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ArtReach
Award-Winning
Plays and Scripts for Children, Schools, Theatres! School
Plays, Children's Theatre Plays for Education, Educational
Outreach, Playscripts, One Act Plays, One Acts for Middle Schools and
High Schools! Children's Musicals and Children's Christmas
Plays and Christmas Musicals! Large Cast Plays for Schools,
Small Cast Plays for Theatre School Touring! Great School Plays
for Children to Perform!
 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.
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
Appropriate
for Children, Middle School, High School
and Children's Play Productions |
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A
Thousand Cranes
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Children's
Plays For Young Audiences, Small Cast Touring Play,
ArtReach
One Act Play, Mainstage, Educational Outreach, School Tours |
The
True Story of Sadako and the Paper Cranes
Multiple
Award Winner, National Endowment for the Arts
"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.
[Click
Picture for More Great Productions]
A
Thousand Cranes is
an extraordinary departure from children's theatre as usual. This
play may be staged with a few simple props and unlimited imagination.
The result is always elegant and moving. Even the youngest audiences
are spellbound.
"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
A
Thousand Cranes is
the true and poignant story of Sadako Sasaki, a young victim of the
Hiroshima atomic bomb disaster. She 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.
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:
"What
did you wish for, Sadako?"
--
Grandmother
"For
you to live. For me to be well. I wished there would never be
another bomb like that again..."
--
Sadako
Her
friends and classmates finished
Sadako's work. They folded enough cranes to make a thousand. 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:
This
is our cry,
This
is our prayer,
Peace
in the world.
"A
tremendously moving piece..."
Children's
Book and Play Review
A
Thousand Cranes
Ritual
Theatre Company, New York, NY
(
Seven minute video showing excerpts from their 2008 production )
"Our
production is unique
in that in additional to spoken English, we have seamlessly
interwoven American
Sign Language,
which is spoken by everyone
in the play."
Kelly
Varley, Director
"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.
It is an extraordinary
opportunity to share in a
multicultural experience that
has wowed family audiences
throughout America."
Stephanie
Riven,
Executive Director
Center
of Contemporary Arts,
St. Louis
"The
play is deeply spiritual. The message is that
hope
rises from the ashes of tragedy."
Dori Baker,
Washington Post
A
One-Act Play Winner for High Schools
"Our
one act play, "A Thousand Cranes", received
First Place
at our district's one
act play competition this past
Friday! I cannot thank
you enough for giving us
permission to perform your amazing
play. Our critic judge
couldn't say enough about the
show. She informed me that my
cast far surpassed any at the
competition that day. We also won
individual awards:
Best
Actor and All Star Cast Members!"
Marissa
Vasquez, Paso Del Norte School (SISD), TX
UIL (University
Interscholastic League) Approved Play!
Lexington
Children's Theatre, 2007 Production
"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"
Many
professional theatres have
staged A Thousand Cranes including the Nebraska Theatre Caravan, The
Fulton Theatre Company, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the
George Street Players. These extraordinary set designs are from
Indiana Repertory Theatre's production, by Karen TenEyck and
perfectly evoke the mystical and spiritual mood of the story.
"This
is a beautiful story and a very good one to use for UIL one-act play competition."
Avan
Johnson, Molina high School, Dallas
Kathryn
Schultz Miller created
the stageplay of this true story in 1988. Since then it has been
performed literally thousands of times by professional and community
theatres in the United States as well as other countries. The play is
an excellent vehicle for drama clubs, classroom study and amateur
performances. The photo below is a scene from the ArtReach production:
ArtReach
Touring Theatre, Children's Play, School Tour
"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
Barter
Theatre, Children's Play Production, Abington, VA
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See
a sample copy of
Phoenix
Theatre for Children
Columbus,
OH
CRANES
for
PEACE
Project
Brochure
DOWNLOAD
FILE
(PDF
file, 5 pages, 298KB)
Requires
Adobe Reader
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"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
United
States
One Act Play Entry
in World Festival!
 American
High School Theatre Fest Winner!
Congratulations
to East Central High School's Drama
Club & Kathy Ebnet, Director, of Sandstone, Minnesota. Their
production of A
Thousand Cranes was selected
out of 481 nominations across
the US to represent the nation
in the American High
School Theatre Festival as
part
of the
Fringe
Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.
"A
Thousand Cranes went beautifully! We won the Oklahoma State
Championship in the one act play contest by a solid decision."
Jim
Ryan, Norman North High OK
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See
a sample copy of
Repertory
Theatre
of St. Louis
Imaginary
Theatre Company
A
THOUSAND CRANES
Study
Guide
DOWNLOAD
FILE
(PDF
file, 12
pages, 1074KB)
Requires
Adobe Reader
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Recent
producers: Sundance
Children's Theatre, Sundance Institute, Salt Lake City, UT; Mill
Mountain Theatre, Roanoake, VA; Virgina Stage,
Norfolk; Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia; Community
Asian Theatre of Sierra, CA; North
Coast Repertory Theatre, CA; Theatre
Center Inc, Deland FL; Rockford
College, IL; Fairbanks North Starborough, AK; Playhouse
of Point Park College, PA; Beechworth
Secondary Colg-GTA, Australia; Cactus
Shadows High School, Cave Creek AZ; New
Stage Theatre, Jackson MS; Northwestern University,
Chicago; Hangar Theatre, Ithica, NY; Yorktown
Roman Catholic School, Yorktown Sask Canada; Salina
Community Theatre, KS; St Josephs College,
Australia; Honolulu
Theatre for Youth;
Repertory
Theatre of St. Louis; North Carolina
Shakespeare Festival, High Point;
Lexington Children's Theatre, KY; Children's
Theatre Charlotte, NC.
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Honolulu
Theatre for Youth
Honolulu,
HI |
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Wild
Swan Theatre
Ann
Arbor, MI |
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There
are 3 versions of
A
Thousand Cranes:
Touring
Version (this page)
Cast
of 3, for Adult Actors.
(1m,
2f)
Expanded
Version
Flexible
Cast of 13 for grades 6-12
(4m,
4f, 5m/f)
School
Play Version
Flexible
Cast of 17-38, grades
K-6
(2m,
4f, 9-32m/f)
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Info
Audience |
Elementary
Schools, Middle Schools, High Schools, Parents, Teachers, Families |
Cast |
1m,
2f, larger cast possible |
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About
40 minutes |
CD |
Original
music, cues, sound effects |
Royalty |
Please
contact: Dramatic
Publishing |
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TEACHERS!
Are you looking for a version of this play that you can perform with
your students? Cast size 30+, adapted for young performers.
|
Links
3936
Millsbrae Avenue, Cincinnati Ohio 45209 513-351-9978 |
