Make a Play in your Living Room
“Hear Ye Hear Ye noble friends! Ready your hearts for a tale of bravery, strength, and adorableness, for the ballad of Sir Oscar the Fluffy Tail is about to begin!
Hehehe I just LOVED being a knight in this episode and going on a big adventure. When we decided to make a play for Mom we needed a story, and fast. Luckily, Herman’s duck collection gave us the idea we needed. But a lot more work went into that play than just writing the words.
If you’d like to make your own plays just listen to me. I’ve got the best tips for creating home theatre that your whole family will love.” - Oscar
Writing the Story
First you need a play to perform! You probably already have lots of ideas for stories, but if you need help here’s a hint - There are two easy ways to write a play:
Use a story you know! - Books, movies, video games, comics...You already know how the story goes, and you already love the characters. Now just make it short enough to tell in one sitting.
Write something new! It can be anything. Just use your imagination to show something you love.
So you've finished writing your story. What’s next?
Well, it’s time to take the story and make it real. That’s what makes a PLAY different from a BOOK! To make a play come to life you can add lots of cool things:
Stage: The place you will perform the play.
Costumes: The clothes all your characters wear so we can tell them apart.
Props: All the other stuff you need to hold or use in the story.
Set: The things that help us see the locations in your story
Lights: So we can see what you’re doing silly!
Sounds: For all the things we can’t see that help tell the story
Music: To make us feel the emotions of the story
Stage
You need a place to perform your play for your friends and family. If you have a living room this is probably the best place. You can use blankets or sheets to make a fancy curtain if you want to feel like you’re in a real theater.
Costumes
Use any clothes you can to make your characters come to life. You can use clothes you already have, or you can make the things you don’t. Paper and cardboard go a long way, but if you know how to sew you can make really fancy stuff too. And if you need more help, ask parents or friends to borrow something. They may have just what you need. As Herman always says, “Use your imagination and remember that a spaghetti strainer is the best helmet!”
Props
Gather any toys or tools you need to tell your story. And just like the costumes, you can make anything you don’t already have. For example: Your wizard may want a magic wand. You can make one out of arts and craft supplies, or just find a spoon or a stick to hold. It’s that easy.
Set
You can use paper, cardboard, or fabric to create all sorts of far off locations for your story. So draw on some big rolls of paper to make a forest, paint and glue some cardboard to make a castle, or use a piece of flowy fabric to create a river. It’s amazing the things we can come up with using just our imagination.
Lights
Sometimes you can use lights to make your story extra fun. Turn off some lights for a spooky tale. Turn on a lamp to create the sun or the moonlight. Use a flashlight as a spotlight. If you want to, this can be really fun to play with.
Sounds
Don’t forget this amazing piece of storytelling. You can find recordings of all sorts of noises and animal sounds, or just use what you have at home! The whole world is full of sounds, so add in a little something special where you can.
Music
For the extra special touch, find some music to help set the mood for your play. Think about what is happening in your play, and find a piece of music that feels just like the story. Battle, travel, adventure, silliness...there is bound to be something that can make your play feel even more special.
The Show
Once you have all of the things you need for the play, make sure you practice so you remember what you’re doing. And finally, when you feel excited and ready, It’s time to perform your play!!!
Invite your family and friends to see the amazing story you came up with all on your own. But remember, no matter what happens the most important thing about this game is to HAVE FUN! You created something using just your imagination and determination. That is a brave thing to do, and definitely something to celebrate!
Now go watch Episode 8 - The Play to see all the things we created for our story about knights and wizards. And then it's time to make your own magic. Write play today!