools. Goal ESD-7: Children recognize and respond to the needs and feelings of others.

The BIG questions after the show

  1. Why do you think the Old Man in the story doesn’t speak?
  2. What holiday do you think was coming up in the play? How did you know it was that day? What clues did you see?
  3. What does this story teach us about friendship? Can you remember specific events that happened in the story?
Goal LDC-2: Children participate in conversations with peers and adults in one-onone, small, and larger group interactions. Goal CD-9: Children explore concepts connected with their daily experiences in their community.

Activities

Pass the Face
Instruct the class to stand in a circle. Choose one student to make a face (grumpy, happy, etc.), then have the student take it off and throw it to another student in the circle. Once the other student has caught it, he or she puts on that same face. That student now puts on a new face and then passes it to another person in the circle. For younger students, it may be helpful to pass the face to the person on his or her right or left and let it travel around the circle before creating a new face.
Goal ESD-5: Children demonstrate the social and behavioral skills needed to successfully participate in groups.
Slo-Mo Snow Ball Fight
Review pantomime with students (Pantomime is a type of acting using gestures and facial expressions but no sounds or words.)  Split the students into 2 groups on opposite sides of the room. They will use their hands to pantomime grabbing a handful of cold snow and rolling it into a ball. Then when the teacher says go, students will toss their pantomimed snowballs at the opposing team in slow motion. When someone gets hit with the pantomime snowball they have to freeze. Coach students through the game and remind them it’s okay to freeze for a second. They’ll get to join back in for more slow-mo fun during the next round.
If you want to make it a little more fun, have students pantomime waking up, seeing the snow outside, putting on their clothes, snowsuits, coats, hats, scarves, and gloves, and running outside to see the other team ready and waiting.
Goal HPD-4: Children develop the large muscle control and abilities needed to move through and explore their environment. Goal CD-11: Children compare, sort, group, organize, and measure objects and create patterns in their everyday environment.
To have a good friend, you must BE a good friend.
Begin this activity by leading a discussion on the characteristics of a good friend and neighbor. Then talk about the play and allow students to give examples of when the Old Man showed he was becoming the Doggie’s friend. Jumpstart your discussion by talking about some of these characteristics of good friends.
  • Listen to each other.
  • Build each other up rather than put each other down.
  • Try to understand each other’s feelings.
  • Help each other solve problems.
  • Disagree without hurting each other.
  • Care about each other.
  • Are honest with each other.
Finally, draw a picture of what you think a good friend is.
Goal LDC-13: Children use writing and other symbols to record information and communicate for a variety of purposes.

Talk about jobs in the theatre

Every play Children’s Theatre of Charlotte produces is created by a talented team of designers, technicians, actors and a director. As a class, discuss what you experienced when you saw the performance.
  1. Name three things you noticed about the set. Did the set help tell the story? What sort of set would you design?
  2. What did you like about the costumes? Did the costumes help tell the story? What sort of costumes would you design?
  3. Talk about the actors. Were there moments you were so caught up in the story you forgot you were watching a play?
  4. Were there any actors who played more than one character? What are some ways you can show you are a different character?
NCES-TheaArts.(K-5).TA.A.1: Analyze literary texts and performances. NCES-TheaArts.(K-5).TA.AE.1.2: Understand how costumes [and technical elements] enhance dramatic play.

Recommended Reading

If you enjoyed the show, travel to ImaginOn or your local Charlotte Mecklenburg library branch and check out these books. Check availability at cmlibrary.org.

About the Creators

Caleb Sigmon
Caleb spent the majority of his childhood playing inside cardboard boxes, fighting dragons and playing pretend in his backyard.  He developed the ability to dream big at an early age.  Now, he has made it his career.  
Graduating from one of the top 10 national art schools, Caleb immediately went to work forging his own way with a unique blend of magic, drama, and storytelling.
Caleb travels across the nation sharing theatre and magic, and has brought amazement and laughter to millions (literally) of people throughout the country
Steven Levine
A native of Charlottesville, Virginia, Steven has enjoyed a 35-year career as an Actor, Director, Fight Choreographer, and Movement Coach. He trained at the University of South Carolina, and the Dell’ Arte International School of Physical Theatre.
Steven served as Artistic Associate at the dearly departed Bathhouse Theatre in Seattle. It is there that he launched his directing career with productions of ENDGAME and THE BELLE OF AMHERST. While on the West Coast, he served as a Guest Artist at Cornish College of the Arts, where he Directed THE THREEPENNY OPERA; acted in the world premiere of LILY’S PURPLE PLASTIC PURSE at Seattle Children’s Theatre, directed by Steven Dietz; performed the roles of Fred & Marley’s GHOST IN A CIRCUS CHRISTMAS CAROL at San Diego Repertory Theatre; and created the role of the Soldier in the world premiere of Philip Glass’ opera, IN THE PENAL COLONY – a production directed by JoAnne Akalaitis at A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle. Since moving to Charlotte, Steven has directed SEMINAR for Three Bone Theatre, BAR MITZVAH BOY for J-Stage, the world premiere of PIGS IS PIGS and last season’s PINOCCHIO here at CTC. As an actor, Charlotte audiences may have seen him as Mr. Banks in CTC’s DISNEY AND CAMERON MACKINTOSH’S MARY POPPINS, or as Oberon/Theseus in Actors Theatre of Charlotte’s outdoor production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.

 
 
Doggie on my Doorstep

Developed by Caleb Sigmon and Steven Levine