ARM-OF-THE-SEA THEATER

TURTLE ISLAND MEDICINE SHOW

A Study Guide for Students and Teachers
Teachers: This Guide will help prepare students for Arm-of-the-Sea Theaters production Turtle Island Medicine
Show. First and foremost: The play is an arts experience. It presents many sights and sounds and many things to
think about. The show features mask and puppet characters ranging in size from 12 inches to 15 feet tall, together
with live music in a story about global warming. Since the show is a fable or allegory, there are various ways to
understand it. Please adapt this Guide to the comprehension level of your students. By introducing some of the
images and themes from the show students will be able to enjoy and learn more from the performance. Do not be
daunted by some of the subject matter: the play has many surfaces and even the youngest students will find levels
of understanding.

First Impressions
Upon entering the performance space, the first image the audience sees on stage is a giant thermometer.
Temperature is a major theme in the play. Also visible on stage is an array of musical instruments. All the sounds in
the show are created live by our composer & musician, Dean J ones. He also does the voices of the characters. In
this way, one could say that the performance is like a live cartoon. With his music Dean creates the mood and the
pacing of the show. Watch how he keeps the music changing, with many different kinds of sound.
Fables
We describe this play as a contemporary fable. A fable is a story usually involving animal characters in place of
people. Most fables teach a lesson. Some of the best know fables were written long ago by a writer named Aesop.
Contemporary means right now, in this time. So Turtle Island Medicine Show is told mainly by animal characters
and has a lesson about whats happening right now. That lesson or message is that human activity is causing the
an increase in the temperature of the earths atmosphere. This global warming may have disastrous effects on
ecosystems and on human civilizations.
Turtle Island and the Great Flood
The beginning of the show is based on the origin story of the Lenape Indians. Origin stories tell how things came to
be. The Lenape and other Indian nations call the continent of North America Turtle Island. Their genesis story
recounts that long ago there was a great flood that covered the land. The animals---Duck, Frog, Turtle and Muskrat-
-- were sick and tired of swimming so they decided to dive to the bottom to bring up mud. But the only one to reach
the bottom was Muskrat, and he drowned in the effort. When he floated to the surface, the others took the mud
from his little paws and spread it on Turtles back. This tiny turtle island magically grew into a mighty continent that
we now call North America. Then the Tree of Life rose from the center of Turtle Island and sheltered all the plants,
animals and people that came to re-inhabit the Island/ Continent.
Many cultures around the world have a similar kind of Great Flood story in which animals retrieve the mud and
bring the land back to life, thereby overcoming disaster. Can you think of recent examples of a terrible flood where
people have had to repair their homes and start life over again?
Air, Breath & Atmosphere
This show is about the layer of air that surrounds the earth like a very thin bubble. We call that bubble of air the
atmosphere. We usually cant see the air but we can feel it when we breathe and when the wind blows. The air is
made up of oxygen, nitrogen and other gases. Most living things have some kind of breathing process---- which is
to say they exchange gases with the atmosphere. Plants take in a gas called carbon dioxide (symbolized as CO2)
from the atmosphere and breathe out oxygen (symbolized as O2). When animals and people take a breath of air
into our lungs, we absorb oxygen (O2) from the air into our bodies. When we exhale we give carbon dioxide (CO2)
back to the atmosphere. Can you see an interesting connection here between plants and animals? Watch for the
part in the show where the Tree of Life and the Breathing Person play out this interaction.
Also, watch how many times the symbol of carbon dioxide (CO2) appears in the play. Scientists have discovered
that CO2 is one of the gases in the atmosphere that traps the earths heat. When there is more carbon dioxide
(CO2) in the atmosphere, the overall temperature of the earth rises. This changes the climate conditions for living
things all over the world.
A Brief Illustrated History of Fossil Fuels
The second scene of the play illustrates the origin of fossil (which means buried) fuels. The scene features a
series of paintings accompanied by a poem. For almost three billion years green plants have been changing
sunlight into carbon-based chemical energy. When those ancient plants died some became buried in the ground or
under the sea. Their chemical energy was also buried. Under certain conditions and over great spans of time, those
plants turned into oil and coal. When we use oil or coal as fuel we are we burning the stored energy of ancient
sunlight. We are also releasing the carbon back into the atmosphere.
A Changing Climate
Climate is the general weather conditions of a particular place. For example, some places receive much rain while
other places are very dry. Some places are cold and others are warm. For the past ten thousand years the earths
overall climate has been remarkably stable. If the weather is basically the same year after year then plants, animals
and people can figure out how to live in many parts of the earth. If the climate changes very quickly, the plants,
animals and people may not have time to adapt to the sudden changes.
For countless generations people burned wood for heat and harnessed the power of wind, water and draft animals
to help do their work. Beginning about two hundred years ago we discovered that oil and coal could be taken from
the earth and burned as fuel. The energy contained in these fuels powered great changes in how people lived.
Factories, cars, airplanes, electrical generating stations and many other things we take for granted all run on the
power of ancient sunlight contained in fossil fuels.
Only recently have we realized that by burning great quantities of oil, coal and natural gas we release large
amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. And this increase in CO2 is one of the main factors causing
the earths temperature to rise. As a result, climate conditions are changing in many places, and these changes are
happening at a faster rate than many plants, animals and people can adapt to.
Turtle Island Medicine Show asks this question:
Since our way of life is changing the earths climate, can we change our patterns of energy consumption before its
too late?
What We Can Do
To slow global warming and reverse climate change is a big challenge facing all the people of the world. As
individuals, the first thing we can do is become aware of how we use energy. Then we can begin taking steps to
conserve energy. Turning off lights, walking, bicycling, and using public transportation all conserve energy. We can
also support politicians who are willing to tackle global warming issues. Clearly, societies need to harness
renewable sources of energy like wind power and water power. Energy from renewable sources does not add CO2
to the atmosphere. Perhaps the most interesting part of this challenge will be designing machines that require far
less energy. This is where the creativity of young people will really matter.
Some global warming web sites for young people include:
www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids/
http://tiki.oneworld.net/global_warming/climate_home.html
www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-basics/kidspage.cfm
ARM-OF-THE-SEA THEATER
Art invites people to see the world in new ways, connecting things that may seem very separate and unconnected.
Arm-of-the-Sea combines visual storytelling with live music in a contemporary style of mask and puppet theatre. As
artists, we are interested in this form of theatre because it can hold the peoples attention. Since 1982 we have
been combining the arts with themes from history and science to portray how humans are part of the larger
community of living things.
You can find out more about Arm-of-the-Sea on our web site: www.armofthesea.org.
You can also write to us and let us know what you liked and didnt like about Turtle Island Medicine Show.
Arm-of-the-Sea Theater, PO Box 175, Malden-on-Hudson, NY 12453
Email: Art@armofthesea.org