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SPECIAL THANKS
Buena Vista Theatrical Group, Peter Schneider, Thomas Schmacher. Producers
Creative Affairs:
Stuart Oken
General Manager:
Alan Levey
Associate Producer:
Marshall B. Purdy
Marketing:
Press Representatives:
Advertising:
Production Photography:

Carol Chiavetta, Andrew Flatt

Boneau/Bryan-Brown
Serino Coyne, Inc.
Joan Marcus

The Aida study guide has been created and developed by Camp Broadway LLC.
Camp Broadway is a theater arts education and audience development company dedicated to helping educators, kids and families experience theater in original and creative ways. Our programs are
designed to serve the unique needs of both the education and theater industries by connecting
professional artists with young audiences throughout the year.
For more information on any of our programs, contact us at:
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(212) 575-2929 (Tel.) (212) 575-3125 (fax)
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Editor:
Associate Editor:
Art Director:

Jodi Simon Stewart

Roseanne Saraceno
Joseph M. Pisarchick

Contributors
John P. Bruggen: writer, researcher and manager with expertise in public administration
Christopher C. Gibbs, Ph.D.: historian, educator, and co-author of Grassroots Politics (1983)
and Great Silent Majority (1989) and historical mystery novels
Russell Granet: Senior Program Associate at the Center for Arts Education and member of the
faculty for New York Universitys Kaplan Center for Educational Drama
Robert Hartmann: composer/lyricist and Assistant Professor, New York University Graduate
Musical Theatre Writing Program
Kathy Henderson: editor and journalist specializing in theater and the performing arts
Maxine Kern: dramaturg, playwright and educator with extensive experience in curriculum
development, interdisciplinary writing coordination and classroom teaching
Larissa Nygren: writer and editor with years of musical theater performing experience, works
in childrens publishing
Printed by: Royal Fireworks Press, Unionville, NY
Disney 2001. All rights reserved.

contents
information

desk

Producers Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
The

production

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Aida Synopsis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Musical Numbers/Character Breakdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Aida Creators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
the

collections

HISTORY Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
MATH & SCIENCE Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
ARTS & CULTURE Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
SOCIAL STUDIES Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
COMMUNICATIONS Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Attending the Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Resource Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

desk
information

Using the Guide Producers NOTE

Welcome to the world of Aida. The story at the center of this contemporary Aida is the legend that became the libretto of Giuseppi Verdis opera of the
same name. This classic tale of forbidden love, set against the backdrop of Ancient
Egypt and enhanced by the extraordinary talents of its composer and lyricist, Elton
John and Tim Rice, makes Aida a unique and special educational tool.
By using the study guide, you will see how Aida exposes us to the past (History),
expands our visual and verbal vocabulary (Language Arts), illuminates the human
condition (Behavioral Studies), demonstrates a process of analysis and implementation (Math and Science), and encourages creative thinking and expression (The Arts).
The study guide was developed as a series of lesson plans that, although inspired by
and themed around Aida, can also accompany class study of other literary, theatrical,
or historical works. To assist you in preparing your presentation of each lesson, we
have included an objective; an excerpt from the lyrics of the Broadway production of
Aida; a discussion topic; a writing assignment; and an interactive class activity. A
reproducible handout accompanies each lesson unit which contains an essay question; a creative exercise; and an "after hours activity" that encourages students to
interact with family, friends, and the community at large.
The curriculum categories offered in the Aida study guide have been informed by the
basic standards of education detailed in Content Knowledge: A Compendium of
Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education, 2nd Edition, written by John S.
Kendall and Robert J. Marzano (1997). This definitive complication was published by
Mid-Continent Regional Education Laboratory, Inc. (McREL) and the Association for
Supervision and Curricular Development (ASDC) after systematic collection, review,
and analysis of noteworthy national and state curricular documents in all subjects.
The Aida study guide is for you, the educator, in response to your need for standardscompliant curriculum. We hope this study guide will help you incorporate Aida into
your classroom activities.

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The

ACT I

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In the Egyptian room of a

modern museum, Amneris, once a
queen of the ancient kingdom, invites
the audience into a tale of love and a
struggle for power in a time when war
raged between Egypt and its southern
neighbor, Nubia.
An Egyptian army captain,
Radames, prepares to sail back up the
Nile River toward home when his soldiers bring on board a group of Nubian
women they have captured. One of
them, Aida, shows particular courage and cunning, and
Radames is struck by her continued defiance even to
his face.
Radames returns to his homeland and sends Aida
away with his Nubian servant, Mereb, as a gift for the
Egyptian princess, Amneris. Radames also greets his
father, Chief Minister Zoser, who reminds him of his
promise to marry Amneris. Zoser reveals to the
audience his plot to poison the Pharaoh so that
Radames can rule Egypt.
Before Mereb presents Aida to the princess, he
recognizes that Aida is a princess as well, in Nubia, a
secret that will put her life in peril should the Egyptians
learn it. The vain but fashionable Amneris is thrilled
with her new gift when she learns Aida can make
beautiful clothes.
That evening, the Pharaoh announces that Radames
and Amneris will be married in seven days, yet Radames
and Aida continue to grow more enchanted with one
another.
Aida visits her people in the slave camps and
promises to fight for them. The next day, she pleads
with Radames to help the Nubians, and the young
captain, now in love, kisses her. Amneris confides in
Aida that Radames is slipping away from her, but when
he gives away all his possessions to the Nubian slaves,
the princess takes it as a sign of his devotion to her.
Aida knows the truth, and that evening she gives in to

her love for Radames; however, when

Egyptian soldiers capture Aidas
father, the Nubian king, the lovers
devotion to each other is put to the
test.
Aida schemes to free her
father on the evening of the royal
wedding. Meanwhile Radames tells
his father that he does not want the
Egyptian throne, and the two battle
over his love of Aida. Finally, Zoser
orders her death. A slave girl sacrifices
herself to save Aida, but Mereb and
her people fear their princess may choose Radames
over her nation. When the two meet, Radames says that
he will call off the wedding, but Aida insists that he
marry the princess, so that he will be able to bring
peace between their countries. Amneris, though, has
witnessed the secret meeting between the lovers.
Amneris and Radames are wed anyway but, after
the wedding, Radames tries to prevent the Egyptian
army from stopping Aidas escape. On the banks of the
Nile, Radames finally discovers that he has fallen in
love with a Nubian princess, not a simple slave girl. The
Nubian king escapes, but Aida is left behind to stand
trial with her beloved Radames. Amneris demands to
sentence the traitors, and shows as much mercy as she
can: Aida and Radames will spend an eternity together
entombed beneath the sands of the Egyptian desert.

production

Aida synopsis

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Musical Numbers
Every Story Is a Love Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amneris
Fortune Favors the Brave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Radames and the Soliders
The Past Is Another Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aida
Another Pyramid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Zoser and the Ministers
How I Know You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mereb and Aida
My Strongest Suit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amneris and Women of the Palace
Enchantment Passing Through . . . . . . . . . . . .Radames and Aida
My Strongest Suit (Reprise) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amneris and Aida
Dance of the Robe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aida, Nehebka and the Nubians
Not Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Radames, Mereb, Aida and Amneris
Elaborate Lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Radames and Aida
The Gods Love Nubia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aida, Nehebka and the Nubians
ACT II
A Step Too Far . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amneris, Radames and Aida
Easy As Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aida
Like Father Like Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Zoser, Radames and the Ministers
Radames Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Radames
How I Know You (Reprise) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mereb
Written in the Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aida and Radames
I Know the Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amneris
Elaborate Lives (Reprise) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aida and Radames
Every Story Is a Love Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amneris

character
Breakdown
Aida a Nubian Princess
Radames an Egyptian Captain, betrothed to Amneris
Amneris an Egyptian Princess, daughter of the Pharaoh
Mereb the Nubian servant of Radames
Zoser Chief Minister to the Pharaoh, father of Radames
Pharaoh ruler of Egypt, father of Amneris
Nehebka a Nubian slave
Amonasro the Nubian King, Aidas father
Soliders, Ministers, Nubian slaves, Women of the Palace

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The
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AIDA Creators

contd on p. 6

contd on p. 6

Photo credit: To

ny Russell

Tim Rice
Lyrics
Tim Rice was pulled away from a horribly
misspent career as a lawyer in 1965 at the age of 21
when he met a 17-year-old named Andrew Lloyd
Webber and they collaborated on a musical called
The Likes of Us. The pair would go on to create such
landmark musicals as Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and
Evita. Rice has also written lyrics for Blondel (1983)
with composer Stephen Oliver; Chess (1986) with
Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of the music
group Abba; and Starmania/Tycoon (1991).
Rice took over as lyricist for the late Howard
Ashman to complete the score of the Disney film
Aladdin with Alan Menken, and contributed to the
original music in the Broadway stage production of
Disneys Beauty and the Beast. In 1997 Rice
collaborated again with Menken on the musical King
David, which opened the renovated New Amsterdam
Theatre with a seven-day concert staging. The theatre
is now home to Rices musical collaboration with
Elton John, The Lion King. Rice won three Academy
Awards during the 1990s for his film compositions: A Whole New World from Aladdin, Can You
Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King, and You
Must Love Me from Evita. His most recent film
work is the music for The Road to El Dorado, also
with Elton John.

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ELTON JOHN
Music
Elton John is one of the most successful recording
artists of our time. He has sold over 60 million
records in the United States, had 21 platinum albums,
and at one point scored 29 consecutive Top 40 hits.
But success didnt come easily. Born Reginald
Dwight in Middlesex, England, in 1947, John began
studying piano at the age of four, and later sharpened
his skills at the Royal Academy of Music. Throughout
the 1960s, John struggled as a musician in a band
called Bluesology. He teamed up with songwriting
partner Bernie Taupin in 1968 and had some success
writing music for other artists. In 1969, he released
his first solo recording, the largely ignored Empty
Sky. Finally, in 1970, an eponymous album would
launch his career with the hit singles Your Song and
Border Song. In the decades to come, the string of
hits would continue, from the 70s Rocketman,
Daniel, and Dont Go Breaking My Heart to the
80s Im Still Standing, I Guess Thats Why They
Call It the Blues, and I Dont Want to Go on with
You Like That, and into the 90s with The One,
Believe, and a rewritten version of Candle in the
Wind, a tribute to Princess Diana that became the
biggest-selling single of all time.
In the early 1990s, John collaborated with lyricist
Tim Rice on the score for the 1994 Walt Disney
Pictures movie, The Lion King. The recording yielded
two top ten hits, Can You Feel the Love Tonight and
Circle of Life, and earned the songwriters an
Academy Award. The 1997 staging of the film for
Broadway by director Julie Taymor received six Tony
Awards including Best Musical, and in 1999, a
Grammy for Best Musical Show Album. John
continued his collaboration with Rice in the 2000
Dreamworks movie The Road to El Dorado and with
the current Broadway production of Aida, which won
the 2000 Tony Award for Best Score.
John says that writing Aida was a chance to try
something hed never attempted before: a full-length

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AIDA Creators
ELTON JOHN contd from p. 5

TIM RICE contd from p. 5

musical written directly for the Broadway stage. He

told The New York Times what a frightening prospect
it was to take on the project. I'm a comfortable
artist, concerts always sold out, which is nice, but that
can be boring. It takes courage to diversify and have
other challenges. I want to succeed desperately, but
I'm a novice. I have a great CV, but I'm putting my
foot in the water with this one.
The story of Aida, John says, is one that touches
him in many ways. It's a beautiful, complex love
story, where bigotry and hatred are swept out the
window, and love, compassion, forgiveness, and
understanding triumph. In this day and age, I'm a
great believer in the human spirit triumphing over
evil in any way.
John has continued to fight for the human spirit
through his work with the Elton John AIDS
Foundation, which has distributed more than $13
million in grants worldwide since 1992. In 1998, in
honor of his contributions to charity and the arts,
John was knighted by the Queen of England and
bestowed the title Sir Elton John CBE.

Rice is seeking a U.S. publisher for his first volume of

memoirs, Oh What a Circus, already published in England.
He is an aficionado of popular music and a diehard cricket
fan, both of which have led to an extensive publishing
career. He is the author of over 30 books on British pop
music (and 1986s BBC Radio "Rock Brain of the Year"),
as well as 25 yearbooks and many articles on his beloved
cricket.
Rice received the honor of British Knighthood in
1994.
Of Aida, Rice told Playbill magazine, When you
approach the creation of a new musical, the story is the
most important thing, and we began with one of the great
ones. If you can add a wonderful score, you have a really
good chance of coming up with a great show.

linda woolverton
Book
Before tackling the book the theatrical term for spoken words and story structure for Aida, Linda
Woolverton wrote the book for both the film and
Broadway stage versions of Disneys Beauty and the
Beast. For the stage production she was nominated for
a 1995 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, and
shared a 1998 Olivier Award for Best New Musical for
the London production. The 1993 film won a Golden
Globe award for Best Musical/Comedy film and was
nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.
Woolverton is also cowriter of the films
Homeward Bound and The Lion King. She is the author
of the teen novels Running Before the Wind and Star-

Wind, and is working on a screenplay about the 30-year

history of American Bandstand for Jersey Films.
Woolverton lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Lee
Flicker, and daughter, Keaton.
In working on Aida, Woolverton told the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution that she wanted to approach the story
from a modern perspective. I'm interested in the relationship between Aida and Amneris, she said, not just
as slave and master, or rivals for Radames, but as women
who were both born into the role of princess, who are
equals.

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ROBERT FALLS
Director/Book

David Henry Hwang was 21 years old, a recent graduate of Stanford University, when his first play, F.O.B.,
was presented by the National Playwrights
Conference. It went on to an off-Broadway run in
New York that would win the young playwright an
Obie Award for best new play, an astonishing
beginning to a career that would win Hwang a Tony
Award and see him nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by
the time he was 30. In 1988, he won Tony, Drama
Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and John Gassner Awards
for his Broadway debut, M. Butterfly. His most recent
play, Golden Child was nominated for a Tony in 1998
and for an Obie in 1997. His other plays include The
Dance and the Railroad, Family Devotions, Sound and
Beauty, Face Value, Bondage, and an adaptation of
Ibsens Peer Gynt.
He collaborated with composer Phillip Glass on
the libretto for the musical works 1,000 Airplanes on
the Roof and The Voyage, and with Bright Sheng on
The Silver River. Hwang has also written the
screenplays for M. Butterfly and Golden Gate, and
cowrote the song Solo with Prince.
Hwang told the Los Angeles Times that he and
director Robert Falls wanted to approach Aida with
complexity and subtlety. Bob was very clear from the
beginning that there was a political dimension to the
story which was very important, Hwang said. Can
love overcome differences, hatred, a painful history
between peoples? Its a question with very obvious
resonance today. But it's a complex question that
does not have a clear yes-or-no answer.

Robert Falls made his professional debut as a director when, as a student at the University of Illinois,
the first play he ever directed was picked up by
Chicagos St. Nicholas Theatre. He went on to
become artistic director at the citys Wisdom Bridge
Theatre, and by age 31 artistic director of the
Goodman Theatre. In 1999 he won a Tony Award
as Best Director for his revival of Arthur Millers
Death of a Salesman, and he received an Obie Award
in 1995 for directing Eric Bogosians subUrbia. His
Broadway credits also include The Young Man from
Atlanta, The Rose Tattoo, The Night of the Iguana and
The Speed of Darkness. Falls gained international
attention for his adaptation of In the Belly of the Beast
in 1983. He has written a new book for the
Goodman Theatre revival of the musical Pal Joey, and
collaborated on productions of Randy Newmans
Faust, Frank Galatis reworked Cry, the Beloved
Country, and revivals of Sondheims A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum and A Little Night
Music.
Falls is also a respected opera director with
productions at the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago's
Lyric Opera, and the Grand Theatre de Geneva in
Switzerland.

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DAVID HENRY HWANG

Book

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AIDA Creators

COLLECTIONS
the

history Exhibition
EGYPT
Egypt is one of the oldest civilizations we know about. The Roman
Empire lasted 1500 years; the United States is 225 years old. Egyptian
civilization began over 5000 years ago!
The Nile River is an important part of Egyptian civilization. The Nile
originates in the mountains of east central Africa. From there, the river
makes its way north to the sea. When it reaches the wide Egyptian valleys, the waters spread over an area of 12,000 square miles, and by the
time they have moved on, they have left behind 200 million tons of soil
and minerals. The Egyptian people have harnessed the river, making the
Nile valley one of the richest farming regions in the Eastern
Mediterranean.
Ancient Egypt was a prosperous civilization with many accomplishments.
Ancient Egypt had a large, highly educated bureaucracy, gifted artists
and craftsmen, talented engineers and scientists. Egyptian physicians
drew medicines from plants and herbs, and passed their knowledge on
to the Greeks, Romans, and Arabs. Egyptian mathematicians measured
the year to the nearly exact 365 days, which they divided into twelve
months. Egyptian merchants traded up and down the Red Sea and along
the coast of the Mediterranean.
The pyramids are Egypt's most famous accomplishment. The first pyramid was built around 2700 B.C.E. The great pyramids that have fascinated generations of scholars and tourists were built a short time later.
Using masses of human beings
for power, and technology no
more sophisticated than levers
and sleds and earthen ramps,
they built several of these
structures. The largest, the
"Great Pyramid of Gizeh," was

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Egyptians marched into Nubia, killed all the men,

burned all the buildings and the crops, and carried
the women and children off into slavery. Other
times, Egyptians moved in peacefully, living and
working with Nubians, making Nubia a province
of Egypt. Around 1079 B.C.E., the Nubians rose
up in revolt, declaring their land independent of
Egypt. The two regions dealt with each other as
equals.

460 feet high and 755 feet along each side. These
enormous structures have survived for thousands
of years to serve the inhabitants of modern Egypt.
Many of the blocks were removed to provide
building materials for the modern capital of Cairo.
NUBIA
Nubia, "the land upriver," was Egypt's most
important neighbor. Nubia included the territories
of modern-day Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.
Relations between Egypt and Nubia go back at
least to 2500 B.C.E., and include periods of
warfare, trade, colonization, and domination.

As Egypt grew weaker, Nubia grew stronger. After

1079, Egyptian power declined. Nubia
conquered Egyptian territories on
their border. Over the years,
Nubian armies moved steadily
north. Eventually, in 732 B.C.E.,
the Nubians triumphed, and a
Nubian was crowned
pharaoh. Nubian rule
ended a century later.
Shortly afterwards,
Egypt was conquered by
the Assyrians.

Egypt's main interest in Nubia was economic.

Nubia was Egypt's main source of gold.
It also provided hard stone,
copper, and other metals.
Nubia served as a trade link
with regions farther south.
This trade included frankincense, myrrh, ivory,
ebony, animal skins, and ostrich feathers.
Nubia was also an important source of
manpower. Over the centuries, Nubians
often migrated north to live and work,
many serving as soldiers in Egypt's armies.
Nubians often achieved high rank in Egypt,
and more than one pharaoh had Nubian
blood flowing in his veins. But often the
labor was involuntary, and Egyptian forces
frequently
marched south to
take
prisoners, who
were sent back
as slaves.

InsideAIDA

Egypt was not always the more powerful

nation; sometimes Nubia was. Often,

Aida (Heather Headley) arrives in Egypt after being

captured on the banks of the Nile River in Nubia.

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Discussion
e

Discussion

Objective
Students will understand how
geography can change the
fortunes, conquests and
enslavements of countries.

Teaching

Tips

Are there countries you can

name in todays world that tend
to be conquering nations? What
do they get by conquering other
nations, e.g. food, labor, access
to waterways, increased power
for a power hungry leader?
Is there conquest in todays
world by multinational
corporations?
Might aggressive marketing
ever replace war as a way to
make conquests?

From the

Script

Act 1, Prologue
Aida opens in the Egyptian wing of a museum where ancient relics detail the drama of the conquest
of Nubia by Egypt. A modern day woman, Aida, looks at the exhibitions statue of an Archer as the
ancient princess Amneris sings about the love that survived in hateful times.

Amneris

THAT ONLY EGYPT COULD CONTROL

DESTRUCTION OF HER SOUTHERN NEIGHBOR
JUSTIFIED
NUBIA EXPLOITED, LEFT WITH LITTLE MORE
THAN PRIDE

THIS IS THE STORY

OF A LOVE THAT FLOURISHED
IN A TIME OF HATE
OF LOVERS NO TYRANNY COULD SEPARATE
LOVE SET INTO MOTION ON THE NILES SHORE
DESTINY IGNITED BY AN ACT OF WAR
EGYPT SAW THE MIGHTY RIVER AS ITS VERY
HEART AND SOUL
SOURCE OF LIFE FOR ALL HER PEOPLE

Exercise
1) Xerox two topographical maps. Lead the students in a discussion of the features of each country, mountain ranges, rivers, access, size, borders, proximity to other countries. How are they alike, how are they
different? Given its geography, why might one be the conquerer and one the conquered?
2) Have students break up into three groups and come up with a basic sketch for a set for Aida. Have
them first decide as a group what they might provide in terms of shapes, colors, and textures to evoke the
Egyptian world.

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Writing
e

writing

From the

Objective
Empathize with individuals
whose lives are changed by
\conquest and slavery.

Teaching

Tips

What is the history of slavery

in our country? When did
slavery become outlawed and
why were those choices made?
Can you name some remnants
of a slave culture in our country? Do you believe that a history of slavery has been erased?

Script

Act 1, Scene 3
The musical Aida brings a modern world man and woman into an ancient world that they might
have inhabited. At the opening of the show a museum exhibition transforms into Ancient Egypt
as a large gangplank lowers from one side of the stage, and Egyptian soldiers unload newly
conquered Nubian slaves, one of the slaves is Aida.
Aida
THE FUTURE IS A BARREN WORLD
FROM WHICH I CANT RETURN
BOTH HEARTLESS AND MATERIAL
ITS WRETCHED SPOILS NOT MY CONCERN
SHINING LIKE AN EVIL SUN
AS MY CHILDHOOD TREASURES BURN

SHINING LIKE AN EVIL SUN

AS MY CHILDHOOD TREASURES BURN

Exercise
After reading historical background information about ancient Nubia and about ancient Egypt, have
students write a three-day journal entry from the point of view as either a princess (after shes taken as a
slave in battle) or a soldier (after hes taken a slave in battle). As such, describe both the country youve left
and the country and people who have enslaved you, or the country you live in and the people you have
enslaved. Focus on the sights and sounds in the new lands, on the treatment youre receiving or giving to
others, on the feelings you have for your position, the work you do and the home you have left or that
youre living in. Be sure that youre speaking from the voice of your character rather than commenting on
that character from a modern point of view.

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Experiential
e

experiential

Objective
Students will evaluate modes of
living and spiritual survival in
different cultures.

Teaching

Tips

Ask students what they have

read in the newspapers in the
last month that pertains to war.
See what they know about a
specific war, such as the one in
the Middle East. Collect facts
and impressions. See if you
can make sense out of what
might be happening in warring
nations.
Ask students if they think
that warring nations can ever
really find peaceful solutions to
their problems on their own or
if they need other leaders and
other nations to intervene.

From the

Script

Act 1, Scene 12
The Nubians have heard that their king has been captured and possibly killed. Aida tells them that
Nubia will never die, whether they are enslaved or far from home, because it lives in their hearts.

Aida

Aida, Nehebka, Mereb and Nubian women

TAKE ME IN MY DREAMS RECURRING

CHEERFUL AS A CHILDHOOD DANCE
INTO ONE MORE TASTE OF FREEDOM
ONE MORE LONGING BACKWARD GLANCE
IN THE SWAY OF SOMBER MUSIC
I SHALL NEVER, NEVER UNDERSTAND
LET ME SLIP IN, INTO THE SWEETER
CHORUS OF THAT OTHER LAND...
THE GODS LOVE NUBIA
THE BEAUTIFUL, THE GOLDEN
THE RADIANT, THE FERTILE
THE GENTLE AND THE BLESSED

THE GODS LOVE NUBIA

WE HAVE TO KEEP BELIEVING
THOUGH SCATTERED AND DIVIDED
WE ARE STILL ITS HEART

All
THE FALL OF NUBIA
EPHEMERAL AND FLEETING
THE SPIRIT ALWAYS BURNING
THOUGH THE FLESH IS TORN APART
TAKE ME IN MY DREAMS RECURRING
CHEERFUL AS A CHILDHOOD DANCE
INTO ONE MORE TASTE OF FREEDOM
ONE MORE LONGING BACKWARD GLANCE

THE PAIN OF NUBIA

IS ONLY OF THE MOMENT
THE DESOLATE, THE SUFFERING
THE PLUNDERED, THE OPPRESSED

Nehebka
THE GODS LOVE NUBIA, THEIR GLORIOUS
CREATION
THEIR SONGS ROLL SWEETLY ACROSS THE
HARVEST PLAIN

Aida and Nehebka

THE TEARS OF NUBIA
A PASSING ABERRATION
THEY WASH INTO THE RIVER AND ARE
NEVER CRIED AGAIN

THE GODS LOVE NUBIA, THE BEAUTIFUL AND

THE GOLDEN
THE RADIANT, THE FERTILE, THE GENTLE AND
THE BLESSED
THE PAIN OF NUBIA IS ONLY OF THE MOMENT
THE DESOLATE, THE SUFFERING, THE
PLUNDERED, THE OPPRESSED
THE GODS LOVE NUBIA, WE HAVE TO KEEP
BELIEVING
THOUGH SCATTERED AND DIVIDED WE ARE
STILL ITS HEART

Exercise
Compare your culture to the Nubian culture. Pick an aspect that you like (from theirs or from yours).
Be prepared to share an anecdote from your life about this aspect of your life and how and why it
gives you pleasure. Also talk about something in your life that you absolutely need to survive. If you
have nothing that is absolutely necessary for your survival, explain why you think you can survive
without anything that you know in your world as it is. If you are convinced that this feature is
something that you need explain why this is so important to your survival.

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HISTORY

HOME PAGE

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Date

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1. What do YOU think?

3. After HOURS

Do you think that some countries are justified in conquering other countries? If yes, what
situations or principles apply. If not, why hasnt war and colonization ever been outlawed in
human history? Is the human race capable of setting up a network of world peace?

Identify different cultures that coexist in your

community. They can be ethnic cultures,
sports cultures, school club cultures. Note
features about one of these cultures that will
continue if individuals need to leave these
cultures as their lives go on. Then look at
your own primary cultural affiliation. What
would survive for you if you were to leave it?
What might you have to lose or leave
behind?

2. EXPRESS yourself...
Is politics always a negative term? How is Aida political in her treatment of the Egyptians
and the Nubians? How is Radames political in his treatment of his father, Zoser, and his
fiance, Amneris? How is this similar and how is it different from the politics of Zoser?

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math & Exhibition

science
With their knowledge of mathematics
and physical science, the Ancient Egyptians
were among the first to create a calendar;
observe and record the motions of the stars;
and, of course, construct massive pyramids
and temples that stand to this day, thousands
of years after they were built.
The Egyptians used only addition and subtraction; they had no symbol or
concept for zero, and no decimal notation, although they did use
fractions.

Weights and Measures

Hekat =
Khar =
Cubit =
the
Hand =

a jar, approximately one gallon

a sackful, 16 hekats
approximately 20 inches, about the length from
elbow to the tip of the finger
7 hands equal one cubit

Ancient Egypt used the barter system; there was no currency. Goods were
given a value in debens small copper weights. An ox might be valued
at one hundred debens, for instance, and traded for an amount of grain of
equal value, but no debens actually changed hands. Trading was done
locally at outdoor markets. The desert and the Nile were barriers to trading
with other countries, but Nubia, being closest, was the country Egypt
traded with most frequently.

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The Egyptian calendar divided the year

into 12 months, each one with three 10day weeks. At the end of the year were
five days of feasting and religious
festivals. This added up to 360 days:
since the year is actually 365 and 1/4
days long, the Egyptian calendar slowly became out of
sync with the seasons. Farmers then watched the stars
to find out when the annual flooding of the Nile would
begin. Sirius (which they called Sothis) was eclipsed by
the sun for 70 days each year when it became visible
again, the inundation of the Nile was near. An
Egyptian scribe wrote that the Egyptian civil and
agricultural calendars were aligned in the year we call
C.E. 139; this will let us pin down the dates of the
Egyptian dynasties very accurately.

Great Pyramid Facts

constructed circa 2500 B.C.E.

built on the plateau at Giza
assembled from 2,300,000 limestone blocks
each block averaged 2.5 tons, some as heavy as 15
tons
the blocks are fitted so closely together a hair
cant fit between them
originally 481 feet high, now eroded to 450
approximately 755 feet on each side
contains over 30 times the mass of the
Empire State Building
oriented exactly to the compass points
original limestone facing was stripped
away in the 10th century C.E. for use as
construction material

InsideAIDA
Pyramids
"The Age of Pyramids" lasted for 1,000 years,
from 2686 to 1550 B.C.E. By the time of the
Third Intermediate Period (1070 B.C.E.), during
which Aida is set, the pyramids were already ancient.
They were built with astonishing skill in fact, we are
still not sure how the Egyptians accomplished some of
their feats of engineering. The most famous of the
Egyptian pyramids is the Pyramid of Khufu, the Great
Pyramid.
Tom Schumacher (Producer), Elton John (Music), Robert
Falls (Director) in a rehearsal for Aida

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Discussion

Objective
To encourage students to
assess values that may differ
from conventional values of
their time.

Teaching

Tips

Currency and the barter system. How do we assign value

to a dollar? Is it the actual worth
of the paper, or something else?
What values would you assign
to some of the things you use
everyday, such as tofu, pizza,
KFC, Versace jeans, Jennifer
Lopez CDs, etc.? What sort of
things would you trade if you
were an Ancient Egyptian?

From the

Discussion
e

Script

Act 1, Scene 11
Radames is ready to give up all his worldly possessions to run away with Aida. Aida loves Radames
as well, but her choices will become more confusing for her as the story unfolds.
Radames
WE ALL LEAD SUCH ELABORATE LIVES
WILD AMBITIONS IN OUR SIGHTS
HOW AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART SURVIVES
DAYS APART AND HURRIED NIGHTS
SEEMS QUITE UNBELIEVABLE TO ME
I DONT WANT TO LIVE LIKE THAT
SEEMS QUITE UNBELIEVABLE TO ME
I DONT WANT TO LOVE LIKE THAT
I JUST WANT OUR TIME TO BE
SLOWER AND GENTLER, WISER, FREE
WE ALL LIVE IN EXTRAVAGANT TIMES
PLAYING GAMES WE CANT ALL WIN
UNINTENDED EMOTIONAL CRIMES
TAKE SOME OUT TAKE OTHERS IN

IM SO TIRED OF ALL WERE GOING

THROUGH
I DONT WANT TO LIVE LIKE THAT
IM SO TIRED OF ALL WERE GOING
THROUGH
I DONT WANT TO LOVE LIKE THAT

I JUST WANT TO BE WITH YOU

NOW AND FOREVER, PEACEFUL, TRUE
THIS MAY NOT BE THE MOMENT TO TELL
YOU FACE TO FACE
BUT I COULD WAIT FOREVER FOR THE PERFECT TIME AND PLACE
Aida & Radames
WE ALL LEAD SUCH ELABORATE LIVES
WE DONT KNOW WHOSE WORDS ARE TRUE
STRANGERS, LOVERS, HUSBANDS, WIVES
HARD TO KNOW WHOS LOVING WHO
Aida
TOO MANY CHOICES TEAR US APART
I DONT WANT TO LOVE LIKE THAT
I JUST WANT TO TOUCH YOUR HEART
Radames
MAY THIS CONFESSION
Aida & Radames
BE THE START.

Exercise
Imagine you had to change the basic fabric of your life and could devise new ways of dealing with
money. Imagine a future world in which math and science are calculated and understood differently
than they are today. Consider the culture you created in the writing exercise. What might the needs
of that culture be? What would the currency system be, would money still change hands? What
building materials would be necessary? How might the weather have changed in this world? Would
people live longer, shorter or forever in this world? Would there still be young, middle-aged and older
people?
Most specifically, discuss how you might invent another barter system. What might you use as
another unit of valueperhaps CDs, Beanie Babies, marbles, etc.? How would you devise a wage
scale for various jobs? Might you choose higher wages for less rewarding jobs and lower wages for
more rewarding jobs? Have your students break up into groups of six to set up a new system of
either barter or wages. Have them come up with their choices based upon the human and financial
values of the community. Have the students write out a new system that the group can accept.
Present this system and explain how the group arrived at it.

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writing

From the

Objective
The measurement of time,
given the measuring systems in
ancient Egypt, compared to the
measuring systems today.

Teaching

Tips

Assume you are an Egyptian

pharaoh, determining a
calendar from the date of your
birth. What calendar day is it?
Given that there is a 1/4 day
discrepancy between the
Egyptian calendar and the
actual length of the year (which
we solve by adding an extra
leap day every four years),
how long would it be before the
Egyptian calendar was
inaccurate by a month? How
long would it take until the
Egyptian calendar was again in
alignment?

Writing
e

Script

Act 1, Scene 9
Radames has met the conquered slave and princess Aida. Attracted to her, he decides not to send
her to the copper mines. The depth of this attraction leads him to question his engagement to the
Egyptian princess, Amneris, and to question his flippant approach to love and happiness.
Radames
I ONCE KNEW ALL THE ANSWERS
I STOOD ON CERTAIN GROUND
A PICTURE OF TRUE HAPPINESS
CONFIDENCE SO EFFORTLESS
NO BRIGHTER COULD BE FOUND

Mereb
OH, NO, NOT ME, NOT ME
Radames
NOT ME NOT ME
AND WHOD HAVE GUESSED ID THROW
MY WORLD AWAY

Mereb
Mereb

OH, NO.
NOT ME, NOT ME
Radames
I NEVER ASKED THE QUESTIONS
THAT TROUBLE ME TODAY
I KNEW ALL THERE WAS TO KNOW
LOVE WORN LIGHTLY, PUT ON SHOW
MY CONQUESTS ON DISPLAY
Mereb
I CANT BELIEVE HES CHANGING

Radames
TO BE WITH SOMEONE IM AFRAID WILL SAY
NOT ME NOT ME
Mereb
THIS CAN NEVER BE
HES IN LOVE
BUT HES NOT THE ONLY ONE WHOLL BE
CHANGED

Radames
AND WHOD HAVE THOUGHT THAT CONFIDENCE COULD DIE?
NOT ME NOT ME, THAT ALL I TOOK FOR
GRANTED WAS A LIE

Exercise
Have students do a group writing based upon specific objects that the teacher will supply. Have the
students suppose that these objects will function differently in a future world. Bring in common
objects such as a hairbrush, a doll, a hair dryer, a Styrofoam cup, a box of Cheerios, a backpack, a cell
phone, etc.. Have each group build a future culture that uses four of these common objects in a way
that fits a newly created and conceived future culture. Have them write a description of this culture
in terms of the uses of these objects. Then have the groups exchange objects and see how each one
has reconceived the same object.
Imagine that you are a reporter for The New York Times, interviewing a museum archeologist who
has been able to visit this future culture. Write a 10 to 20 sentence interview about his/her visit to
this future society (either through time travel or through his imagination). Describe ways in which
reading this report increases or decreases your confidence in your present lifestyle.

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experiential

Objective
Students will determine normal
patterns of natural events vs.
abnormal or unnatural events.

Teaching

Tips

What natural events do you

observe throughout the year?
(Days getting shorter/longer,
temperature dropping/rising,
etc.) What events do these
changes signal to you? (Days
getting longer means summer
is coming/school will be out,
days getting shorter in summer
means fall is coming, etc.)
What natural events have you
heard about in the news that
are normal for some parts of
the country and abnormal for
others?

From the

Experiential
e

Script

Act II, Scene 3

Radames is confronting his fathers assumption that he will live his life "like father, like son" and
keep Aida as his slave girl mistress and Amneris as his royal wife.
Ministers
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Zoser
DONT COME ON SO COCKSURE BOY
YOU CANT ESCAPE YOUR GENES
THERES NO POINT IN FEELING PURE BOY
YOUR BACKGROUND INTERVENES
LISTEN GOOD AND LISTEN STRAIGHT
YOURE NOT THE MASTER OF YOUR FATE
TO THIS YOU MUST BE RECONCILED
YOULL ALWAYS BE YOUR FATHERS CHILD
AT TIMES ACCLAIMED, AT TIMES REVILED
YOULL WIND UP DOING JUST WHAT
ID HAVE DONE
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

Radames
DONT ASSUME YOUR VICES
GET HANDED DOWN THE LINE
THAT A PARENTS BLOOD SUFFICES
TO CONDEMN THE CHILDS DESIGN
IVE DONE WRONG I CANT DENY
BUT AT LEAST I KNOW THAT I
SHOULDNT BLAME THAT ON MY STOCK
THIS MAY COME AS QUITE A SHOCK
BUT IM NO CHIP OFF ANY BLOCK
I WOULDNT WISH THOSE WORDS ON
ANYONE
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

Exercise
One purpose of Egyptian architecture and other ancient architecture, such as Stonehenge in England, was
to be able to view the movement of the sun over time. Have the students observe the position of the sun
at the same time each day, for a week, in relation to a landmark, building, etc. Have them bring in a
drawing or a graph that describes the location, shape and size of the landmark and the changes that have
taken place in the position of the sun each day.
The sun is part of natures pattern. A building is man-made. How might you redesign your landmark or
building to give a better reading of the movement of the sun? Explain how human desires and beliefs
might have gone into the original planning of the landmark or building and how that has been in accord or
not in accord with the natural cycles around it.
Have the students present their observations with both their visual aid, a description of their daily
observations and the changes in the location that would aid them in making these observations.
Alternatively:
Have your students experiment with scenes set in their particular cultures. Imagine that they are
characters in their cultures, and that they are faced with a particular conflict that is assigned by the teacher.
For example, imagine that there is a conflict between an older culture and a newer culture over the ownership of certain lands , each having different ideas about land development and usage. Or imagine that
there is a conflict over who goes to certain high schools, some leading to a higher education, and some
training schools for more hands-on occupations. This could be a debate about what one considers the best
way to evaluate intelligence. Another conflict could be about who might be able to marry whom and who
cannot marry whom. This controversy could be about age, race, economic or social status, gender, etc.
Have your students act out these scenes.

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1. What do YOU think?

3. After HOURS

Do you think your community values people and things equally or unequally? Which is
more valued in your opinion? Survey a friend, a family member, and a respected teacher or
mentor. What is their opinion on this subject and do you agree with them?

The Egyptian architects built their pyramids

and tombs to convey a sense of awe and
wonder, celebrating the passage of the
pharaoh into the next world. Visit a church,
temple, synagogue, mosque, or monument
of some kind. Jot down your first
impressions. What sort of feelings does the
architecture of the building inspire in you?
What do you think the intentions of the
architects were? What thoughts do you have
about the people for whom the edifice was
built? In what ways do you relate to the
intentions and feelings evoked by the edifice
and in what ways do you feel removed and
distanced from it?

2. EXPRESS yourself...
The new gene that can indicate our predisposition to disease and longevity is soon to be
identified. Do you feel that this is a good thing for mankind? Imagine that it is your job to
introduce the existence of the gene to a very poor family without much access to money or
health insurance. What would you say to them about the benefits of this discovery?

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ARTS & Exhibition

Culture
When taking a first look at Amneris, the
princess of Egypt in Aida, it seems that she is concerned mainly with one thing her looks. Before learning more about her,
one might conclude that Amneris is vain and egotistical. But we
have all, at one point in time, been judged for the way we look.
Amneris is a princess at a time when Egypt is in a great state of
upheaval, and Egyptians look to those of royalty for leadership.
To better understand Amneris feelings, take a close look at the
history of Egyptian fashion.
Ancient Egyptian men wore primarily triangle-shaped loincloths, usually
made of linen or rushes. Both royalty and the common man wore this type
of loincloth from the 4th to the 18th dynasties.
The King wore his loincloth, known as the Shendot, finely pleated
and rounded off to show gold trim on the right side and a lions
tale hanging from the belt.
The chief justice and governor wore their skirts longer, suspended
by shoulder bands.

Commoners would imitate the kings skirt by

adorning their own in gold.
During the New Kingdom, men began to imitate
womens dress and wore a sewn sheath called a
kalasaris, which varied in length and was supported
either with shoulder straps or with a short sleeve on
the left arm only.

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ed with small braids. To guarantee that

their hair would smell good, women
wore cones of fat on their heads, soaked
with sweet-smelling ointments that
would melt down over their wigs and
dresses.

Womens costumes, also made from

linen, were far less extravagant than
mens, and consisted of simple garments, without folds, that were fairly
narrow and tight fitting to the body. They
were usually white, but royalty
sometimes wore them colored in red and
yellow, or hemmed at the top with an
embroidered border. Throughout the
years, as this style developed and the dress became
looser, it fell freely over the arms like a robe.

Both men and women also wore makeup:

Kohl, a black dye that protected against certain
eye infections, was used to line their eyes and
eyebrows.
Men also used kohl to draw themselves thin
moustaches or chin hair.
Women used henna to redden their lips and
nails.

The more jewelry one wore the higher his or her

position in society. The wealthiest people wore broad
collars made of silver (which was a more precious
commodity than gold). Jewelry was also made from:
brightly colored pebbles
semiprecious stones
gold faience
glass
Women also wore several pairs of bracelets around
the wrist or high up on the arm, as well as rings,
anklets, earrings, and bands that wrapped around the
head.
Royal women and men clipped or shaved their
heads. They replaced their own hair with
wigs made of either human hair or
wool, often dyed blue, black, or red.
Most common people wore their
own hair, which was usually plait-

So, as you can see, Amneris is not unusual in being

so concerned about her appearance. Fashion was of
great importance in the ancient Egyptians way of life,
it played a crucial role in both the ordinary lives of
people and their hierarchical culture.

InsideAIDA

The Nile River acts as a backdrop throughout much of Aida.

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Discussion

Objective
How fashion plays a part in
historical events.

Teaching

Tips

Why do you think so many

ancient Egyptians, men and
women alike, chose to shave
their heads and wear wigs
rather than style their own hair?
Consider what youve just
learned about their climate,
hierarchy, and society in your
answer.

From the

Discussion
e

Script

Act 1, Scene 5
Aida has shown Amneris that she understands fashion and can provide her with unusually beautiful
clothes. "There's a dyeing process I use which makes fabric glow. It's a secret that was passed down
from the handmaidens of Queen Neferteti." Amneris decides to keep Aida as her slave rather than
send her to the copper mines where she would quickly die. Because Aida has convinced Amneris that
she "knows her fabrics," the Nubian princess is safe and Egyptian history is facing a change.
Amneris
AND THE FEW WHO ARE INVITED
TO MY WARDROBE ARE DELIGHTED
AS THEY WANDER THROUGH MY THINGS
TO FIND EN ROUTE
THAT IN NEGLIGEE OR FORMAL
I AM ANYTHING BUT NORMAL
THAT DRESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN
MY STRONGEST SUIT

Exercise
The kings and royal men in Egypt were most elaborately dressed and held in highest esteem. The
queens and royal women dressed less elaborately but still relied upon high fashion to make their
status known. The slaves and lower classes would need to dress simply in order to make others
shine. How does Aida use that information to secure her place in Amneris court and to keep
identity safe as the secret princess from Nubia? What does Aidas self possession suggest to you
about the attitude in Nubia towards the statement "That dress has always been my strongest suit?"
What would you describe as Aidas strongest suit?
Have the class pick the five most admired people that they know as a group. They could be movie or
stage stars, presidents, first ladies, senators, teachers, coaches and so on.
List in order of priority their three best characteristics.
Is their dress a top priority? How much does it affect their popularity and status? Do you admire
them more if they dress well?
Could you admire them if they dressed conservatively or extravagantly? Would people admire them if
they only dressed well but didnt have good judgment?

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WRITING

From the

Objective
How do the arts and fashions
of a culture establish status?

Teaching

Tips

Do you think that, in our

democratic system of government, fashion plays just as an
important role to our way of life
as it did to the ancient
Egyptians? Why or why not?

Writing
e

Script

Act 1, Scene 5
Amneris is the princess of Egypt and fiance of the young hero Radames. Although Radames has
ignored her she is convinced to take heart when Mereb tells her that she is "Princess Amneris first
in beauty, wisdom and accessories. Captain Radames has not forgotten you. He knows you will be
at the feast tonight in all your extravagant finery." Immediately, Amneris gets her new slave girl,
Aida, to stitch her a new dress.
Amneris
STAYING IN OR HITTING TOWNWARDS
FROM THE TOP AND WORKING DOWNWARDS
I ENSURE THAT EVERY STITCH
IS STITCHED IN TIME
WHETHER WIG OR HAT OR TURBAN
WHETHER CLAD BOUDOIR OR URBAN
NOT TO STRUT YOUR STUFF
OUTRAGEOUSLYS A CRIME

Exercise
Pretend that you are writing a two-minute TV advertising spot. You are selling a new product called
Egyptian Beauty Queen. Use information from your Egyptian Fashion notes section to convince a
modern TV audience to buy your product. Your product includes jewelry, makeup and clothes.
Indicate the visual images that will accompany the script. Indicate the characters you would like to
include, if any, and give a description of their physical appearance and personality. This is a twominute ad costing your company, Egyptian Beauty Queen, one million dollars a minute for primetime TV, so be sure to make it very convincing.

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Experiential
e

experiential

Objective
Observe the ways in which
symbolic thinking affects our
understanding of each other.

Teaching

Tips

Ancient Egyptians designed

much of their jewelry in the
form of symbols, although there
is still doubt about what many
of these symbols represented.
Considering their political
culture and their environment,
what do you think animal,
insect, and flower symbols may
have represented?

From the

Script

Act 1, Scene 5
As Amneris waits for Radames, she hopes that their mutual love of glamour and adventure will
attract him to her. She does not know that after meeting Aida, Radames has become more
impressed with Aidas wit and fair-mindedness than Amneris love of material things.
Amneris
SO BRING ME ALL MY FINEST
MOST AUDACIOUS MY DIVINEST
MOST REVEALING
MOST EXPENSIVE AND TO BOOT
MOST ARRESTING
MOST HEART-STOPPING
MOST FREE FLOWING
MOST EYE POPPING
MUST ARRESTING
MOST HEART STOPPING

Women
MOST REAVEALING MOST EXPENSIVE
MOST ARRESTING
MOST HEART-STOPPING
MOST HEART-STOPPING
OVERWEAR
UNDERWEAR
ANYTIME
ANYWHERE

Exercise
If you were to create a symbol to represent yourself, what would it look like? Explain your answer.
Pick a group of people who you know quite well and to which you belong (your family, your class, a
club, etc). Come up with symbols for three of them.
In the classroom, break up into groups of four. Present these symbols to the group. Do these
symbols and these symbols come from the ways that they dress, act and make decisions? Explain
and expand your thoughts as you present these symbols and the ideas they embody to your group.

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1. What do YOU think?

3. After HOURS

Should clothes make the man/woman, or should man/woman make the clothes? What do
you think? Explain your thoughts.

Check various magazines and newspapers

(at least three) that feature people of
celebrity, people in the news and people in
the street. Dont read anything about them
at firstjust cut out a pile of photographs.
Next, describe what the photographs say
to you about their lives. After you read
about them, report upon the correctness
or the incorrectness of your assumptions
based upon their posture and their dress.
Once again answer the question, do the
clothes make the man/woman?

2. EXPRESS yourself...
Write a short song describing your "strongest suit." You can use the Amneris song as a
model and let it begin with
________________________has always been my strongest suit.
I am what _____________________________________________
So bring me all my ______________________________________
Because _____________________ has always been my strongest suit.
Etc.

Or you can choose a song style and pattern of your own.

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social Exhibition
studies
The Pyramid of Ancient Egyptian society

The Pharaoh
Priests, high officials, nobles
Lower priests, artisans, soldiers, scribes
Peasant farmers
Foreign slaves

The Egyptians, isolated in their river valley, believed themselves to be a

unique and superior culture. They made slaves of those they captured in
war, considering them to have no more rights than animals. Temples were
often decorated with scenes of the pharaoh crushing foreign captives, as a
symbol of his divine authority.
Women in ancient Egypt enjoyed a more equal status with men than in
other civilizations of the time. Property was handed down from mother to
daughter; a woman could buy and sell property, enter into legal contracts,
take action in court, and even adopt children on her own. Mothers were
revered in Egyptian society and given the greatest respect.
Women did not take part in government. However, in the 18th Dynasty
(about 500 years before the time Aida is set), a woman, Hatshepsut,
ascended the throne after the death of her
husband, Pharaoh Thutmose II.
She was a strong ruler, encouraging the expansion of trade
and the construction of
many monuments.
However, in most royal
households, the women

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were part of a harem, kept secluded with their handmaidens (women of noble Egyptian families) and
their foreign slaves. Most of their time was spent
grooming themselves and providing music and song
for royal feasts.

The Making of A Mummy

Among the farmers, chores were divided between

men and women. Women did not handle tools with
blades, but they would separate chaff from wheat,
grind grain into flour and prepare flax for weaving
into linen. Men were responsible for washing clothes
at the banks of the Nile River because of the risk of
being attacked by crocodiles.

Egyptians would place valuable trinkets and models

of the deceased's possessions into the tomb so they
could be taken along to the afterlife. Study of these
objects has given archaeologists insights into how the
Egyptians lived; unfortunately, their value
also tempted grave
robbers to loot most
Egyptian tombs, leaving
them bare.

What They Ate

Priests wash the body

Remove the internal organs except for the heart
Liver, lungs, stomach and intestines placed in
jars alongside the body
Body is covered in natron for 40 days, to
remove all moisture
Body is filled with sawdust and anointed
with oil
Body is wrapped in linen
Coated with plant sap, as a sealer
Placed in sarcophagus

wheat (for bread and beer)

garlic, beans, onions, radishes, cucumbers,
peas, lettuce
grapes for wine
dates, figs, pomegranates
beef and milk from cattle

InsideAIDA

Religion
The Egyptians believed in the existence of an individual life force, called the ka, similar to the
Judeo-Christian concept of the soul. Since they
believed the ka needed the physical body in
order to journey into the afterlife, the Egyptians
developed elaborate rituals to preserve the dead as
mummies.

Amneris (Sherie Ren Scott) sings My Strongest Suit.

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social studies

Discussion
e

Discussion

Objective
Students will analyze and
examine the passing on of
power between groups and
individuals in their own culture
and the role power plays in
support of racism.

Teaching

Tips

Which societies today still

have monarchies/systems of
nobility (England a prime
example)? How does American
society compare? Do we have
classes in our society? Can you
change your class status?
How does the color of your skin
affect your class status?
What might be the contemporary equivalent of being an
Egyptian scribe (computer programming skillsbeing trained
in a complex system of
communication)? Does this
bring status and power?

From the

Script

Act 1, Scene 3
Radamess father, Zoser, is preparing to poison the pharaoh and take over as the head of Egypt. He
must first establish the traditional passage of power by burying the king in grand style and
convincing the citizens of Egypt that he and his son will maintain the grandness of Egypt. One
aspect of this image building comes from the spectacle of employing slaves to build the pyramids.
Zoser
THERE ARE MANY WHOLL BE TEARFUL
AS OUR LEADER FADES AWAY
BUT OUR ARCHITECTS ARE CHEERFUL
AND EACH DOG MUST HAVE ITS DAY
Zoser
IF OUR COUNTRY IS TO FLOURISH
THEN MY SON MUST TAKE THE LEAD
BE OUR INSPIRATION, NOURISH
ALL OUR HOPES OUR DREAMS OUR
CREED
SOON OUR MONARCH WILL HAVE FILLED
A TOMB JUST LIKE HIS FATHERS DID
SUMMON EGYPTS GREATEST BUILDER
RE: ANOTHER PYRAMID

THERE WILL BE A TIME FOR MOURNING

BUT FOR NOW PUT PLANS ON HOLD
Zoser
FOR I GIVE THE NATION WARNING
THAT BEFORE THE CORPSE IS COLD
WELL EXTEND FAIR EGYPTS POWER
EGYPTS GLORY STRENGTH AND STYLE
WE SHALL HAVE OUR FINEST HOUR
FAR BEYOUND THE MIGHTY NILE
HE MUST HAVE A VAULT THATS GRAND BY
ANY STANDARDS, FLOOR TO LID
PUT FIVE THOUSAND SLAVES ON STAND BY
BUILD ANOTHER PYRAMID!

Ministers
BUILD IT, BUILD IT
ANOTHER PYRAMID

Zoser

Exercise
For homework For a week, have students collect articles from various newpapers that describe the
passing of a monarch, president, prime minister, senator or any political figure around the globe. Ask
students to name the people in their articles. Pick two different leaders and two different cultures that are
represented often in the articles collected by the class. Discuss who they are, how they have functioned
politically and how the passage of power is taking place. Compare the passage of power with the traditions
that one practices in the U.S. when a new American president is elected and inaugurated. Pick one U.S.
political tradition that the class would like to challenge, e.g. the voting system, the campaign system, White
House press conferences, etc. Debate the pros and cons of maintaining that tradition.
Have the students look into the daily lives of people around them for examples of status and power gained
by one group of people doing menial jobs as opposed to another group of people. Who are the doormen?
Who are the cab drivers? Who are the custodians? Who are the laborers working in subways and on road
work? When does group status become racist? How does the color of a persons skin affect his or her
treatment by the police, employers, city governments, real estate agents, landlords, and deal makers?

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social studies

Writing
e

writing

From the

Objective
Students will explore the role
that traditions play for the
individuals in society.

Teaching

Tips

The Egyptians maintained

their traditions for many
centuries: what traditions do
you have in your daily life? What
is your daily grooming routine?
Eating? Studying? Working?
What objects do you carry with
you? What clothes do you wear?
What groups do you interact
with?

Script

Act 1, Scene 3
Radames has returned from the conquest of Nubia and is ready now to return to battle. His father
tells him that he must remain in Egypt because the Pharaoh is dying, and hell have to marry the
pharaohs daughter for the good of Egyptian society.
Zoser
WHILE YOUVE BEEN AWAY CAVORTING
MATTERS HERE HAVE MOVED APACE
NOW I NEED YOU HOME SUPPORTING
ALL THE PLANS IVE PUT IN PLACE
FIRST OF ALL THIS MEANS YOUR WEDDING
YOULL RECALL YOUR FUTURE BRIDE
FOR THE WAY THAT PHARAOHS HEADING
TIMES NO LONGER ON OUR SIDE
ACCORDING TO THE HAWK GOD HORUS
OUR MOST REGAL INVALID
IS NOT THAT MUCH LONGER FOR US
BUILD ANOTHER PYRAMID!

Exercise
Imagine youre an archeologist from C. E. 5000 and youre observing the traditions of marriage and
family building in the U.S. in C. E. 2000. Imagine that you have been assigned to document these
traditions as practiced in your particular family. What would you observe? Write an official
document of 100 words or less that describes marriage and family. Name and describe these traditions in relation to your father, mother, siblings, and one aunt, uncle or cousin. Point out some patterns of tradition. Evaluate the role of tradition in holding this family together. Describe the happiness or unhappiness that you see for one or two of the named individuals in terms of these marital
and family building traditions.

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Experiential
e

experiential

Objective
Students will explore ways that
people find their identity and
status via customary practices
with a group.

Teaching

Tips

Compare and contrast the

role of women in ancient Egypt
and today. Do girls today have a
greater or a lesser sense of their
own worth than their mothers
or grandmothers? Do you think
that women have equal access
to good wages, good jobs, good
schools, etc.? Are there any
traditional jobs for women or
for men? What were traditional
jobs for women and for men in
your parents time, and in your
grandparents time?

From the

Script

Act 1, Scene 5
Aida is brought to Amneris to be her slave. Aida quickly figures out that she can keep up her
position in the entourage by sewing clothes for the princess Amneris. In this song, Amneris affirms
that she finds her identity in clothes.
Amneris
IN LIFE ONE HAS TO FACE A HUGE
ASSORTMENT
OF NAUSEATING FADS AND GOOD
ADVICE
THERES HEALTH AND FITNESS, DIET AND
DEPORTMENT
AND OTHER POINTLESS FORMS OF
SACRFICE
CONVERSATION? WIT? I AM A DOUBTER
MANNERS? CHARM? THEYRE NO WAY TO
IMPRESS
SO FORGET THE INNER ME, OBSERVE THE
OUTER
I AM WHAT I WEAR AND HOW I DRESS
OH NOW I BELIEVE IN LOOKING
LIKE MY TIME ON EARTH IS COOKING
WHETHER POLKADOTTED, STRIPED OR

EVEN CHECKED
WITH SOME GLAMOUR GUARANTEEING
EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING
IS DISPLAYED TO QUITE REMARKABLE
EFFECT
FROM YOUR CRADLE VIA TROUSSEAU
TO YOUR DEATHBED YOURE ON VIEW
SO NEVER COMPROMISE, ACCEPT NO
SUBSTITUTE
I WOULD RATHER WEAR A BARREL
THAN CONSERVATIVE APPAREL
FOR DRESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN
MY STRONGEST SUIT

Exercise
In Aida and in Egyptian society, women were separated from men by activities that they couldnt do and by
their clothing. Today, men and women are able to do similar work and wear similar clothes, but it is
interesting to find out if they identify differently or similarly with their outer trappings. Have students pick a
partner of the opposite sex. Each student will draw and label the clothing worn by their partner. Then they
will ask each other the following questions.
1. Where did you get each article of clothing that you are wearing today?
2. Are you wearing your favorite color today? Are you wearing your favorite clothing today?
Why/why not?
3. Did you pick out your clothing yourself or did someone else pick it out for you?
4. Do you determine whats in fashion via magazines, newspapers, looking at friends clothes, looking in
store windows, or in some other ways?
5. Do you like to be in fashion, sort of in fashion, or out of fashion when you dress?
6. Do you feel that your clothes tell people who you are?
7. Are there other ways in which you tell people who you are?
Collect the answers and drawings. Divide the class into three groups. Hand out a set of 10 responses
(or however many the class numbers break down into) to each group. Have each group compare and contrast the answers given by boys compared to the answers given by girls.

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HOME PAGE

name

Date

class

teacher

1. What do YOU think?

3. After HOURS

Do you think that traditions support the well being of most, few, or none of the individuals
in your family and community.

Compare our modern alphabet with Egyptian

hieroglyphics (over 700 symbols) and modern
Japanese writing (1,850 characters).
or
Burial rites: compare the burial traditions of the
ancient Egyptians with those of another ancient
culture and your own culture.

2. EXPRESS yourself...
Bring in photos of yourself, your parent of the same sex and your grandparent of the same
sex, some or all at the same approximate age or stage of life. Describe them to the class,
showing how you are alike and how you are different from each other.

For Extra Credit: Make a mummy at home

Materials needed:
Chicken or Cornish game hen from the
supermarket
3 bags of salt, 3 boxes baking soda (this will
substitute for natron, which is hydrated sodium
carbonate)
small bottle of scented oil, such as olive oil or
bath oil
strips of cotton cloth, such as linen,
cheesecloth, or gauze bandages
spices, such as cinnamon and cloves
lacquer or resin (from the hardware store)
1. Take a small chicken or Cornish game hen
(giblets removed)
2. Wash it and pat dry.
3. Put it in an airtight plastic bag (zip lock type) or
airtight plastic container. Cover it completely
with a mixture of 3 parts salt to one part baking
soda.
4. Change the salt and baking soda mixture every
week to 10 days. It will take four to six weeks
for the "mummy" to dry out completely,
depending on the dryness of the climate.
5. When the chicken has fully dried, remove it
from the "natron," wash and dry it.
6. Give the chicken a coating of oil and spices,
and begin wrapping. Continue wrapping the
chicken with enough layers until the oil does
not soak through.
7. If desired, coat the mummy with a layer of
resin or lacquer.
Voila! A mummy!

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communication

Exhibition

The language of the Egyptian civilization is probably

best known for its hieroglyphics. The intricate picture writing has little in
common with modern alphabets, yet for thousands of years it was the
regular form of written communication for the Egyptian people.
Hieroglyphics, like the written language of most cultures, began as a way to
conduct business and record the law. The system of over 700 characters
was tremendously complicated and only 1 per
cent of the population knew how to write.
Writing became a special talent in ancient
Egypt: Hieroglyphics were a way of honoring
both kings and gods, and those who could
read and write could use their talent to get
ahead in society.
The word "hieroglyphic" comes from the Greeks, who saw the images on
the walls of holy places and monuments. Hieros means sacred and
glypho means inscription in Greek, so even these foreigners saw the
importance of the language to the Egyptian people. Hieroglyphics had such
an exalted status that they continued in use long after they lost any
resemblance to spoken Egyptian.
Hieroglyphics began as pictograms or
ideograms, that is, pictures of the
objects or ideas they are meant to represent. Often they were accompanied
by phonograms. Like our modern
alphabet, a phonogram is an image that represents a spoken sound or series
of sounds. The pictures of hieroglyphics were key to Egypt because the lan-

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guage was based on a system where similar words were made up

of similar consonant sounds. For example, in Arabic (the spoken
language of modern Egyptians) words dealing with learning are
built around the letters D, R and S ("darasa" means "to study,"
"dars" is a "class," "mudaaris" is a teacher).

The uninjured eye of

Horus

To complicate things further, written Egyptian had no vowels. The

vowel patterns of the spoken language followed regular rules and
there was no need to represent them on the page. Thus, many
words with similar consonant patterns would look identical when
written unless they were represented through pictures.

The god Heru, hawk

Hieroglyphics were still far too complicated for most people.

Eventually another written form, called hieratics, evolved based
on the same principles as hieroglyphics. Hieratics were essentially
a cursive form of the complicated pictograms that could be
written more quickly, but only from right to left. Hieroglyphics
could go in either direction, as well as in columns.
In the last century B.C.E. an even simpler form of Egyptian
emerged called demotics. It was even faster to use than hieratics, but not everyone used it the same way. Its simplicity brought
it closer to spoken Egyptian, and also allowed it to evolve more
easily as the society changed. As a rule, the Egyptian language
tended to change according to the power of the Egyptian royalty:
the stronger the ruler, the less change in the
language.

Turtle shell, back

Flying

@
w
2
J
P

Lotus in bloom

InsideAIDA

The language still exists today in a form called

Coptic, used in rituals preserved by Egyptian
Christians in the early centuries C.E. Coptic is
primarily written with the Greek alphabet and
is used in religious services in much the way
Latin was used for European Christian
ceremonies in the Middle Ages.

Wayne Cilento (Choreographer) rehearses with Adam

Pascal (Radames) and Heather Headley (Aida)

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Discussion

Objective
Students observe love, hate,
and the ability of an individual
to control his or her own fate in
times of war.

Teaching

Tips

What are the major storytelling methods in your world?

Do movies, TV, plays, the news,
or your private stories tell the
truest story? What stories are
told by modern art and
sculpture? How do they compare with the stories told by
ancient art and culture?

From the

Discussion
e

Script

Act 1I, Scene 1

Telling this tale of ancient times requires many voices. Amneris knows her royal story. Radames
knows the tale of a hero who has adventured, has loyalties to his homeland and has had to make
decisions that affect his life and the lives of others. Aida knows her story as a princess in exile with
loyalties to her homeland and to herself. This is a time of war, hate and love and the stories are all
of equal importance.
Amneris
ITS SO STRANGE HE DOESNT SHOW ME
MORE AFFECTION THAN HE NEEDS
ALMOST FORMAL, TOO RESPECTFUL
NEVER TAKES ROMANTIC LEADS
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I IMAGINE
IM NOT ALWAYS ON HIS MIND
HES NOT THINKING WHAT IM THINKING
ALWAYS HALF A STEP BEHIND

Aida
I AM CERTAIN THAT I LOVE HIM
BUT A LOVE CAN BE MISPLACED
HAVE I COMPROMISED MY PEOPLE?
IN MY PASSION AND MY HASTE?
I COULD BE HIS LIFE COMPANION
ANYWHERE BUT WHERE WE ARE
AM I LEADER? AM I TRAITOR?
DID I TAKE A STEP TOO FAR?

Radames
IM IN EVERY KIND OF TROUBLE
CANT YOU TELL? JUST LOOK AT ME
HALF ECSTATIC, HALF DEJECTED
ALL IN ALL IM ALL AT SEA
EASY TERMS I THOUGHT I WANTED
FILL ME NOW WITH CHILLING DREAD
YOU COULD NEVER KNOW THE CHAOS
OF A LIFE TURNED ON ITS HEAD

Exercise
Think of a movie, play, book or real life story in which a love story is set in a time when love is
complicated by hate. Describe the story, the situation, setting, characters, and what happened. Did
the love survive in spite of the hateful world, or was it destroyed by that hate? What message did it
leave with you?
If possible, show the videos of the movie American Beauty and Leonardo DiCaprios Romeo and Juliet,
for a comparative discussion of stories set in hostile environments with different outcomes.
In general have the class come up with stories that fit this scenario. List them on the board. Discuss
several of them in terms of their world and their outcome, preparing the class to look for these issues
in Aida.

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WRITING

From the

Objective
Students will compare
storytelling within ancient and
modern societies

Teaching

Tips

Look at the term hieroglyphic in your background notes.

What does this term mean to
you? In what ways is the term
religious? In what ways is the
method elitist and exclusive? In
what ways does it imply status?
Think of other groups of
people in our history who were
not allowed to learn to read and
write? In what ways did it
serve/not serve society well to
keep them illiterate?

Writing
e

Script

Act 1, Prologue
The story of Aida begins in modern times. A man and a woman meet in a museum. Each is
similarly compelled to look at a glass enclosed display of an ancient burial chamber or tomb. The
action freezes and a voice from the past sings:
Amneris
EVERY STORY, TALE OR MEMOIR
EVERY SAGA OR ROMANCE
WHETHER TRUE OR FABRICATED
WHETHER PLANNED OR HAPPENSTANCE

EVERY STORY, NEW OR ANCIENT

BAGATELLE OR WORK OF ART
ALL ARE TALES OF HUMAN FAILING
ALL ARE TALES OF LOVE AT HEART

WHETHER SWEEPING THROUGH THE

AGES
CASTING CENTURIES ASIDE
OR A HURRIED BRIEF RECITAL
JUST A THIRTY MINUTE RIDE
WHETHER BRIGHT OR MELANCHOLY,
ROUGH AND READY, FINELY SPUN
WHETHER WITH A THOUSAND PLAYERS
OR A LONELY CAST OF ONE

Exercise
In Aida, the captured princess has to keep her identity a secret to save her life. Her story is told in a
time of battle, of dominance and of conquest. However, her story is universal, and its plot has
interest in our time. Although we tell our stories differently today than we would have done in ancient
times, the human similarities exist.
Have your students connect with Aidas circumstances by thinking about an experience they have
had with a personal secret. Then have them use this secret to create a situation in which someone
has had to keep their personal life a secret. Write a short scene in which that person tries to hide but
ultimately does or doesnt reveal the truth of who they really are. Before they write the final scene, the
students need to know: who they are, where they are, what is or isntbringing them to this point of
revelation, and how do they feel when they have covered up their identity or revealed themselves?
A) Write at least 10 lines of dialogue. Include at least two characters.
In Ancient Egypt this story would be told orally from generation to generation or it would
be written down in hieroglyphics.
B) Recreate this scene using an ancient storytelling method via pictograms and ideograms.

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experiential

Objective
Have students speculate
accidents of history and ways
that they might communicate a
lost past to a future generation.

Teaching

Tips

Looking at the background

notes on language, explain the
evolution of the written
Egyptian language from
hieroglyphics through most
recent Coptics. How and why
did the form of that language
change?
Do you think that music and
sculpture is a form of ancient
communication that tells a
story that doesnt change? In
what ways are the arts a kind of
language that communicate to
us across the centuries?

From the

Experiential
e

Script

Act 1, Scene 2
Radames is enjoying his newest conquest, Aida. Aida, however, has a strong history, which she sings
about privately.
Aida
NO, YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME
AND CARE EVEN LESS
HOW COULD YOU UNDERSTAND OUR
EMPTINESS
YOUVE PLUNDERED OUR WISDOM, OUR
KNOWLEDGE, OUR WEALTH
IN BLEEDING US DRY
YOU LONG FOR OUR SPIRIT
BUT THAT YOU WILL NEVER POSSESS

THE PAST IS NOW ANOTHER LAND

FARE BEYOND MY REACH
INVADED BY INSIDIOUS
FOREIGN BODIES, FOREIGN SPEECH
WHERE THE TIMELESS JOYS OF
CHILDHOOD
LIE BROKEN ON THE BEACH

Exercise
Aida and the Nubians are captured in war and taken from their homes forever. Exile and capture in
the ancient world meant never to return to ones home and to be a slave in some other land. Today
most of us can travel freely and return home freely, but imagine that you were having to leave your
home forever. Bring in drawings, photographs, or written descriptions of your home, town, or
countryside. Pick images of places that you would miss and wish to remember.
Imagine that you were talking to your grandchild and describing one of those images. What would
you tell them that held meaning for you then and would hold meaning for them now?

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HOME PAGE

name

Date

class

teacher

1. What do YOU think?

3. After HOURS

Are we capable of comprehending our world in spite of what our leaders and our media
communicate to us? How dependent are we upon the current uses of language to know
who we are?

Have your students come up with lists of

books, plays, movies and songs that deal
with the following themes:
Love triangles
Unrequited love
Secret love
Have them list those that end happily and
those that end unhappily.

2. EXPRESS yourself...
Have you ever met someone who was so extraordinary that they changed your life?
A friend, a teacher, a relative, etc.
Write a character study or draw a picture of this person.

In class, break up into small groups of four

to six people. Come up with a story that
includes all of the above love themes. Have
the piece end up in two different ways, one
happily and one unhappily.
Have each person tell the group which
ending they prefer as writers and why.

In what ways did this person have leadership qualities?

What did you learn from this person?
How did your life change?
If you could give them a gift what would it be? Write a thank you note to accompany the gift

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Attending the theatre

The ancient Egyptians did not have theatre, as we know it today; still, music,
dance, celebration, and ritual were all part of their daily lives.
Because so much of what survives of Ancient Egypt is tombs, some people have
assumed that the Egyptians were obsessed with death, a dark and gloomy people.
However, what we know of their culture tells us that the Egyptians were full of enjoyment
of life, and believed that that joy would go with them to the afterlife. They called life the
time on top of Earth, just one part of a soul's journey.
Egyptians loved singing laborers would sing
rhythmic chants while they worked, vendors and beggars
would sing in the streets, and women would sing as entertainment at feasts. Women's voices were considered beautiful enough to be heard alone, while men's deeper voices
were more pleasing if accompanied by instruments such
as flutes, harps, cymbals, and castanets.
In a wealthy household, female servants would sing,
play music, and dance for the entertainment of the guests
at a feast. The guests would eat, chat, groom themselves,
and occasionally pay attention to the music, as you and I
might at a modern restaurant or club where live music is playing.
Egyptian festivals and religious celebrations were at the opposite end of the spectrum:
A crowd would gather and watch in rapt attention as the priests of the temple acted out
stories of the gods they served in pantomime. These yearly rituals were the way the tales
of the gods were told to the community, many of whom could neither read nor write. The
stories were about honor, duty, sacrifice, and self-controlthe elements that held
Egyptian society together.
In the modern world, theatre is a way for people to gather and hear stories of our
community and our history. The actors serve as the contemporary version of priests
acting out myths and legends, keeping the tales alive.
More is expected of us as an audience at a live performance, just
as it was from the crowds of Egyptians jostling to see the temple priests
centuries ago. The sharp acoustics of a theatre, which make it possible
for us to hear the actors clearly, also means that they can hear us; every
cough, whisper, rustle, and crackle of a candy wrapper in the audience
rings in the actors' ears. Of course, this works perfectly for laughter and
applause, the sounds every performer is hoping to hear.
Focusing on the performance, being aware of our fellow
audience members, and showing our appreciation at the end of a performance demonstrate our respect for the hard work that creates the
magic before our eyes. This respect we show the actorslive human beings as opposed
to cinematic projections on a screenis a tradition that stretches back to the earliest
beginnings of civilization: the rituals and celebrations of the Ancient Egyptians.

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Resource GALLERy for Students

HIP BOOKS:
Fun With Hieroglyphs Art Kit for Kids.
*Available at The Metropolitan
Museum of Art Gift Shop or online at
www.metmuseum.org.
Akamine, Ruth. Ancient Egypt:
Background & Information, Activities,
Projects, Literature Links & Poster.
Wassynger-Scholastic Trade, 1997.
Bradshaw, Gillian, The Land of Gold.
Greenwillow, 1992.

ROCKIN MUSIC:
Elton John and Tim Rices Aida,
Original Broadway Cast Recording,
Disney, 2000.
The Bangles Greatest Hits (featuring the
song "Walk Like an Egyptian"),
Sony/Columbia, 1990.
A Wild and Crazy Guy: Steve Martin
(featuring the parody song King Tut),
Wea/Warner Brothers, 1978.

Crosher, Judith. Ancient Egypt (See

Through History Series). Viking Press,
1993.

COOL WEB SITES:

The official site for Elton John and Tim
Rices Aida
www.disneyonbroadway.com

Defrates, Joanna. What Do We Know

About the Egyptians?, Peter Bedrick
Books, 1992.

A cool website with fun facts about

Egypt
www.virtual-egypt.com

Hart, George. Eyewitness Books: Ancient

Egypt. Dorling Kindersley, 1990.

More information about Aida and

Ancient Egypt
www.aidapyramids.com

Jenkins, Earnestine. A Glorious Past:

Ancient Egypt, Ethiopia, Nubia. Chelsea
House Publications, 1995.
Keatley-Snyder, Zilpha. The Egypt
Game. Yearling Books, 1986.
Pofahl, Jane. Ancient Civilizations: Egypt.
Instructional Fair, 1993.
Putnam, James. Amazing Facts About
Ancient Egypt (Beginners Guide). Harry
N. Abrams, 1994.
Russman, Edna B., Ph.D., Nubian
Kingdoms (African Civilizations).
Franklin Watts, Inc., 1999.
Steedman, Scott. The Egyptian News.
Candlewick Press, 1997.

A more in-depth look at Ancient Egypt

http://users.massed.net/~mdurant/
AncientEgyptWebquest.htm
Information on Egypt from a literary
point of view
http://library.thinkquest.org/22845/
Learn more about the language and
expressions of Ancient Egypt
www.geocities.com/~amenhotep/
language
Learn how to write in hieroglyphics
www.torstar.com/rom/egypt
Serious facts on Egypt for the studious
at heart
www.mrdowling.com

Tanaka, Shelley. Secrets of the

Mummies: Uncovering the Bodies of
Ancient Egyptians. Hyperion, 1999.

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SEE A MOVIE:
Enchanted Tales: A Tale of Egypt. Sony
Wonder, 1998.
Romeo & Juliet, directed by Baz
Luhrmann. Released by 20th Century
Fox, 1996.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost
Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg.
Released by Paramount Studios, 1981.
West Side Story, directed by Robert
Wise. Released by MGM/UA Studios,
1961.
Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy.
Released by Universal Studios, 1955.

GO ON-LOCATION:
The Disney Store
711 Fifth Avenue, NYC
212-702-0702
www.disney.com
www.disneystore.com
Palace Theatre
1564 Broadway, NYC
Drama Book Shop
723 Seventh Avenue, NYC
212-944-0595
www.dramabookshop.com
Colony Records
1619 Broadway, NYC
212-265-2050
www.colonymusic.com
Theatre Circle Books
1 Shubert Alley, NYC
346 West 44th Street, NYC
212-586-7610
800-223-1320
www.BroadwayNewYork.com

Resources for Educators

RELATED BOOKS:
Aldred, Cyril. Egyptian Art.
Oxford University Press, 1980.

RELATED MUSIC:
Ankh: The Sound of Ancient Egypt:
Michael Atherton, Celestial Harmonies
Records, 1998.

David, A. Rosalie. Handbook to Life in

Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press,
1999.

Ro-He II Classical Egyptian Da: Essam

Rashad, Arc, 1994.

Erman, Adolf. Life in Ancient Egypt.

Dower Publishers, 1978.

Yalla Hitlist Egypt: Yalla, Uni-Mango,

1993.

Giblin, James Cross. The Riddle of the

Rosetta Stone. Harper, 1990.

Ancient Egypt: Ali Jihadracy, Lyrichord,

1992.

Hobson, Christine. The World of the

Pharaohs. Thames & Hudson, 1998.
Janssen, Rosalind and Jac. Growing Up
in Ancient Egypt. Rubicon Press, 1990.
Katan, Norma J. and Barbara Mintz.
Hieroglyphs: The Writing of Ancient
Egypt. McElderry, 1981.
Shaw, Roberta L. Ancient Egypt &
Nubia. Royal Ontario Museum, 1994.
Strouhal, Eugene. Life of the Ancient
Egyptians. University of Oklahoma,
1992.
Tirandritti, Francesco. Egyptian
Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in
Cairo. Harry N. Abrams, 1999.
Watson, Philip. Costume of Ancient
Egypt. Chelsea House, 1987.
Wilson, John A. The Culture of Ancient
Egypt. University of Chicago Press,
1956.
Watterson, Barbara. The Egyptians.
Blackwell Publishing, 1997.

RELATED WEB SITES:

The official site for Elton John and Tim
Rices Aida
www.disneyonbroadway.com
A great site to use as an Egyptian
teaching guide
www.emory.edu/CARLOS/ODYSSEY/
EGYPT/homepg.html
For information on Egyptian travel or
tourist areas
www.egyptvoyager.com

RELATED MOVIES:
The Mummy, directed by Stephen
Sommers. Universal, 1999.
Splendor of Ancient Egypt, produced
Tmul/Media Group, 1998.
The Great Pharaohs of Egypt, produced
by A & E Entertainment, 1997.
Bram Stokers The Mummy, directed by
Jeffrey Obrow, Unapix, 1997.
Great Cultures Great Nations Egypt: A
Gift to Civilization, Madacy
Entertainment, 1996.

RETAIL LOCATIONS:
The Disney Store
711 Fifth Avenue
212-702-0702
www.disney.com
www.disneystore.com
Palace Theatre
1564 Broadway, NYC

For information about Giuseppe Verdi

www.classical.net/~music/comp.lst/
verdi.html

Drama Book Shop

723 Seventh Avenue, NYC
212-944-0595
www.dramabookshop.com

A terrific website about the history of

Nubia
www.sis.gov.eg/nubia/html/nubia00.
htm

Colony Records
1619 Broadway, NYC
212-265-2050
www.colonymusic.com

A constantly updated internet magazine of reviews and essays on current

stage productions in New York and
across the country
www.aislesay.com

Theatre Circle Books

1 Shubert Alley, NYC
346 West 44th Street, NYC
212-586-7610
800-223-1320
www.BroadwayNewYork.com

A frequently updated cyber theatre

magazine, with articles, reviews and
more
www.curtainup.com
Theatre.com
www.theatre.com

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