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Read
Cast List, Hear Sound Cues, Read Free Script
Sample
A
Thousand Cranes
is the Winner
of a
National Endowment for the Arts Playwriting Award.
"I can't tell you how much performing A
Thousand Cranes
meant to my students and me. Everyone
was
very moved and inspired. Thanks for such a beautiful script!"
Diane
Purvis, Teacher & Librarian
A
Thousand Cranes is the Winner of an Ohio Arts Council Playwriting Award.
Performed at the
John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
When
I first read this script I knew that we had to share this play with
our community. The kids have really embraced it."
Pam
Chernesky, Artistic Director, Houlton Star Bright Children's Theatre
"Using traditional Japanese theatre styles, A Thousand Cranes
offers a wonderful opportunity to share in a truly multi-cultural experience."
Nebraska
Theatre Caravan
"The play is deeply spiritual. The message is that hope rises
from the ashes of tragedy."
Dori
Baker, Washington Post
Asian
Children's Festival
Singapore
"The story of Sadako has done much to help my life and I believe
this play will be another source of strength and courage for me and
many others."
Jonathan
Kiddish Weatherly PA
A
Play That Inspires Compassion!
National
Crane Project: Davids Origami Cranes
"The
children were amazing and our audience very appreciative. We made
1000 cranes to send to Japan and now all feel emotionally satisfied
with our efforts. What a great experience!"
Phyl
Cameron, NZ
"We
had two wonderful performances. The play's theme is very appropriate
for these times. The students did a superb job portraying the
message, which brought me to the verge of tears."
Dorothy
Loveland, Bayan School, Bahrain
"Our critic judge couldn't say enough about the show. We also
won Best Actor and All Star Cast Members!"
Marissa
Vasquez, SISD, TX
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A
Thousand Cranes
Large
Cast School Play Script for Children to Perform |
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Cast
List
CD
Soundtrack Cues
Script
Sample
A
THOUSAND
CRANES
CAST
LIST
Running Time:
About 40 minutes
Flexible cast
of about 17-38, 6 Male, 5 Female, All others M/F
Easily adapted
for larger or smaller cast
CHORUS:
(up to 10), Male or Female
CHORUS 1
(M/F, 18 lines)
CHORUS 2
(M/F, 18 lines)
CHORUS 3
(M/F, 18 lines)
CHORUS 4
(M/F, 17 lines)
CHORUS 5
(M/F, 17 lines)
CHORUS 6
(M/F, 17 lines)
CHORUS 7
(M/F, 17 lines)
CHORUS 8
(M/F, 17 lines)
CHORUS 9
(M/F, 17 lines)
CHORUS 10 (M/F,
17 lines)
HOSPITAL
PEOPLE: (up to 4), Male or Female
HOSPITAL 1
(M/F, 12 lines)
HOSPITAL 2
(M/F, 10 lines)
HOSPITAL 3
(M/F, 10 lines)
HOSPITAL 4
(M/F, 11 lines)
SPIRITS:
(up to 4), Male or Female
No lines,
Significant movement
SADAKO:
(up to 8), Female
SADAKO #1
(F, 17 lines)
SADAKO #2
(F, 24 lines)
SADAKO #3
(F, 8 lines)
SADAKO #4
(F, 11 lines)
SADAKO #5
(F, 13 lines)
SADAKO #6
(F, 10 lines)
SADAKO #7
(F, 10 lines)
SADAKO #8
(F, 9 lines)
KENJI:
(UP TO 4), Male (or Female)
KENJI #1
(M/F, 16 lines)
KENJI #2
(M/F, 8 lines)
KENJI #3
(M/F, 13 lines)
KENJI #4
(M/F, 5 lines)
MOTHER
(M/F, 19 lines)
FATHER
(M/F, 17 lines)
GRANDMOTHER
(F, 26 lines)
EMPEROR SPIRIT
(M/F, Significant movement)
MR. ARAKI
(M/F, 1 important speech)
MRS.
WATANABE (M/F, 1 important speech)
DAISUKE
(M/F, 1 important speech)
"A
Huge
Success! Easy to Stage!"
5th Graders,
Upland Country Day School, Kennett Square, PA
"My
Year 6 students performed A Thousand Cranes three times last week
and each performance was a huge success. Thank you for such a great
script that was easy to stage and which had such a beautiful and
moving message!"
Mary Westall,
St. Therese Primary School, Sydney, Australia
A
THOUSAND
CRANES
WHY
IS THIS PLAY BEST FOR YOUR SCHOOL?
Written
especially for young people to perform.
While you may
find large cast plays from other publishers, most of those were
originally written for adults or
professional actors to
perform. They often contain difficult dialogue, unfamiliar or
complex language, and speeches too long for young children to
memorize. They may even contain jokes, innuendos and subject matter
that may not be appropriate for children.
Easy
to understand and memorize.
Dialogue is
simple, fresh, quick and humorous, keeping the action flowing without
stops and starts between scenes. This keeps young people and young
audiences engaged throughout the performance - no awkward pauses, no
dead-time, no wiggles!
Everyone
participates!
All children
are involved throughout the performance. This builds confidence,
promotes team spirit and eliminates rehearsal rowdiness. The audience
is often asked to join in the fun, and action often spills into the
aisles! All of our SCHOOL PLAYS give suggestions on how to divide up
large parts (such as Snow White or Cinderella) among several
performers so that no one child is the "star".
Feel
free to edit! Go ahead and tape it!
Most publishers
insist that no changes may be made to their scripts. We know
that your
goal is to engage every child in the most meaningful way and that
your needs are unique. Cut, eliminate, re-assign lines, or add
as much as you like! Also, there are no restrictions on video
tapes. Parents want a tape or DVD to remember their child's big
moment. Go ahead and tape away!
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Kathryn Schultz Miller
is one the most prolific and most produced playwrights for
children. Her script, A THOUSAND CRANES, won the National
Endowment for the Arts Playwright Award (and countless others) at a
time when plays for children were not considered serious works. Now,
many of her published scripts are considered classics for young
audiences. When teachers voiced their need for great plays that
kids can perform Ms. Miller responded with ArtReachs School
Plays: I never dreamed Id write for anyone other
than professionals. But writing for child performers has been
the most profound and rewarding experience of my life. |
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A
THOUSAND
CRANES
A
NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT
Some
years ago my husband and I were
watching a nature documentary on television about the whooping
crane. As an aside, they mentioned what the crane means in
Asian cultures and told the brief story of Sadako and her paper
cranes. My husband suggested it would make a great play for
kids. I nearly laughed at him. A play about Hiroshima for
children? They could never understand! And besides it
would never sell!
Of
course, the story stayed with me
and against what I thought was my better judgment I took a chance and
produced A Thousand Cranes for my theatre company, ArtReach.
Since then, this little play seems to have flown on its own wings all
over the world. I have seen it many times, in countless styles,
with music and dance, small cast and large, amateur and
professional. It's quite a durable little story; it seems to
stand up under any circumstances.
The
most important advice
I can give you is to forget about making it perfect. No one is
paying big money to see it; no one expects a Hollywood hit. It's not
important that the kids memorize all the lines, let them carry a
script. Let the audience see all of it; the changing of
costumes, the playing of instruments, eight Sadako(s). Let them
see the children stumble and triumph as Sadako did.
Sadako's
message of peace becomes more
meaningful everyday. The heartbreak of current events belongs
to all of us, even the children. By tackling A Thousand Cranes,
you and your young friends will take an active role in keeping
Sadako's healing strength and hope alive.
Thank
you so much for choosing A
Thousand Cranes. I hope you and your young friends have a most
successful production!
- KSM
Published by Scholastic - Centenary
Stage Co. NJ
A
THOUSAND
CRANES
CD
SOUNDTRACK CUES
Cues, sound
effects, original background music
The CD
Soundtrack contains special sound effects and background music
(original music written for the play) that may be used to greatly
enhance the performance. It does not contain music for the performers
to sing along with. Cues have 10 seconds of silence at the end -
times shown below include silence.
[ Click on [sample]
to hear a short sample of the indicated cues ]
1. CRANE
FOLDING / A-BOMB (2:09) [sample]
2.
RUNNING MUSIC (1:44) [sample]
3.
HOSPITAL VOICES (1:14) [sample]
4. KENJI
CRANE FOLDING (1:06)
5. KENJI
FROG (0:48) [sample]
6.
HOSPITAL / FOLDING (1:21)
7.
FOLDING / FLYING (repeat) (6:58) [sample]
8.
A-BOMB (0:38)
9.
FOLDING / CURTAIN CALL (5:05)
Note:
Some teachers choose familiar songs, obtain sheet music and insert
these songs into the play. We recognize that each school has a
wide variety of educational needs to fulfill and we invite you to be
creative in your use of our scripts; including changes or additions
that are appropriate for your students. As author/publisher of our
own creative works, we do ask that you obtain proper copyright
permission for any additions you might make - that responsibility is
up to you.
Music
& Sound Resources Available on the Internet
( Sheet
Music, Song Books, CDs, DVDs, Sing-along,
Karaoke, Sound
Effects )
"Such
an Inspiring Play!"
Bednarcik
Junior High School, Oswego IL
"Thank
you for writing such an inspiring play. I've been teaching
drama for three years at St. Mary Magdalen and never have my students
been more engaged with a story."
Anne Mantha,
St. Mary Magdalen School - Hazel Park, MI
A
THOUSAND
CRANES
SCRIPT
SAMPLE
A
Thousand Cranes has many light moments! This is a fun, lively
exchange between Sadako and her friend Kenji.
(Script
pages 8-9) |
(CHORUS
picks up beat , and begins to count, quietly...)
CHORUS:
Sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine, seventy...
(KENJI
comes bounding into playing area, out of breath and
laughing. He begins to count, determining by how many
seconds he has won the race with SADAKO.)
(Fading.)
Seventy-one... seventy-two... seventy-three...
KENJI:
One... two... three... four...
(SADAKO
runs into playing area, out of breath and laughing.)
Beat you by
four seconds!
SADAKO:
Four? You're lying!
KENJI:
It was actually four and a half but I let you have that.
SADAKO:
Oh, you... (Slumping.) You always win! You should
let somebody else win sometime.
KENJI:
Why, Sadako. You can't mean that I should cheat so that you
can win.
SADAKO:
It wouldn't be cheating so much as... polite.
KENJI:
(Laughing.) And I suppose when you run in the girl's
contest next month you'll want the judges to be polite and let
somebody else win.
SADAKO:
Well, no.
KENJI:
I thought so.
SADAKO:
Oh, Kenji, do you think I have a chance to win?
KENJI:
You? You win the race against the fastest girls in
Hiroshima? You can't win.
SADAKO:
Why not?
KENJI:
Because you're a turtle that's why. A great big lumbering turtle.
(He
pretends to become a turtle, laughing at his jest.)
SADAKO:
I am not a turtle!
KENJI:
Yes, you are.
SADAKO:
Am not.
KENJI:
Are too.
SADAKO:
Well, if I'm a turtle, then you're a frog!
KENJI:
A frog?
SADAKO:
Yes. A great big green one with warts all over it.
KENJI:
Sadako, you can't possibly mean... croak!
(KENJI
pretends to be turning into a frog.)
Well, where
on earth could that have come from? Croak!
SADAKO:
Oh, you.
KENJI:
Look, Sadako, my hand is turning all green... croak! ...and it has
warts all over it.
(He
crouches to a frog position and sticks out his tongue, leaping
around, croaking. He uses the bill of his cap to indicate the
mouth of a croaking frog.)
Croak! Croak!
SADAKO:
(Laughing in spite of herself.) Now you stop that.
Note:
This is a sample from the actual script. To review the entire
play, order the PERUSAL SCRIPT (online instant download). Or
to save 20% on the full production kit and royalty for one
performance, order the SCHOOL PLAY PACKAGE (below) and start
rehearsals today!
SCHOOL
PLAY PACKAGE (Everything)
One payment for
everything you need to perform the play at your school or
organization. No need to purchase multiple scripts, no royalty quote,
no separate royalty payment. Order the School Play Package and you're
done -- start rehearsals immediately!
The
SCHOOL PLAY PACKAGE Includes:
1. Master Script ($9.95)
2.
Teachers Guide ($9.95)
3. CD
Soundtrack ($29.95)
4.
Performance License ($60.00)
(License:
Rights to copy script, Royalty
for one performance)
Get
Everything ($109.85
value) - Only $99.95
(
SAVE MORE $$$ WITH FULL
DOWNLOAD - NO
SHIPPING COSTS! )
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