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ArtReach
Award-Winning
Children's Plays, Christmas Plays, Christmas Musicals for Young
Performers, Children, Halloween Plays, School Plays and Scripts
for Large-Cast, Small-Cast Plays. ArtReach Shows for Young
Audiences. One Act Plays, One Act Dramas, Comedies for
Middle Schools and High Schools. Plays for Touring to Schools,
Educational Outreach Theatre. ArtReach One Act Musicals for
Children and Young People.
 Winner
of a
National
Endowment for the Arts Playwriting Award.
Sadako
and the Paper Cranes: A Play for Young Audiences
Winner
of an Ohio
Arts Council Playwriting Award.
Dramatic
one Act Plays for Children
Featured in Twenty
Great Plays for Children, published by
St. Martin's Press, Foreword Maurice Sendak
One
Act Play
Winner -- American High School theatre Festival,
High School Thespian Contests, Competitions
Performed at the
John F. Kennedy
Center in
Washington DC.
Children's
Play for School Tours and Educational Outreach
"A
tremendously moving piece..."
Children's
Book and Play Review
"September
11 completely changed what
it meant to do this play," says
Genevieve Deveyra who portrays Sadako in the Mill Mountain Theatre
production. "Now we are bringing a
message of peace that the world really needs to hear."
Sadako's
True Story: A Play for Children
"I'm
honored to be part
of this play and able to spread the story of Sadako," says
Akiko Hiroshima who played Sadako in Shoestring
Repertory's New Jersey production. "If
we are to make the audience think about world peace, I am very happy."
Professional
& Amateur Productions, Children's Play and Dramatic Play for all ages.
"Using
traditional Japanese theatre styles, A
Thousand Cranes offers a wonderful opportunity to share in a truly
multi-cultural experience."
Nebraska
Theatre Caravan
Theatre
for Young Audiences (TYA)
"The
magic of A
Thousand Cranes had
an impact that I'm sure will not soon fade from the lives of those
of us who were fortunate enough to be in
the audience. I
cannot recommend this piece highly enough."
Daniel
Higgins KDHX 88.1 FM St. Louis
Appropriate
for Children, Middle School, High School
and Children's Play Productions
"The
play is deeply
spiritual.
The message is that hope
rises from the ashes of tragedy."
Dori
Baker, Washington Post
Beautiful
Background Musical Soundtrack-- Original Music Professionally Developed.
"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
Children's
Play Script With Timely Message of World Peace.
In
one precise,
economical line, the playwright frees
Sadako
from her task, shifts emphasis from an individual
child
to the greater community, and expands the story's scope from
sustaining a single life to that of a global
effort
toward peace.
"It
is better," says her grandmother," for others to finish
the cranes."
Joseph
T. Rozmiarek, The Honolulu Advisor
Featured in Twenty
Great Plays for Children, published by
St. Martin's Press, Foreword Maurice Sendak
One
Act Play Contest & High School Thespian
Theatre
Competitions
Performed at the
John F. Kennedy
Center in
Washington DC.
|
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Cast
List
The
Best Play for You
A
Note from the Playwright
CD
Soundtrack Cues
Dialogue
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)
Students
and teachers at Dale Elementary School in Medfield, Massachusetts
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!
From
Second Youth Family Theatre Production
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
"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
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.
1.
CRANE FOLDING / A-BOMB (2:09)
2.
RUNNING MUSIC (1:44)
3.
HOSPITAL VOICES (1:14)
4.
KENJI CRANE FOLDING (1:06)
5.
KENJI FROG (0:48)
6.
HOSPITAL / FOLDING (1:21)
7.
FOLDING / FLYING (repeat) (6:58)
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.
A
THOUSAND
CRANES
DIALOGUE
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 ($19.95)
4.
Performance License ($60.00)
(License:
Rights to copy script, Royalty
for one performance)
Get
Everything ($99.85
value) - Only $89.95
(
SAVE MORE $$$ WITH FULL
DOWNLOAD - NO
SHIPPING COSTS! )
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