Resource Guide - Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Musical

About the show

The bell rings, lockers slam, and the hallways empty as Greg Heffley prepares for survival ... er ... middle school. But, this “wimpy” kid is determined not to be at the bottom of the food chain. He formulates a plan to gain popularity. But, at what cost? And what about the dreaded Cheese Touch?! Told through Greg’s hilarious and heartfelt cartoon diary, the wildly-popular, best-selling book, comes to life as a musical on stage.
Themes: Loyalty, bullying, friendship, self-esteem

The BIG questions about the show

  1. Starting a new grade or even a new school can be scary. What’s one thing you can do for a new student at your school or in your class to make them feel welcome?
  2. Who’s your favorite superstar? How do they inspire you to be a good kid at school and at home?
NC SL.K-5.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

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.
  • Diary n. a daily record, usually private, especially of the writer's own experiences, observations, feelings, and attitudes. Can also be called a journal.
  • Envy n. a feeling of discontent or jealousy for someone else’s advantages, success, or possessions.
  • Succeed v. to accomplish what is attempted or intended.
  • Popularity n. the quality of being popular with a particular group of people.
  • Student Government n. the organization of student life led by students at school or on a campus.
  • Democracy n. government by the people, exercised by voting. 
  • Class President n. the leader of a student body class and is responsible for representing their class or grade level.
  • Treasurer n. the person in charge of a treasury or money.
  • Conceited adj. excessively proud of one’s self, abilities, or appearance.
  • Mathematician n. an expert who specializes in math.
  • Election n. the selection of a candidate for office by vote.
  • Campaign n.  a competition by rival political candidates for office.
  • Paparazzi n. a photographer who aggressively pursues celebrities.
  • Punctuality adj. the state of being on time.
  • Cartoonist n. a person who specializes in drawing and writing cartoons and comics.
  • Celebrity n. a famous or well-known person.
  • Ventriloquism n. the art of speaking, with little or no lip movement, in such a manner that the voice does not appear to come from the performer but from another source, like a wooden doll.
NCES Literacy L.K-5.4 Determine and/or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases

Activities

Dear DIY Diary (...or Journal)
Self-expression is one of the best ways to relieve stress and anxiety. And we can all use something to get out our thoughts and feelings in a safe, fun, and personal way. For this activity students will need construction paper or cardboard for the cover of the diaries, a hole puncher, blank/scratch paper, yarn, glue, safe and age-appropriate scissors, markers, colored pencils, and fun arts and crafts trinkets to design their diary… or journal.
Fold construction paper evenly in half to create the cover of the diary. If you decide to use cardboard, you’ll need to cut them in half and can still use the construction paper to glue on top for the cover. Cardboard will make the diary more sturdy.
Hand students a stack of papers and fold them evenly in half. These will be the pages for the diary entries.
For binding, take a hole puncher and punch 2 - 3 holes along the edge of the folded construction paper and the stack of papers. Remind students to try to line the holes up as best as possible, or allow the teacher to do the hole punching. Next, take the yarn through the holes and tie a small bow/knot on the outside of the cover. Another tip to make a sturdier diary is to weave the yarn through each hole vertically along the diary and tie two small bows at the top and bottom.
Now it’s time to be creative and decorate the outside cover to their heart's desires. Remind them to write their names on the outside nice and big or on the inside of the cover.
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.
My Life As A Cartoon Adventure
Inside their new diaries (... or journals) instruct students to get even more creative, and write their own adventure story. Encourage students to think of a moment when they had to find the courage to complete a big task that they really didn’t want to do. Maybe it was studying for a big test, cleaning up a monstrous mess in their room, or visiting grandma who loves to pinch your cheeks for the holidays. It’s also perfectly okay to make something up. Review the elements of storytelling with students. They’ll need to have a beginning, middle, end, conflict, objective, and a resolution. Give students some time to write their story, introducing their cartoon characters in the beginning with an objective (something they want), a conflict blocking them from what they want in the middle, and finally how they resolve it in the end.
Next, draw a cartoon version of themselves and whoever else will be in their story. It can be a solo adventure, their family or loved ones, pets, or even their bestest friends. Have students share and present their stories to the class or separate them into groups and let them share amongst one another. We’ll revisit their stories after the show.
NCES Theatre Arts (K-5).C.1.1 Use a variety of postures, gaits, and mannerisms to express character in the presentation of stories. NCES Theatre Arts K-5.C.1.2 Apply appropriate volume and variation in pitch, rate, and tone to express character.

The BIG questions after the show

  1. It’s the first day of middle school, was Greg happy, excited, or nervous about starting a new school? Why do you think he felt this way? 
  2. Greg’s mom got him a diary (...or journal) to write down his feelings but he said his journal was for bigger things? What bigger things did you notice Greg would put in his journal and why do you think he was determined to keep writing in it even when the 8th graders bullied him?
  3. Joshie was a European superstar and Rowley’s hero. He always encouraged kids to “follow your dreams and respect your parents.” If you were a famous pop star what would your message be to encourage everyone to be good kids in school and at home?
  4. Greg had his sights set on becoming popular at school by succeeding and getting voted one of the Class Favorites in the yearbook. As a class, come up with a list of Kind Class Favorites and have fun voting for your classmates who best fits the superlatives (ex. Most Likely to Brighten Your Day, Best Advice Giver, Future Marvel Superhero, Best at Making New Friends).
  5. Musical theatre is a form of theatre that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. Each element helps to tell the story. Did any single song stand out to you in particular? Which song was it and why?
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.

Activities

My Life As A Cartoon Adventure
Remember the stories everyone wrote in the My Life As A Cartoon exercise? Well, students will revisit and reimagine those same stories as comic books. On blank/scratch papers have students draw 2 lines down the paper or have them fold the papers to make 3 panels. Next, have students draw three moments of their story as comic books. The first panel is the beginning where we meet the cartoon characters of the stories and what they want (their objective). The second panel is the middle where students will draw out the conflict of their story and the last panel is where we see their cartoon character resolve their conflict either by getting what they want or not getting what they want.
NCES ELA- Writing W.3-5.2 Write informative /explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. NCES ELA - Literacy W.K-2.3 Select an event or personal experience and use drawing, writing, or dictating to compose a message about it.
Comic Book Tableaux
Split students into groups and have them share their comic book stories. Once everyone has shared, the students will vote on their favorite comic to bring to life, just like in the play. Students will create tableaux using the selected comic book.
A tableaux is a 3D frozen picture that tells a story using only body language, facial expressions, and gestures. There’s no movement and no talking/sound.
Students will bring the 3-panel comic book to life by recreating it with just their bodies and creativity. They have to create and freeze in all 3 parts (beginning, middle, and end) of the story just like the comic. Remind students to find poses they can hold for at least 10 seconds.
After time for rehearsing, have groups share while the other groups observe and try to guess what the story is about.
NCEA-VisualArts.(K-5).VA.V.2: Apply creative and critical thinking skills to artistic expression.

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

Jeff KinneyJeff Kinney - Author of the Wimpy Kid book series
Jeff Kinney was born in 1971 in Maryland and attended the University of Maryland in the early 1990s. It was there that Jeff ran a comic strip called “Igdoof” in the campus newspaper. He knew he wanted to be a cartoonist.
However, Jeff was not successful getting his comic strip syndicated after college, and in 1998 he started writing down ideas for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which he hoped to turn into a book. Jeff worked on the book for six years before publishing it online on funbrain.com in daily installments.
In 2006, Jeff signed a multi-book deal with publisher Harry N. Abrams, Inc. to turn Diary of a Wimpy Kid into a print series. The first Diary of a Wimpy Kid book was published in 2007 and became an instant bestseller. Just a year later, more than 100,000 copies were in print in the United States alone. With each subsequent book, in-print numbers continue to grow exponentially both in the U.S. and abroad. There are now more than 290 million copies of the series in print worldwide.
https://wimpykid.com/about-the-author/
Kevin Del AguilaKevin Del Aguila - Playwright
Kevin Del Aguila is an Emmy-winning writer, Tony-nominated actor, acclaimed director, playwright, and lyricist in New York City.
He is a multi Emmy Award-winning writer of the PBS show PEG + CAT, lyricist of songs featured in the Disney animated movie STRANGE WORLD, and book-writer of the hit comedy ALTAR BOYZ (NY Outer Critics Circle Award, Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk noms) which made history as one of the longest running off-Broadway musicals of all time.
Broadway audiences will recognize him from the original casts of SOME LIKE IT HOT (Drama Desk Award and Tony nom for his performance as Osgood), FROZEN (as Oaken), and PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (as Smee), and children everywhere have heard his voice as a troll in Disney's blockbuster film FROZEN. He's appeared in LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST at The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park, GOD BLESS YOU MR. ROSEWATER for City Center Encores (featuring James Earl Jones), and in the off-Broadway revival of JACQUES BREL. Television guest appearances include LAW & ORDER: SVU, Hulu's DEADBEAT, and PEG + CAT. 
Other writing works for the stage include his middle-aged superhero musical THE ASTONISHING RETURN OF THE PROTAGONISTS! (2013 NAMT Festival), musical adaptations of the DreamWorks film MADAGASCAR, the wildly popular book series DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, as well as Dav Pilkey's DOG MAN and CAT KID COMIC CLUB books.
http://www.delaguila.info/
Alan SchucklerAlan Schuckler - Composer
Alan Schuckler wrote music, lyrics and score, and served as song producer, for Showtime series Kidding, where his work was performed by Ariana Grande, Dick Van Dyke, Jim Carrey, Catherine Keener and Kesha. His songs and music production can be heard in Netflix’s My Little Pony animated feature film, co-written with frequent collaborator Michael Mahler and co-produced with Mahler and Ron Fair (Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Vanessa Carlton).
Alan is the winner of the prestigious Kleban Prize in Musical Theatre; a Webby Award for sound design and original music, and the Sarah Lawrence International Audio Fiction Award, for his podcast musical Wait Wait Don’t Kill Me, written with screenwriter Dave Holstein; and the Richard Rodgers Award for his new stage musical in development The Monster, an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein written with Mahler and playwright Chelsea Marcantel.
His current collaborators include EGOT-winning composer Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), Oscar-nominated director/writer Shawn Levy (Arrival, Stranger Things), Tony-winning bookwriters Bob Martin (The Prom) and Itamar Moses (The Band’s Visit), and Tony-winning producer Kevin McCollum (Rent, Avenue Q).
Alan started playing piano at the age of 5, and showed an interest in theater soon after. As an undergraduate at Northwestern University, he discovered he could combine the two interests, and a love for writing music and lyrics was born. He spent a decade working in the Chicago theater scene, where he was nominated for multiple Joseph Jefferson awards for acting. He never won any, though.
He currently lives in Connecticut with his wife, Sara, and their daughter, Hallie.
https://alanschmuckler.com/about
Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Musical

Book by Kevin del Aguila | Music and Lyrics by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler | Based on the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” Book Series by Jeff Kinney and the 20th Century Studios