A musical scripted and choreographed by Judy Bejarano of Impact Dance and Kim Lang of High Performance Dance Theatre

An entertaining, educational and cultural performance of dance, theater and robotics.
Enjoy clever human and robotic characters, robotic puppets, dazzling special effects, lighting and sound.

Production and Company:

Fangalangus Island is a musical extravaganza combining the choreography and talents of Judy Bejarano of Impact Dance and Kim Lang, founder of High Performance Dance Theatre, both of Fort Collins, CO. In 1992 Bejarano and Lang were commissioned to create a story and vision for an interactive children’s theme park. In 1998 they brought the story to life as this children’s musical. Adding to the production’s marvels are Vic Lang’s delightful state-of-the-art robotic characters developed by Symborg Labs which is a leading developer of interactive robotic technology and animation control systems. Vic Lang and Jason Everson’s set designs are an integral part of the performance. They move, growl and boom. Jon Whatley’s lighting designs dance with the on-stage movements and moods. The original costuming sparkles and punctuates the characters and their activities. This innovative, modern production speaks to issues of contemporary life.

Storyline:

Fangalangus Island is an imaginary island created when a young boy named Jake locks away his imagination after being told that it is getting him in trouble. The first part of the story is about the child Jake. The second part of the story is about the adult Jake and his journey to reclaim what he lost so many years ago in childhood. He returns to release his imprisoned imagination. Along the way, he saves the island and its inhabitants and he learns the three keys to imagination: compassion, knowledge, and creativity. The message is that there is a need to foster creativity and imagination in all of us.

Characters:

Many clever characters inhabit Fangalangus Island and this musical. Encounter 15 human characters and 4 robots. Fangalangus Island is the home of Queen Eugenia, the Quitaberry Fairies, the hair loving Trolicks, Treemann (an 11-foot talking tree), and his brother Shrumann (a short talking mushroom). Zed, a state-of-the-art interactive robot, narrates the story. All the robotic characters can see, hear, speak and move. They are easy to manipulate and completely wireless. The operators stand at a state-of-the-art control panel to see and hear what the characters do and coordinate the movements.

Creativity is the power to believe that lines don’t have to be straight, but rather can curve and twist in fascinating ways…. All colors of the rainbow can exist if they are given room to shine. (Excerpt from Fangalangus Island)

Dear Teachers!

This Performance Guide gives background information and suggests activities that enhance and expand the educational impact of the KCIC performance of Fangalangus Island. It explores ways of bringing the classroom into the community and the vise versa. Use it pre- or post- performance. Please complete and return the enclosed evaluations to Beth Kret at the KCIC Office, 1515 N. Academy Blvd., Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80909 or FAX 597-3343

Classroom Activities:

Discuss Imagination: Brainstorm associated words like creativity, invention, fantasy, discovery, innovation, curiosity, make-believe and problem solving.

Answer the FOLLOWING:

What is your imagination?
What unlocks your imagination?
What is valuable about it?
Can imagination be learned?

Take an Imagination Journey:

Direct an exercise of visualization. Close eyes, imagine a setting (forest, sea, mountain, desert); add a dwelling (castle, skyscraper, hut); visualize rooms with color, texture, smells, sounds; add characters, costumes. Create a plot. Add various moods of music.

Read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

Before the presentation:

• Create an area in the classroom for an audience. Invite parents, administrators or other classes to watch presentations. Discuss audience behaviors.

• Have students write to their parents announcing the field trip to the play, Fangalangus Island.

After the Presentation:

• Create a catalogue of characters. Write descriptions and illustrate.

• Create a travel poster to Fangalangus Island.

• Create a class newspaper about all the facets of the presentation. Include news stories about the plot and characters, reviews and imaginary interviews with the characters.

• Create a board game using the characters and plot of the story.

• Invent new sets and costumes for the play. Add a character.

• Recreate or invent a set in the classroom. Use huge pieces of stuffed butcher paper or refrigerator boxes.

Look at Charles Schultz’s Snoopy and his imagination.

Imagination/Creativity…

Creativity is the ability to create. Imagination is what we use to do it. It is a process, a way of thinking. "Creativity, it has been said, consists of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know….Hence, to think creatively we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted." (George Kneller, Art and Science of Creativity, 1965). Creativity and imagination may be hard to define; but we know it when we see it, experience it, use it. It happens when all the key elements come together. We call this the "Ah-Ha!" or Eureka! effect. Stories about it have been around since the story of Archimedes’ sudden insight (while in the bathtub) about how to determine the relative quantities of gold and silver. Eureka means, "I have found it!"

Imagination/creativity is:

• Seeing in new ways

• Challenging assumptions

• Recognizing patterns and connections

• Taking risks

• Using chance

• Constructing networks

Educators ask if imagination can be learned? It has been studied, analyzed, dissected. It certainly can be cultivated, just as it can be "squelched." Many roads lead to imagination. Most often people report feeling the most creative when involved with the arts. Howard Gardner, Harvard professor of psychology and education, states: "By a curious twist, the word art and creativity have become closely linked in our society. (Gardner, Creating Minds, 1993)

What is its value in society/ human civilization? We associate creativity with doing and experimenting. It encourages:

• Self-confidence

• Non-conformity

• Exploration and thinking with logic and beyond logic

• Exposure to new and old ideas/concepts/knowledge

• Respect

• Novelty

Sources of Interest for Teachers:

Any book by Howard Gardner or Betty Edwards
Inventions and Discoveries by Tina Harris
Imagination: Springboard to Creativity by Kennedy Center Education Department
Creativity and Learning by Jerome Kagan
Five Star Minds by Tom Wujec
Art and Science of Creativity by George Kneller
Power of Mindful Learning by Ellen Langer
Raising Curious Kids by Nancy Sokol Green
Robotics…

Background and History

Karel Capek invented the term "robot" for a 1920’s futuristic science fiction play. It comes from a Czech word meaning "forced labor or drudgery." However, the concept has been around for a millennium. In Jewish folklore, "Golems" were said to be made of clay, but brought to life as walking statues. In Greek myths the god Hephaestus made mechanical people and the engineer Daedalus is said to have created walking statues to guard the labyrinth on Crete. In actuality, it is recorded that moveable statues of the gods were used in Greek temples to "awe" worshippers. The Chinese built mechanical people and animals by the 4th century. By the 13th century European clockmakers were making "clockwork" robots or automatons capable of repetitive, automatic actions. Between WWI and WWII, robotics captivated people. Inspired by Capek’s play and by the images of modern machinery that were everywhere, mechanics began experimenting with electric power and radio-control devices – both new inventions of the day. Robots could do simple tricks and were manually controlled. "Showbots" were built for amusement parks, shopping malls, movies and television. After WWII industrial robots, usually a computer-controlled arm with a gripper, were invented for use in factories. None of these early inventions could "think." These radio-controlled machines were simply puppets. Today’s generation of robots are used for exploration of space, the deep oceans, and in dangerous situations of fire and explosion. The Lunar and Mars Rovers and Landers have won a place in our hearts and our history.

What is a Robot?

The term "robot" is used to describe a variety of machines that come in different sizes, shapes and skills. The official definition, from the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), is a "reprogrammable, multifunctional machine designed to manipulate materials, parts, tools or …devices, through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks." True robots think, move, and sense. Thinking separates them from other machines. A robot must be able to process information - input, in order to come up with a conclusion - output. However, computers that "think" are not robots. Robots must also be able to move. We imagine the mechanical-man robot, looking slightly less than human, but moving on two hinged legs with gripper arms. Scientists have actually marveled at and studied the way insects move and adapted that toward robotic movement. A robot must also sense. Sensors send messages to the brain or give feedback to the computer. This feedback is what makes a true robot. Feedback allows the robot to react to changes rather than following a fixed program.

Artificial Intelligence /Future Robots

Will computers become as smart as, or even smarter than, human beings? In theory it is possible through computer intelligence, which is lightning fast. To become smarter than humans, computers need to be organized more like the amazing human brain and be allowed to learn. The human brain is built with billions of nerve cells (a neural network) and can work on lots of pieces of information at a time. Researchers are working on building an artificial neural network from a 3-dimensional arrangement of electronic chips. They have written programs that make ordinary computers work like a neural network. This allows computers to recognize human speech, human handwriting, and images from video cameras. "Neural networks" are "trained" not programmed. Scientists are creating animates. These small artificial animals move about, sense their environment and learn to perform tasks. Researchers at MIT are also developing a human-looking robot called "COG" and trying to give "COG" the mental ability of a 2-year-old child.

Classroom Activities:

Brain-Storm the technology that we have to give robots senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste. A school-teaching robot would need noise sensors. A fire-fighting robot would need smoke and heat sensors. Hint: Video camera feedback would overload the robot computers. Simple sonar works best for sensing the environment.

List the famous robots from popular culture. Think of Star Wars, Jetsons, Star Trek, 2001, etc. What are they like? Don’t forget androids, cyborgs, and humanoids. Invite the students to bring in videos, books, and comics for the teacher to share after reviewing. Check out Bicentennial Man with Robin Williams.

Invite students to bring in robotic toys for the teacher to share after examining. What human characteristics do they have? What characteristics are superhuman?

List some of the uses for robots that we hear about on the news. These might include exploration of deep sea, space, volcanoes, bomb detonation, factories, and entertainment.

Sources of Interest:

MUSICAL THEATER
People who make movies use camera angles, stunt people, and many devices to make the story seem real. Stage productions ask the audience to “suspend belief” (pretend) that the play’s actions are really happening. Because this is a musical with songs and dances, the audience is also asked to accept the idea that the characters break into a song or a dance from time to time. The music – song or dance – helps tell the story by giving information, expressing the characters’ inner thoughts, moving the action forward, and creating a mood. 

A COLLABORATION
Because many people come together to create a musical play, musical theater is called a collaborative art. The cast performs, but many people work behind the scenes, before and during the play. These include: creators and writers; the director who determines the overall concepts or goals and guides the actors and designers; designers of scenery, lighting, costumes and sound; the stage crew that builds and operates everything to accomplish the performance; the stage manager who cues everything and everyone so that things get done at the proper time; puppeteers; and robotics/computer operators. 

THE AUDIENCE IS THE FINAL COLLABORATOR 
Before the audience arrives, there is no performance, just rehearsals. The performers need a good audience. Remember television, rock concerts and plays are forms of entertainment that ask for different kinds of responses from audiences. Television almost begs us to talk back. We visit with each other while watching and can leave and re-enter the room at any time. Rock concerts encourage celebrating through singing, clapping, shouting and sometimes dancing. 
A play requires something different. In a theater the audience is in the same room as the performers. Your quiet attention will help the actors do their best. Watch for props, costumes and lighting. Listen to the voices and the music. Enjoy the visual elements. 

• Follow the usher to your seat.

• When the lights dim, listen and watch carefully. 

• Talking disturbs the performers and the other audience members. 

• Use the restroom before the performance. 

• Respond to the actors. You can laugh when it is funny.

• Clap at the end as the performers’ bow.

• After the bows, stay in your seats until the lights come on. 
  
  Education Materials created by Sandy Mann 

KCIC ANNOUNCEMENT!
Thank You to the Pikes Peak Library District for being the presenting organization for the Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration of Colorado Springs (KCIC) for the past eleven years. As many of you know, KCIC is now becoming its own non-profit organization and has a new home thanks to the generosity of Rick and Laura Holland of Wendy’s. The KCIC staff includes Mary Mashburn, Coordinator; Beth Fox-Kret, Assistant Coordinator; Jane Bennett, Schools and Dream-Makers Coordinator. 

VISIT US AT OUR NEW HOME: 
Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration 
1515 N. Academy Blvd., Suite 200
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
(719) 597-3344 FAX: 597-3343


Visit any Wendy’s location or your local PPLD library to pick up a KCIC Program Brochure after March 1st. “T-Shirt Tuesday” begins March 7th and ends April 25th. Adults and children wearing any KCIC t-shirt may visit their favorite Wendy’s each Tuesday and receive a FREE Frosty. 

A Special Thank You to IKON Business Solutions for printing these materials

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