In our most recent historical
review, students take the audience on a tour of early California up to statehood. The show
begins just before the arrival of Cabrillo in 1542, exploring the life of California
Indians before hispanic colonization and settlement. Missions, presidios, and pueblos
can't be far behind. With tough rancheros, bold Russian and American traders, as well as
the adventures in the war with Mexico and the gold rush, California Missions is filled
with colorful characters and catchy tunes.
CHARACTERS:
FLEXIBLE CASTING:
From 11-40 students.
Use as many Administrators, Wives, Californios, etc. as desired; one student can also play
more than one role. Note that all roles can be played by either boys or girls; see our
comments on page 35 of the Teacher's Guide |
JB (Director)
Johnson (assistant to JB)
Native Americans (group #1)
Joseph de Gálvez
Administrators
Junipero Serra
Captain Portolá
Set Director
Girl
Native Americans (group #2)
Costume Designer
Ranchero Wives
Farmers (husband and wife)
James Polk
Jedediah Smith
John Sutter
James Marshall
Californians
and a Chorus made up of all students who are not playing roles at the
time.
(Lots of people are busy on a movie set. They are moving things around, rushing back and
forth. There is a director’s chair that says, cleverly enough, "DIRECTOR"
on the back. The Director, JB enters, with her assistant JOHNSON, who always carries a
clipboard.)
JB (shouting out directions, perhaps clapping hands to get attention): Okay, people,
let’s get moving. We’ve got a movie to film and we’re already behind
schedule.
JOHNSON: We’re all set, JB.
(to CAST and CREW of movie)
Your heard the director. Scene One of JB’s most brilliant work, "California
Missions."
JB (cringing): Aaaach.
JOHSNON: What is it, JB?
JB: That title. California Missions. It’s so, so…
JOHNSON: Mundane?
JB (ignoring JOHNSON): So…
JOHNSON: Prosaic?
JB: Icky. It’s icky. It needs something more.
(Thinks for a second, and then a light-bulb goes on over her head)
I’ve got it! Johnson, I’m a genius.
JOHNSON: What is it?
JB: The new title of my movie:
(pause: emphasize the “and more”)
California Missions—and more.
JOHNSON: Brilliant, JB!
CLASS (sings):
We’re gonna make a movie ’bout the Missions Song 1
The kind of film our fans will all adore
Yeah it’s got grit and luster
A holiday blockbuster
California Missions—Missions and more.
Early California so exciting
There’s mountains and there’s valleys to explore
A history bonanza
A film extravaganza
California Missions—Missions and more.
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
On with the show
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Cue the lights and cam’ras here we go.
From Spanish exploration up to statehood
There’s tragedy and romance here galore.
Let’s travel the king’s highway
JB:
As long as it is my way
CLASS:
California Missions—Missions and more.
California Missions—Missions and more.
(JB takes her seat in the Director’s chair. The set clears. Three NATIVE AMERICANS
enter. Note that the gender is important for two of these characters.)
JOHNSON: Okay, Scene One. It’s the sixteenth century, before the Spanish start
exploring California. Where are the Indians?
NATIVE AMERICAN #1: Excuse me.
JOHNSON: Oh, you’re here. You look great.
NA #1 (female): Thanks. But you really shouldn’t call us Indians.
NA#2 (male): That’s right. There are hundreds of thousands of us throughout the west
coast, and we belong to dozens of different tribes.
NA #3: Hey, has anybody seen my acorns?
(looks around, panicked)
I think I’ve lost my acorns!
JOHNSON: What?
NA #2 (pointing): Is that them in that basket over there?
NA #3: Yes! My acorns!
(races over and grabs basket)
I love acorns. Little ones. Big ones. Some of them get these cute little lines on them and
look just like they’re smiling. See? There are fourteen different varieties of acorn
in early California. Would you like me to name them?
JOHNSON: No! I mean, we’ve got to shoot this scene. Are you all so, uh, fond of
acorns?
NA #1: No. That’s the point. We live in all kinds of places and live all kinds of
lives.
NA #1:
Song 2
Some of us make baskets
NA #2:
Some make great canoes
NA #3:
Some of us wear deerskins
NA #1:
Some wear just tatoos.
NA #1:
I live in the desert
NA #2:
I live by the sea
NA #3:
I live in the mountains
Near an acorn tree!
ALL THREE:
Don’t call us Indians
We are not all the same
Don’t call us Indians
We do not know that name
We’re Chumash and we’re Yokuts
Miwok and Pomo too
Don’t call us Indians
If that’s alright with you.
NA #1:
Some of us pick berries
NA #2:
Some of us catch fish
NA #3:
Some of us find acorns
What a nutty dish!
(getting carried away)
Acorn paste for breakfast
Really tasty goop
Lunch is acorn porridge
Dinner’s acorn soup!
(Spoken:) I LOVE acorns!
ALL THREE and CHORUS:
Don’t call us Indians
We are not all the same
Don’t call us Indians
We do not know that name
We’re Chumash and we’re Yokuts
Miwok and Pomo too
Don’t call us Indians
If that’s alright with you.
(NATIVE AMERICANS exit)
JB: Cut! Brilliant. Perfect. It’s got a message but it’s catchy. And
there’s the food angle. I’m not a big fan of acorn porridge myself, but I think
there may be an untapped audience out there of nut lovers. Johnson—get me on one of
those cooking shows for the publicity tour.
JOHNSON: Right, JB. Okay, Scene Two. We need Joseph de Gálvez on the stage. Where
is the Spanish Visitor-General of Mexico?
GÁLVEZ: (entering, accompanied by ADMINSTRATORS. HE is holding a letter):
At last my request has been granted from the King. We shall send an expedition to Alta
California and colonize it for Spain.
ADMINISTRATOR #1: Excellent, Governor Gálvez. But we Spanish have claimed all of
California for 200 years. In 1542 Cabrillo sailed to San Diego, and in 1602 Vizcaíno
charted Monterey Bay. Why send an expedition now in 1769?
GÁLVEZ: Why now? Because the Russians and British are poking their noses around our
territory. Why now? Because for 200 years we have done nothing with Alta California. Why
now? Because it will be fun!
ADMINISTRATOR #2: But how do we do it?
GÁLVEZ: How? How we always do it, of course. We’ll follow the famous Spanish
three-step plan to territorial expansion.
ADMINISTRATORS #1 and #2 (together): The three-step plan?
GÁLVEZ: Don’t they teach you anything in college these days? Your résumés
explicitly stated that you had taken Imperialism 101: Introduction to Being a Colonial
Power.
ADMINISTRATOR #1: Uh, I think I may have missed a couple of those classes.
GÁLVEZ: The three-step plan of expansion is quite simple. Repeat after me:
Missions.
ADMINISTRATORS #1 and #2 (together): Missions.
GÁLVEZ: Presidios.
ADMINISTRATORS #1 and #2 (together, baffled): Presidios?
GÁLVEZ: Presidios are forts. And the third step is building pueblos.
ADMINISTRATORS #1 and #2 (together): Pueblos.
GÁLVEZ: Altogether now.
ADMINISTRATORS #1 and #2 (together, chanting, going faster and faster):
Missions, presidios, and pueblos. Missions, presidios and pueblos. Missions, presidios and
pueblos. RAH!
GÁLVEZ: Now you get it.
The first step towards our ambition Song 3
Is to build ourselves a mission
And then turn the natives Christian
It’s really for the best
Then we’ll fortify that mission
With presidios positioned
To discourage opposition
To our California quest.
GÁLVEZ and ADMINISTRATORS:
Missions, presidios and pueblos
A three-step plan to stretch our Spanish rule
Missions, presidios and pueblos
The New World will be ours
The New World will be ours
The New World will be ours and that’s so cool.
For step three we’ll build a city
Though this pueblo won’t be pretty
A few families tough and gritty
Will ranch and farm the land
You might call it colonizing
But we’re really globalizing
Though the natives are down-sizing
In the end they’ll like the plan!
GÁLVEZ, ADMINISTRATORS and CHORUS:
Missions, presidios and pueblos
A three-step plan to stretch our Spanish rule
Missions, presidios and pueblos
The New World will be ours
The New World will be ours
The New World will be ours and that’s so cool.
(THEY exit)
JB (from chair): I love it. It’s got pathos. I don’t even know what pathos is,
but I know that scene’s got it. Keep rolling. Cue Junipero!
(JUNIPERO SERRA and CAPTAIN PORTOLÁ enter)
PORTOLÁ: Father Serra, the mission here in San Diego is really beginning to take shape.
SERRA: It is a miracle, Captain Portolá. I thought our overland trip here from Mexico was
difficult, but it was even harder for the ships. We are fortunate that more of us did not
die.
PORTOLÁ: True. But we have now established a Spanish presence in San Diego and Monterey.
SERRA: And someday we will have missions and pueblos up and down California along El
Camino Real, the King’s highway.
PORTOLÁ: Perhaps you too will be famous one day. Children will study Father Junipero
Serra and his missions.
SERRA: Ya think? Naaaaah. Wouldn’t that be horribly boring? I am just a humble
Franciscan friar doing my best to serve as I can.
PORTOLÁ: The mission is almost finished. Soon we will hang up the bells.
SERRA: Ah, I love the bells. They have traveled a long distance to become part of our
little mission. Our building is modest now, but someday it will rise up with tall brick
walls. The ringing of the bells means our work here has just begun:
Hear the bells
Song 4
Cheer the bells
These lovely bells gonna ring away
Hear the bells
San Diego to Monterey.
I love the smell of adobe
Drying in the sun
The walls are rising
Let’s start baptizing
Our mission has begun.
SERRA and PORTOLÁ:
Hear the bells
Cheer the bells
These lovely bells gonna ring away
Hear the bells
San Diego to Monterey.
PORTOLÁ:
I love the sight of a cornfield
Furrows deep and straight
The grain is rising
So civilizing
Our mission’s taking shape.
SERRA, PORTOLÁ, and CHORUS:
Hear the bells
Ding dong
Those lovely bells gonna ring away
Ding dong
San Diego to Monterey
Ding dong
These lovely bells gonna ring away
Ding dong
San Diego to Monterey.
Song List
To hear a Real Audio song sample, click on
the titles that are underlined. To hear the same samples with Windows Media Player, click
on "Windows Media" near the name of the song. Please note that internet song
samples have very low fidelity and rest assured that the CDs we sell sound much better.
Problems hearing the music? Visit our Audio
Help page.
Top of Page
| Vocabulary
Terms from California Missions |
mundane
prosaic
adore
grit
luster
bonanza
extravaganza
galore
globalizing
down-sizing
pathos
furrows
biodegrade
parcel
Zeitgeist
machismo
|
élan
fandango
tango
squatter
pelt
dredge
skirmish
limbo
Historical
Terms
statehood
Chumash
Yokut
Miwok
Pomo
Alta
California
|
Cabrillo
Vizcaíno
imperialism
presidio
pueblo
El Camino Real
Franciscan
adobe
hacienda
tallow
Californios
manifest destiny
Compromise of 1850
Eureka
Minerva |
Top of Page
Teacher Reviews:
To submit your own review, just e-mail it to ron@badwolfpress.com
Be sure to include your school name and what grade you teach.
"My fourth graders performed this play
last year, and it was a huge success. I loved that it coincided chapter by chapter with
our history text. The kids were so excited to learn the next song, but I would tell them
we needed to learn about it first so they would eagerly dig right in! Catchy songs, clever
lyrics (the adults were cracking up.) Highly recommended!"
---Dawn Smith, Teacher (4th grade), Pachappa Elementary, Riverside, CA
"I just love 'California Missions.' I
will be doing it annually. Keep up the good work. Thank you for your assistance with
education. Of course, now I'll be singing 'Sugar Cubes' until we begin our next
musical!"
---Lance Poldberg, Teacher (4th grade), Butterfield Elementary, Lake Elsinore, CA
"State standards covered...good songs and
lyrics. Parents loved it. Humorous!"
---Vince Rosato, Teacher (4th grade), Searles Elementary, San Learnardo, CA
Top of Page
Two of You are Planning to
Put the Play on Together??
If you ask us, we always suggest having just one class put on a play. We
think each kid is more involved, and we think it's easier for you to deal with a smaller
number of students.
But lots of teachers disagree with us.
They've been happily doing the plays together for years.
In fact, Amy Anderson, the teacher who does four musicals a year (and she talks about this on our home page) thinks two classes
together is the way to go.
Then what do I need to purchase?
Think of a musical play like a library book. Only one teacher may "check out"
(i.e. put on) the play at a time. If another teacher wants to produce the music play that
you purchased in a separate production and at a later date, you may loan
out your original plan and student copies.
Your "library" needs two copies of the play for two teachers to
put on the play at the same time. If a teacher wants her class to put on the play with
your class, she needs to buy her own copy of the play. For three or more teachers
to produce a play together, purchase three copies for your "library" and Bad
Wolf extends a Site License for all the teachers and
classes at your school.
But why can't I just make extra copies of
the play? If copies are made for a class other than the purchasing
teacher's, it's an infringement of U.S. copyright law. Yikes! Bad Wolf
likes to toe the line where Uncle Sam is concerned, so we offer a discount on the purchase
of multiple copies of the play.
If you are 2 teachers putting on the play
together...................................$60
* Includes 2 copies of the book and CD (save almost $20 off of
buying
them separately) so each of you has a CD and
book to work with.
* Free bonus: We'll throw in our famed
"Earthworms on Parade" CD. Y'know,
that's the one with the six
goofiest songs about earthworms ever written
($9.95 value.)
* Includes the right to reproduce the
script for the students in both of
your individual classes.
Questions? Call or email Ron Fink at (888) 827-8661 or ron@badwolfpress.com
(back to top)7+ |
|
