Puppets for Peace Day
‘Puppets for Peace Day’ was founded by Suzanne Down of the ‘Puppets for World Change Institute’ in America in 2003, at the beginning of the Iraq war. Suzanne, a puppeteer, teacher and writer (now based in Canada) envisaged people putting on puppet plays about peace in different parts of the world, on a particular day each year. She hoped that the power of puppetry to enchant and delight would open hearts to the message of friendship and understanding. She hoped that this would create ripples beyond the day itself that could lead to real and positive change in communities.
Participating in the puppetry can have a positive effect, too. In one primary school in England eight and nine year olds made puppets and performed peace stories in 2004. “It was a high point for the staff and children,” said their teacher. The children had to cooperate and negotiate with one another and use social skills during the preparation. Those who usually found this hard were so excited they managed to overcome their difficulties. “It helped the children to mature.”
Children can potentially learn the skills of ‘making peace’ through the very medium of puppetry.
On ‘Puppets for Peace Day’ each year anyone who likes puppets (and peace!) is encouraged to put on a play in their home, school, library, village hall, community centre etc. The simplest tale on a parent’s lap is as valuable as the largest performance. Any type of puppet (especially if lovingly made), any suitable story about peace, friendship, reconciliation, about honouring another culture (especially one created for the occasion) can be used. It’s up to you, but we’re here to ‘bounce ideas off’ and encourage, as needed.
So, why not join us for ‘Puppets for Peace Day’ on September 29th of each year? Together we can choose to honour other cultures and promote understanding. Together wer can awaken hearts and aim to bring positive change. Many small puppet plays, many small changes can create ripples of loving energy that carry healing with them around the world.
IDEAS
- ‘Phone for a peace pack (see poster for details of contacts).
- Start a ‘Puppets for Peace’ Club.
- If September 29th is inconvenient, make a plan on the day, or record an intention to do a puppet play at a later time.
- Extend ‘Puppets for Peace Day’ for half a term of plays.
- Collect songs, poems and prayers about peace from around the world and use puppets to sing and recite them during your event.
- Exchange puppets and stories with an individual or a group in another country – a ‘puppet swap’!
- Make dove-kites for International Peace Day (September 21st – see poster for details of contacts).
- Make a Peace Tree, with paper or felt doves, or origami peace cranes, at your event.
- Share your stories with us. Share your news of the events for the next newsletter.
We would be grateful for any feedback of your event (or any other aspect of this initiative). Thankyou.
EXAMPLES OF ‘PUPPETS FOR PEACE DAY’ EVENTS
The Rowan Tree Kindergarten in Bristol performed four puppet plays. ‘Any Room for Me?’ used pieces of cloth knotted into animal shapes and was performed on a teacher’s lap. An Irish tale called ‘The End of the Rainbow’ was performed, as well as a story from Afghanistan called ‘Nakhodak’ about a tiny girl with a very big voice, which used simple marionette puppets. ‘The Blessing’ was a story from Italy, told with standing puppets.
Cambridge offered a morning of puppet shows, provided by the Rainbow Puppet Theatre and supported by the local community and the Rosebridge Steiner Kindergarten. There was a pocket apron for young children, where everyone made friends with each other, and a puppet play where St. George tamed the dragon so that it could do good in reparation for its past deeds!
At a school in a fishing village in South Africa, a Xhosa folktale in Afrikaans was performed.
A parent in Herefordshire used finger puppets and animals of card and felt to tell a story about Noah’s dove. The ark was made of papier mache, as were the trees, for a story of some quarrelsome trees. Young children sat and watched in the garden and rejoiced when the characters stopped being selfish and angry and became friendly. “….so I guess the message of peace came across,” remarked the parent.
At Hereford Waldorf School ‘Sadako’s Story’ was presented to Classes 1 – 3. The children each took a white peace crane home. One parent reported that her daughter re-told the story in the car on the way home, as she played with her crane. And then wished everyone a ‘happy peace day’ when she arrived.
At Emerson College, ‘The Fisher lad (of Harris), ‘Demazana’ (an African play) and ‘The Troll who Wanted to be Human’ were performed by different puppeteers, in a setting decorated with images from around the globe.
At the Camphill Community in Glencraig, Northern Ireland the Glencraig puppet group presented ‘The Frog Prince.’
Edinburgh Steiner Kindergartens each made a set of puppets and prepared the plays ‘Rumplestiltskin’, ‘Mashenka and the Bear’, ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’ and ‘Michael and the Dragon’. They worked out a complicated programme for story time at the end of each day. This enabled each group to see their own teacher’s ply six times and the other three group’s plays at least twice each.
In Cape Town, South Africa, the Rainbow Puppet theatre at the Waldorf School performed ‘St. George and the Dragon’. The show started with Granny puppet, who was joined by 8 other glove puppets carrying ‘peace’ placards (smiley faces). There was much banter and the Storyteller asked the children what they thought peace was, to wonderful response.
On the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, in County Donegal, the Positive Parenting Group were enchanted by a puppet play about a girl who goes on a journey into the forest to collect firewood and meets many kind people and creatures. The puppets were marionettes and stringed characters, the age of the children three and under and a picture even made it onto the front page of the ‘Derry Journal’.
The next Puppets for Peace Day will be 29th September, 2008.
For more information please contact: Julie Long on 01873 890093 or Niccola Willis on 01825 713345 and
Dove Kites Niccola2@gmail.com |
