How to Put on a Play in 11 Days

The time between Autumn Break and Winter Break is always a busy one, filled with planning and preparations for our annual Class Play! This year's theme was "Stories from Mongolia." Here is how we organized our time:

WEEK ONE - build background knowledge

Day One - Nov 28
begin new lunchtime read-aloud, The Eagle Huntress: The True Story of the Girl Who Soared Beyond Expectations by Aisholpan Nurgaiv (Prologue)




Day Two - Nov 29

read chapter 1 of The Eagle Huntress


Day Three - Nov 30

read chapters 2 & 3 of The Eagle Huntress

WEEK TWO - hold play planning meetings, make decisions

Day Four - Dec 4
AM - read "The Horse-head Fiddle" from Play Me a Story: Nine Tales About Musical Instruments retold by Naomi Adler

make decisions about informational displays

fibers (baby camel fiber, bags of raw sheep fleece, clean washed wool, wool carders, wool felt)

ger (illustration on pages 16-17 of Houses of China by Bonnie Shemie, 3-D model)


listen to Mongolian music

"Sixty White Horses" by Equus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yqjg8In58g


read chapters 4 & 5 of The Eagle Huntress

PM - read "The Camel and the Deer"


Day Five - Dec 5

AM - read "Hunter-Boy"

read chapter 6 of The Eagle Huntress

PM - learn about the Mongolia Death Worm (cryptid)

make final decisions about legends we will perform

"The Yak" by Jack Prelutsky
from Eric Carle's Animals Animals
edited by Laura Whipple



"The Horse-head Fiddle"



"The Camel and the Deer"
https://www.culturev.com/mongol/mythology2.html
#antler

"Hunter-Boy"
https://www.culturev.com/mongol/mythology.html
#boy


choose and purchase foods for reception

Sea Buckthorn Juice - 32 oz
mix into cold sparkling water to serve
https://amzn.to/3TtuX2b

Fresh Camel Milk - 48 oz
never frozen, shipped the very day the camel is milked
https://desertfarms.com/products/pasteurized-camel-milk-fresh-8oz

Powdered Horse Milk - 250 g
from Kazakhstan
https://amzn.to/47IB3Qo

And, last but not least, a drink recipe we can make ourselves! This can be served warm in a crockpot.

Mongolian Millet & Green Milk Tea | Suutei Tsai http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/mongolian-millet-green-milk-tea-suutei-tsai/


Day Six - Dec 6

make final decisions about casting

read My Little Round House by Bolormaa Baasansuren

read chapter 7 of The Eagle Huntress


Day Seven - Dec 7

read Metropolis: Ten Cities, Ten Centuries by Albert Lorenz
"A Mongol Tent City, 13th Century"

pp.14-15, The Enormous Empire
pp.16-17, A Movable City
pp.18-19, Life in a Mongol City




read chapter 8 of The Eagle Huntress

PM - make clothing decisions

LL - Camel / Colored Snake - brown

KEL - Deer / Colored Snake - brown & white

CLH - Khan's Soldier / Colored Snake - red & black

GZ - Khan's Soldier / Colored Snake - red & black

AR - White Horse / Colored Snake - white

LR - Suho the Fiddle-Player / Colored Snake - grey & brown

ZCS - Yak / Hunter-Boy - brown & black

WT - Yak / Suho grandmother - brown & black

JT - Yak / Peasant - brown & black

KA - Khan / Sir Tiger - gold & orange

AZ - Princess Ling, Khan daughter / Sir Tiger - gold

JF - Khan's Soldier / Dragon Master - red & green

EF - White Snake, Dragon Master daughter / Peasant - white


look through sets from previous plays to see which ones we can reuse in this story, make list of sheets to be painted

Sets from previous years which we can reuse for this:

Mount Olympus from Ancient Greece - Hunter-Boy

Volcano from Hawai'i - Hunter-Boy

Cave from Hawai'i - Hunter-Boy

Rushing River from Hawai'i - The Camel & the Deer


New sets to paint this year for the Horse-head Fiddle:

king size yellow flannel sheet for Grasslands with Ger

full size white percale sheet for Palace


Order of sets (house left to house right):

1 - Grasslands with Ger
2 - River
3 - Hunter Boy's Mountain
4 - Cave
5 - Dragon Master's Palace / Khan's Palace


brainstorm list of possible props to make

WEEK THREE - make costumes/props/sets, rehearse & perform

Day Eight - Dec 11
AM - collect costume components (Camel/Deer antlers, Khan outfit, Sir Tiger mask & orange sheet, Dragon Master cape)

make additional pieces for costumes as needed (colorful snake masks, white snake headpiece, white horse headpiece, yak headpieces & chinpieces, Khan crown, Dragon Master staff)

read chapters 9, 10 & 11 of The Eagle Huntress

PM - Rehearsal @ Church

tour of church, set up sets, do initial walk-through, make decisions about blocking and special effects




Day Nine - Dec 12

AM - Rehearsal @ Church

walk through the play once again without dialogue, let children decide if they want to have speaking or non-speaking parts, walk through the play again with child-chosen dialogue

read chapter 12 of The Eagle Huntress

PM - finish all costume pieces, paint Palace sheet, make decisions on props, make additional props as needed





Day Ten - Dec 13

AM - make Pony Reins and Horse-head Fiddle, finish Grasslands with Ger sheet

finish The Eagle Huntress

PM - Rehearsal @ Church

rehearsal with costumes, props, sets, special effects & dialogue





Day Eleven - Dec 14

walk to church

set up

dress rehearsal

lunch

recess

final touches

parents arrive

play performance

tear down

THANK YOU to Cody, Destinee, and Bridget for leading the play rehearsals and helping backstage, and to Jayme for making the authentic Suutei Tsai for the reception. The children did an incredible job making all of their costumes, sets, and props, and they worked diligently to learn their roles so that we could bring these legends to life. I hope you enjoyed the show!

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