A week ago, snow had finally blanketed Toronto and it crunched when we walked. The nights were crisp and the windows frosted, and then the rains returned. Thick and torrential and dreary. Roads glistened, misty and cloudy. Pathways forward and the future suddenly felt hidden and unclear. The Holy Nights are always a time of going inward, but I have rarely felt so introverted and contemplative.
Before this time of year-end reflection has passed, I wanted to share about the past two months working at Clover Hill School House, teaching permaculture and biodynamics and theatre arts, and I wanted to share a script I wrote adapting Reg Brown’s “The Festival of Stones” into a Christmas Play.
I was first introduced to Reg Brown’s “The Festival of Stones” by my Muskoka Waldorf Mamas group. We collaborated on a script for Michaelmas, the autumnal celebration of Arcangel Michael slaying the Dragon, and ever since September, these characters have grown in my heart and mind. I knew I could adapt a wonderful Christmas Play…but it would be very different than a traditional nativity play.
The School Directors and I spoke at great length about what was best for the children.
In Waldorf pedagogy, the Oberufer nativity play is performed at Christmas. Titled, The Shepherd’s Boy, it is a traditional English nativity play, and Oberufer’s challenging prose is performed by the teachers for the students, as a gift.
The performance is carefully curated to imbue the students with a sense of awe and reverence; our small start-up school was not in a position to perform such a complicated play. In 2024, our challenge was to create something magical and simple that could be performed in an open barn in December with no heating, set against a backdrop that could be struck at any time to make room for other farm business, and with many drop-in students who came and went…so not a solid cast for much of rehearsal time — but I knew we could gift the children with an understanding of the importance of Christmas spirit and imbue a sense of reverence and love.
This fall at Clover Hill School House, there were many younger children, five years old and under. For all these reasons and more, writing a play that included the creation of a Chorus was paramount. We needed a group role that could involve all, so if nerves or challenging behaviour reared its head, there was a sense of community and a place to belong on stage.
The Chorus became “The Forest Folk”, a group of rag tag forest animals that included a lion, a fox, a wolf, and a dragon, and several Sun Children, who heralded the excitement of the Festival of Lights and celebrated the return of the Christ Child through a simple repeat after me refrain.
The Forest Folk entered with fanfare, weaving their way through the audience singing in raucous celebration a song taught to me by my mentor, Elyse Pomeranz. Simply titled “Morning Blessings”, it is adapted from the prayer book by Shefa Gold.
We selected the following three verses:
The morning will unfold for Us
Life will rise from dust
We’re rising in remembrance
Of His Love
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
He lifts us up when we are down
He shares with us His Royal Crown
We’re rising in remembrance
Of His Love
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Beyond Imagination
His presence fills creation
We’re rising in remembrance
Of His Love
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
While I did set up a tripod and recorded the play, many of the parents are not comfortable with their children being on social media or on Substack, so I’m not able to share a video of the final performance, but it was magical.
Pushed by a week due to repeated snow storms and winter weather, there came a point when we questioned if we were even going to be able to perform the play.
Anytime I mount a play or gather people together to record a story to tell — whether it’s a big fancy film, a documentary, social media content or a tiny, farm school play like this — there is always a moment before the performance when everything falls apart. It is a reminder of the brilliance of the ultimate scriptwriter’s movie, Shakespeare In Love, by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard:
How scripts get written and theatre is performed is a mystery, but I love it. The intensity of collaboration and teamwork, inciting differing personalities towards expression and extroversion, is character-building and downright scary for a lot of children. The drama of the moment when hard work meets fortune is profound: there is nothing that feels more insurmountable than children’s theatre and nothing more rewarding than when a child comes off stage, blushed with joy from a recitation carefully executed, emboldened and proud in their costume and make-up.
It is a great joy of my life to see children excel.
But wait — weren’t you supposed to be teaching Biodynamics and Permaculture? I did. I spent weeks with each cohort gaining and earning trust, working hard towards a common goal of preparing garden beds to be planted in spring, and then guided them in collaboration with the strongest group of committed and steadfast teachers I’ve encountered towards a performance that felt so complete and genuine, I was so happy.
The play is simple and could be easily replicated in any homeschool or farm school group. I am sharing it here with that hope…that other’s will read it and want to take it up and perform it in their own circles and communities.
I know it can feel lonely sometimes, doing this hard thing of reimagining school and prioritizing attachment over survival, but the gifts we receive from community are so profound and soul-changing.
My take-away from a year of World Schooling is that community is where its at, and most families are world schooling in hopes of finding a community that feels like home. We’ve travelled from the jungles of Costa Rica, to the cliffs of Southern Spain, danced to the heartbeat of Brooklyn and sat awe-inspired in theatres in New York City, drove down to the deep south of Tennessee for an epic eclipse, and ate chocolate mousse for breakfast in the Cote d’Azur of Southern France: it’s been a good year.
Here’s the script that came out of it — a Waldorf Christmas Play for Children, inspired and co-created with the teachers of Clover Hill School House:
A CHRISTMAS PLAY
CHARACTERS
Narrator
Pine Cone and Pepper Pot, the two friendly gnomes
Tiptoes Lightly, the Fairy
Snow Queen
Forest Folk (Christmas Animals & Faerie)
Jeremy Mouse
Christmas Star Angel
Christmas Tree
Sun Children
NARRATOR: Once Upon a Time, sweet Gnomes Pine Cone and Pepper Pot were or were not, dragging fir boughs and cedar branches over the frosty ground.
They were building an evergreen spiral for the Festival of Light.
Pepper Pot said…
PEPPER POT: I wish it would snow again…the spiral looks so pretty on snow.
PINE CONE: Tiptoes gets the wind to blow…perhaps she knows how to make it snow.
PEPPER POT: Let’s call her now!
NARRATOR: Pepper Pot held out her hands and Pine Cone took them. They put their heads together and they sent Tiptoes a “Calling Thought”…
GNOMES:
Tiptoes Lightly
Small as can be
Won’t you come over
From your Great Oak Tree?
NARRATOR: In a flurry and a flutter, Tiptoes Lightly arrived.
TIPTOES: Here I am! What do you want?
PINE CONE: We want SNOW! The evergreen spiral looks so pretty on a blanket of white. Can you make it snow?
TIPTOES: I can’t – but I can ask the Snow Queen. Let’s invite her to the Festival! It always snows when she’s around.
NARRATOR: And off she flew…
PEPPER POT: I hope the Snow Queen is in a good mood, we want gently falling snow – not a blizzard!
NARRATOR: The Snow Queen was in a good mood. She arrived gently, watching the Gnomes while they worked. Tiptoes fluttered nearby. The Snow Queen was soooo happy, that Pine Cone and Pepper Pot were preparing the spiral for the Festival of Lights.
Gentle snowflakes fell…soon everything was covered in blanket of soft translucent white and blue…every snowflake so unique, a work of art falling from the Snow Queen’s cuff….
When at last she finished, they all stood back to admire their work.
On the snowy ground lay an evergreen spiral winding inwards towards a center stone….
Evening came, and darkness settled on the forest. (CUE FOREST FOLK)
The Gnomes and Spirits waited…All was quiet….
Then winding in and out between the trees, voices came singing….
FOREST FOLK ENTER SINGING “Hallelujah” song...
NARRATOR: The Forest Folk had arrived! (CUE)
NARRATOR LOUDLY + ALL CAST:
Bless this candle,
Burning bright,
Bless its shining
In the night.
NARRATOR: Tiptoes held a candle high above her head and said:
TIPTOES: A light shines in the darkness! The Christmas Child is on His way!
ALL TOGETHER: Hurray!
ALL CAST EXIT EXCITEDLY SHOUT “The Christmas Child is coming! The Christmas Child is coming!
NARRATOR: But JEREMY MOUSE and the SNOW QUEEN remained….
JEREMY MOUSE: Will I ever see the Christmas Star traveling?
SNOW QUEEN: Only those who stay awake all night get to see the Christmas Star…
JEREMY MOUSE: Not fair…
SNOW QUEEN: Maybe this year you’ll be lucky…
Snow Queen exits in a flurry of snow, and Jeremy Mouse curls up in his bed…
***
NARRATOR: Jeremy Mouse was sound asleep. Snug and warm in his blankets, he didn’t notice that outside it was darkest night and deepest winter.
“KNOCK KNOCK” went the floor suddenly! (ALL: KNOCK KNOCK!)
TIPTOES: Jeremy Mouse – It’s Tiptoes! Get up this instant! The Christmas Star is traveling. You have to see!
JEREMY MOUSE: The Christmas Star!
NARRATOR: Jeremy popped out of his bed and looked eastward. A most wonderful STAR shone in the heavens. It was bigger and brighter than any he had ever seen; it shone like a diamond in the sky.
He watched as the star danced through the Heavens towards him…then he said:
JEREMY MOUSE: Hurray! It’s time to celebrate the Festival of the Christmas Child!
NARRATOR: The Forest Folk arrived, following the shining Christmas Star through the forest.
At last, the STAR floated down and settled on top of the CHRISTMAS TREE, a great old Pine Tree, Grandfather Tree in the mighty Forest.
The Gnomes placed three red roses and three white roses on the Tree.
Then, ALL said:
ALL: On this night, a long time ago, the Sun Child was born, and tonight we celebrate his birthday!
NARRATOR: From far off in the forest, a light appeared. A young CHILD came walking amongst the trees, light streaming from his heart and spreading out into the world.
NARRATOR LOUDLY + ALL CAST:
Bless this tree,
And its light,
Bless its roses,
Red and white,
Bless its candles,
And its star,
Bless the Christ Child
Wandering far.
NARRATOR: And then the Christmas Star rose hiiiigh into the air, and the Sun Children followed its path away through the forest.
ALL CAST: Hurray! The Christmas Child has come!
NARRATOR: They were so happy, they began to DANCE.
Ooooh! I love it! Thank you for sharing. It's been a dream to pull together a community performance like this. Happy to host you in Buffalo down the road!
What a lucky community to have found each other. ❤️
Ooooh! I love it! Thank you for sharing. It's been a dream to pull together a community performance like this. Happy to host you in Buffalo down the road!