Creative Educational Systems

Is there a better way to get an experiential understanding of a Native American culture than by performing some of the folktales indigenous to its People? And one of the most colorful characters, bound to bring laughter to the performers and audience alike, is the Native American trickster, the subject of Coyote myths and legends. These three stories will delight and instruct both audience and cast. Synopsis:Coyote Tales is actually a collection of three Native American folktales: In Coyote and

Students will thrill at the chance to play the delightful characters in the Folklore Festival, and thoroughly enjoy the music and comedy. An African animal fable, a Medieval Japanese Fairy Tale, and a Greek myth come to life, as do their respective cultures. It's a delightful multicultural experience for the audience as well. Synopsis:The Folklore Festival is actually a collection of three multicultural folktales in one play: In Why the Hare Runs Away, during one of the worst droughts in histo

THE THEATRE OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN is a collection of original plays written and produced in schools by Creative Educational Systems.  Titles include:The Emperor's New ClothesThe NightingaleThe Princess and the PeaThe Snow QueenThumbelinaEach title is available as an individual script elsewhere in this store.Plays have a playing time of between 10-60 minutes -- perfect for a school assembly program or a children's theatre production.The plays are accompanied by brief essays which highlight t

Description of this Script:Duration: 50-60 minutes Genre: comedy with optional music. Cast Size: 1 male lead, 2 any gender, many supporting roles, expandable animal choruses. Grade level: 1st-5th gr. (or m.s., h.s. or adult, esp. when playing for a children's audience; also can be intergenerational). Production ideas: included at the back. Thematic curriculum ideas: included at the back. Songs: optional, suggested Synopsis of the Story:A group of people loses the baby of one of their womenfolk w

Do you love Mark Twain? His stories have made us laugh and cry for over a century. Now see his stories brought to life in this delightful one-act play, which features portions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and The Pauper, and the entirety of Jim Baker's Blue Jay Yarn.Synopsis:In San Francisco in the 1860s, authors Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and Brett Harte are roommates working on becoming successful writers for a livelihood. Together they imp

Students will love learning about the life of Madam CJ Walker, America's first black woman millionaire. An excellent story for celebrating Black History. Description of this Script:Duration: 55 mins. Genre: historical drama Cast Size: 1 strong female lead, 5 f, 5 m, at least 16 smaller supporting roles (which can be double cast) plus expandable chorus Grade level: 4th grade to adult Production ideas: included at the back. Thematic curriculum ideas: included at the back. Synopsis of the Story:Sar

All the beauty of William Shakespeare's classic play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is brought to life in this imagined first rehearsal by his acting troupe as they prepare for a presentation before the Queen. Various other Elizabethan characters join the fun as Shakespeare quenches fires and tries to inspire his actors to excellence with the performance but two weeks away. Synopsis:As William Shakespeare awakens on the morning of the first rehearsal of his play A Midsummer Night's Dream, he is r

This delightful folktale about the trickster spider Anansi comes to life in this play for younger elementary students and older. Youngsters will enjoy the humor in the story, performing the delightful animal characterizations, and will recognize the classic tale of African/ Caribbean origin. A wonderful short play for Black History Month presentations. Synopsis:In Anansi and the Sky God's Stories, the spider Anansi wants to save the Sky God's special stories for his own family, but finds he mus

Should science be dry and technical? See the lives of three of the world's most famous astronomers, Nicholas Copernicus, Galileo Galilei and Sir Isaac Newton, come alive through drama. Your cast will enjoy performing as each character battles the forces of ignorance and prejudice as they present new ideas in science to a skeptical world. Synopsis:Astronomers of the Renaissance includes three scenes. In the first scene, we find Nicholas Copernicus working in his library at the top of a church to

Synopsis:Juan Bobo, the comic hero from Puerto Rico, seems to somehow bungle everything he tries, yet his good heart always leads him on the right course. Here, Juan manages to save the Queen's necklace, unearth a plot by the palace thieves, and earn himself a place of wealth and respect in the King's esteem, all because he is interested in befriending some of the palace garden's nightingales. Description:This 25-minute play script is a comedy with a variety of parts for a full class-load of stu

Let your students build their own self-esteem while at the same time seeing this folktale, of Latin American culture from the island of Cuba, come to life through their own performance. El Bizarron, though a peasant, has the strength not only of body but also of character to teach us that helping others, and not harming others, is the best way to real peace and happiness. Synopsis:The arrogant and rich "El Diablo" and his equally arrogant, vain wife Vanagloria take on a humble peasant servant ca

In this comical look a traditional medieval Japanese folktale, your students will experience the culture, and learn an important lesson about the value of the elders in a society. Synopsis of the Story:In The Wise Old Woman, a Japanese town's young lord, thinking that the town's elderly are a burden and a waste of resources, issues a foolish decree that all people over the age of 70 are to be taken to the mountain and left to die. One young farmer cannot bear to send his old mother to the moun

Let your students build their own self-esteem while at the same time seeing this classic fairy tale come to life in their own performance. Thumbelina, in true fairy tale fashion, takes the good-hearted girl and, after a series of difficult trials and adventures, lets us know that everything does work out for the best in the end. Synopsis:Thumbelina is a tiny girl, the result of a wish by her parents for a child of their own. Her happiness in her home is interrupted by selfish and unscrupulous ch

This delightful adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Snow Queen, is a great play for the holiday season, or any other time of year. It is a beautiful blending of a narrated dance/ drama and a thrilling action story that shows off Andersen's story at its best. Parts of all kinds will allow actors to shine as they see this story come to life and experience all the lessons it has within it, not the least of which is that love is the true miracle that will melt a heart that has

Let your students build their own self esteem while at the same time seeing this classic fairy tale come to life in their own performance. "The Nightingale" is not only a good vehicle for multicultural studies of China, but also teaches a wonderful lesson about the glamour of materialism. Synopsis:The Emperor of China reads in a book that of all the treasures in his land, the Nightingale was the most precious. He sets out to hear the Nightingale's song in the woods and is so inspired that he in

What a wonderful chance for students to exercise both their dramatic and their musical abilities in this adaptation of the Egyptian Cinderella story complete with song lyrics for a musical production! Once again, kindness and self-sacrifice are rewarded, and the selfish get their comeuppance in this multicultural fairy tale adventure from Egypt. Synopsis:In Rhodopis and the Song of the Falcon, Rhodopis (the Egyptian Cinderella), a Greek girl with fair hair, has been made a slave to a kind maste

Description:A delightful comedy, this play is good for upper elementary, middle and high school students. This 25-30 minute one-act features 3 strong male characters, 2 strong female characters, with many smaller supporting roles and a Greek chorus which is expandable in size, depending on the number of students to be cast. It can be intergenerational, as there are both strong adult and child roles. Production ideas for sets, costumes, etc.. are provided. Synopsis:When the God of the Underworld

Young science students will thrill to the clash of ideas about the nature of the universe presented here in play form, which they can act out. As the ancient Greek astronomers debate whether the sun or the earth is the center of the universe, the evolution of scientific thought comes to life for the actors who are performing and watching this play. Synopsis:At the meeting of the Athens (Greece) Astronomical Society, the hostess anxiously presents their most famous guest speaker of all time, the

In this comical look at some of the World's serious problems, cast members and the audience will gain an other-worldly perspective on how some of these problems might be solved. These five short comedy-morality skits may be performed separately or together. Synopsis:At a meeting of the Intergallactic Council, a group of extraterrestrials has been examining the behavior of Worldlings and determining how they might help them become a more moral race. In a series of hilarious interventions, the ETs

Description:This hour-long one-act is actually 7 stories in one play, each of which can be performed separately or which can all be performed together. The play features an extremely balanced cast consisting of many large male and female roles, plus good supporting roles and non-speaking roles, which can be expanded to accommodate the desired size of the performing company. It may be performed by as few as 16 actors doubling roles, or by a series of classes, with each class performing one story.