Quote from Folktales on Stage
Folktales on Stage: Children's Plays for Reader's Theater: With 16 Scripts from World Folk and Fairy Tales and Legends, Including Asian, African, and Native American
by Aaron Shepard
Shepard Publications, Friday Harbor, Washington © 2004, 2014 (version 1.2.1) 180 pp.
Aaron describes his book: "Folktales on Stage is a collection of reader's theater scripts for young readers, adapted from my own folktale retellings. Most of the adapted stories are ones I first published as picture books or in magazines like Cricket or Australia's School Magazine . . . In the "Long Table of Contents" and at the beginning of each script, you'll find notation on genre, culture of origin or setting, theme, number of readers, suggested reader ages, and approximate reading time, as well as a brief description of the story." (p. 9)
Here's a sample of the script from the book: Savitri: A Tale of Ancient India, told by Aaron Shepard (we also have his picture book version of this tale in the Center for Sacred Sciences library collection)
"Preview: The princess Savitri must use all her wit and will to save her husband from the god of death.
Genre: Myths, folktales, legends
Culture: Asian Indian (ancient), Hindu
Theme: Heroines, determination
Readers: 11
Reader Ages: 9-15
Length: 10 minutes
Roles: Narrators 1-3, Savitri, Satyavan, Kings 1 & 2, Teacher, Narada, Yama, Goddess
Notes: This story is probably around 3,000 years old. . . "
"NARRATOR 1: In India, in the time of legend, there lived a king with many wives but not one child.
NARRATOR 2: Morning and evening for eighteen years, he faced the fire on the sacred altar and prayed for the gift of children.
NARRATOR 3: Finally, a shining goddess rose from the flames.
GODDESS: I am Savitri, child of the Sun. By your prayers, you have won a daughter.
NARRATOR 1: Within a year, a daughter came to the king and his favorite wife. He named her Savitri, after the goddess." (p. 141)
Some of the fifteen other scripts include:
The Adventures of Mouse Deer (Indonesia),
The Calabash Kids (Tanzania),
The Hidden One (Native American),
The Boy Who Wanted the Willies (Europe) . . .
The Gifts of Wali Dad (India, Pakistan) -- we also have Aaron's picture book version of this tale.
For ease of use the copyright for this book generously allows scripts to be copied, shared (off-line) and performed for any educational, noncommercial purpose.
-- submitted by Jennifer Knight
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