Wild West Interactive | Lyric Theatre

The Wild West Interactive! Teacher’s Guide

Wild West Interactive is a performance touring program that will entertain and educate students featuring selected songs and scenes from the Award-winning musical, “Annie Get Your Gun”. Students will learn about the history of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and the life of Annie Oakley. Students will also interact with the actors and as high society characters, Annie Oakley’s siblings, stage hands and even more.

This guide contains activities, discussions and more tidbits about Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Annie Oakley to share with your students.

ALL ABOUT ANNIE OAKLEY

Family
When Annie was young she was sent to another family because her own family couldn’t afford to take care of everyone. After a bad experience with her new family which she called, “the wolves”, Annie returned home and provided for her siblings. She hunted and sold what she had caught. It was her way to help her family survive during hard times and to keep everyone together.

Writing Exercise and Discussion:

What is it that you do to help your family? It could be as small as picking up after yourself or feeding the family pet or just making them laugh when times get tough.

Allow the students some time to write out a small paragraph about what they provide for their family. When they’re finished have them present it to the class. This can also be a homework assignment where they can go home and discuss it with their family too. The student might learn that they do more for their family than they ever thought.

Unique Talent
Annie Oakley was called “Little Sure Shot” due to her incredible sharp shooting skills. It made her stand-out as an individual not only because of her talent but she was also a small person and most people thought she would fall right over when she would hold her shotgun in her arms. Her talent, personality and her size made her a unique person.

Writing Exercise and Discussion:

Name one or two things that make you unique or a stand out in a crowd, such as standing on your head, saying the alphabet backwards or you can yodel.

Allow the students some time to write out a small paragraph about what they think makes them unique. When they’re finished have them present it to the class or even show their talent. This can also be a homework assignment where they can go home and discuss it with their family too.

Activity:
Have the class hold their own Wild West talent show to present their unique talent. This activity will help the students to know each other better and to give the quiet and more hesitant students a chance to have their moment.

Facts about Annie
Here a list of facts that you won’t find in the study guide or hear in the touring show. Share them with your students.

At 90 feet, Annie could split a playing card and put a few more holes in it before it touched the ground. It was from this trick that free tickets with holes punched in them came to be called "Annie Oakleys."

Annie was only five feet tall.

Annie and Frank had a pet dog named, George. George was a poodle and would perform with Annie and Frank in the “Butler and Oakley” show.

Annie performed for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. She was also requested to shoot the ashes off a cigarette held by the Prince of Prussia, the future Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Study Assignments:
From the facts listed above have the students research more information on Queen Victoria and the Prince of Prussia. They could also learn more about other shooting tricks that Annie Oakley did as a performer.

BUFFALO BILL'S WILD WEST

Show Posters
Buffalo Bill put a lot of money and creativity into his posters. He wanted them to have splashes of bright colors with lots of action. He also had them stand over ten feet tall with the title of his show in big bright colorful letters.

Activity:
Have the students create a poster of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. If they want to do more research into finding Buffalo Bill’s posters. You can go to google.com and type in “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Poster” and press images. Students will be able to see plenty of his colorful posters to get an idea of how to start. This assignment can be done as individuals or as a group.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Troupe
Buffalo Bill employed cowboys, gauchos, Cossacks, calvarymen and many other performers. He also employed skilled and unskilled laborers such as cooks, butchers, harness makers, ticket sellers, animal trainers, stagehands, band players, drivers (to transport the performers from the train to the show grounds), canvas men, stake drivers and many more.

Writing Exercise:
Have the students write a one page story of what role or job they would’ve liked to be a part of in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. They could even go further by making up a character of their own and writing a day in the life of who they are and what they do for Buffalo Bill. It will give the student a chance to do some historical background research on what it was like to live in the 1800’s.

The Native Americans
Native Americans were the single most important ethnic component in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. In some of Buffalo Bill's programs, they were identified as "The Former Foe--Present Friend, the American". Cody went to great lengths to promote the harmony between the whites and the Indians in his show and treated the native tribes with respect and equality like every other performer. The Sioux was the primary tribe of Indians that traveled with Buffalo Bill with famous Indians like Sitting Bull and Black Elk.

Discussion/ Study Research:
Have the students break into groups and do research on Native American Indians, not only as performers but as individuals. They could also research the history of the Sioux tribes or the life of Sitting Bull.

Activity:
Have students create an Indian headdress. The materials are inexpensive and the project is relatively easy even for children in first grade. Because cutting is required, kindergarten children or younger will need help.

Materials list:
• Heavy construction paper or drawing paper at least 12" long (Optional white or beige felt if you want a fabric headband)
• Regular paper scissors
***optional: crimping or scallop edge scissors (available in the memory album section of most craft shops)
• Clear tape
• Crayons or magic markers
• A pencil for drawing the design.
• Package of feathers (optional, you can make your own or use real feathers)

Cut out two strips for the headband 1 1/2" wide. Measure the strips first on each person's head before attaching it with tape and cutting off the extra.

The feathers can be made out of the construction paper or drawing paper. With a ruler, measure 6" long and 2 1/2" wide. Make as many "feathers" as you want. Cut them out and at the top cut in a slant on each side forming a point. Color the feathers and the headband with symbols such as the sun, moon, stars, etc.. You can go as far as to decorate them with glitter, buttons or some other small fun objects.

Once the head dresses are made, have the group sit around in a circle like a powwow and give each student a chance to tell a short story or a joke.

Buffalo Bill’s Performance Acts
Buffalo Bill enjoyed staging historical reenactments and scenes for the audience including The Pony Express, The Battle of Little Big Horn and even famous Indian dances (The Ghost Dance, Corn Dance and Sun Dance).

Discussion/Study Research:
Students can break into groups and do a historical research on the Pony Express, the Battle of Little Big Horn and even learn what the Indian dances were all about and what they actually meant to the Native Americans. They could also learn of other battles during the Western era; The Battle at Wounded Knee, Custer’s Last Stand and The Alamo.

Once the students do the research, have them do a report to the classroom and if they’re real adventurous maybe even put together a short skit about their research.

Buffalo Bill Facts
Here are some other facts to share with your students:

Buffalo Bill was also a comic book legend appearing in Dime Novels everywhere.

The cooks would have about 40 waiters serving the food to the company with over 800 steaks, 140 pounds of meat, about 700 stacks of pancakes with many gallons of coffee and all of that just for breakfast.

Buffalo Bill was one of the first to use the term, “Native American”.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West was not only seen by London Royalty but also by two famous writers, Mark Twain, author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Bram Stoker, author of Dracula.

Buffalo Bill never used the word “show”. He wanted the title to always remain “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West”.

Sitting Bull’s name means “last male buffalo who refuses to move”.

Links and Books
Here’s a list of books and links to learn more about about Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West

Books:
Annie Oakley: A photographic story of life by Chuck Willis
Buffalo Bill’s America: William Cody and the Wild West show by Louis Warren
Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West by Isabelle S. Sayers
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West: An American Legend by R. L. Wilson, Greg Martin, Peter H. Beard, and Douglas Sandberg
The Life and Legacy of Annie Oakley by Glenda Riley
Shooting For The Moon: The Amazing Life and Times of Annie Oakley by Stephen Krensky and Bernie Fuchs

Links:
Buffalo Bill Historical Center - www.bbhc.org/bbm/index.cfm