|
ArtReach's
Award Winning Play 'A Thousand Cranes' has been performed all over
the world. This deeply moving story of Sadako and the Thousand
Paper Cranes has been adapted for young people to perform.
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
Recommended
for Grades 3 and Up. The School Play Version of A Thousand
Cranes requires
no professional experience in theatre.
"Thank
you for writing such an inspiring children's play. I've been
teaching drama for three years and never have my students been more
engaged with a story."
Anne Mantha,
St. Mary Magdalen School - Hazel Park, MI
"As
one child said&ldots; I really didnt get Sadako when you
first told us about her, but now I can see how important she is."
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
"The
show held every audience enthralled. No one moved a muscle
during the entire show and there were always tears and
prolonged applause. Thank you for this very special play!"
Sharon
Sproule, Espanola Little Theatre, ON
|
|
Beautiful Sadako Play for Kids!
Lansing Middle School, NY
- Espanola
Little Theatre, ON
A
Thousand Cranes is an extraordinary departure from
children's theatre as usual. Thought
provoking and dramatic, even the youngest
children can understand the play's deepest
meanings.
Easy
For Children to Learn and Perform
Fifth Grade - Upland Country Day
School, Kennett Square PA
Start your
children folding cranes, then explore
the Script and
Teacher's Guide. Using the
script's simple suggestions, stage the
play for the whole
school to enjoy. Let your
children do more than present Sadako's story... let
them live it!
Fold
A Thousand Cranes for Sadako
John C. Fremont Charter School,
Merced, CA - Lansing Middle School, NY
A
Thousand Cranes is the true, poignant
story of Sadako Sasaki. Sadako was only
two years old when the Hiroshima bomb fell and seemed
to be unharmed, but at twelve she was
diagnosed with
"radiation sickness". With
boundless optimism, she
takes an old story to heart: "If a sick
person folds a thousand paper cranes the gods will grant her wish and
make her well again."
"A tremendously moving piece..."
Fusion Youth Theatre, UK - Ashland
Children's Theatre
Affordable
School Play Package!
READ
SCRIPT SAMPLE, CAST LIST, HEAR SOUND CUES
Excellent Script for Young Performers
Young Cast, Majestic Theatre,
Crovallis, OR
Sadako
begins to fold her thousand cranes. 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.
Featured: 20 Great Plays for Children
Upland
Country Day School, PA - Reach Performing Arts Center, ME
"Featured in Twenty
Great Plays for Children, St. Martin's Press"
Sadako
learns that her true wish may be
granted. Sadako's friends and classmates finished
Sadako's work. They folded enough paper cranes to
make a
thousand.
Sadako's
Friends Folded Paper Cranes
Lexington Children's Theater,
KY - Seattle Peace Park
Today
children in Japan and all
over the world fold a thousand paper 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:
"This is
Our Cry - This is Our Prayer..."
"Peace
in the World"
Sadako
Travels
a Wondrous Journey
Sadako's
Grandmother takes her to the Land of A Thousand Spirits!
Lexington Children's
Theatre, KY - Syracuse Stage, NY
"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."
Suzanne Larson, Artistic
Director - Lady's Island Dinner Theatre
A Story of Strength and Courage
A Thousand Cranes, Fusion Youth
Theatre, Grimsby, UK
"We
performed A
Thousand Cranes at the Elementary Drama
Festival - it was a HUGE hit!!
I told them all that we had a beautiful
script to work with which made it all that much easier
to produce a wonderful play!"
Tammy Feeney, Sussex Corner
School, NB, Canada
Affordable
School Play Package!
READ
SCRIPT SAMPLE, CAST LIST, HEAR SOUND CUES
The School
Play Version of
A Thousand Cranes requires
no professional experience in theatre. It is written in simple
terms and
is meant as a tool to help you and your students explore
the many aspects of Sadako's story and to encourage
children on the path to a mature
understanding of peace.
Leads to Understanding About Peace
Sycracuse
Stage, NY - Morristown-Beard
School, Morristown, NJ
A flexible cast
of 17 to 38.
About 20 performers
may be female or male.
Sadako can
be played by up to 8 girls to
ensure that no one child is the "star".
Suggestions on
how to use simple percussion instruments
(raid the music room!) to excellent effect.
Open staging! Your
gymnasium, cafeteria or any other large room is perfect.
Simple, easy
costume pieces and scenery can be made
in the classroom.
A CD of
original, beautiful
poignant background music and sound effects.
Affordable
School Play Package!
READ
SCRIPT SAMPLE, CAST LIST, HEAR SOUND CUES
A Powerful Story for Young People
Reach Performing Arts, ME
- The National School of Drama, Delhi, India
"My
Year 6 students performed A Thousand
Cranes three times and each performance was a huge success.
There were teachers actually crying and
even the kindergarten students were quiet
as they watched!"
Mary Westall, St. Therese
Primary School, Sydney, Australia
How to Fold a
Paper Crane - Send Your Cranes to Sadako!
Instructions on How
to Fold a Crane in Script and
Teacher's Guide
"The
music teacher came up to me and said it brought
tears to her eyes. The notes you sent with the play
were very encouraging
and helpful. It was very
special to me to get a chance to have my
students tell Sadako's story."
Diane Purvis, Teacher & Librarian
Affordable
School Play Package!
READ
SCRIPT SAMPLE, CAST LIST, HEAR SOUND CUES
|
|
A Thousand
Cranes (3 Versions)
Touring
Version
Cast of 3, for Adult Actors.
(1m, 2f)
Medium
Version
Flexible Cast of 13 for grades 6-12
(4m, 4f, 5m/f)
School
Play Version
(this page)
Flexible Cast of 17-38, grades
K-6
(2m,
4f, 9-32m/f)
|
|
A Joyous Ending!
Bednarcik Junior High School,
Oswego IL
"I hope
the audience comes away from this play
and thinks about peace. I hope
they realize to always remember to listen to
the wisdom of our children.
Pam Chernesky, Artistic
Director, Houlton Star Bright Children's Theatre
Affordable
School Play Package!
READ
SCRIPT SAMPLE, CAST LIST, HEAR SOUND CUES
|
|