Summerweek 2008 -- "The Power of Puppets" -- Application
Description ~ Program Staff Bios ~ Dates and Times

                                                           
                                                                                                                       
Child’s signature:_______________________________   

Parent’s signature: _______________________________
                                               
                                   
Parent’s printed name: ________________________________________________

____ We request a partial waiver of the $530.00 cost due to financial hardship.  The portion we feel we can provide is $___________    If the parent  contribution is less than $450.00, please attach a letter describing the circumstances of financial need.

Early application/early acceptance should be received by March 13.  Applicants will be notified by March 22.
               
All applications should be received by April 8.  The selection committee will read all applications, and applicants will be notified by April 14.

QUESTIONS may be directed to Marcos Levy at (802) 492-3208 or by e-mail at marcos@vermontel.net or Pam Monder at (802) 492-6119 or pamnjeff@vermontel.net

Information and applications are also available at www.TheHayesFoundation.org

_______________________________________________________________

Please mail your application to:    Marcos Levy, The Hayes Foundation
                                                          POB 307
                                                          Cuttingsville, VT       05738

The selection committee accepts motivated campers for the SUMMERWEEK program based on their responses to the questions on the next page. 

You’ll need to provide full, thoughtful, expressive answers to the questions that you choose.  

Discuss the questions with an adult, but your answer should be your own thoughts and words.   Typed or very neatly handwritten answers, of a full page or so for each, are usually best.   We also accept your answer recorded on an audio tape or CD, if you prefer.  Enclose a SASE if you want your tape/CD returned to you.
  QUESTIONS:  YOU WILL WRITE TWO RESPONSES! 

#1  (Everyone must answer question # 1) 

Why do you want to participate in this program?  Please describe your interests and abilities.  What skills and interests do you bring that will make “Power of Puppets” a good fit for you?  What will you add to the program?  Why does this program appeal to you?

#2  (choose A or B or C)

       A:  Author Neil Gaiman, in his 2005 novel Anansi Boys, describes the origin of things in the Universe this way:

In the beginning, … were the words, and they came with a tune.  That was how the world was made, …how the lands and the stars and the dreams and … and the animals, how all of them came into the world.  They were sung.
…after the Singer had done with the planets and the hills and the trees and the oceans and the lesser beasts.  The cliffs that bound existence were sung, and the hunting grounds, and the dark.
Songs remain. They last. …  A song can last long after the events and the people in it are dust and dreams and gone.  That’s the power of songs.

If you were a folk storyteller, how would you explain an important or confusing event or concept (like why the sky is blue, why the sun rises, or how gravity works)?  Write a short folktale to teach a lesson.

OR
         
        B:    For centuries, people have passed stories from generation to generation.  What do you believe is the value of storytelling, the oral tradition of sharing folktales?  What can we learn from old folktales?  Why is it important to keep the tradition going? 

OR

          C: Read the following short folktales (attached) from India and western Africa.  Pick one and explain:  how would you turn this tale into a play?  What kind of puppets would you create to act out this story?  Where would you set the tale?  What names and characteristics would you give characters?  Why? 
                               

Folktale for Question # 2-C-

A Flock of Birds

A Folktale from India

There was once a flock of birds peacefully pecking seeds under a tree. A hunter came along and threw a heavy net over them. He said, "Aha! Now I have my dinner!"
All at once the birds began to flap their wings. Up, up they rose into the air, taking the net with them. They came down on the tree and, as the net snagged in the tree's branches, the birds flew out from under it to freedom.
The hunter looked on in amazement, scratched his head and muttered, "As long as those birds cooperate with one another like that, I'll never be able to capture them! Each one of those birds is so frail and yet, together they can lift the net."

Why Turtles Live In Water

A Tale from West Africa

Turtles used to live on the land, they say, until the time a clever turtle was caught by some hunters. They brought him to their village and placed the turtle before the Chief, who said, "How shall we cook him?"
"You'll have to kill me first," said the turtle, "and take me out of this shell."
"We'll break your shell with sticks," they said.
"That'll never work," said the turtle. "Why don't you throw me in the water and drown me?!"
"Excellent idea," said the Chief.  They took the turtle to the river and threw him into the water to drown him.
They were congratulating themselves on their success in drowning the turtle, when two little green eyes poked up in the water, and the laughing turtle said, "Don't get those cooking pots out too fast, foolish people!”  As he swam away he decided, "I think I'll spend most of my time from now on safely in the water."
It has been that way ever since!

Summerweek 2008 -- "The Power of Puppets" -- Application
Description ~ Program Staff Bios ~ Dates and Times