Revolution 250 Podcast
Revolution 250 Podcast
"Oh That Dreadful Tea!" - the Musical
Ruthanne Paulson and Deborah Potee have created a musical, "Oh, That Dreadful Tea," designed to allow kids to experience the thrill of performing and telling the story of the Boston Tea Party through song and drama. Their musical is designed to make this pivotal event more memorable and impactful for elementary and middle school students. Find out more in our conversation!
WEBVTT
00:00:08.772 --> 00:00:11.535
I do love a good cup of tea
00:00:12.035 --> 00:00:13.916
A decent cup brings out the
00:00:13.977 --> 00:00:15.737
best in me Since the
00:00:15.958 --> 00:00:18.399
English began taxing our
00:00:18.458 --> 00:00:20.160
tea It's like they're
00:00:20.199 --> 00:00:22.262
stealing from you and me
00:00:24.114 --> 00:00:26.775
I do love a good cup of tea
00:00:27.256 --> 00:00:29.077
A decent cup brings out the
00:00:29.158 --> 00:00:31.618
best in me But now to
00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:34.761
assert our liberty We have
00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:38.783
to drink this awful tea But
00:00:39.384 --> 00:00:41.606
I am willing for my family
00:00:42.432 --> 00:00:44.453
And all the people of the
00:00:44.552 --> 00:00:47.113
colonies to give up my
00:00:47.173 --> 00:00:49.973
delicious Indian tea and
00:00:50.033 --> 00:00:53.655
drink this cup of Liberty.
00:00:56.896 --> 00:00:59.636
I do love a good cup of tea.
00:01:00.095 --> 00:01:03.197
A decent cup brings out the best in me.
00:01:03.296 --> 00:01:06.837
So the English think they can tax our tea.
00:01:06.936 --> 00:01:10.177
No, they'll not steal from you and me.
00:01:14.753 --> 00:01:15.194
Bravo.
00:01:15.593 --> 00:01:15.954
Thank you.
00:01:15.995 --> 00:01:16.715
Welcome, everyone,
00:01:16.775 --> 00:01:18.718
to the Revolution 250 podcast.
00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:19.739
I am Bob Allison.
00:01:19.780 --> 00:01:21.882
I chair the Rev 250 Advisory Group,
00:01:22.384 --> 00:01:24.006
and we are a consortium of
00:01:24.066 --> 00:01:25.308
groups planning ways to
00:01:25.347 --> 00:01:26.248
commemorate the beginnings
00:01:26.269 --> 00:01:27.391
of American independence.
00:01:27.861 --> 00:01:28.822
And we have with us today
00:01:28.882 --> 00:01:29.783
two people who've done
00:01:29.843 --> 00:01:30.944
something really exciting
00:01:31.084 --> 00:01:32.084
in commemorating the
00:01:32.144 --> 00:01:33.787
beginnings of American independence.
00:01:34.847 --> 00:01:35.868
Ruth Ann Paulson,
00:01:36.188 --> 00:01:37.849
who is the proprietor of
00:01:37.930 --> 00:01:38.650
Performing Arts
00:01:38.710 --> 00:01:41.353
Inspirations in Northfield, Mass.
00:01:41.593 --> 00:01:43.775
And Deb Potey, Deborah Potey,
00:01:43.835 --> 00:01:47.379
who is an educator, school social worker,
00:01:47.478 --> 00:01:49.721
and also a writer of history.
00:01:50.382 --> 00:01:51.283
Deb has written the book,
00:01:51.362 --> 00:01:52.603
Ruthann's written the music
00:01:52.664 --> 00:01:54.064
and the lyrics for a
00:01:54.144 --> 00:01:56.046
musical called Oh That Dreadful Tea.
00:01:56.346 --> 00:01:57.989
So Ruthann and Deb, thanks for joining us.
00:01:58.870 --> 00:02:00.131
Thank you for inviting us.
00:02:00.850 --> 00:02:03.474
So what gave you this idea
00:02:03.614 --> 00:02:04.995
of doing a musical about
00:02:05.034 --> 00:02:05.936
the Boston Tea Party?
00:02:05.956 --> 00:02:09.919
Can I go, Ruthann?
00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:10.360
Sure.
00:02:13.395 --> 00:02:15.437
I had been volunteering for
00:02:15.477 --> 00:02:17.758
a while in both my
00:02:17.799 --> 00:02:20.300
daughters' elementary school classes.
00:02:20.881 --> 00:02:21.741
So I have two daughters.
00:02:21.861 --> 00:02:23.263
And so with the older one,
00:02:23.282 --> 00:02:25.384
I had done Reader's Theater with them.
00:02:25.465 --> 00:02:26.626
And at the same time,
00:02:27.286 --> 00:02:29.367
Ruthann was running the
00:02:29.448 --> 00:02:31.469
Cardboard Box Theater Company.
00:02:31.509 --> 00:02:33.852
And so my daughters were in those classes.
00:02:34.592 --> 00:02:35.312
productions.
00:02:36.133 --> 00:02:39.235
And I wanted to bring
00:02:39.275 --> 00:02:40.395
theater into schools
00:02:40.475 --> 00:02:41.697
because theater is an
00:02:41.736 --> 00:02:43.918
opportunity to be able to
00:02:44.418 --> 00:02:45.258
be something different
00:02:45.459 --> 00:02:47.199
other than who you are and
00:02:47.259 --> 00:02:48.360
kids love to dress up.
00:02:49.140 --> 00:02:52.082
And so I had been working
00:02:52.143 --> 00:02:53.563
with my daughter's class
00:02:53.623 --> 00:02:56.645
and they were very, very talented, very
00:02:58.967 --> 00:03:00.069
articulate, you know,
00:03:00.169 --> 00:03:01.350
fun group of students.
00:03:01.450 --> 00:03:02.532
And I thought, oh, you know,
00:03:02.592 --> 00:03:03.433
we'll do Reader's Theater
00:03:03.454 --> 00:03:04.574
for a little while and then
00:03:04.634 --> 00:03:06.236
maybe we'll get to a play.
00:03:06.918 --> 00:03:09.100
And I've been looking around
00:03:09.181 --> 00:03:11.584
for just a small play to
00:03:12.564 --> 00:03:14.366
introduce them to, you know,
00:03:15.127 --> 00:03:15.729
the whole class,
00:03:15.788 --> 00:03:16.689
not just the kids that
00:03:16.850 --> 00:03:17.991
Ruthann had been working with.
00:03:19.420 --> 00:03:20.662
And when I was looking up,
00:03:21.622 --> 00:03:22.602
I like history a lot.
00:03:22.641 --> 00:03:23.481
I was a history major in
00:03:23.502 --> 00:03:26.263
college and I couldn't find a short,
00:03:26.443 --> 00:03:28.304
well-written play.
00:03:28.683 --> 00:03:31.444
And I decided just to write my own.
00:03:32.544 --> 00:03:34.544
And I don't know why the
00:03:34.564 --> 00:03:35.985
Boston Tea Party stuck with me,
00:03:36.045 --> 00:03:38.306
but I think I was,
00:03:38.786 --> 00:03:40.526
I just very much interested
00:03:40.546 --> 00:03:42.948
in history and I wanted the students to,
00:03:43.427 --> 00:03:45.068
I wanted the teacher to let
00:03:45.087 --> 00:03:46.027
me be in the classroom.
00:03:46.048 --> 00:03:47.609
So I knew it had to be an educational,
00:03:49.629 --> 00:03:53.491
And so I also love this book
00:03:53.651 --> 00:03:56.354
called Mr. Revere and I by Robert Lawson.
00:03:56.674 --> 00:03:57.514
Oh, it's a great book.
00:03:57.974 --> 00:04:00.776
I read it as a kid multiple times.
00:04:01.296 --> 00:04:04.979
And I thought, oh, I'll abridge it.
00:04:05.079 --> 00:04:06.299
I'll make it much shorter.
00:04:06.500 --> 00:04:07.680
I won't have the lead
00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:08.980
character who's a horse,
00:04:09.420 --> 00:04:10.581
who's Mr. Revere's horse.
00:04:10.981 --> 00:04:13.022
but I will take snippets in
00:04:13.082 --> 00:04:14.362
particular scenes that I
00:04:14.423 --> 00:04:15.743
still find very funny today
00:04:15.764 --> 00:04:18.704
and write this short play.
00:04:18.745 --> 00:04:23.086
And the play introduces the
00:04:23.666 --> 00:04:25.067
concept of all the
00:04:25.088 --> 00:04:26.208
different taxes and how
00:04:26.288 --> 00:04:27.869
outraged the citizens are,
00:04:28.488 --> 00:04:29.488
and then focuses
00:04:29.588 --> 00:04:30.889
specifically on just all
00:04:30.910 --> 00:04:32.331
the events leading up to
00:04:32.350 --> 00:04:34.511
the Boston Tea Party and
00:04:34.550 --> 00:04:35.572
then the next day.
00:04:36.913 --> 00:04:39.014
And it felt fine,
00:04:39.055 --> 00:04:40.396
but it also felt really short.
00:04:40.536 --> 00:04:42.718
So one day after doing this
00:04:42.798 --> 00:04:43.879
production with my
00:04:43.899 --> 00:04:45.880
daughter's fifth grade class,
00:04:46.901 --> 00:04:48.622
I ran into Ruthanne and
00:04:48.642 --> 00:04:49.704
Ruthanne and I were friends.
00:04:49.863 --> 00:04:52.045
She was my daughter's piano teacher.
00:04:52.146 --> 00:04:53.166
She also had been teaching
00:04:53.226 --> 00:04:55.649
my girls in the cardboard box theater.
00:04:56.329 --> 00:04:58.572
And she was also my tap dance teacher.
00:04:58.612 --> 00:05:01.113
We tapped together and I
00:05:01.153 --> 00:05:02.295
knew how talented she was.
00:05:02.415 --> 00:05:02.776
And I said,
00:05:03.415 --> 00:05:04.177
there's something about this
00:05:04.336 --> 00:05:05.557
play I think it needs to be
00:05:05.596 --> 00:05:06.617
expanded and I think it
00:05:06.658 --> 00:05:08.098
would do really well with
00:05:08.278 --> 00:05:10.641
some songs um and she was
00:05:10.701 --> 00:05:12.901
game so um she took the
00:05:12.942 --> 00:05:14.343
script because she hadn't I
00:05:14.362 --> 00:05:15.624
don't know she had seen she
00:05:15.644 --> 00:05:16.764
had come to see some of my
00:05:17.024 --> 00:05:18.225
my plays at the elementary
00:05:18.245 --> 00:05:18.966
school but I don't think
00:05:19.045 --> 00:05:21.108
she had seen that play and
00:05:21.148 --> 00:05:23.649
so she you know you go you
00:05:24.350 --> 00:05:25.630
you go next ruthanne tell
00:05:25.730 --> 00:05:27.031
tell us tell everyone what
00:05:27.050 --> 00:05:27.612
you did with it
00:05:29.180 --> 00:05:30.781
I took the script and I
00:05:30.821 --> 00:05:32.502
looked at all of the words
00:05:33.041 --> 00:05:34.702
and I you know took the
00:05:34.742 --> 00:05:36.983
information and of course
00:05:37.043 --> 00:05:40.867
I'm a rhymer so it don't
00:05:40.927 --> 00:05:42.547
rhyme because that's the
00:05:42.567 --> 00:05:46.088
way I do my music and yeah
00:05:46.168 --> 00:05:49.430
so I also wanted the
00:05:52.081 --> 00:05:54.502
tunes and the energy of the
00:05:54.543 --> 00:05:56.244
songs to match what was
00:05:56.303 --> 00:05:58.865
happening in that scene so
00:05:58.884 --> 00:06:00.685
I tried to write it that
00:06:00.745 --> 00:06:04.326
way um and uh yeah it was a
00:06:04.367 --> 00:06:05.848
lot of fun and I have
00:06:06.028 --> 00:06:08.829
already been writing um it
00:06:08.869 --> 00:06:10.009
didn't take long because
00:06:10.129 --> 00:06:12.670
I've at that time for those
00:06:13.581 --> 00:06:15.122
that was the end of like 10
00:06:15.122 --> 00:06:16.201
years that I'd already been
00:06:16.242 --> 00:06:17.942
writing all these musicals.
00:06:17.983 --> 00:06:18.822
And I think I'd already
00:06:18.862 --> 00:06:22.283
written about 40 musicals
00:06:23.423 --> 00:06:25.103
for the Cardboard Box Theater.
00:06:25.564 --> 00:06:29.845
So it was just part of my brain.
00:06:29.865 --> 00:06:33.665
And the information was great.
00:06:33.785 --> 00:06:36.545
So the play itself said
00:06:36.625 --> 00:06:37.805
everything that needed to
00:06:37.865 --> 00:06:39.346
be said and it was
00:06:39.545 --> 00:06:42.526
organized very well so that I could
00:06:43.687 --> 00:06:45.627
put it in order in the song
00:06:45.947 --> 00:06:48.987
and just make it, you know, fun,
00:06:49.548 --> 00:06:51.129
obviously, for the kids.
00:06:51.488 --> 00:06:53.069
And as I said before,
00:06:53.088 --> 00:06:54.129
I like everything to rhyme,
00:06:54.170 --> 00:06:58.670
so I think that helps them connect to it.
00:06:59.451 --> 00:07:00.490
Great.
00:07:00.531 --> 00:07:01.711
Can you tell us a little, Rosanne,
00:07:01.750 --> 00:07:03.271
about the cardboard box theater,
00:07:03.411 --> 00:07:03.891
what that is?
00:07:04.923 --> 00:07:06.062
The Cardboard Box Theater.
00:07:07.384 --> 00:07:07.684
Well,
00:07:09.204 --> 00:07:15.665
it was me leading theater classes and
00:07:16.565 --> 00:07:19.386
we did skits and improv and
00:07:19.466 --> 00:07:20.026
all this stuff.
00:07:20.166 --> 00:07:24.387
And then we would come up
00:07:24.447 --> 00:07:26.208
with an idea for a play.
00:07:26.807 --> 00:07:29.728
And sometimes it was based on like a story,
00:07:31.108 --> 00:07:32.329
loosely based on a story,
00:07:32.348 --> 00:07:34.129
a picture book or something.
00:07:35.112 --> 00:07:37.454
But often it was just based on an idea.
00:07:37.613 --> 00:07:39.636
And I would ask the kids, like, oh, well,
00:07:40.295 --> 00:07:40.516
you know,
00:07:40.576 --> 00:07:41.798
what character do you want to
00:07:41.838 --> 00:07:43.939
have in this play or be in this play?
00:07:43.978 --> 00:07:44.980
And then maybe, you know,
00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:46.240
somebody says a flying pig.
00:07:46.401 --> 00:07:48.023
And so I would, you know,
00:07:48.062 --> 00:07:49.444
somehow incorporate that.
00:07:49.803 --> 00:07:53.326
And with the kids' ideas and input,
00:07:53.687 --> 00:07:54.947
then I would go home and...
00:07:55.988 --> 00:07:57.790
whip off this eight scene
00:07:57.891 --> 00:07:59.672
play and write about four
00:07:59.711 --> 00:08:01.274
songs for it and come back
00:08:01.353 --> 00:08:04.055
and choreograph the whole thing.
00:08:04.276 --> 00:08:05.797
And we made cardboard sets.
00:08:06.057 --> 00:08:07.718
And my daughter,
00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:10.581
I'm not like a super artist or anything.
00:08:10.661 --> 00:08:16.346
So my daughter helped in that area.
00:08:16.545 --> 00:08:18.507
And so the sets, believe it or not,
00:08:18.567 --> 00:08:21.449
were actually pretty substantial.
00:08:21.470 --> 00:08:23.451
A lot of cardboard.
00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:25.639
Wow, that's amazing.
00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:28.461
So yeah, we put all those on for the town.
00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:29.641
Great, great.
00:08:30.002 --> 00:08:31.721
And what ages were performing?
00:08:32.903 --> 00:08:33.802
Seven to 12.
00:08:34.764 --> 00:08:36.445
And then I think as like,
00:08:36.764 --> 00:08:39.485
as Deb's daughter got older, I think,
00:08:40.385 --> 00:08:42.006
I think Vivi was still in it.
00:08:42.147 --> 00:08:42.427
Yeah.
00:08:42.447 --> 00:08:44.368
And she came as a teenager.
00:08:44.408 --> 00:08:46.009
I had a little crew that started,
00:08:46.028 --> 00:08:48.250
I think Vivi started at age four.
00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:51.900
And then she was, yeah,
00:08:52.160 --> 00:08:57.104
maybe 14 when I moved, actually.
00:08:57.144 --> 00:08:58.183
I live in Gloucester now,
00:08:58.244 --> 00:09:00.586
so that's where our operations is now,
00:09:00.645 --> 00:09:02.726
by the way.
00:09:02.767 --> 00:09:03.067
Thanks.
00:09:07.610 --> 00:09:09.171
And so I know I've seen a
00:09:09.571 --> 00:09:11.172
video of a performance of this.
00:09:11.231 --> 00:09:12.712
Has it been done more than
00:09:13.133 --> 00:09:14.234
for your group groups?
00:09:14.952 --> 00:09:19.095
no it's uh what so so we did
00:09:19.115 --> 00:09:21.135
this production uh with the
00:09:21.196 --> 00:09:22.316
music with the three I
00:09:22.336 --> 00:09:24.456
remember she literally I
00:09:24.496 --> 00:09:25.437
gave her the script and
00:09:25.457 --> 00:09:26.977
like maybe a week later she
00:09:27.018 --> 00:09:27.739
said oh I've written the
00:09:27.778 --> 00:09:29.458
songs and I was like great
00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:35.836
and we put it on um so that was in um 20
00:09:35.836 --> 00:09:37.576
I think I read it in 2014.
00:09:38.697 --> 00:09:40.317
We did it with my daughter's
00:09:40.337 --> 00:09:41.597
class just as a straight play.
00:09:41.658 --> 00:09:42.778
And then with my niece,
00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:44.019
who is a year younger,
00:09:44.038 --> 00:09:46.139
we added the songs and it
00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:48.900
was done at the elementary school.
00:09:49.520 --> 00:09:52.282
And it was great.
00:09:52.761 --> 00:09:54.102
And we thought, oh, you know,
00:09:56.004 --> 00:09:58.225
we really need to try to do
00:09:58.284 --> 00:10:00.605
it again and try to capture
00:10:01.647 --> 00:10:03.628
this in some format.
00:10:04.187 --> 00:10:07.870
And Hamilton had just come on the scene.
00:10:08.429 --> 00:10:10.390
And so I remember vividly
00:10:10.870 --> 00:10:12.392
going to Ruthann saying, hey,
00:10:13.392 --> 00:10:15.673
let's add a rap or let's add,
00:10:15.793 --> 00:10:17.734
I think it needs an introduction,
00:10:17.894 --> 00:10:19.215
an introduction song, right?
00:10:19.894 --> 00:10:21.995
And so she's like, okay.
00:10:23.356 --> 00:10:24.238
The two of us,
00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:27.721
we were good friends and we
00:10:27.743 --> 00:10:29.244
were always up to
00:10:29.303 --> 00:10:31.366
collaborate on something fun like this.
00:10:32.087 --> 00:10:33.548
And so she went back and she
00:10:33.589 --> 00:10:36.812
wrote this rap to add to the beginning.
00:10:37.474 --> 00:10:37.594
And I...
00:10:40.197 --> 00:10:42.960
wanted very much to get the
00:10:42.980 --> 00:10:43.921
group of students that we
00:10:43.961 --> 00:10:46.724
knew so well who were just
00:10:46.744 --> 00:10:47.644
really talented.
00:10:49.605 --> 00:10:50.466
And I wanted to have it
00:10:50.506 --> 00:10:53.330
filmed because I felt very
00:10:53.389 --> 00:10:54.390
strongly that this,
00:10:55.251 --> 00:10:56.873
also based upon the fifth
00:10:56.913 --> 00:10:57.693
grade teacher who I had
00:10:57.734 --> 00:10:58.634
been working with for a
00:10:58.695 --> 00:11:00.356
long time doing other plays,
00:11:00.856 --> 00:11:01.898
she kept saying to me,
00:11:03.173 --> 00:11:04.695
this is not an inconvenience
00:11:04.735 --> 00:11:05.674
having you come in because
00:11:05.695 --> 00:11:08.196
this is helping me meet all
00:11:08.235 --> 00:11:09.875
of these common core
00:11:09.916 --> 00:11:13.437
standards that I have to meet for DESE,
00:11:13.577 --> 00:11:14.837
for the Department of
00:11:14.977 --> 00:11:16.658
Elementary and Secondary Education.
00:11:17.278 --> 00:11:18.919
And she basically said,
00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:20.340
you're doing all this work
00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:22.721
that I can claim as my own.
00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:24.701
And I thought, which was fine.
00:11:25.142 --> 00:11:26.201
And I just thought, oh,
00:11:26.442 --> 00:11:28.383
this would be so perfect as
00:11:28.442 --> 00:11:30.943
a curriculum to have both this play
00:11:31.884 --> 00:11:35.407
find an interested music teacher,
00:11:35.427 --> 00:11:36.847
hopefully, at the elementary school.
00:11:37.368 --> 00:11:38.809
And you can also do the read
00:11:38.830 --> 00:11:40.390
aloud of Mr. Revere and I.
00:11:40.530 --> 00:11:43.832
And I also had a list of
00:11:43.873 --> 00:11:45.094
all the vocab words that
00:11:45.193 --> 00:11:46.855
students could learn, right?
00:11:47.355 --> 00:11:48.576
And memorize, you know.
00:11:48.596 --> 00:11:50.979
I'm not a teacher,
00:11:51.019 --> 00:11:54.041
but I value education deeply.
00:11:54.621 --> 00:11:55.662
And I just thought...
00:11:56.442 --> 00:11:57.884
we should just kind of package this.
00:11:57.943 --> 00:11:59.384
And to be able to do that,
00:12:00.265 --> 00:12:01.986
we have to have it documented, right?
00:12:02.047 --> 00:12:04.087
So that other people can replicate it.
00:12:04.467 --> 00:12:05.609
I wrote a cultural council
00:12:05.668 --> 00:12:07.070
grants to pay for a
00:12:07.129 --> 00:12:08.090
professional to come and
00:12:08.211 --> 00:12:11.211
film it with the added wrap.
00:12:11.251 --> 00:12:12.533
And then Ruth and I,
00:12:12.712 --> 00:12:14.153
Ruthanne and I ran around
00:12:14.293 --> 00:12:15.715
collecting students who are
00:12:15.754 --> 00:12:20.498
now seventh graders and fifth,
00:12:20.557 --> 00:12:21.639
sixth and seventh graders.
00:12:21.719 --> 00:12:24.321
I think that the, the, the,
00:12:25.527 --> 00:12:28.129
one of the younger ones was my daughter,
00:12:28.149 --> 00:12:31.072
my younger daughter, Juliet, who is,
00:12:31.432 --> 00:12:32.774
I can't remember what she was,
00:12:32.855 --> 00:12:34.476
maybe she was six or seven.
00:12:35.677 --> 00:12:37.720
And we got the local high
00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:39.442
school to let us use their
00:12:39.481 --> 00:12:41.182
space for almost no money.
00:12:41.303 --> 00:12:41.384
And
00:12:41.844 --> 00:12:42.504
then we had it filmed.
00:12:43.384 --> 00:12:45.024
And that's really all that
00:12:45.065 --> 00:12:46.085
has happened with it.
00:12:46.144 --> 00:12:48.605
So we have this idea and
00:12:48.645 --> 00:12:51.647
this wish so much that we
00:12:51.667 --> 00:12:52.567
would just love to have
00:12:52.967 --> 00:12:54.368
everyone in the state of
00:12:54.408 --> 00:12:56.009
Massachusetts have access
00:12:56.089 --> 00:12:57.749
to this play or this curriculum.
00:12:58.028 --> 00:12:59.149
Because I know it's very
00:12:59.190 --> 00:13:00.070
expensive when you go
00:13:00.129 --> 00:13:03.010
online to find something like this.
00:13:04.311 --> 00:13:05.611
It's sometimes just not
00:13:05.731 --> 00:13:07.751
possible to afford it
00:13:07.831 --> 00:13:08.673
because there's no money in
00:13:08.712 --> 00:13:09.773
budgets for things like this.
00:13:10.373 --> 00:13:11.813
right so you're inviting
00:13:11.854 --> 00:13:13.434
people to pick this up make
00:13:13.455 --> 00:13:14.495
it available to people
00:13:14.676 --> 00:13:15.836
right yeah so it's not it's
00:13:15.856 --> 00:13:17.638
gone nowhere essentially
00:13:17.738 --> 00:13:19.038
yeah it's nowhere yet but
00:13:19.099 --> 00:13:20.379
then your hope is that
00:13:20.499 --> 00:13:21.080
every school in
00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:22.000
massachusetts will be
00:13:22.059 --> 00:13:23.620
performing this I just
00:13:23.640 --> 00:13:24.022
think that would be
00:13:24.062 --> 00:13:25.423
incredible it would be yeah
00:13:26.423 --> 00:13:30.024
I was a classroom teacher for 20 years.
00:13:30.163 --> 00:13:32.264
And so my personal opinion
00:13:32.845 --> 00:13:34.424
is that they read this book
00:13:36.206 --> 00:13:38.287
and then they do this play
00:13:38.307 --> 00:13:40.506
and it's organized so well.
00:13:40.547 --> 00:13:42.868
The narrator first tells everything
00:13:43.707 --> 00:13:45.549
And then the next thing that
00:13:45.570 --> 00:13:47.451
happens is the kids, you know,
00:13:47.711 --> 00:13:48.392
perform it.
00:13:48.971 --> 00:13:50.494
And then there's the songs
00:13:50.533 --> 00:13:52.095
that reinforce everything.
00:13:52.154 --> 00:13:53.316
And they're, you know,
00:13:53.535 --> 00:13:54.876
all the songs are choreographed.
00:13:54.897 --> 00:13:56.138
So they're using their body
00:13:56.677 --> 00:13:59.279
to also remember all that information.
00:13:59.660 --> 00:14:01.662
And I just think it's a
00:14:02.062 --> 00:14:05.365
beautifully packaged piece
00:14:05.465 --> 00:14:07.527
of educational material.
00:14:08.990 --> 00:14:11.054
So why don't we hear another of the songs?
00:14:12.077 --> 00:14:13.441
We have a couple queued up.
00:14:14.081 --> 00:14:15.303
We have Tea and Taxes.
00:14:15.345 --> 00:14:17.168
Would that be a good one to hear next?
00:14:17.288 --> 00:14:17.789
Oh, sure.
00:14:23.062 --> 00:14:24.844
Taxes, taxes and tea.
00:14:24.884 --> 00:14:27.464
Let's dump it on the seas as we,
00:14:27.504 --> 00:14:28.825
the sons of liberty.
00:14:29.365 --> 00:14:31.745
Tea and taxes, taxes and tea.
00:14:32.206 --> 00:14:34.947
But orders from the king, you see,
00:14:35.167 --> 00:14:37.386
threaten to stop our ride over tea.
00:14:37.586 --> 00:14:40.408
Oh, bring it on, your majesty.
00:14:41.107 --> 00:14:43.009
We are the sons of liberty.
00:14:46.118 --> 00:14:48.080
Tea and taxes, taxes and tea.
00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:50.942
Let's dump it on the sea, says we,
00:14:50.982 --> 00:14:52.264
the sons of liberty.
00:14:52.724 --> 00:14:55.206
Tea and taxes, taxes and tea.
00:14:55.966 --> 00:14:57.889
Let's take action.
00:14:58.490 --> 00:15:00.110
No more distraction.
00:15:04.283 --> 00:15:06.245
Let's flavor that tea with
00:15:06.284 --> 00:15:08.666
salt water and give liberty cheer.
00:15:08.806 --> 00:15:11.466
Hey, tea in Texas, Texas and tea.
00:15:11.486 --> 00:15:13.868
Let's dump it on the seas as we,
00:15:13.908 --> 00:15:15.087
the sons of liberty.
00:15:15.568 --> 00:15:21.691
Tea in Texas, Texas and tea.
00:15:22.912 --> 00:15:23.172
Well,
00:15:23.211 --> 00:15:25.452
you hear a song like that and you
00:15:25.753 --> 00:15:26.913
don't believe it was just
00:15:26.972 --> 00:15:28.293
written within the last 10 years.
00:15:28.413 --> 00:15:29.914
It's timeless.
00:15:30.095 --> 00:15:31.294
It's really pretty well done.
00:15:32.796 --> 00:15:33.296
Well, thank you.
00:15:34.469 --> 00:15:35.889
We're talking with Deb Poti
00:15:36.190 --> 00:15:37.410
and Ruth Ann Paulson,
00:15:37.490 --> 00:15:39.211
who have collaborated on a play,
00:15:39.390 --> 00:15:40.552
Oh That Dreadful Tea,
00:15:41.912 --> 00:15:44.673
really geared to help elementary school,
00:15:44.874 --> 00:15:45.933
junior high school kids,
00:15:45.974 --> 00:15:47.054
high school kids learn
00:15:47.215 --> 00:15:48.154
about the American
00:15:48.215 --> 00:15:49.154
Revolution through
00:15:49.215 --> 00:15:51.316
performing this great play.
00:15:51.937 --> 00:15:52.777
About how long is the
00:15:52.797 --> 00:15:53.756
running time of the play?
00:15:54.238 --> 00:15:56.958
It's just under half an hour.
00:15:58.139 --> 00:15:59.600
from the rap to the very end.
00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:02.120
What's great, I think,
00:16:02.160 --> 00:16:03.441
about this play is that it
00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:06.442
can be done with a small
00:16:06.462 --> 00:16:08.143
classroom of maybe 10 students.
00:16:08.222 --> 00:16:10.663
It can be expanded easily to
00:16:10.663 --> 00:16:13.284
25 plus with non-speaking parts.
00:16:14.306 --> 00:16:15.986
They could have multiple narrators.
00:16:17.006 --> 00:16:19.548
It's very versatile in that way.
00:16:19.908 --> 00:16:21.389
The songs are very easy to sing.
00:16:22.048 --> 00:16:24.390
Yeah.
00:16:24.451 --> 00:16:25.432
The two we've heard so far
00:16:25.471 --> 00:16:27.513
certainly are very catchy tunes as well.
00:16:29.715 --> 00:16:30.696
Can you tell us more about
00:16:30.735 --> 00:16:32.576
Performing Arts Inspirations, Roseanne?
00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:37.179
Okay, so Performing Arts Inspirations,
00:16:37.841 --> 00:16:43.085
when I was in Northfield, I ran theater,
00:16:43.225 --> 00:16:45.285
dance, and music classes.
00:16:46.466 --> 00:16:49.929
Since then, and the Cardboard Box Theater,
00:16:50.466 --> 00:16:51.628
was huge.
00:16:51.687 --> 00:16:53.249
That was the core of it.
00:16:53.649 --> 00:16:56.350
Now I live in Gloucester and
00:16:56.370 --> 00:16:59.732
I teach for Manchester by
00:16:59.753 --> 00:17:00.874
the sea park and rec.
00:17:00.913 --> 00:17:01.934
So after school,
00:17:02.274 --> 00:17:04.757
I run my performing arts inspirations.
00:17:05.358 --> 00:17:08.359
And I teach private lessons, I teach piano,
00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:11.401
guitar, ukulele, voice,
00:17:11.961 --> 00:17:16.622
and I also teach theater there as well.
00:17:17.961 --> 00:17:21.222
I also have a YouTube channel,
00:17:22.443 --> 00:17:27.005
which is Musical Story Time with Ruthann.
00:17:28.095 --> 00:17:30.656
um because I go to the
00:17:30.718 --> 00:17:34.141
libraries um and I sing I
00:17:34.181 --> 00:17:36.241
perform and sing with all
00:17:36.261 --> 00:17:37.202
the little with the little
00:17:37.242 --> 00:17:40.746
kids um the um younger age
00:17:40.987 --> 00:17:43.189
children their families um
00:17:43.328 --> 00:17:45.611
and it's all my music um
00:17:46.432 --> 00:17:48.252
and so my uh youtube
00:17:48.272 --> 00:17:50.115
channel is songs that I've
00:17:50.134 --> 00:17:52.356
written for um you know uh
00:17:53.628 --> 00:17:54.650
preschool children.
00:17:56.451 --> 00:17:57.913
That's where I am right now.
00:17:58.413 --> 00:17:59.594
Yes, I'm always writing.
00:17:59.673 --> 00:18:00.875
That's good.
00:18:01.675 --> 00:18:05.318
Yeah.
00:18:05.558 --> 00:18:05.818
Deb,
00:18:06.099 --> 00:18:08.682
you spent years as a children's librarian,
00:18:08.701 --> 00:18:09.982
a school librarian.
00:18:10.202 --> 00:18:12.005
You did mention having
00:18:12.045 --> 00:18:13.486
trouble finding good things
00:18:13.865 --> 00:18:16.568
on history for this age.
00:18:16.608 --> 00:18:16.848
Robert
00:18:20.875 --> 00:18:22.517
books that got me into being an historian.
00:18:23.577 --> 00:18:26.901
And so I'm really wondering
00:18:26.961 --> 00:18:28.642
if you have thoughts about I mean,
00:18:29.261 --> 00:18:30.542
writing your own is one
00:18:31.084 --> 00:18:32.505
thing people can do,
00:18:32.605 --> 00:18:34.306
but other thoughts on how
00:18:34.346 --> 00:18:35.586
we can improve the
00:18:36.407 --> 00:18:37.528
literature for children,
00:18:37.588 --> 00:18:39.890
particularly about the about history.
00:18:41.511 --> 00:18:41.771
Well,
00:18:44.246 --> 00:18:46.928
I guess my experience just
00:18:47.288 --> 00:18:48.669
as just an ordinary,
00:18:49.388 --> 00:18:51.670
especially talented person
00:18:52.371 --> 00:18:54.991
is that the things that-
00:18:55.011 --> 00:18:55.652
Don't sell yourself short.
00:18:55.692 --> 00:18:56.732
Most of us are ordinary,
00:18:56.752 --> 00:18:57.753
non-talented people.
00:18:57.773 --> 00:18:59.253
Well, I'm not Ruthann,
00:18:59.734 --> 00:19:02.756
but I just think the opportunity to
00:19:03.876 --> 00:19:06.119
bring theater into schools.
00:19:06.180 --> 00:19:06.359
You know,
00:19:06.380 --> 00:19:08.262
I don't think that there are many
00:19:08.442 --> 00:19:09.763
schools that have the
00:19:10.285 --> 00:19:11.807
capacity to be able to do theater.
00:19:11.846 --> 00:19:13.950
I know I work as a school
00:19:13.970 --> 00:19:15.771
adjustment counselor in a
00:19:16.172 --> 00:19:17.394
public high school in Greenfield,
00:19:17.513 --> 00:19:18.295
Greenfield High School.
00:19:18.715 --> 00:19:21.499
And only this past year were
00:19:21.538 --> 00:19:22.180
we able to bring
00:19:23.101 --> 00:19:23.780
theater back.
00:19:23.820 --> 00:19:26.383
So now I'm a co-director of, uh,
00:19:26.502 --> 00:19:27.723
for the theater program.
00:19:28.223 --> 00:19:29.744
And because we, for example,
00:19:29.805 --> 00:19:32.246
don't have a chorus, uh,
00:19:32.266 --> 00:19:34.307
and we have a part-time, uh,
00:19:34.487 --> 00:19:36.008
band director, there is no,
00:19:36.028 --> 00:19:39.009
no way we could ever hold a musical, um,
00:19:39.609 --> 00:19:40.950
for example, at our high school,
00:19:40.990 --> 00:19:42.010
because we just don't have
00:19:42.070 --> 00:19:45.292
the staff and we're just, you know,
00:19:45.593 --> 00:19:46.973
there might, might be schools,
00:19:46.993 --> 00:19:47.733
other schools,
00:19:47.773 --> 00:19:50.134
well in wealthier communities, uh, in,
00:19:50.596 --> 00:19:50.715
uh,
00:19:51.756 --> 00:19:53.317
Central and Western, sorry,
00:19:53.578 --> 00:19:55.580
Central and Eastern Mass,
00:19:55.642 --> 00:19:57.443
but out here in Western Mass,
00:19:57.604 --> 00:19:59.006
it's a struggle.
00:19:59.286 --> 00:20:01.048
Rural schools don't have the
00:20:01.088 --> 00:20:02.190
same capacity.
00:20:02.230 --> 00:20:06.035
So I think any time there's
00:20:06.055 --> 00:20:07.196
an opportunity for young
00:20:07.277 --> 00:20:09.038
people to get involved in theater,
00:20:11.021 --> 00:20:13.424
It's easy to do,
00:20:13.506 --> 00:20:14.547
to take a book that's in
00:20:14.586 --> 00:20:16.730
public domain and craft it
00:20:16.789 --> 00:20:17.490
and make it something
00:20:17.550 --> 00:20:19.192
that's gonna be available for kids.
00:20:19.252 --> 00:20:21.355
And it is expensive to find stuff online.
00:20:21.435 --> 00:20:24.319
So it's just a shame too, because
00:20:25.381 --> 00:20:28.442
I saw the ease that these
00:20:28.722 --> 00:20:30.263
kids were able to grasp
00:20:30.324 --> 00:20:31.244
concepts that they might
00:20:31.305 --> 00:20:33.365
not have learned otherwise,
00:20:34.686 --> 00:20:35.768
memorizing songs,
00:20:35.847 --> 00:20:37.888
being comfortable in front of an audience,
00:20:38.028 --> 00:20:39.849
all those huge social skills.
00:20:41.191 --> 00:20:42.932
We weren't dealing with
00:20:42.971 --> 00:20:44.272
technology back then,
00:20:44.313 --> 00:20:45.134
Ruthann and I weren't
00:20:45.173 --> 00:20:46.815
dealing with kids with phones,
00:20:46.894 --> 00:20:50.876
but it's a very different world today.
00:20:50.896 --> 00:20:52.117
It is, yeah.
00:20:54.618 --> 00:20:55.259
I don't think that was
00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:55.900
really an answer to your
00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.902
question except that I love
00:20:58.942 --> 00:21:00.182
children's literature and I
00:21:00.222 --> 00:21:02.064
think that there's some
00:21:02.204 --> 00:21:03.545
incredible books out there that
00:21:05.270 --> 00:21:07.972
I'd love to get kids' hands into reading,
00:21:08.192 --> 00:21:09.133
because reading is also
00:21:09.153 --> 00:21:10.054
something that kids really
00:21:10.094 --> 00:21:10.993
don't do anymore.
00:21:11.013 --> 00:21:12.055
Right, right.
00:21:12.414 --> 00:21:13.915
A number of things.
00:21:13.976 --> 00:21:15.936
We're starting to sound like
00:21:16.017 --> 00:21:16.798
a group of old people.
00:21:17.018 --> 00:21:19.720
I know, I know.
00:21:20.059 --> 00:21:23.301
But I want, I guess, just on my part,
00:21:23.321 --> 00:21:24.301
I just would always want to
00:21:24.342 --> 00:21:25.702
promote that interest and
00:21:25.722 --> 00:21:27.703
that love in American history.
00:21:27.903 --> 00:21:30.246
And through literature, you can really...
00:21:30.885 --> 00:21:32.467
grab kids in ways that you
00:21:33.307 --> 00:21:35.488
might not just by talking
00:21:35.548 --> 00:21:36.728
about the facts of the
00:21:37.067 --> 00:21:37.968
American Revolution,
00:21:38.028 --> 00:21:40.308
like the books like Ben and
00:21:40.348 --> 00:21:43.190
Me or Mr. Revere and I, or I can think of,
00:21:43.849 --> 00:21:44.651
there's another book that I
00:21:44.691 --> 00:21:45.931
love called Rebecca's War
00:21:45.971 --> 00:21:46.611
that was set in
00:21:46.631 --> 00:21:48.912
Philadelphia by Anne Finlayson.
00:21:49.172 --> 00:21:50.452
That was a huge,
00:21:50.573 --> 00:21:52.333
important book to me that
00:21:52.413 --> 00:21:53.673
they don't necessarily need
00:21:53.693 --> 00:21:54.733
to be made into plays,
00:21:54.854 --> 00:21:55.894
but I just wish that they
00:21:55.934 --> 00:21:59.935
were read as sort of supplements to the
00:22:00.336 --> 00:22:01.257
the facts because they're
00:22:01.277 --> 00:22:03.837
all based on on on facts of
00:22:03.917 --> 00:22:04.678
course they're just much
00:22:04.718 --> 00:22:07.339
more vivid for kids so
00:22:07.619 --> 00:22:10.781
right right do you have any
00:22:10.821 --> 00:22:12.563
other ideas for um a
00:22:12.603 --> 00:22:13.583
history play I mean and
00:22:13.623 --> 00:22:14.564
you're you're still working
00:22:14.604 --> 00:22:15.664
on getting this one out
00:22:15.704 --> 00:22:17.085
there yeah well as you said
00:22:17.105 --> 00:22:17.665
there's so many other
00:22:17.705 --> 00:22:19.866
topics I i wrote one about
00:22:19.906 --> 00:22:20.948
lewis and clark which
00:22:20.988 --> 00:22:23.729
really my daughter's my I
00:22:23.769 --> 00:22:26.691
just spoke to my she's in college now uh
00:22:29.092 --> 00:22:31.854
And she said, well, I loved, oh,
00:22:31.874 --> 00:22:32.574
that dreadful tea,
00:22:32.634 --> 00:22:33.513
but I really loved the
00:22:33.554 --> 00:22:35.174
Lewis and Clark and the
00:22:35.194 --> 00:22:36.635
core discovery play that you wrote.
00:22:36.655 --> 00:22:39.396
Yeah, that was, it was not,
00:22:39.436 --> 00:22:41.438
I did not have Ruthann make
00:22:41.458 --> 00:22:42.419
that into a musical.
00:22:42.459 --> 00:22:44.400
I guess she could, but that was.
00:22:44.420 --> 00:22:45.440
I saw her eyes lighting up
00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:46.721
when she heard about Lewis and Clark.
00:22:48.541 --> 00:22:49.623
By the end of the podcast,
00:22:49.643 --> 00:22:51.844
you'll have something on Sacagawea ready.
00:22:52.085 --> 00:22:53.365
Right, right.
00:22:53.586 --> 00:22:53.905
Yes.
00:22:55.567 --> 00:22:57.608
So, yes, I've written that one too.
00:22:57.709 --> 00:22:58.409
Yeah.
00:23:00.611 --> 00:23:00.770
Now,
00:23:00.911 --> 00:23:02.912
Jonathan points out that the musical
00:23:02.912 --> 00:23:05.713
1776 has probably had more of an impact.
00:23:05.814 --> 00:23:07.494
And one of our running
00:23:07.536 --> 00:23:08.316
themes is how come there
00:23:08.375 --> 00:23:10.417
aren't good movies about the revolution?
00:23:10.897 --> 00:23:11.038
Yes.
00:23:11.258 --> 00:23:13.098
And think about the impact of 1776,
00:23:13.098 --> 00:23:16.162
this play, or Hamilton,
00:23:16.201 --> 00:23:16.981
which you mentioned, which...
00:23:19.381 --> 00:23:19.621
Right.
00:23:19.681 --> 00:23:19.901
Yeah.
00:23:19.980 --> 00:23:21.382
I mean, kids know history.
00:23:21.422 --> 00:23:22.021
They know history.
00:23:22.041 --> 00:23:23.561
They might know it through Hamilton.
00:23:23.662 --> 00:23:25.603
I know that that has a huge impact.
00:23:25.643 --> 00:23:25.803
I mean,
00:23:25.823 --> 00:23:27.682
I can I know it just being with
00:23:27.722 --> 00:23:30.463
teenagers is talk about the
00:23:30.503 --> 00:23:31.763
Constitution in ways that
00:23:31.784 --> 00:23:32.644
they might not have been
00:23:32.704 --> 00:23:34.265
able to because they have
00:23:34.484 --> 00:23:35.884
listened to the lyrics of Hamilton.
00:23:36.125 --> 00:23:36.546
Right.
00:23:36.786 --> 00:23:37.066
Right.
00:23:38.066 --> 00:23:38.586
Absolutely.
00:23:39.105 --> 00:23:40.026
The Federalist Papers,
00:23:40.346 --> 00:23:41.047
they know who wrote the
00:23:41.086 --> 00:23:41.787
Federalist Papers.
00:23:42.507 --> 00:23:43.188
That's right.
00:23:43.327 --> 00:23:44.949
Trying to set the Federalist
00:23:44.969 --> 00:23:45.929
Papers to music,
00:23:45.969 --> 00:23:48.810
that would be a tough sell.
00:23:49.330 --> 00:23:49.912
But I mean,
00:23:50.011 --> 00:23:51.353
it's interesting that Hamilton
00:23:51.373 --> 00:23:54.674
really influenced me to say, oh,
00:23:54.934 --> 00:23:56.895
I think we need to be able to do a rap.
00:23:57.276 --> 00:23:58.297
Can you do a rap?
00:23:58.656 --> 00:23:59.798
She's like, I can go try.
00:23:59.817 --> 00:24:02.219
She did a great job with the rap.
00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:05.300
Those kids did a great job with that rap.
00:24:05.320 --> 00:24:05.641
I did have a...
00:24:08.782 --> 00:24:10.042
recording of me doing the
00:24:10.083 --> 00:24:16.545
rap watching those children
00:24:16.805 --> 00:24:20.185
take that rap and, and, uh, they did, uh,
00:24:20.405 --> 00:24:21.066
it justice.
00:24:21.125 --> 00:24:21.346
They,
00:24:21.486 --> 00:24:23.185
they really brought it to life and
00:24:23.205 --> 00:24:24.247
did an excellent job.
00:24:24.886 --> 00:24:26.767
Um, yeah, so that was all,
00:24:26.987 --> 00:24:29.087
I had to have gotten all
00:24:29.127 --> 00:24:31.228
that information from dad because, um,
00:24:31.748 --> 00:24:33.648
you know, I probably, um, yeah.
00:24:34.871 --> 00:24:36.872
said, Deb, what do you want in this rap?
00:24:36.912 --> 00:24:38.472
Because that was a pretty lengthy rap,
00:24:38.833 --> 00:24:40.773
and then wrote it all off.
00:24:40.854 --> 00:24:42.493
And that's the introduction is the rap?
00:24:42.855 --> 00:24:44.055
Yeah.
00:24:44.075 --> 00:24:45.655
Yeah, they did a great job, yeah.
00:24:46.036 --> 00:24:46.736
It's a good rap.
00:24:47.696 --> 00:24:49.156
Yeah, the musical, Oh, The Gentlety,
00:24:49.257 --> 00:24:51.698
opens with the rap,
00:24:51.738 --> 00:24:54.500
where you find out the
00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:56.119
whole entire story through that rap.
00:24:56.180 --> 00:24:56.420
Wow.
00:24:58.181 --> 00:25:00.523
the population in Boston
00:25:00.544 --> 00:25:04.106
were suffering under the different taxes,
00:25:04.146 --> 00:25:04.407
right?
00:25:04.948 --> 00:25:06.249
It is.
00:25:06.509 --> 00:25:08.050
Lin-Manuel Miranda said he
00:25:08.090 --> 00:25:09.192
did the play as a rap
00:25:09.211 --> 00:25:09.932
because he wanted to get
00:25:09.992 --> 00:25:11.173
all this information in.
00:25:11.273 --> 00:25:13.517
So that's why it's so word heavy.
00:25:13.616 --> 00:25:13.997
Yes.
00:25:14.778 --> 00:25:15.117
Yes.
00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:16.819
It makes total sense.
00:25:16.859 --> 00:25:17.000
Yeah.
00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:18.181
He's a, he's a genius.
00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:19.422
So we were,
00:25:20.682 --> 00:25:22.983
very, I don't know, inspired by him,
00:25:23.243 --> 00:25:24.065
I think, for that rap.
00:25:24.305 --> 00:25:26.065
All those kids were rapping
00:25:26.204 --> 00:25:29.586
all of the Hamilton pieces at that time.
00:25:30.807 --> 00:25:31.247
That's great.
00:25:31.366 --> 00:25:34.328
I'm wondering, well,
00:25:34.348 --> 00:25:36.028
we do have one more song queued up,
00:25:36.108 --> 00:25:37.349
I think, Daughters of Liberty.
00:25:37.369 --> 00:25:38.549
I wonder if Jonathan can
00:25:38.650 --> 00:25:39.611
play that one for us.
00:25:44.647 --> 00:25:47.671
so the british want to tax
00:25:47.971 --> 00:25:49.913
our tea then they'll meet
00:25:50.032 --> 00:25:52.595
the daughters of liberty
00:25:52.694 --> 00:25:54.676
it's the women who choose
00:25:54.997 --> 00:25:57.378
what to buy not the man in
00:25:57.439 --> 00:26:00.301
the house no not that guy
00:26:02.202 --> 00:26:05.689
We'll tell all the women where to shop.
00:26:06.369 --> 00:26:09.433
Nothing important, just mom and pops.
00:26:10.214 --> 00:26:13.339
England won't be a little cross the ocean.
00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:17.046
Our protests will make quite a commotion.
00:26:18.859 --> 00:26:22.482
So the British want to tax our tea.
00:26:22.542 --> 00:26:23.864
Then they'll meet the
00:26:23.923 --> 00:26:26.125
Daughters of Liberty.
00:26:26.226 --> 00:26:29.788
It's the women who choose what to buy.
00:26:29.848 --> 00:26:31.530
Not the man in the house.
00:26:31.631 --> 00:26:33.492
No, not that guy.
00:26:35.278 --> 00:26:37.039
We all make our own cloth
00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:39.721
and drink bad tea and give
00:26:39.861 --> 00:26:42.001
up sugar so the Tories will
00:26:42.142 --> 00:26:43.862
see that they never ever
00:26:43.923 --> 00:26:46.103
should have taxed our tea
00:26:46.222 --> 00:26:49.505
for we are the Daughters of Liberty.
00:26:51.567 --> 00:26:55.133
So the British want to tax our tea.
00:26:55.192 --> 00:26:56.494
Then they'll meet the
00:26:56.535 --> 00:26:58.778
daughters of liberty.
00:26:58.858 --> 00:27:02.344
It's the women who choose what to buy.
00:27:02.444 --> 00:27:04.126
Not the man in the house.
00:27:04.228 --> 00:27:05.930
No, not that guy.
00:27:07.821 --> 00:27:09.984
Don't underestimate the
00:27:10.045 --> 00:27:11.546
power of the purse.
00:27:11.807 --> 00:27:13.489
Boycotting British goods for
00:27:13.528 --> 00:27:14.750
them will be a curse.
00:27:14.769 --> 00:27:16.932
They'll wish they never
00:27:17.032 --> 00:27:18.634
taxed us in the first.
00:27:19.174 --> 00:27:21.758
Cheers to liberty.
00:27:22.479 --> 00:27:23.099
Bah!
00:27:23.901 --> 00:27:25.462
Oh, that is dreadful tea.
00:27:31.344 --> 00:27:31.943
That was not,
00:27:32.003 --> 00:27:33.766
I think that was not in Mr. Revere and I,
00:27:33.846 --> 00:27:34.326
I added,
00:27:34.967 --> 00:27:36.008
I wanted to make sure that there
00:27:36.048 --> 00:27:37.888
was a scene with, with the women.
00:27:38.369 --> 00:27:39.390
Right.
00:27:40.351 --> 00:27:41.771
That's one of the things that, you know,
00:27:41.872 --> 00:27:42.853
in the years since Robert
00:27:42.893 --> 00:27:43.713
Lawson wrote that, I mean,
00:27:43.753 --> 00:27:44.795
we have learned a lot more
00:27:44.815 --> 00:27:46.195
about the social complexion
00:27:46.215 --> 00:27:47.497
of Boston and so on.
00:27:47.557 --> 00:27:48.837
And, but still, I mean,
00:27:49.078 --> 00:27:51.401
the books are still very vivid and, um,
00:27:52.141 --> 00:27:52.801
captivating.
00:27:53.561 --> 00:27:54.242
So, um,
00:27:55.443 --> 00:27:55.864
Ruthann,
00:27:56.105 --> 00:27:57.086
it looked like you were pulling
00:27:57.145 --> 00:27:58.646
out something you wanted to show us.
00:27:58.666 --> 00:28:01.108
Oh, I was thinking about that wrap,
00:28:01.249 --> 00:28:03.090
and I have the wrap here.
00:28:04.954 --> 00:28:05.836
if you want to read it
00:28:06.036 --> 00:28:07.116
instead of performing it
00:28:07.156 --> 00:28:09.397
that would be good um oh
00:28:09.438 --> 00:28:11.138
well okay let's see I mean
00:28:11.159 --> 00:28:12.299
the kids did such a good
00:28:12.339 --> 00:28:14.281
job all right so here
00:28:14.402 --> 00:28:15.643
here's the rap but it's
00:28:15.702 --> 00:28:18.064
long I mean okay I can do
00:28:18.084 --> 00:28:20.526
part of it yeah all right
00:28:20.546 --> 00:28:21.987
so it says friends
00:28:22.386 --> 00:28:24.368
countrymen hear the news
00:28:24.729 --> 00:28:26.029
come to a meeting to
00:28:26.069 --> 00:28:27.790
discuss more dues from the
00:28:27.851 --> 00:28:29.992
british parliament and the
00:28:30.073 --> 00:28:32.094
king at old south meeting
00:28:32.134 --> 00:28:33.414
house monday morning
00:28:34.539 --> 00:28:36.141
Then you have to have some beats in there.
00:28:37.241 --> 00:28:39.544
Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townsend Act,
00:28:39.663 --> 00:28:41.905
T. King George won't stop.
00:28:41.965 --> 00:28:43.287
No, he won't, you'll see.
00:28:43.346 --> 00:28:45.127
He taxed our sugar, our coffee,
00:28:45.469 --> 00:28:46.449
and our indigo,
00:28:46.509 --> 00:28:48.611
so we stopped buying British goods.
00:28:49.031 --> 00:28:49.531
Whoa!
00:28:51.232 --> 00:28:53.093
But then he taxed stamps,
00:28:53.473 --> 00:28:55.354
newspaper pamphlets too.
00:28:55.453 --> 00:28:56.614
He didn't stop there.
00:28:56.653 --> 00:28:58.213
So what did Parliament do?
00:28:58.314 --> 00:29:00.734
Tax lead, glass, paper, paint,
00:29:00.795 --> 00:29:01.634
and my teeth.
00:29:01.694 --> 00:29:04.496
There's no end to taxing our colonies.
00:29:05.355 --> 00:29:08.276
It's not fair the colonists have no say.
00:29:08.696 --> 00:29:10.376
No voice in Parliament means
00:29:10.416 --> 00:29:11.317
we shouldn't pay.
00:29:11.856 --> 00:29:14.377
Don't they hear us over here?
00:29:14.478 --> 00:29:15.678
Well, listen up.
00:29:16.269 --> 00:29:18.111
loud and clear there's no
00:29:18.211 --> 00:29:19.330
taxation without
00:29:19.371 --> 00:29:21.772
representation no taxation
00:29:21.792 --> 00:29:23.575
without representation do
00:29:23.634 --> 00:29:26.436
we receive an invitation no
00:29:26.537 --> 00:29:29.098
sir there's no taxation
00:29:29.138 --> 00:29:30.759
without representation and
00:29:30.779 --> 00:29:33.402
then it goes on and on so
00:29:33.422 --> 00:29:35.324
good it just occurred to me
00:29:35.364 --> 00:29:36.464
how taxation without
00:29:36.525 --> 00:29:37.806
representation is really
00:29:37.826 --> 00:29:39.166
very much a rap line that's
00:29:39.386 --> 00:29:42.009
uh yes yeah that internal
00:29:42.068 --> 00:29:43.490
rhyme it's a very
00:29:44.954 --> 00:29:45.535
Yeah,
00:29:46.576 --> 00:29:48.577
the next line is is actually should
00:29:48.597 --> 00:29:49.897
have read this one because this is funny.
00:29:49.938 --> 00:29:50.838
It's the loyalists.
00:29:51.419 --> 00:29:51.839
Oh, yeah.
00:29:51.880 --> 00:29:52.319
Yeah.
00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:53.480
Yeah.
00:29:54.260 --> 00:29:56.222
It's so they sauntered in on
00:29:56.282 --> 00:29:57.303
stage and they say,
00:29:57.804 --> 00:29:59.605
if King George says so,
00:29:59.625 --> 00:30:00.925
then that's what we do.
00:30:01.026 --> 00:30:02.586
He doesn't have to listen to
00:30:02.626 --> 00:30:03.827
the likes of you.
00:30:04.268 --> 00:30:05.288
He's our king.
00:30:05.388 --> 00:30:07.490
He makes the rules, not you.
00:30:07.509 --> 00:30:09.632
You liberty fools.
00:30:13.965 --> 00:30:15.405
who makes the rules, who governs.
00:30:15.425 --> 00:30:16.467
We were talking with Deb
00:30:16.507 --> 00:30:19.106
Poetie and Ruth Ann Paulson,
00:30:19.866 --> 00:30:22.768
and they have collaborated on a play, Oh,
00:30:22.807 --> 00:30:23.667
That Dreadful Tea,
00:30:23.728 --> 00:30:24.887
which is really meant for
00:30:24.988 --> 00:30:26.028
kids to perform.
00:30:26.127 --> 00:30:27.088
It's a musical,
00:30:27.429 --> 00:30:28.528
which tells the story of
00:30:28.548 --> 00:30:29.769
the Boston Tea Party,
00:30:29.888 --> 00:30:30.888
a lot of it derived from
00:30:30.949 --> 00:30:32.529
Robert Lawson's wonderful book,
00:30:32.589 --> 00:30:34.890
Mr. Revere and I, or parts of it.
00:30:35.890 --> 00:30:38.230
So it's Paul Revere figures in your play.
00:30:39.130 --> 00:30:39.970
Yeah, yeah.
00:30:40.009 --> 00:30:42.310
So I, in addition to Mr. Revere and I,
00:30:42.330 --> 00:30:43.892
I went back to look at some
00:30:43.912 --> 00:30:44.692
of the transcripts.
00:30:44.971 --> 00:30:48.213
I use my primary sources and
00:30:48.614 --> 00:30:49.993
there's a speech that I
00:30:50.134 --> 00:30:51.835
literally took from what
00:30:51.875 --> 00:30:54.756
was supposedly said by actually.
00:30:56.798 --> 00:30:59.538
Sam Adams was considered the coveted role.
00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:02.560
And so Sam gives that big speech.
00:31:03.760 --> 00:31:07.323
And then he says, you know, what happened?
00:31:07.343 --> 00:31:09.824
Well, as you know, Bob, you know,
00:31:10.704 --> 00:31:11.944
there was no real signal
00:31:12.065 --> 00:31:14.365
except that he was just like, okay,
00:31:14.646 --> 00:31:16.366
you guys do what you're going to do.
00:31:16.386 --> 00:31:19.048
And yeah,
00:31:19.068 --> 00:31:20.809
I just thought that was so
00:31:21.029 --> 00:31:23.490
remarkable that everyone
00:31:23.671 --> 00:31:25.951
knew what the plan was going to be, but
00:31:26.743 --> 00:31:32.585
It was sort of this unspoken message that,
00:31:32.664 --> 00:31:34.246
okay, this is what we have.
00:31:34.286 --> 00:31:35.685
This is the point we've reached.
00:31:36.526 --> 00:31:40.967
And parts of just the Boston
00:31:41.007 --> 00:31:42.386
Tea Party that I think just
00:31:43.227 --> 00:31:45.548
resonated for kids too is
00:31:45.627 --> 00:31:48.868
just the idea that, yeah, yes,
00:31:49.169 --> 00:31:51.308
women were not part of that,
00:31:51.348 --> 00:31:52.970
but everybody played a role.
00:31:53.569 --> 00:31:55.029
And the events of that night,
00:31:55.608 --> 00:31:57.250
We're really open to anyone
00:31:57.269 --> 00:31:58.750
who happened to be out and
00:31:58.790 --> 00:32:02.713
about going down to the
00:32:02.753 --> 00:32:04.994
wharf and participating and
00:32:05.674 --> 00:32:08.596
having it done in a way that, yes,
00:32:08.636 --> 00:32:09.617
they destroyed the tea,
00:32:09.678 --> 00:32:11.239
but nothing else was destroyed.
00:32:11.318 --> 00:32:14.401
And things were managed in a
00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:17.262
way that sent a clear signal,
00:32:17.603 --> 00:32:19.084
but it wasn't violent.
00:32:19.624 --> 00:32:20.505
People weren't hurt.
00:32:22.481 --> 00:32:23.142
So, I don't know.
00:32:23.362 --> 00:32:24.682
There's just something that
00:32:25.064 --> 00:32:25.864
I think students,
00:32:26.585 --> 00:32:29.006
when they feel things are unjust,
00:32:29.586 --> 00:32:31.127
finding ways to be able to
00:32:31.367 --> 00:32:33.749
make a point without being harmful.
00:32:34.089 --> 00:32:34.190
Yeah,
00:32:34.210 --> 00:32:37.652
I think that students found the story
00:32:37.751 --> 00:32:40.314
or the history, I think, inspiring.
00:32:40.554 --> 00:32:40.733
Yeah.
00:32:42.461 --> 00:32:44.643
really is um now if let's
00:32:44.663 --> 00:32:45.564
suppose a teacher is
00:32:45.604 --> 00:32:46.925
listening and says boy
00:32:46.965 --> 00:32:47.645
that's something I would
00:32:47.665 --> 00:32:49.147
like to have my class do
00:32:49.228 --> 00:32:50.449
what would be their way of
00:32:50.689 --> 00:32:51.549
getting in touch with you
00:32:51.670 --> 00:32:54.894
or yeah I i I think so I i
00:32:56.055 --> 00:32:57.576
I think our hope always has
00:32:57.655 --> 00:32:59.157
been that's that you know
00:32:59.218 --> 00:33:00.679
yes we can create a website
00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:01.720
and we could put it on
00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:03.102
there and maybe that's what
00:33:03.142 --> 00:33:04.943
we'll end up doing I think
00:33:04.983 --> 00:33:06.144
ruthanne and I have to
00:33:06.727 --> 00:33:07.827
sort of talk about that,
00:33:07.847 --> 00:33:08.868
but I think we wanted very
00:33:08.909 --> 00:33:10.529
much for it to be sort of
00:33:10.730 --> 00:33:12.892
packaged so that they could
00:33:12.951 --> 00:33:14.673
get some printed materials
00:33:15.334 --> 00:33:17.715
because everything, I don't know,
00:33:17.855 --> 00:33:18.957
I just feel like it would
00:33:18.997 --> 00:33:20.518
compliment whatever we,
00:33:20.657 --> 00:33:22.859
they find online and for students,
00:33:23.564 --> 00:33:23.923
you know, they,
00:33:24.644 --> 00:33:25.545
I think they need to see
00:33:25.585 --> 00:33:26.464
and hold a script.
00:33:26.484 --> 00:33:27.846
I mean, that's what we worked with.
00:33:27.925 --> 00:33:29.286
So there's that piece of it.
00:33:30.185 --> 00:33:31.307
But yes, I think that,
00:33:31.787 --> 00:33:33.988
I think what we want to make sure that we,
00:33:34.028 --> 00:33:35.147
of course, because we wrote it,
00:33:35.188 --> 00:33:36.368
we have the copyright on it.
00:33:36.648 --> 00:33:37.568
I think we would just want
00:33:37.608 --> 00:33:39.509
it to be done with when you
00:33:39.529 --> 00:33:40.309
purchase something,
00:33:40.609 --> 00:33:42.050
you have all these rules, right?
00:33:42.931 --> 00:33:44.550
When you get the license for anything.
00:33:44.611 --> 00:33:45.731
So I think that's the piece
00:33:45.771 --> 00:33:46.912
of it that worries us is
00:33:46.951 --> 00:33:48.472
that we wouldn't want it to be
00:33:49.252 --> 00:33:51.977
altered or changed in any
00:33:52.017 --> 00:33:53.538
way because it is ours.
00:33:56.277 --> 00:33:59.078
But I would like to be able
00:33:59.118 --> 00:34:00.420
to have it sort of
00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:02.201
sponsored by somebody so
00:34:02.240 --> 00:34:03.402
that it can be packaged the
00:34:03.422 --> 00:34:05.202
way that people can access it,
00:34:05.903 --> 00:34:09.666
but not at a huge price or
00:34:09.726 --> 00:34:11.286
no price at all, really, frankly.
00:34:11.467 --> 00:34:12.307
So that's sort of, I think,
00:34:12.347 --> 00:34:13.168
what we're looking for.
00:34:13.188 --> 00:34:16.030
A stamp of approval from
00:34:16.230 --> 00:34:17.831
somebody so that it can be
00:34:18.030 --> 00:34:19.251
put out there in the world.
00:34:19.733 --> 00:34:20.333
Right, right.
00:34:21.291 --> 00:34:22.371
I'm reminded that the
00:34:22.612 --> 00:34:23.972
National Council of Social
00:34:24.032 --> 00:34:24.934
Studies is having its
00:34:25.014 --> 00:34:26.173
annual meeting actually in
00:34:26.235 --> 00:34:27.675
Boston this November,
00:34:27.775 --> 00:34:30.077
and that might be a good opportunity to,
00:34:30.838 --> 00:34:32.458
there'll be 5,000 history
00:34:32.518 --> 00:34:34.400
social studies teachers coming to Boston.
00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:38.623
And I'm thinking of two things.
00:34:38.762 --> 00:34:39.702
One, how do we get it out there?
00:34:39.722 --> 00:34:40.244
And then B,
00:34:40.324 --> 00:34:41.605
how to make sure that someone
00:34:41.644 --> 00:34:43.125
doesn't get it and change it.
00:34:44.525 --> 00:34:46.067
So, yeah.
00:34:46.728 --> 00:34:46.887
Good.
00:34:48.288 --> 00:34:51.333
So I know I'd love to hear another song,
00:34:51.373 --> 00:34:52.994
but I know you both have,
00:34:54.097 --> 00:34:54.878
we don't want to give the
00:34:54.898 --> 00:34:55.458
whole thing away.
00:34:55.498 --> 00:34:56.420
We want people to hear it.
00:34:56.460 --> 00:34:57.342
Is there more we should talk
00:34:57.402 --> 00:34:58.543
about with this before we
00:34:58.583 --> 00:34:59.905
let you go and go back to
00:35:00.367 --> 00:35:01.327
writing your next musical?
00:35:02.869 --> 00:35:03.849
I just I want to thank you
00:35:03.869 --> 00:35:06.110
Bob for I felt kind of like
00:35:06.550 --> 00:35:07.652
nobody has heard about this
00:35:07.871 --> 00:35:08.811
and I know that they're
00:35:08.831 --> 00:35:10.432
celebrating the anniversary
00:35:11.152 --> 00:35:12.074
certainly anniversary of
00:35:12.114 --> 00:35:13.673
the Boston Tea Party and I
00:35:13.713 --> 00:35:15.014
saw your name and I was
00:35:15.054 --> 00:35:16.815
like oh I gotta email that
00:35:16.876 --> 00:35:19.056
man and and when I finally
00:35:19.097 --> 00:35:20.556
got around to doing it I
00:35:20.597 --> 00:35:22.117
just was so delighted about
00:35:22.137 --> 00:35:23.378
your positive response so
00:35:23.778 --> 00:35:24.759
it made it made my whole
00:35:24.778 --> 00:35:25.980
day so thank you so much
00:35:26.478 --> 00:35:27.440
Well, it's a great project.
00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:29.661
I really give you both great credit,
00:35:29.702 --> 00:35:31.844
Ruth Ann Paulson and Deb Poti,
00:35:31.923 --> 00:35:33.346
who have collaborated on Oh,
00:35:33.385 --> 00:35:34.326
That Dreadful Tea,
00:35:34.346 --> 00:35:36.327
a musical about the Boston Tea Party,
00:35:36.367 --> 00:35:40.592
really aimed at kids to perform,
00:35:40.692 --> 00:35:41.373
to produce,
00:35:41.452 --> 00:35:43.215
and to learn more about the revolution.
00:35:43.255 --> 00:35:44.856
And I think they will
00:35:44.896 --> 00:35:46.157
remember it more than if
00:35:46.217 --> 00:35:48.260
they hear me lecture or if they,
00:35:48.420 --> 00:35:48.579
you know,
00:35:50.231 --> 00:35:52.311
And thinking about using it along with,
00:35:52.331 --> 00:35:52.512
say,
00:35:52.532 --> 00:35:54.652
Robert Lawson's Mr. Revere and I
00:35:54.692 --> 00:35:55.831
would be a great thing.
00:35:55.931 --> 00:35:58.052
So you've done a lot to
00:35:58.112 --> 00:36:00.092
address a lot of the things
00:36:00.112 --> 00:36:01.612
we browse about with the
00:36:01.672 --> 00:36:03.333
education that kids need to
00:36:03.373 --> 00:36:04.474
do more theater and need to
00:36:04.534 --> 00:36:05.534
do more singing and also
00:36:05.574 --> 00:36:06.693
need to learn more history.
00:36:06.733 --> 00:36:09.233
So thank you for pushing this along.
00:36:09.514 --> 00:36:10.554
And Ruthann,
00:36:10.594 --> 00:36:11.295
I'm sorry I'm not in
00:36:11.315 --> 00:36:14.434
Gloucester to go hear you at the library.
00:36:14.775 --> 00:36:15.315
Oh, yes.
00:36:15.534 --> 00:36:17.376
That would be fun.
00:36:17.976 --> 00:36:18.775
Give you a maraca.
00:36:24.161 --> 00:36:24.501
And, you know,
00:36:24.521 --> 00:36:25.541
we do actually have a pretty
00:36:25.922 --> 00:36:27.023
good listenership,
00:36:27.063 --> 00:36:28.742
both in Massachusetts and beyond.
00:36:28.782 --> 00:36:29.702
And every week I thank
00:36:29.784 --> 00:36:31.623
people who are listening regularly.
00:36:31.643 --> 00:36:32.684
And if you're in one of
00:36:32.724 --> 00:36:33.945
these places and want to
00:36:33.985 --> 00:36:34.945
get in touch with us,
00:36:35.844 --> 00:36:37.244
send Jonathan Lane an email,
00:36:37.284 --> 00:36:39.666
jlane at revolution250.org.
00:36:39.686 --> 00:36:40.545
And they'll send you some of
00:36:40.606 --> 00:36:43.367
our Rev 250 swag, playing cards,
00:36:43.487 --> 00:36:46.347
refrigerator magnets, other things.
00:36:46.907 --> 00:36:47.608
And so this week,
00:36:47.708 --> 00:36:50.409
if you folks in Boston and in Long Beach,
00:36:50.449 --> 00:36:51.088
California,
00:36:51.626 --> 00:36:53.827
Omaha, Nebraska, and Lafayette, Indiana,
00:36:53.847 --> 00:36:57.889
and Lagos, Nigeria, and Rio de Janeiro,
00:36:57.969 --> 00:36:59.610
and all places between and beyond.
00:36:59.650 --> 00:37:00.530
Thanks for joining us.
00:37:00.590 --> 00:37:02.311
And now we will be piped out
00:37:02.351 --> 00:37:03.771
our final musical selection,
00:37:03.791 --> 00:37:04.711
On the Road to Boston.