(upbeat music)
-: Hello, I'm Gillian Jorgensen.
I'm the education director for Book-It Repertory Theater.
-: My name is Nora and I'm in the sixth grade.
-: My name Ruchi and I'm in the second grade.
-: Together, we are going to explore in today's lesson
a story called Little City and Monster.
It's a story that we are making up.
It's got a little city and a monster.
To build your city you'll need a lot of imagination
and a few props.
To make our city
we used things we had in our home,
paper lunch sacks, paper grocery bags,
and a few toilet paper rolls.
We used construction paper, markers, and glue
to fancy them up a bit.
We also used scissors to cut out shapes.
You can make your cities anyway you want to.
As you build your city,
you will be thinking of ways to make it come together
and then how to be crushed by a monster.
Hey Nora. -: What?
-: What do you think you'll build for your city?
-: Well I would build things that actually exist in a city--
-: Okay.
-: like a place for people to live
and like stores where they can go,
places where they can eat.
-: Okay, cool.
All right so that sounds like
it might take maybe 30 minutes, 45 minutes
when you work on this.
Okay, cool.
Ruchi, what about you?
-: I don't know.
-: You're not sure yet?
Oh yeah, sometimes we don't get our ideas
until we start working.
After you watch this video,
you'll get your ideas for your city as well.
Okay, look at this city, look at this city!
We decided to build our city on this blue rug
because it had a clear definition of the boundaries
to show where our city begins and ends.
I actually didn't make any of this city
so I'm going to talk to Nora and Ruchi about their ideas.
I can see...
Holy cow, so much detail in these buildings.
Ruchi, Ruchi, Ruchi,
what are three important things
that you would like us to know about this city?
-: I'm gonna think for a second.
-: Okay.
-: So you can wait for me or call on Nora.
-: Okay, thanks.
Hey Nora, what are three things you want us to know
about this whole city setup?
-: Well, we didn't like make the buildings
having in mind how we would set it up,
we kind of just made them and set it up.
-: Okay.
-: But most of the shops ended up down there
so that's our downtown.
-: Cool.
So lots of different shops.
-: Is that three things?
-: That's one thing.
-: It's okay if it's just one thing.
-: Compound thing.
-: Ruchi any thing to add?
-: The Pizza Zone is delicious.
-: Good to know, good to know, thank you.
Okay, I'm looking at Pizza Zone
and some of these other buildings and I'm wondering
are there any of them that you want to protect
from a monster foot crushing it?
Crushing all your work?
-: Can Nora go first again?
-: Of course, Nora anything you want
to make sure doesn't get crushed?
-: Pizza Zone.
-: Pizza Zone, okay cool.
So we have a choice
is it Pizza Zone memorialized
and we just take Pizza Zone out of the city?
Does Pizza Zone stay in the city
and like the monster loves it
so it doesn't crush it?
Or does Pizza Zone have like a,
is the city able to get their defenses together
and there's a--
(force field buzzing noise)
-: Force field?
-: Force field around it
so like the monster foot couldn't go down.
What do you think, what sounds more fun?
-: I think I like the city protecting Pizza Zone.
-: The force field, okay.
(force field buzzing noises)
Force field.
-: Or-- -: Ruchi.
-: Or maybe like what if like the tiny stick people
in the city went like
"You shall not destroy Pizza Zone
"pew, pew, pew, pew with their--
-: Can you?
-: with their little squirt guns?
-: Can you imagine that that's happening
when you're the monster?
-: Um.
-: You gotta use your imagination for some things.
Okay, Ruchi are there any of your buildings
that you want to force field, set aside, or protect somehow?
-: Animal shelter.
-: Which one's that?
Which one's that?
-: That one. -: This one?
Animal shelter, okay.
-: And also, hmm.
I would like to protect that plant sanctuary
and also the bookstore that's right in front of there.
-: Okay, so we're protecting,
is this the sanctuary?
-: Yeah, that's the sanctuary.
-: Okay, I'm gonna put a heart on top of the bag
so you know not to step on it.
And then-- -: Okay.
-: Forever Home.
-: The Forever Home.
I feel like Pizza Zone we know where it is.
-: Pizza Zone, yeah.
-: All right, cool.
So--
-: And then we know to protect--
-: Which one?
The bookstore?
-: Actually no, I'm good, I'm good.
-: Okay, thank you.
All right, I guess we're ready for a monster.
-: Smashing?
-: Yeah, a monster smashing.
Nora. -: Yeah.
-: When you are the monster
it doesn't take very much to crush these with your feet.
-: It's just like pow, pow, pow.
-: Your monster big voices, gentle footsteps.
All right, you ready to give it a try?
-: Tiny feet. -: Sure.
-: Okay, here she goes.
Here she goes, Ruchi, let's watch Nora.
Okay, monster destroy the little city!
-: Can I do the bank?
-: Let's save that.
-: Okay.
(bags rustling)
(Gillian laughs)
-: Oh no.
Oh we forgot to activate the force field.
-: Oops.
(Ruchi screams)
-: You stepped on Forever Home's pets.
-: And the monster needs a reason to leave.
-: You stepped on everything!
-: So, tired monster, thank you monster Nora.
Awesome.
Oh do that again.
(claps hand)
Yeah, there it is.
Okay, cool.
Okay, so now--
-: Ow. -: Sorry.
-: we had one monster destruction
but luckily we can re-fluff up our bags.
So now we will reset the city.
(upbeat music)
Okay, we are ready for our second monster
to come through this unsuspecting city.
Although it might suspect a little bit now.
-: Yeah.
-: Okay.
So we forgot to activate the force field last time
so Ruchi when you're the monster
will you try to get Pizza Zone but like you cannot do it.
-: That just makes me madder.
-: Yes, and then you can go on a rampage.
-: Ooh, wait, hold on.
(Ruchi whispers)
-: Perfect.
-: Thank you.
-: Perfect, perfect.
Sometimes our best ideas come when we're trying
to figure out how to do something
and we wanna save them as a surprise even from ourselves.
Okay monster, activate!
-: I don't know how to activate my monster, my inner monster.
-: Beep.
(Gillian laughs)
(Ruchi yells)
Oh no, Pizza Zone.
-: Okay. -: Keep going monster.
-: I forgot to do that.
Get it, get it, get it.
Step on top of it.
Crush it!
-: Crush the hospital.
-: Good one!
Turn around all the way.
Yes, yes, get it, get it!
-: Help us, help us (mumbles).
(Ruchi grunting)
(Ruchi yells)
(bag rustling)
-: Not the money.
Oh no!
Do you want your monster to come back
so you can crush that one?
Get it!
-: Ya!
-: Okay and the monster's gotta have,
collapse monster.
Fall down.
Oh no, the monster was so tired.
Phew.
Okay, okay, oh my gosh.
-: Okay.
-: There's one.
Can I crush this building?
-: That's the hospital, mom.
-: Yes.
-: Just crush it!
-: Okay, oh no.
-: You killed the hospital!
-: Okay, thank you, thank you.
And now I'm gonna repair this building.
I like to use paper bags
because then you can actually fold them back down
and store them
flat in case you want to do it again.
Hey friends, children of mine,
I'm wondering if we were gonna do this story again
what would you want to make sure we did the second time?
Nora, what would you want to do?
-: I would remember the force field on Pizza Zone.
-: Yeah.
-: Oh yeah, right, right, right!
Sometimes you have a really great idea
and then forget it
but then you just do it again.
That's really how theater works.
We gotta rehearse it sometimes even if we're just playing.
Ruchi what would you wanna do?
-: I would want to make more things with like things like
money inside them 'cause that was really fun to do.
-: Oh right, so maybe if we had like little puffballs
inside a building that you could shake out
and make roll around?
-: What if we had like puffball people inside Pizza Zone,
no not Pizza Zone.
No we could like put puffball pets inside Forever Home Pets
and we could dump them all out
and the pets would like go rolling and running.
-: Excellent, you know what I really like to do
when I get ideas like this?
-: What?
-: Write them down!
-: Do you need paper?
-: Not yet.
-: Okay.
-: But my friends at home
when you're working on this as well
you can do just the crushing part,
that part is pretty fun.
-: Yeah.
-: You don't even really have to draw on your bags
to do the crushing part.
But you can make it into a whole story.
Like what could happen next?
What happens in the story after the monsters were there?
We could write it down like kind of a chapter book.
We could make it a graphic novel.
We could make it just a drawing.
We could do any of those things at all.
Do you have some ideas buzzing in your mind?
-: Maybe.
-: Good, keep 'em buzzing.
Oh, most important,
we gotta clean up.
(upbeat music)
Sometimes my favorite thing about acting out a story
is that it lets me use big energy in a creative way.
I don't really wanna be a monster
but sometimes I feel like a monster
so I like to pretend to be one.
How about you?
Today I had help with my kids Nora and Ruchi
to make that story.
You could make this story with your family,
your siblings, your friends,
or even all by yourself.
Thanks for joining us today for Little City and Monster.
Happy creating!
(upbeat music)