Christmas Pack #14
Gifts of Peace
I Will Write Peace on Your Wings: Puppet Play
Index for this Section- Author
- THE END
- A Holiday Puppet Play
- How To Fold A Paper Crane
- Introduction
- PUPPETS
- SCENE FIVE
- SCENE FOUR
- SCENE ONE
- SCENE THREE
- SCENE TWO
I Will Write Peace On Your Wings
A Holiday Puppet Play
by Camy Condon
Introduction
Inspired by Arroyo del Oso Elementary School students and teachers in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the Orizuru No Kai Paper Crane Folding Club in Hiroshima, Japan. Based on true experiences.Dedicated to Bonnie Malcolm, Mr. Kawamoto, Carrie Gassner and Christine Luke-Jones.
I Will Write Peace on Your Wings tells the story of a group of children in New Mexico who organized to build a statue for peace. The children in the play inspire other children and adults to work and live for peace.
Use this play during a children's Sunday school class, a children's worship service or a special intergenerational gathering during Advent. Ask for volunteers to design the sets, make the puppets and read the parts. Allow enough time for the puppeteers to become familiar with their lines. You can make finger puppets by xeroxing the patterns included. (You may also want to create your own finger puppet designs.) Or you can make puppets out of socks or small paper bags. You will want to become familiar with the instructions to fold paper cranes which are on the last page. If you have the time, you can teach the children in the group to fold cranes as well.
PUPPETS:
(Players can change names to match teacher and classmates they know.)
MS. JONES, Teacher Bank Teller
EDDIE, Student Bank Manager
JENNIFER, Student Bank Customer
KEVIN, Student President of the United States
LUPE, Student Secret Service Agents
BONNIE, Older Student Others
SCENE ONE
Set: Fourth grade classroom at Arroyo School, Albuquerque, New Mexico on Valentine's Day
Props: Small doll chairs, play money, posters
[The curtain opens and reveals the students busy making posters.]
LUPE: [Holding out money] Hey! Check it out! Our Problem-Solving Class raised eleven dollars and 50 cents. That's really great for a popcorn sale, especially since we forgot the butter.
MS. JONES: Great job! I think your peace march and fundraising campaign are a good start on the problem-solving topic "war."
KEVIN: In math I calculated our profit at 7 1/2%. It will be fun coming up with a peace project to use the money.
LUPE: When do we go to the bank, Ms. Jones?
MS. JONES: Just as soon as your signs and posters are finished. It's windy outside, but the bank isn't far and it's stopped raining.
EDDIE: My poster's cool. It says: "February 14 - The Day Peace Broke Out."
MS. JONES: That's fine, Eddie. It's a great Valentine's Day message!
JENNIFER: I think going on a peace march to the bank is dumb. The wind is going to mess up my hair. Do we all have to go?
KEVIN: Well, aren't you the person who wants to be a journalist?
MS. JONES: You did write a really good news release on the peace march, Jennifer. Maybe TV and newspaper reporters will show up at the bank. Okay, everybody, get your signs and let's go.
[All gather and shuffle off stage with their signs as the curtain closes.]
SCENE TWO
Set: A bank lobby
Props: Posters, play money, small desk
[The group enters the bank and approaches the teller window.]
CUSTOMER: What's all this noise about? Are you kids selling candy bars again?
JENNIFER: No, but that's a good idea. [Turning to Lupe] Does my hair look all right?
LUPE: Yes, except the front is messed up.
JENNIFER: [Groaning] Oh no! Can I borrow your brush?
MS. JONES: [Interrupting] Okay, Eddie, go ahead.
EDDIE: [Steps up to the teller window and speaks in an important voice] Ummmm . . . . We're from Arroyo School and we want to put money in the bank for a peace project. . .
LUPE: [Adding] . . . until we figure out what to use it for.
BANK TELLER: That's great! Just a minute, I'll get the bank manager. I'm not sure a children's account is legal.
JENNIFER: That's funny. Maybe peace isn't legal!
KEVIN: [Whispering] I want to know how much interest we'll get. Our money is going to make more money, right, Ms. Jones?
MS. JONES: Right. You can ask that.
BANK MANAGER: [Approaching the group] Can I help you?
EDDIE: We want to put our popcorn sale money in your bank to get interest. Then we'll use it to make peace happen. See, it's part of our problem-solving class. The problem is WAR and the solution is doing something for peace. That's why we're here.
BANK MANAGER: That's quite an important goal! I think we could give you a bank account without any service fees. Why don't you put the signs in the window and by the door for a week.
EDDIE: Wow, thanks! But what about the interest rate? Our money will earn interest, won't it?
BANK MANAGER: Of course, you'll earn interest. You kids pull up chairs at my desk and I'll explain the details.
KEVIN: You said we can leave our signs here? [Bank Manager nods.] Just think how many people will see them!
ALL STUDENTS: Thank you! Thanks a lot.
JENNIFER: [Looks around, disappointed] Even if the TV reporter didn't show up, this is still a good news story.
CUSTOMER: [Turning to Jennifer] I think your idea is wonderful! Here's a $25 donation for your project. I'd like to help.
ALL STUDENTS: Thank you! Wow! That's great. Already we're closer to making peace happen.
[The students and teacher follow the Bank Manager to a nearby desk as the curtain closes.]
SCENE THREE
Set: Language Arts period in a classroom at Arroyo School; two weeks later
Props: Small doll chairs, small books (or paper folded to look like books), small notepad
[The students are sitting around the room talking to one another.]
MS. JONES: Book reports are due. Is everyone prepared to share their report with the class?
KEVIN: I read this book about dinosaurs. It was pretty cool. But it doesn't show Seismosauros from New Mexico.
EDDIE: That's because they just found the bones. Nobody knew about this earthshaker being the biggest in the world before now. We're cool. New Mexico is historic!
MS. JONES: Okay, who's ready to report? Lupe?
LUPE: I checked out this [holds up book]. It's about a little girl in Japan. It's really sad, 'cause she dies. She got sick from the bomb. It's called Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr. It's a true story.
JENNIFER: I read that last summer. Sadako was three years old when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the city where she lived. She got leukemia and died when she was twelve.
EDDIE: I know how to fold those things . . . paper birds. I learned origami at camp. You need square paper. Look I can show you. [Tears a piece of paper out of his notepad and begins folding.]
LUPE: They're not just birds . . . they're cranes. In Japan cranes mean good luck and happiness. Sadako folded them wishing to get better. But she didn't.
MS. JONES: That's right, Lupe. It happened during the Second World War. The United States government built a secret bomb right here in New Mexico. Los Alamos was created as a nuclear weapons lab city. Maybe we can go on a field trip to Los Alamos when the President goes there to visit.
JENNIFER: My cousins live in Los Alamos. They do Star Wars laser stuff there now. There are a lot of signs that say "DANGER." Once my cousin found a tag on the sidewalk that said "Radiation."
ALL STUDENTS: Gross!
MS. JONES: Los Alamos is where the first nuclear bombs were made. They were called "Atom" bombs. Two were used on cities during World War II. One was dropped on Hiroshima city, [Turns to Lupe] the city where Sadako lived. And another was used on Nagasaki. Both cities are in Japan. The U.S. and Japan were considered enemies then. It was August 6th and 9th of 1945. I was seven years old at the time.
KEVIN: My Grandpa used to work there, in Los Alamos. He was a scientist at the lab and he told me about going to the desert to test the bomb. Everybody was scared. There was a big storm in the night and he got all wet. They thought it might blow up the whole state of New Mexico!
MS. JONES: Nobody knew what the effects of the atom bomb might be. That's why they tested it. It's all part of New Mexico's history. Some people said the bombs were necessary to end the war and save American lives. Some worried about Japanese civilians.
KEVIN: The first atom bomb was exploded on top of a tower. I saw a picture at the Atomic Museum.
MS. JONES: That's right, Kevin. The bomb was tested right here in the south of the state, in the Alamogordo Desert. The place is called the Trinity Site, an odd name. It was exploded on July 16, 1945. Fallout hurt some wild animals, maybe people, too.
KEVIN: Grandpa took me to the site once. It has a stone thing and piece of the steel tower. The site is only open twice a year, 'cause radiation is still there and you could breathe it. You're not supposed to eat while you're there, in case some gets on your sandwich.
LUPE: Maybe that's what happened to Sadako. Maybe she ate some radiation dust on her food and it caused her to get sick.
MS. JONES: Tell us more about your book report, Lupe. There is a happy ending to that book. Did you read the epilogue?
JENNIFER: What's an epilogue?
KEVIN: Don't you know? That's the last page, what happens after the story ends.
LUPE: Well, in the epilogue it says that Sadako's class folded one thousand paper cranes for Sadako. They also collected money from children all over Japan. It took years, but the students built a peace monument to remember Sadako and all the other children killed by the atomic bombs.
MS. JONES: Yes, they worked hard. Some principals and teachers were opposed to the idea of a children's peace statue, but the children didn't give up. In 1958 their statue was unveiled in the Hiroshima Peace Park.
JENNIFER: Look! Here's a picture of the statue in our social studies book. There are lots of paper cranes all around it. That's Sadako on top lifting up a folded crane.
EDDIE: Hey, I know. That's what we could do, too! We could build a kids' peace statue, right here where the bombs were made. That could be our peace project.
ALL: That's a great idea, Eddie!
KEVIN: We'd need a lot of money to build a real statue.
JENNIFER: We could make the first kids' peace statue in the U.S. And we can even ask kids to design it. Then I know the TV stations and newspapers would report our story.
KEVIN: We could get kids all over to give money to build the statue and we could put their names in our computer. Maybe we'd get a MILLION names!
LUPE: Oh, Ms. Jones. Let's build a peace statue! Do you think we could?
MS. JONES: It would take a long time. Hmmmm. Maybe you really could. In five years it will be the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Maybe you really could!
ALL: Yeah, we can! Let's do it!
[Children begin to talk excitedly to one another as the curtain closes.]
SCENE FOUR
Set: The site of the nuclear weapons lab at Los Alamos, New Mexico
Props: Small sheets of paper, folded paper crane
[A crowd of people gather to catch a glimpse of the President, who is surrounded by Secret Service people. The children and their teacher stand in a group.]
EDDIE: I think that's the end of his speech.
LUPE: [Turning to teacher] This is exciting. Do you think he'll pass by here?
JENNIFER: I hope so. We've been here for four hours!
KEVIN: I can't believe they really built this whole city just to make nuclear bombs. It's hard to imagine the stuff that killed Sadako started out here.
EDDIE: Well, it was a war! And they bombed our ships in Pearl Harbor first.
MS. JONES: There are a lot of strong opinions about the use of the bombs, Eddie. The scientists and all their families were very patriotic. They were doing what the government asked them to do.
LUPE: I still think it was awful to kill Sadako . . . even if our countries were fighting. War is stupid!
JENNIFER: Yeah, it is. When Sadako folded paper cranes, remember what she said? She said, "I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world." Let's make some paper cranes while we wait.
EDDIE: I brought some paper. [Turning to others] You want red or purple?
[Eddie passes out paper and the children begin to fold cranes.]
JENNIFER: The speech is over. I hope the President walks over here.
KEVIN: Get real! They said there are over 20,000 people here waiting around to meet the President.
CROWD: Cheers, Mr. President! Hello, Mr. President! Over here, Mr. President!
PRESIDENT: [Shaking hands with various people] Nice to see you. . . . Glad you're here. . . . Hi there.
JENNIFER: Eeeeeee. . . he's looking over here! Everyone wave!
[Children wave.]
PRESIDENT: [Approaching the children, he stops and reaches out to shake hands with Eddie.] Hi there.
EDDIE: Wow! Hello, Mr. President! [Eddie is holding the paper crane he folded.]
PRESIDENT: [Looking at the crane] Did you make that?
EDDIE: Yes. Ummmm . . . I want you to have it on behalf of the Children's Peace Statue Campaign.
PRESIDENT: Thank you. It's beautiful! [Takes the crane and moves on.]
ALL STUDENTS: Wow! He took it! The President of the United States has our crane!
LUPE: Just think, Sadako's wish came true! We wrote peace on its wings and it flew all the way to the President, right here where the bombs were made.
KEVIN: Yeah, and now he'll take it back to the White House in Washington, DC and it will carry its message of peace there, too. It might even end up in a museum or something! Your crane is famous, Eddie.
EDDIE: I'm never ever gonna wash my hand.
MS. JONES: Your mother will love that!
JENNIFER: I hope it was your best crane, Eddie.
MS. JONES: Well, the crowd is moving. Let's get back to the van. [Everyone turns to leave.] What a day!
LUPE: [Stopping abruptly and pointing to the sky] Look! What are those?
JENNIFER: They're a bunch of birds flying south following the river, silly. Didn't you ever see wild geese?
KEVIN: Look at that pattern. It's cool! They are flying in a "V." One takes the lead at the front of the "V" to make flying easier. When it gets tired it flies to the back and another one takes the lead. I'll bet there are more than a hundred up there.
MS. JONES: Jennifer, I don't think those are geese. Look closely. They look like Sandhills. Sandhill cranes.
ALL STUDENTS: Cranes!!!
[Curtain closes.]
SCENE FIVE
Set: December holiday party at Peace Statue Committee meeting
Props: Small pieces of paper, Christmas tree, letters
[Children are sitting near a bare Christmas tree folding paper cranes. Various students are holding letters.]
MS. JONES: Okay, everybody. It's one o'clock. Let's get the meeting started. Who wants to be the chairperson?
BONNIE: I will. Listen up everybody. Let's take care of business first then we can decorate the tree.
LUPE: Is it okay if we keep folding cranes? We finished 942 so far. We're trying to get 1,000 to put on the tree.
KEVIN: We can do it. I figure each person can average one crane every 1 1/2 minutes. If everyone folds eight cranes we'll have enough.
BONNIE: Great! Now let's have the reports.
EDDIE: We got 23 letters in the mail. Some had lots of names and some had donations, too. There were 504 kids from Louisville, Kentucky and they are gonna try to raise a dollar for each name.
JENNIFER: This letter is from the Crow Reservation in Montana. Native American kids sent some great designs for the peace statue. Look, eagle feathers and a peace pipe.
LUPE: I love it!
MS. JONES: The designs are beautiful!
BONNIE: Okay, let's divide the mail so everyone has a few letters to answer. I'll put the names in the computer tonight. So far, we have names of 21,359 kids who support the project. Who has the financial report?
JENNIFER: I do. I went to the bank, and after we deposited that money we collected in the Army bomb nose cone, we've got $12,362.87. It's a lot, but it's still pretty far from our goal of a million.
KEVIN: That bomb nose cone worked great! It weighs a ton, though. Eddie had to carry the point while I carried the end. It sure got people's attention. At the Peace Statue design awards we collected over a hundred dollars for the project.
LUPE: I think it's neat. My mom says it shows we're turning bombs into peace statues.
BONNIE: Back to the names . . . We've got names of kids in every state and 56 different countries.
JENNIFER: Every state!
EDDIE: [Counting] 997. . . 998 . . . 999 . . . One thousand. We did it! We've got a thousand paper cranes!
ALL: [Cheer]
MS. JONES: You can decorate the tree now. It will look beautiful with all these paper cranes.
LUPE: And each one is a wish for peace.
[Children decorate tree and gather to admire their work.]
ALL: It's gorgeous! Wow! Cool! It's really pretty!
JENNIFER: I think it's much prettier than using store-bought decorations.
MS. JONES: I just called the social worker at the shelter. She said we can bring the tree over now, and guess what!
ALL: What!
MS. JONES: She said she would leave the tree up all year round to remind people of peace. And every time a homeless child comes to the shelter, she will give him or her one paper crane to keep.
JENNIFER: That's great! Maybe Sadako's wish will help homeless kids dream of peace and make them feel hopeful.
EDDIE: Maybe we could invite all the homeless kids to help with the peace statue dedication in August 1995. They could bring their cranes!
LUPE: First we've got to build it. Next year will be exciting! All those models of kids' designs will go around the country. Then kids can vote on the statue they like best.
MS. JONES: This is the season for hope, joy and peace. Your peace project is a special part of the season.
KEVIN: Look, Ms. Jones! This letter is from Japan. It says some kids in Yokohama are saving money to come and sing when we build the statue. They have a choir and a special song about Sadako.
LUPE: Oh, wow! Do you think they could stay at my house? I'll ask my mom.
MS. JONES: It's time to go to the shelter. Let's get the tree. And don't forget the music to your song, the peace drawing books and the poems you all wrote. They will make beautiful holiday gifts! Let's go.
[Curtain closes.]
THE END
At the end of the play, children may want to hand out a paper crane to each person in the audience. Also consider distributing sign-up forms for the Peace Statue Campaign to the children involved in the play as well as everyone in the audience.
For further study, order the documentary video tape showing children asking Los Alamos County Council Members to donate land for the statue (cost $20). You may also wish to sponsor a showing of the Peace Statue Models on Tour in your community. For more information, send a self-addressed envelope with two first-class postage stamps to: Bonnie Malcolm and Arroyo Students; The Kids Committee; 1995 Children's Peace Statue; P.O. Box 12888; Albuquerque, NM 87195-2888.
How To Fold A Paper Crane
1. Fold a square piece of paper in half horizontally. Then fold A back to bottom center (D), and B forward to front bottom center (C).
2. Your paper should look like this.
3. Pull C (the front) and D (the back) apart all the way until you have a flat diamond (as in small diagram).
4. Fold top layers of C and D inward to center line at E and fold down F along dotted line.
5. Your paper should look like this.
6. Here's the tricky part: Unfold step 4. Take top layer only at G and pull it up making use of the crease (dotted line). This allows points C and D to fold back to center line along creases. Turn paper over and repeat steps 4, 5 and 6, ignoring new flap topped by point G.
7. With split at bottom, fold H and I inward so that edges meet center line. Turn paper over and repeat.
8. Temporarily open flaps at L1 and L2. Pull J up to top between flaps and close flaps (L1 and L2). Repeat with K. Fold down head. Fold down wings.
Author
Camy Condon works in the Intergenerational Program of the New Mexico Conference of Churches. She has authored various books on peace including Puppets for Peace and Global Family Puppets and co-authored Helping Kids Care. Camy serves as the adult advisor for the Kid's Committee for a Children's Peace Statue.
Make copies of this resource under the Creative Commons attribution, not-for-profit license.
Page updated 11 Sept. 2013
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