The Darkest Dark Study Guide
The Darkest Dark
By Jim Millan and Ian MacIntyre
Adapted from the book by Chris Hadfield and Kate Fillion
Directed by Jim Millan
Introduction
This guide was written by Deborah Drakeford. As you scroll through the guide, you will find curriculum connections, discussion questions, units of study, and more. If you wish to create your own lesson plan from the study guide copy, we have created a lesson plan template for your use. We hope you will find this guide to be a useful resource. Should you have any questions or feedback, or have inquiries about the use of this guide (which is copyright protected), please feel free to contact Karen Gilodo, Associate Artistic Director, Education at kgilodo@youngpeoplestheatre.org.
Thematic Overview
The Darkest Dark is a play by Ian MacIntyre and Jim Millan, adapted from the children’s book by Chris Hadfield and Kate Fillion, and illustrated by the Fan Brothers. This play centres on a character who is fascinated by space and space exploration, while at the same time dealing with a fear of the dark which he is reluctant to share with his family — and especially with his friends. As he and his friends eagerly anticipate the historic walk on the moon in July of 1969, he realizes he is not alone in having a secret fear. With the support and care of his family and friends, Chris finds the courage to confront his fear and better understand it. Chris realizes that the dark, like space, is often unknown but it doesn’t have to be scary; it can be exciting.
The units of study in this guide ask students to reflect on what it means to feel afraid and how to support each other so that we feel heard, safe and supported. The pre-show unit focuses on the shared experience of acknowledging fears and seeking support. The post-show unit prompts students to reflect on the challenges experienced by the characters in the play, and to consider how we, as individuals, can overcome obstacles through self-advocacy and seeking support to create meaningful and positive changes.
Curriculum Connections
The Arts – Drama
Language
Science and Technology
Social Studies: Heritage and Identity
Health and Physical Education – Social/Emotional Learning Skills
Ancestral Teachings
Bravery
Wisdom
Themes
Confronting and overcoming our fears
Pursuing goals
Importance of friendship
Synopsis
Nine-year-old Chris is obsessed with outer space and eagerly anticipates, along with his two friends Jane and Herbie, the Apollo Mission of the landing on the moon in July 1969. The three friends vividly imagine themselves as characters involved in space exploration through their club, the Stag Island Space Agency. But Chris has a secret: he is afraid of the dark. As Chris tries to hide his fear from his friends, he comes to realize that his friends also have fears, and they must support each other while also being self-reliant as they face and overcome them.
About the Author of the Book
Chris Austin Hadfield, OC, OOnt, MSC, CD, born August 29, 1959, is a Canadian retired astronaut, engineer, and former Canadian Air Force fighter pilot. The first Canadian to walk in space, Hadfield has flown two space shuttle missions and served as Commander of the International Space Station.
Hadfield was born and raised on a farm in southern Ontario. He was inspired as a child when he watched the Apollo 11 Moon landing on TV. As a member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, he earned a glider pilot scholarship at the age of 15 and a powered pilot scholarship at age 16. After high school, he joined the Canadian Armed Forces and earned an engineering degree at Royal Military College. While in the military, he learned to fly various types of aircraft and became a test pilot flying several experimental planes. He obtained a Master’s degree in aviation systems at the University of Tennessee Space Institute.
In 1992, Hadfield was accepted into the Canadian astronaut program by the Canadian Space Agency. He first flew in space aboard the STS-74 in November 1995, and visited the Russian space station Mir. In April 2001, he flew again on STS-100 and visited the International Space Station (ISS) where he walked in space and helped to install the Canadarm2. In December 2012, Hadfield flew for a third time and joined Expedition 34 on the ISS where he remained until March 2013 and became commander of the ISS as part of Expedition 35. Here he helped to run dozens of experiments dealing with the impact of low gravity on human biology. It was during this mission that he chronicled life aboard the space station and took pictures of Earth, some of which he posted on social media. He also played the ISS’s guitar in space! His mission ended in May 2013 when he returned to Earth and announced his retirement.
Interview with the Playwrights
Jim Millan & Ian MacIntyre
DD: What inspired you to write the play?
JM: I knew Chris (Hadfield) through a mutual friend and we became friends through my assisting him produce a live show, similar to a TED talk, called Generator. I heard that he was in the process of publishing a kid’s book he had been working on. My kids were younger then and so I asked for a copy which he shared. I fell for it instantly and asked if I could take a crack at adapting it for the stage. It was funny and the mix of dreams and space adventures and the freedom of kids at a summer cottage all attracted me. Also a kid who dreams of being an astronaut who is afraid of the dark seemed perfect.
IM: The book spoke to some pretty universal themes – kids overcoming their fears – and as a former child with a very overactive imagination, I could relate. Plus, who wouldn’t want to work on a project involving a beloved David Bowie-covering Canadian astronaut real-life hero?
DD: I love the use of magic in your script! Why did you choose to incorporate magic into your storytelling?
JM: For many years I’ve worked with famous magicians including Penn and Teller, The Illusionists, which I collaborated on for Broadway, and several others. I am like a kid in the candy shop with it after all the years I did theatre and comedy. So to use magic techniques to make the fantasy elements of the story seamless was an exciting element. Also I get to bring my magic friends into theatre and use their genius to tell a great story for a young audience.
IM: Jim’s plans for the stage illusions are bold and exciting, and I trust his expertise. I believe [the stage illusions] will catch audiences off guard, in a very good way. It’s one thing to stage a show with a smartly-built prop, but it’s another thing entirely to surprise audiences with an illusion that has them asking “how did they even do that?”
DD: What do you hope the audience members will take away from their engagement with this piece?
JM: That we all have fears. Even someone who went on to become a famous astronaut. It is what we do to overcome them, how we face them that makes us bigger and better. And each challenging journey begins with a little step, then another, and then maybe a leap.
IM: My hope is that young audiences see there are many ways to tackle a challenge, and that different strategies can work for different people. In the show, we see that Chris is a very intellectual thinker who has to reason through his fear of the dark. Jane discovers that she has stage fright, but also recognizes that building props and writing stories is the part that sparks her imagination. Herbie overcomes his fear of the water by not thinking about it at all, and just cannonballing in!
DD: There is a code in magic to not reveal the “trick”. But in theatre, we often explain how we have created theatrical “magic”. What are your thoughts around this?
JM: Regarding magic, when your mind really can’t understand what it has seen, you enter a realm of wonder. Why would you ever want to take that away by learning how?… Theatre magic and “stage magic” are related in that they surprise, transport and delight.
IM: Our magic consultant made us all swear to secrecy, and I’m scared what happens if I blab anything.
Curriculum Expectations
The Arts – Drama
- engage in dramatic play and role play, with a focus on exploring themes, ideas, characters and issues from imagination or in stories
- express thoughts, feelings and ideas about a variety of drama experiences and performances
- identify, using drama terminology, the elements and conventions of drama used in shared drama experience and theatre, and describe how they help communicate ideas and feelings and create interest
- express personal responses and preferences and make connections to themes and issues presented in their own and others’ drama works
- identify and describe key contributions drama and theatre make to community
Science and Technology
- analyse the impact that conditions in space have on humans engaged in space exploration, and explain how humans meet their social, emotional, and physiological needs in space
- identify various technologies used in space exploration, and describe how technological innovations have contributed to our understanding of space
Social Studies: Heritage and Identity
- assess contributions to Canadian identity made by various groups and by various features of Canadian communities and regions
- demonstrate an understanding of significant experiences of, and major changes and aspects of life in, various historical and contemporary communities in Canada
Health and Physical Education
- apply skills that help students identify and manage emotions in order to improve their ability to express their feelings and understand and respond to feelings of others
- apply skills that help them recognize sources of stress and to cope with challenges including help seeking behaviours in order to support the development of personal resilience
- apply skills that help them develop self-awareness and self confidence in order to support development of a sense of identity and a sense of belonging
- explain how understanding and being able to name their feelings can help in knowing when they might need to get help
Pre-Show Unit of Study
Pre-show Discussion Questions
- What does it mean to care for others? How do people show they care for one another?
- What does bravery mean? How does someone show bravery?
- Who could support you when you are feeling afraid? Who could you talk to?
Pre-show Activities
Warm-Up: Discovering Space
Objective
To get students warmed-up physically and mentally, encouraging their spatial awareness.
Materials
A clear room or space for the students to move around in.
Instructions
Guide students in moving around the room by using the following prompts:
- Walk around the room. Observe the space around you as you walk around the room. Notice the people around you. Notice how you feel.
- Walk from one end of the room to the other and count how long it takes you.
- Now imagine you have landed on the moon. There is no oxygen and zero gravity. You have all the right gear. You are an astronaut!
- Take another walk around the room as an astronaut. How do you walk differently? What changes do you need to make to how you move to account for the changes in oxygen and gravity? How do you feel?
- Take the same walk from one end of the room to the other as you had done before, counting as you go. How long did it take you this time? Why do you think it was different from before? Did you notice anything new the third time you did this walk across the room that you hadn’t noticed before?
Exercise: Create an Avatar
Objective
For students to create a visual representation of a fear in an effort to confront it.
Materials
Paper, crayons, pencil crayons and markers.
Instructions
- Ask students to think about something that is considered scary.
- Have students use the above materials to draw an avatar (see Glossary) representing that fear. This avatar is a fictional character (for example a monster or alien). Give the avatar a name.
- Have students sit in a circle and introduce their avatars to each other.
Debriefing Questions
- How easy or hard was it to create a character picture of a fear?
- How easy or hard was it to give the avatar a name?
- While creating this avatar, did it change how you thought about that fear? Why/why not?
Extension
In pairs, ask students to share their avatars and have them create short scenes with them, to explore what makes something scary.
Culminating Exercise: Atoms (for Grades 1-3)
Objective
To identify different emotions and physicalize them.
Materials
A clear room or open space for students to move in.
Instructions
1. Ask students to walk freely around the space.
2. Call out a number and have students group themselves into that number of people.
3. In that group ask students to create a frozen picture or tableau (see Glossary) based on a word that you say out loud. For example: “playground” or “outer space”
4. Then ask students to walk around the room again and you will call out a new number. In new groups ask students to create a tableau showing a picture of an emotions that you name. For example: happy, sad, afraid etc.
5. Have students take turns looking around the room to see each other’s tableaux.
Debriefing Questions
- How did it feel to create a tableau of an emotion?
- When you looked around at the tableaux other groups made, was it easy to tell what emotion they were showing? If so, what did they do to clearly show us their emotions?
Culminating Exercise: Thematic Tableaux (for Grades 3-6)
Objective
Introduce students to some of the key themes in the play and allow them to explore those ideas in groups through tableaux.
Materials
A clear room or open space for students to move in.
Instructions
- Divide the class into groups of 3-5 students.
- Explain the term “tableau” (see Glossary). Ask students what the different elements of tableaux are and how they help tell a story (physical gestures, levels, facial expressions, etc.).
- Ask students to create a tableau for each word you say out loud. Allow students 30 seconds to create their stage picture as a group. Words can include: friends, bravery, wisdom, love, outer space, moon landing, afraid, respect, and support. Circulate and give feedback.
- Ask each group to show the rest of the class one of their tableaux. Have the class guess what each group’s word is and have the presenting group explain their tableau.
Debriefing Questions
- Was it difficult to make a choice as a group about what your tableau was going to be? Why/why not?
- Did you find any of the words challenging to depict? If so, why was that?
Extension
Have groups take one of their tableaux and improvise a scene with characters, actions and words. Remind students to create the scene with a beginning, middle and end. Share scenes with the class.
Post-Show Unit of Study
Post-Show Discussion Questions
- What were some of the fears of the characters in the play?
- How did the characters try to overcome their fears?
- What support was shown to each of the three main characters (Chris, Jane and Herbie)?
- Did the characters show bravery? If so, how?
Post-show Activities
Warm-up: Aware Beware
Objective
To develop awareness of and empathy for others.
Materials
A clear room or space for students to move around in.
Instructions
- Have students walk freely around space.
- Ask students to stop and close their eyes.
- With their eyes closed, say a student’s name out loud and ask them to answer a specific question about their surroundings, e.g., what time does it say on the clock? What colour is your shirt? Who is standing on your left?
- Ask students to open their eyes and continue walking.
- Repeat step 2.
- Repeat step 3, asking another student more specific questions, e.g., what colour are ________’s shoes? Who is behind you? Is there anything on the floor? Where is ________ standing?
- Repeat enough times that all students have been asked at least one question.
Debriefing Questions
- How did you feel when you were asked a question?
- How did you feel when you were not asked a question?
- Did you find yourself trying to answer a question even if you were not asked? How successful were you in knowing the answers to the questions?
- When your eyes opened again, did you find yourself seeking the answers?
- How did the questions change the way you moved around the room?
Exercise: Yes. And…
Objective
For students to creatively find solutions to challenging situations.
Materials
A list of challenges written on paper that can be pulled from a hat (include some fears characters have in the play, e.g., it is dark out, I don’t know how to swim, I’m afraid of performing in front of others.)
Instructions
- Have students get into pairs (or a group of three if there is an odd number of students).
- Have Student A draw a challenge from the hat and read it out loud to their partner. A list of challenges can be found in the appendix.
- Partner B responds with a “Yes. And…” and expands on the challenge to make it even more challenging.
- Partner A also responds with “Yes. And…” and expands it again. Partner B repeats, adding one more challenge.
- Partner A then responds to the last added problem with a “Yes. But…” and a simple one line solution.
- Partner B responds with a “Yes. And…” and adds one more solution. A and B each add one more “Yes. And…” to resolve the problem completely.
- Repeat 2-7, with Partner B starting. (For a group of three students repeat 2-7 twice so that each student gets a chance to start.)
Example:
A: The dirty dishes are piled in the sink.
B: Yes. And there is no soap.
A: Yes. And the store is far away.
B: Yes. And we have no car.
A: Yes. But we do have a bike.
B: Yes. And I need the exercise.
A: Yes. And it’s a beautiful day.
B: Yes. And I will be right back with the soap.
Debriefing Questions
- How easy or hard was it to make the situation more challenging?
- How easy or hard was it to find a solution?
- Did you find you needed more time/another round in order to find the solution?
Culminating Exercise: Create a Kind and Supportive Space
Objective
Allow students to work together to create a kind space and show support for each other.
Materials
A clear room or open space for students to move around in.
Instructions
- Have students stand in a circle.
- Choose a volunteer to stand in the middle of the circle. Then, ask the class: “What could we do to create a kind and supportive space for (student name)?”
- Encourage students to raise their hand if they have an idea. Then, choose three people (one at a time) to enter the circle, state what they would do and physically demonstrate it. For example, “I could help (student name) with their school work if they have a question!” (As they say this, they mime helping the student with a written assignment)
- Once three students have joined the middle of the circle, ask the volunteer: “Do you feel supported and comfortable?” If not, encourage them to share what they would change.
- If they say yes, have the last student who joined the middle become the new volunteer, then choose three new people to support this new volunteer.
- This can cycle through as many times as you would like.
Debriefing Questions
- How did it feel being supported by your peers?
- How did it feel supporting your peers?
- Do you think a supportive space looks different for each person?
- How do you think this connects to our classroom community?
Extension
Have your class create a “Class Contract” that ensures the classroom is a kind and supportive space for everyone.
Glossary
Avatar: a graphical image that represents a person, a feeling or an idea
Gestures: the use of movement to express thought or emotion
Improvise: to compose, play, recite and/or perform on the spur of the moment without previous preparation
Tableau: a depiction of a scene with actors that is still and silent
Appendix
Yes, And… Challenges List
- We have way too much homework today.
- The TV doesn’t work.
- There’s a long line for this rollercoaster.
- We’re stuck in an elevator!
- We have a test today.
- I have to clean my room.
- There’s no WIFI.
- The dog needs to go for a walk.
- There are no more tickets left for the concert.
- We have a group project to do.
- We have to be at school early tomorrow.
- It won’t stop snowing outside.
- Our field trip got cancelled.
- I didn’t get any sleep last night.
- This lunch is disgusting.
- I do not understand this assignment.
- We have to compete in Track and Field tomorrow!
- The school dance is tonight and I have nothing to wear.
- We have a pop quiz.
Additional Resources
APOLLO 13 IN REAL-TIME: A real-time interactive journey through the Apollo 13 mission.