Illustrated Song for Twenty-seven or More Children.
This is an attractive form of entertainment for the younger grades of school. Just the number indicated may be used, or more of each kind can be added as desired.
Directions at the close.
SONG.
Tune: “Rig-a-jig.”
(Candy Bags march around the stage, then stand at front, on left side, in double row facing the audience, and sway from right to left in time as they continue the song. They should be singing as they enter.)
Tune: “Solomon Levi.”
(They enter at rear, march across the stage, then turn and march back toward the entrance, but a space forward. This is during the first two lines. When the Skates sing, all halt and front face during the next two lines.)
(All halt, front face. Skates step forward, bow, hold out their hands to audience and sing.)
(Resume the march as before, turning back to the other side when they reach one side, thus weaving back and forth across the stage, and getting a little nearer the front each time.)
(Halt, Gloves step forward and sing.)
(All mark time and continue.)
(Steps forward, sings, steps back. Others the same.)
(Halt, front face.)
(The Packages stand behind the Candy Bags.)
Tune: “Co-ca-che-lunk.”
(Soldiers are heard behind the scenes marking time. Music soft at first. As it grows louder the marking time grows louder; then they enter, march to the center of the stage and halt in two lines, facing the audience.)
(March during the next few lines to front and right of the stage opposite the Candy Bags, halt and front face. At the chorus mark time as before.)
(Enter, stand in the center in two rows, the rag doll and the baby’s knit doll in front, the others behind in couples. When one or more sing they step to the front, and after singing stand in line in front of the Tin Soldiers, who move back to give them room.)
Tune: “The Wearing of the Green.”
(Pointing to the broken dolls who are moving slowly toward the front.)
(The pianist now plays a lively march, and all the toys parade around the stage and off.)
DIRECTIONS.
The Candy Bags are four little girls, two dressed in red and two in white. Their dresses are of tarletan or cheesecloth over slips of the same color. They are just wide enough to go over the ordinary dresses and long enough to reach from the neck to an inch or so below the bottom of their skirts. Let all be the same length. The top of the bags (or dresses) are gathered with a ruffle around the children’s necks. Their arms are kept inside of the dresses.
The Packages are ten boys or girls, or both. Their costumes are shaped of cardboard, inside of which the children stand, their legs showing below and their arms coming through at the sides. Holes are cut through the cardboard for them to see and breathe through, and these holes must be located so as to be the inner corners of the eyes, or in the nose of the large faces which must be marked upon the wrappings of the packages. Close fitting sleeves of the same color as the paper wrapping the packages are upon the arms, and the stockings should also match the paper.
The package of skates is covered with brown paper over a cylinder of cardboard, with a twist at the top and tied with a large cord.
The Dress, also of brown paper, but larger, and in an oblong parcel.
Grandma’s shawl, a lighter brown paper, tied with ribbon.
Jewelry and Gloves, smaller, one flat, one round, covered with white paper and tied with red ribbon.
The Tin Soldiers are six little boys. Trousers long, of shiny blue cambric with yellow stripes at the sides; shiny red jackets, with buttons and bands across the front and on sleeves of yellow. Toy guns. Their cheeks and lips should be very red to imitate the toy soldiers, and they should walk straight and very stiffly, and not turn their head.
The Dolls are seven little girls.
Two are dressed to imitate French dolls.
One for a rag doll.
One for a cheap doll, imitating it as closely as possible.
One for a knit doll for the baby.
Two for broken dolls. Of these latter have one without an arm (held hidden under the dress) and limping on a crutch, and the other dressed so as to seem to have no head. This can be done by making the dress with its neck above the head of the wearer, thus leaving the doll without a head. Have but one arm, and the dress waist and real arms hidden under a “Mother Hubbard” dress. The clothes must be faded and ragged.