A
           Thousand Cranes 
          Small
           Cast (Touring) Play for Theatres, Schools 
          Medium
           Cast Version | Large
           Cast School Play Version 
         
        
         
            
         
         
       
        
          
          
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                   A
                    Thousand Cranes 
                  
                 
                  
                   Cast:
                    3 (1M, 2F), expandable, adults 
                   Time:
                    40-45
                    minutes 
                   CD: 
                   sound FX, background music 
                   Audience:
                    primary-intermediate,
                    families 
                   Published
                    by: Dramatic
                    Publishing 
                   (Arrangements
                    for scripts, performance rights) 
                  
                 
                  
                   
                    
                     Small
                      cast one act play for young audiences.  Suitable for 
                     professional and student performers, mainstage or touring to schools. 
                    
                    
                  
                   
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                   A
                    Thousand Cranes 
                  
                 
                  
                   Cast:
                    3 (1M, 2F), expandable, adults 
                   Time:
                    about 40-45
                    minutes 
                   CD: 
                   sound FX, background music 
                   Audience:
                    primary-intermediate,
                    families 
                   Published
                    by: Dramatic
                    Publishing 
                   (Arrangements
                    for scripts, performance rights) 
                  
                 
                  
                   
                    
                     Small
                      cast one act play for young audiences.  Suitable for 
                     professional and student performers, mainstage or touring to schools. 
                    
                    
                  
                   
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                | 
           
          
        
       
        
         
          
           
            ArtReach's A 
            Thousand Cranes is the classic true story of Sadako and the Thousand 
            Paper Cranes. This award-winning playscript tells the true story in 
            simple but powerful terms.  First developed professionally, A 
            Thousand Cranes has become a children's theatre classic.  Widely 
            admired, this play has been performed by schools and theatres
             thousands
             of times around the world, inspiring children with Sadako's plea for peace. 
           
           
          
        
         
            
         
         
       
        
         A Thousand 
         Cranes - Playscript for Young Audiences 
               
         Syracuse Stage Company, NY. 
        
       
        
         
          
           
            A Thousand Cranes is an 
            extraordinary departure from children's theatre as usual. Thought
             provoking and dramatic, even the youngest audiences can understand 
            the play's deepest meanings.This
             play may be staged with a few simple props and unlimited 
            imagination. The result is always elegant and moving. 
           
          
           
            
             "A 
             Thousand Cranes is one of those rare experiences that teaches you 
             what theatre for young audiences, in its highest form, is all about." 
              Hugh
              Murphy, for the Ohio Arts Councilil 
            
            
           
          
        
         
          "It
           is 
          obvious why it has won so many awards and hearts." 
                
          Syracuse Stage Company, NY - Stella Adler 
          Academy, Los Angeles, CA 
         
        
         
          
           
            "A 
            Thousand Cranes is one of the most moving pieces of American 
            playwriting I have ever had the privilege of experiencing, It has a 
            timely theme and universal appeal.  It
             is 
            obvious why it has won so many awards and hearts." 
            Suzanne Larson, Artistic 
            Director - Lady's Island Dinner Theatre 
           
           
          
        
         
            
         
        
         
            
          
         
        
         
          "The 
          girl who sparked a movement of peace." 
              
          Flat Rock 
          Playhouse, NC - The
           Gemini Collective - Adelaide Fringe 'A Thousand Cranes' 
         
        
         
          
           
            This is the story of Sadako 
            Sasaki, a young victim of the Hiroshima atomic bomb disaster.  Sadako 
            was only two years old when the bomb fell and seemed to be unharmed, 
            but at twelve she was diagnosed with "radiation sickness" 
            an aftermath of the bomb's effects.  With boundless optimism, 
            she takes an old story to heart: If a sick person folds a thousand 
            paper origami cranes the gods will grant her wish and make her well 
            again. She begins to fold her thousand cranes. 
           
          
           
            
             "It is 
             an extraordinary opportunity to share in a multicultural experience 
             that has wowed family audiences throughout America." 
             Stephanie Riven, Center of 
             Contemporary Arts, St. Louis 
            
            
           
          
         
       
        
         "It is 
         such a well-done, wonderful script..." 
               
         Syracuse Stage Company, NY 
         - Honolulu Theatre for Youth 
        
       
        
         
            
          
         
        
         
          Extraordinary
           Theatre for Children 
                
          A Thousand 
          Cranes, Lexington Children's
           Theatre - Childsplay, Arizona's 
          Professional Theatre for Young Audiences 
         
        
         
          
           
            Before Sadako is able to 
            complete her task, she is visited by her Grandmother who lovingly 
            carries her on the back of a glorious crane to the land of a 
            thousand, thousand spirits. There she joins her ancestors and learns 
            that her true wish may be granted. Her
             friends and classmates finished Sadako's work. They folded enough 
            cranes to make a thousand.  
           
           
          
         
       
        
         Sadako Folds 
         Her Thousand Cranes 
               
         Repertory Theatre St. Louis - 
         Hexagon Theatre, So Africa -  Honolulu Theatre for Youth 
        
       
        
         
            
         
        
         
            
          
         
        
         
          "Everyone
           who worked on the show was profoundly moved. 
                
          A Thousand Cranes, SecondStory Repertory, 
          Redmond, WA 
         
        
         
          
           
            Today children in Japan and all 
            over the world fold a thousand cranes and lay them at the feet of 
            Sadako's statue in the Hiroshima Peace Park. Their wish is engraved 
            at the bottom of the monument.  
           
          
           
            "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  
           
           
          
        
         
          "This 
          is our cry, This is our prayer, Peace in the world" 
              
          Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine, Portland 
         
        
         
            
          
         
         
       
        
         "Strikingly
          Simple -- Strongly Theatrical" 
               
         Barter Theatre, VA - Adventure Stage, Chicago - Childsplay,
          AZ 
        
       
        
         "A 
         tremendously moving piece..." 
         Children's Book and Play Review 
        
       
        
         "Elegant,
          sophisticated and imaginative." 
             
         Adelaide 
         Fringe Festival 2019. The Gemini Collective 
        
       
        
         
            
         
        
         
            
          
         
         
       
        
         A Thousand 
         Cranes has three versions: 
        
       
        
         Large
          Cast School Play Version 
         Flexible Cast of 17-38 (2M,
          4F, all others M/F) for grades K-6 
        
       
        
         Medium
          Cast Version 
         Flexible Cast of 13 (4M, 4F, 
         5M/F) for grades 6-12 
        
       
        
         Small Cast 
         (Touring) Version (this page) 
         Cast of 3 (1M, 2F) for adult actors.. 
        
       
        
           
         
        
       
        
         Winner of National
          Endowment for the Arts Playwriting Award 
                  
        
       
        
         
          
           
            
             ArtReach's Famous Award-Winning 
             Play A Thousand Cranes, this touring version has been performed 
             world-wide and inspired young people to strive for peace.  
             Performed at the
              John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC.  Winner of an Ohio 
             Arts Council Playwriting Award. See
              Awards 
            
            
          
           
            "It is 
            such a well-done, wonderful script that is really appropriate for so 
            many different age groups.  Some of the schools brought 
            kindergarten classes and teachers said that the kids were mesmerized." 
            Katy Brown, Barter Theatre, 
            Abington, VA 
           
           
          
         
       
        
            
         Published:  20 Great Plays 
         for Children - Scholastic 
        
       
        
           
         
        
       
        
         More Great Comments... 
         Who's
          producing A Thousand Cranes?  Click for Productions 
        
       
        
                   
        
       
        
                
              
        
       
        
                   
        
       
        
                     
        
       
        
                      
        
       
        
           
            
                 
        
       
        
                    
         Free Resources: In the News, 
         Behind the Scenes, Directing Tips, Classroom Activities  
        
       
        
           
         
        
       
        
         
          
           
            UIL 
            Approved and always a winner for Thespians. 
                    
            Asian Children's Festival, 
            Singapore - ArtReach Touring Theatre - Wild Swan Theatre - St. Louis Rep 
           
          
           
            
             
              "Kathryn
               Schultz Miller's A Thousand Cranes is the moving, true story about 
              the effects of war on the life of a 12-year-old girl, told in 
              strikingly simple, but strongly theatrical terms." 
              Stephanie Riven, Center of 
              Contemporary Arts, St. Louis 
             
             
            
           
         
          
           Community 
           Activity: Fold Cranes for the Play and Send to Sadako 
               
           WE Players 
           Inc., East Tawas, MI 
          
         
          
           
            Congratulations
             to Dripping Springs Theatre Booster Club (TX). SSMS brought home the 
            FIRST PLACE finish for their stunning production of ArtReach's A 
            THOUSAND CRANES at the UIL OAP competition. 
           
           
          
         
       
        
           
         
        
       
        
         
          
           
            I
             hope that young people, teachers, and parents watching this show are 
            able to discuss with each other the importance and need for peace and 
            reflection before making any decisions. I encourage everyone to learn 
            to fold a crane and use those few moments to reflect on those that 
            have gone before us and to find peace within ourselves. 
            Octavia Biggs, 
            Director, Lexington Children's Theatre 
           
           
          
         
       
        
           
         
        
       
        
         "The play 
         is deeply spiritual. The message is that hope rises from the ashes of tragedy." 
         Dori Baker, Washington Post 
        
       
        
           
         
        
       
        
          "I
          cannot recommend this piece highly enough." 
         Daniel Higgins, KDHX 88.1 FM, 
         St. Louis 
        
       
        
           
         
        
       
        
         "A 
         Thousand Cranes is a play about connecting to the past in order to 
         see the present more clearly." 
         Esther, "A Catholic Mom in Hawaii" 
        
       
        
           
         
        
       
        
         
          
           
            "Director 
            Jeffery Matthews has fashioned a moving presentation out of very 
            simple materials: four actors, a basic set, and a few simple props. 
            Sadako sees her grandmother again and flies on a crane's back to 
            heaven, an illusion beautifully realized." 
            Sarah Boslaugh, TalkinBroadway, 
            Repertory Theatre of St. Louis 
           
           
          
         
       
        
           
         
        
       
        
          
        
       
        
          
        
       
         
       
       
       
       
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