PAUL REVERE: REVOLUTIONARY MESSENGER STUDY GUIDE
Prepared by Cathy Kaemmerlen
SS4H1a, SS4H1b, SS4H1c, ELAGSE4SL1, TAES4.11
ARTISTS’ BACKGROUND:
Playwright Cathy Kaemmerlen is a professional storyteller, actress, writer, and creator of shows ever since she can remember. For the past thirty years she has written, toured, performed, and researched over 40 shows for over 5,000 audiences of all ages. Her focus over the past ten years has been on historical one-person shows. PAUL REVERE is her first one-woman show written for another performer. She tours through her own production company Tattlingtales Productions, Teaching Museum of Fulton County, and the Georgia and SC Touring Arts Rosters as an independent contractor. She is the author of four books.
Andrew Crigler is a poet, teaching artist, director, and actor from Atlanta. He received his BA in Theatre and Performance studies from Kennesaw State University with a minor in dance. He works as a freelance theatre professional and has performed with the Alliance Theatre, Theatrical Outfit, Serenbe Playhouse, Collective Project Inc, and Telltale Theatre. He has taught theatre classes at the Alliance, GA Ensemble Theatre, GA Shakespeare, Fabrocation Theatre Co, Forefront Arts, and Jitterbug Performing Arts.
PROGRAM SUMMARY:
Paul Revere is best known for his midnight ride warning the locals that the British regulars were coming. Surprisingly, in his time, he was not proclaimed an important figure. Why is he one today? In this 45 minute one-man portrayal, the audience will learn the answer to this question as well as more facts about Paul Revere, including his other rides and pre-War and war activities. Paul was a well respected silversmith as well as a member of the Sons of Liberty. His reaction to the Boston Massacre with his famous engraving, his part in the Boston Tea Party, and his famous ride (One if by land; two if by sea) will all come to life with audience participation. Also look for the actor to appear in period costume, singing period music.
OBJECTIVES:
.To gain an understanding of this important period of time in the fight for our independence from England
.To learn about the contributions of Paul Revere.
.To learn about the life and times of Paul Revere.
.To learn more about the Boston Massacre, Tea Party, and the midnight ride
LOOK FORWARD TO:
.Learning the difference between legend (Longfellow’s poem) and the story from a primary source (the account by Paul Revere)
.Re-enacting the Boston Massacre, Tea Party, and the Midnight Ride
.Hearing period music
.Feeling as if you were there
EXCERPTS FROM HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW: THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE:
Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.
On the eighteenth of April, 1771
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, if the British march
By land or sea from the town tonight,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church Tower as a signal light.
One if by land and two if by sea:
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm.
For the country folk to be up and to arm.
So through the night rode Paul Revere
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door.
And a word that shall echo for evermore
Through all our history to the last,
The people will awaken and listen to hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.
BEFORE THE SHOW:
.Read the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and discuss the series of event occurring on the evening of April 18, 1775. Discuss events that led up to his ride: taxation, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party
.Discuss why you think the midnight ride of Paul Revere was so heroic.
AFTER THE SHOW:
.Discuss the differences in the accounts of Paul Revere and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
.Discuss why you think the ride and actions of Paul Revere were not so revered in his era as they are today.
.Discuss why you think Paul Revere is a heroic figure and part of the third grade social studies standards.
VOCABULARY:
Tories: colonists loyal to the King of England
Loyalists: another name for colonists loyal to the King of England
Patriots: those colonists loyal to the fight for independence from England
Whigs: another name for colonists loyal to the fight for independence; also the name of our first political party.
Lobster backs and redcoats: slang terms given to the British soldiers
Yankee Doodles: slang term given by the British in reference to the colonial fighters in the French and Indian War, making fun of the way they dressed.
A Doodle: someone who tries to put on airs and wears fancy clothes but fails to succeed.
Indentured Servant: an unpaid apprentice for 7-9 years who learns a trade from a skilled tradesman
Minute men: patriot militia from local towns and villages trained to be available at a “minute’s” notice
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
WHO WAS PAUL REVERE? By Roberta Edwards, Crosse & Dunlop, 2011
PAUL REVERE AND THE WORLD HE LIVED IN by Esther Forbes
JOHNNY TREMAIN by Esther Forbes (Newberry Award Winner)
IN HIS OWN WORDS: PAUL REVERE by George Sullivan, Scholastic Press
PAUL REVERES RIDE: THE LANDLORD’S TALE by Longfellow/Santore (illus), Harcourt Brace
PAUL REVERES RIDE by Longfellow/Monica Vachula (illus), Boyds Mill Press, c 2003.
HEROES OF AMERICAN HISTORY: PAUL REVERE PATRIOT by Carin T Ford, Enslow Pubs, 2003
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/yankee_Doodle
www.earlyamerica.com/music/yankee_doodle
www.masshist.org/database: three accounts of Paul Revere’s ride by Paul Revere
A&E Biography: PAUL REVERE: THE MIDNIGHT RIDER DVD
TECHNICAL NEEDS SHEET:
Clean, clear space: auditorium, gym, multipurpose room, cafeteria, empty classroom. For power point accompanying presentation: need lap top computer, screen, and projector.