CHAPTER XIII STAGE SETTING AND PROPERTIES The point has been emphasized in the preceding chapters that very little stage setting and only a few properties are used in connection with these dramatizations. It is always best that as much as possible should be left to the imagination, and that only such setting and properties be used as the children themselves can construct and as are needed to produce the atmosphere of the play. This point of view influences any consideration of these matters. It is frequently true that, after the children have made the articles they find a need for, the results are very crude, and there is yet much opportunity for free play of the imagination. Great benefit is derived, however, through the construction of these objects. The children gain a clearer understanding and a keener appreciation of them after they have had the experience of trying to express the shape or form through some medium, such as clay-modeling, paper-cutting, drawing. Care should be taken that children make nothing in the nature of stage scenery, such as trees, grass, bulrushes, and other bits of landscape. The only stage setting which seems at all necessary for them to make involves very simple designs which show the characteristic ornamentation of the times, for example, the lotus and papyrus designs in Pharaoh's court. Drawings and descriptions of a few of the most essential stage properties and settings are given below, with suggestions as to where and how each may be used. Water jugs and dishes. In the earlier stages of Hebrew history-as is found to be the case with all primitive shepherd people skins and wooden bowls were used for holding water, milk, and food. Clay vessels were probably not in general use during the nomadic period. When dramatizing the stories of Abraham and Isaac, and others of that period, this fact should be taken into account, and only vessels of wood and skin should be used. Most of the clay utensils, which are mentioned in the stories of a later time, were shaped like those shown in Fig. 10. Many of the water jugs had small handles, though some were without handles. Fig. 11 shows the position in which a Hebrew woman usually carried her water jug. The Hebrews had little interest in the aesthetic except in the realm of literature, and the lack is very evident in their pottery. The water jugs are far from having the beauty of line and proportion which is found in Greek pottery. Whenever any of these vessels are needed for use in a dramatization, it is well to have the children bring jars and bowls from home which conform as nearly as possible to the shapes here given. Earthenware bowls and jars may be used effectively. Wells. The importance of wells in the life of the early Hebrews cannot be overemphasized. The scarcity of water in the desert made the digging of wells a necessity for the survival of people and of flocks. As much of the land was rocky, wells could be dug only at certain places. These favorable places were the means of determining where the tents were to be pitched. In most of the stories of the nomadic life wells play a conspicuous part. WOMAN CARRYING FIG. II Children should have correct mental pictures of those ancient wells, so that they do not confuse them with the modern wells. The wells of Palestine usually had low stone walls around them, and often big flat stones for covers. The rocks were piled high enough to keep animals from falling in. In some of the wells the water was so low in the ground that people had to go down steps on the inside in order to get it. In other wells the vessels were let down by means of ropes. The women of the land were always required to draw and carry the water. The simplest way for children to represent a well on the stage is by piling up rocks to resemble the outside or by using something that will look like a great stone. Fig. 12 shows two kinds of wells in Palestine. ANCIENT WELLS FIG. 12 Staff and rod.The shepherd boy always had with him a rod and a staff (Fig. 13). The rod was about two and a half feet long and was used for protection. The thick knob at the end was cut out of the tree from which the limb came, and was frequently covered with knots or nails to make it more terrible as a weapon. The children may find pieces of wood which will serve the purpose, or if they live near a forest they may make their own rods. The staff was usually about five feet long. The shepherd used it to help him climb hills and mountains and also to keep the sheep from straying. Some staffs were nothing more than the straight limbs of trees; others had a fork or crook at the end so that they could more easily catch into the |