Encores! Urinetown
ACTIVITY
Dystopia Mad Libs
Objective: Fill in the blanks below to create the foundation for your own dystopian world! Use your imagination to think about the setting, characters, and conflicts that drive the story. The big event in your dystopia can be an environmental disaster, an extraterrestrial event, a loss of individual freedoms, or big technological failures.
Mad Lib: The Tale of Town Name Town
This is the tale of two rival factions at odds.
In the year year, a once prosperous city was reduced to a desolate wasteland because of big event. In the ashes of the city, town nametown was born. The citizens of the town were rescued by name of the faction in power that enforced rules to stop another catastrophe from happening.
The citizens must follow one strict rule:
rule that everyone must follow.
Anyone caught breaking this rule will face punishment or consequence. The citizens of town name town are divided into two opposing factions: the faction in power and the name of the rebel faction.
The faction in power, led by name of a leader, believe that everyone should follow the rule that rule that everyone must follow and are determined to stop anyone who dares challenge their way of life. The name of the rebel faction, headed by name of the rebel leader, believe opposite of the rule that everyone must follow. They wish to restore freedom to the people! The rebel faction gather in secret to discuss their plans to overthrow the oppressive regime.
Will the rebel faction ever break free or will they remain under the control of the faction in power forever?
Final Questions:
Who wins? How does the story end?
The theme is the central message of the story that reveals an opinion or truth about life, society, or human nature. What theme(s) does your dystopian world explore? (e.g., the dangers of technology, the loss of individuality, the consequences of environmental destruction, the abuse of power, nature vs. humanity, etc.).
Bonus Activity: Let’s take it a step further and bring this world to life!
There are many ways dystopian stories are brought to life. Select a prompt from the list below and brainstorm how to bring your dystopia to life.
- Build a tableau that shows an exciting moment in the story
- Improvise a scene featuring characters interacting from the opposing factions
- Write a cartoon or comic book that shows the story of the citizens
- Write a short story, scene, or sketch that explores the characters in the town