CHAPTER V
THE DRAMATIZATION OF MOSES IN THE BULRUSHES
The method of presenting the story of Moses in the Bulrushes differed somewhat from that employed with Joseph. There was little need to tell the story at the beginning, for every child already knew it in detail. Consequently the leader had the children tell most of it, while she supplemented and directed attention to important parts.
In this case the entire play was planned roughly before any of it was acted. The story was criticized by the children as to its organization and unity, and as a result they made up an ending ([Act III]) which they felt was needed to make the story complete. Experience with the other plays had led the children to feel the necessity for having a satisfactory ending after the climax.
At the second meeting several girls brought in the scenes as they had written them out. They had tried to embody the points which the children had decided upon as the general plan of the play. The final play varies very little from these scenes thus written by the girls themselves.
There was no difficulty in solving the problem as to what they would do for a baby in the first part of the play. Many dolls were brought in, and the choice fell upon the one that received the largest number of votes because of his likeness to the baby Moses. A woven basket served for the cradle of bulrushes. There were many rehearsals when there was no doll or cradle, but the children never felt the lack. Their imaginations can supply all needs.
A few big Egyptian designs were made for the first and last scenes, which were placed in the king's court. These were fastened on the walls and around the king's seat, as was done in the play of Joseph.
Before the play was given before parents and friends the children decided to call it The Childhood of Moses. An older boy in the church printed programs for the occasion that the audience might better understand the play. They read as follows:
The Childhood of Moses
Dramatized and Presented by the Children's Dramatic Club
of the Hyde Park Church of Disciples
CHARACTERS