About the show

From the moment his tall, red-and-white-striped hat appears around the door, Sally and her brother know that The Cat in the Hat is the funniest, most mischievous cat that they have ever met. With the trickiest of tricks and the craziest of ideas, he is certainly loads of fun. He turns a rainy afternoon into an amazing adventure ... but what will mum find when she gets home...?

Themes: Trust and honesty, living life to the fullest

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The BIG questions about the show

1. Cold and rainy days can be so boring. Using your imagination, what’s a new fun game you can create that you can play with your family at home or with your class at school?
2. The Cat in the Hat is one of Dr. Seuss best selling books. What’s your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

NCES Theatre Arts K-5.C.2 Use performance to communicate ideas and feelings. 

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Vocabulary enrichment

Pick three words from the list and use them in an original sentence or paragraph. You can also draw a picture, illustrating the definitions.

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• Cat:  feline mammal usually having thick soft fur
• Bump: an impact from hitting or running into something
• Trick: a cunning or deceitful action or device
• Hat: headdress that protects the head from bad weather
• Fun: activities that are enjoyable or amusing 
• Sunny: bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
• Play: fun activities rather than work; a performance in front of a live audience.

NCES Literacy L.K-5.4 Determine and/or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases

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Activities

My Wacky Rainy Day
It’s a cold rainy day
And there’s nothing to do
Could this rain go away
Can the sky turn back blue?

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The rain outside goes drip and ca-link
The noise is so loud
That you can’t even think!

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This rain is such a bore.
But could there be something more?

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Think. Oh, just think.
And think and think.

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What fun can you have,
What else can you explore?
If the Cat in the Hat
Came knocking on your door?

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Dr. Seuss is known for his playful, vibrant, rhythmic writing style. He frequently uses made up words that are fun and memorable. Using the prompt above and your big imagination, create a story of the wackiest fun you had with The Cat in the Hat. Remember to put it somewhere safe for when the rain comes back.

NCES Theatre Arts K-5.C.2 Use performance to communicate ideas and feelings. NCES.HEALTH.(K-2).ICR.1: Understand healthy and effective interpersonal communication and relationships.

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Let’s Play Ball - Pantomime
Pantomime is a performance technique that only uses body language, facial expressions, and gestures to tell a story, using no words. Gather students in a circle and reach behind your back and pull out a pantomimed ball (baseball, tennis ball, beach ball, bowling ball, etc…) and play with the ball. Ask students what kind of ball you have in your hands. Once they answer, ask them what clues did they notice to help them understand what kind of ball it was. Share with students pantomiming is about the weight and shape of the objects we’re creating and ask them to pantomime the same ball you have. Take a few minutes to go through different kinds of balls and have students do the same. Once you’ve demonstrated weight and shape, begin to pass the pantomimed ball around the circle. For a little extra fun, you can play Hot Potato with the pantomimed ball. Examples:

• Basketball
• Football
• Bowling Ball
• Soccer Ball
• Tennis Ball
• Baseball
• Volleyball
• Beach Ball
• Cotton Ball

NCES Theatre Arts (K-5).C.1.1 Use a variety of postures, gaits, and mannerisms to express character in the presentation of stories.

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The BIG questions after the show

1. The Cat in the Hat is such a fun and even messy play. What was your favorite moment and why?
2. Why do you think The Cat in the Hat showed up to play with the Boy & Sally?
3. ”Make that cat go away! Tell that Cat in the Hat you do NOT want to play.” Even though the Cat in the Hat only came to have fun, why did Fish not want them to play with him?
4. “Well, what would you do if your mother asked you? Imagine you had the kind of wacky and messy day the Boy and Sally with the Cat in the Hat. What would you tell your grown ups about your wacky messy day?

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.(K-5).2: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. NCES-HealthEd.3.ICR.1.4: Illustrate how to effectively and respectfully express opinions that differ.

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Activities

This isn’t a...
In the beginning of the play when the Cat in the Hat first arrives they play tennis, but in the Cat’s imagination it becomes banjo, he plays music until a string breaks. Preset a few items and ask students to come up and present one of the items in front of the class but they can’t say what the item actually is. For example, a student walks up and grabs a pencil and “This isn’t a pencil. It’s a hair brush!” And the student acts out brushing their hair. Make sure to have enough items around for everyone to have a turn or ask students to use one of their own from their desk or book bag. Encourage them to dig deep in their imagination, get wacky, and have fun.

NCES Theatre Arts K-5.C.2 Use performance to communicate ideas and feelings. 

Slow Mo Tennis
Review what a pantomime is and ask students to pantomime a tennis racket and a tennis ball. Split students into groups of two or four and have them pantomime a tennis match but in slow motion. Remind students that pantomime is all about body language and facial expressions. Guide students through this activity and ask them; what does your body look like when you try to hit a ball too high or too low? What does your face look like when you miss a ball? What does your face and body look like when you score a point?

NCEA-VisualArts.(K-5).VA.V.2: Apply creative and critical thinking skills to artistic expression. NCES Theatre Arts K-5.C.1: Use movement, voice, and writing to communicate ideas and feelings.

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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.

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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.

• Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme by Marianne Berkes
• Bonnie and Ben Rhyme Again by Mem Fox
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin
• The Cat in the Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss
• Fox in Socks  by Dr, Seuss
• Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw

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About the Creators

Dr. Seuss The author Theodor Seuss Geisel is better known to readers as Dr. Seuss. He wrote nearly 50 books for children. His stories are famous for their nonsense words, wild rhymes, and amusing drawings of unusual creatures. Dr. Seuss was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in 1925. Then he studied at Oxford University in England and the Sorbonne, a college that in France. After that he worked as an illustrator and cartoonist. During and after World War II (1939–45) Dr. Seuss served in a part of the U.S. Army that made informational films. Two films he made during the war won Academy awards. His’ first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was published in 1937. He wrote it under the name Dr. Seuss. His most famous books include Horton Hears a Who (1954), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957), The Cat in the Hat (1957), Green Eggs and Ham (1960), The Lorax (1971), and Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (1990). Geisel both wrote the stories and drew the pictures for his books.

Katie Mitchell Playwright KATIE MITCHELL is a British theatre director whose unique style and uncompromising methods have divided both critics and audiences. Though sometimes causing controversy, her productions have been innovative and groundbreaking, and have established her as one of the UK’s leading names in contemporary performance. She was born in Berkshire in 1964, grew up in the small village of Hermitage and read English at Magdalen College, Oxford. She began her theatre career in 1986 with a job at the King’s Head Theatre as a production assistant. She became an assistant director at Paines Plough a year later, and then took the same post at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1988. In 1990, she founded her own company, Classics on a Shoestring, where she directed a number of pioneering and highly acclaimed productions including the House of Bernarda Alba and Women of Troy. In the decades that followed, Mitchell worked as an associate director with the Royal Court Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Whilst at the RSC, she was responsible for programming at the now defunct black box space, The Other Place, and her production of The Phoenician Women earned her the Evening Standard Award for Best Director. Her numerous theatre credits include 2071 and Night Songs for the Royal Court, The Cherry Orchard for the Young Vic, The Trial of Ubu for Hampstead Theatre, Henry VI Part III (to date her only Shakespeare production) for the RSC and A Woman Killed with Kindness and The Seagull at the National Theatre. She has also directed opera, working with the Royal Opera House and English National Opera. An exponent of Stanislavski techniques and naturalism, her style was strongly influenced by the time she spent working in Eastern Europe early in her career. Her work is characterised by the creation on stage of a highly distinctive environment, the intensity of the emotions portrayed and by the realism of the acting.

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