Pandora

My Year 6's and I have been working on a play. It was supposed to be ready in time for last year's Minimus Mythology competition, but everything went wrong - people were away, the weather was terrible (and we had decided to film outdoors). In the end, we shot the film in December, in our school chapel. Then it took another two months to edit and wrestle with the subtitle program. We think it was worth the wait!




Here's the script, if anyone is interested:

Pandora

CAST: Pandora, Prometheus, Iuppiter, Vulcan, Epimetheus , Minerva, Homunculus 1, Homunculus 2, Malus 1 (evil), Malus 2 (evil), Malus 3 (evil) Spes (Hope)

(Prometheus is making little people from clay)

Ep quid facis, frater?

Pro homunculos argillae facio

nunc in homunculos adflo

(The little people come to life)

Ep vivunt! quam callidus es!

H1 sed...frigescimus

Pro saltate! currite!

(They run and jump to keep warm)

H1 & H2 esurimus

Pro ecce...gallina

(Prometheus gives them a chicken)

H1 gallina cruda est

H2 gallinam non consumo

Pro consilium habeo!

(Prometheus goes to Mount Olympus)

Min Prometheus venit, o Iuppiter

Pro salve, Iuppiter

Iup quid vis?

Pro homunculi ignem cupiunt.

Iup minime!

Pro sed....moriantur!

Iup infeliciter. vale!

Min durus es, pater!

(Prometheus goes sadly away, and meets Vulcan)

Pro salve, Vulcane

Vul salve. quid vis?

Pro ignem cupio.

Vul ecce!

(Vulcan gives Prometheus fire)

Pro gratias tibi ago.

(Prometheus gives the fire to the little people)

ecce!

H1 nunc gallinam coquo

(They cook and eat the rubber chicken, and warm themselves by the fire)

H2 optima est!

H1 nunc calidum est!

H2 euge!

(Jupiter sees the fire)

Iup quid accidit? ignem video?

Min homunculi ignem habent

Iup Prometheus improbus est

Min consilium habeo.

(Minerva whispers to Iuppiter)

Min Vulcane!

Vulc adsum, Minerva

Min fac femina argillae!

(Vulcan makes a clay person)

Vulc ecce

Iup nunc in feminam adflo

(Iuppiter breathes on the model and it comes to life)

Min Pandora es

Iup pulchra es!

Min iucunda es!

Iup ...et curiosa es!

Pan salvete!

Iup nunc Prometheum visitamus

Min veni nobiscum, Pandora

Pan certe

(The gods take Pandora to Epimetheus and Prometheus’ house)

Min Prometheus et Epimetheus hic habitant

Iup Epimetheus, ecce uxor tua

Ep gratias tibi ago!

Pro (speaking to himself) cur Iuppiter donum dat?

(Iuppiter gives Pandora a box)

Iup ecce cista magica.

Min noli cistam aperire!

Iup valete.

(The gods leave)

Ep quam pulchra es!

Pro (speaking to himself again) sollicitus sum...

Ep nunc ad agrum vado. vale, Pandora!

Pro noli cistam aperire!

Pan valete!

(Prometheus and Epimetheus go off to the fields)

Pan quid in cista est? curiosa sum...

(Pandora starts to open the box)

Ep siste!

(The Evils escape)

Mal 1&2&3 euge!

Mal1 liberati sumus!

Pan eheu!

H 1 & H2 eheu!

Pan & Ep qui estis?

Mal 2 morbus! (The 2 Homunculi become ill)

Mal3 senectus! (they become old)

Mal1 rixa! (they argue)

Mal2 dolor! (they have pains)

Mal3 mors! (they drop dead)

Ep & Pan vae nobis!

(Pandora sees something in the box)

Pan ecce...in cista... quis es?

Spes noli desperare, Pandora. Spes sum. homines adiuvo!

And here is the translation:

(Prometheus is making little people from clay)

Ep what are you doing, brother?

Pro I’m making little men of clay. Now I’m breathing on the little men.

(The little people come to life)

Ep They are alive! How clever you are!

H1 But...we are cold!

Pro Jump! Run!

(They run and jump to keep warm)

H1 & H2 We’re hungry

Pro Here...a chicken!

(Prometheus gives them a chicken)

H1 The chicken is raw.

H2 I can’t eat the chicken.

Pro I have a plan!

(Prometheus goes to Mount Olympus)

Min Prometheus is coming, O Jupiter.

Pro Hello, Jupiter.

Iup What do you want?

Pro The little men want fire.

Iup No!

Pro But...they will die!

Iup Too bad. Goodbye!

Min You are tough, father!

(Prometheus goes sadly away, and meets Vulcan)

Pro Hello, Vulcan.

Vul Hello. What do you want?

Pro I want fire.

Vul Here!

(Vulcan gives Prometheus fire)

Pro Thank you.

(Prometheus gives the fire to the little people)

Here!

H1 Now I’ll cook the chicken.

(They cook and eat the rubber chicken, and warm themselves by the fire)

H2 It’s very good!

H1 Now it is warm!

H2 Hooray!

(Jupiter sees the fire)

Iup What is happening? Do I see fire?

Min The little men have fire,

Iup Prometheus is naughty.

Min I have a plan.

(Minerva whispers to Iuppiter)

Min Vulcan!

Vulc Here I am, Minerva

Min Make a woman of clay!

(Vulcan makes a clay person)

Vulc Here!

Iup Now I’ll breathe on the woman.

(Iuppiter breathes on the model and it comes to life)

Min You are Pandora!

Iup You are beautiful!

Min You are sweet!

Iup ...and you are curious!

Pan Hello!

Iup Now we’ll visit Prometheus.

Min Come with us, Pandora

Pan Yes.

(The gods take Pandora to Epimetheus and Prometheus’ house)

Min Prometheus and Epimetheus live here

Iup Epimetheus, here is your wife.

Ep Thank you!!

Pro (speaking to himself) Why is Jupiter giving a present?

(Iuppiter gives Pandora a box)

Iup Here is a magic box.

Min Don’t open the box!

Iup Goodbye.

(The gods leave)

Ep How beautiful you are!

Pro (speaking to himself again) I am worried...

Ep Now I am going to the field. Goodbye, Pandora!

Pro Don’t open the box!

Pan Goodbye!

(Prometheus and Epimetheus go off to the fields)

Pan What is in the box? I am curious...

(Pandora starts to open the box)

Ep STOP!

(The Evils escape)

Mal 1&2&3 Hooray!

Mal1 We are free!

Pan Oh no!

H 1 & H2 Oh no!

Pan & Ep Who are you?

Mal 2 Disease! (The 2 Homunculi become ill)

Mal3 Old age! (they become old)

Mal1 Quarrels! (they argue)

Mal2 Pain! (they have pains)

Mal3 Death! (they drop dead)

Ep & Pan Alas for us!

(Pandora sees something in the box)

Pan Look...in the box...Who are you?

Spes Don’t despair, Pandora. I am Hope. I will help people!

Another Barbie Myth

The Judgement of Paris this time, with an enlarged cast of plastic people. We photographed the figures against a blue felt display board, so we could edit them more easily (and then we never did).

Firstly, here's Hermes, messenger of the gods, bringing the Golden Apple to Paris.



Here are the three goddesses, lining up for the beauty competition:



Hera, in queen-of-the-gods kit (the dress is really more purple than it looks!)



Athena, with helmet and aegis made of copper foil. The crest is made of paintbrush bristles. I probably should have used Barbie-hair. There was plenty about; we had to crop Athena's hair to fit the helmet on...



Aphrodite, with gold necklace made from a flattened hoop earring I found in a car park. Her diaphanous garment is stuck on with double sided tape.



Paris eyeing up Aphrodite before picking her as the winner. He is clutching one of his sheep (for reassurance only). He refused to stand up, so we had to pin his feet to the table. He can be Oedipus next time round!

"Roman" artefacts, part 2

A few more bits from the 'Roman' cupboard. I like to pick up Roman-looking stuff from charity shops and car boot sales as well as making things.



The torc is made from rope twisted over a wire core. I think it was an old school skipping rope. The ends are stitched and bound with thread. Then I put several coats of gold Meltdown paint on it.





The drinking cup is one of those pots that have expensive chocolate mousse in, I think. (This one came from Oxfam). I was ticked off for drawing wine cups with stems in one of the drafts of Minimus, so I made a point of looking out the other sort. I have to hide it at school because the kitchen keeps a whole lot like this for salad dressing.












This weird glass cup might have a stem but it does look like onyx, so I couldn't turn it down. It's one of a set from Oxfam or somewhere like that. Just the thing for the upper-class triclinium.















My elegant spoon turned up at a jumble sale. It looks pretty Roman to me.









The cooking pot was made by a local pottery for baking bread in. I think Candidus would use it for porridge or something, because Roman bread was flat-bottomed. The only time I tried baking bread according to a Roman recipe, it turned out very flat and rock hard (it tasted good, though). I may need to rethink my cooking methods. I may need to let other people do the cooking.




I found this glass in an Italian supermarket. It's cast in a mould, exactly like real Roman glass. It wasn't as expensive, though.

"Roman" artefacts, part 1

This is a Roman-style comb that I made, for 'hands-on' experience and for acting out Minimus plays. It's made of boxwood and the teeth are (very badly) cut out with a handsaw. The case is leather, like Lepidina's. It's part of a collection of stuff I keep in my classroom. There's a wax tablet, a couple of bits of wood veneer to show how thin the Vindolanda tablets were, a roll of papyrus from the local art shop and a few other bits and pieces. More photos later (I am trying to finish the artwork for the Italian edition of Minimus!)

Corvus the crow

Corvus the Latin-speaking crow has been meeting Form V, who are learning their present tense verb endings with animal noises. He can hold a whiteboard pen pretty well, but his mouse control isn't up to much.

Odysseus mural... gone but not forgotten

Way back in the nineties, when I was first teaching, we painted the story of Odysseus' journey onto the library wall. This year it disappeared under fresh paint and new shelves, but it deserves its moment in public.

Every child in the Prep school at the time contributed at least one drawing. Some children responded with a flow of lively characters and details - others needed persuasion, more persuasion and sinister threats... but everyone was represented in the final composition.

Then I spent a lot of time with tracing paper and the school photocopier, making all the images the right size, before putting them on the wall with carbon paper (carbon paper - I haven't seen any for years!) We had to fit the composition to the shape of the wall, which was a rectangle with a door cut out in the middle.

The wall had been re-plastered and had a coat of nice fresh emulsion. This was before the damp bits appeared... The painting was all done with acrylics, the flow formula type, with glaze and matt media to thin the colours. Then I added the black outlines with Indian ink.

The Archaeology Box

This is the fourth time we've tried the hands-on archaeology experiment, finding out how different materials are affected by being buried underground for months. The first time, we couldn't find one of the burial sites at all. The next time, we flagged the buried box too well and it was disturbed by person or persons unknown (or possibly the school dog!). This time, we dug a really deep hole and recorded how far it was from the classroom window!


We used a small, unlidded wooden box. This is what we put in:
A conker
A piece of candle wax
A thin slip of wood, as thin as the Vindolanda tablets
A piece of paper
A piece of toast
A stainless steel knife
A glass bead
A piece of glazed china
A tiny glass bottle
A feather
A piece of copper foil
A lead weight from a curtain
A 2p coin and a 5p coin
A cow's tooth
A flint
A cork

This is what the stuff looked like when we dug it up in July!