An Amazing Play That Most Theater Teachers Never Produce
There’s an amazing play written by Playwight Aurand Harris that most theater teachers never produce. It’s name? Orphan Train. Busy theater teachers/directors have no time to consider plays other than those from their past successes. They simply don’t have the brain space left to do so. That’s where I come in.
The Orphan Train published by Dramatic Publishing.
An Amazing Play That Most Theater Teachers Never Produce
Synopsis
An Amazing Play That Most Theater Teachers Never Produce
Technical Requirements of The Orphan Train
Costume Design for The Orphan Train
Usually, I designed the costumes for my middle school plays partly because I have an intense interest in costume design. However, I took a chance with this play and did something completely different–I asked the students to find their own costumes. My budget paid for those students who could not afford it.
My color palette for the production was black and white hopefully denoting a black and white photograph. To this end, I asked the students to bring in costume pieces for their character of either black, white or even gray. I guessed that most of the students could find what they needed quite easily and I was correct. It worked great! When they created a tableaux at the end of the show, they looked like a vintage photograph.
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(We used this photo as a template for our show tee shirts! )
Light Design for The Orphan Train
I was fortunate. My principal at the time was very supportive of the arts (in fact, all of the principals I worked for were supportive of the arts), and purchased lighting equipment for us. Lighting the show was fairly simple–I used the stage lights (on little dimmers if you can imagine) and then our light board, trees and several ellipsoidal and fresnel.
Sound Design for The Orphan Train
My husband and I are avid music lovers. We listen to all types of music. Consequently, we knew of music which would be perfect for pre-show, intermission and post show. We used period music such as Popular Roaring 1920s Music from the Year 1926. The sound of trains was another thing we used between scenes–steam engines puffing, rolling around, train whistles, etc.
Historical Significance of The Orphan Train
When I began researching the play, I found this entry in Wikipedia.com, “The Orphan Train Movement was a supervised welfare program that transported children from crowded Eastern cities of the United States to foster homes located largely in rural areas of the Midwest. The orphan trains operated between 1854 and 1929, relocating from about 200,000 children.
The co-founders of the Orphan Train movement claimed that these children were orphaned, abandoned, abused, or homeless, but this was not always true. They were mostly the children of new immigrants and the children of the poor and destitute families living in these cities. Criticisms of the program include ineffective screening of caretakers, insufficient follow-ups on placements, and that many children were used as strictly slave farm labor.
Charitable Institutions Aid to Orphans
Three charitable institutions, Children’s Village (founded 1851 by 24 philanthropists ), the Children’s Aid Society (established 1853 by Charles Loring Brace) and later, New York Foundling Hospital, endeavored to help these children. The institutions were supported by wealthy donors and operated by professional staff. The three institutions developed a program that placed homeless, orphaned, and abandoned city children, who numbered an estimated 30,000 in New York City alone in the 1850s, in foster homes throughout the country.
The children were transported to their new homes on trains that were labeled “orphan trains” or “baby trains”. This relocation of children ended in 1930 due to decreased need for farm labor in the Midwest. The phrase “orphan train” was first used in 1854 to describe the transportation of children from their home area via the railroad. However, the term “Orphan Train” was not widely used until long after the Orphan Train program had ended.
Interviewing An Orphan
We lived in Missouri at the time in which I directed the play. We’d heard there were several people still alive who rode the Orphan train many years prior. With a little extra work, a parent volunteer found one of the children (now adult) who was an orphan and traveled by Orphan Train.
This lovely lady came and spoke to our cast about what it was like to ride the train. Although that was many years ago, I recall she said that the family she ended up with were not very nice to her but she grew up with them.
You always want a story like this to have a happy ending, don’t you? However, it’s important that our students see life as it can be sometimes, especially in a case such as this one.
An Amazing Play That Most Theater Teachers Never Produce
Maybe you found this blog because you are interested in integrating drama into your core class. I found a terrific site with plenty of information and teaching suggestions–The Orphan Train. Start here to build your unit around The Orphan Train.
Additionally, you could purchase a class set of this play to use as a read aloud. (Make sure you check it out before you purchase for your entire class–you don’t just want to take my word for it. I remember there are several swear words which you may want to switch out with others not as flowery.)
Use the script to study set or costume design. This particular lesson would be helpful to you if you study costume design accompanying the play. Or use this unit to study set design to accompany the play.
Have I convinced you to check out The Orphan Train play? If hope so. If you have any questions about directing this play or any other questions, please feel free to email me. I receive emails every week from teachers needing a veteran teacher to give them advice. That’s what I’m here for. Want a FREE lesson great for middle grade students? Go here: Lin Manuel Miranda
