THEATRE DIRECT

Exceptional Theatre for Young People

Study Guide: Grades 4-8

www.sanctuarysong.ca
 About the Study Guide Table of Contents
We at Theatre Direct Canada and Tapestry new opera works are excited that you and your Page 2 About the Study Guide
class will be attending a performance of Sanctuary Song, composed by Abigail Richardson Page 3 Table of Contents
Page 4 Tapestry new opera works
and written by Marjorie Chan! Thank you for being a part of this world premiere.
Page 5 Theatre Direct Canada
Page 6 About the Production of Sanctuary Song
This study guide has been prepared for grades 4 to 8 and has been divided into the Page 7 Synopsis
following sections:

The Performing Arts section has activities relating to the Drama, Information and Activities
Dance, and Music curricula. Students will learn Page 8 About Opera
terminology related to an opera production and express ideas found Page 9 Voices Heard in Opera
in Sanctuary Song through voice, movement, and music. Page 10 What to Listen For - Music Activity
The
Page 11 Explore the Score - Music Activity
Performing
The Natural World section is all about elephants! Learn some
Page 12 Roles in Theatre and Opera - Activity
Page 13 Meet the Artists Arts
facts about these huge and gentle creatures while exploring topics in Page 16 Walk Like an Elephant - Dance Activity
Science, Geography, History, and Mathematics. Page 17 The Watermelon Scene - Drama Activity
Page 18 Post-Show Discussion Questions
Learn about the many relationships between Humans and Nature Page 18 The True Story of Shirley and Jenny
in the third section. These exercises explore the ways that humans Page 19 Sanctuary Song Time Line
The Natural
have helped and caused problems for elephants and work well with Page 20 Elephant Time Line - Activity World
topics in Geography and Social Studies. Page 20 Where in the World - Activity
Page 21 Fun Facts about Elephants
Finally, in the Communication and Friendship section, we Page 22 What’s the Difference - Activity
discover the incredible ways that elephants communicate with each Page 22 Could You take an Elephant Home - Activity
other and the people they work with. We learn about friendships that
Page 23
Humans
Elephant Safari - Activity
come in all shapes and sizes. This section is great for Language Arts Page 23 Elephants in Culture and Nature
and Drama explorations. Page 24 Friends for Life: Mahouts and Elephants
Page 24 Where did they Go - Activity
Communication
Printables and Resources can be found at the back of this guide so that you and Page 25 Calling All Elephants - Activity and Friendship
your class can jump right into this material. If you have any questions or are looking for Page 26 Move to the Groove of Frendship - Activity
more resources, please contact us - we’re here to help!

Need to choose
Tapestry new opera works Theatre Direct Canada an activity in a hurry?
55 Mill Street, Bldg. #58 720 Bathurst Street, Printables & Resources Look for the starred
The Cannery, Studio 316 Suite #412 activities to explore
Toronto, ON, M5A 3C4 Toronto, ON, M5S 2R4 Pages 27 - 34 Printables for Activities in this Guide some of our
Phone: 416-537-6066 Phone: 416-537-4191 Pages 35 - 37 Glossaries favourites
Fax: 416-537-7841 Fax: 416-537-4193 Pages 38 - 39 Sources and Resources with your class!
www.tapestrynewopera.com www.theatredirect.on.ca

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 2 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 3
Managing Artistic Director, Wayne Strongman
Our Mandate
Our Mission and Vision
To engage artists and audiences in the creation, development and performance of To create and present sophisticated and
new opera. To be recognized locally, nationally and internationally as: FOR THEATRE DIRECT CANADA
uncompromising theatre for, with and by young
people that provokes, challenges and inspires.
An innovative company that gives voice to opera as a vehicle for personal and Artistic Director LYNDA HILL
collective discovery; Associate Artists
To present theatre that is socially conscious,
LISA CODRINGTON, SHARADA K. ESWAR
A leader in the development of talent for the creation of the operatic art form, inclusive and that reflects the diversity of Canadian
General Manager
facilitating successful creative collaborations among writers, composers, CLARISSA DEYOUNG society.
directors, performers and designers; Production Manager DUNCAN MORGAN
A partner who facilitates collaborative engagement between artists and Consulting Director of Education
and Outreach CAROLINE HOLLWAY To nurture our audience’s appreciation of the arts
audiences, producers, and presenters; Education Consultant JESSI LINN DAVIES and each other through community and education
A valued arts partner for the corporate business and philanthropic community. Studio Theatre Consultant based programs.
Our History and Project Manager JULIAN SLEATH
Artistic Coordinator & Dramaturg Our History
Tapestry is dedicated to the creation, development and performance of new opera works through its THOMAS MORGAN JONES Founded in 1976 and led by Artistic Director Lynda Hill, Theatre
Administrative Assistant NICKY PHILLIPS Direct is known for its willingness to explore difficult subject matter
unique and highly collaborative work process. Under the leadership of Managing Artistic Director Wayne
Co-Op Student MARINA PRATT and issues relevant to young people with dynamic, sophisticated
Strongman, Tapestry engages the hearts and minds of artists and audiences on subjects relevant to
contemporary society. The Tapestry process begins at the annual Composer-Librettist Laboratory where theatre that is matched by innovative education programs.
writers and composers are introduced to collaborative creation. Successful partnerships move on to create
15-minute operas for our biennial Opera to Go production and many to create full-length works. Tapestry BOARD OF DIRECTORS Theatre Direct has been honoured with numerous awards
productions which have premiered to critical and popular acclaim include Nigredo Hotel by Ann-Marie and nominations including 5 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, 10
MacDonald & Nic Gotham, Elsewhereless by Atom Egoyan & Rodney Sharman, Still the Night by Theresa MARCIA CUNNINGHAM – President Chalmers Canadian Play Awards and the Canada Council for the
Tova, Facing South by Don Hannah & Linda C. Smith and the Dora-award winning Iron Road by composer LINDA BROWN – Chair/Secretary Arts Theatre for Young Audiences Prize in 2005 for And, by the
Chan Ka Nin & librettist Mark Brownell. ANDREW MUIRHEAD – Treasurer way Miss… Other award-winning productions include Alphonse by
LINDA CONETTA Wajdi Mouawad and Beneath the Banyan Tree by Emil Sher with
Over our 28 year history of producing original music theatre works by Canadian artists, Tapestry has WAYNE FAIRHEAD choreographer Lata Pada.
been a fixture in the Ontario school touring market. Our roster of opera for young audiences has KIM BARNHARDT – Past President
NATHAN GILBERT – Honorary Member
introduced thousands of students to opera as an art form while focusing on important social issues such as
WALTER PITMAN – Honorary Member
Our Education Approach
bullying, nutrition, friendship and racism. During these performances we encourage performer/teacher/ Educators and the professional theatre community consider
student interaction. We also include a comprehensive study guide to tie the performances into school RANDY BAUSLAUGH – Honorary Member
Theatre Direct leaders in the creation and production of theatre
curriculum and many productions incorporate an audience participation component. Tapestry’s most recent for young audiences. Our efforts to pair sophisticated theatre
opera for young audiences, Elijah’s Kite (James Rolfe/Camyar Chai), premiered at the Manhattan School with innovative education programs enhance the impact of the
of Music and with a Canadian premiere at Rideau Hall. Elijah’s Kite has embarked on 3 elementary school Theatre Direct is a member of PACT (Professional theatrical experience and extend our interaction with young people
tours across Ontario reaching 20,000 students and will tour nationally in our 08/09 season. Association of Canadian Theatres) and engages
and teachers toward deeper learning.
under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agree-
Through the INside Opera Education Programme, Tapestry offers creative workshops for students and ment, professional Artists who are members of Working with and involving young people in the creative process
youth to discover their own stories and engage in the creation of opera. Initially this programme evolved out Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. Theatre
enriches our work and informs our creative practice. We strive
of Tapestry’s desire to provide youth workshop programming along with its artistic productions. From this Direct is a participant in the Creative Trust: Work-
ing Capital for the Arts program, and are also to ensure each production is accompanied by a comprehensive
beginning, the INside Opera programme has grown and responded to the increasing need to provide arts members of Theatre Ontario, Toronto, Alliance for set of resources and activities led by artists or by our partner
programming within specific communities. We have expanded the programme to reach beyond the class- the Performing Arts (TAPA), ASSITEJ Canada, educators that ensure a depth of reflection and response in the
room walls and into underserved communities in the GTA which lack the money, resources and access to and Performing Arts Organizations
classroom and beyond.
the professional artists necessary to facilitate effective arts education. Network for Education.
While each season and each production inspires a specific
Tapestry is a leader in the arts community as both an active member of Opera.ca and OPERA America, and a proud founding member of Creative Trust: approach to our education work, some of the programs
Working Capital for the Arts. Tapestry is also a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) and the Toronto Alliance for the
we consistently offer include daylong programs, arts education
Performing Arts (TAPA), and employs professional artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association and
musicians who are members of the American Federation of Musicians. residencies, post-show workshops and teacher preparation
evenings.
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 4 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 5
 How this World Premiere came to be... Characters in the Story
Sydney an aging female Asian elephant
James her zookeeper and friend
Penny Sydney’s childhood elephant friend
Hunter
In the world of Sanctuary Song, conceived by playwright
Marjorie Chan and musically illuminated by composer Abigail
Circus Owner
A young girl who meets Sydney at the circus
Richardson, we imagine opera as a powerful language shared by
elephants and one man. Synopsis
Through the eyes of an elephant...
This project began when Marjorie and Abigail met in the Tapestry’s This moving new work explores the themes of friendship and freedom inspired by the real-life story of
Composer Librettist Laboratory (LibLab). In this compressed, intense an Asian elephant whose remarkable journey culminates in her release into a Tennessee
creation process they were challenged to create short operatic scenes. sanctuary. Framed by the reluctant goodbye between Sydney and James, her African American keep-
“Sanctuary” as it was titled at the time, was presented in a 10 minute er of 22 years, Sydney recounts, in a scene that moves from song to a luscious dance section, the
form to enthusiastic audiences in 2004. Theatre Direct’s Artistic destruction of her idyllic life in the jungles of Indonesia. When poachers abduct her she is wrenched
Director, Lynda Hill, had the pleasure of witnessing a revived from her dearest friend, Penny, who for Sydney is “like a baby sister”.
performance of the work and was struck with how beautifully the story
and the music resonated for an audience that ranged in age from 8 Her years performing in a circus come to a dramatic end when Sydney is injured in a fire on a boat off
years to 80. Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. After being sold to the Louisiana Purchase Zoo, Sydney resigns herself to
solitary life until she meets James, with whom she develops a wonderful trust and communication that
lasts for decades.
Marjorie and Abby were invited to expand the piece and tell the story of
Sydney from the beginning. With the assistance of the Laidlaw In a deeply moving final scene, Sydney is released into sanctuary and soon encounters another
Foundation, Theatre Direct commissioned the expanded work. Upon elephant. Tension and fear among the human witnesses is replaced by astonishment and joy when
completion of the first complete draft of the libretto, Lynda Hill the two elephants embrace and Sydney is reunited with her childhood friend, Penny. As they wander
approached Wayne Strongman to propose a collaboration. After off together into the “hills of grass” she had dreamt of for so long, James looks on and ahead vowing
careful consideration of the proposed project, both companies under- to remember his many years of friendship with Sydney.
took a two-week workshop exploring the score and libretto as well as
the choreographic and design approach. The story of Sanctuary Song drives home for audiences the delicate balance of the natural world and
our relationship to its creatures. However, it is through the operatic form that the emotional power,
The theme of friendship pervades every aspect of this theatrical beauty, and complexity of Sydney’s life flows up and out and into our hearts.
offering, onstage and off. From the pairing of words and music to the
partnership of a theatre and an opera company, Sanctuary Song For a more detailed synopsis of all scenes, please see www.sanctuarysong.ca
testifies to what is possible when we reach beyond our boundaries
toward something larger than ourselves.
Scenes Instruments in the Orchestra
On a Train Piano
Enjoy the performance! In the Jungle Violin
The Circus Percussion instruments
Fire! including: triangle, cymbals, wind chimes,
The Zoo vibraphone, a gendere,
wood block, a gong, and a variety of
Arrival at the Sanctuary unconventional instruments
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 6 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 7
About Opera The Performing Arts
Drama, Dance, Music
Different Voices heard in Opera The Performing Arts
Drama, Dance, Music

“When James meets Sydney, he tries talking to her but she doesn’t
Soprano A woman with a high voice. Sopranos often portray young,
understand...so he tries singing; That’s how they can communicate!” Range: C4 - A5 innocent, beautiful women, and lead characters.
Abigail Richardson, Composer
Mezzo Soprano A woman with a medium voice. Mezzos often portray the
Opera, with its stirring music, colourful costumes and elaborate sets and props, Range: A3 - F5 soprano’s trusted friend, maids or older women.
is the perfect medium for exposing children to different artistic expressions and
the way all of the arts can be integrated into a dramatic performance. It can also Contralto A woman with a meduim voice. Contraltos often portray older
bring a heightened awareness, and focused attention on the story and the is- Range: F3 - D5 female characters.
sues explored in the performance.
Tenor A man with a high voice. A tenor is often the young, handsome
The simplest definition of opera is a story that is sung and told through Range: B2 - G4 hero of an opera who loves the soprano.
music. It differs from a play because the music and sung words carry us to a
place of high emotion that words alone cannot accomplish. Baritone A man with a medium voice. Baritones can play older men, friends
Range: G2 - E4 or advisors to the tenors, comic characters, or sometimes leading
The art form of opera is a larger than life experience for audience members, male characters.
allowing them to approach big human issues through drama and music.
Bass A man with a low voice. Bass singers often portray villains or old
It takes the collaboration of two highly skilled creative artists to write an opera: Range: D2 - C4 men. They tend to be characterized as an “old fool”.
the librettist, who creates the story and the words that the characters sing,
and the composer who creates the music that carries the emotions. The best
In Sanctuary Song, we hear two voice types; Sydney is portrayed by a soprano, James is
operas portray relationships and experiences that are universal and timeless.
played by a bass. To compare their relative vocal ranges, see the diagrams below, which
approximate the ranges of the two singers you will see in our production.
An opera’s performing artists are professionally trained singers, who spend
many years developing their voices and their acting skills. Because opera * Vocal ranges are from www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/vocalrg.htm
began in Europe, the singers also study many different languages and cultures
in order to understand and correctly pronounce their lyrics.
Soprano
The roles in opera are written for specific voice types
- soprano, mezzo soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone,
and bass. Sometimes an opera is even written with An Elephant Joke:
the vocal range of a specific singer in mind!
Q: Who is the most
famous singing
The particular vocal range can be used to signify the
female elephant? Bass
age of the character, their station in life, or the
personality of the character.
A: Elephants Gerald

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 8 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 9
What to Listen For The Performing Arts
Drama, Dance, Music
In an opera, the audience gets lots of information about story and emotion through the music. We
asked Abigial Richardson, the composer of Sanctuary Song, to give us the inside scoop on key
storytelling elements from the score.
Here are her recommendations and some questions for classroom discussion.
When you see Sanctuary Song, keep your ears open for:
The Jungle “One of the more interesting things to listen for is the use of
percussion and there are a few instruments that specifically help
represent the jungle. The "gendere" is a really beautiful keyboard percussion instrument which is
not quite in our [western] tuning system. It's close to the pentatonic scale, but with a few notes
slightly higher or slightly lower. It has a very exotic sound and sounds to me like we're in another
land when we hear it.
The gong represents the jungle and elephants to me. It's often used as a sign of the jungle, or that
elephants are nearby, as in the hunter scene. The bender gong (used at the end of the hunter
scene) is a gong which is lowered into a bucket of water in order to lower the pitch. This represents
the elephant getting dizzy and losing consciousness.
Those three instruments represent the jungle sounds, and they often return later when Sydney is in
captivity and recalls her former life.”
Close your eyes and think of a jungle. What sorts of sounds do you
imagine? Create a jungle soundscape within your classroom by creating the sounds of
a jungle. Start with the sound of the jungle in the morning, before the animals are awake
and slowly add in some animals, keeping the base, ‘morning’ sound throughout.
“The violin is central to this opera. If you listen to the violin, you’ll
The Violin hear the most obvious show of the emotions involved in the story.
Director Linda Hill says that the violin seems to capture Sydney’s soul.”
“There are some interesting ways that instruments are used
Music Effects for different effects during the opera. Listen for the rainstick,
which sounds like rain when tilted up and down. The vibraphone, usually played with mallets
gets played with a cello bow and even with the handles of the mallets for a more percussive
sound.
“Just after Sydney meets James, both the violinist and percussionist blow into a tube to create a
kind of elephant trumpet. These tubes are usually the ones people spin above their head to
make a pitch. We just happened to stumble over this in rehearsal and loved it.”
What are some unconventional instruments in your classroom?
The orchestra discovered their elephant trumpets by experimenting with
unconventional instruments. Gather some classroom items that could be used as
instruments and experiment with the different sounds you can get from each item.
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 10
Explore the Score The Performing Arts
Music
Have you ever seen the score of an opera before? Like the script of a play, the score of an opera out-
lines the specific role of each performer. This gives performers (including instrumentalists), the
director and other artists a starting place from which to create their own production. Using a sample
from the Sanctuary Song score, examine the different parts of the score with your class.
Download The Watermelon Scene score sample from www.sanctuarysong.ca’s
Education Section and share it with your class. Use the following
questions and notes from the composer to explore the score.
Can you find....
The lines that ‘Sydney’ would follow? The lines for the violinist? The pianist?
A place in the score where at least three of the performers are doing the same thing?
A place in the score where the percussionist switches instruments?
A musical theme that is started by one instrument and then carried on by another?
A place where only one performer is making sound?
The place in the score that might sound the loudest? the softest?
Musical Choices
A composer’s job is a multi-faceted one. She decides what kind of sounds
from what instruments (or singers) should be heard at each moment in order to
best tell the opera’s story to the audience. Here are some examples of choices
Abigail Richardson made in creating this section of the score:
In bar 654, the violin is instructed to begin playing in the pizzicato style. This
means that the violinist will pluck the violin’s strings instead of using his bow. The
sound will be more stacato and bright sounding than bowing would produce. Why
might Ms. Richardson have chosen to use that sound at that moment in the opera?
Are the other instruments making similar or contrasting sounds in that section?
In bar 649, the performer singing the part of James sings his line in a falsetto
voice, meaning he is to use a special technique to sing in a vocal register higher than
his ‘normal’ singing voice. Sometimes this technique is used for comic effect, but not
here; Why do you think the composer chose to use falsetto for James’ thought of ‘a
dream’?
Beginning in bar 649, the violin adds to the dream-like feel by using harmonics. A
violin usually only plays one pitch at a time, but with this technique, the violin plays
two pitches at once: the ‘melody’ note and a higher-pitched note that seems to float
above the lower one. How might harmonics support the mood that is created in that
moment?
For more detailed info about the terms above, search the Dolmetsch Music Dictionary at
www.dolmetsch.com/musictheorydefs.htm
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 11
Roles in Theatre and Opera The Performing Arts
Drama, Dance and Music
Meet the Artists The Performing Arts
Drama, Dance and Music

There are so many different aspects of putting together a theatrical performance —

especially an opera! Learn about the many roles that come together to create an
LYNDA HILL, Stage Director
opera performance like Sanctuary Song.
Make and place four signs, one for each corner of your class-
room. Signs should read: “Director”, “Conductor”, “Designer”
and “Lighting Technician”.
Point out the four corners of the room to your students and
instruct them to stand by the sign representing the opera job
they would most like to do.
When students have initially moved to a location, ask them to
share the reasons behind their choice. Encourage at least one
member from each of the four groups to contribute to the
discussion.
Allow students to switch locations if they have changed their
minds during the discussion.
Ask students to collaboratively write down a sentence
describing the responsibilities of their chosen role. Compare
these to the glossary definitions in the back of this guide.
For a further exploration into the world of theatre and opera,
hand out the Theatre and Opera Quiz found on page 27.
Some of the artists in Sanctuary Song have given
you an inside look at what their jobs entail.
See the following pages for their artistic statments!
An Elephant Joke:
Q: What is beautiful, grey,
Answers to the Quiz: and wears glass slippers?
I am very lucky to be both the director of Sanctuary Song and the Artistic Director of Theatre Direct, a
company that creates theatre for young people. When I think about new shows for our audiences, I first
think about my children and how interested they are in the world and how many questions they have
about it! A lot of the time they wonder why big people do the things they do — sometimes things that
are wonderful and positive and some things that cause harm. It is difficult to answer these questions for
them and so I like to tell them stories. Stories are a great way to show how interesting and complicated
people can be.
I chose Sanctuary Song because the story has so many layers. Yes, it is about a friendship between a
creature and a human but it also reminds us that, just like Sydney the elephant, people need to feel safe,
to feel free and to be loved by family and friends, almost as much as they need other basic things like
fresh air, clean water and good food.
I liked how a man realized that looking after Sydney wasn’t his job anymore, it was his responsibility.
When something or someone becomes our responsibility, there is a lot more to consider. Often this
means having to think about the other and what they need more than what you want. This also comes
from something called empathy!
I get to work with so many people in this production; I believe there are close to 30 people involved!
Everyone from the person who helps to sew the costumes to the singers on stage and the musicians
have a very important role and we all rely on each other to do their very best. If not then the show is not
as good. This is just like community or family.
To direct, I have prepare in my imagination and with lots of research and writing, how I think the show
should look to make sure the story is not confusing and that everything goes smoothly onstage so that
by the time you see it, it looks so easy! But to get there take rehearsal every day and lots and lots of
problem solving. We do that together as a team. Sometimes people have different opinions or ideas and
so we find a way to make sure everyone’s contribution is respected. This is a lot like what you have to do
when you work on a project for school.
I want big people to think about children and each other as elephants that need lots of gentleness and
caring and I want children to remember that human beings and creatures of every shape and size
share the same air and water and earth and that we are all part of the same family. This way, when they
grow up they will have the power to stop anything that might harm this important balance like pollution,
hunting, abuse of any person, or war.

The answers from the quiz on page 27 A: Cinderelephant!

are, from top to bottom:

6, 2, 10, 13, 4, 7, 11, 8, 3, 1, 5, 9, 21

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 12 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 13
Meet the Artists The Performing Arts
Drama, Dance and Music
MARJORIE CHAN, Librettist
The role of the librettist is to create the story and the words of the opera. That means
for me I have to imagine the characters, the setting and the words that you hear.
For Sanctuary Song, I was inspired by a documentary called, “The Urban Elephant”
where I first learned about the extraordinary elephant, Shirley and her friend Jenny.
When I begin writing a piece, sometimes I don’t know all the parts of the story yet. I
might only know the beginning, or the end. I discover the journey as I write based on
what I want the emotional feeling to be. Should the audience be scared at this point?
Or should the audience be laughing? In the end, all of the parts come together to
make the piece.
When I am done writing, I give the words to the composer. That is where my work
ends and where the composer’s work begins!
ABIGAIL RICHARDSON, Composer
I am the composer of Sanctuary Song which means I wrote the music. I took
Marjorie Chan’s words and figured out how the characters would sing them…some
gently, some with anger, some as if in a dream, etc. Then I worked out the right
musical accompaniment. I also felt like including some exotic sounds to represent
the jungle, like the “gendere” percussion instrument and a dance section inspired
by Balinese gamelan music. My goal was for the audience to understand how the
characters are feeling by the music they’re singing.
I hope every audience member gives some thought to how insensitive and
exploitative human society can be, and what we individuals can do about it.
VIV MOORE, Choreographer
Prior to rehearsals, I was inspired to create movements by listening to the music and
reading the score many times, also by visual images of elephants and the director’s
vision of the play. I brought these ideas into rehearsals, while always being open to
new ideas and revelations found during the process. The audience will be hopefully
be able to see the elephants’ movements through the actors’ bodies rather than just
seeing actors moving on a stage, thereby adding to the living production that has
been placed in our dreams.
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 14
Meet the Artists The Performing Arts
Drama, Dance and Music
KELLY WOLF, Designer
I am the set and costume designer. In general what that involves is a lot of research.
In particular for this project I researched Asian elephants and their habitat. I was
particulary intrigued by the texture of the elephant’s skin and used that as a motif
on the ramp. I was also interested in finding a way to show the contrast between
Sydney’s life in the Zoo with her life in the Sanctuary. I work with the director to bring
the visual elements to life and I am responsible for creating a space that will enhance
the production.
To aid communication between everyone involved, I create the set model and
costume drawings that will eventually become the design on stage. In my opinion,
design works best when it gives the performers the support they need to tell the story.
This could be through the costumes, set or props and they allow the performers to
bring the story alive with out distracting from the story itself.
After seeing this production I would like the audience to continue to think about the
journey Sydney has taken and then to think about the journeys we take ourselves.
LUISA QUINTAVALLE, Video Design
As I approach the creative process, I get to listen to the gorgeous music, to the lyrics,
to the director’s vision. I let it all echo inside and translate it into visual tempo. I listen,
listen, listen and let it work until it’s ready to come out again through my “filters”.
By creating the vido design, I am giving shape and color to the musical palette of
emotions. Since video has a very strong hypnotic nature, a major concern was to
avoid it catching too much attention. Instead it’s been conceived to reinforce the
action on stage, as an organic part of it.
What would I like the audience to think about after seeing this production? I don’t
like to pilot a one-way outcome but I certainly play with what I feel are the important
elements to highlight… the understanding of the “other” as a different being with own
needs and rules and the respect for non-human sensibility.
Leonardo Da Vinci used to say that men will really be evolved only when they’ll be
able to respect different species as their own… I hope we can do better than this. I’ve
been looking at the whole piece as a love-story between a man and an elephant, and
as a reflection about respect and freedom.
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 15
Walk like an Elephant The Performing Arts
Drama, Dance, Language Arts
The Watermelon Scene
Sanctuary Song tells the story of the friendships of elephants but it is performed entirely by humans
- there is not a trunk or tusk in sight! We asked our choreographer, Viv Moore, about how she
worked to create ‘elephantness’ on stage.
You can use some of our choreographer’s techniques in your classroom!
Elephant Walk
After reading the libretto and listening to the music, one of the first things Viv did in
preparation for Sanctuary Song rehearsal was to watch elephants walking. From this, she
created a list of words and phrases to describe the way elephants move. Some of her
words are: weight, sway, swagger, entwining, gentle, playful, stillness and listening. She
says that even though elephants are very big and heavy, they walk as though they are
floating.
As a class, observe some elephants walking (see the resources page for video
links) and create your own word list. Viv recommends using action words to
describe the elephants’ movement.
In rehearsal, she brought her list of words to the performers. Together, they experimented
with elephant movement by walking around the room. Some questions they answered
through movement were:
How do we show that elephants take up a lot of space?
How can we mimic the sway of an elephant with our own bodies?
How do we walk lightly but appear to be weighty?
How do elephants play? How does an old elephant move differently than a young one?
How would Sydney’s bad leg affect her movement?
What does an elephant ‘being still’ look like?
Explore elephant walking with your class, using the questions above as
prompts. Try using a follow-the-leader approach with different students as
leader.
Balance and Support
To show the closeness and supportive relationship between Sydney and Penny, Viv
choreographed some contact movement into the performance. In this way, we can see the
two animals’ familiarity with and like for each other as well as their mentor-mentoree
relationship. In order to develop such moves, the cast worked on solo and paired balance
techniques.
Try an exploration of balances by instructing students to try to see how many
different ways they can balance themselves with only 3 points of contact with
the ground (i.e. foot, foot, hand); vary number of contact points. Try a similar
exercise with partners or even groups of three.
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 16
The Performing Arts
Drama, Music, Language Arts
James: Well, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like watermelon!
Sydney: Wa-ter-mel-on?
Both: Watermelon!
Before seeing the performance of Sanctuary Song, introduce your students to one of the
scenes from this tale. ‘The Watermelon Scene’ takes a look at the first time James and
Sydney meet and is a great introduction to the poetic language of opera.
Read through The Watermelon Scene (page 28) with your students.
Discuss the writing style. Does this sound like a regular conversation? Does it
sound like a poem? Does it sound like song lyrics? Why do you think the text is
written as it is? What does the repetition add to the telling of the story of this scene?
Divide students into groups of four - two actors and two sound artists.
Performers will rehearse their lines together, focusing on showing the growing
friendship between James and Sydney; the sound artists will discuss ideas for
places to add musical elements of sound effects to the scene. They could use found
objects, their own bodies and vocalizations, or proper instruments, depending on
the teacher’s preferences.
Prompts for Performers:
How do you think Sydney and James feel when they first meet? How can you show
that with your actions and how you speak? How would your actions change to show
a change in how Sydney and James are feeling? How would YOU greet a new friend?
How can you give a sense of how large Sydney is compared to James?
Prompts for Sound Artists:
Where in the script would it be helpful to add sounds? What messages/clues could
your sounds give the audience? Experiment with different ways to make each sound to
you’ve identified.
Performers and sound artists regroup and rehearse all together. Invite groups to
share their scenes (or portions of their scenes) with the class.
Follow up: Remind your students that this scene is a part of the opera, Sanctuary
Song. Ask them to imagine how the composer, Abigail Richardson, used an
orchestra of sounds to bring this scene musically alive. What would students have
done differently in their own scenes if they had all possible instruments at their
disposal?
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 17
Post-Show Discussion Questions The Performing Arts
Drama, Dance, Music
Sanctuary Song Time Line
In 1948, Shirley was born in Sumatra, an
The elephants in Sanctuary Song were portrayed by movement, rather than elaborate island of Indonesia. As all elephants, she
costuming. In what ways did the performers’ movements help establish the charac- Start Here! would have been carried by her mother for
22 months before birth.
ters they were playing?
1948 1958: Shirley, along with all those in
her travelling circus, is held captive in
The use of projections is an important part of the design for Sanctuary Song; What Cuba for several weeks when Fidel
did their use add to the performance? Why do you think the images used were in black
At age 5, Shirley was
1953 Castro seized power.

and white rather than full colour? captured from the wild and
brought to
1958
North America.
How did the instrumentalists help to tell the story of the opera?
1963: Fire! Shirley is injured in a circus

There were many locations conveyed in Sanctuary Song as Sydney relived memo-
ries in her life. Can you remember some of the locations that were represented in the 1972: Jenny is born in
ship fire in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
She escapes with scars and part of
her right ear scorched off.
1963
1973: Jenny is
Sumatara.
poached from the
opera? What clues did the music give you about how Sydney felt about each of these wild and sold to the
locations? circus. Here she
meets Shirley, who

The True Story of Shirley and Jenny Drama, Dance, Music

The Performing Arts must have been like
a mother to the
young calf.
1973
Sanctuary Song is based on the remarkable true story of an elephant named Shirley and
her life-long journey that brought her from Sumatra to the ranks of the Carson and Barnes
circus to the Louisianna Purchase Gardens Zoo and finally to the Elephant Sanctuary in
Hohenwald, Tennessee.
In Sanctuary Song, the characters of Sydney, Penny, and James are inspired by the real-life 2000: “The Urban
Shirley, Jenny, and Soloman James, respectively. Elephant”, a documentary
television program first
airs on PBS. Footage
Jenny was with the Carson and Barnes circus at the same time as Shirley and this is where from Shirley and Jenny’s
1976: Shirley is sold to the
Louisiana Purchase Gardens
1975: Attacked by a fellow Zoo in Monroe, Louisiana. Here
circus elephant, Shirley she meets Solomon James,
now must continue to zookeeper.
perform with a broken leg.
1976
July 6, 1999: Shirley moves into
the Elephant Sanctuary and is 1992: Jenny, aged 20,
reunited with Jenny, whom she leaves the circus for
breeding.
hasn’t seen for 20 years.

they became friends. In Sanctuary Song, the writers chose to have Sydney and Penny first reunion is a featured
meet in the wild. In real life, Shirley is about 25 years older than Jenny, but the characters in episode.

the opera are closer in age.

1999 September 11, 1996. Jenny moves to
1992
Soloman James is a real zookeeper, who cared for Shirley for 22 years at the Louisianna The Elephant Sanctuary, becoming its
2003: “Sanctuary,” a second elephant resident.
Purchase Gardens Zoo before accompanying Shirley on her truck ride to The Elephant 10-minute brief was created
for Tapestry’s Opera Briefs.
Sanctuary in Tennessee. You can see how much Soloman James loves Shirley in The It was remounted in 2004
Urban Elephant documentary. where Lynda Hill saw it.
Shirley is still living at the Elephant
To see The Urban Elephant, search YouTube.com for: “Nature (PBS) - Shirley the Elephant (Part 2)”.
For more details about the tale of Shirley and Jenny, see the timeline on the next page of this guide.
2003 2006 Sanctuary in Tennessee. She
celebrates her 60th birthday this year.

After seeing Sanctuary Song, discuss with your class the

October 17, 2006: Jenny dies June 7, 2008: World
differences between the libretto and the true story. premiere performance of
peacefully at the sanctuary

Why do you think the librettist made the story choices she did?
with Shirley at her side.
2008 “Sanctuary Song”

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 18 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 19
Elephant Time Line The Natural World
History, Geography and Language Arts
Fun Facts about Elephants The Natural World
Science, Geography and Math
Many things have happened to Sydney throughout her long life. She has made, lost, and reunited Elephants do indeed have excellent
with friends, traveled far distances across the world, and been trained to do many things. She has memories and can recognize faces and
also gone through all of the physical changes that elephants experience as they grow. locations that they have
not seen in years.
Using some of the elephant facts (page 21) as well as information you know about world events
through history, create a life-story for an elephant of your own imagining, using the Sanctuary Song An African bull elephant’s ear weighs
time line (page 19) as an example. about 100 lbs (45kg)!
Using this guide and other elephant information (found in your school/local library
or online)* share information with your class about elephant life-span, changes Elephants are unique animals in that they
with growth, common experiences in the wild and in captivity, etc. identify and care for elephant bones.
An elephants drinks by filling its trunk
Invite students to image an elephant like Sydney who has had a full and long life;
with water and then pouring the Photo by: Brian Scott - 2006
have each student name their imagined elephant and jot down events that would
water into its mouth. An elephant can hold
have happened throughout his/her imagined life.
about 4 litres of water.
Elephants can reach speeds of over 40km/h
Students should now represent their elephant’s life by creating a time line for their Elephants have an extraordinary sense of but but they cannot jump. A ditch too wide to
elephant, including memorable life moments and the information previously smell, which is said to be many step across or an incline too steep to climb
discussed. times more discriminating than that is a reliable barrier for elephants.
of a bloodhound.
As a writing extension, have students write a journal entry or short story about a A lady’s high heel has greater pressure per
particularly memorable event in their elephant’s life. Elephants are the largest living species square centimetre than an elephant’s foot!
of land animal - and they get so Elephants have very large and complex
* See the Sources and Resources page for places to look for more information! large by eating a diet largely made up brains. At an average of 4.8 kg the
of leafy greens! elephant brain is the largest among living
The Natural World
Where in the World? Geography The closest living relatives to the
and extinct terrestrial mammals.

elephant are manatees and hippopotami - The behaviour of elephants both in the wild
In Sanctuary Song, Sydney tells us about where she came from and the many different plac- imagine those family picnics! and in captivity suggests that
es that she has been. Use your own map or the world map provided in this guide (thanks to elephants are able to use their long-term
http:\\english.freemap.ip) to do the following map explorations with your class. memories to “keep score” and to extract
Elephants are members of the “revenge” for wrongs done.
In ancient times, elephants could be found in all areas of Africa, except the Sahara Desert pachyderm family. The word comes from
(which was smaller then than it is now) and in Asia from present-day Syria east to China the Greek words for “thick skinned”. Using their trunks as snorkels and by
and south to Sumatra. Colour in the places where elephants could be found in ancient The skin of an elephant is about swallowing air to regulate buoyancy,
times. 4 centimeters thick. elephants are great swimmers!
On the world map, chart the travels of Shirley (the elephant on whom Sydney’s character
is based). She was taken from Sumatra and travelled by boat to the United States. She In 1982 an attendant at the zoo in Prague reported that he had gotten some bad stains on
toured with the circus whose route includes stops in Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia. his shirt. He sent the shirt to the laundry, but the stains were still there. On a very hot day
In 1963 she was a part of a circus boat fire in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. She was then driven at work the attendant took off his shirt and laid it aside. An elephant grabbed the shirt and
to the Louisiana Purchase Gardens Zoo in Louisiana where she lived for 22 years until gulped it down before he could get it back. A day or two later, when the shirt reappeared at
taking a truck to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. the other end, it was still intact; and the stains were gone!

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 20 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 21
What’s the difference? The Natural World
Science, Geography and Dance
How can we tell the difference between African elephants (Loxodonta Africana) and Asian
elephants (Elephas Maximums)? The following exercise will allow students to explore this
question in two ways: through a quiz and by creating physicalizations of elephants.
Gather images of elephants - real or illustrated - from library books, web images,
or from the resources listed at the back of this guide.
Using the list of differences from page 30, identify each elephant as either Asian
or African. This activity could be undertaken as a class discussion or as a fun quiz
for individuals or small groups of students.
In Sanctuary Song, we see an Asian elephant portrayed on stage by a female
performer. If students in the class were to personify an elephant, how would they
portray an African elephant differently from an Asian elephant? (Discuss size,
weight, posture, fine motor skills, etc. in creating different physicalizations).
Follow up with the “Walk Like an Elephant” exercise (page 16) and create an
elephant parade of both Asian and Afrcian elephants.
Could You Take an Elephant Home? The Natural World
Science, Geography and Math
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee has over 2,700 acres of land and lots of vegetation
at its disposal to help care for their elephants. Could you take care of one at school?
Ask your class about the responsibilities that go along with owning a pet. Discuss
a pet’s need for space, food, companionship, waste disposal, etc.
Share the handout (page 31) about an elephant’s daily needs with your class.
An elephant needs a space of 2 m x 4 m to stand and is about 3.5 m tall.
Collect measurements of different areas of your school (playground, gym, class-
room) to see if an elephant could be kept there. What about an elephant’s food?
What about an elephant’s waste?
Using a map of your school’s local area, determine different routes an elepant
could take in order to get its proper daily exercise.
Are there favourite destinations that students think an elephant should visit?
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 22
Elephant Safari Humans and Nature
Social Studies and Geography
Elephants are everywhere! Well, maybe not real elephants, but humans have been fascinated by
elephants for centuries. This is evident by the number of elephant images we can see every day in
our homes, neighbourhoods, local shops, and in the media.
Why do you think there are so many elephant images around?
Start by asking you class, “What does the word ‘elephant’ mean to you?
What images does it conjure up? What does the word ‘elephant’ represent?”
Discuss the different ways we humans have incorporated elephants into our
culture. (See the list below for some examples).
Challenge your students to go on a 3-day Elephant Safari in their neighbourhood;
enourage them to keep an ESN (Elephant Sightings Notebook) and write down
entries every time they see or hear a reference to an elephant - from tv, books,
murals, statues, phrases, etc.). Students should record the date, location, and
context of each elephant sighting.
After the 3-day Safari, have students share their findings. Discuss similar and
distinct items on each other’s lists. Why are elephants so popular? What do the
elephants found represent?
Follow up by assigning small groups to research some of the different
representations of elephants and present to the class.
Elephants in Culture
Find out more about the examples on this list and add more of your own!
Cartoons - Disney’s Dumbo, Jean de Brunhoff’s Babar, Dr. Seuss’ Horton
Ceremonial Elephants - have been used in Asia as mounts for royal ceremonies and parades
Circus Elephants - elephants trained to perform as part of a circus spectacle
Industrial Elephants - Mahouts and elephants can be responsible for logging
and transportation
Jumbo - the name of a circus elephant that has become synonymous with “large”
Ganesha - the Hindu god of wisdom has the head of an elephant
Political Symbols - the elephant has been used to represent the U.S. Republican party
Temples - in southern Asia, many large temples keep a temple elephant
“The elephant in the room” - a phrase referring to an obvious truth that is not being addressed
White Elephants - are not purely white, they are light grey or pinkish in colour and are
considered sacred in Thailand and Burma
“White Elephant” - a phrase refering to something that is (or has become) an expensive burden
War Elephants - used for their size and to cross difficult terrain during the Greek and Roman
periods
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 23
Friends for Life: Mahouts and Elephants
Social Studies and Geography
This man is a “mahout” (MA-hoot) or elephant keeper.
A mahout and his charge are usually together for life.
People and elephants have been working together for thousands of
years. Elephant keepers are called mahouts, a word which comes
from an ancient Sanskrit word meaning “one who has great
measure”.
Humans and Nature
Calling all Elephants Communication and Friendship
Language Arts and Drama
Elephants communicate with each other in many of the same ways humans do: through sounds,
physical actions and facial expressions! According to Elephant Voices, some of the common
messages elephants give to each other are:
Let’s Go! This is usually voiced by the matriarch of the herd and can be repeated until she
convinces the rest of the group to start moving.

Mahouts work hard to train their elephants, using techniques that
have been passed down through generations of mahout families.
Often mahouts spend more time with their elephants than they do
with their own children. It’s no wonder they become so close!
Elephants are great helpers because of their size, strength, and
ability to pick up large and small objects with their trunks. They are
also used to help humans get to places which vehicles can’t
access.
Elephants have been involved in:
Logging - knocking over and dragging trees
War - toppling city walls and carrying soldiers on their backs
Transportation - taking people and goods over long distances and
bumpy terrain
How could an elephant help YOU in your daily life?
Contact Call This is a series of calls between two or more elephants. The first call says, “I’m
here, where are you”, the second is, “Here I am”, and the third is a “message received”
confirmation from the first elephant.
Tusk Clicking Elephants may click their tusks together during intense social interactions such as
a Greeting Ceremony or during interactions in which an elephant wishes to express solidarity with a
friend or family member.
Photo by: Steve Evans, 2007 Trunk Twisting Twisting the tip of the trunk back and forth in situations where an elephant is
apprehensive or unsure of what action to take.
Elephants to
the Rescue!
Elephants helped carry aid
workers into flooded areas Share the above examples with your class (or additional ones from
www.elephantvoices.org) and discuss some of the universal ways that we
of Thailand after the
tsunami in 2004. humans communicate with each other (try to move beyond formal language
structures and highlight nonverbal communication).

Where did they Go? Humans and Nature

Geography, and Math
The elephant population on the Indian Sub-continent has decreased dramatically over
the last centruy. Use the “Indian Sub-continent” map and question sheet (found on pages
26-27) to see just how many elephants we have lost since 1901.
After completing the sheet, ask the following discussion questions:
Why do you think the elephant population has decreased so much?
Why do you think people and elephants want to live on the same land?
Elephants are currently on the endangered list. Do you think there is a way that we
can save the elephants from extinction?
Identify one or two messages (i.e. ‘greeting’ and ‘I’m hungry’) and ask
students to outline, in full sentences, how we humans convey those messag-
es. This is an exercise to familiarize students with procedural-style writing.
Now divide the class into pairs or small groups. Using the handout provided
(page 34), encourage students to create their own language using ‘singing
sounds’ and actions. Students should decide upon what messages are the
most important ones to their imaginary species.
Groups can now create a conversation script/song using their new
communication system. Does their conversation make sense to an outsider?
How do you think humans figured out what elephants mean when they com-
municate with each other?

One way that people are helping the elephant population is by creating sections of land that are
designated for elephants and other wildlife. Check out WWF.org for more information.

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 24 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 25
Move to the Groove of Friendship Communication and Friendship
Music, Drama, and Dance
Theatre and Opera Quiz Theatre, Opera, and Dance
Drama, Dance, Music
Sydney and Penny show off their friendship through movement and dance in Sanctuary Song, both How much do you know about opera?
as young elephants playing and as old friends reuniting. With each of those two scenes, we see Match the words in the left column with the definitions on the right by writing the
a clear, short story telling of the bond between them. With your class, create your own stories of correspoding number beside each term.
friendship though dance and movement. (See page 12 for tips from our choreographer.)
Divide your class into groups of three to five.
Composer
Play them a short piece of instrumental music (we recommend the excerpt from 1 A person who works with singers on their singing technique,
Santuary Song found online at www.sanctuarysong.ca). care, and development of the voice. They may work with
Librettist singers on specific songs for performance
Now ask students to think of a scene depicting animals and friendship that is in-
spired by the music. They will create this scene through silent movement to the
2 A writer who imagines and writes the words that will be sung
Score in the production
music. Remind students to try to tell a story story with a clear beginning, middle,
and end. 3 The person responsible for the interpretation of the score
for production. He/She is the primary conductor and artistic
Opera
Play the music twice more through so groups can plan and discuss their scene. leader of the orchestra

4 The artist who leads the orchestra during a performance

Play the song through two or three more times for groups to rehearse to the music. Conductor
5 The person responsible for setting up and controlling the
Present scenes to the class and ask audience members to describe the story that electrical equipment for a production. He/She is also re-
was just portrayed on stage. Stage sponsible for the movement and set-up for special effects
during a produciton
Manager
6 An artist with musical training who writes the music for each
instrument and singer in the production
Performance
7 An organized person who is in charge of making sure all
operations run smoothly during the rehearsal process and
Did you Know: Director
performances

Female elephants spend
their entire lives together
with their female relatives,
living in herds and caring for
calves. In these groups, they
form lifeling friendships!
8 The person responsible for the overall production of the
performance. He/She coordinates the efforts of all artists
Music Director involved to ensure a unified production
9 The person who, working with the director, imagines the
Vocal Coach costumes, set pieces, props
10 The printed collection of words and music for a production
Lighting/Sound 11 The presentation of an entertainment to an audience
Technician 12 The person who creates the physical movements which
dancers or actors will perform on stage

Designer 13A theatrical performance where the story is told through

Photo by: Steve Evans, 2006
music and singing

Choreographer
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 26
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 27
The Watermelon Scene Theatre, Opera, and Dance
Drama, Dance, Music Where in the World? The Natural World
Geography
The following excerpt from Sanctuary Song is provided with permission from writer, Marjorie Chan,
for educational, classroom use only. In this scene, Sydney, an elephant who dreams of living in the forest,
is meeting her new zookeeper, James, for the first time. Over the years, Sydney and James become close
friends; this is where their friendship begins.

James approaches Sydney, slowly. He is afraid. As he James: Thirsty? A watermelon.

approaches, he trips and falls at Sydney’s feet.
Sydney and James size each other up. She sniffs at it suspicously. She likes the smell.

Sydney shakes her head, amused that she was afraid James: Well, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like watermelon!
of a very small person. Sydney: wa-ter-mel-on?
James laughs gently.
Both: Watermelon...
James: Hello, hello, hello. Hello. Hello.
Sydney: Smells like green. Smells like my dream.
Sydney: Hello?
James: Won’t you...
James: Hello. I won’t hurt you.
Sydney: I’d like to...
He slowly moves toward her and carefully removes
her chain. Both: try some...watermelon.

Sydney: Thank you. James: Smells sweet.

James: A friend? Sydney: Smells like green.

Sydney: Friend. Both: Smells like -

James: Uh-huh. James: a dream.

Sydney: You’re a friend? Sydney: A dream.

James: Uh huh. James: My name is James.

Sydney: You’re a friend. Sydney: Sydney!

James: Friend? She looks at the watermelon.

Both: Friend. Sydney: How do I get inside?

James: I’ve got something for ya. Don’t be afraid. James: Step on it!

Sydney: What is it? Sydney steps on the watermelon to open it.

James: Are you thirsty? End of scene.

Sydney: Thirsty

James: Are you hungry?

Sydney: Hungry. What is it?

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 28 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 29
What’s the difference? The Natural World
Science, Geography and Dance
Could You Take an Elephant Home? The Natural World
Science, Geography and Math
African elephant or Asian elephant? Here are some tips to help you tell the difference!
Anatomical Differences In one day, an elephant eats an enormous amount of food. A full-grown elephant
While all elephants are large, African elephants are the largest living species on the eats between 70 and 100 kg of food each day. Elephants eat only plant material, but
Size planet. Fully grown African elephants weigh between 4000 and 7000 kg and their they cannot digest the tough fibres of plants very efficiently. About 50% of what they
shoulders are 3 to 4 metres from the ground. Smaller than African elepahts, Asian take in passes through as waste. Elephants defacate about every 6 hours, leaving a
elephants weigh between 3000 and 6000 kg and have shoulder heights between 2 pile of about 10kg each time.
and 3.5 metres.
An elephant drinks between 120 and 190 litres of water each day, depending on the
Ears Elephants fan their ears to help keep themselves cool. African elephants have large
ears that reach up over their necks. Asian elephants, who live in cooler climates,
season. How many 2L pop bottles would that be? How much room would you need
to store a week’s worth of elephant water?
have smaller ears.

Skin The wrinkles on an elephant’s skin help it to stay cool by keeping skin moist after In one day, an elephant might eat: 60 kg of hay, 2 kg of elephant chow, 1/2 kg of
rolled oats, 1/4 kg of wheat bran and 5 kg of fruits and vegetables.
rolling in mud or bathing in water. African elephants have skin that is more wrinkled
than that of Asian elephants.
Elephants, like all animals, need to exercise in order to stay healthy. In the wild, they
Trunks There are more than 100,000 muscles in an elephant’s trunk which help it to pick walk 50 to 80 kilometers each day to find enough food and water. Even in captivity
up many objects from whole trees to paintbrushes. Elephants have projections on where they don’t need to find food, elephants still like to get their proper exercise.
the end of their trunks that help them to pick up small objects, such as twigs. African If your elephant walked 80 km each day, starting and ending at your school, what
elephants have two of these “fingers” while Asian elephants have only one. is the farthest place she might walk to? How many days would it take her to walk to
Ottawa?
Tusks All African elephants have tusks, though males have larger tusks than females. In
Asian elephants, tusks are usually only present in the males, with Asian females
Elephant food comes in 25kg bags and its approximate costs are below:
having only very small tusks or no tusks at all.
1 bag of Elephant Chow: $17.50
1 bag of Rolled Oats: $8.90
Backs African elephants have a ‘dip’ or ‘sway’ in their backs, with their highest point on
their back shoulders. Asian elephants have more rounded (convex) backs and their 1 bag of Ground Corn: $5.50
highest point is the middle of their back. 1 bag of Wheat Bran: $7.75
1 small bale of hay (15 kg) : $4.00
Behavioral Differences

Diet Both species of elephants are herbivores; they
consume only plant materials. African elephants
eat mainly grasses while Asian elephants eat
mainly leaves.
Similarities
All species of elephants are very social and are
organized in groups led by the matriarch (most
experienced female) of the group. There are
serious concerns about the population decrease of
both African and Asian elephants; both are listed as
endangered species.
An Elephant Joke:
Q: What’s the
difference between an
African elephant and an
Asian elephant?
A: About 3000 miles
How much food would it take to feed an elephant for a week? How much would that
cost? How many bales of hay would you need?
Estimate the size of a hay bale. How many bales of hay could you fit in your class-
room? How long would it take an elephant to eat a ‘classroom full’ of hay?
If your class were to sell the elephant waste as fetilizer (as many zoos do), how
much fertiziler would you be able to sell after a day? a week? a year?

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 30 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 31
Where did they Go? Humans and Nature
Geography, and Math
Where did they Go? Humans and Nature
Geography, and Math
with images from Discovering Elephants questions from Discovering Elephants
Which elephant (number) is the farthest south? _____________

Which elephant (number) is the farthest east? ______________

How many elephants are pictured on the map? _____________

How many real elephants are represented on the map?___________

This was the elephant population of the Indian Sub-continent in 1901.

Colour the following elephants red:

1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22
Nepal The red elephants represent the number lost to hunting, poaching, disease, capture,
Bhutan and other problems between 1901 and 1979.

How many elephants were left in 1979? ____________

India
Bangladesh What percentage of the 1901 population was left in 1979? _____________

Colour the following elephants yellow: 4

Colour the following elephants 1/2 yellow: 6, 8, 15, 21, 23
The yellow (or yellow parts or) elephants represent the numbers of elephants lost
between 1979 and 1990.
Bay of Bengal
Colour the remaining elephant (parts) green.
Arabian Sea

Map Key How many elephants were lost between 1979 and 1990? _________________
= 4,000 elephants
How many elephants were left? ____________
1901 population
What percentage of the 1901 elephant population remained in 1990? _________
1979 population
Guesstimate how many elephants are left in the Indian Subcontinent today. ______
1990 population
Source: National Geographic Magazine, May 1991. Locate the box in the map key marked ‘1901 population’. Colour 1/3 of the box red,
All figures are approximate.
1/3 yellow, and 1/3 green. All elephants should be one of these colours, so this box
Sri Lanka represents the total elephant population in 1901.
Colour the boxes representing the 1979 population and 1990 population the appropri-
ate colours.

Bonus
The Indian Sub-Continent Why do some of the elephants on the map have tusks and others do not? _________

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 32 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 33
Calling all Elephants Communication and Friendship
Language Arts and Drama
Glossary - Drama, Dance, Music
Record your invented language on this chart. We included an
example, but feel free to make up your own “I’m hungry” action. aria from the Italian for “air”, this is a song for a solo voice with musical accompani-
ment
Description of Sound/Action Meaning
bravo! a ‘well done’ shouted by the audience after an outstanding aria or performance.
Typically we say ‘bravo’ for men, ‘brava’ for women, and ‘brava tutti’ for the
Tap your stomach twice while making a loud, low-pitched, “mmmm, I’m hungry. entire company
mmmm” sound. The sound gets louder at the end of each “mmm”.
contact a style of performance movement where two or more dancers perform in close
physical contact with one another. It often involves shared weight and balance.
An example of contact in Sanctuary Song is a double sommersault by Sydney
and Penny

costume clothing and accessories worn onstange in performance. Costumes may be

elaborate, fanciful, or mimic contemporary or historical street clothes

libretto Italian for “little book”. It is the text of an opera. The plural of libretto is libretti

gamelan A gamelan is a musical ensemble of Indonesia typically featuring a variety of

instruments. The term refers more to the set of instruments than the players of
those instruments. A gamelan as a set of instruments is a distinct entity, built
and tuned to stay together — instruments from different gamelan are not inter-
changeable.

orchestra the group of musicians who accompany a staged presentation. In

Sanctuary Song, the orchestra is made up of a pianist, a violinist, and a musi-
cian playing percussion instruments

pitch the highness or lowness of a note, depending on its frequency (rate of vibratra-
tion)

pentatonic scale a five-note pattern (do re mi so la) used in some African, and East Asian music
and featured in Sanctuary Song to signify the jungle

percussion an instrument made of metal, wood, stretched skin or other material that is
instrument made to sound by striking, shaking, scraping or plucking. The many varied per-
cussion instruments fall into two basic categories: pitched and unpitched

props items held or used on stage by a stage performer during a performance

tempo the speed at which a piece of music is played

theme a melodic idea used as a basic building block in the construction of a

composition

rehearsal preparation for performance where elements of or the entire performance are
developed, practiced and refined

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 35

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 34
 Glossary - Elephants Glossary - Elephants
Jumbo a large African elephant made famous by P.T. Barnum’s circus between 1882
adapt to change in response to changing surroundings and conditions.
and 1885. Jumbo was so large that his name became synonymous with “huge”.
Jumbo was killed by a train in St. Thomas, Ontario, where there now stands a
adaptation process by which organisms change to increase their chance of survival
life-sized statue of Jumbo, erected in 1995 in his honour.
bull an adult male elephant.
mahout (MA hoot) an elephant handler. Mahouts are usually assigned to an elephant as
boys and stay with their elephants for life.
captivity a confined place. When animals are ‘in captivity’ they are restricted in where
they can go. This applies to a small cage as well as The Elephant Sanctuary’s mammoth a very large, hairy elephant relative with curved tusks. They became extinct
2,700 acres. about 10,000 years ago.
calf a young elephant of either sex.
matriarch female who is the head of a family or tribe. Elephant herds are led by a matri-
arch.
circus from the latin for ‘circle’, circuses have included animals from the start.Begin-
ning in Roman times, the circus used to be mainly horse and human perfor- pachyderm a word derived from the Greek for “thick skinned”. Elephants are members of the
mances. Later other animals and human-only performances were added. pachyderm family.
conservation the protection and careful use of wildlife and natural resources.
poaching illegally taking or hunting animals or fish.
cow an adult female elephant.
population the total number of members of a species living in a particular area at any one
time.
endangered an endangered species is a group of living things (plants or animals) that may
die out if protective measures are not taken. African and Asian elephants are reserve an area of land set aside for wildlife.
both endangered species.
sanctuary a place of safety or protection; a place where injured or unwanted animals are
extinct a species that no longer exists anywhere on earth. The wooley mammoth is
cared for; a holy place.
extinct.
species a unit of classification in animals and plants.
Ganesha the Hindu god of wisdom and knowledge. Ganesha has the head of an
elephant because the Indians consider elephants to be the most intelligent taxonomy classification (as of animals) using a system that is usually based on relationship.
animals.
trunk the long, flexible combination of nose and upper lip found on elephants
habitat loss the destruction or alteration of an area that makes it unsuitable for the species
that once lived there. tusk an elongated upper incisor (tooth) that grows outside the mouth of certain
animals, including elephants.
howdah an elephant “saddle”. Some versions are tented and adorned with jewels or
precious metals. ungulate a hoofed mammal such as an elephant, horse, deer, etc.
infrasound sound waves with frequencies so low that they are inaudible to humans. El-
zoo originally short for zoological garden; an establishment which keeps wild animals
ephants communicate with each other making infrasound ‘rumbles’. for study, conservation, or to display to the public.
ivory the hard, white material which makes up the tusks of elephants, walruses,
and mammoths.

Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 36 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 37
 Sources and Resources Sources and Resources
Print Web
Discovering Elephants by J. L. Jones This, The Elephant Sanctuary’s educaiton guide, is available on their Do you know an sanctuarysong.
song.ca
an interactive blog!
ca Visit our official website for more activities and
website and was a great resource for us in putting together our own study guide. www.elephants.com
luminato.com Luminato is Toronto’s festival of arts and creativity -

Elephants by Steve Bloom This stunning, 64-page book is filled with eighty pictures of elephants: African and
Elephant Joke? check Luminato’s other offerings for young people and share

Asian elephants, relaxing and at play, in the wild and domesticated. It provides a great way to share the wonder of Send it to us! We’ll post Sanctuary Song with your friends!
your elephant jokes and theatredirect.on.ca Theatre Direct Canada
elephants with your class or to have on hand for their own research. ISBN:0500543445
elephant safari sightings tapestrynew
newopera.com Tapestry new opera works
Just for Elephants by Carol Buckley Written by the co-founder of The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, on our blog. elephants.com The Elephant Sanctuary’s website. Check out the
Tennessee, this book for children tells the real-life story of Shirley the elephant and her arrival at the live “Elecam” and download the teacher resources for grades K to 3 or
sanctuary, her reunion with Jenny, and the people who helped her along the way. ISBN-13 987-0-88448-283-3;

Prefect Partners by Cynthia Graber We used this article from ASK (Arts and Sciences for Kids) Magazine
sanctuarysong.ca 4 to 8.
elephantnaturefoundation.com The Elephant Nature Park is an
for information about mahouts and elephants in culture. The article ran in ASK Volume 6, Number 9 in Nov/Dec 2007 elephant sanctuary in Thailand.
pages 6 to 13. ISBN 1535-4105. pawsweb.org The Performing Animals Welfare Society (PAWS)
provides sanctuary for a variety of animals.
elephantcare.org/mancover.htm The official elephant handlers’ manual produced by Elephant Care International.
African Elephants: A Celebration of Majesty by Daryl Balfour, Sharna Balfour, et al. There are over The guide covers everything from elephant health and handling, to tips on elephant purchase. For those wishing to know
200 photographs in this incredible book. ISBN-10: 0789203898; ISBN-13: 978-0789203892 what the professional mahouts are talking about, this is the site.
elephant.elehost.com Check out this website for loads of information about elephants, their ancestors, and great fun
Elephant Rescue by Jody Morgan Juvenile Literature. This book traces the efforts of individuals and organiza- facts.
tions that confront the international ivory trade and lobby indigenous governments to create protective environmtents.
ISBN-13: 9781552975947. elephantvoices.org This website is an excellent resource for understanding elephant communication! They have
posted databases of examples of the ways elephants communicate audibly and visually, and what they are ‘saying’ to
each other. This site also has a great audio quiz where you can test your knowledge of elephant sounds!
Elephants in Thailand: Myth, Art and Reality by Rita Ringis This illustrated book surveys a wide range of
elephant lore in Thailand, past and present. ISBN-10: 9676530689; ISBN-13: 978-9676530684 indyzoo.com The Indianapolis Zoo’s website has lots of great resources in the Education section. Check out their Proj-
ect Elephant page for photos and a chart for the differences between African and Asian elephants.
panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/species/ Go to this website to get the World Wildlife Foundation’s fact sheets
Elephant Woman: Cynthia Moss Explores the World of Elephants by Laurence Pringle and
about African and Asian elephants and to read about the initiatives that the WWF is undertaking in order to protect the
Cynthia Moss This book for ages 9 to 12 includes some of Cynthia Moss’s photographs and tell about her work with
world’s elephant population.
elephants. ISBN 0689801424.
sheldrickwildlifetrust.com The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya cares for orphaned elephants and then reintegrates
them into the wild. You can provide foster care funds for an elephant online through this site.
Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War by Yukio Tsuchiya. Children’s Book.
ISBN-10: 0395861373; ISBN-13: 978-0395861370. torontozoo.com Learn about the zoo! Located near Sheppard Ave and Meadowvale Rd in Scarborough, Ontario, The
Metro Toronto Zoo houses African elephants - how far are you from the nearest elephant? The zoo’s website lists informa-
tion about all of the animals it keeps - including a section for African elephants.
Forest of the Pygmies by Isabel Allende Teen Fic-
tion. Eighteen-year-old Alexander Cold and his grandmother The Urban Elephant traffic.org TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network. Current information about the ivory trade can be found here.
travel to Africa on an elephant-led safari, but discover a cor-
See the documentary that inspired Sanctuary Song!
rupt world of poaching and slavery. ISBN-10: 0060761962
ISBN-13: 978-0060761967. VideoCBCtv has a video introucing us to the Elephant Sanctuary. We get to see and hear from Carol Buckley, the founder of
Where: National Film Board
Mediatheque the sanctuary and explore the relationships that develop between humans and elephants there.
Ghost Boy by Iain Lawrence Teen Fiction. Unhappy at (Richmond and John in Toronto)
www.cbc.ca/national/blog/video/environmentscience/elephant_sanctuary.html
home, a fourteen-year-old albino boy who thinks of himself as Elecam The Elephant Sanctuary has posted videos online at their YouTube site and also has a live “Elecam” which
Harold the Ghost runs away to join the circus, where he works gives the public access to the elephant sanctuary every day!
When: June 8, 2008, 11 am www.youtube.com/user/elephantsanctuarytn www.elephants.com
with the elephants and searches for a sense fo who he is.
ISBN-10: 044041668X; ISBN-13: 978-0440416685. National Geographic’s website is a great resource! Go to the link below and search for “elephant” to get the most
For more information, search the up-to-date offerings of elephant videos. This site is a must-visit!
Luminato website for www.news.nationalgeographic.com
Unforgetable Elephant Jokes by Tania Kingfisher. The Urban Elephant PBS Documentary is available from pbs.org for order. This is the documentary that
‘the luminato reel’
Published by Kingfisher. ISBN 0753457067. inspired Sanctuary Song! Portions of the episode where Jenny and Sydney reunite are also available on the Elephant
Sanctuary’s YouTube channel, or by searching youtube.com for ‘urban elephant’.
FREE EVENT www.youtube.com/user/elephantsanctuarytn
Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 38 Sanctuary Song Study Guide Page 39
 Sanctuary Song

Composed by Abigail Richardson Original Set & Costume Design Kelly Wolf

Written by Marjorie Chan Original Video Design Luisa Quintavalle

Music Director Wayne Strongman Original Lighting Design Andrea Lundy

Stage Director Lynda Hill Choreographer Viv Moore

Cast Xin Wang, soprano

Alvin Crawford, bass
with Sharmila Dey
and Frank Cox-O’Connell

Orchestra Violin: Michael Schulte

Piano: Lizzie Lavado
Percussion: Ryan Scott

Stage Manager Kathryn Westoll

Production Manager Caroline Hollway

Producers Clarissa DeYoung

Susan Worthington

Education Program Jessi Linn Davies

Amber Ebert

Marketing & Publicity Anna Mathew

Kim Blackwell

Sanctuary Song was commissioned by Theatre Direct, with the support of the Laidlaw Foundation
and developed in partnership with Tapestry, with the support of Opera.ca.
Special thanks to: Justin Welsh, Tamara Hummel, Ian Funk, Chris Foley and Beth Brown
for their contribution to the development of this work.

This study guide was written and edited by Jessi Linn Davies.
Thanks to Kelly Wolf and Colleen Perrin for their research.
We gratefully acknowledge the ongoing support of: