Peace, New Thought Families

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In celebration of the
Season Of Peace & Nonviolence Jan30-April 4:
Peace Cabaret!

The Peace Cabaret is a performance that incorporates Peace Songs, PeaceMakers, Peace Moments, Peace Momentos and more! Here is the Peace Cabaret outline & format that can be adapted to a variety of secular or church settings. For easy printing, download the outline here as a word doc. These ideas can be utilized as class activities as well as a full production. They can be a springboard to your own creativity ~ let us know what ideas you come up with! This outline is illustrated with a few photos from our production at the Spiritual Life Center during the Season 2006. Our full Peace Cabaret script & CD of songs is available here in digital downloads or hard copy materials shipped to you: visit the script page.

Overview Peace Cabaret! Overview
The following components were used in our Peace Cabaret Production. Our show was set in 3 acts; each act had a set of narrators as part of the "Peace Network" broadcast. The other components of song, drama, speech, and activities were interspersed throughout each act.

Cohesive (comical) Commentary!
The basic backdrop of our production was the Peace Network "where all news is good news". Our broadcast narrators wrote much of their own comical commentary that kept the show flowing. Act I honored the planet Earth and her peoples narrated by Forest Greene & Ashley Oak. Halo & Heart Throb narrated Act II honoring peaceful hearts & loving actions. Act III honored global connections and Oneness with the spacey narrators Sunshine & Starstruck.

Forest & Ashley: Act I

Sunshine & Starstuck: ACT III

Peace Songs!
Songs are a powerful way to convey the message of peace. An organization like the Children's Music Network is an excellent resource for songs; see our Peace In Song page. Our performance featured many group songs with the SLC choir that ranged in age from 4-14.
There were also duets & solos like when Bridgit sang One Tin Soldier:

Peace Moments!
These Peace Moments were facilitated by an older youth named in our script as "Serenity Bliss". Serenity would help the young ones speak their Peace Moment. These were simple suggestions sometimes aided with a prop like a plant ~ "Plant a seed in a little pot for your own peace. Take care of your peace plant every day. Talk to it, sing to it, and water it." These can be taken from the 64 Ways In 64 Days onsite or you can make up your own simple, peaceful steps to make and take ~ everyday! Think of ways to share them with others!

Peace Moment: "Tell each familiy member one thing you like about them."

Peace Makers!
This was a very fun mix of drama and audience participation. The audience would play a round of "Name That Peacemaker"; after the presentation of the person, music would play while the audience called out guesses facilitated by the narrators. For the most part, the youth chose the peacemaker they wanted to be, researched facts about their life and put together a variety of ways to present the person; dialogue, dramatization, straight speech with facts about them ...

Abraham Lincoln * Maya Angelo * Dali Llama

Martin Luther king, Jr * Peace Pilgrim * Ghandi

Rosa Parks * Jane Goodall* Elizabeth Cady Stanton &
....................................................................Frederick Douglas
There was also an honoring of the every day Peacemakers in our midst. SLC Rev. Faith Moran was honored and interviewed onstage as part of our production.
Who in your midst can you honor as Peacemaker(s)?!
Faith

In a similar but different segment, part of the Law Of The Great Peace was enacted: This was adapted by John Bierhorst from the Iroq Book Of The Great Law found in The Big Book For Peace, stories & poem collections, Dutton C 1990.
Peace Treaty

Dramatizations like this or just simple readings of poems and stories written by your students or famous authors can be done in a powerful, meaningful way.

Peace Momentos!
These are hands on things to make and/or give away. In our Peace Cabaret, the little ones passed out things to the audience after every act; we had peace rocks where we had written things like "hugs" on small, smooth stones, chocolate kisses, and decorated paper stars with stickers and hand written affirmations like, "You shine!"
We also had white t shirts that the youth decorated with their hand prints (below).
For a How-To on the Peace Rocks, click here.

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