The Dramatization of Bible Stories Part 22

It may be well to state, in connection with the selection of stories from the Bible for dramatization, that other stories outside of the Bible may be dramatized by these same methods and will accomplish the same results. It is not best to allow children to dramatize in succession too many of the heavier type of stories, such as the Bible stories represent. They may become tired if they work too long at the same kind of dramatization. Children need stories which will lighten and relieve the extreme seriousness and dignity which they necessarily have to express in playing the Bible stories. There is a host of fairy tales, folk-tales, and historical incidents that may well be adapted for this purpose.

_The Children's Educational Theatre_, by Alice Minnie Herts, describes dramatic work with children older than those who made the plays in this book. It is an interesting experiment in education which uses dramatization as a means for accomplishing certain aims.

CHAPTER XIII

STAGE SETTING AND PROPERTIES

The point has been emphasized in the preceding chapters that very little stage setting and only a few properties are used in connection with these dramatizations. It is always best that as much as possible should be left to the imagination, and that only such setting and properties be used as the children themselves can construct and as are needed to produce the atmosphere of the play. This point of view influences any consideration of these matters.

It is frequently true that, after the children have made the articles they find a need for, the results are very crude, and there is yet much opportunity for free play of the imagination. Great benefit is derived, however, through the construction of these objects. The children gain a clearer understanding and a keener appreciation of them after they have had the experience of trying to express the shape or form through some medium, such as clay-modeling, paper-cutting, drawing.

Care should be taken that children make nothing in the nature of stage scenery, such as trees, gra.s.s, bulrushes, and other bits of landscape.

The only stage setting which seems at all necessary for them to make involves very simple designs which show the characteristic ornamentation of the times, for example, the lotus and papyrus designs in Pharaoh's court.

Drawings and descriptions of a few of the most essential stage properties and settings are given below, with suggestions as to where and how each may be used.

_Water jugs and dishes._--In the earlier stages of Hebrew history--as is found to be the case with all primitive shepherd people--skins and wooden bowls were used for holding water, milk, and food. Clay vessels were probably not in general use during the nomadic period. When dramatizing the stories of Abraham and Isaac, and others of that period, this fact should be taken into account, and only vessels of wood and skin should be used.

Most of the clay utensils, which are mentioned in the stories of a later time, were shaped like those shown in Fig. 10. Many of the water jugs had small handles, though some were without handles. Fig. 11 shows the position in which a Hebrew woman usually carried her water jug.

The Hebrews had little interest in the aesthetic except in the realm of literature, and the lack is very evident in their pottery. The water jugs are far from having the beauty of line and proportion which is found in Greek pottery. Whenever any of these vessels are needed for use in a dramatization, it is well to have the children bring jars and bowls from home which conform as nearly as possible to the shapes here given. Earthenware bowls and jars may be used effectively.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 10.--WATER JUGS, DRINKING BOTTLE, MILK JUG, COOKING POT, DISH, WATER JUG]

_Wells._--The importance of wells in the life of the early Hebrews cannot be overemphasized. The scarcity of water in the desert made the digging of wells a necessity for the survival of people and of flocks.

As much of the land was rocky, wells could be dug only at certain places. These favorable places were the means of determining where the tents were to be pitched. In most of the stories of the nomadic life wells play a conspicuous part.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 11.--WOMAN CARRYING WATER JUG]

Children should have correct mental pictures of those ancient wells, so that they do not confuse them with the modern wells. The wells of Palestine usually had low stone walls around them, and often big flat stones for covers. The rocks were piled high enough to keep animals from falling in. In some of the wells the water was so low in the ground that people had to go down steps on the inside in order to get it. In other wells the vessels were let down by means of ropes. The women of the land were always required to draw and carry the water.

The simplest way for children to represent a well on the stage is by piling up rocks to resemble the outside or by using something that will look like a great stone. Fig. 12 shows two kinds of wells in Palestine.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 12.--ANCIENT WELLS IN PALESTINE]

_Staff and rod._--The shepherd boy always had with him a rod and a staff (Fig. 13). The rod was about two and a half feet long and was used for protection. The thick k.n.o.b at the end was cut out of the tree from which the limb came, and was frequently covered with knots or nails to make it more terrible as a weapon. The children may find pieces of wood which will serve the purpose, or if they live near a forest they may make their own rods.

The staff was usually about five feet long. The shepherd used it to help him climb hills and mountains and also to keep the sheep from straying. Some staffs were nothing more than the straight limbs of trees; others had a fork or crook at the end so that they could more easily catch into the wool of the sheep when they needed guiding.

Children may use long sticks or branches from trees when they represent staffs.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 13.--SPEARS, SWORDS, STAFF, ROD, ARROWS, BOW]

_Sling._--The sling which was used in David's time was frequently woven of rushes, hair, or sinews; sometimes it was made from soft leather.

From Fig. 14 it will be seen that the shape of the woven part is wider in the middle and comes to a point at the end. A string was tied to each end and the stone was placed in the wide part. The sling was whirled around over the head, and as one string was let loose the stone flew out. When the sling is used in a dramatization, the stone may be left to the imagination.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 14.--A SHEPHERD'S SLING, A SIMPLE LOOM--MADE FROM CARDBOARD]

Children take great pleasure in trying to weave this sling. A diagram of a simple cardboard loom is given in Fig. 14. The shape should be drawn on the cardboard, then holes made for the thread which strings up the loom. Coa.r.s.e woolen yarn may be used for the weaving.

_Shepherd bag._--The shepherd bag which was used by David was carried by every shepherd boy along with the staff, rod, and sling. It was made from a piece of skin with a cord at each end. The cords were fastened to the girdle so that the skin formed a kind of bag. Pebbles for the sling were carried in it, and often supplies of food. A piece of leather or of brown cloth may be easily made into one of these bags for the children to use.

_Sickles._--Sickles were of two kinds--those made of metal and those made of wood. The wooden ones were toothed with sharp pieces of flint.

Fig. 15 gives the characteristic shapes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 15.--SICKLES]

Children may represent these sickles by cutting the shapes from stiff cardboard and coloring them some dark color to make them look as if they were wood or metal. Some of the boys may be interested in cutting sickles directly out of wood.

_Scepter._--The scepter was used by kings in the later history of the Hebrews. It was nothing more than a development of the rod used in the shepherd period. As a rod it was a means of protection and power over enemies, and as a scepter it was a symbol of the same power. Scepters were sometimes short, with much ornamentation; others were long, probably five feet in length. They were all characterized by a ball at the end, and in many cases the kings had them made from gold, or richly ornamented with gold. The Persian kings used the long scepter, which therefore is the kind most appropriate for the play of Esther (see Fig. 16).

_Tents._--The ancient Hebrew tent was much like the modern Bedouin tent. It was low and spread out over the ground, and was made of black goat's hair cloth. This cloth was usually stretched over nine poles, arranged in rows of three and from six to seven feet in height. The inside of the tent was divided into two parts by a long curtain which hung across the middle.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 16.--SCEPTER]

A tent may be represented on the stage by placing a big thick cloth (a blanket or canvas or dark curtain) over poles or screens.

_Shields._--There were two kinds of shields found among the Hebrews.

One was very large and covered a man from head to foot; it was usually carried by a shield-bearer. The other was small and was sometimes called a buckler. Many different shapes were found in both kinds of shields; some were like the Egyptian--long, broad, and straight at the bottom; others were round and oblong. All shields were convex with handles on the inside to hold them by. The kings had shields covered with gold, or decorated with gold and precious stones; but the common soldier had a shield of wood or stiff leather. Leather formed the basis of the shields that were decorated. Fig. 17 will show drawings of some of the typical shapes. Children can easily make shields out of cardboard; some may be covered with gold paper or with dark-brown paper. A handle may be glued or sewed in the inside so that the shield may be held without trouble.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 17.--SHIELDS, FRONT AND SIDE VIEWS]

_Swords._--The sword was always hung from the left side of the sword-belt. It was made from bronze or iron, and was about seventeen inches long. Fig. 13 shows some of the usual shapes. Many swords were two-edged and had leather sheaths in which they were carried. Children may make these out of stiff cardboard, or out of thin wood. They should be colored a dark color, and the hilts may be decorated with bright colors to represent jewels.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 18.--TRUMPETS]

_Spears._--Spears averaged about five feet in length. The javelin was a long, heavy spear used for casting; the lance was a lighter spear used for defense. All spears had a shaft of wood and a metal or stone point.

Fig. 13 gives several of the characteristic shapes of spear-points.

Spears may be made by fastening cardboard points to long sticks, or by cutting the point directly out of the wood.

_Bows and arrows._--The bows and arrows of the Hebrews were very much like those of all other primitive peoples. The bows were often four or five feet long and the arrows were pointed with sharp flint or metal.

Ill.u.s.trations of the shapes are found in Fig. 13. Children need little direction in the making of these weapons, a string and some pliable wood being all that is necessary.

_Trumpets._--Fig. 18 ill.u.s.trates the kinds of trumpets used. The small ram's-horn trumpet was a.s.sociated with the feasts and other public celebrations, while the long metal horn was used for the most part by the priests. These metal trumpets were frequently made from hammered silver. Children can make them out of stiff paper or thin cardboard and cover them with silver paper.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 19.--SIGNET RING]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 20.--LAMP]

_Signet ring._--A signet ring is something that the kings were never without. In the earlier times it was worn on a chain which hung from the neck; later it was worn on the finger. Fig. 19 gives a drawing of a signet ring. The design was raised so that it left an imprint. The king used this imprint as his royal signature instead of signing his name.

When a signet ring is needed in a dramatization, as is the case in _Daniel in the Lions' Den_, any large ring may be used, or the children may be interested in making a ring from paper or cardboard.

_Lamps._--Fig. 20 shows one of the simpler types of lamps used at the time of Christ. This was probably the kind referred to in the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. The lamps were terra cotta and held a very little oil. Children will be interested in making these lamps out of clay or plasticene. They are almost in the shape of a shallow bowl with a handle.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 21.--EGYPTIAN DESIGN]