Extract from Act One, Scene 7 (Lines 303 337 on Pp29 30)

Resource sheet 1

What might Richard Conlon want us to learn from the play? How does he teach us these things?

Point / Explain the point / Evidence / How true is it? / How the audience might feel
We must work together / Part of the point of the students' task is that they should work together to get it done as well as possible. / Sash points this out at the start (lines 20 and 64, Act One, Scene 1), and by the end of the play they are all working together in an obvious way: they talk to the audience as one group. / They often quarrel, and Chris and some of the others are nasty and sarcastic to each other. Some of them manage to exclude Chris. / The audience probably realise that the work makes more progress when they help each other and co-operate. Also, they can't help feeling sorry for Chris when he is virtually thrown out.

Resource sheet 2

Extract from Act One, Scene 7 (Lines 303–337 on pp29–30)

CHRIS: It couldn’t happen though.

JOOLS: I don’t believe it.

ALEX: What!?

TERRY: That’s true, of course, you’re right, it couldn’t happen. And Icarus couldn’t really fly to the sun with wings made of feathers and wax. That couldn’t actually happen either.

CHRIS: Who?

ALEX: Icarus. He flew too close to the sun. It’s pretty famous.

CHRIS: Ah but, did he really – I mean really?

JOOLS: (Blankly, baffled) No – it’s a myth.

CHRIS: There you are then.

JOOLS: But that was the point.

CHRIS: And that was mine!

A moment of bafflement.

ALEX: (Referring back to the story) Well I like it.

JOOLS: (To Chris, coldly) I tell you what ... I’m looking forward to yours.

CHRIS: Mine’ll be good – I know what it’s all about. I’ve got it sussed.

TERRY: Look, can we have a break? Is that OK?

JAY: Well, that was all I’d got to anyway – wasn’t sure where to take it after that.

SASH: (Encouragingly) It was really good though. We’re really getting somewhere. Let’s have a drink from the machine and a toilet break and some fresh air.

CHRIS: Yeah, it’s so hot in here ... I can’t breathe ...

SASH: (Ignoring Chris) Then we’ll carry on. (As they wander off) This is good stuff – who’s next …?

TERRY: Me. It might be a bit bleak.

SASH: We’ll see.

CHRIS: (Mocking, almost under the breath) ‘Let’s take a break,’ ‘Then we’ll carry on’! Who made you the boss? (Exits)

Resource sheet 3a

Rules for group discussion

Rate each rule on a 0–5 scale: 5 is a very good rule; 0 is a very bad rule.

Rules / Rating
1 The best reader should decide.
2 Ask everyone in turn for their opinion.
3 Ask for reasons why.
4 Talking takes too much time – write the first idea.
5 Be critical of the idea, not the person who put it forward.
6 If people challenge your ideas, give reasons to support them.
7 Choose as quickly as you can so that you get finished.
8 Discuss all the alternatives before deciding.
9 If a wrong decision is made, point out who is to blame.
10 If you hear a good reason, you can change your mind.
11 If you know something important, keep it to yourself. Otherwise people will copy.
12 If you want to be heard you have to speak forcefully or shout.
13 Stick your fingers in your ears – you know your own mind!
14 Make sure the group agrees after talking.
15 Make up your own mind straight away and stick to it.
16 Respect other people’s ideas.
17 The group tries to agree before making a decision.
18 The most naturally talkative person should speak most.
19 The group should try to stick to the topic.
20 The oldest person should lead the talk.
21 There should be a leader and the group does what they say.
22 You should always agree with your friends.
23 All relevant information is shared among the group.
24 Build on what the previous speaker said.
25 Be prepared to change your mind – it shows you have listened and can accept good reasons.
26 Look at and listen to the person who is talking.
27 If you don’t like someone, make sure they don’t get heard.
28 In the end it doesn’t matter what is decided. Whatever is OK.
29 If someone gives a reason you don’t think is good, you should question it.

Resource sheet 3b

In Act One, Scene 3 (Lines 27–48 on pp9–10), the characters are deciding the order in which each person will tell their myth.

JAY: Let’s do it by birthdays.

SASH: Good idea.

JAY: In the year or in the month?

SASH: The month …? Cool?

JOOLS: Anyone else born on the first?

ALEX: I’m the second.

A pause.

TERRY: Anyone before the fifteenth? (No response)

Me next then I guess.

JAY: Twenty-second.

SASH: Twenty-eighth.

TERRY: Good – and …

CHRIS: And …?

TERRY: Your birthday? After the twenty-eighth?

CHRIS: Yeah, not for ages.

JAY: Right ... but when in the month?

CHRIS: (Speaking as if Jay is stupid) It isn’t this month.

ALEX: (Trying to be calm) But what day of the month

is it?

CHRIS: I just said, it isn’t this –

SASH: (Clearly) So what day of any month is it –

what day of the month that it is in!

CHRIS: Twenty-first! (Confused) What?

Questions

a What might Chris be thinking and feeling until he speaks?

b To make the audience aware of Chris while the others are speaking, what should Chris do?

c How should the others react when Chris is speaking?

d How should the audience feel about Chris at the end of this section of the play? (Line 48.)

Resource sheet 4a

Level description / What might this level look like in practice?
Level 6
Take on different roles and responsibilities to help the group to do the task. Draw ideas together and help the discussion to be effective.
Level 5
Keep up roles and responsibilities without being reminded. Sometimes shape the overall direction of the discussion by making effective contributions.
Level 4
Take on simple roles and responsibilities. / Example: Be the secretary for the group, taking notes to record important ideas. Do this job well and without being constantly reminded ...
Level 3
Try different roles and responsibilities.

GROUP ROLES

Chairperson: Introduce the discussion and start it off. Make sure that everyone is allowed to speak and that no one interrupts someone else or talks over them. If the discussion runs out of ideas, ask the note-maker to sum up the discussion so far or suggest a new line of discussion, perhaps by asking a useful question.

Note-maker: Take notes of the most important points that are agreed during the discussion, so that the group can refer back to these points. Be prepared to explain these points to others who are outside the group.

Envoy: Also take notes of the discussion, summing up the best ideas, and then taking these ideas to the next group to tell them about them, and to receive their best ideas in return.

Assessor: Don't join the discussion. Stay silent. Observe and note down what group members do to make the discussion run effectively. Take notice of what people say, but also how they speak, their tone of voice, their body language, their listening skills.

Resource sheet 4b

Act One, Scene 8 (Lines 67–84 on pp47–48)

CHRIS: (Looking closely at the tree) You’re a rough old

thing aren’t you, no place to rest a head

there.

TREE 2: You who has seen me on so many days,

see me now as if for the first time. Can it

happen, can worlds collide?

CHRIS: (Spotting some letters) Who’s been carving in

you, eh? (Coming closer) What does that say?

TREE 1: Do not look – touch.

CHRIS: Can’t quite make it out, so old.

TREES 1–3: Touch.

CHRIS: Some old lovers’ initials and a heart, I

reckon. It goes so deep. That’s history that is,

right there ...

TREES 1–3: Touch.

CHRIS: Like a wound – right in.

TREES 1–3: (As Chris’ hand reaches the tree) Yes!

A sudden change in everything – lights, sound

etc. A parade of overlapping images from the history

of the tree (acted by the Myth cast or projected)

appears to Chris who cannot pull away from the

tree. The swirl of activity gets more frenetic until

finally Chris is almost thrown from the tree.

The ‘carnival of history’ disappears in a moment,

and Chris is left shocked and breathless.

Resource sheet 5a

Line / Character / How is this typical of how they speak?
a ‘OK, have we all done what we agreed?’
b ‘Was that a joke?’
c ‘You really think so? Well, I’m certainly not convinced.’
d ‘Hit home the message that we’re all going to hell, fast, and it’s going to hurt.’
e ‘If the weather’s nice it’ll be great.’
f ‘We need evidence that people can’t ignore.’

Resource sheet 5b

Richard Conlon tells us that Sash is ‘Keen, enthusiastic, a good communicator and pretty diplomatic’.

Act One, Scene 3 (Lines 1–28 on pp 8–9).

SCENE 3 – In school, later the same day

SASH: OK, have we all done what we agreed?

ALEX: I think so.

TERRY: It wasn’t so hard – an hour to come up with

something we can do to fulfil the brief.

CHRIS: ‘Brief’?

TERRY: (As if talking to an idiot) What we’ve been asked to do.

JOOLS: And now we all present to each other and we

make a firm decision, here and now, and

move forward with what we decide on, all

behind it, all working towards it. Just get the

thing done.

SASH: Like we agreed.

CHRIS: (Suddenly bright) I know! I’ve thought of something.

SASH: And no-one’s allowed to be too protective or

precious about not using their idea, we can

only have one, and we need to put all our

energy behind it.

CHRIS: I’m not precious.

TERRY: (Snapping) You’re telling me.

CHRIS: Was that a joke?

TERRY: If you can’t tell …!

JOOLS: So who goes first?

ALEX: Let’s do it by the first letter in our favourite musical!

All stop and look at Alex, baffled.

JAY: Let’s do it by birthdays.

SASH: Good idea.

Resource sheet 6

Act One, Scene 9 (Lines 218–245 on p56).

SASH: Are you coming?

CHRIS: Listen to me, you really don’t get it. It’s not

just a story – I was there, I felt it, it

happened. I saw it.

SASH: And that’s what we’ll tell people, don’t worry.

CHRIS: But I'm telling you. Were you even listening

to me?

SASH: You don’t need to pretend to us – it’s a

great myth and we’ll spread it far and wide.

CHRIS: Pretend? You think this is me pretending?

You weren’t there ...

SASH: (A little concerned) Listen ... whatever

happened to you up there, stress, anxiety,

heatstroke – it gave your imagination a hell

of a jolt, jump-started you.

CHRIS: Stress, anxiety ...?

SASH: What you have come up with is vivid,

intense, believable in a way none of ours

were – it sounds like you’ve almost

convinced yourself. And if we have your

migraine or the heat to thank for that, then

that’s fine by me. You should get home and

get some rest. And whatever happened, it

got the job done. We’ve got what we need.

Come on ... (exits)

CHRIS: Whatever happened ...? It happened, don’t

you get it ... (Calling to the emptiness) It

happened!

Resource sheet 8a

Richard Conlon explains that: / Your thoughts:
This play was developed with young people ... It tries to articulate [talk about] complex notions of our relationship with the natural world with equal measures of drama, charm and humour.
Paving Paradise is made up of three distinct strands:
1 The sombre musings of a local, aged tree.
2 A group of six students who have to prepare an environmental project in one week.
3 The new myths which the students invent to try to explore the theme.
All three strands come together after the least likely student has what can only be called a metaphysical epiphany [he suddenly understands something that he hadn't thought about before] with the tree, which is taken, by the others, as just another invented myth.
By the close of the play the story has spread and the final scene sees the students facing national and international press, believers and sceptics. In what I think is a bold move, the final lines of the piece are delivered not as characters, but as the young participants themselves, speaking directly to their audience.

Resource sheet 8b