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PLAY SCRIPTS
Many of Edel Wignell's play scripts have been published in magazines, some have been compiled into collections and others are single scripts published as books.
Try a play script 'Amin and the Ghoul' for shared reading based on an ogre folk tale of Persia (Iran) in the Middle East. (An ogre is a giant.) NEW!
Read a newspaper article about the collection, Tricking the Tiger. It was written for ages 8-12 years, and was first published in the 'All About Books' lift-out in 'The Age'.
SCRIPT COLLECTIONS
ISBN numbers indicate books in print.
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Tricking the Tiger: Plays Based on Asian Folk Tales - eight photocopiable plays for ages 10-14 years. 9 781876 580322
A ghostly trickster, winning a princess, the exploits of a thief, brothers sharing an inheritance, a seductive portrait, and more. The folk tales are from Papua New Guinea, Korea, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Japan and Indonesia.
Publisher: (Phoenix): www.phoenixeduc.com
Also Tricking the Tiger: Teacher Resource Book 1 876580 38 0
(Click cover for larger image) |
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The Hobyahs and Other Plays from Around the World (1995, Bushfire Press, translated into Chinese by Bookman Books, Taiwan) - five photocopiable plays for ages 8-10 years.
1 875191 48 8
Hobyahs, trolls, a mighty sparrow, a goat with seven eyes, a ghost wagon, and more. The collection includes a puppet play, a tall tale and a trickster tale for shared reading, a ghost play with songs, and a folk tale from the viewpoint of the 'baddies'. Choruses and shared reading provide turns for everyone.
Publisher: (Bushfire): www.bushfirepress.com
Also see the Chinese book cover
(Click cover for larger image) |
SINGLE SCRIPTS IN BOOK FORMAT
ISBN numbers indicate books in print.
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Bendemolena, illustrated by Mini Goss, 'Voiceworks' series (2001, Pearson Education) in small and 'big book' formats, for ages 6-8 years. Small book: 0 7406 1810 5
Big Book: 0 7339 1760 7
Bendemolina was selected by Scholastic Canada for a French language edition of Voiceworks. The title is Bettina, and the series is En scene.
In this play script, based on an American tall tale, Bendemolena, the kitten, lives in a noisy house, so she takes a shiny pot and puts it on her head. Hooray - it's quiet!. But Mother asks her to run messages, and she muddles them up!
Publisher: (Pearson): www.pearsoned.com.au
(Click cover for larger image) |
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The Ant and the Grasshopper, illustrated by Meng-Feng Wu, 'Story Steps' series (2000, Shortland-Mimosa, Australia; Kingscourt, UK) - for ages 6-8 years. 0 7901 2129 8
Grasshopper's friend, Ant, has fallen into a stream. Will Grasshopper be able to rescue him? How can a coconut help? This picture-story play script is based on a folk tale of Indonesia.
Publisher: (Shortland): www.mcgraw-hill.com.au
(Click cover for larger image) |
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The Tie Olympics, illustrated by Robert Roennfeldt, 'Southern Cross' series (1987, Macmillan Australia) for ages 8-10 years.
The Foster family will soon be moving house. They decide to tidy up, give away and throw out everything they don't need. Mr Foster has a large collection of ties. The family have a Tie Olympics, with votes to decide which ones to keep and which to discard.
(Click cover for larger image) |
AMIN AND THE GHOUL
A script for shared reading based on an ogre folk tale of Persia (Iran)
adapted by Edel Wignell ©
First published in 'Explore' Magazine.
Tales of ogres and giants can be found in most cultures. Best known in the western world is the giant in the English folk tale, 'Jack, the Giant-Killer'. This menacing one comes from the Middle East.
If the following play is printed in multiple copies for classroom use, ensure that the copyright notice, Edel Wignell ©, appears on each copy and that a remuneration notice is sent to Copyright Agency Ltd. Download the PDF version
Cast:
- Storyteller 1
- Storyteller 2
- Amin
- Ghoul
A class may read in groups, so that everyone will have a turn.
| STORYTELLER 1 |
Once upon a time there was a clever city lad called Amin. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
One day, out in the country, he saw a ghoul. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
A ghoul is a giant who takes people to be its slaves. Sometimes it eats them. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
Now, this ghoul had a terrible temper. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
Amin was terrified, but he had an egg and a lump of salt in his pocket. |
| AMIN |
Hello, Ghoul! Let's see which one of us is the stronger. |
| GHOUL |
You don't look very strong. |
| AMIN |
You can't tell by looks. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
Amin picked up a stone and gave it to the ghoul. |
| AMIN |
Here, Ghoul - squeeze water out of this stone. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
The ghoul took the stone and squeezed it. |
| GHOUL |
It's impossible! |
| AMIN |
It's easy! |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
While the ghoul was squeezing, Amin took the egg from his pocket. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
Then he took the stone in the same hand, and squeezed. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
The egg broke, and the ghoul saw liquid running between his fingers. |
| GHOUL |
What strength! |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
Amin handed another stone to the ghoul. |
| AMIN |
See this stone? There's salt in it. Crumble it between your fingers. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
The ghoul looked at it and shook his head. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
Meanwhile, Amin took a handful of salt from his pocket. |
| GHOUL |
I can't crush it - it's impossible! |
| AMIN |
It's easy! |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
Amin took the stone from the ghoul and let the salt fall between his fingers. |
| GHOUL |
What strength! You must stay the night with me. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
The ghoul took Amin to an enormous cave. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
He threw a huge bag to him. |
| GHOUL |
Go and fill this bag with water while I make a fire to cook the dinner. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
Amin couldn't lift the bag, so he went down to the river and started to dig a channel. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
Soon the ghoul arrived. |
| GHOUL |
Why are you so slow? Can't you lift a little bag of water? |
| AMIN |
You are so kind to me, I thought I would dig a channel to bring water to you. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
The ghoul was hungry, so he filled the bag himself. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
He cooked dinner, and ate a huge meal. Amin pretended to eat. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
Afterwards, the ghoul pointed to a bed. |
| GHOUL |
Lie down there for the night. |
| AMIN |
(to himself) There's a sneaky look in the ghoul's eyes. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
Amin put a large pillow in the bed, and hid in a dark corner. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
Just before dawn, the ghoul woke. He took a tree trunk and smashed it down on Amin's bed. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
He pounded the bed seven times, and went back to sleep. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
Amin crept back into bed and spoke to the ghoul. |
| AMIN |
Friend Ghoul, an insect has wakened me with its flapping. I counted seven flaps of its wings. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
The ghoul was terrified. |
| GHOUL |
(to himself) How could seven blows of a tree trunk feel like seven flaps of an insect's wings? |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
Fearfully, the ghoul ran from the cave. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
Amin picked up a gun. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
As he left the cave, he saw the ghoul coming back. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
He had a club in his hand, and a fox trotting beside him. |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
Amin knew that the cunning fox had explained his cleverness to the stupid ghoul. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
Seeing the gun in Amin's hand, the fox dashed away. |
| AMIN |
That was a sneaky fox. I told him I wanted seven ghouls to take back to the city. He promised to bring them to me. He has brought only one, and you are already my slave. |
| GHOUL |
Ahh-gh-gh! |
| STORYTELLER 1 |
The ghoul turned and ran in terror. Leaping over rocks and cliffs, he escaped. |
| STORYTELLER 2 |
Soon he was far away, and Amin never saw him again. |
DRAMA BASED ON ASIAN FOLK TALES
Edel Wignell ©
An article written for children aged 8-12 years - first published in the
'All About Books' lift-out, The Age, Melbourne, 22 August 2005.
As Australia is a part of Asia, perhaps you are learning an Asian language. Edel Wignell introduces you to drama based on Asian folk tales.
In an Indian tale, a farmer is ploughing his field, with oxen pulling the plough, when a tiger arrives. The farmer is fearful, but he greets the tiger politely. The tiger demands that the farmer give him the oxen for his dinner. The farmer offers to give the tiger his wife's milking cow instead, and the tiger tells him to go and get it. The farmer's wife is furious, and thinks of a way to trick the tiger.
If you like tall tales, you will enjoy this tale which I adapted as a radio script for my collection of eight plays, Tricking the Tiger: Plays based on Asian Folk Tales. The ending, being black humour, is hilarious.
Asian folk tales are rich in fantasy, adventure and humour - excellent for reading, telling and acting. I searched for stories for performance, readers' theatre and radio drama.
A thief, famous for his cleverness, has never been caught. At last he is careless, and a shopkeeper tells him to take stolen spice packets out of his pocket. The shopkeeper hands him over to the police who bring him before a severe judge. The judge fines the thief, but he cannot pay, so he is sentenced to five years in jail.
As there is no way of escape, the thief thinks of a clever scheme to talk his way out. He is successful in convincing the King, the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State, the Army General and the jailer to release him.
How clever are you with your tongue? Could you do this? You can discover the thief's ruse in the 'The Clever Thief', a play with choruses for readers' theatre, based on a Korean folk tale.
To appreciate folk tales - both western and eastern - you need to understand two facts. Firstly, in ancient times, the king or the lord of a castle - being all-powerful - was obeyed, for disobedience could lead to death. As ordinary people had no rights, kindly rulers, such as the Rajah in the Indian tale, 'Son and Ghost', were greatly loved.
Secondly, as those days were patriarchal, many folk tales have active male characters and passive female ones. But, in most cultures, female-active stories evolved: for example, in the Japanese tale, 'The Picture Wife', an enterprising young woman tricks a cruel lord of the castle and saves her husband's life. In folk tale studies, these are called 'clever girl' tales. 'Tricking the Tiger' is another one of these.
Have you ever wondered why dogs and cats fight each other, or why it is rare for a dog and a cat to be close friends? The Javanese people (Indonesia) have an explanation in a myth, 'Why Dogs and Cats are Enemies'.
Long ago, all the animals lived together. One day, the lion is presiding over a meeting to discuss peace, when he notices that the camel is missing. The dog offers to find her. He races off and collides with the cat who is running late for the meeting. On returning, the dog's explanation results in humiliation, for all the animals laugh at him.
'Hear me, Cat!' he says. 'From this day on, we are enemies. My children and grandchildren will attack your children and grandchildren forever and ever.'
I adapted this folk tale as a radio script with choruses. In fact, all the plays in the collection have choruses - rhyming or non-rhyming. They are fun to chant or sing, and they give opportunities for everyone to participate. They provide mood and atmosphere, adding to the suspense of the drama.
Myths explain 'how' or 'why'; they give reasons for natural occurrences. 'The Witches' Fire' is a play for performance based on a myth from the Bouganville District of Papua New Guinea.
Long ago, the people do not have fire. They shiver all night and eat their food raw. A coven of witches, living on the side of a nearby mountain, are the first to discover how to make fire. The Bouganville people send a delegation, offering to share food and weaving in exchange for fire, but the witches refuse. With the help of Clever Dog, Parrot, Possum, Frog and Pig, they obtain it.
If your school is involved in LOTE (Languages Other Than English), and you are learning an Asian language, discovering a country's food, art, music, dance and stories from the oral tradition will help to bring it alive.
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