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Read
Free Script Sample, Cast List, Staging Notes. Hear CD
Soundtrack Cues
"We Are The Dream touched this community like no other event
I’ve been part of. UNBELIEVABLE!"
Marianne
Carruth, Tryon Fine Arts Center, NC
"What
a great compilation of music!"
Kennelyn Ceralde
Sacramento
CA
ArtReach's musical children's play, We Are The Dream weaves soulful
spirituals, gospel music, turbulent history and meaningful audience
participation into an event of powerful emotional impact.
Familiar Music & Songs:
"What
a Morning"
"Nobody Knows"
"Oh,
Happy Day"
"Black
and White Together"
"Walk
Hand in Hand"
"We Shall
Overcome"
Songs may be sung by a choir, students and audience, lending great
spiritual depth to this American story of hope, courage and triumph.
"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but
by the content of their character."
We Are The Dream
Includes
the Inspiring Stories of: Rosa Parks, Vivian Jones, and other
Courageous Pioneers of the American Civil Rights Movement.
"Many people tell me that
"We Are the Dream"
is the best play they've ever seen at their school. I had as
few as 16 students in one production, and as many as 42 in
another. It's a great show. Thank you!"
Brady
McKay Williams, Drama Teacher, Sacramento
"Our
Production of We Are the Dream was quite successful. The
editor of the Arts section of the Providence Journal gave it a
"Best Bets"!
All
Children's Theatre, Pawtucket RI
"Martin
would be proud of me..."
This ArtReach School Play, offers positive examples for all children!
Especially powerful in churches when performers of all ages join
the cast and perform together.
"We are the Dream also featured the story of Rosa Parks, the
seamstress who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man."
Hackney
Gazette, London
Easy
costumes and scenery: Many suggestions on how to create or find what
you need to make a
great looking production
without breaking your budget!
"I
recently purchased the We Are the Dream Play Package. You are a
genius and a Godsend to a company like ours! Thanks so much for your
brilliant work!"
Jerry
Stevenson, Artistic Director, Columbia Children's Theatre, SC
We Are the Dream is a Perfect Play for Martin Luther King Day and
Black History Month!
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We Are The Dream
The Legacy
of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Musical
School Play for Schools, Theatres and Churches! |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Cast
List
Staging
Notes
CD
Soundtrack Cues
Script
Sample
WE
ARE THE DREAM
CAST LIST
Running Time: About 45-50 minutes
Flexible cast of about 25, 6
Male, 5 Female, All others M/F
Easily adapted for larger or
smaller cast
STUDENTS:
TONY (M/F,
13 lines)
FLORA (M/F,
14 lines)
JAMES (M/F,
12 lines)
HOPE (M/F,
13 lines)
GRACE (M/F,
13 lines)
GROWNUP
JULIA (M/F, 17 lines)
YOUNG JULIA
(M/F, 13 lines)
JULIA'S
MOTHER (F, 9 lines)
JULIA'S
FATHER (M, 15 lines)
YOUNG MARTIN
(M, 11 lines)
ALBERTA (F,
8 lines)
MARTIN'S
FATHER (M, 6 lines)
MARTIN (M,
37 lines)
MRS.
WILLIAMS (M/F, 29 lines)
BILLY'S
MOTHER (M/F, 2 lines)
SHOE CLERK
(M/F, 2 lines)
CORETTA (F,
16 lines)
ROSA PARKS
(F, 5 lines)
TV ANNOUNCER
(M/F, 18 lines)
BUS DRIVER
(M/F, 8 lines)
SHERIFF
(M/F, 11 lines)
JOSEPH
MCNEILL (M, 4 lines)
WAITER (M/F,
8 lines)
WALLACE (M,
6 lines)
VIVIAN JONES
(F, 8 lines)
CHOIR
(Optional, any size)
Let Your Kids Live the Dream!
A Student
Performs MLK's Dream Speech!
Charteret School, Bloomfield, NJ
WE
ARE THE DREAM
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 ArtReach’s School
Plays: “I never dreamed I’d 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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WE
ARE THE DREAM
STAGING NOTES
CASTING:
This script is written for adults and children of varying ages to
perform together. Older children and adults may take the parts
of Grownup Julia, Mrs. Williams, Martin's Father, etc. An
obvious choice would be for the teacher who is directing the play to
perform Grownup Julia or Mrs. Williams. The purpose is to
deepen the experience of recounting Martin Luther King's life among a
wide and diverse group, a true community, helping all to see it from
many points of view. However, it is quite all right for all the roles
to be played by young people of just one age if that is the nature of
your project.
CHOIR:
Using an existing choir, such as a church choir or a school singing
group, will simplify this aspect of the production. The Choir
may be as small as one person or as large as you can
accommodate. The choir is the sole backdrop/scenery for the
play placed upstage center with action taking place in front of
them. Members can come and go from the Choir to perform in the
play taking on the speaking roles as they are described in the script
or playing non-speaking (or ad-libbed speaking) roles such as crowds
at protests etc. When actors are not performing in
the playing area they may step into the choir and sing through the
scenes until it is time to resume their role again. If your choir is
already practiced in songs you think are appropriate, by all means
replace the suggested songs with those your choir members already
know. If your audience is familiar with the songs feel
free to encourage them to join in throughout the show. If a choir is
too much for your project, a CD of background music and sound effects
is available and the references to songs may be eliminated from the production.
We Are Martin Luther
King's Dream!  
Joshua Academy, We Are the
Dream, Children's Musical Play, Evansville, IN
WE
ARE THE DREAM
CD
SOUNDTRACK CUES
Cues, sound effects, choir
accompaniment music
The CD Soundtrack contains sound
effects and music to accompany the choir (traditional spirituals and
gospels) that may be used to greatly enhance the performance. 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 ]
NOTE: Cues marked CHOIR:
contain music to accompany the choir. SKIP the CHOIR:
cues if you are using a piano or live band playing for the choir.
(Simple piano sheet music is included in the Teachers Guide.)
1. CHOIR:
WHAT A MORNING (1:08)
[sample]
2. CHOIR:
NOBODY KNOWS (1:37)
[sample]
3. CHOIR:
NOBODY KNOWS 2 (1:37)
4. CHOIR:
OH HAPPY DAY (1:56)
[sample]
5. CHOIR:
OH HAPPY DAY 2 (0:50)
6. CHOIR:
WHAT A MORNING 2 (3:05)
7. EXPLOSION, BURNING
CROSS (0:52) [sample]
8. CHOIR:
QUIET HUM (0:37)
9. SINGING,
CHAOS, SINGING
(2:41) [sample]
10. POLICE, DOGS, MOB
(0:33) [sample]
11. CHOIR:
BLACK AND WHITE TOGETHER (1:52)
[sample]
12. CHOIR:
WALK HAND IN HAND (1:52)
13. CHOIR:
SPEECH & FREE AT LAST MUSIC (2:55)
[sample]
14. SPEECH ONLY (2:19)
(use either track 13 or 14 for
this cue)
15. CHOIR:
WE SHALL OVERCOME (Finale) (4:30)
[sample]
CHOIR:
Using an existing choir, such as a church choir or a school singing
group, will simplify this aspect of the production. The Choir
may be as small as one person or as large as you can
accommodate. The choir is the sole backdrop/scenery for the
play placed upstage center with action taking place in front of
them. Members can come and go from the Choir to perform in the
play taking on the speaking roles as they are described in the script
or playing non-speaking (or ad-libbed speaking) roles such as crowds
at protests etc.
Music
& Sound Resources Available on the Internet
( Sheet
Music, Song Books, CDs, DVDs, Sing-along,
Karaoke, Sound
Effects )
Internet
Music Resources: Karaoke
CDs & Sheet
Music
     
Click to
search Internet for karaoke cds or sheet music
"It's for all of us... We are the dream."
  
"This
show is not about rehearsal, not about perfection. It's about
faith and love and the message of Dr. King. This dream is for
all of us. We are the
dream."
Director Marianne Carruth, Tryon
Fine Arts Center, NC
The
School Play Package gives you the right to make any changes to the
script that you like! Add characters, lines, songs! You
also have the rights to make a Video/DVD of your special performance!
WE
ARE THE DREAM
SCRIPT SAMPLE
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Young Martin
has big plans but he knows he can't do it alone...
(Script
pages 12-13) |
CORETTA: I am Coretta Scott.
MARTIN: (Admiring.) Yes,
you are.
CORETTA: Don't you know me by now,
Martin? Yes, I am Alabama born and bred. But I have no
intention of returning in this particular lifetime. Boston
suits me fine. I'll have my music degree in a year and my
masters in two! Give me one good reason why I should complicate
my plans by marrying you.
MARTIN: Well, for one... because you
love me.
CORETTA: How on earth could you know that?
MARTIN: Because I love you. And
I can see you feel the same.
CORETTA: Has anyone ever told you
you're proud?
MARTIN: Proud to be a man?
Proud to be an African American? Proud to have a brilliant
woman like you at my side? Guilty as charged.
CORETTA: Oh, Martin. I do love
you but...
MARTIN: But?
CORETTA: I can't go back to the
south. I just can't. I can never forget how I was treated
down there. Like I wasn't as good as the white girls.
MARTIN: That's exactly why I got to
back, Coretta. And why you got to go with me. Someone has to
begin to lift our people up!
CORETTA: Oh, Martin you're a
dreamer. Do you think you can do all that by preaching from a pulpit?
MARTIN: I can. I must.
CORETTA: If I say yes. If I
marry you. I won't be marrying just a man. I'll have to
marry your dream too.
MARTIN: I wouldn't ask you if I
thought you couldn't do it. You'll be my partner, Coretta, by
my side every step of the way.
CORETTA: And give up singing?
MARTIN: (Smiling.) There's always
the choir.
(SOUND CUE #4: Choir, Oh Happy Day.)
CHOIR: (humming and clapping intro
to song...)
CORETTA: The church choir?
After all my classical training? (Rolling her eyes.)
Oh, happy day!...
CHOIR: (Singing in direct response
to CORETTA.)
Oh happy day... Oh happy day
Oh happy day... Oh happy day
When Jesus washed... When Jesus washed
Oh when He washed... When Jesus washed
When Jesus washed... When Jesus washed
He washed my sins away
Oh happy day... Oh happy day...
(Repeat "Happy Day" and/or lyrics as
needed. CORETTA acknowledges the CHOIR with an "I can take a
joke" look to them. She and MARTIN join the CHOIR and sing
a phrase. END CUE.)
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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