Patriotic Plays and Pageants for Young PeopleMackay, Constance D'Arcy
History
Patriotic Plays and Pageants for Young People
Mackay, Constance D'Arcy
Pageants; Patriotic plays, American
From outside a sudden gust of wind brings clearly a last snatch of the
air that Francois is playing in the distance. Lincoln raises his bead
and listens, smiles whimsically to himself, and then opens his books.
LINCOLN.
And now for the husking!
[He lies full length, absorbedly studying in the fire-glow as the
curtain falls.
COSTUMES
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Blue flannel shirt. Faded black knee-breeches and
much-worn coat. Tall boots which he wears for out-of-doors, and changes
for old slippers.
POLLY. A brown woolen dress and scarlet cloak. Hair worn in quaint
fashion with combs.
NANCY LINCOLN. Dark-scarlet woolen dress, and brown cloak. All the
dresses of the girls are of the simplest. Their cloaks likewise.
AMY ROBY. Deep-blue woolen dress. Little white apron with pockets.
Dark-blue cloak with hood.
LUCY BROWN. Dark-green woolen dress and cloak.
TOM BUSH. Dark-brown flannel shirt. Dark-blue knee-breeches.
JASON BROWN. Faded red flannel shirt. Dark-blue knee-breeches.
FRANCOIS DURAND. Tan-colored flannel shirt. Dark-brown knee-breeches.
Crimson sash-belt.
NOCTAH. The usual Indian costume of buckskin. Fringed tunic. Long
trousers. Moccasins, or imitation moccasins of khaki. (The suit should
be of khaki also--the nearest imitation of buckskin.) He should wear a
wig of long, coarse black hair. If this wig cannot be had, simulate it
thus: make a tight-fitting skull-cap of black cheesecloth. Stitch it
where the parting in the hair should come. Make two braids of plaited
black cheesecloth, and fasten them to the skullcap so that they will
fall over the ears. They should be bound with a few wisps of red and
green. Noctah wears neither war-paint nor feathers, but his face and
hands should be stained brown.
DIRECTIONS
FOR INDOOR ARRANGEMENT OF THE PAGEANT OF PATRIOTS
While an outdoor stage is by far the best setting for a pageant there
are times and seasons when such a setting is not obtainable, and the
indoor pageant becomes advisable. And while no number of footlights can
hope to give the actual radiance of sunlight and blue sky, the indoor
pageant has several assets in its favor. It lends itself to such
festivals as Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays, and its performers
need have no fear of rain. Its dancers are sure of a level space. Its
woodland scenes can be arranged to suit the occasion, and the enhancing
effects of fire-glow, sunrise, or dimming twilight can be obtained as
in no other way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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